We’ve made it through 12 whole days of lockdown due to the unrest throughout Haiti. It has been just Kenny and I as the Americans here at Grace Village the past 6 days, and he begins his morning by checking the roads we can see from our apartment balcony for signs of traffic. We overlook a great distance, and if skies are clear, we can see ships in the bay and fires along the roads. We can see how many people are at the local market and if there are only motorcycles on the roads, motorcycles and full-sized vehicles, or neither. Kenny’s favorite response is “looks like yesterday out there.” It is amazing how quickly one becomes disoriented toward things like what time it is and what day of the week it is when there is no schedule to follow!

It has been quiet here-much too quiet as roads have been impassible and businesses closed. WiFi has been limited, and non-existent for days at a time. We got notification that Haiti was being categorized as a Level 4 travel advisory by the US State Dept, moments before the WiFi cut out for a stretch of four days. We had to simply trust that the organization would reach out to us with any necessary information directly on our cell phones. And then the helicopter evacuations began-an endless parade of helicopter traffic, which we watched from the same balcony.

Some of my friends have evacuated, and they made the right decision. Some of my friends have stayed, and they made the right decision. There are no easy answers here. I don’t know if me staying is more burden or more blessing, but I have peace. I have peace that I am where God has led me to be, and because of that, there is no place I would rather be! And we have peace in our village tonight. The children have been playing dominos with Dieufort, our temporary live-in elder. We have a store of diesel, propane, water, and food to keep ourselves sustained for the time being.

The roads between here and Port Au Prince have been mostly open for two days now, and while we don’t know if it will last, we are hopeful that life may begin to resume. We are hoping to have both our school and clinic open tomorrow.

Fleri bakery has been meeting a huge need in the community with bread sales this week. Without access to many of the usual shopping venues, there is consistency for the community to know that there is and will continue to be bread available. Bread of life is taking on new meaning as I see bread truly as a sustaining necessity.

All that being said, I don’t want to downplay the severity of what is happening in Haiti. Days-going on weeks of lost incomes and services. People with no access to food or water. Prices doubling overnight. Shortages of fuel. Protests. Robberies. Violence. Blockades. These are real things happening, not always in my line of vision, but happening throughout Haiti as people beg for changes in the government and exploit one another to gain power, meet their own needs, or catch the attention of international media.

Things that are happening in front of me are Haitians with incredible work ethics and concern for one another. Haitians pulling together to keep their families and communities safe and fed. Haitians finding a way to get to work, not knowing if there will be a job for them that day. Haitians who don’t know if they can get the medicine they absolutely need. Haitians who are hungry and thirsty. Haitians who are sad because of what they see happening around them. And Haitians who will fall asleep tonight, praying that God will provide tomorrow because today felt far too much like yesterday.

“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” Matthew 10:29-31

Sometimes in Haiti, the entire country shuts down over protests, and then I am out of reasons to not sit down and type up a blog. 😉 Yes, we are grounded to the compound as a precaution today because of protests planned throughout the country.

However, the past couple of weeks have brought changes and blessings that you may like to hear about.

Attached are a few photos. First is a typical “bed” in Cite Soleil. You can see it is elevated on cinder blocks to keep it dry when the house floods, which it does regularly after heavy rainfall. Instead of a mattress, a homemade pad, filled with fabric scraps and clothing serve to provide the body some comfort at night.

There is also a before and after photo of Maxime, one of our elders who received a bed this past week through our elder program and some individual donors. He had been sleeping on a blanket on the concrete floor. Now, he excitedly points to his bed when you step into his home and even offers it to you as a place to sit if you want. There is dignity in having places/things worth sharing.

Benita is another elder who was blessed this week to receive a new wheel chair. After multiple strokes, she has recently been bed bound and unable to speak. With her continuing medical care and personal care from staff and volunteers at Hope Church, she is recovering. Her speech has gotten clearer in just the past few days, and her wish came true when she was able to go back to church this past Sunday!

This week, we were also visited by a team of four nurses, who did blood pressure checks and some training with our EKS group in Titanyen. They were able to serve in both Cite Soleil and Titanyen, and both communities were open and appreciative of their visits. They discovered high blood pressure among unknowing staff and missionaries too (gulp, I was one of them-please send veggies!). One of the staff at Hope Church came in looking concerned and said that his blood pressure was “very big!” Change starts with education; it’s hard to fix problems you don’t see.

