haiti is worthless?

Read this crazy email a friend here at Canaan received this week:

Dear Florence,

Tell your sister to immediately get out of there!! .... Haiti is an incredibly dangerous place. The authorities are corrupt and there is no end to trying to help these people who will do nothing to change their situation. I hope she gets home safe and directs her efforts and incredible kindness towards a more manageable result. A leader called "Papa Doc" was ruler of that place 40 years ago. Him and his son ran it with an IRON HAND !! Every one there seemed to take joy in being cruel. Goodness and kindness '"well intentioned people" sometimes are mis-directed.

Sally and Bob (names changed to protect their insanity)

life is more difficult here in haiti. i heard that said soon after arrived and, as i was putting my mosquito repellent on for bed last night, the thought occurred to me again. life is more difficult here. i can't go to the refrigerator for a glass of cold anything and I can't hop in my car and go to a movie or the store. to communicate outside of canaan, i use my "bit-e-bit-e creole" and a lot of hand signals to talk. to get on the Internet I have to wait for electricity. to take a shower, i turn the water on, get wet, turn the water off, lather up, and then turn the water on briefly to rinse off. walking is more difficult here too...everything is rough and rocky. No doubt....Haiti has been ruled by corrupt governments and there are no doubt many corrupt haitians too. (Though there may be more corrupt people in the U.S. though...we do have the highest percentage of people in prison in the world.)

But I've yet to meet the "cruel" people mentioned in the email. the people here are beautiful and sweet. I think Jesus loves these people a lot.

Joyfully "mis-directed,"

Mark

living the haiti life

I’m always at a loss of what to say on this blog. So much has happened this past week, yet it's difficult to choose the best stuff. Today was my second lesson in Creole and I am enjoying the language and I’m blessed to have a great teacher in Ismael.

Things at school are going well. I am particularly pleased to see that God blessed my decision to switch two teacher assistants this past week. Fortunately, the inefficiency I saw in the original placement was seen by others as well (just not vocalized until I made the decision). The kids are progressing well in their studies and this past week I restricted my help to the high school students - I enjoy helping the kids that are excelling the most. The school here does not advance based on age, but on performance - so the kids in high school are ages 10 - 18, but all have attained a certain level academically.

I am most looking forward to my October visitors right now! My sister, Debi Renner, and two friends Natalie Pugin and Elaine Angell are visiting me from October 1 - 8. Then three people (Tyler Egli, Travis and Amy Turk) from Christ’s Covenant Church are visiting from October 24 - November 1. October is going to be a great month!

P.S. I promised Wesh (my little bro) that I would post his picture. He is a very gifted student with great potential!

this week at canaan

Hello everyone! Haiti is still recovering from the hurricanes. People are still trying to pick up the pieces from Hurricane Hanna and we saw a lot more of the destruction this week. On Thursday, we drove to a town about an hour away that was hit especially hard. We saw a lot of destruction and the nurse with me saw a dead child in the street. It was the picture that she took that I will never forget. Absolute hell.

Last Sunday, I went to meet some missionaries that have a home on the ocean. It was surprising to find another buckeye living and working with them right now. His name is Matt Ruple and he graduated from Toledo Christian School and U of Cincy. It's been good getting to know him better since we met. A blessing for sure.

I love all the kids here, but Wesh and Jessica are my kids here. We talk, hug extra tight, love each other and tell each other often. Cool story - they don't get much for their birthdays, other than a speech and song at breakfast and notes/cards. Anyways, it meant the world to me earlier this week when Jessica asked me to speak on her birthday this year. Her birthday is in April. How sweet is she?

I was hoping to post some pictures this week, but the connection isn't allowing it. Sorry! Love to all there.

P.S. Got my flights home for Christmas. I will be home December 10 - January 3. See you then!

hurricane update

within a couple days of the previous photo, one side of the bridge collapsed as a result of hurricane hanna. this is a major road to Port-Au-Prince, that is now impassable by vehicles. they have since brought in the gravel shown to sure up the foundation until repair can be made.

also, once the waters subsided from Hurricane Hanna, 495 corpses were discovered in Haiti. It was worse than we imagined. More info can be found at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26574313/

hurricane season fo sho

hurricane gustav arrived last week and gave me a rather small view of hurricanes - honestly, the rain and cooler temperatures were really nice. Then Hannah arrived 2 days ago. She produced some pretty significant wind and boatloads of rain. While Canaan is blessed to have sturdy buildings (though all have their leaks), most of Haiti is not so fortunate.

