Bus Ride to Port - Check it off the bucket list!

Last Monday we were in Vaudreuil getting ready for an "off the bucket list" bus trip to Port au Prince to spend 10 days in focused language study and resting. Today, one week later, we've had buckets of rain (thankfully passed), a lot of chit-chat with teams and fellow missionaries Dave and Marilyn "squared" (Graffenberger and Shafferlys), some terrific meals AND our heads are swimming but NOT in the pool. The pool, which is beautiful, is out of commission, but thankfully it's not been that warm, so whose missed it? We have been well-reminded that we are not young whippersnappers (oh, that makes me think of the best pizza in Oregon!) but rather old people with old minds trying to learn a new language which, up until today, we felt we were "connecting some dots", but today we started with how to ask questions and oh my, my...I think we're gonna need a "few" more lessons on questions.

Our professor is a lovely pastor's wife who speaks to us almost entirely in Creole, which is a good news - bad news. It's good, that we have to figure out what she is saying and that she has the patience of Job, but it's bad when we're trying to get it and it's just not coming. Thankfully, she seems to take it in stride and I'm certain we give her some wonderful material for their family dinner table each night!

None of this, however, compares to the bus ride which covered 160 miles in a mere 7 hours. The bus is very nice, air conditioned, and only allows as many riders as there are seats. (You might think this sounds odd, but if you've ever seen a bus going between Cap and Port, this is a tremendous blessing!) Unable to understand the instructions, we boarded a bit late and ended up in the very back row; me by the window and Bud cozy with his neighbor - a Haitian man who lives in Louisville, Kentucky, but had been in Haiti to visit family. The first half of the ride I preferred to look out the side window as the roads were a bit of a four-wheeling experience that was definitely not for the faint of heart. The second half of the ride, the roads smoothed considerably and at one point, according to Bud, everyone except him and the bus driver, were asleep.

All-in-all, it was a good trip and one I'd be willing to make again (well, maybe!) We saw a lot of the island that we'd never seen before, and I actually got some pretty good photos out the window, too. When we arrived at the Villa and were in our room, we turned to each other and said, "Whew, off the must-do in Haiti bucket list!"

Top of the mountain view

Terraces on the mountainside

Beautiful little stone church along the route

It is Simple...

We are spoiled!

Part of Bud's job in Haiti is maintenance on the compound. For the past few weeks he's been working in the Holiday House - our hospitality house where teams have their meals. We have three lovely women who do a fabulous job cooking for all our guest - Mary Marthe, Jeanne, and Madam Joseph. They are all committed Christians who serve in the local church and sing in the choir. They all have very sweet spirits and over the years Bud has joked and laughed and sang with them and they have prayed him through both of his accidents in Haiti - rejoicing alongside us in his healing.

Today he finished painting in the Holiday House and while cleaning two five-gallon buckets afterward, one of the ladies rushed out and asked what he would be doing with the buckets when he was finished. Confused, Bud said, "Do you need one?" She smiled brightly and said, "Oh yes, I could use one to carry water to my house."

Overwhelmed at the thought that this woman who works so hard to feed our guests and has a good job in Haiti compared to so many, still lives where she has to carry clean water to her house daily, Bud did exactly what he should...he gave her BOTH of the buckets!

Lord, forgive us when we grumble about the ridiculous little inconveniences and help us to remember the great blessings you have provided every time we turn on the water faucet.

And again I say, "We are spoiled!"

I Never Want Saying No to Get Easy...

It was Thursday. I had just returned to the office from lunch and there she was. A slightly built brown-eyed girl with a tattered t-shirt and dirty skirt, sandals worn so long they were paper thin hanging loosely from her feet which were dangling from the chair since they didn't fully reach the floor. When I walked in, I sensed she might be waiting for me. With school starting on Monday, the flow in and out of the office had been pretty steady but this was a girl I had never met before. As soon as I sat down at my desk, Ruth, the receptionist, came to say that the girl was waiting to talk to me. 

I sighed inwardly, said a quick prayer, and went to talk with her. Ruth translated that she lived just up the road from the campus, that she was 12-years old, and that all she wanted was to be able to go to school. She is the oldest of three children and she told Ruth that her mom couldn't afford to send her to school. 

Knowing we have lots of children already awaiting sponsors through Starfish Kids, and knowing that there are literally a million other kids throughout Haiti who aren't able to go to school, I wanted to say, "I'm sorry..." But, also knowing she walked all the way to the office alone, patiently waited to see me, and without demanding or begging just quietly said, "I want to go to school," I was moved by her haunting, hope-filled eyes, and her quiet resolve to even be brave enough to speak out for what she wanted.

I talked with the other Starfish Kids staff and we agreed, if she came into the office with her mother on Monday, we'd see what we could do. When we told her to return with her mom, she protested, shaking her hanging head saying that her mother wouldn't come. She said her mom had a baby and couldn't come, but the staff took up the conversation and said that yes, she could come and she could bring the baby along.

After she left, I went back to my desk and sat for a few minutes thanking God for His presence and peace, and for reminding me that Starfish Kids IS about helping one child at a time. The program is good and it helps so many children and it's easy when I'm sitting at my desk - removed from the personal interaction with the children and their parents - to make decisions about implementing the guidelines and rules, but OH how it's different starring into the eyes of a little girl or boy! And yet, if my heart gets so hard that it becomes easy to say no, that is an even bigger problem and I never want to get there either.