I am learning a lot of things from working closely with Haitians. Just like working with any individual humans, it isn’t all good. We don’t always see eye to eye. We miscommunicate and offend one another, but we are united in Christ, brothers and sisters on the same mission. There is a regard for community here that is special. In conversations with staff and the elders we serve, there is a recurring theme of helping one another with whatever resources one might have.

The day we bought the bed and wheelchair, I was sent a driver from the guest house in Port Au Prince, who did the shopping and delivery for me. He is a friend of mine from multiple trips I took before moving here, and I was explaining to him what we needed to buy. His response was to ask if we could buy a pillow too, if there was money for it. I hadn’t thought of that. I was thinking checklist-wise; our instructions were to purchase a bed frame and mattress. He had the wholistic view of caring for the individual and getting him as comfortable as possible. Yes, he also has a pillow now.

“But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit–just as it has taught you, remain in him.” 1 John 2:27b

I’m going to divert my blog from listing what I’m currently working on and share about a boy I met yesterday. His name is Davidson and he doesn’t know how old he is.

This isn’t an uncommon thing in Cite Soleil. Regular birthday parties aren’t a priority. Neither is documentation of home deliveries. Many children who don’t enroll in school are born, live and die, without paper record of their existence.

Which brings us back to Davidson. He is charismatic in a quiet way; among a group of children, his smile sets him apart. He wore a Scooby Doo T-shirt and nothing else.

I was waiting outside one elder’s home with the pastors, who were chatting with a group of children and adults in the neighborhood when he caught my attention by telling them he wants to go to school. A woman nearby chimes in that he has no mother or father. I asked his name. Davidson Nelson. I asked his age. “Mwen pa konnen”.

This phrase caught my attention because it is one I use multiple times a day and simply translates “I don’t know.” One of the neighbors said he was six. Whether they knew that, remembered him as a baby, or just guessed, I don’t know.

The pastors invited him to come to church and we moved on. I want to help him. I also have to be very cautious and work within the bounds the organization I serve with sets for me.

What do we do for one child on his own, who smiles like he doesn’t have a care in the world and dreams of attending school? How do we serve that one precious face in a sea of deserving precious faces?

Mwen pa konnen.

A familiar quote from Mother Theresa is “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.” I’m finding that my job description as a volunteer missionary requires an infinite number of small things each day, which I accomplish with some love and, more often than not, some reluctance. But the moments I remember to invite God into, those moments are done with great love because they are carried by a love much bigger than I have to offer.

This past week has been fairly routine, full of small opportunities to love greatly. I’ve been on lots of visits to elders’ homes with teams of volunteers from the US. I’ve played almost every song in my book of printed out choruses during those visits. I’ve chased translators down to try and get simple answers. I’ve sat in meetings and sent out emails. I’ve washed my laundry and gotten just a little more confident starting basic conversations in Creole. The mundane and repetitive and holy work of living.

I’ve been trying to get creative in my interactions with elders who know no English at all. One of the elders in our program has been living downstairs from my apartment in the clinic’s observation area for the past two weeks, as he recovers from surgery. Our conversations are limited to things like “See you later” and “Do you have pain today?”  One night I decided to pull up Creole gospel music videos on my phone for him, which he loved and now expects every time I see him. Between him and the children living here, I’m not always sure that any of them like me. But, I know they love my iPhone! 😉

As I’m trying to finish up and post this blog, the power just went out for the second time today. Pray for us here. Life in Haiti is a wonderful, albeit inconvenient at times, adventure!

I’m happy to be back in Haiti, and my first few days back have been BUSY! But also so good!

My first day back (Tuesday) was spent in Cite Soleil, visiting elders and reconnecting with my pastors at Hope Church and Madame Jean Claude, who has the biggest heart for service that I’ve ever met. Exciting things are happening there this week, with the opening of Hope Clinic and hiring a medical director for both our clinics!

Coming back to Titanyen felt like coming home, and it is by the grace of God that I feel that growing level of comfort now. One of my Haitian coworkers welcomed me back and said, “I’m glad you’re back. When you’re here, I have more work and more experiences.” I had to laugh at that because I don’t think he enjoys most of the experiences he has had on my behalf.

