Remember this ladder/pic from the previous post?
Here's the same ladder...
...from a different angle & in use to transport 40lb buckets of concrete up to the roof of a new orphanage that is currently under construction in Haiti.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Thursday, July 7, 2011
theeeyy'rre baaaack :)
edited
The girls are back!!! Oh happy day!! :) Thanks to all who kept them in your prayers while they were away! I gather that overall their trip to Haiti was
challenging
... in terms of the hard work they did - as, truth be told, they are not used to that - at least not in the physically demanding/exhausting/draining sense.
... and challenging in the sense that when you live closely with other people you don't really know all that well...well - I'll just say that you get to know them really well ;)
...and in that both girls did get homesick at times - tho' in a (motherly!) way, I was encouraged by that :) Found it interesting - that Playmaker said she felt that way most often when she was alone...but that she was somehow stronger (or perhaps she just felt she needed to be?) when she was with the others. She did have a migraine & got sick while she was there so she was alone and trying to rest some of the time when the others were together.
rewarding - in many ways - but just to name a few...:
- friends. For Playmaker this was especially true. She left with a few & came back w/ more ;) - and along that line....
- deeper/more meaningful relationships - from working, serving, living, encouraging, enduring - and basically by being....together. a lot.
- satisfaction - gleaned from working hard and doing a job well. There's nothing quite like it!
- needing to & figuring out how to work well as a team - so contrary to the independence we tend to encourage/aspire to & even enjoy here in America.
- compassion - the kind you can't quite seem to muster from continuous news feeds & National Geographic photos alone.
- self-confidence - the kind gained only from leaving one's comfort zone - and surviving it! :)
uncomfortable - but really only in a lack of luxury sort of way. I have a feeling they're finding the "luxury" (relatively speaking) we enjoy to be rather uncomfortable now, on this side of the trip. At least I hope so.
life changing - I trust for both of them (as it just seems it would be inevitable!) & for the orphans who will one day occupy the building they helped to build - & hopefully for others they interacted with and ministered to.
eye-opening - in a heart breaking way that I hafta think one would be hardpressed to comprehend any other way than having been there and seen/heard/even smelled - and, to some degree, experienced - for themselves.
fun - yes, they did have fun! They most especially had fun when they were interacting with the orphans and neighborhood children. Just really enjoyed them. They held a VBS for a group of orphans and tent city children - I gather about 100 attended. They seized & enjoyed an opportunity to take a group of orphans to the beach. I was surprised how beautiful it was there! Seems Haiti is a land of stark contrasts. And I gather they had fun shopping for souvenirs, etc... They certainly did their part to boost the local economy :) I loved looking thru' the treasures they brought home...almost all were either God's artwork (shells) - or handiwork made by the people there: paintings, jewelry, tinwork, woodwork .. tho' they did throw in some Haitian vanilla & coffee (ooh they know what we like!) and a beer for Daddy :) - and they both came back with cornrows in their hair and glowing suntanned skin! They're beautiful! - just beautiful :) And among Playmaker's most treasured treasures she bro't home with her is a Haitian Bible that Strike bought for her at the airport.
..and exhausting.
More later (pics!). - But, in the meantime, for a timely, related & thought provoking read visit Bunny again over at:
http://henleythegreatdane.blogspot.com/2011/07/poverty-tourism.html
The girls are back!!! Oh happy day!! :) Thanks to all who kept them in your prayers while they were away! I gather that overall their trip to Haiti was
challenging
... in terms of the hard work they did - as, truth be told, they are not used to that - at least not in the physically demanding/exhausting/draining sense.
... and challenging in the sense that when you live closely with other people you don't really know all that well...well - I'll just say that you get to know them really well ;)
...and in that both girls did get homesick at times - tho' in a (motherly!) way, I was encouraged by that :) Found it interesting - that Playmaker said she felt that way most often when she was alone...but that she was somehow stronger (or perhaps she just felt she needed to be?) when she was with the others. She did have a migraine & got sick while she was there so she was alone and trying to rest some of the time when the others were together.
rewarding - in many ways - but just to name a few...:
- friends. For Playmaker this was especially true. She left with a few & came back w/ more ;) - and along that line....
- deeper/more meaningful relationships - from working, serving, living, encouraging, enduring - and basically by being....together. a lot.
- satisfaction - gleaned from working hard and doing a job well. There's nothing quite like it!