Starfish Kids' goal is to evangelize and education the nearly 7,000 children in our over 35 schools throughout Northern Haiti. Today we have 1,200 of those students sponsored. I pray that God continues to open doors and opportunities for us to share the story of Starfish Kids and to provide an opportunity for more and more children in Haiti to hear the message that Jesus loves them and He died for them through the gifts provided by generous sponsors. Just $25/month allows a student this chance. 

I don't know if the girl will come tomorrow with her mother, but if she comes, I'll do all I can to see that she gets a chance, at 12 years-old, to go to school for the first time, and I will trust God to provide the resources to make that happen.

Keeping His Feet on the Ground...

Since returning in June, we've had lots and lots of emails and notes asking about Bud's recovery and progress. So many of you have been faithfully praying and we thank you all for that immensely! When we first returned in June, the pain continued to keep him awake most nights and the meds we had weren't making much of a difference, however, that has greatly subsided and we give God the glory for that. Although he has faithfully been doing his physical therapy exercises, he was seeing "piti-piti" (little) progress. Then, two weeks ago, a small four-person team came from Northern Ireland, one of whom was Julie Edler, who served here for a year as a physical therapist! About three days into her 10-day trip, we made the connections (thank you Kate Z.) and Julie began working Bud over. His comments afterward, "How can such a wee little lass make me hurt so much?!" Alas, Julie left Bud with some new exercises which he's been doing now and praise God, he is seeing definite progress AND is once again able to raise both his arms fully to the ceiling! Although his strength is not 100%, it's gaining! Praise God!

So, in a few short months when we return to Oregon for a visit, don't be surprised to see Bud standing in church services with BOTH of his hands raised praising God once again for His faithfulness in our lives.

Sunday, September 16, 2012

And just to be clear, Bud is doing great at staying off ladders. We've had a limb hanging over our tool depot for several weeks. Last Saturday we heard a guy hacking away with his machete out back in the garden area, so Bud played charades with him until they struck a bargain for the guy to trim the limb. It was well worth parking myself out on the back steps with a cool beverage just to watch this guy work. (And yes, I shared a cool beverage with the "hacker" too!) It was amazing! The whole time Bud and I were saying over and over, "Wow, how does he do that?" He even swept off the roof of the depot and was thrilled to get his $5 (yep, just a five-spot) and the biggest bonus to him, he got to chop and haul off the wood, too.

He cut notches out of the trunk as "steps" to climb up. 

Assessing the best place to start...

The leftovers afterward!

He's really up there!

That limb had been there a while and every time I opened the back door I'd think, "Ugh, how are we going to take care of this?" Not that it weighed me down all the time, but why do I always jump to the "negative" side of things instead of "taking captive every thought (or annoyance)" and give it to God first! Instead of even taking the time or energy to question God for the need, I need to trust Him immediately! I pray one day my automatic thought process will be, "Thanks God for another opportunity to see you work in my life."

2 Corinthians 10:5

We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 

Just so you know...we're not dead!

My dear, sweet friend, Stacey, (who is an avid and most interesting blogger!) kindly emailed to say if I didn't update my blog, people would think we are dead! In fact, even though she's seen me quite recently, she said she was beginning to think I was dead so I thought I better get crackin'!

Bud and I are not dead and in fact, are doing well. Yesterday, September 13, we celebrated one year since our arrival to Haiti. When I think back over the past year, there have been great days, good days, hard days, long days, amazing days, and many other days that fall in-between, but the thing that always holds steadfast in our minds is, "We are here because of God's calling and faithfulness in His timing and for His purpose". He continues to show His faithful hand in our lives every day in big and little things...for that we are so thankful.

Just last Saturday, Bud took a team to the airport. Had stopped at a store in town looking for materials on his way home and when he returned, he couldn't find one set of his keys - the "smallest" of the four sets he carries around that included our house key, the depot with all of his tools, and the key to the compound office. As we walked around the compound retracing his steps, I was praying, "Lord, help us find those keys!" Well, we returned home without the keys and just decided we'd have to "wait". A little later, Amos, one of our dearest friends here stopped by and we, through our broken Creole and his broken English, explained about the lost keys. He quickly offered to call the store to see if the keys were found there (a task that we couldn't have accomplished on our own!) No keys...hmmm...still waiting.

Praise God, Sunday afternoon one of the watchmen scrambled up to the truck when we returned from church with the keys in his hand! He'd found them lying on the ground. This might seem insignificant, but this is a 32-acre grass-covered compound and Bud walks all over it daily and had been all over it Saturday before he discovered the keys were missing. They might have never been found, or, might have ended up in the wrong hands, but thankfully God even took care of this little thing for us! What a relief and another reminder that we are never outside of His sight.

Thanks for the kick in the pants, Stacey! Next time, pictures I promise!

Love and prayers - miss you all!
Bud and Cindy

Home Sweet Home

Love 'em

On those (rare) occasional Saturdays when we have an entire day to ourselves I find myself even more excited to get up and "get busy". Two weeks ago we painted the kitchen and hung the curtains that Jan Hoffman graciously made for me when she and Doug visited in March. Thanks so much Jan!




And just in time for the Salem team to arrive... (like six guys doing a roofing project are going to notice paint or curtains!) Hey guys...did you notice? Probably not, but I'm sure the dessert tasted better coming out of this "updated" kitchen!

Last weekend Bud agreed to work on the ottoman he'd promised to build me for the overstuffed chair we already had. Not only did we come out with a pretty darn good shabby chic ottoman, but I had enough fabric to make a coordinating pillow. This is my favorite "movie-watching" chair, as long as the geckos stay off of it. For some reason they love it as much as I do! As you might guess, they aren't invited guests.

I will be using this comfy spot tonight while we movie watch!

Just when I'm thinking...

