Weekly Update

There has been good progress lately at the girls’ home. We are already laying the groundwork for some staffing changes at the orphanage as we develop 2014 employment contracts. (I know… it’s still October – incredible!) Hopefully, we have communicated effectively some of the challenges we would like to tackle at the girls’ home as we focus more time and energy there. One of those areas is reconfiguring staffing to move away from a model of the staff taking care of the girls needs to a model where the staff empowers the girls to do more for themselves and the house they live in. Unfortunately, some of that transition means switching out staffers who think of themselves in terms of cooking and cleaning for people with a different skill set, who see their role in terms of training and mentoring as they help the girls do the cooking or the cleaning.

When the girls were much smaller, it made sense to ensure all their needs were being met, but as they grow and mature the care model needs to grow and mature along with them. There will definitely be sadness and maybe even some acting out, but in the long run it will better set each girl up to be able to take care of herself when that time comes. Focusing on their futures and what it looks like to graduate girls out is another area we desire to spend more time on.            There was a special event at the guesthouse, Jean – the yard dude - had his birthday! It is very traditional in Haiti to get a photograph to mark life’s milestones, and we were happy to oblige for him. Bon Fet Jean! He has been doing a great job on all things outdoors. Recent projects include servicing the diesel generator at the girls’ home, pulling down and washing all the screens on the guesthouse, fixing the ceiling fan in one of the guest rooms, and planting a whole new area of ivy groundcover under the ficus trees along the wall. Mesi pou tout bagay Jean! – thanks for everything.

Weekly update

Hello everyone,

One thing that almost all of our Haitian friends say on a daily basis is “Se dieu vle” – literally translated “If God wants”.  It is commonly said after a “see you tomorrow” or similar goodbye.  In celebrating Jean’s birthday this week here at the guesthouse, I had the opportunity to share a few words as a blessing for the year to come – to this his response was “Se dieu vle”.  This was not taken as a morbid thought but more than anything, Jean’s full reliance on God (as should be all of us as well).  If one were to ask what Haiti is teaching me/us … one answer would be the people are teaching me to love and trust God more fully through simple words/actions or faith – even the tough stuff that I may never be able to fully understand here in Haiti.

On Thursday the girls had the day off from school as Haiti celebrated Dessaline’s death (and life).  Dessaline was the leader of the slave rebellion that overthrew the French overlords (and saved New Orleans from a reinforcement of French soldiers which led instead to Napoleon selling the Louisiana Purchase to the United States for cheap.)  With a quiet guesthouse, we invited them here to watch a film.  First we visited Pastor Saul - one the Haitian pastors that works with the girls – to borrow a projector system.  This had a side bonus as we were able to meet his wife and newborn son (see picture below).  The system can be run off plug in power or a battery pack, so movies can be brought to places in Haiti where city power does not reach.  We showed a Life of Jesus film, and the girls stayed focused and watched as the bible story unfolded in Haitian-Creole.

   

            Another birthday is happening this coming week … Julie’s Mom Carolynn turns another year younger on Wednesday!!!  While we will not be able to celebrate in person this year, we are wishing Mom a beautiful blessed day!!  It was on a recent call with Julie’s parents when they were asking about our “next steps” that we realized an update to all was overdue.  The big highlights are HUG responded very graciously to our letter from August 1^st stating we needed to step away from the guesthouse and focus fully on the HUG girls.  While they expressed some initial surprise, there has been a lot of encouragement sent our way.  The board is in discussions with a possible new guesthouse manager. As the person(s) and their timing for arrival in Haiti are determined, we will work out a plan for overlap and training, as well as be a resource for coverage at the guesthouse going forward as the need arises.  Our next living situation is tbd, however there is one very viable option that would have us living in an in-law-apartment attached to a new home for the girls.  While we are careful not to link our leaving the guesthouse with a move for the girls, we are encouraged by this possibility (and at the same time, wary of boundaries that would need to be set in place for a successful living situation like this one).  We will continue to keep you posted!

Blessings from Haiti, Julie (and Gerritt)

As a continuation from last week, here is this weeks update posted to our personal blog :)

October 13, 2013

Greetings from Haiti,

We have learned that in Haiti there are two rainy seasons: the first is in the Spring and the other is this time of year.  What this means is around mid-afternoon the thunder starts rumbling and rainfalls begin by 6pm or 7pm.  With the rain typically comes wonderfully cool breezes, which make for great sleeping at night :).  In talking with the girls about the storms of late, we’ve learned there are two “camps” ~ some love them (like Gerritt) while others do not (like me).  It is fun to keep learning new things about each of them AND special to us that they allow themselves to be so vulnerable/open with us about things like this that either scares them or they dislike.

