Celebrating the Back Bone of the Church

First of all, I hope that all you incredible moms had an especially wonderful Mother’s Day today. I pray that you each would experience the Lord’s touch in just the way you are needing it – physically, mentally, spiritually. He cares for you and Jesus is calling to you to come to Him: “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)

I’ve often heard the people of Haiti refer to mothers as the back bone of the church. They are caring for husbands, raising children, often gardening and/or selling in the open markets and they still make time to care for the church. Notice I said “Make Time.” They carry a heavy burden, but they know that they owe a debt they can never repay to their Maker, so they are quick to demonstrate their gratitude to Him through their service in the church. I am truly blessed to have these women in my life!

The church's back bone

This has been a busy week for us in the States with school appointments and dentist appointments and doctor appointments and town appointments and meeting up with friends and family. All you Americans are awfully busy, aren’t you?

Missing our other home

One of the highlights of my week was an evening with several of our family (on Lex’s side). We took the kids bowling (Coralie, Chloe, Nathan) and then the bigger kids (Huguener & Jackie) joined us. We were LOUD, but hardly anyone was there to be annoyed. Jackie beat everyone. It was loads of fun.

I’ve had several reminders this trip that I’ve gotten a bit behind of the times here in America. One such reminder happened at the bowling alley. I asked for a paper score sheet, wondering if they’d expect us to keep score on the overhead projectors. The “kid” looked at me kind of funny as he said, “No, the computers will keep score for you.” Computers?!!! Wow! It was kind of like bowling on Wii – except I do much better on Wii. (Oy!) Another such incident happened at the post office. I had two letters to mail. One was heavy, so the postal worker attached the postage herself and handed me a stamp for the other envelope. I licked the stamp and put it on the corner of the envelope. It didn’t stick. I said, “hmmmm” as I reached to pick up the stamp. The postal worker asked if I peeled it. I said, “No, I licked it.” She laughed so hard and told me that we haven’t had to lick stamps in over a decade. Yep. I didn’t know better. Do you think it’s been a while since I mailed a letter myself?

After bowling, we all headed to the China Buffet, where “Uncle Jean,” Angela and Nyah joined up with us. We weren’t quite as loud as we were at the bowling alley, but we did thoroughly enjoy our many conversations happening at the same time. And Nyah was pleased as punch as she downed French fries one after another.

Family Fun Night

Another highlight was sending AJay and Lindsey off to Lindsey’s prom in Manchester, NH. As you can see in the pictures below, they were quite an amazing sight. They had a lovely evening. What a blessing to be here at the right time for them to be able to enjoy this special time.

AJay and Lindsey had a great time at Lindsey’s prom

It’s my first Mother’s day away from both of my kids, as AJay left this morning to join his sister in Tulsa for a couple of weeks before she graduates. As I’m writing this, he has been sitting on the runway in Wichita Falls, TX for about 3 hours. His flight into Dallas was diverted due to bad weather. His flight to Tulsa will likely leave before he arrives in Dallas. Not the kind of experience we look for on your first time flying alone. Prayers for AJay tonight and tomorrow are GREATLY appreciated!

While AJay was flying, we were enjoying our morning at All Saints Church in Belmont, MA. Revs. Paul and Cheryl Minor have been leading this congregation for the past 18 years. The church has really gotten behind our work in Haiti, sponsoring a class, gathering and shipping supplies, and bringing teams to Haiti each year. This was our first opportunity to join them at a service in Belmont. We thoroughly enjoyed meeting so many parishioners and seeing our friends who had already visited us in Haiti.

All Saints Church in beautiul Belmont, MA

In Haiti, overall things are going well. The medical clinic is functioning well, as are the schools. It sounds like our main generator in Thozin has a broken part. We are hoping to be able to determine what’s needed so we can get the part while we are in the States and bring it back to Haiti with us.

Sister Fyans

We were deeply saddened by the report of Sister Fyans’ untimely death. She was crossing the road in front of the church when a large box truck struck her. She was rushed to the hospital where she passed almost immediately upon arrival. She was a faithful member of the women’s ministry in Thozin for many years. We all enjoyed watching her sing and dance with their choral group. She was also a woman of prayer. We rejoice that she is now in the presence of the Lord, but we will feel her absence. Would you please join us in praying for her family and friends as they grieve their loss? Thank you.

Here are some pictures from this week in Haiti: