We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps. Proverbs 16:9

From the YouVersion reading plan, Hearing From God Each Morning

People often wonder, What am I supposed to do with my life? What is my purpose for being alive? Does God have a plan for me? One way God answers these questions is through our natural gifts and abilities. He leads us to understand our purpose through the skills and talents He gives us.

A God-given talent, or what we often call "a gift," is something we can do easily, something that comes naturally. For example, many great artists know just how to put shapes and colors together, so they enjoy painting, sculpting, or designing buildings. Many songwriters hear music in their heads, and they simply write down these melodies and/or lyrics to make beautiful music. Some people have natural abilities to organize or administrate, while others are gifted as counselors, helping people sort out their lives and relationships. No matter what our talents are, we derive great pleasure from doing what we are naturally good at doing.

If you are not sure of your purpose in life, just do what you are good at and then watch God confirm your choices by blessing your endeavors. Don't spend your life trying to do what you are not gifted to do. When people work in jobs where they are not gifted, they are miserable - and so is everyone around them. But when people are in their proper places, they will excel in their jobs and be a blessing to their employers and coworkers.

If we do what we are good at doing, we will sense God's anointing (presence and power) on our efforts. We will know we are operating in our gifts and that doing so honors God and ministers life to others. God speaks to us through this anointing, giving us peace and joy to know we are fulfilling His plan for our lives.

God's word for you today: Do what you're good at - it's God's gift to you.

From the book Hearing from God Each Morning by Joyce Meyer. Copyright 2010 by Joyce Meyer. Published by FaithWords. All rights reserved.

Proverbs 16:9 NLT
We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.

-Rob

Priceless.

The cost of getting a bus and its contents to Haiti =  over $10,000

The time it took to get the bus from Hanover to Haiti = 1 year

see this smile?

and see these smiles?

Value of these smiles = priceless!

thank you to everyone who was part of this process.

If you do not leave, you cannot come back.

Today, we left Haiti.

After a few stops along the way, Pastor Widelson said the next stop was to take us to the airport. I must have had a sad face because Pastor said “if you do not leave, you cannot come back”.

So we got out of the red truck for the last time and said goodbye.

It was a long two hour flight to Miami.  The good thing about tears is that they make it easier to fall asleep.  

But I made Mardocher promise to keep smiling in Haiti so I must do the same in Hanover.

Mardocher Antoine

came to the orphanage after the earthquake 

 

Sunday - a day of dancing, laughter and tears

Today I got to go to Haitian church.

The Plan: We were supposed to leave at 8:30 in the red truck to be at church by 9am.

The Reality: Pastor Widelson arrived by foot at 9:30am to walk us to the orphanage because the truck's clutch wasn't working. The red truck was fixed by 10am and we were off to church.  

don't worry, I know I promised the congregation that I would dance at each service.  There is a one hour time difference.  I wasn't in church for the 8am service but I danced a little anyways...I can only imagine what the other people at the villa were thinking.  I know that I was dancing for the 9:15 and 10:45 service.

We got to the blue metal church in the hills while they were in the middle of prayer...which is not like anything I have ever experienced.  To hear an entire church crying out their prayers is a bit extremely moving   We went to the front of church and enjoyed several rounds of a beautiful Haitian song. With just one song they were able to sing in somberly, joyfully and all-out spirit filled.  Oh yes, I was dancing but it was nothing compared to the young boys around me.  More songs, more prayer, more scripture and offering (Yes, even in the poorest country they pass the basket at church)  And then we had to speak.  I was so overwhelmed that I could barely talk.  Pastor Marcellus made sure that everyone in church knew that this wasn't normal!  But then he said such beautiful things about all that the congregation at St Paul's has done.  Pastor Widelson's entire church prayed for St Paul's Lutheran Church in Hanover, MN.  We are truly blessed to have friends that are so spiritually rich to share with us.

By 12:30pm, we all got back in the truck and made our way back to the orphanage.  We got to enjoy time with the kids and enjoy hearing them make music with all of the new instruments.  A visitor thought we were running a music school because so much beautiful!  

We also had a wonderful dinner made by Mrs. Marcellus. 

Note:  Mrs. Marcellus makes the BEST rice & beans...I would highly recommend a trip to Haiti just to get rice & beans made by Mrs. Marcellus.

We took pictures of each of the kids.  They would try to be serious until I would laugh and then they couldn't stay serious.  Then they decided they liked picture taking...and started requesting photos - most with silly faces.  (Sometimes kids are kids no matter where they are)  

Then it was off to see a Technology and Communications school.  Haiti is so full of people that want education.  I can't imagine many people in the United States would work so hard to learn if the payoff was not easily seen.

Finally, we spent a few more hours just talking and hanging out with the kids.  And then we said goodbye. 


Yes...that is when the tears started.  We leave tomorrow.

Today We Drove to Gonaive

According to Google it should take 2 hours and 1 minute to get to Gonaive (94 miles north).

According to reality, it takes a LOT longer.

4 hours to get there, 2 hours to load the truck and check on the bus and visit with Pastor Michel, and 6 hours to get back (truck problems!).  12 HOURS – most of it spent on the roads in Haiti. 

Our reward? we enjoyed a good meal cooked by Mrs. Marcellus. 

And though Mrs. Marcellus is an excellent cook, our GREATEST reward was going through  the tubs and boxes.  I wish all of you could have seen the joy in everyone’s faces as they saw all that was given to them by St Paul’s Lutheran Church.  I couldn't stop smiling as I saw so much happiness in one room.  The boys had to put together the drum set right away – by flashlight no less.  Good thing Haiti is already very noisy because the Marcellus home is anything but quiet tonight!

We had often wondered why we chose to work with Pastor Michel to get the bus to Gonaive.  I know that I questioned that as I rode in the truck for 4 hours.  But once again, God had a bigger plan than we could see or understand.  We found out that Pastor Michel runs a hospital.  So I told him that Pastor Widelson has a Nursing School.  The light bulb went on for both Pastors!  When Pastor Widelson goes back to Gonaive to get the bus, he is going to tour the hospital and make arrangements to drive the nursing students in THE BUS to Pastor Michel’s hospital so they can train.  The students will pay Pastor Widelson (income!) and the students will get training (good advertisement for Pastor’s nursing school!) God wanted Pastor Michel and Pastor Widelson to meet and the bus got them together.  And I guess he knew I wouldn't stop talking so I could make sure why they needed to know each other. For those of you who know me well...now you know that it is a gift from God that I talk so much :) 

God knows what he is doing…even when we don’t.

Saturday morning traffic jam

I wasn't kidding when I said that there was a 24 hour a day traffic jam in PAP.  IT 645am and we are stuck in traffic.

We left 15 min ago for Gonaives and it only took us 5 minutes to stop in traffic.

If you want to know what it smells like, try walking behind an old school bus with no muffler and breathe deep, then do it again.

I will try to post a video later, but only if you promise to watch it with the sound all the way up while you are breathing that bus exhaust.
-Rob

A Change of Plans

Today we almost overslept and missed breakfast, because half the clocks said it was 6am (including our cell phones) and the other half said it was 7am.  The little info sheet at the villa says that breakfast is at 730am.  Haiti decided to follow the USA when our time changed last weekend, but somehow the airlines and the cell phone companies didn’t get the memo.  Anyway, the breakfast bell rang at 7am and luckily we were already up and trying to figure out what time it was.

Today was the day that we were planning to go to Gonaives and pick up the bus, but the bus is not ready.  We are still waiting for government insurance and licensing and all the Haitians agree that they should definitely NOT drive the bus without the license plates.

Our new plan is rent a big truck and go to Gonaives on Saturday to collect all the items that are in the bus.  While there will make all the introductions and make the final arrangements to have the bus delivered to Port-au-Prince.   Everyone here is very excited to see all the donations and finally get them to the orphanage.

So today after  a quick breakfast, we went to the nursing school to take photos of the classes.  Some of the third year students weren’t there because they were at the hospital for training.  And the entire first year class had the day off so that they could prepare for a big exam on Monday.  This school has really grown and is gaining a reputation as one of the best nursing schools in Haiti.

After that we made the long drive a little ways out of the city to see Martha’s house and meet her husband and 4 month old Convington Jr.  On the way we actually saw a working traffic light, but this did nothing to help the massive city wide traffic jam that seems to exist 24 hours per day.  At one point while stopped,  Claude got out of our  truck to strongly discuss the location of a big tap tap that was blocking the road.  He made a good point and the tap tap backed up and we and many others quickly sped through the gap.

Martha and Convington are building a cement block home in what you would call a suburb.  The house is only 20% done, but they are happy to be living there (even with no electricity or running water).  They are a happy couple and Jr. is growing up in one of the most loving families I have ever seen.  His grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins all adore Jr., and so do we.

We said our sad goodbyes, spent a few hours driving back to the orphanage, had a quick meeting and called it a day. 

Well, that’s all for tonight, as its now 930pm (or is it 830pm?).  We have to get up early to make the long drive to Gonaives and will be back late tomorrow.  Please pray that everything goes as well as it can.

-Rob

We made it to Haiti

I soon realized that Haiti is full of contradictions.

It is fast and it is slow…it is dirty and it is beautiful…it is wary and it is loving…

and it is everything I thought it would be and it is nothing that I thought it would be.

