Do You See Beyond?

While Lex and I are here in New England "enjoying" the frigid temperatures (maybe not so much!), our leadership team is hard at work in Haiti. Things are so different now than they were 18 years ago. Our staff feels the pulse of the mission. They have united with the vision, pray for and contemplate about it, and God is using them to make it happen.

Yes, Lex and I are still very involved, but it thrills me to no end to see others taking initiative to make things better and to ensure good things for our students, staff, churches, and neighbors. We have regular staff meetings weekly using video chats and discuss seemingly every area of the mission. We did not discuss our outdated and faded sign, but are pleased that arrangements were still made to have it updated.

The main gate at the missionary compound is getting some repairs and a face-lift, too.

The school in St Etienne held a parents meeting this week. One thing I've heard our school administration talk about consistently over the years is that it takes 3 groups of people to make a school successful: students, parents, and staff/leadership. Hats off to the parents in St. Etienne, who obviously are working hard to support their children's education and turned out to be an active part in this meeting.

The students in St. Etienne put forth a lot of effort, too. In Haiti, it's actually pretty unusual to find a child who doesn't appreciate school. They consider it a privilege to be able to learn. These students wear their MOHI uniforms with pride.

The preschool classes in Thozin always look forward to Friday, which is usually a school wide activity day. While the older students enjoy sports, these students enjoy quite a bit of active movement time - dancing, clapping, jumping, hopping, singing, chanting, and lots of laughter. This week, one of the teachers accompanied them on the Conga drums. This definitely helped to increase the level of activity and enjoyment.

Most everyone's favorite time of day? Meal time!

The culinary students have been learning how to use pastry bags and tips, writing and flowers were on the schedule this week. Angeline is a girl after my own heart - she loves singing and apparently the color purple. That was me in high school, too!

The Talent Discovery at the Thozin school is in full swing. Each student participating seems to have their own group of fans and they are LOUD! Below is a clip of Nashca's performance this week. She LOVES singing and projects her voice so well.

The medical ministry continues to be a blessing to our students, the community, and beyond. With major changes in our staffing, this is really a big deal. Dr. Evens is loved by his patients and our new nurses are both working hard as the patient load has increased significantly. Here's Nurse Sara with a caring dad who accompanied his daughter to school and a visit to the clinic.

Lex and I were planning to return to Haiti on Christmas day, but have had to delay that a bit. I ended up in the hospital just over two weeks ago with acute appendicitis. In the process of diagnosing it, I was given a CT scan. That scan revealed an additional issue, which was confirmed during the appendectomy. I am scheduled to have surgery to remove a carcinoid tumor in my small intestine on Wednesday.

I am sharing this information, because I would really appreciate your prayers. Would you pray for me over the next few days? Please do and please encourage me by letting me know. I know that Jesus is with me always. I am further encouraged by seeing HIM in you. Thank you! I too, am praying for you and trusting Jesus to meet your need today.

One of my very favorite books of fiction is Louis Lowry's The Giver. (I highly recommend all 4 books in the series - it's easy, young-adult reading.) The main character, Jonas, has a special gift to "see beyond." In the story he begins to see colors, where the rest of his community sees everything only in shades of gray. I often think of this story when considering my walk of faith. In Christ, we have the opportunity to see beyond. What we see in the physical is only part of the picture - shadows. By faith, we can see what HE sees, starting with the truth of HIS Word - the Bible.

What has been accomplished thus far at MOHI, is not a result of logic and physical realities, but evidence of God's love for HIS creation in Haiti! It's evidence of what is seen beyond.