Home Again!

Jim is home from his visit to Haiti with a tan, souvenir or two, lots of photos, and a bug in his gut that he'd rather not have found. I have been going through his photos and am amazed at what they saw and did while they were there. When he wrote about poverty and pestilence, he was not kidding. While Milo was greeting him with ecstatic purring and miaows, he told me that there are no cats in Haiti. Evidently the half-starved dogs that roam the streets would eat any cat, which is very bad, because the rat and mouse population are spreading disease.

Having seen the Doctor already today Jim will be on clear liquids and jell-o for a few days yet along with the Cipro he's just picked up from the pharmacy. After some further tests are run we may know in a few days what exactly is eating him, but then again, we may not.

Below are a sampling photos that he took, I'll go through the disk of the others' pictures and post some later. Perhaps I can even convince Jim to sit in as a guest columnist after he has rested up some more. Brace yourself, this is longer than usual...

(To read captions just pass your mouse over the individual photos.)

Update From Haiti

Jim has called twice and emailed once from Haiti. He and the guys arrived safely with no undue burdens getting through customs. Below is an excerpt from his email.

Saturday we travel to Lagonav (Ile De la Gonave) via ferry boat. We will visit one of the churches and meet some of the folks Ben is developing as leaders. On Sunday we will worship at 2 of the churches on Lagonav. It should be quite a weekend - with no electricity to boot!

Thus far no signs of rot gut or sundry ailments. Although I have seen a very large rat and some scorpions...

The little bit we have seen of the people, poverty, and pestilence was quite an eye opener. Most of our time has been at the house with the Hopps working on the porch... Yesterday, we did go to the pool and beach at the Kaliko Beach Resort near the Hopps' home. It was nice, I found some nice shells.

While they are traveling away from the home base they are out of touch by phone of email. As it happens, Jim's cell phone hasn't worked since they arrived- he thought it would, but there must not be the right kind of service. It's probably a good thing that his phone is off and he can be completely free of that particular taskmaster while he's away.

John Flavel would agree... it's providential.

Meanwhile, today was Pinewood Derby day for Isaac! His last Derby as a matter of fact. the Webelos one year ahead of his den did not compete- Isaac's was the oldest group to run their cars. It was, as always, an exciting event. I know Jim hated to miss it. Photos to follow once my Cuz Heidi sends them out!

Today Erin brought up our neighbors log splitter and with the help of her friend, Erin, they split up several loads of the cut tree that is stacked in the yard. Kate, Bekah and Isaac went out for a turn later. We hope to have most of it finished before Jim gets home- something off of his list of things to do.

Here We Go...

Jim is, as I type, on a plane to Haiti with our Pastor, Wendell Stolzfus, and another elder from our church, Dave Lucas. They are traveling with suitcases full of tools and a new ceiling fan in its box as one of their carry-ons! I'm praying that they get through Haitian customs with everything intact! Besides working on some construction projects for the Missionaries there, they will be checking out the various churches planted and ministered to by our denomination, (Orthodox Presbyterian). Yes, February is a sweet time of the year to travel to a Caribbean nation, no, Haiti isn't normally a first-choice destination. Please be praying for their health and safety, as well as for the prospective partnership of our church with the work being done there.

Wow, is the house ever quiet without Jim working downstairs...

Meanwhile, back on the ranch, I will be starting a new job today. That's right, gainful employment. I'll be working part-time at a nearby Curves. Not sure what my actual title will be, the unofficial description of my duties falls under "holding down the fort". This is part-time enough to allow me to still lead the Bible study at church Tuesday mornings and maintain our home and be Mom. I'm thinking that there will be benefits to working in a Curves- particularly in the areas of health and fitness. It's not over-the-top the way many health clubs can get. No "Boca Babes" as far as I know!

A secondary part-time job that Kate and I will be starting together this weekend is banquet serving for a local firm that hires out Hospitality services to hotels and banquet facilities. We'll be serving at a nearby Country Club Friday evening. Sure hope we don't drop anything on the guests!

With future trips for which we want to be saving and some big projects around the house that need to move faster, this additional income will be a real blessing.

Now to care for my own home!

Survivors

We have survived our personal plague while hearing reports that others are battling the same illness. This is the time of year when we fill conversational gaps by saying, "sure seems to be going around!" Ain't that the truth.

So, since we are back on our feet much has happened. Isaac and Jim spent a bracing several hours with the Webelos at the Daniel Boone Homestead doing outdoorsy winter stuff- so sorry to have missed that myself ;-). Between the outdoor cooking, team activities and shivering, Isaac ended up being the only Scout- of any age- to have his thrown tomahawk actually stay in the target! How cool is that?!



In one week Jim will be in Haiti with our Pastor Wendell and another member of the Missions Committee from church, Dave Lucas. They will be visiting a Missionary family there for a week in an attempt to determine how our church can partner with and help them in the future. Instead of merely throwing money at them, we want to truly become involved in their ministry, by sending people to help and possibly in other ways that we haven't yet seen. It ought to be nice and warm for the guys, but certainly not exotic. The travel warnings issued by the CDC and the State Department are enough to make one think very carefully before packing to leave!

Meanwhile, Kate had her telephone interview with MTW and knows that she will be going abroad for an internship, but not to Berlin. Her interviewer gave her a couple of possibilities, but we are as yet uncertain which will work. Where she goes depends upon the needs of the Missionaries already in the field, so, once again, she is waiting to hear back from MTW. Evidently the agency headquarters in Atlanta has also been hit with the flu, so we wait, with empathy and understanding...

Last night we enjoyed the rare treat of watching the Lunar Eclipse. Friends were over for dinner and we were finishing up when someone mentioned the eclipse. It had been overcast and snowing for the entire afternoon and into the evening, so I figured we had missed our chance to see it, but when we checked the clouds were gone and the stars clear! We could see the moon from our back porch, so we bundled up and stood in the cold to watch the moon turn red! Are the stars really brighter when it is that cold out, or was that my imagination? Couldn't help but think of my Grandmommy, and wish that I'd paid closer attention to her lessons about the night sky...

Okay, this is not our shot of the event- our camera isn't quite sophisticated enough to capture such a shot.

Things are in motion at church now for the Ladies' Bible Study that I will be leading beginning Tuesday, March 4th. I'm very excited, and very nervous. Having been a student, then a facilitator in Bible studies for years, I have never led one myself and am feeling, oh, ... inadequate to the task? That's far better than feeling invincible, I suppose. Humbled, I am driven to Scripture and prayer in a whole new way. This could only be good for me in that respect. My prayer is that this will be a blessing to others, and when questions arise I would have the wisdom to know when to answer and when to realize that I don't have an answer. May God be glorified through our time spent in His Word.