Picasa Web Albums - MangineHouseTeam - Mangine Team Haiti April 2009

Picasa Web Albums - MangineHouseTeam - Mangine Team Haiti April 2009
nia on the back of a taptap

Time is Lost

I continue with my journaling thoughts in an effort to process and not "go back to normal". That would be too easy and I never want to forget.I want a new normal.

Thurs. Don't know the date anymore. This is a timeless place. We have a schedule but we never know what time it is. Watches left when cell phones established themselves.
The night was quiet save the lonely puppy separated from the comforting milk of it's mother.
The streets are quieter this morning and ths sky is overcast. The breeze is cool.
Last night as I sat on my roof top perch I heard a young girl's voice call out
"Madame Dan-ese!Bonjou"(SP?)I looked down to see a beautiful teen whom I had walked to church with on Sunday.Her name is Marie-Denise. Shortly after I ws told that a young deaf man was there to visit me. To be known by name is so special. It makes me feel....that I am accepted. I need to try to remember others names. Here in Haiti it is even harder. But I need to try.
"He calls you by name."

The Comfort of Knowing

When we said goodbye to Gwenn and Nick and the children on Sunday I had a peace that I had not expected. It was hard to say goodbye but not as hard as I imagined it could have been. As I ponder this a bit I have come up with a few thoughts. Fear comes from not knowing and from knowing. When I gave birth the first time the fear was because I did not know what to expect and my imagination went into overdrive. When I was preparing for the birth of my second child the fear was because I did know what was coming.
What's this got to do with Gwenn and Nick's move to Haiti? Lots. Before I traveled to Haiti myself I only had things I had read and stories (sometimes horror stories) from people who had gone before.(Much like how women share their birthing experience with pregnant women.) So I only had my overactive imagination and other people's ideas. When I got there it didn't smell as bad or feel as hot as I imagined. The people who wanted to carry my bags were not as aggressive as I expected. I got to meet many of the people that Gwenn and Nick will be working with and I got to see first hand the home where they will live. So the fear of not knowing was replaced with the confidence of knowing.
Now that I have experienced Haiti first hand I am not afraid because I do know. Had I had a bad experiecne with this trip then the fear would be there. The fear of knowing.
So with fear gone I am free to imagine other things. I am free to imagine how God is going to make provision for my frequent and/or extended trips to Jacmel.Imagining myself and the rest of our family as part of the vision that is being birthed changes everything. I know we will not see the grandchildren as often as I would like but I am no longer fearful that they will not know me.
Am I concerned that difficult things will be faced in Haiti that might be avoided in the US? Yes. But I am equally as confident that "He who began this work will be faithful to complete it."
I also know that it is far better to miss your someone because God has called them and they have obeyed than to miss someone because they live down the street and never call you. I am sure I will cry at times but in the meantime I will be pricing out tickets and thanking God for the Internet and that daily I can be in touch with my children. My children in Haiti. My children in Penn. and my children in Manteo.

Gwenn and Nick Send off at Crosspoint.

Last night we went to Raliegh and stayed with my son-in-law's parents so that we could say our goodbyes to Gwenn, Nick, Nia, Nico and Josiah. Ken and Bev are a really wonderful couple and we have enjoyed many happy and not so happy occasions with them over the years. Today was one of the harder times as we officially become the Parents of Missionaries. We know that difficult times may lie before us but we are all looking for creative ways to stay close to our children and grandchildren. Crosspoint church has really been so instrumental in bringing our family to this day. They have had such a positive influence in Gwenn and Nick's lives and it was sweet to see the smiles and tears today in Church at the send off. A woman heard an interview they did on the radio on Sat and showed up at Church with a pound cake for them! She is not a member of the church, just a woman who expressed feelings by making a cake! Four hours from now Gwenn and Nick and children will be saying goodbye to Bev and Ken at the airport. The final goodbye before the big hello. We serve a faithful God.As hard as it is to see them go it is also a honor. I believe that our jobs as parents can truly be measured as successful when our children can leave us to create a family of God's decision. Gwenn and Nick, thank you for your obedient example. I will miss you but I am so blessed to be a part of your family.

Woken by silence

Haiti journal entry. Tuesday.

Woken by silence. The constant noise stopped early in th AM and woke me from a sound sleep to listen to...nothing.

Each morning she is out there. Early. Sweeping the small sidewalk in front of her humble home. A pretty young woman.

Wed.
She is out there again this morning. With her mother?grandmother? They tend the plants growing beside their home.

The noise was rally bad last night. A large group of men arguing (debating) right outside the home.
It occurred to me that they were drawn to the light that overflows from our porch where our team has gathered to fellowship and relax.
Drawn to the light...of course they were. Now if we could just carry that light with us.
The Bible tells us that men will be drawn to the light.
Lord I pray for our team today. I ask that we would be a light unto the world. Let us touch Haiti even a 1/4 as much as it has touched us.
I am amazed to see the children going to school all clean and in their pressed uniforms. How much effort they take to just get dressed! Americans (me) don't care nearly as much about our appearance.

Sight,sound,smell,taste,touch Haiti

It is good for me to blog about our trip to Haiti. It helps me remember. I don't want to forget this first time...
From my journel. Monday, April 13th.
What have I seen?
I have seen the most beautiful blue water and a beach so dirty at home I would not go there.
What did I hear?
Music until late at night. Goats, chickens,roosters, generators, motorcycles-HORNS! This sense is on extreme overload.
What did I smell?
Goats on the mountain top, deisal,sunscreen, bug spray.
What did I touch?
A child's small hand grasping mine to help her swim.My body challanged to climb and hike and reach and jump. The bounce of the Tap Tap, the cold shower water and the warm ocean water.
What did I taste?
Very salty ocean water. Oatmeal but not like home. Papayas,mangos, home made potatoe chips.

My Brother came to Haiti

When I went to Ace hardware a few weeks before our trip to Haiti to buy supplies I inquired of the salesman about the how to's of painting masonary walls. His answers were vague and not very helpful. SO I did what I always do when I have questions like that. I called my older brother Digger. He is pretty much a genius about such things. So I walked up and down the isle and over the phone he picked out for me about $250.00 of supplies. He told me what nap roller to buy and what grade of sandpaper and "Yes you have to sand and clean before painting." I bought the better brushes and caulking gun and a file for the scrappers. Never mind that we didn't have any caulk when we got there.As we started the project Diggers words over the years rolled around in my head. "You can cut corners and make it pretty but in a year you will be doing it all over again." It started out pretty good but as the walls stretched on the paint sucked up and the supplies ran low there started to be a few spots that I knew would never cut it in my brother's paint jobs. When someone suggested that we really didn't need to sand the walls Digger's voice echoed in my head. "Do it right now or do it again in a year." At one point I stated that if it were my house I would want another coat in the master bedroom. Not for nothing but that was really Digger saying that through me. Really when the day (week) was done the place looked great. Not Digger great but pretty good just the same.
Patrick a Haitian teen who is a wonderful artist used masking tape to tape a brush to a mop handle to cut in on the very high celiings. Brillant. Several times I spoke in English to some of our wonderful helpers thinking they understood only to find out later that they did not. Pesky thing language can be sometimes.
So I would like to publically thank my brother Digger for his coming with me on this amazing journey to Haiti. Even if he was only in my head.