Tis the season of happiness and joy for so many of us as we come closer to Christmas each day.  While I am happy to celebrate my Saviors birth, I can’t help but feel a little disappointed at how we have all managed to turn this holiday season so completely AWAY from Jesus.

The stress and worry about the cost of buying Christmas presents… decorating our homes…  all on top of bills that need to be paid and putting food on the table.  The bad economy in America has affected so many people, yet everyone still scrambles about, trying to make this the “best Christmas ever”.

Please don’t think that I am anti holiday or anti Christmas.  I love celebrating the birth of Christ.  I love spending time with my friends and family… yes, I even love giving presents.

It’s just that I see so many people struggling around me.  Struggling to raise money for mission trips, struggling to pay their bills, struggling to keep their house.  I just can’t believe that Jesus Christ would want us to turn a celebration of HIS birth into something that only adds stress and worry.  Something that builds our mountain of debt bigger.

My home church, TCC, is sending a group of teens and adults to Haiti the first week of January.  I have watched these 35 people slowly drop down to 30…  They leave in less than a month and so many of them are still so far behind in their fundraising that more will end up having to drop as well.  It breaks my heart.  They have been working non stop to raise money to have the chance to go and brighten someone else’s day.  I know that many on the team have asked for money/supplies for Haiti instead of  Christmas presents for themselves.  Isn’t THAT what Christmas is really about?  Wanting to share Jesus with others?

They are planning a big Christmas party with the granmoun (elderly) and the Miriam Center (special needs orphanage) kids at the mission.  Christmas cookies, Santa hats and reindeer antler, filled stockings for all… and most important… the story of Jesus’ birth.  The reason we celebrate at all.

NWHCM works hard to give the people of St Louis du Nord a glimpse of Christmas spirit.  Jody and Jose have been decorating the mission since October creating a “winter wonderland” for all to enjoy.   In Haiti their pleasures are so simple.   Their worries are about feeding their families for one more day….  not finding the “perfect gift” for each other.

They know the TRUTH.  Jesus Christ was and is the perfect gift for all of us.  He is all we need.  I hope that we can keep our eyes focused on HIM this season as we all start to get caught up in the excitement… the spending… the rehearsals… the worries.  This should be a time of JOY and HAPPINESS.  A time to reflect on the perfect gift that God has already given for each one of us.

I am just as guilty when it comes to worrying.  I have been so caught up in fundraising, both for the TCC team and for my personal Haiti support, that it has become my only focus lately.  I realized that Christmas was something I hadn’t given much thought to except as being just one more thing I need to get through before heading back to Haiti on January 1st.  How sad it that?!?  Christmas shouldn’t be just a “speed bump”!

I know that God knows my cares and concerns.  I know that He already knows exactly what will or will not come.  Worrying won’t do me any good.  I pray that I can lay it all at His feet (once again) and enjoy the Christmas season.  I pray that I remain focused on Him at all times.

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

I thank God today for so many things… for my beautiful family, for  my health, for our amazing friends and our mission family, for the opportunities God has given us to shine His light in this world.

I thank God for the countless blessings He has showered us with over the past year.  I thank Him for the good times.

I thank Him for the lessons learned through the hard times… for showing us that we ALWAYS have more to learn.  I thank Him for the beautiful acts of kindness and love that have been shown to my family as some of our roads have seemed to be  uphill battles.

I thank Him for placing Godly people in my life.  For friends who know just what I need to hear and when.  For people who speak TRUTH even when it’s hard.

I thank God for always being there with arms wide open when I need a lap to climb into.  When I need comfort that only my Father can give.

I thank God for using me,  a broken, imperfect girl, to help spread His love in a place so desperate to feel. it.  How amazing that He can use us just as we are.

What more can I say?

No matter how much I trust in God…  how much I believe in Him and His plans… my heart still breaks.  Over and over and over again.  I really DO believe His ways are always perfect.  Why does it hurt so much?

Sweet baby Thomas went home to Jesus this morning.  This is exactly what we have been praying for.  I have been literally begging God to take him home.  To put him out of his pain and suffering and bring him peacefully into a joyful eternity.

Psalm 38:10 My heart pounds, my strength fails me; even the light is gone from my eyes.

I am SO incredibly grateful that I do not have to rely on my own strength to get me through.  It is only by HIS strength that I can even stand up.

Psalm 6:6  I am worn out from groaning; all night long I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears.

How amazing that God understands our heartaches…  That He has prepared our comfort in His Word…  He already knows…  He WANTS to be our comforter, He WANTS us to turn to Him in our times of sorrow…

Jeremiah 8:18  O my Comforter in sorrow, my heart is faint within me.

I cannot tell you how many times I have thanked God for my tender heart.  For not letting me become hardened to the circumstances around me.  I pray that He keeps me tender and that I not forget why Haiti is so important to me…

So why?  Why, when my heart is broken, just like I asked for, do I want to quit?  Why do I question myself?  I think to myself that this is too hard.  That I am not cut out for this.  That I am just not strong enough.  My tender heart just can’t take this much pain.

That’s where I am right now.  Heartbroken.  Hurting.  Missing Haiti like crazy…  It feels so wrong to be in the states dealing with these kind of “Haiti emotions”.   I feel so incredibly helpless… so insignificant in this world… unable to change a thing.

In the last 2 weeks our mission family has suffered three losses.  To lose a granmoun, a young man and now this precious baby all in a row has been devastating for all.  I pray for my mission family to remain strong.  To be comforted in the way only God can comfort.

Psalm 86:17 For you, O Lord, have helped me and comforted me

Isaiah 66:13  As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you

Revelation 7:17  And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes

I claim the next verse as my own today and thank God for picking me up and carrying me when I do not have the strength to stand alone…

Philippians 3:13  I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.

Right now God, I ask that you strengthen my tender heart.  But just for a little while.  No matter how much it hurts right now… I pray that I continue to be heartbroken for the people of Haiti.  I ask only to be strengthened at the moment because I am afraid that my trust in You is not shining through.  The layers of grief are too much.  Peel them away God and let YOUR light shine through.

I sit here in my study doing something that seems to me to be absurd…. I am trying to think of those things for which I am thankful.    Why am I reaching so hard….why is nothing coming tonight…. I can’t have run out of blessings…

Blessings are eternal…they happen to us every minute of our lives….so I try one of my favorite ploys listening to music while I write… God is at work…

I go to my YouTube account where I have discovered the Kelly Family….Gaelic Folk and gospel singers….Catholic, but still gospel to my ears and heart…. and the song starts….  It is an anthem of worship to God, thankfulness for those things we sometimes forget… and adoration for Mary…

This is a simple family…now singing without their mother who died long ago of cancer, and their father who has also passed on.  And the song continues…..

“The Sky….the mountains….to the rivers… to the valley… to my hometown…to my country… to the place where I was born… to my mother…to my father…to my sisters…to my brothers… my friends…to myself and those I love so well….”

Where is the magnificence there?  Where is the transcendence?  This is thankful ness for the simple things we all take for granted… today I took some more pictures that are still on my camera phone… I will put them up soon… they are all of simple things just as this song sings of simple things that we “love so well”….

I realize that for a while I was caught in that human trap of looking for transcendent blessings in grand things… thats not really how God works… he blesses us with the small things.. the daily things…

“Give us our daily bread”… I have eaten my daily bread for which I am grateful.  Something simple… and so the song goes…  the first blessing named is “the sky”….  can the sky be a blessing…

Most certainly yes it is… protected as we are from the ravages of fierce solar radiation and winds coming off the sun that would kill us if it werent there…..provided with beauty that we fail all to often to look at for any length of time… Oh well, ho hum… it’s just the sky… may we never forget the miracle it is or that blue is a difficult color to find anywhere else in the universe….

Then comes “the mountains, to the rivers, to the valley”…our surroundings… the beauty we see everyday… whether it’s a small bush… a “burning bush”  as they all are we are told….or a grand tree… or mountains if we live near them.. they are all part of Gods immaculate plan for us.  We live in a pale imitation of Heaven, but it is an imitation of it.  And people at their best can be angels unaware…..

“To my hometown, to my country, to the place where I was born”  comes next… for me that is Houston, Texas where I was born in Memorial Hospital, now Hermann Memorial.    For the Hermann family who gave so much of their wealth to the building of a magnificent medical center where thousands upon thousands are healed every day….

Then the things that really are important in this world… “to my mother, and my father, to my sisters and my brothers, to my friends, to myself, and to those I love so well”….

To those I love so well…. not only my family, my friends, but also my students, the people with whom I work, the people I see everyday…the men at Lakewood Church, the kids at Lakewood church, the pastoral staff…..all of those are people for whom I am ever thankful… to the kids in my youth ministry… those boys from my youth ministry who carried my mother to her final resting place with such grace, gallantry and love….

And finally Mary, the Mother of Christ Jesus, and Jesus himself… God and Man being one… and his perfect gift to me…

So I say with Sancta Maria….. I am thankful for

The Sky

The Mountains

The Rivers

To the valleys,

To my hometown

to my country

and the place where I was born…..

And my mother, and my father, and my sisters, and my brothers, my friends and myself, and those I love so well….

And Mary the Mother of God, Jesus Christ himself  God and Man made one….  What better things to be thankful for this day….

Here is the song… listen to it with reverence and thankfulness….

I had the opportunity recently to speak to  a group from my home church about Haiti.   I was asked to share about the decision to become a full time missionary and how that has affected my life and my family.

What a great reason to take a walk down memory lane!   It was so fun to share the way God has moved in our lives and worked on our hearts over the last eight years.  It was a reminder that I really needed to hear myself!

I get so caught up in the busyness of my life that I sometimes forget to just sit back and be amazed by God’s goodness.

God whispered in my ear so long ago… I still get goosebumps remembering how that felt.  I had never heard the voice of God so clearly before that day and knew that like it or not, I needed to obey.

It was a giant leap of faith to go to Haiti that first time….  it continues to be a daily leap of faith as I walk this journey.

I love the saying that God doesn’t call the qualified but qualifies the called.  I have never felt qualified to be in this position… to be used by God in this way.  How comforting that He wants us just the way we are!  I pray that I am moldable and open to whatever He needs from me.

I thank God for giving me the strength and the courage to continue following His voice.  I thank Him for whispering sweetly to my family as well.  I  thank Him most of all for giving me my Haiti heart.

What is God whispering to you…?

We just finished up a VERY busy week with the TCC Haiti team.  Jim, Susan ,RJ and I are working alongside the 33 people going to Haiti in January from Tomoka to raise support.  I am totally exhausted but had such a great time hanging out with the team and getting to talk to so many people about Haiti.

We were outside of  Walmart all day on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday collecting donations of supplies and money for the trip.  This is always an interesting experience.  You learn quickly to defend your faith and your choice to serve in Haiti when you are in a public location like that.   Walmart is one of my favorite fundraisers, and we do it often…  it’s a great way to get the community involved.  It’s also an open invitation for people to give us their opinions about what we are doing.  I absolutely LOVE that but I do realize that it’s hard for some of the team members to deal with the negativity.

Friday night the team ran a concession stand at a free movie night offered here in town.  It was an absolute blast!  The team all had a great time hanging out together, working together and of course singing all the words to Grease.  We earned money for the trip and had a lot of fun doing it.  With such a big team it’s not easy to get everyone together very often and we had a good chunk of us there that night.

Saturday and Sunday were both CRAZY busy!  We were lucky enough to get a booth at the Halifax Arts Festival again selling baked goods.  We met so many interested people!  Of course there are always a few that don’t mind telling you why you shouldn’t be wasting your time in Haiti but for each one there had to be ten that LOVED what we were doing and wanted to hear all about it.  You all know how much I love to talk about Haiti!  The team also ran the TCC thrift store and the church Cafe this weekend.

Throw in two long nights of baking and of course singing 5 services and you have got one very tired girl.  Tired and ridiculously happy.

The team worked so well together!  They really pulled together and made it all work when it seemed like it couldn’t possibly all get done.  They did it cheerfully and I think all had a good time while raising much needed money for their accounts.

I was very proud of my family for working so hard this week too…  I loved listening to them explain to people what exactly we do in Haiti and why.  I loved seeing the love of God just oozing out of them.  Explaining to the people questioning our actions that the Bible calls us into the whole world… not just our little city or even our country.  Their passion for what we are doing was so evident.

It’s an unbelievable experience to be able to share your love, faith and passion for a cause with so many strangers.  People were very generous this week  and for the most part were extremely encouraging.

I think we were ALL feeling the Haiti love!

Mokykloj šitą dainą dainuojam… labai graži….

Back in Florida for only 2 days so far and we have been crazy busy!  Sort of thrown right back into things… ready or not!

Some of that is good though… I was able to sing last night at church and was SO in need of that.  If there is one thing I miss almost as much as my family while in Haiti, it’s my church.  I love the routine, the worship, the Word taught in exactly the way I need to hear it…

I have to admit that it really did seem a little weird though to be sitting in that great big church like I didn’t just leave Haiti the day before.  It is so hard to make my “two lives” fit seamlessly.  It’s always a bit of a bumpy adjustment coming back…  It’s hard to not feel like I am two different people sometimes.  The one I really am and the one people expect me to be.    It’s like I cover “missionary Melonnie”  up with make-up and hairspray and a great big smile while pretending to not be a little sick about all the wealth and waste around me.  I know I write about this often…  I’m guessing that God keeps it on my heart to remind me to not forget what’s important.

One memory that kept popping into my mind last night was of our last Sunday in Haiti…  Jim and I were walking to the soccer field that afternoon.  The streets are dirty and it is not a smooth walk by any stretch of the imagination.  We were surrounded by children trying to hold our hands… or clothes… or anything they could to try to be close to us.  We couldn’t help but laugh.   We look back at our lives together and try to figure out exactly how we got there…  It is ironic to think that we went from trying to have everything (our wordly view of success) not too long ago to now being happy to have nothing.  To live in a place where all that matters is how God wants to use us that day… or that moment.  We were so incredibly happy on that road… in our new home.

Something fun!  We finally got wedding pictures last night!  It’s only been just over a month but seemed like forever!  I had so much fun looking through them all last night and posting them.  I have an amazing beautiful family… inside and out.  I am once again in awe of how perfect Marisa is for Lee and for our family as well.  Thank you Jesus for answered prayers!

I hope that we make the most of the next two months.  It seems like way too long to be away from the mission… but I know that God has a plan for our time here.  I know that the “loose ends” in our lives will be wrapped up… that God is holding us in His arms.  I promise to try to make the most out of every minute.

What a month this has been!  I apologize for not keeping up with my blog this month but have had so much to process…  It’s hard to put things into words when it all seems so confusing.   Forgive me if this is long.

This is it… my last full day in Haiti until January 1st.  As I try to figure out where to start… I am flooded with emotion.  This month has been a growing time for us, a prayerful time and a wonderful  time.  I thank God for every minute of it.

We came in with many things planned, many things to pray about, decisions to be made…  I feel that we have been productive in our ministries here in Haiti as well as making some exciting and some tough decisions that needed to be made.  God revealed His plans to us slowly over the last weeks and we are excited to see how it all plays out.

One big change (and huge relief for me!) is that Jim agreed to head up the prison ministry.  We both feel that more doors will be open to him than would ever be to me.  He connects with the men in jail in a way that I just can’t.  As we were leaving the ASSL soccer game yesterday a man stopped Jim and said ” You visited me, I remember you”.  The funny thing is that Jim never even said a word.  He was there talking to the guards (who also asked for Bibles!) while I spoke to the prisoners and prayed with them.  Jim shook their hands and gave them food and juice before we headed out…. and that small connection was what stuck.

Our plans for January are to start visiting the big prison in Port au Paix each week as well as the local jail here in St. Louis du Nord.  One thing we are hoping to get started is to have a collection of mens dress shoes and dress shirts available for the young men at the local jail to wear to court when necessary.  Catching them while they are still able to turn from the trouble they are getting into is a pressure that we feel greatly.   This local jail is filled with young men at a cross road in their life… we hope to be able to lead them towards the right path.  Susan and RJ will be a big part of that ministry as well and I can’t wait to see it all come together!

We were able to come in with suitcases full of Creole Bibles this time and had a blast giving them out to people.  It was an absolute JOY to be able to offer them to the prisoners without worrying if we even had some to give.   We shared them with many of the workers here on the mission that didn’t have them, brought some out to people that we have met out on the streets…  There is no greater feeling than being able to share God’s Word with people who so badly need to hear it.  We had many in the jail ask God to come into their lives and keep them close to Him and I know that being able to stay in the Word of God will strengthen them when they need it the most.   We are hoping to be able to buy another supply of Bibles as well as some Creole “Salvation Bibles”  that are an inexpensive ($.35/each!) way to share…  it is made up of the book of John and the book of Romans.

We came to Haiti greatly concerned about fundraising for our personal support.  We have had a few setbacks in this area and were feeling overwhelmed at the amount of money it takes to actually live in Haiti and be missionaries full time.  Almost immediately upon arriving we were hit with the new missionary charges and budgets.  Lol…  We went from a projected need of $22,000/year to a little over $36,000/year for our families travel, living expenses in Haiti and ministry expenses in an instant.  Wow!   Time to kick up the fundraising efforts a notch or two!

Here’s the kicker….  It’s ok.  Now, I’m not going to say that I didn’t have my moment (or five) of sheer panic.  But it really is ok.  There is NO WAY POSSIBLE for us to do this on our own.  It’s ok.  God knows that.  God knows our needs, He knows our hearts, He know that we need to learn to trust Him to take care of things.  It’s ok.  One baby step at a time.  It’s ok.  How absolutely amazing that when this DOES happen…  when we ARE able to make each monthly payment and pay for each plane ticket… that we will know it was only by the grace of God.  I’m ok with that.  I’m ok with being able to share that with other people struggling with trusting God to meet their needs…. what a testimony this will be!  It’s ok.

In Haiti there is a saying (and a song) Tout Bagay Deja Byen…..  Everything’s already alright.  And it is.

Thank you JESUS for showing me again and again.   Thank you God for giving me a family that is part of a team.   Thank you for molding us and shaping us into what YOU need us to be, even when it hurts.   Tout bagay deja byen.

It is finally time to pack the bags and head back to Haiti!

This has been a busy time… Lee’s wedding,  people moving in, people moving away, getting a new Tomoka team started and ready, all of the other small details that come with leaving…

I am SO looking forward to getting back to my Haiti home.  This will be Jim’s first experience with a medical team, his first extended trip and his first time going in without a Tomoka team.  I am excited about his first real opportunity to experience living in Haiti rather than just visiting.

We will be bringing in a TON of creole Bibles that were generously donated for the prison ministry… that alone is exciting!  I am glad to be going back to my job but am even more excited about getting back to my heart.  I can’t wait to see the beautiful faces of the granmoun in the feeding program or the guards at the jail.  The kids inside and outside the gates…  all of it.

The past few weeks in Florida have been crazy, wonderful, sad, frustrating and amazing all at the same time.  Lol.  We have had so much going on!

There are so many details that I am turning over to God…  This will be the first time Jim and I will both be gone for an extended amount of time.  That’s a little scary.  Our children are all still at home.  Lee and his wife (thank goodness!) decided to move in with us for a while to get a good savings built up and this is a HUGE help as far as Katie is concerned.  They will be able to get her to school and back, help keep things organized, make sure she is ok, etc.  Susan is still home too but is busy planning her own internship in Haiti starting in January.

As silly as this sounds… I am worried about my dogs too!  We have four and one of them is dealing with some nerve and/or disc problems and has been in a lot of pain.  No fun for him or for us as we need to keep him medicated and away from the other dogs.  Hey God…  can you take care of them too?