On Wednesday, we went on a bit of an adventure … to find a mattress factory in Haiti!  A church in Michigan along with another group have generously shared money to buy bedding for the 17 girls.  So off we went with the factory name, a general knowledge of the area from perusing GoogleMaps and the gate or “barrier” color.  You see, navigating in Haiti is not as direct as in the states – no MapQuest or GPS to tell you lefts/rights or even street signs to figure out where you are.  Thankfully we found it without needing to ask for directions – we felt like locals!   Upon driving through the gate, we first had to pass by security (ie. man with big gun) and then drove past the recycling center.  Yes, you read that right – metals, plastics etc. are collected by individuals and brought to centers like these to redeem small amounts of money depending on the quantity or items value.  As we continued, we saw an unlabeled building on the left and thought this must be it.  We parked, walked inside and greeted by a receptionist.  She brought us to the factory right beside the building where we could see, look and touch the various options.  What we saw impressed both of us – there were 3 or 4 “stations” that represented the different stages of building a mattress or box frame and an automated machine that sewed the finished product!  Side note: Really wish I had brought our camera to share pictures of all this.  We were not ready to make a purchase that day, but are excited to return someday soon and walk away with mattresses for the girls!!  This finding-our-way-around-Haiti is fun and makes us feel like this is becoming “home”.

The girls are continuing to do well in the adjustment back to the schedule of school etc.  I have been particularly impressed with how most of them dive into homework in the afternoon.  This is in large part due to their tutor that works alongside them.  Please be praying along with us for "D" as she has not fully embraced the idea of doing her schoolwork and has the teenage eye-roll and hand on the hip perfected when any of us adults tell her it is time to work.

In the next few days, we will send off the guests that are currently in-house and the guesthouse will be quiet.  It is perfect timing as the girls will have a day off from school this week, so we will have time to plan an activity for them.  Also this will be the 3^rd week for Gerritt and I each to attend a bible study – his is Thursday mornings and mine is Fridays.  This has been a wonderful time to get to know others, more than a quick hello on Sunday mornings.

Blessings from Haiti, Julie and Gerritt

OK... so it has been awhile... a long while since we have posted here. Julie and I are experimenting with different ways to stay connectd with people. Facebook, blog, email blast, all of it... except Twitter, as of now we don't tweet. The IPO might be an interesting ownership prospect, but the service is not on our radar right now. Feel free to let us know if you think that would be a useful addition. But I digress. As of this week, we are going to try to add our email updates to our blog post each week. I am guessing the people who see our blog already get the emails, but who knows who else is our on blogspot searching for blogs of crazy blans living in Haiti?? so... here is this weeks installment.

                                                                                                                   October 6, 2013

Greetings from Haiti,

The girls have had a smooth start to school, but each afternoon we were greeted with “Gerritt, mwen fatige… mwen te leve trop bonheur” i.e. “Gerritt, I’m tired, I got up too early” Such is the life of school aged kids getting up at 5 or 5:30 am to have a devotional time as a group, get ready for school, eat a hot breakfast, and finish last minute homework review before leaving for school. Last week Julie mentioned that Sunday there was a bible quiz for the children at Pastor Maxeau’s church out in the villages, but Tuesday was the final installment of a bible quizzing competition that had been going on for several weeks at our own girl’s home. The girls had been divided into three teams and each team answered questions as a group to win points. At the end of the competition the winning team got a radio/CD player as a prize! The other teams received music books, and a CD as rewards for their hard work too. Pastor Saul (photo below) did a great job coming up with the idea and following through with it. The girls amazed us with some of their quick answers to fairly obscure questions. Sweet treats like cookies and small cakes completed the special event.

Things are pretty quiet at the guesthouse – we have two returning visitors here for two weeks helping out at the nearby English speaking school. They do a great job with the kids tutoring those who are behind or just need some individual attention, as well as organizing and helping in any way needed. The TLC School is really fortunate to have such committed regular volunteers. A real side benefit to our position here at the guesthouse is we find out about all kinds of cool ministry going on not only in our neighborhood, but throughout PAP.

For the upcoming week, Julie and I continue to adjust back to the school year schedule where we are down at the girls home each afternoon helping with homework etc. For those of you who remember, there was a big speech last year after second trimester grades came in below expectations so we are implementing a few changes to kick off the new year. One, no TV Monday through Friday afternoon, and two, each girl had to sign a piece of paper listing all their schoolbooks and supplies as a sign that they received it all, and as a promise that the books will all get returned in reasonable condition at the end of the school year. It seems caring enough to take care of school books was never a lesson the girls learned. Hope everyone is well and enjoying fall in the states – we sure miss the change of season right about now, and we miss all of you too!

Blessings from Haiti, Julie and Gerritt