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 1st 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)
Very interesting! Thanks for sharing. It let's me feel as though I were there at the guesthouse with you & the girls.
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