Wow is it really Christmas time? We are currently in Miami staying at a nice place on North beach. We are taking the time to relax, reflect and recharge for our next stay in Haiti. It has really been a great time to talk and think about the last four months we spent in Haiti. So much happened we got to know a number of wonderful people who work at Haiti Arise and/or attend church there. We were blessed and stretched in many different ways.
Not surprisingly we had culture shock when we arrived in Miami. The roads are in great condition, every thing is very orderly, and there are a lot of nice cars and houses. It is really in striking contrast to the place we just left and it is very hard to connect the two worlds. I think that can be one of the hardest things in coming to Haiti and then going back to Canada/US. How do you live differently in North America after seeing people living their lives with so much less (materially) and yet many still happy. It can especially be hard at Christmas time when a lot of the focus on the television is buying this or that to make someone happy. Is that what we need is more stuff? Needless to say it's hard to connect the two worlds.
So we are spending our time here reading at the beach and going for a swim from time to time. We are also enjoying eating some of the little treats we were unable to get in Haiti. We are enjoying some fresh Florida oranges yogurt and chocolate. It's really a treat to get to eat some of these things. We are also both looking forward to seeing a Miami Heat basketball game vs the NY Nicks on Dec 28. We originally looking at going to the Dominican Republic during the Christmas break to see the rest of the island we have been living on, but then Becca said something about a NBA game which peeked my interest (I'm a big fan). So we are very much looking forward to that. Chris
Rebecca here just saying hello and Merry Christmas. It's been a lovely time here so far. Actually a little cool, we've been hiding indoors in the evenings because we don't have enough warm clothes. I can not believe how acclimatized we are to hot weather. I am so thankful for this time of rest. Even our last week at Haiti Arise was busy with the staff Christmas party, Anel's wedding and prepping things for the children's programs. Both Tapion and our church Sunday school wanted to have a Christmas party so we had to make sure everything was together for them. Well that's all I have at the moment Chris already gave you his thoughts for the day. Many Blessings to all and thank you for your thoughts and prayers.
Merry Christmas~
Love Rebecca
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Thursday, December 9, 2010
December News
It seems I have been neglecting the blog. But I am here now so bear with me as I give a rather large update. Just so you all know everyone here at Haiti Arise is safe and well. I know the media is telling otherwise. With cholera and the election results. Yes there are some uprising happening but it's mostly located in PAP. So we are all very thankful, praise God for his protective hand over Grand Goave.
About a week ago the last team of 2010 (Surrey Alliance) left Haiti. We had a really great time with them. We were able to go out in the community a number of times to visit and to evangelize. A few of the guys built bunk beds for one of the rooms upstairs. The ladies finished painting the inside of the elementary school. One highlight was on last Thursday we had the opportunity to visit the homes of our kitchen staff. We prayed with each ladies family and over their home . It was such a great time. Lucianna one of our cooks is having a new home built so we went to the plot of land which is near Haiti Arise and prayed over it. The home building is slowly starting to happen and it's exciting to see who will receive a new home.
The past week has been quite restful but eventful as well. We went to Jacmaal on Tuesday and had a great time at Basin Blue. It's a beautiful water fall that you can swim and cliff jump into, at one point it is 75ft deep. The ride up to the falls is quite bumpy and adventuresome but everyone with us was up for the challenge. We also went for a meal at this nice hotel. I forget the name, but the food was amazing and for a few minutes I forgot I was in Haiti. At one point I felt a bit guilty for being there when people just outside the gates are living in shanties and we were enjoying this treat. But I think back to the building at Haiti Arise it's beautiful and comfortable and the people living outside the gates live in shanties too. Anyways it's hard, but a reality and I am still not sure what I think about it all. I really like Jacmaal and hope to go back at some point next year just to see the city more and the ocean. I keep hearing about the amazing snorkeling. :)
Wednesday and Thursday were spent helping Anel (Marc's nephew) paint his house. It is looking really great he has done such a good job getting it finished. He was supposed to get married today but with all that's going on in PAP many of his fiancees family wouldn't be able to come and they didn't have all the dresses from the PAP dry cleaners either. So it has been post poned until Tuesday, I think anyways. Really and truly you have to go with the flow here. Everything changes so much everyday. I continue to say that the only constant here in change. Like we have a few people from Canada who are supposed to fly out on Monday. American airlines has cancelled flights until Tuesday. So these people can not fly out until the 16th (Thursday). So we always have to be ready for change and be flexible because you never know what can happen. So please pray for peace and stability to be restores in Haiti. Also thank Him for his continued protection over us here in Grand Goave. Also that we'd be able to fly out next week with out any problems.
Thanks for reading~
Rebecca
About a week ago the last team of 2010 (Surrey Alliance) left Haiti. We had a really great time with them. We were able to go out in the community a number of times to visit and to evangelize. A few of the guys built bunk beds for one of the rooms upstairs. The ladies finished painting the inside of the elementary school. One highlight was on last Thursday we had the opportunity to visit the homes of our kitchen staff. We prayed with each ladies family and over their home . It was such a great time. Lucianna one of our cooks is having a new home built so we went to the plot of land which is near Haiti Arise and prayed over it. The home building is slowly starting to happen and it's exciting to see who will receive a new home.
The past week has been quite restful but eventful as well. We went to Jacmaal on Tuesday and had a great time at Basin Blue. It's a beautiful water fall that you can swim and cliff jump into, at one point it is 75ft deep. The ride up to the falls is quite bumpy and adventuresome but everyone with us was up for the challenge. We also went for a meal at this nice hotel. I forget the name, but the food was amazing and for a few minutes I forgot I was in Haiti. At one point I felt a bit guilty for being there when people just outside the gates are living in shanties and we were enjoying this treat. But I think back to the building at Haiti Arise it's beautiful and comfortable and the people living outside the gates live in shanties too. Anyways it's hard, but a reality and I am still not sure what I think about it all. I really like Jacmaal and hope to go back at some point next year just to see the city more and the ocean. I keep hearing about the amazing snorkeling. :)
Wednesday and Thursday were spent helping Anel (Marc's nephew) paint his house. It is looking really great he has done such a good job getting it finished. He was supposed to get married today but with all that's going on in PAP many of his fiancees family wouldn't be able to come and they didn't have all the dresses from the PAP dry cleaners either. So it has been post poned until Tuesday, I think anyways. Really and truly you have to go with the flow here. Everything changes so much everyday. I continue to say that the only constant here in change. Like we have a few people from Canada who are supposed to fly out on Monday. American airlines has cancelled flights until Tuesday. So these people can not fly out until the 16th (Thursday). So we always have to be ready for change and be flexible because you never know what can happen. So please pray for peace and stability to be restores in Haiti. Also thank Him for his continued protection over us here in Grand Goave. Also that we'd be able to fly out next week with out any problems.
Thanks for reading~
Rebecca
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