But, it is a good representation of my own time here. Always more work and always more experiences, and though many are in the form of challenges, all are enriching in the end.

We have had a busy week, with double the normal amount of Americans here to serve with us: more work, more experiences. Several of the stateside staff/leaders with Healing Haiti are also here. I even had the privilege of meeting and also serving alongside the founder of Healing Haiti and his wife this week.

Our missionary team who live at Grace Village have been returning one by one and two by two after time in the states over the holidays, and all seven of us are back here now. I’m grateful for wonderful friends that I get to do life with here. And also thankful for roommates who are willing to kill cockroaches for me! 😉

All the short term teams in town means lots of elder visits this week, and I couldn’t be happier! I am blessed by all the work I get to be part of here, but spending time with elders in their homes and singing in worship is the most fun work.

“I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in him you have been enriched in every way–” 1 Corinthians 1:4-5a

I’ve got my Christmas purchases packed, and I’m getting ready to go home on Saturday for two weeks of Minnesota adventures! I am excited to see family and friends, drink Starbucks, take hot showers, and drive my car.

This whole last week has already felt like Christmas! Last weekend, we got to play tourist and do some shopping in Port Au Prince, complete with a visit to a local vendors fair with iced coffee drinks and lemonade.

I’ve spent hours this week in the clinic waiting area with elders both from Titanyen and from Cite Soleil. One huge highlight for me was when our two lead eldercare workers (one from Cite Soleil and one from Titanyen) were able to meet each other. Their servant hearts are without limit!

I’ve already gotten so many Christmas gifts in the form of experiences and relationships! Work here is messy, but I’m constantly surprised and blessed by my friends and coworkers as they step up to help me.

I’ll be taking a blog break as I celebrate the holidays in Minnesota. I am both happy to be going and happy that I get to come back in January. Blessings to you and your families this Christmas!

The past few days have been absolutely packed! This past Saturday was our Elder Christmas Party, planned and hosted by Marni and her wonderful team. 30 of our 35 elders from Titanyen were in attendance, 1 was out of town, and 4 were bed-bound but were visited individually.

Thanks to generous donations, each elder was served a delicious hot meal, either chicken or goat, served by Fleri Resto. We had live music and a time of fellowship and of course Christmas presents! Some of the favorites were the tarps, sunglasses and monkey bread!

Sunday was church, a baking party hosted by the Bjorkland family, and an EKS meeting, where we celebrated a wedding coming up this week. Monday, I met the EKS group to do a service project of weeding and cleaning the yard around the church.

But, of all those wonderful things, today was my favorite. Today I got a glimpse into what will be Hope Clinic. Since Healing Haiti expanded their elder care program into Cite Soleil, we have focused on food distribution, but we have now officially expanded our sponsorships to include medical care.

The clinic in Cite Soleil isn’t ready yet, but a doctor has been hired and has been training in at our clinic here in Titanyen. Today I got to accompany Dr Longor to Hope Church in Cite Soleil, where he performed individual exams on 10 of our 12 Cite Soleil elders in the pastors’ office.

The excitement was palpable, and even the pastors and a couple of other staff had their blood pressure checked just because they could. There was something beautiful in witnessing the sweet elderly saints learning how to take deep breaths for the doctor. It may be the first time in years, if ever, that these individuals have received medical care. The doctor had to help a couple of the ladies by giving them a piece of paper to blow on. If they could move the paper with their breath, they were doing it right.

We discovered many things: cases of hypertension, infections that need treatment and cataracts. But, for the first time, we can move beyond identifying the problems and start treating our elders to improve their quality of life. Tomorrow, we will get some prescriptions filled!

One of my favorite things in the world is singing in worship with other believers. I have had a lot of opportunities to do this over the past several days. I usually sing in English, but I’m learning a few Creole songs as well. Yesterday, I sang “Reckless Love” in English, while one of my co-missionaries Alicia, sang it in French.

A couple days ago, a team and I were visiting one of our new elders and singing (in Creole) with her and her family and neighbors. As we were cleaning up from our visit and saying our goodbyes, I heard some tiny voices singing in the background. The worship song was continuing as neighbor girls sang out the lyrics we had been singing earlier. It was a beautiful thing to be a part of, seeing the impact that a few moments of worship had brought into that neighborhood.

