Status-Post Haitian Vacation... ;o)

The Lord definitely has a sense of adventure! So after an awesome week of "roughin' it" for Jesus at that incredible resort with AC, gourmet meals (not always sure exactly what i was eating, but it was awesome), and (usually) hot showers, we have arrived in Port-Au-Prince to find a rather different situation.

Matt Tegen and I are staying with Carl and Maya Gilles and their adorable daughters Thea (18 months) and Zahra (1 month) in their beautiful guest house for this month to cram as much Creole into our heads as possible. As we pulled up to their house, Carl hopped out and opened the large metal gate, and I felt like we were on House Hunters International! It's a lovely home with tiled floors and lots of space and fun rainbow-colored awnings above the windows.

Shortly after we arrived, we learned that the water had been left on while we were at the retreat for the week, and it had emptied the cistern on the roof... leaving us with no water!! It's been an interesting journey the last 48 hours of Carl valiantly trying to get it fixed. In the midst of that, once the electric went off for several hours. Usually, the city electricity runs for several hours, then we switch to that battery inverter system, and when that's done we move to the generator. It enables us to have fans (without which we might not sleep) and lights.  So, I've learned how to have a Haitian shower (a sponge bath-style bathing routine using a large bucket of water and a smaller bucket to rinse with) and I've gotten good use out of my headlamp for putting on my makeup while getting ready for church at 5:15 this morning. It's definitely been an adventure. :o) I think the fact that we have internet still makes me feel like I'm not really roughing it.

Yup... 5:15! Church was a really neat experience this morning, and we attended the early service (6-8am) at the largest Wesleyan church in Haiti! The place was packed out, and it was incredible to hear the people pray!! While the pastor was praying, they were all agreeing with him, and I am so blessed to be a part of the Lord's church worldwide and worship with this amazing group of believers! We were introduced on stage before the church (thankfully Carl translated for us so I didn't have to do it in Creole-- yet! the goal for next Sunday is to be able to introduce myself and describe my future ministries). I didn't understand much beyond a few scattered words and phrases in the message that was all in Creole, but I did figure out which passage of Scripture he was using... only to learn later that he read it all in French! I'm so confused! :o)~

Yesterday we had some fun little adventures! We whizzed thorough the downtown area to see the huge cathedral, a museum, and the palace, and then went souvenir shopping with some girls that were just here for the week. I bought a lovely painting that's gracing my room here, which Matt helped me negotiate the price for like 30 minutes! Do you like it?: 

 Also, we all got to enjoy sugar cane!! It's really good and different... You bite off a chunk, gnaw on it as sweetness floods your taste buds for 10 seconds, and then spit it out. It should come with a spittoon! It's nice, but much like chewing on sweet wood.

Now that you have an idea of some of the tastes of Haiti, let me describe the smells... Periodically, the aroma of a fire permeates the air. It seems that something is always burning. Typically, someone is burning a pile of trash. I'll have to post pictures of the city soon so that you can visualize it too! Thus far, I've been in a moving vehicle through the streets, so I'll have to try to get some still shots soon! But here's a little peek into my room, complete with my rockin' mosquito netting:

I'll leave you with one last story of smells here... On Sundays, we're on our own for meals, as the cook/housekeeper and her niece have a much-deserved day off. This afternoon, I had the pleasure of making eggplant lasagna (eggplant is sooo cheap here!) with salad and garlic cheese bread for lunch. It was fun finding my way around a kitchen in Haiti. The oven is fueled with propane, so you have to light a match and then turn the gas on for the stove and oven. We can't (shouldn't :) drink water from the tap, so it's an interesting process of cleaning vegetables. Washing dishes involves a small amount of soap and bleach and a rinse bucket of boiling hot water to scorch the germs and hopefully attain a small measure of sterility. But the results of the cooking sure were wonderful!! And one last scent to leave you with... Maya made cappuccino chip cookies for dessert! The running water it off again right now, but I'd say we're not roughing it too bad right now. ;o)

 

Haitian Vacation?!!! :o)

Yup, you read that right! I'm kinda on vacation for my first few days in Haiti! How sweet after the hustle and bustle of leaving and the unexpected news about my dad! On the plane on Monday morning, the Lord spoke to me about resting in Him, and it was so sweet to find out Monday night when I got here, that it's also the theme of this retreat, centered on the same verses that God had shown me!!  


First, I need to give you a quick update. My dad's bladder cancer biopsies came back this week, and-- praise the Lord!!!-- it's a low level, non-invasive cancer!! The prostate still needs further biopsies, but we are soooo thankful for this news!!! Thanks for your encouraging notes and especially for your prayers!


This week is an area missionary retreat, and it's the first one in several years. There are 26 of us gathered here, and it feels much like an extended  family reunion-- we don't know one another that well but we already love each other! There are also 2 incredible women here who have been doing missions work in Guyana and Suriname for 40 years!! Their stories are incredible and encouraging, and it's fun to see pictures of people in grass huts!