Do I feel like we have everything “covered”?  Absolutely.  Does that mean I won’t worry… I wish.  I know that God has his hands wrapped around this entire family.  I know that He is going to be with us in Haiti, that He will be with our family in Florida… yes… even the dogs!  I know that He will comfort us, help us make some difficult decisions and give us guidance.  We are leaving with a lot of unanswered questions and I am hoping that God will use this time to work on my heart… to give me wisdom.

Quite the laundry list of expectations…  good thing my God is so big!

Lol.  I just want to be back in Haiti!

Having Jody and Jose visit this weekend with the kids was great!  It really made me homesick for Haiti though…

The next month should fly by with the wedding plans but right now it seems like October will never get here.

I spent most of today working on my support letters and my 2010 budget for our Haiti expenses, etc.  Wow!  Talk about overwhelming!  It is AWESOME that God has placed us in this position and I am excited to see how it all plays out.

I realized as I was crunching numbers today and figuring out travel expenses for a family of five that there is NO WAY we can do it on our own.  That leaves only God.  Pretty cool.  I had the realization that it does me NO GOOD to even worry about it.  He’s got it all under control.  Love it!

Knowing that Susan will be there for a year is so comforting to me.  I am helping her figure out her own financial ministry needs for her time there… I am such a proud mommy!  She blows me away!  She doesn’t actually move there till January so the month of October will be just me and Jim in our little house…

Which leads me back to… Is it October yet?

Who knew how hard this would be?  The fact that my son is getting married in less than a month is blowing me away.  I am getting wrapped up in details….  I’m guessing that’s a good thing because it keeps me from focusing on the fact that my baby boy is getting married!

I thought I was holding myself together pretty well until I had to sit down and pick a song for the mother – son dance.  Wow… way to torture the already VERY emotional mom!

I sat at my dining table for hours, listening to recommended songs and crying my eyes out.  The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face was a huge favorite but I couldn’t even listen to it without crying loudly… I’m thinking dancing would certainly be out of the question!  Lol.  I finally went into Lee’s room and asked him for help.

I was giving up… it was just too hard.  Lee asked what I had narrowed it down to and stopped me when I got to Simple Man by Lynyrd Skynyrd.   He thought it was perfect!  I think it’s pretty perfect too but wasn’t sure that a Lynyrd Skynyrd song was appropriate for a wedding, lol.

I think I’ve listened to it enough that I’ve gotten all (or most) of my crying out of my system..  it really does seem perfect.  It suits us.  One decision down… 100 more to go.

Mama told me when I was young,

Come sit beside me, my only son

And listen closely to what I say

And if you do this it’ll help you some sunny day

Oh, take your time, don’t live too fast

Troubles will come and they will pass

Go find a woman you’ll find love

And don’t forget son there is someone up above

Everyone who knows me, knows how very much my children mean to me.  It’s the hardest part of  being in Haiti is that I don’t get to see their faces or hear about their day…  It’s so hard for me to wrap my brain around the fact that my children are so grown up!  It seems like just yesterday I was rocking them to sleep in my arms…

Love you Lee…  you’ll be my baby boy forever.

So much has been happening in the few days I’ve been back in Florida…  I’ve had to hit the ground running for sure.

A couple of really nice surprises… a family from our church came and cleaned up our entire yard while we were in Haiti… not a small job either!  All of the trees and bushes were trimmed, the ripped section of screen around our pool was repaired and our hearts were warmed.  What a sweet and unexpected surprise!

I had an email waiting for me with an offer to help me with Creole Bibles for Haiti and kind words as well.

Waiting in my pile of mail was a birthday card from my grandmother with a large check given to help pay Katelyn’s tuition at Calvary Christian Academy this year!  A huge help as we are struggling financially as we have just started lining up our Haiti support.   We were able to get Katie registered and she starts her junior year of high school on Monday.

Also in that same pile was a stack of response cards for my sons wedding.  Wow!  THAT certainly made it real!  Lol.  The dress is now altered and home, the plans are all falling into place.  Of course, there are a million small details to attend to but it’s all happening and happening fast!  I find myself torn between excitement and sadness…. I am thrilled for them as they get ready to begin their lives together.  I am also sad that my baby boy will be moving out in a matter of weeks.  That he will no longer be a child but the head of his own household.  WOW!   The mixture of pride and absolute freaking out that statement gives me is slightly overwhelming!

Another random act of kindness (sort of, lol) is that we are singing one of my favorite Haiti songs this weekend.  I could barely get through rehearsal Wednesday night without crying my eyes out.  Mighty to Save has become one of the songs I cannot sing without thinking of and powerfully missing Haiti in a big way.  It also gives me such hope for that country.

Savior, He can move the mountains.  My God is mighty to save, He is mighty to save.