I have been experiencing a lot of moments like that over the past few weeks, not things easily checked off a to-do list, but beautiful moments of uniting with my brothers and sisters in Christ. There are many things that divide us: language, culture, age, education, experiences and opportunities. But, as we worship together, we are exactly the same.

Thanksgiving came in the midst of a week of unrest in Haiti, a week where we desperately needed to remember to give thanks. There are many things we take for granted as American volunteers living here; we will have adequate diesel to run the generators, we will have working WiFi, we will be able to grocery shop weekly, our Haitian coworkers will come into work despite challenges, and we will be able to travel on main roads without fear.

Last week these assumptions were challenged. Schools and businesses closed, roads were blocked, there were rumors and reports of violence and warnings from the US Embassy to take shelter. We complied despite our annoyance and stayed inside or relatively close by. Like a very hot stretch of snow days, most of the country stayed home and out of harm’s way.

I spent a few extra days in Port Au Prince as there were demonstrations that closed the road between the guesthouse there where I had been staying with a team and Titanyen, where I normally live. There I witnessed the resilience and dedication of Haitian coworkers who braved their way into work to take care of teams of Americans who also had rejected fear and come to Haiti to serve however they could.

Those teams were allowed to serve for partial days and in a limited travel radius, but they served with dedication and heart. They also found ways to serve around the guesthouse and within the immediate neighborhood of the guesthouse. And there were investments made into the local economy with several trips up the hill to the pool at the Elite Hotel. 😉

Tuesday night, I was given a ride back to Titanyen, only to find out that the internet had been down there all week with no phone company employees working to fix it. I read books and played games and -all in all- didn’t mind the unplugging.

Thursday, roads were clear and we were treated to a Thanksgiving feast at the guesthouse in Port Au Prince. It felt as much “like home” as possible, where I am used to a large family gathering. We played card games, laughed and talked, shared prayers and reasons we are thankful, ate until we were stuffed, and ended the afternoon with some spontaneous worship before rushing back to Titanyen before dark.

A few days later, things are quiet here and we are grateful for that. School is in session, the clinics are reopened, church is back on its normal schedule, and while there are daily threats of unrest, we are enjoying our “typical” Haiti again.

Yesterday, I had the great privilege of meeting our three newest members in the elder care program. We now have 35 people in our elder care program in Titanyen and 12 in Cite Soleil. The magnitude of that baffles me. I have been called to serve these 47 individuals and am slowly figuring out the best way to do that.

It is easy to get caught up in little details here. Seemingly insignificant things make and break our daily schedules and intentions. Yesterday, I was asked for one AA battery. I had a few in my drawer, so no problem. The battery was put into a computer mouse and I was asked to deliver it down to the dental clinic. The battery was required, so that the nurses could access the computer, so that people waiting could be registered and seen in the clinic.

To me, that is life in Haiti. Sometimes everything hangs in the balance because small pieces are missing. I wish I could fix more problems with simple things, like having a battery available, but for today, I will do what I can with what I have. I am thankful to be here.

“Be joyful always; pray continually; givethanks in all circumstances for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

I had the honor and absolute joy of spending the better part of the last week with a women’s retreat team who had traveled down specifically to serve the women of Haiti and to collect women’s stories and favorite Bible verses, testimonies of the Lord’s work in individual lives. I was able to serve alongside this team as they visited an elder in the community, hosted a women’s gathering, served our Haitian staff through sharing chores and a Bible study, blessed some local pastors and their wives, and held babies at the Home for Sick and Dying Babies. The teams’ joyful and willing spirits uplifted mine and all those we encountered.

As part of their retreat, we were able to also spend some time in purposeful rest and fellowship, sharing meals, devotions, worship, and some down time at the swimming pool. I connected with new friends and reconnected with a few people who have already become very important to me. My network of prayer and moral support keeps expanding, and I am grateful beyond words that the Lord allowed these women to be part of my life this week.

Due to some unrest in the area, our weekend plans were altered and cut back as a precaution. The team headed to the airport early this morning to wait out any road blocks that would keep them from their flights this afternoon. And now I sit at the guesthouse, making a flexible but hopeful plan for things I want to accomplish this coming week, starting with transportation back to my apartment within the next day or so.

“So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” Ephesians 4:11-13