...what am I doing here? God reminds me in very simple ways. Most days I'm back and forth from my house to the office, from the office to the house and, in order to be effective in the Starfish Kids ministry, I NEED to be doing the "office" thing, but that doesn't mean that some days you begin to question if you're really effective or doing anything really lasting.

Since last Tuesday we've been hosting a team from the Florida area. The group came to do two things - help with a remodel project on Cowman International School, and provide a three-day VBS for one of our Starfish Kids schools located in Babiole. Throughout the week I was torn about whether to stay in the office (where I had a ton of work to get done) or join the ladies at Bible School. Another missionary, Erica Thompson (who is a teacher and fluent in Creole), went with the group as well as another Haitian friend to help. It's not like the ladies really needed me. They had a lot of good help and were all experienced at doing VBS in Haiti. I saw to it that they had their supplies, a translator, a vehicle and a driver and I tried to be a daily encouragement as they drove out the gates heading for VBS.

By Friday, I was really feeling like I wanted to get in on the action! Every day the women were returning with stories of what they'd done and all the fun the kids were having - as well as the children who were responding to the daily evangelistic message. God was at work in the lives of these young hearts!

Friday morning I decided - now or never and joined the team.  For the most part I was there to observe, take photos, and PLAY with the kids! And what fun it was! The team had brought ball caps  with "Jesus Lives" on them. The children were each given crayons and proceeded to color their hats. With two simple crayons the children diligently created their own "works of art" and had a lot of fun doing it! You didn't have to understand all the language to interpret the smiles on their faces and the giggles. Once their hats were done, they ALL wanted their photo taken. I couldn't get them all, but I sure had fun with the ones I did take!

When I returned to the office later that day, I realized, they didn't NEED ME at VBS, that was covered, but I NEEDED VBS to be reminded that everything I'm doing in the office helps to develop, maintain, and grow the relationships between sponsors and their students that enables the Starfish Kids Program to continue to evangelize and bless the children of Haiti.

I praise God for the little reminders He graciously gives...

Starfish Kids is a child evangelism through education program that connects sponsors to children in Haiti. We have 37 schools in some of the poorest areas in the country. If you're interested in more information, please shoot me an email at: starfishkids@onemissionsociety.org

Nearly 300 kids waiting for VBS to begin...

Anxiously awaiting their hats!

Two cuties!

Amos, our driver, helping the children.

Look at those eyes!

Another couple of cuties. On Sunday, the one in the orange found me and gave me a huge hug! Thank you Jesus!

Yeah; I think the next time a VBS comes to town I might have to go every day!

Home to Haiti Safe & Sound

I don't know if you're like me, but I always seem to have the best of intentions when it comes to blogging, and fall far too short. You would think being home in the States with state-of-the-art Internet service and no nine-to-five job would have ensured that I blogged at least once or twice during our five weeks, but alas, I never got it done! I guess because when I'm so busy living life, I don't have (or take) time to write about it. Whatever the reason, if we want people to follow our blog, I think I need to make a better attempt at posting something worth reading! (OK, how about just something!)

Two Days After

Although we ended up coming home a week early due to Bud's fall (not from grace, but from a ladder), the time raced by! The "extra" week was spent going to doctor appts., getting x-rays, consulting with an orthopedic surgeon, and eventually ended with a very extensive shoulder surgery for Bud. When the doctor came out to give me the post-surgery report, he sat down, patted my leg, and said, "That was the worst shoulder I've worked on in over a year...I need a nap." This was at 12 noon. Tony, our son, helped me get Bud "home" to my parent's where we were staying. Thank the good Lord for loving parents! The initial "plan" was for Bud and I to stay in my folks' motor home parked beside their house while we were in the States. Bud's injury and recovery ended up putting them out of their own bedroom for the entire visit AND they are still speaking to us! (Thanks Mom and Dad...we love and appreciate you both so much!)

As Bud was resting at "the folks'" recovering, I was doing pretty much everything we had scheduled for our time home. The Saturday following surgery I had the privilege to speak at our churches' Women's Spring Tea which was themed, "Tea Around the World." It was a wonderful day and I felt so blessed to be able to not only attend, but humbled to share what God had put on my heart. I hope each woman walked out knowing that she was uniquely-created by a loving heavenly Father. It was a full house - nearly 350 women attended!

Taleah and her best friend
(OK, maybe it's Grandma's best friend!)

The following week we spent at the beach with our three PERFECT grandkids. Our grown kids joined us for the weekend. God blessed us with some amazing weather and a lot of fun laughing and fellowshipping together.

Love these kiddos so much!

Aunt Rita (left), Mom (right), and
Guess who?

When we returned from the beach, Bud was able to take good enough care of himself that I got to enjoy another five days in Sun River with my quilting group. It was awesome! The weather, again, was perfect! The location beautiful and it was especially fun to have my aunt from California be able to join us and be my roomie!





Our last week flew by and although we had a lot of wonderful get togethers with friends, family, past co-workers, and our prayer group, one of the best things about being home was getting to worship "at home!" About the time I was thinking, "I don't want to leave..." we were asked to share at our Sunday School class potluck about the past nine months serving in Haiti. As we began to talk about God's faithfulness, especially in light of Bud's accident, I was once again humbled that He would even invite me to be part of any ministry, let alone serving as a missionary. I felt the excitement of the ministry of Haiti return and the renewed confirmation that God has called us for this season of our lives to be used by Him. (That doesn't mean it wasn't hard to say good-bye to our family and friends!)