Our first day was a whirlwind.  We got to the Villa, got out of travel clothes and reloaded the suitcases with all of the stuff for the orphanage and school.  We went to the orphanage and dropped off clothes and shoes for them and then got back into the truck to go visit the Nursing School that Pastor Widelson runs.  Then it was back to the orphanage to pick up some stuff we left there by accident.  While we were gone they discovered the treat we had packed for them…M&Ms are a BIG HIT for these Haitian children that don’t get much opportunity to enjoy chocolate.  And then it was off to the Villa again.  We spent hours talking.  We heard stories of Pastor Widelson’s childhood and how he got to where he is now.  I thought he was amazing before, but he is truly a man touched by God.  I look forward to sharing his stories with our St Paul’s church family.

They left at dinner time so I could enjoy Haitian rice & beans at the Villa.  I think they also left so I could rest my voice and get ready for another day to overwhelm my senses.

It's dark in here

While boarding the plane to Port-au-Prince the power went out.  If it weren't for all the cell phones, it would be really dark in here.
This sudden outage and darkness didn't really bother anyone on this flight to Haiti; we just kept loading.

The lights came back on then the comedy of seat jockeying began.  This was even more entertaining than normal cause the flight interpreter didn't make the flight.

Americans apparently NEED their assigned seats, and this causes problems with the Haitian grandmothers, who are happy to sit where they want.

-Rob

Bus Update

Not Good.  The government officials are still working on taxing us for the bus.

Nothing happened on Monday because the directors spent the weekend in Port-Au-Prince, and they came back to work late on Monday. Tuesday, they didn't get to it either (assuming there is a back up from taking Monday off).

This means that the chances of getting the bus licensed by Friday continue to dwindle.  And you thought the DMV was bad where we are from.

We are still planning on going to Gonaives to meet with our friend who is working on the bus.  There is still a chance that the bus will be miraculously ready.  Keep praying.

-Rob

Getting philosophical about Airplanes and Life

I am an American.  There is no denying it.  

While I was sitting in the airplane on the first leg of our journey to Haiti, 
I had a lot of thoughts going thru my head...

• It is too early for this.  
• Our 3 checked-in bags and 4 carry-ons are heavy.  
• The plane is crowded.
• I am too close to the people next to me (and one of them is my husband :)  
• Everyone is loud - why is that man snoring?!
•  Why do those kids have to cry, scream and talk so loud?  
• I am sick of being bothered by the flight attendant if I need anything.  
• I am not going to use that small cramped bathroom no matter what. 
•  It is cold and the air is stale and did that man just cough his nasty germs all over me?

Yup...all that is going thru my head. 

And then God decides it is time to remind me of a few things...

• Most Haitians will never have the opportunity  to get on a plane and travel for the fun of it. 
• Most Haitians can fit everything they own in less luggage than I am bringing (and my luggage is mainly just the stuff I am donating).  
• Haiti is ALWAYS crowded, EVERYONE is close together and it is LOUD ALL the TIME!  
• Most homes (tents,shacks, streets...) don't have a bathroom at all much less one that is sanitized everyday.
• I can get off this airplane and smell fresh air and space - not so much in Haiti where it is anything but cold  and stale air will smell better than what they have any day. (and there are a whole lot more seriously things being passed around than a basic cold)  
• I don't think any Haitian would be complaining about being offered a beverage.  

So I quietly and peacefully enjoyed the rest of the flight.  We will see if I can keep that same calm on the flight to Haiti tomorrow.  

I have so much to learn from our Haitian friends.

Rise and shine!

There's nothing like getting up at 3:00 AM to head to the airport!

Please pray for safe travels and that the bus will be ready for pickup on Friday.

Convington Jr.

Pastor Widelson Marcellus became a grandfather for the first time in November 2012.   Convington Jr was was born in Boston, MA and just recently moved back to Port-au Prince.  We are anxious to be able to meet the newest member of the Pastor's family

Pictures

We will be posting pictures as we are able to while we are in Haiti. Pictures from past trips are located here: St Paul's Mission Trips 

Trip Update: Tuesday, March 12, 2013

 Departing for Haiti in less than 24 hours.  Bags are packed and we are ready to go.  Please keep praying that the bus will be ready for pickup on Friday.
-Rob

Bus Update: Monday March 11, 2013

Bus Update: Today, the bus is being inspected and will be taxed tomorrow. Hopefully, by Wednesday we should have all the customs receipts authorizing us to purchase government insurance and the license plate. Please continue to pray that the bus will be ready for pickup this Friday.
-Rob

Introduction

We will try to use this blog to keep everyone updated on our trip to Haiti to collect the bus and deliver it to the orphanage. Comments are welcome.