I felt a little silly at first to be on a retreat when I haven't done any work yet, but I've been assured that I'll earn it soon enough! We're right on the ocean and the sunsets have been incredible! Isn't God a great artist?!

And the beach is incredible:

And I think that's where Monday night's dinner came from! Conch is yummy! Tastes a little like chicken... :o)


The schedule for this week has lent itself to lots of adventures! Our normal schedule consisted of meetings of encouragement and team building in the morning, and then free afternoons and evenings. Those times were full of swimming in the ocean and pool, enjoying the sun, playing games, visiting, drawing, napping, and snorkeling.  And we were especially excited to have AC in the bedrooms and hot water (most of the time :).  Picture us here:

And then one afternoon, I was invited to another mission for a quick visit.


That morning, one of our team members shared a neat insight into a common experience for missionaries in Haiti. Often when we're out on the island (La Gonave, the place where I'll be for most of my time here), children will hold our hand while we're out. The missionary mentioned that these kids are placing some of their hope and trust in us every time they do that. When I was here in March for a week and that occurred, it was just like "o, isn't that cute?!", but what a neat insight he had! But how neat to consider even these little events as a moment in which to share Christ and His love as a child places their trust in me for a short time.


This afternoon, a few of us visited Mission Possible with Cory, a botanist and a missionary in the northern part of Haiti. He was going to check on the garden, and they also have a school there. While exploring the gardens we checked out the banana trees.

As we meandered through the gardens, a little girl who lived there grabbed my hand. Instantly, Carl's message from the morning came to mind, and I felt so priviledged to be in this country and have moments of influence and venues for impact.


We also had a glimpse of Haitian power supply, and it's quite different from the States!! When the normal power goes out, we rely on an inverter system using power that was stored in car batteries! The one at this mission looks like this:

I think that there's 18 of 'em!


 On the drive back, Cory told us about the gardens on the side of the mountains. The mountains are so steep here that people sometimes fall out of their gardens!! The lighter areas on the mountains in this picture are surgham.










A few more pictures from the retreat... This is the view from our room and the room itself:

And a few quick pics to prove that I was actually here, too! :o) This is me doing what I do best-- talking!! I was waiting for lunch with Pastor Dan, our area director, Dr. Kris, her son Eli, and Marlene, the wife of our pastor to missionaries.  And the dining room has an incredible ocean view!! There are no walls in there, so we also had little birds who visited with us for dinner! :o) The food was incredible, all prepared by a Haitian/ Canadian chef!


And this is me (in the hat) on the rock beach at sunset:

I hope and pray that you're having a wonderful, restful day and look forward to hearing about your adventures!!!

Dear Friends, a little letter from me to you

Dear Friends,

Hi! I feel like writing a letter today more than a blog. Letters seem to be a little more personal and sweet (or maybe just a little more Diane-ish :o). Most of the New Testament was written as letters-- epistles full of love, encouragement, personal greetings, and exhortations to know and love the relational God who first loved us. Today and the news that I have to share are letter-types of things.

My dear friends, thank you for going on this journey with me!! I'm so glad to have you with me in spirit on these new adventures. And I especially appreciate your prayers and responses!

I'm leaving tomorrow night for Haiti!! My flight leaves at 7:45pm from Atlanta, then it's on to a quick overnight in JFK. On Monday morning, I should arrive in Port-au-Prince!! Nov. 2-6th is a retreat for the area missionaries-- the first in several years! Then, I'll stay in the capital for language training for the rest of November and on to the hospital in December. Can't wait!

Dear friends, the next bit of news is hard to write. About 3 weeks ago, my dad started having some concerning symptoms. From an ER mindset, they were cancerous until proven otherwise. From a daughter's standpoint, they were nothing until they were something. Unfortunately, it did turn out to be something. My father was diagnosed with bladder and prostate cancer yesterday. We are waiting for the biopsies to come back to know how severe it is. Hopefully, it's not much of something.

In the midst of this curveball of news in my last week States-side, the Lord has been so sweet! None of this takes Him by surprise! My dad has an incredible sense of peace. And God has made it so clear that I need to be departing for Haiti in November. It has been incredible to watch Him bring the Haiti trip together! The vice president of the missions board I'm going through was amazed that all of the funds came together in just 5 months! I had a veteran missionary tell me this week how stunned he was that all of my fund-raising is already done (i'm just $500 shy of the whole $27,300 needed!). In the spring, I felt so strongly that I needed to leave in Nov., and here I am departing on Nov. 1st!! At this point, it still seems like I need to leave, but so much of my heart and prayers will still be here in little Central, SC. I know that my dad remains in the competent hands of great physicians, the gracious hands of loving friends, and the Almighty hands of Father God.