- needing to & figuring out how to work well as a team - so contrary to the independence we tend to encourage/aspire to & even enjoy here in America.
- compassion - the kind you can't quite seem to muster from continuous news feeds & National Geographic photos alone.
- self-confidence - the kind gained only from leaving one's comfort zone - and surviving it! :)
uncomfortable - but really only in a lack of luxury sort of way. I have a feeling they're finding the "luxury" (relatively speaking) we enjoy to be rather uncomfortable now, on this side of the trip. At least I hope so.
life changing - I trust for both of them (as it just seems it would be inevitable!) & for the orphans who will one day occupy the building they helped to build - & hopefully for others they interacted with and ministered to.
eye-opening - in a heart breaking way that I hafta think one would be hardpressed to comprehend any other way than having been there and seen/heard/even smelled - and, to some degree, experienced - for themselves.
fun - yes, they did have fun! They most especially had fun when they were interacting with the orphans and neighborhood children. Just really enjoyed them. They held a VBS for a group of orphans and tent city children - I gather about 100 attended. They seized & enjoyed an opportunity to take a group of orphans to the beach. I was surprised how beautiful it was there! Seems Haiti is a land of stark contrasts. And I gather they had fun shopping for souvenirs, etc... They certainly did their part to boost the local economy :) I loved looking thru' the treasures they brought home...almost all were either God's artwork (shells) - or handiwork made by the people there: paintings, jewelry, tinwork, woodwork .. tho' they did throw in some Haitian vanilla & coffee (ooh they know what we like!) and a beer for Daddy :) - and they both came back with cornrows in their hair and glowing suntanned skin! They're beautiful! - just beautiful :) And among Playmaker's most treasured treasures she bro't home with her is a Haitian Bible that Strike bought for her at the airport.
..and exhausting.
More later (pics!). - But, in the meantime, for a timely, related & thought provoking read visit Bunny again over at:
http://henleythegreatdane.blogspot.com/2011/07/poverty-tourism.html
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
homeward bound
The girls are homeward bound today! Should actually arrive at the church around midnight. Hooraaay!! I'm feathering the nest again in anticipation of their return! Washing bedding, stocking up on groceries & hoping to get a lot of house/yardwork done so I can just thoroughly EnJoY having them home tomorrow. So anxious to hug 'em both and hear their stories! I sent both girls with journals. Sure hope they used 'em! :)
25 Like cold water to a weary soul is good news from a distant land.
Monday, July 4, 2011
kayaking
Went kayaking with friends today. This was only my second time kayaking on a river. Enjoyed it! Beautiful Day. Beautiful ever changing scenery.
mary mary quite contrary...
...how does your garden grow?
Just some pics of the progress our garden is making. We've really been enjoying tending to it together. It's so fun to visit and see the changes from the last time we were there.
Just some pics of the progress our garden is making. We've really been enjoying tending to it together. It's so fun to visit and see the changes from the last time we were there.
more news from haiti :)
This time (yesterday) it was Playmaker, my oldest (17), that made her way to the cyber cafe :) What a thrill to see her name in my in-box!! :) I edited (underlined where I did) this one just a bit to remove some names, provide a bit more detail/clarity & left out a bit of it.
Hi mommy and daddy!I managed to getdown to the cyber cafe but it is nothing lke home so please excuse the typos lol i miss you so much!!! today we went to church at a missionary church and everyone agreed that that pastor was reallyyyy boring haha but some guy introduced himself to me and he seemed really nice =) we were supposed to go to the market today buti t was closed. I havent bought anything yet! =( but there will be other opporunities to shop. Tomorrow were going to the beach with all of the orphans! we decided to take them to a less nice beach rather than just our team go to a resort so they cvan enjoy it too! Yesterady at the work sight (orphanage construction site) I helped shovel sand and rocks and cement for the roof and then I also got on top of the roof in an assembly line passing 40lb buckets of cement! I was covered in it by the end of the day. Last night we all slept outside again under the stars. I was 2 shootng stars! [ ] Im really missing home =( but i am so incredibly glad i came on this trip! I feel like i have grown more in the past few days spiritually than i have in the past year. And its crazy.... I would now actually consider these people my friends. I love the B's =) they are so fun and i really am finally starting to feel comfortable around them!
Miss you sooooooo much!!!!!i cant wait to tell you about everything when i get back
Strike had a mini melt down today. she misses home
give mak a hug for us!
Playmaker <3
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