I can’t believe that in the two weeks I’ve been back in Haiti this is the first chance I’ve had to catch my breath and even think about blogging!  Sorry to all of you I promised to be better about blogging to!  ;-)

This was a crazy, busy, wonderful couple of weeks.  I really enjoyed having the Tomoka team here with me and was THRILLED to have my whole family here too.  It was a balancing act for sure between my job, team and family but I think it all went amazingly well.  I watched as my husband slowly started to understand that this little house is OUR home.  I watched as my Haiti family became his family too.  It was truly a blessing for me.

There were over 140 in the last group so there were things happening all over this place!  It was awesome to be a small part of such an amazing process.  The teams that were here together all worked so hard and did a fantastic job!

The TCC team kept super busy and even managed to get in a little bit of fun in between all of the traveling and work.  Their trip included construction projects, sports camps, dance camps, feeding programs, hut to huts and visiting the jail.  There were VBS’s in St Louis, Tortuga, out at the orphanage and in Ansefelour.  They got to overnight in two different places, visiting with Mike and Teresa in Beauchamp and also Curtis and Danielle in the Bay.  We had a country western themed party for the granmoun that was a party like no other!  It was a jam packed trip for sure!

The highlight of the trip had to be the shoe, rice and beans distribution.  Watching six months of work and prayer come together was amazing.  It went as smoothly as I think was possible and the faces of the 70 families we were able to help were just beaming.  We took barrels of shoes and beans to the Augustine church as well as sending 6 barrels of shoes and clothes over to the new church being planted in Tortuga.

I would guess that the hardest thing the team endured was our day in Ansefelour.  After holding a VBS for 170 children we headed over to the voodoo temple.  We had discussed what to expect the night before and spent much time in prayer but nothing could have prepared us for what we would see.

We went up in groups to the room (or one of the rooms) where they keep the doll that they pray to.  It is encased in a glass box that hangs on a wall and the room is set up much like any church that you might worship in.  We actually went into the room, sat in the seats and individually prayed for that place to change, for the people to change, for God to be put back in His rightful place in these peoples lives.  This alone is a very sad and emotional experience when you look around you and see people worshipping with all their hearts to something so wrong.  You can feel the evil all around you…  you feel in on your skin, smell it in the air you breath and taste it in your mouth.

As the second group was up in that room praying, an animal sacrifice was happening right outside the window.  They slaughtered a goat and chicken in front of us and were preparing a bull to be sacrificed as we were leaving the temple.  It was horrifying.  In all of the times I have visited that temple I have never seen anything like it.  The team was pretty shook up and saddened by what we witnessed.  There were many tears that I’m sure continued long after we were gone from that place.

I told that team to THANK GOD for the experience that we just had.  I truly believe that God would not have allowed us to be there at that exact time if He didn’t believe that we needed to see it.  The rituals and the sacrifices were disgusting.  Maybe God knew that we needed to be shook up.  That so many of the team (including me) who have been there so many times were maybe becoming a little desensitized to what we were experiencing.  We can’t possibly know what we are up against in this battle against satan unless we truly believe the power he has over these people.  I thank God for giving me a glimpse of that evil.  I thank Him for trusting US to take it and do something with it.  Not to just leave it in our memory journals.

The most amazing part of this trip for me came at the end of that same day.  We left the temple and stopped at the beach on the way back to the mission.  We all needed a little rest and recovery time after such a difficult day.  My son, Lee, brought his fiancee along on this trip.  This was Marisa’s first time to Haiti… in fact her first time out of the country.  I think that she had a wonderful experience here.  I know that I really enjoyed watching her fall in love with Haiti.  I had the unbelievable honor of baptizing my soon to be daughter in law in that water.  It was the perfect ending to such a difficult day.  The perfect ending to such a wonderful trip.

Also while in Ansefelour and on into the evening, my daughter Susan and her boyfriend RJ came to me with the decision that they want to come to live in Haiti for a year starting in January.   This seemed at first to me like it came out of nowhere but I realized after talking to them, hearing their plans, seeing their hearts… that this has been in the works for years.  I recognize in their faces the same fear, excitement and peace that I experienced in making my own decision to live here.   I think that Jim and I both are exploding with pride and gratitude right now.

God continues to bless this family in new and surprising ways.  I thank Him for that.  I thank Him for the blessing that Marisa and RJ are to this family as well and for the heart that He has given them for this country.   When I made the decision to come to Haiti I had no idea that it was only the beginning of what God has in store for this family.  I am SO excited to see what the next season of my life will look like.

Once again…. God has blown me away with His awesomeness.

Por Mike Medianoche

Una vez más, teletrasportémonos mentalmente a mediado de los años 90. De nuevo, recordemos el éxito que entonces alcanzó mi grupo favorito, Camela, el más famoso trio Acuario madrileño de technorrumba. Un grupo que desde sus orígenes ha arrastrado la etiqueta, por parte de muchos, de ser una formación musical de un corte feriante.

Y hablando de grupos de corte feriante y que alcanzaron el éxito a mediado de los noventa (tomando una vez más prestada la expresión a la siempre presente Mayra), Sufridores en Casa, tu web amiga, te invita a recordar hoy a The Kelly Family.