We are now back, settling in, and sweating! We went from cool, wet Oregon to 90+ degrees! Bud continues to heal, wearing his sling faithfully until his "release date of June 15," when he will begin his physical therapy and hopefully rebuild some movement and strength. Pray for him. It's a struggle when he wants to help and DO something. Thankfully there are many, many caring friends here who keep him "on the straight and narrow" (I can't be with him 24/7 you know!) They aren't letting him "do" anything until he's fully able.

We will greet our first team of visitors since we've returned on Saturday; then another mid-week next week; then another the following Saturday. The time will be filled with evangelism, a vacation Bible school, a construction project or two, and hopefully a lot of fellowship and laughter. We are also looking forward to the roofing team from our home church that arrives July 2.

OK - this is the longest post I've written...ever...I think next time I better write less and maybe write more often. (The pictures must have made it longer!)

For those who have made it to the end...God bless you and thank you for your continued encouragement and prayers.

God Is In The Details

Last Sunday, Bud and I had the privilege of walking around the outside of the campus with Doug and Jan Hoffman (visitor from our home church) on a tour of Vaudreuil. Patrick, our good friend that works in the office with me, had been inviting us to his home for a while, but we'd never had a chance to accept the invitation. Sunday was the day! We had a wonderful time sitting on the porch with his family enjoying their gracious hospitality. During our introductions I came to find out that Patrick's family not only have their own six children, but have also taken in two young girls - both of whom have mother's who are very ill. One of the girls, Roselinda, who is about 10 years old has been living with them for four years. After meeting her, I asked Patrick if she was in school and if she was in the Starfish Kids program. He said yes, he thought she was. I told him that on Monday we needed to check to be sure she was in the program and find out if she had a sponsor or not.

Monday morning Patrick and I checked the records, only to find that Roselinda's sponsor was a couple from our home church, who go to our same Sunday School class, and are good friends!  Of all the children in the program and all the sponsors from the U.S. and Canada, I was so blessed that I could tell Patrick, "Yes, she has a wonderful and faithful sponsor!"

I was further blessed to be able to write to the sponsor and give them the details and story and let them know that Roselinda is a very good student and that she is living in a very loving and Godly home. I don't often have that much personal information about our students.

I don't know about you, but for me it was a wonderful reminder that God IS in the details of each of our lives. He weaves our lives together that we might be a blessing and encouragement to one another as we serve Him.

Praying God blesses you with a reminder of His faithfulness in your life today!

All Those Firsts...

Leaving your "own" culture and embarking on the adventure of learning to live in a totally different culture is littered with new "first" - some fun, some exciting, some difficult, some annoying, and some just plain hard.

Our first Christmas Eve service outside was fun; interacting with someone in Creole and them "getting it" is exciting; being away from your family during the holidays is difficult; getting up at 5 a.m. and having no water is annoying; and this past week we experienced our first really "just plain hard" reality. We knew when leaving Oregon that there would eventually be an event where we'd get a call and wish we were home NOW! That call came last week. My sister emailed me saying grandma had had a mini-heart attack, that she was in the hospital, that they were running tests, and that they'd know more later. Of course, as soon as I got the email I called to check-in and found that yes, grandma had experienced a mini-heart attack and they were waiting for test results. Thankfully, that same day they did surgery to put a stint in and she was doing great. I called home on Saturday (three days after her procedure), and was able to chat with her and give her a bad time about how some people would do pretty much anything to get out of a lunch date with me that we have planned for May when Bud and I will be home for a visit. She sounded wonderful and we both praised God for His provision and blessings. At one point she said, "You know Cindy, if it were my time, I'm ready..." Thank you Jesus!

On Sunday we went to church in a little, rural community called Gaudin. The school is one of our Starfish Schools and I was excited to see it for the first time. Because there was such a large number of team members going too, we rode about 40 minutes in the back of the "cattle truck" until the road was too steep and then we hiked downhill a quarter mile to the church. When we arrived, church was well underway, so we slipped in the back and sat wherever we could find a seat. Bud and I ended up on the back bench and were thankful as there was a nice breeze from the large double doors which were open the entire time.

I've rarely get up in the middle of a service, but there was a special singing group that I wanted a photo of so I slipped out and when I turned toward the doorway, that's when I saw her. An elderly woman with white hair in a very worn simple dress sitting in the doorway. She was weathered and wrinkled and carrying a crooked walking stick which was laying beside her. Her shoes, once white canvas, were worn to threads with her knarled toes peeking out the corners and ends. I looked specifically at her shoes because in Haiti, if you don't have shoes, you can't come into the church. I thought possibly she didn't have shoes and therefore that's why she sat in the doorway. Soon I realized she had a small plastic cup which she used to beg and assumed she was sitting there waiting for the service to end.

God's blessing to me...

I was instantly drawn to her and my heart went out to her thinking of all the years she'd endured an obviously hard life. Instantly I thought of my grandma and thanked the Lord that while I couldn't be with her during this mini health crisis, she had plenty of others to love her and care for her. This woman obviously had no one and yet, there she was in the doorway of the church listening to God's Word. I went over and put some money in her hand - the equivalent of $12.50 U.S., and prayed with her. Whether she understand a word or not, I felt I needed to lift her to the Lord. She thanked me over and over.

Two hours later, when the service was over, there she was, cautiously moving her way down the steep, uneven dirt and stone walkway to the road. I suddenly realized that while I couldn't be in Oregon to help my grandma this past week, others were and now I had the opportunity to help someone else's grandma. I went over, took the woman's arm and hand, and helped her walk down the rugged path to the level ground. Again, she thanked me over and over, and I thanked God over and over for the opportunity to be a blessing to this woman.

Here we go...