This morning we ventured into town to survey the damage and to see how we might help the community. The following is a picture of what is normally a small river used for cleaning, bathing, and child’s play. You can see the river is quite high and moving today.

Please say a prayer for those in Haiti that have lost their homes or loved ones because of the storms. Also, I understand there are 2 more hurricanes on their way to Haiti, so you can pray for relief too. We haven’t been able to have school yet this week because of the hurricanes. It’s been fun spending time with the kids, but obviously they need school too. :)

Random tangent: yesterday I saw two little girls carrying the head of a slaughtered pig by the ears to the kitchen. Wow, you don't see that everyday. This evenings dinner was a little more difficult to eat - pork.

Thank Goodness It's Saturday!

Saturday is definitely the day of rest around here. After an exhausting week, I am so glad that there is nothing on the schedule today. I have been able to finally relax, get a total tour of the grounds, have some quality time with Jesus and other friends here at Canaan, do a creole lesson (creole is the Haitian language), and end the night by watching a movie with the kids.

The thing that motivates me most is the children here. They have so much potential and are blessed in so many ways. They are also very affectionate - holding hands and cuddling is normal. There is a family of 5 kids that I want to bring home with me (Joel, Marcelyn, Gerson, Linda and Tamara). They are so bright, sweet and beautiful. All the kids are really.

School is going very well. I am like the school teaching resource - helping people understand English constantly (students and other teachers alike). I actually feel quite useful in this role! Oh, and I found out yesterday that even teachers have trouble staying awake in school. I nearly dozed off several times…gravity and the 95 degree day really killed me.

This morning two young ladies, Yolane and Fabiola, were baptized. I understand they just decided to follow Jesus during group devotions a few days ago. I have included some pictures from the special occasion. Enjoy! Mark

1st week in Haiti

I’ve been at Canaan now for 4 days and 3 nights. I arrived Sunday evening and we started the first day of school on Monday (kinda crazy!). I am very encouraged by the children and the staff at the school. The learning is more individualized in this school, which allows each child to work at their own level. The children here are a constant source of encouragement to me. Most of the school day, I spend one-on-one with students, listening to them read, reviewing their work, or helping them understand their work. They are very sweet kids and I think they catch on to concepts quickly. Though the school is in English, Creole is their 1st language, so I am often amazed at how quickly they understand their work.

Yesterday the rain began. Although I know it’s part of a category 1 hurricane and I worry the danger it imposes on many in Haiti, I have enjoyed the break from the heat. We usually live all day in our sweat - but you get used to that pretty quick, so it’s not a great discouragement.

The greatest blessings thus far? Ear plugs and no diarrhea! The dogs and pigs can make quite a ruckus at night, so I have been able to avoid that and still manage to hear the morning bells with some nice Kroger Earplugs. And thanks to my step-mom, I haven’t had the runs! She gave me some vitamins which have worked like a charm. Thanks to sister Debi (for buying my earplugs) and Nan (for giving me the vitamins).

I do not feel entirely useful here to be perfectly honest. But that is okay. As I learn more and more and grow in knowledge, I trust I will be more useful (or maybe not). Usefulness and efficiency is not always God’s plan. A Canadian leader that is visiting Canaan asked me today what it would take for me to get upset and leave Canaan. I told him I am a stubbornly committed type. God has brought me here for a reason and even if I feel useless, tired or empty, I will wait for him. He’ll show.

The people here at Canaan seem to live and breathe God. (How arrogant or ignorant are a people that do not?) I am challenged by their dependence on Him and their frequent times of devotion and worship. It is not a burden to carry but a blessing to enjoy here. That is probably the real greatest blessing.

Love to all. Peace to all. Laughter too. Mark