The Kelly Family era un grupo formado por una ingente cantidad de  hermanos, como los Pajares, de origen extranjero (nacidos en EEUU, Irlanda, Alemania e incluso España) que podían gustarte o no, pero no causar indiferencia, como le ocurre a Belén Esteban. La banda, de estilo folk, tenía miembros de todas las edades y pesos, desde niños a adultos, desde escuálidos a obesas profesionales, apostando por la diversidad.

¿Me echa una monedita?

En su spanish explotation cantaron temas en vasco, catalán y en un castellano, tan entendible como el del Genio Atrapado de Christina Aguilera o el Nada cambiará mi amor por ti de Glenn Medeiros. Algunas de estas canciones en román paladino trataban cuestiones religiosas, con temas como Eva Santa María o Quisiera ser un ángel Garó, rollo Elsa Baeza y su Cristo de Palacagüina.  Hay que reseñar que si bien el boom en España fue entorno a 1995,  la Kelly Family comenzaron su andadura a finales de los setenta, y actualmente continúan en la música, como Lolita.

Además de por su música, la Kelly Family siempre será recordado su look, el cual era de Perro Flauta Avanzado, con unos trajes que podían recordar perfectamente a la familia Von Trapp de Sonrisas y Lágrimas, con sus vestimentas realizadas con viejas cortinas. Era fascinante también que todos sus componentes presentaban unas marbú doradas melenas que posiblemente nunca hayan sido lavadas con Filvirt Champú, Filvirt Mamá.

Jenny Kelly-Gump

Estos chicos, algunos de los cuales podían colar como clones de Pocholo o de Jennnnnny la novia de Forrest Gump, no sólo cantaban y tocaban música, sino que además hacían coreografías ultranaïf, en las que parecían hacer ritos druidas y/o sufrir alucinaciones sicotrópicas, dando vueltas en círculo por el escenario con los brazos elevados al compás de la música. Todo un éxtasis, rollo Santa Teresa de Jesús Hermida.

Admito que nunca me despertó el más mínimo interés musicalmente este grupo, aunque como concepto me parecían un escándalo, ya que con ese rollo clan familiar podría catalogarse como la versión Hippie de Mocedades.

Y hablando de Mocedades y la Kelly Family, cerramos este artículo con los Kelly versionando el mítico y eurovisivo Eres Tú de la Familia Uranga.

]]> http://genealogical.wordpress.com/2009/07/05/a-sunday-walk-around-the-blogs-2/ Mon, 06 Jul 2009 03:16:10 +0000 dncresearch http://genealogical.wordpress.com/2009/07/05/a-sunday-walk-around-the-blogs-2/

Interesting blog and news articles I’ve stumbled across during the past week.

Study Groups Take Many Forms by Stefani Evans for the Las Vegas Sun. Ms. Evans describes the phenomenon of virtual or online study groups for genealogists. Includes a link to a related article.

Tombstone Tuesday from Georgia Black Crackers by Mavis Jones. Ms. Jones shares pictures of two of her Pierce ancestors tombstones, and gives a link to a volunteer web site for those needing cemetery research in Georgia.

My Brickwall Ancestor: John Kelly, (1840 – 1905) – Madness Monday at Still More Genealogy: Because there’s just no end to the genealogy. Aside from the catchy title of the blog, I was struck by how thorough this author’s attempts have been, both in breaking this brick wall and in writing about it. Kudos and good luck!

Discounted NEHGS Memberships Through July 31, 2009 by Thomas MacEntee for Examiner.com. MacEntee describes the benefits of membership with the New England Historic Genealogical Society, which is a bargain at $60 per year…but only if you sign up before July 31st. After that, you’ll have to pay the normal membership fee of $75 per annum (which is still a bargain, IMHO).

It’s the Fourth of July… an American celebration… and all I can do is think about Haiti!

I just got back from a great week of church camp… my last year as a dean as my summers will be spent at the mission from now on.  It was wonderful and sad all at the same time.  We raised over $650 for creole bibles and showed Haiti videos each night during offering.  I am thrilled that so many kids were interested in learning more about missions!  It was great to be able to talk about Haiti so much but at the same time made me so sad…  seeing all of my Haitian friends on the videos each night, watching all of the different programs that happen there come to life on the screen…  I can honestly say I cannot WAIT to get back there!  The bibles that we will be able to purchase thanks to those middle school campers will allow us to put God’s Word in the hand of so many that would never have had the opportunity.  Each one of those kids became missionaries this week!

We have an incredibly busy couple of weeks ahead as I prepare a team of 35 for their upcoming trip.  I am excited to have my team from TCC coming back in with me and of course THRILLED that my family will be there too!  I’m hoping we can get a little family time in here in Florida before we leave too.  This has been a crazy summer with my hubby and kids spread out all over the place.  I thank God for busy schedules and keeping us safe during all of our travels this summer.

Let the countdown begin….  Haiti…. I’m coming home!

