Time has Been Flying By

It doesn't seem like a month since my last post.

Jane hosted Christmas Dinner here, it was a great time to get together.

On 12/30 we left on a four day get-a-way with the Bundys to the Dominican Republic to relax and also meet our 90 day visitors requirement while we wait for our "permes" [Visas] to be completed.

New Years day on the beach. [the white is sand, not snow!]

Upon our return on Monday it was time to gear up for the Cowman Int. School roof replacement project. Wed.-Sat.

Since then we have only been able to work on Jan.12 and Saturdays so as not to disturb the students. We hope to finish in a couple more Saturdays weather permitting.

Hanna and her mother Julie left last Monday. Hanna just finished serving here at the clinic for a year, and what a year it was! We will miss her.

Jane left for Port-A-Prince yesterday with five others to get some paperwork done on her drivers license and purchase some of the famous Einstein Bowls for the gift shop.

They will return tomorrow afternoon.

Tomorrow is also my brother's birthday..... miss you Bruce!

Bud

God Contiues To Amaze Me

Tuesday there was a light rain all night long. I awoke at 4:15 to the sound of the little security light generator running down in the motor house. I was able to automate it two weeks ago so that it would start automatically when EDH (Electric Da Haiti) would go off. This morning though EDH was also on, maybe my generator controls went "haywire". I took a walk down to investigate. Along the way I see that the weight of the rain had brought down a weak tree limb across our power lines, burning one in half and the other two were arcing a little with the limb still suspended about 15 feet in the air. When one of the main fuses blew the little generator did exactly what it was supposed to do. I shut down the power and started to gather tools and get ready for dawn & some help. With the tractor, ladder & chainsaw ready, Brett showed up on his morning jog and together we removed the limb. We then set up at one end of the wire span to take down the broken wire and were brain storming about how we would splice the wire back together as we knew we were lacking in clamps, length of wire and were afraid that a splice would fail again if another limb fell. At 6:00 Olin showed up and shortly behind him Edric brought a roll of exactly the same wire on his shoulder. After rolling it out, about 200 feet, we find that we had about 20 feet extra, just right! (Thank-you God) After connecting the one end, it was off to the other, come-a-longing the slack out and connecting it, all of this 30 feet in the air. At 8:30 we were finally able to turn the power on. The Haitians down at the furniture shop were patiently waiting for power, the clinic was just finishing with devotions and ready to start seeing patients. Time for a shower & breakfast. I marvel at how God meets our needs and gives us the strength and wisdom for what ever is in store for each day.

Julie Briggs headed home yesterday to be with her family as her Grandfather is quite sick. She had come in as a Physical Therapist for one year. She was very instermental in the mobile clinics and cholera clinic, we will miss her as she returns to Northern Ireland.

We are patiently waiting for Christmas but missing that special time with our kids and family back home. Jane is hosting Christmas dinner here for the remaining missionaries.

Have a Blessed Christmas,
Bud

Hi Everyone

Due to the election announcement yesterday, there have been reports of unrest in the streets again and we have been asked not to leave the campus. We have a team here with us and we have been able to get much accomplished this week. We are thankful that part of the team was able to give eye tests & distribute over 1000 pairs of glasses between yesterday & today. Many of the team have been working down at the cholera clinic along side of the staff there. This evening everyone is sobered with the loss of three cholera patients today (first ones here), it makes it hard to focus on the 103 that have been treated & released. Please be in prayer for the team, staff and families of these precious people here.

