A day in the life of a family in Haiti...

As I write this blog, the sound of Come thou fount of every blessing from our Haitian workers and staff (or choir) echos through the mission.

  

 I remember day after day for years  I would wake up with Haiti on my heart and go to bed the same way with a yearning and longing for this country.  I used to think that I’d left my heart in Haiti a thousand times over.  Now that I live here, nothing has changed!  

     I love that it feels completely natural to watch Moleon, our security guard, wearing a shower cap as he sings and dances while doing his job, the NWHCM kitchen staff come to John’s protection and defense when his moto driver crashed, or our sweet Edna (the cleaning lady) say Bonjou zamni mwen blow me a kiss and embrace our children.  

Last night I went to bed so filled...I would love to share an average day of our life in Haiti.

John wakes up a little after 5:30a.m. to pray and then if there is a 6:30a.m. staff meeting goes to it.  We all rise and Terah gets ready for devotions before she assists Ashley with the haitian preschool.

John may have meetings set with missionaries here or haitian pastors and I get the children ready for homeschool.  The last two mornings I’ve got a morning laugh because Zebby (the Owens 1 year old) yells “Dad! Dad!” (copying the our kids to John) at our home window so that he can come play trains.

We go to the eating area and share our morning with a missionary family of various passions and personalities but I am certain that this Haiti family are some of the most incredible Jesus followers that I’ve ever had the gift of sharing life with.  Then everyone separates to their daily tasks and ministries.  

I decided to go to the baby orphanage before homeschool with the little ones because one our haitian workers said she missed seeing us in there the last couple of days (We’ve had a few mission teams here and between daily random stuff and homeschool we hadn’t gone over).  We played with precious babies and then we sang with haitian nurses.  I am learning more creole and they just love to talk and sing.  So together we sang, Because He Lives...I can face tomorrow... awesome.  They the asked if they could pray over me for John and our family.  They did and then I prayed for them and their families-powerful.

We did homeschool and then Terah comes home.  We have lunch with our Haiti mission family.  Kids running together; Haitian and missionary kids.  Oneness, joy and freedom... a testimony.

After lunch, naps for the younger kid and gear up to homeschool Terah.  John met a local DJ who was so hungry for the gospel and was encouraged by meeting with him for awhile before working on his sermon for Tortuga island this weekend. 

When the teenagers who live here from the orphanage in Salines Mayette get home from school in the afternoon, John is usually doing math with TK so that I get time with them and then get some bible study and quiet time done (the ladies on the mission are going through Ephesians together and then on Sat afternoons we have youth community group with the males and females).

A team called Epic is here and they do water filtration systems!  When you buy an Epic watch, the proceeds go to clean water in Haiti!  They did afternoon courses on sanitation and water purification and then we got to see the victory on faces as families with disabled children walked off the mission with their new bucket sanitation systems for their homes and families!

Then the beginning of the surgery team got here and the excitement of our week of surgeries and miracles is stirring as we continue to pray for all God has in store.  On a side note, Maureen, our campus medical nurse is incredible and a wonderful grandma to us all and we praise God for her.

Dinner with everyone with laughs, business, intimate conversations, getting to know mission team members...

Then, a mission from Mirebalais got here to drop off six new Miriam Center orphans!  We got to visit with them and be introduced to our new family.  A few of them have really stolen my heart.  From hospice care to rescue of these special needs children; they are given help, a voice, hope.  

The Epic crew did a glow stick party with the Miriam Center and I got to sing with many of them.  

We then bathe, pray with and put our children to bed (with the exception of Terah who got a movie that she needed to write a paper for for homeschool) then got to pray with one of our teenage girls who has a sick grandma who is lost and then listen to the girls practice for a Christian concert they perform in Port au Paix on Sunday.  

John and I get some share time before praying and climbing in to bed thinking, “This was another beautiful day in Haiti.”  

Daily we get to live out Matthew 25...kingdom living is beyond words.  Keeping our eyes on Jesus we love fearlessly and know that the prize is eternal.

When squeezed...

We are here.  We live in Haiti.  Saying those words is still incredible and we are.  We aren't even at our home mission and our first week in Haiti has taught and shown us so much.  We realize that we are in a marathon; not a sprint.  We are here long term, not for a week mission with a team trying to accomplish big tasks.  As we watch, we have seen spiritual warfare attack in different ways than you would think.  Mountains that our made out of mole hills, or letting worldliness take your eyes off Jesus and from keeping a kingdom perspective. We also see that no magical thing happens to anyone on the plane ride to Haiti. What you were in the States is what you are here but when we are out of our comfort zone, we're squeezed. When squeezed, "What comes out?" Who has control?


I've seen that when we have expectation towards others and situations it is easy to be discouraged and frustrated.

 It's not the sharks that kill you here but the minnows that bite and pick daily wearing you down.  The need to abide in the Spirit is important.  We continue to seek wisdom so we can see clearly with the eyes of Christ and love with his heart.
Two short days with the McHouls has invigorated our hearts.  They, after 20+ years in Haiti are free.  They are not embittered.  Jon said this morning that," How can you be in God's will and not be happy!  I love living here.  It can be hard but it is wonderful!"  That attitude is what I pray for; that we will remain contagious and full of the joy of the Lord.  That our love for God and people brings HIM glory.