Seit die Frau an meiner Seite in der Fußgängerzone beim Stadtfest ihren einstigen Schwarm Jimmy Kelly Straßenmusik machen sah und ihr Lieblingslied “Cover the road” dort von ihm hörte, flammte wieder die Liebe zur Musik der Kelly Family wieder auf. Sie errötete während der Begenung mit Jimmy und benimmt sich seit dem überhaupt wieder, in Bezug auf diese Sache, wie ein Teenager. Da werden massig Konzertausschnitte bei Youtube angeguckt, dann auf DVD-gebannt und alte Alben durchgehört…..in den letzten 4 Nächten hatte ich 3 KellyFamily-Träume…

Dazu machten wir mit Hilfe der nach Rostock ziehenden sehr guten Bekannten eine wunderbare Entdeckung: “Hospital der Geister”. Eine wunderbar skurile, lustige und auch leicht gruselige dänische MiniSerie von Lars von Trier. Ob des Namen des Regiesseurs ahnte ich anstrengendes Fernsehen aber im Gegenteil: großartige Unterhaltung bot und bietet sich uns da allabendlich dar.

Dann durchziehen folgende Worte unser Wohnzimmer:

Das königliche Reichskrankenhaus steht auf uraltem Sumpfland. Hier waren in alten Zeiten die Färberteiche. Hier wässerten die Bleicher ihre riesigen Tücher. Der Dampf, der aus den nassen Stoffen aufstieg, hüllte den Ort in dauernden Nebel.

Jahrhunderte später wurde hier das königliche Reichskrankenhaus gebaut. Die Bleicher wichen den Ärzten und Forschern, den klügsten Köpfen des Landes mit ihrer hochmodernen Technologie. Zum krönenden Abschluss nannten sie das Krankenhaus “Das Königreich” [dän.: Riget]. Von nun an sollte gemessen und gezählt werden, auf das nie mehr Aberglaube und Unwissenheit die Bastionen der Wissenschaft erschüttere.

Aber vielleicht wurden sie zu anmaßend in ihrem hartnäckigen Leugnen der spirituellen Welt. Denn es ist, als wären Dampf und Kälte zurückgekehrt. Kleine Ermüdungsrisse erscheinen im Gebäude. Noch merkt man wenig, aber die Tore zum Königreich tun sich wieder auf.

Kelly Family – An Angel

sau..

Declan Galbraith – An Angel

Wow.  It’s been a busy but amazing couple of days.  I’ve had a lot of fun getting to know the new summer staff and learning along with them as we plug away at the training.  We’ve had marathon training sessions, creole lesson and have managed to get away to the market and waterfall yesterday for some swimming and personal devo time.

I feel so completely blessed to be with such a great (and fun!) group of people.  I am so excited to see how this summer shapes up.  We have all bonded quickly and well and seem to share a passion for the work that this mission is doing and for the Haitian people we are here to serve.

The group arrives tomorrow so we will get to put all of our training to the test, lol.  It (surprisingly) doesn’t scare me at all but I am just really looking forward to getting started.  It is a smaller team so a great one to break us all in!

My apartment is just about done.  The toilet and door went in today.  I will paint tomorrow and hopefully move in before the group arrives. The hot water and cabinet doors will come later.  It looks amazing and I can’t wait to show it off to my family next month.  I am thrilled to be able to have a place where we can come together as a family here in Haiti.  It is really starting to feel like home!

1000 (mich selbst nicht mitgezählt) Blogaufrufe! Ist zwar nicht soviel, aber hübsch rund. Und zum Geburtstag gibt es Jimmy Kelly, der aufm Magdeburger Stadtfest für Kleingeld musiziert. Da sach ich mal ganz hähmisch: Haha.

Pro.

The countdown has begun….  Jim and Katie left a few days ago on their big adventure and I am getting everything packed up and ready for Haiti.  For some reason I am really nervous!

I’ve been to Haiti 15 times and love every bit of it…. WHY on earth am I nervous about this trip?

#1….  I’ve never gone to Haiti without at least one member of my family.  I really AM a big baby about being alone!

#2….  I am starting my new position as group coordinator for the mission.  This is scary!

#3….  I am leaving SO much undone at home and hate that I am having to count on other people to do what I would normally be doing for the team, camp, my house, everything.

I have confidence that this is the path God wants me to follow.  I just need to learn to not worry about the “small” things.  I trust Him to take care of everything… so why the nervousness?

I think the problem is that I don’t trust ME enough.  Can I be strong enough?  Can I be what they need me to be?  Am I even good enough?

I’m really OK with answering no to each of those questions.  If I was strong enough, good enough and thought I knew it all…. I certainly wouldn’t need to rely on God, would I?  If there’s anything I’ve learned in the last two years it’s that God WANTS me to rely on Him for EVERYTHING.  So I will.

My family and I have come together on this and are determined to allow God to work in our lives.  Haiti has become home to each of us and I am so excited to begin this next step.  I have the most amazing children….  it will be so HARD to be away from them so much but I take great pride in the fact that they GET it.  We are a team.  What more do I need?

I might just need to remind myself of that a time or two over the next few day!  Haiti, here I come!