Doing Alright

Yes, there was an earthquake in Haiti last night. Some of us felt it, but it was centered quite far from us in the north of Haiti. We felt a couple of little shakings again today, but again, they did no damage here. In the areas where it was strongest, it did some structural damage. Reports are quite conflicting. It seems there were some buildings that were badly damaged and perhaps some injuries, too. Thankfully, it was not comparable to 2010.

It just so happens that I have had a couple of conversations recently about the earthquake of 2010. Seems rather ironic to start feeling tremors again. It's been over 8 years and yet the feelings are always ready to come rolling right back into place with the slightest vibration.

Covenant Day School completed their projects this week. That sounds pretty normal, but for much of their time here, it didn't look like it would happen. It did though. They were able to set up the old system in a new location, complete the new system AND build 6 picnic benches for the outdoor classroom area. They were able to have a planning session with our science teachers to start incorporating aquaponics labs in their classes, too.

The students and teachers were great. There was one "odd man out" though. Veronica came on her second trip as a parent/chaperone/Paramedic/photographer/Kid lover... the list goes on. Many of the pictures I'm sharing were hijacked from her. She was a blessing on many, many fronts!

What a blessing to have Chel arrive half way through the week. She’s been coming down for twelve years now and her presence always brings reassurance to me – you know, she “gets” me, so I believe I’m still sane when she’s around. She shared a message with the church in St. Etienne this morning.

Chel is on sabbatical and working on a project (with a title too long for me to possibly remember) about disaster response and a whole lot more. She’s also going to teach our culinary department how to make yogurt and cheese from goat’s milk. There are sooooo many goats around this area. Won’t it be neat if we can help people earn a little money from them AND provide a product people will like?

Now, just for the record, I simply cannot stomach yogurt, so I may need some help marketing the stuff. Do you like yogurt? How does mango yogurt sound? Key Lime? Passion fruit? Pineapple? Please feel free to send me your very tropical ideas.

This week we brought together our students who learned earring crafting from Lee Hodges earlier in the year. It was fun to see what they remember and watch them teach Beatrice, who will be overseeing the program. We hope to produce enough high quality, recycled plastic earrings to offer to you for Christmas gifts. What do you think? Would you consider buying earrings for folks on your Christmas list this year?

Last night we welcomed a team from White Stone Church in Knoxville, TN. They started their time out today with Pastor Mark Zimmerman sharing a very inspiring message with the church in Thozin. They are now visiting friends in the Jacmel mountains. Their focus this week will be mainly on disability ministry and sports discipleship. I'll tell you what, this team packs a LOT of energy!

We also welcomed Pastor Baker and Jalisa from Los Angeles. This is their first time visiting us at MOHI and we love them already. Pastor Baker is currently ministering at our church in Thozin. You may be able to see her on the Facebook Live video on the MOHI Facebook page tonight.

I had a lot of neat things I wanted to share with you tonight, but electricity and internet have both been an issue for me today. Mostly I want you to know how much we appreciate everyone who comes to visit and shares their giftings with our friends here in Haiti. So many great changes have happened in the lives of our neighbors over the past 18 years. The Lord has used so many of you as the catalyst. Thank you!