After a month in Indiana at OMS headquarters participating in cross-training, Bud and I spent a long weekend with my parents and sister in Florida before returning to Haiti last Tuesday, February 7. It was hard to say good-bye to my family, but as soon as we got on the plane and in the air, it felt like we were headed home and we were both ready to get back to the ministry God has called us to and...to a little sunshine (couldn't believe it rained in Florida!)

Cross-training wasn't exactly what we expected, but we did glean some good information and we made some life-long friendships with a diverse group of missionaries who are preparing to enter full-time ministry as well. We were also thrilled to spend the month with a couple from our home church - Mel and Diane Hurley, who are preparing to spend one year serving in Spain. We also had the chance to spend some time with Carl and Heidi Walton - our good friends and CTing mentors. We are blessed to call them friends. (If you know Carl, you can ask him who won at Wii bowling...)

Since arriving in Haiti we've been playing catch up. It's exciting to see how God is growing and equipping the Haiti field. New missionaries have arrived - Rick and Carol Folkeringa (Rick will do maintenance and Carol will serve as field treasurer). Brett and Angie Bundy - along with their four children - have returned and Brett has resumed his role as Field Director. Angie is the principal at Cowman International School. Bud and Jane Dennington are back (Bud does vehicle and generator maintenance and repair while Jane coordinates teams, teaches English, manages the Holiday House, and continues to work with Starfish Kids) - these couples join those who were here when we left a month ago - Kate, Erica and Matt & Stacey Ayars.

Friday we enjoyed our first Haitian wedding as Wadner Thermidor (translator and Starfish employee) married Brooke Morrison - an American doctor he met here while she was on a team from Grace Church in Pennsylvania. The wedding was lovely and I was honored to be able to do Brooke's hair and make-up for the wedding!

If all that isn't enough --- we had two teams here when we arrived and two guests in our house who we enjoyed getting to know if only briefly...along with the auditors who arrived on Friday and will be here all week.

Of course, we were thrilled to greet our Haitian friends as well...Gregory, Patrick, Julian, Jonas, Elcie...and the list goes on and on.

Thank you and bless you for your faithful support and prayers for us. We are blessed beyond measure!

Love and prayers,
Bud & Cindy

Shipshewana, Indiana

Balmy 15 degrees...

It was a rough adjustment coming from beautiful sunshine and warm weather to mid-winter in Indiana, but with the cold also came some wonderful blessings including a free Saturday to explore some of Northern Indiana and visit the Amish community of Shipshewana. The day started out very cold and frozen. At one point when it took nearly a half-hour to defrost the car I asked Bud, "If our kids were doing this would we approve?" The nearly three-hour (one way) trip went off without a hitch and God provided us with a beautiful and rest-filled day which we both needed a lot! At one point we stopped at a rest area for Bud to "de-ice" the back window (it was so cold the rear defroster wasn't able to keep up) and the temperature read a balmy 15 degrees! A good Samaritan who had also stopped noticed Bud was using a paper coffee cup to "break up" the ice and offered to lend him an ice scrapper - thank you Jesus!

Buggy Siting

That was about the time I asked Bud if we were crazy to make this trip and that any respectable Amish wouldn't be out in a buggy in this weather! Low and behold, a short time later we turned the corner and I said, "Do you think we're getting close?" Bud replied, "Yep - see for yourself," and there was a horse-drawn buggy on the road ahead of us. We spent the day just being "tourists" walking the snow-filled streets, visiting the various shops and sweet stops, and just relaxing in a quiet little community which I'm sure in the summer is jam-packed with "real" tourists!

Look at all that snow!

The entire day was filled with sunshine and blue skies although the temperature never got above 17 degrees! There was so much beauty to behold (from, as Bud reminded me several times, the inside of a warm car!) We laughed about the reality that you don't have to live "across the ocean" to be in a cross-cultural situation.

Postcard Perfect!

Being in Greenwood for several weeks of training probably wasn't our first choice of how to spend January, but we have been richly blessed in the time we've had with the other missionaries here and the friendships that have been made, and, as Bud reminds me, "We'll always have Shipshewana!" 

Thank you Lord for a reminder of the beauty and glory of your creation which surrounds us everyday.

When I consider your heavens, 

   the work of your fingers, 

the moon and the stars, 

   which you have set in place, 

 what is mankind that you are mindful of them, 

   human beings that you care for them?

 Psalm 8:3-4

In the States...Safe & Sound

Our Little Cottage - It's a 4-Plex

Bud & I arrived safely in Greenwood, Indiana Saturday, January 7 - late. Heidi & Carl Walton graciously picked us up at the airport at midnight and delivered us to our quaint, cozy, comfortable little "home away from home" at headquarters where we'll remain until February 3. During January we'll be attending Cross Training (CT), which is a 3-1/2 week training which is meant to help prepare missionaries for transition to the field. Of course, since Bud & I have been in Haiti since September, it might seem like we're doing things in reverse, but it's always a blessing to be back in the States and to get a chance to reacquaint with old friends at headquarters and to meet new friends. Our 16-person CT group is quite diverse. We are enjoying getting to know all of the different missionaries who are (or will be) serving in a variety of ministries.

View from our Front Window

Since arriving we've been to Walmart, Applebee's, The Goodwill, and tomorrow will attend an English-speaking church. Bud & I both came down with the sniffles, but Bud took it to the next level last night by running a temperature and throwing up most of the night. He slept all day Saturday, was better Sunday, then took a sudden turn on Monday again for the worse. I thought we would be going to the doctor, but thankfully (praise the Lord) he's better and will be able to go back to class today!

When we arrived it was cold and sunny, but last Thursday it turned bitterly cold and snowed, which was beautiful and definitely a change from Haiti where we spent New Year's Saturday at the beach! Last weekend I watched a small group of children sled down a small hill across the road, I thoroughly enjoyed hearing their giggles and watching them play together.

I thanked the Lord for a safe, cozy, and quiet place to reflect on all the changes and transitions we have been through this past year, and for His continual faithfulness. Although it is killer to be in the States and have to accept that we will not be seeing our children or grandchildren this trip, we continue to rest in the knowledge and assurance that we are right where God has called us and has us for this season of our lives. I am so humbled by that realization and so grateful to all those who have joined us in this ministry through prayer and financial support, and for those who continue to encourage us daily. (Since arriving we've had letters, emails, and a package of goodies sent to Greenwood!)  We were also blessed that Mel and Dianne Hurley (couple from our church) are also part of CT. It's been wonderful to spend one-on-one time with them, to hear how God is working in their lives, and it was an extra special blessing that they were able to bring our warm clothes from Oregon!

View from HQ Training Room

I should have taken more pictures of the snow to share, but these are all I have...unless the weather behaves as they are predicting and we have more snow next week. Although, it seems Oregon is under a blanket of white too, so I guess you can look outside to see it for yourselves.

"Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."

Christmas in the Caribbean

If you know Bud and have ever spent much time working with him, you've probably heard him singing at some point. He loves to walk through the day singing hymns or praise choruses and being in Haiti is no different. Just this past week as he worked in the office on inverters, computer and Internet connections, and electrical "fixes" - up ladders, under tables, and in the attic crawlspace, he was singing and had several singing along. It's quite a mixture of English, Creole, and our favorite, Creolish (which we're getting pretty good at!)

He was pretty honored when Patrick (the chocolate lover!) invited him to sing at the Christmas Eve service at their church. It was more of a concert with various groups and Bud would be one of the guest singers. Bud, of course, said, "Sure." He practiced a few times with a group of about 20 young people singing harmony behind him. I didn't attend the practices, but he did say, "It's Silent Night like you've never heard it before!"

The day before the concert Patrick asked Bud for a few tools to help with their staging. That's when we learned it could be an outside event! Then, Saturday morning, Bud was asked to help with the staging - which he did. The tickets said that start time was 4 p.m. Patrick told Bud to arrive at 4:30 p.m. for prayer. We arrived at 4:30 p.m. to find three other missionaries and a hand-full of Haitians working on set up. It was a pretty laid back scene! We sat down and laughed with the others about our "North American" time-table versus the laid back style of the Haitians. After a time we started making bets as to when the service would start. Almost an hour into it, the Pastor arrived who was scheduled to "open" the service. He chatted with us for a while, then asked someone "in charge" when things would get started and was told, "About 15 minutes..."

Forty-five minutes later the Pastor stood and started...the first song was sung at 6:00 p.m. Bud sang at 7:30 p.m. and it was great! Beautiful harmonies. I was sorry I didn't have a video recorder!  We headed home right after Bud sang - trying to "sneak out" (which is hard to do here!) But hey - we can be laid back too leaving in the middle and we had promised to call our kids on Christmas Eve! We laughed all the way home about having "bought a ticket" when we could hear the entire program from our living room. In fact, while chatting with Shelly at one point I said, "Listen..." and held the phone out. Sure enough, she could hear the music too!

It was a fun night and definitely a good lesson in cultural differences! However, one of the best parts was arriving to the stage! Bud is still certain this is the same tent SEC used during the sanctuary construction - if only he'd put an identifying mark on it somewhere to confirm it!
Doesn't seem possible it was only a week ago!

Today we have Doug Ries and his daughter, Kayley, with us from Portland (Doug is the HVAC guy who worked with Bud on the churches' system). Doug's been down several times, but it's Kayley's first time. It's Saturday - so that means BEACH DAY! It was 90 degrees yesterday, so it should be a great day for the beach. Who would have ever thought us Oregonians would be spending a new year's eve day at the beach!

Wishing you God's greatest blessings for a wonderful and very Happy New Year!

Bud and Cindy

Sharing Chocolates...

I can admit it, I'm a chocolate freak! I love chocolate! I mean really, there aren't many who don't like it. But, chocolate isn't something that lasts too long in a warm and humid climate and it certainly doesn't travel well! A few weeks ago at the market I found one of my favorite white chocolate Toblerone bars which I bought immediately. When I got home and figured what it cost me it was $3.75 U.S. Ouch! Oh well, it was worth every tasty piece! Two weeks ago a team was here and one of the members bestowed upon the Starfish office a large tin with a variety of chocolates all individually wrapped in brightly colored foil each bearing it's own secret flavor. I honestly set it aside and forgot about it (after all, I'd just had my favorite candy bar a few days earlier). Then, one particularly busy day, I thought, "I really need some chocolate!" And then I remembered...the tin! I broke into it and went throughout the office sharing. Our office is small, but we have a lot of visitors in and out everyday and every time a pastor, yard worker, or Bud would stop by, one of my co-workers would quietly say, "Cinzy (that's Cindy in Creole)...should we give them a chocolate...?" And I would make a big production out of getting the tin and sharing with whoever. It's been so fun to see the smiles and thanks of so many over one simple piece of chocolate. Most will peruse the tin for a few seconds before making their selection. Some sheepishly ask if they may take two to share one with their wives. (Of course I'm sure it's well-melted before it ever gets to their wives!) Then, of course, there is Patrick, our IT tech who has a real sweet tooth and announced today that he thinks we should have three chocolates a day - one in the morning, one at noon, and one before we leave at the end of the day. I told him if he ate that much chocolate he might get fat like Bud! He quickly replied, "That's OK, I want to be fat!" It doesn't matter where Bud goes, he has a following!