Bud

Catching UP

I am not sure I am familiar with this phrase any more. Some days I feel like I am getting close to the end of the tunnel and then something happens and it sets me back a day or two. I think the most difficult thing is not feeling like anything in your life is under your own control. Even simple things like having control over when you get up, privacy, what you eat, or how your money is spent, are things that most of the time are out of your hands. Even when you plan some time off, you are not really off. For Americans it would be like working for a place that never closes and the door to your apartment is just inside the front entrance. Sometimes we watch old TV show we brought from the US to escape and shut out the activities of the street. Bud and I live close to the road so we are constantly aware of the activity around us. There are times we hear wailing, fighting, gun shots but also the laughter of children. Never a day goes by there is not a person at our door begging for help. I find myself wanting to find a different way to get into my house other then the front door to by pass someone there waiting for me. It is not because we do not want to help them. It is because we can't. It breaks my heart to have to tell them that I have no money to give you. Most of the time they are looking for money for food or medicine. Some are people who are telling the truth, others are truly in need but they try to make their story more desperate to get you to take pity on them. Bud and I have always been people who love to give to others and many times at the expense of our own needs. This is not always a wise thing to do. That is what has happened to us here. We came in with a plan and a budget but much of that is gone now. We always feel we have a better chance of recovery than the people around us. Our problems are nothing in comparison to theirs. This month we have had to pay out a lot of money from our support account for Visa, driver licenses, and now higher medical insurance premium. It all adds up to a couple thousand dollars we had not planned on. This also adds to stress because we know all that money will have to be made up. In my heart I know God will meet this need but the human part of me wants to see how it is all going to work out now. God has brought us through very difficult times in our life and you would think I would be able to just not think about it. But that is not who I am, I am a planner and organizer. I like to be prepared for what lies ahead, I have peace when I feel I can walk away from a job that has all it's ducks in a row, then I feel I have been successful. God is still working on that part of me. The last few days I have really been feeling tired. Not physically but the emotional stress has taken it's toll. My body has always had signals that tell me I am emotionally drained and the stress of living with the constant problems of others has taken it toll, yet I am drawn to this kind of work. I thrive on it, but there comes time I have to give my body a break. We were home for a few weeks but they were not a time of rest but a time of work and heavy schedules of raising support. Come January Bud and I are going to try to take a time of rest in the Dominican if it is at all possible. I was reading this morning a blog of four of our missionaries who are on holiday in the DR and I realize how much Bud and I need to get away as well. Last July we went for a three day holiday and it really was good for both of us, We spent time scuba diving, which really takes you out of this world and puts you in another. It is truly an escape. We are not unique. Many missionaries live like this all over the world. But let me say this it is by the Grace of God we are able to do this. He keeps pulling us through each day. As I think back I can reflect on little perks that God has given us that came out of the blue to pick us up. Little things like a free helicopter ride from Port. A surprise package in the mail. A support check or a gift of money that we did not expect. A friend sending us something we need or bring a us a special food we have been missing. An encouraging word from someone. Or a Haitian telling you how much you have blessed them not by money but because you gave them a little of your time. Or a little time away from work. An English Student getting a job because you helped them learn English. Best of all a recorded book in the mail from your 8 year old grandson and the love of our family. It is all good. But nothing is better than serving God wherever He has chosen for us. The most encouraging thing is when I read His word and He talks to me through it. It is a feeling that He set that time aside especially for me. We all need to feel special.

Thanksgiving

It is Thanksgiving evening and I am sitting here beside Bud as he reads me the unbelievable statistics on this Cholera epidemic. They are saying on CNN which he is reading online, we will be in it for years. 60,000 have been sickened. 25,000 hospitalized and over 1400 dead. We have had so much going on here. Violence has been occurring in the streets these days. Also we have elections going on and that has set off disruption in the past. The people are deeply in need of prayer. They are tired, discouraged, hungry and now sick or know someone that is sick. Fear is a terrible thing and it can make any of us do things we do not want to do. As we slipped away to enjoy dinner together it is sobering to think that just a few yards away one of our houses is filled with children hooked to IV fighting Cholera. We have 13 pt right now and expect more tomorrow. Julie, Hannah and Dr Rodney have done an amazing job setting this up. Bud and I helped to facilitate and set up the clinic. We are using whatever we can find to take care of as many as we can. Tomorrow we will look for more beds and set up more rooms. The cases increase more and more each day. You have to wonder how much more can this country take. We ended our day singing to the children and praying with them along with their parents. Talk about a helpless feeling. In times like this it is easy to feel inadequate. Praise God His is. We need all of your prayers once again. It is amazing in the mist of all of this just mention the name of Jesus to those who believe and see their faces change. This is another opportunity to help others to find him.