I know sharing chocolates might seem like it has very little to do with ministry, but I think of it as a precious gift from God. Not only do I get to bless those with something that they don't typically have to enjoy, but I get blessed to "give" the gift and enjoy the smiles and laughter around it! It is something we can "share together" and in those moments we are not black or white, Haitian or American, English-speaker or Creole-speaker, we are just God's children enjoying a little of life's sweetness! It truly is more blessed to give than receive!

We pray you will all enjoy a wonderful and very blessed Christmas with whatever friends and family the Lord brings into your life this year. We love and miss you all!

Merry Christmas,

Bud and Cindy

Red Neck Christmas...

In all the planning and preparation coming to Haiti, we made a lot of choices as to what to take and what we needed. One left behind casualty was the majority of our Christmas decorations! I have always enjoyed decorating for Christmas, but knew it wasn't feasible to bring too many decorations to Haiti so limited myself to our pre-lit tree and one very small container (the size of a large shoe box) of ornaments. I did buy a few plastic, lime green stars in the Dominican, but for the most part our tree is simple and, in Bud's words, understated. We did bring our most prized Craig Hochstetler-original design nativity scene which we've had for many years (this will be one of the few things we will someday bring back home with us!) We also ordered a new treasured nativity handmade by 13-year old Becky Kitterman from our church. This too will return home with us one day. (If you haven't seen her work, you should check it out, they are lovely!) I had mentioned to Bud that our decorations were considerably less than at home, but still gave a nice festive ambiance.

We went to Port au Prince last week to get paperwork completed for our visas. While there, unknown to me, Bud conspired with Sarah Shaferly (John & Jill's sister-in-law) who runs the Villa, to acquire a few more decorations for me as a surprise.

Today, as we were wrapping up the weekend, he placed a large, black plastic garbage bag under the tree and told me it was an early Christmas surprise for me. I opened it to find some ornaments, some "pre-owned" Christmas garland in varying colors, and a string of seven vintage glass-painted Santa head lights. What a great hubby! While the lights are rather unique and not at all what either of us would have in Oregon, they are beautiful here! We wrapped the pre-used garland along the strand and scotch-taped them above our TV cabinet (yes, I know, we should have used duct tape to make it really red neck!) We have laughed about them all night! All I could think was, "Jeff Lewis would love these lights with his aluminum tree..." (Maybe I'll bring them home for Jeff!)

Hope you are enjoying the season and spending time focusing on the true meaning of it. As we are away from family and friends this year, we realize how blessed we've been to always have had those times together in the past.

Cherish those you love and the time you have together ---

Blessings,
Bud & Cindy

PS) Keep the cards, letters, emails, and blog comments coming...we LOVE them and look forward to them all.

Thanksgiving Haiti Style

Our First Haiti Thanksgiving

What a great day we enjoyed celebrating Thanksgiving with our missionary family. We had all the Haiti traditional foods - rice, beans, pineapple, fried plantains, roasted goat, barbecued rat, tarantula skewers...ok, ok, I'm pulling your leg - except for the part about the wonderful celebration with our missionary family! Actually, we had a wonderful turkey and ham meal with all the American traditional foods including stuffing, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn and green bean casserole, and of course pumpkin (and apple) pie. When we called home and our family asked about our meal we told them the only thing we were missing was the whipped topping for the pie. It was a lovely day filled with sunshine and blue skies. We ate our meal at a beautifully-decorated table with handmade "place setting" turkeys thanks to Stacey and Lily. We shared stories about our most memorable Thanksgiving and there were some pretty tough ones to beat! Although it was hard to be away from our family at home, I realized as I looked around the table that we were ALL away from our families at home and yet, God had provided a lovely meal and an even more lovely and diverse group of people to share it with.

Our Cute Turkey Name Place Tags

Of course, there was no football to sleep to after the meal, but most of us (ok, mostly the women) decided that was just fine with us. 

Thanks to everyone who blessed us so much with emails, cards, letters or Facebook posts wishing us a blessed Thanksgiving - we truly had a wonderful day.

Love and miss you all,

Bud and Cindy

Great Retreat in the Dominican

Departure Day!

The missionary team left the field loaded in the van Thursday, November 17, for a much anticipated four days in the Dominican for our annual missionary retreat. Being our first, Bud and I were both excited and full of anticipation as to all the new experiences ahead. For Bud, a day deep sea fishing, and for me, a day shopping in the closest thing to a SUPER WALMART Hispanola has to offer. In addition, it was just a blessing to get to spend time refreshing in God's Word with others who, while we live and work together on the field, don't always have a lot of time to just "be together". God also blessed us with a great couple, Jim and Sue Smith, who are from headquarters in Greenwood and who spent several years as missionaries serving in Equador. As only God would provide - they were excited to get to use their Spanish again!

SUPER WALMART D.R. Style

The four days were wonderful! Filled with sunshine (except for the day Bud, Dave and Maury headed out for a full day of fishing and were soaked to the skin...), gorgeous blue skies, lots of wonderful food, hair cuts, pedicures, and yes...shopping! Of course we all had our "lists" and with Thanksgiving around the corner, we had extra things we wanted to find. There were six women, two children, and one very brave husband (thanks again Matt!) who headed out and arrived without incident. We all shopped, loading our carts with all those "special things" you can't readily find in Haiti, and then headed to the check out lines. We had been told we could use U.S. money. I, for one, had left my credit card at the hotel thinking I had plenty of cash. Marilyn was the first to go through and pay, only to be told we couldn't use our U.S. currency. Really? Who doesn't take U.S. money?! Marilyn found me in time to pay for my goodies with her credit card. As others tried to pay, we also found our credit cards only worked "one time" and then had a "hold" put on them since we were "out of the country" (security you know!) Matt patiently helped us figure it all out and get everyone checked out with their treasures in hand. We loaded the van and as we tried to start the van realized the battery was dead. 
 - dead as the proverbial door knob. Matt, ever the trooper, found the first Dominican he could and asked for a "jump start". He kindly obliged and we were on our way. All this for a trip to a pseudo SUPER WALMART! None of us would have died without the items in our carts, but it would have been a bit disappointing.



Lily patiently waiting for someone to fix 
the "generator" so the van will work :)

Later that evening as Jim led us in our Bible session, we all shared how thankful we were to have each other to depend on and lean on. I know it sounds funny, but it's just such a blessing to have others around who really know and can relate to living in this, or any other, culture. What we share on the Haiti field is unique in that there is more than one or two or three of us...and although we are very unique in our age, backgrounds, ministries on the field, life experiences, etc. we are all ONE in the call of serving Christ in Haiti.

Jim encouraged us through the Scriptures to work from a place of rest. To take time to rest, as exampled by Jesus, filling ourselves with the Spirit and trusting the Lord in all the details. Not to run ahead and then wonder WHY things aren't working, but to go to the Lord first, trusting Him for wisdom, discernment, direction and, of course, renewal and rest. It was a great time of fun and fellowship, but it was an even better time to build relationships together, laugh together, build one another up, and to be reminded that the Lord is the source for everything we are - not such what we do.



Do We Look Rested?

On a side note, there was another young couple at the same resort from Finland. He was a pastor as well and she was a nurse from Estonia. They joined us for "church" this morning. As we chatted afterward, we found that she had attending the One Mission Society seminary in Estonia and that she knew people from there who others on the field here knew! What an amazingly small world it is!

We are looking forward to a wonderful Thanksgiving meal together and pray you will all enjoy one with those you love too. We miss you all and thank God for His goodness, provision, love, care and faithfulness whether we're sitting beside you at the table in Oregon, or missing you from the sunny Caribbean.

Love and Prayers,

Bud and Cindy 

Unexpected Blessing

I knew coming to Haiti would mean Bud & I would have a lot more time to just "be together". Not that we didn't spend a lot of time together before coming, but at home during the days we each had our "own" places to be. Now, we wake together, walk to the office together, have lunch together, and return from the office together to spend the evening together before going to bed together. Now, for some, that sounds like misery, but I'm mostly enjoying it :)  What I'm enjoying the most is getting to "watch from the sidelines" as he interacts with people during the week. He's made not being able to speak Creole (while some days very frustrating), an opportunity to joke and make fun of himself using humility and humor to get through the difficulty of not "speaking the same language". Within the first two weeks we were here he had a Haitian tell him that he should be a comedian!

Bud never misses the opportunity to introduce himself as Ti Bud (little Bud). This always either gets a roar of laughter or raised eyebrows, both of which end up being an opportunity that creates more interaction and explanation as to WHY he's Ti Bud (because he was the second Bud to arrive on the compound he will always be "little or second" regardless of physical size - he has a good 50-lbs. on the Gro (big) Bud).

Many times during the day I witness him in the midst of a circle of Haitians (he's rather easy to spot!) laughing and joking together and I think about what heaven will be like when we can all "speak the same language" and have nothing but time to enjoy being together. Bud will be ready for that part of heaven - I think I need a lot more practice and I think I'm going to get a lot of it living here! If this is one thing the Lord wanted me to learn while serving in Haiti, I'm glad the Lord brought me to Haiti with my best friend who I'm thankful to say is also my husband. And yes Lord, I'm watching and learning.

Lots of Krapo (FROG in Creole)

Froggie

Some of you know we have an inherited dog as an "outdoor only" pet from Bud & Jane while they're in the States, but this past week we've had a new pet arrive on the scene. A krapo - which is Creole for frog (or toad). A week ago we came home after dinner with a team to find a rather large toad on our front porch. He (or she) wasn't too bright as it kept trying to jump up the concrete wall to get off the porch. The next night we heard a "thumping" sound on the porch, only to find that Froggie had return. This has now been the nightly routine for over a week. About the same time each evening, Froggie is on the porch, thumping away trying to find the "exit". Our "watch dog" pays Froggie no mind -- she just enjoys the show! I have to say, there are much worse things that could be on the porch than a frog, so I'll just live with the krapo.

Thank you for your prayers. As we shared last Sunday, a laptop was stolen from one of the missionary's homes - the second he's had stolen in the past two months. The compound has 24-hour watchmen, many of which we've met since being here. We appreciate them greatly and so every time I get a hankering to bake something we "share" with the watchmen. Tonight we met two new ones - Jonas and Eve (yes, that's a man!) We were able to "chat" briefly and use our Creole! It was so much fun and they were so excited. All the Haitians on the compound try to help us learn Creole by practicing with us or forcing us to "use Creole" instead of English.  One of our favorite (and most helpful watchmen) is John-o. He's 72, widowed, and weighs about 72-lbs. He teases Bud all the time about being Gro Bud (which is BIG). He loves to chat and help us with our Creole and he loves bon-bons (cookies!). He is diligent in his work, carries a baton for protection, and takes great pride in doing his job. He helps me with the laundry, checks in if he sees a door open or something amiss, and is always ready to greet us with a Bon Jou or Bon Swa at anytime of the day or night. We are so thankful for the blessing these new friends are to us.