It has been a crazy but good week here. We spent it in doctors' offices, packing (and repacking-- still 3 pounds over in both suitcases! :o)~, eating and more eating of favorite foods, spending every second possible with family and friends and my wonderful boyfriend, and celebrating holidays (we had Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas all this week!). I also had my last day of work yesterday, and it was an incredible love-feast! Love, because I don't know that I've ever felt so loved at a job, especially yesterday with the news of my father's illness!! And feast, because I have NEVER in 3 years there seen so much food in that place! And I think that food there really equates with love, and it poured out in a high tea and many other yummy treats. Heehee, and I think that I will be feelin' that love around my hips for a while! :o) What a blessing to work with such wonderful people!

May the grace, peace, and comfort of our gracious, powerful, comforting God fill you today and every day! Thank you in advance for your prayers and comments-- I look forward to keeping in touch!

In His peace,
~diane

My Life, a Miniseries

I think that God loves to surprise me when I least expect Him to! I like to think that it's kinda like He's sitting on a couch in Heaven watching the miniseries of my life and at a moment like today, He'll lean over to an angel and say, "Hey, Gabriel, watch this! She's gonna love what I did for her! Watch for the expression that going to be on her face!" And then He leans back and smiles as He watches me enjoy the surprise that He's had in store for me since before the creation of the world.

Today had one of those moments!

So, I was writing an email to my mobilizer from Global Partners this morning. My mobilizer is the guy who makes sure that all of the long list of stuff to be done before going to Haiti gets done. I'm so thankful for him!! It's great to have someone know you, know your paperwork, and know how to get you to where God wants you to go! So, I was writing about my checklist of stuff (which is shrinking rapidly!!!) and mentioning fundraising. If my budget gets officially approved for $27,000 (that's the number i've been working with, but I need some i's dotted and t's crossed to make it proper), then I only need another $5,500! Woohoo! But the funny thing is... I have no idea where that money is going to come from!! The mobilizer wanted to know my plan for raising funds this month, and as I sat there pondering what to write had this feeling of "duh, uh, I dunno..." I don't really have a whole lot more contacts than the ones I've already contacted. It was a bleak feeling, and oddly, I felt so bleak I didn't even feel like I could pray about it.

So, on to the next email that I needed to respond to... and I realized that I needed to write back to a dear friend of mine who wrote me last week and asked about how to support me! Hooray! The Lord already has one more supporter lined up!

As I was writing her, I got a phone call from my mom. One of her friends had just stopped by to see her and share some exciting news from her (the friend's) recent doctor's visit. This doctor is a wonderful, nice doctor that I met as a student, and he had expressed interest in offering me a job 3 years ago. I had something else lined up by then, but he's still one of my favorite doctors. Well, this doctor asked my mom's friend if I was still moonlighting at the internist's office. When she said that I wasn't, he inquired about my current job status. The friend went on to explain that I'm preparing for Haiti and that I have a LOT of money to raise. {this is the part where God leans over and smiles big} The doc wants to support me!!! He told her to tell me to send him a letter and that he would love to be a part of my support team! Wow!!!

It's so neat when I think that I'm absolutely at the end of all that I can do trying to follow God's leading, and then He steps in to provide in ways that I never even imagined (and i have a really good imagination!). And He works even when I have zero faith that He's doing it!

Thanks for your prayers and I hope that today you're enjoying the next installment of adventures that God has planned for the miniseries of your life!
~diane
P.S.~ My target departure date is early November! Soooo excited!

Sweet Thoughts of September

Happy Fall! It certainly feels like fall today!! It's wonderful to run in the afternoon (since it's no longer blisteringly hot at that time), drink Pumpkin Spice lattes from Starbucks, and watch God paint the leaves!
I hope that you're having a wonderful week! My September has started well with some hikes in parents' mountainous neighborhood, easing back into running (after a 4 month hiatus after running a marathon and then having shoulder surgery), and definitely enjoying a few lattes! Below is a fun recipe that I found for a homemade Pumpin Spice Latte-- let me know if you think it tastes like the real thing!

2 shots Espresso

3 oz milk combined w/ 3oz 1/2 & 1/2 steamed & frothed-- or As much as you like

2 Tsp Pumpkin Spice- Grocery store Spice Isle.

1 tblsp white mocha Tollhouse chips to sweeten.

Then mix it all up to taste. Top with whipped cream and a sprinke of pumpkin spice.

As much as I'm enjoying fall right now, I kind of miss summer. Usually, summer is so hot that I long for fall by the time it gets here. This year, I have a little bit of nostaglia for summer, like I wasn't quite ready for it to be done yet... I was hoping for a few more days of soaking up sun on the deck, wearing skirts, and eating watermelon. I think that perhaps God is getting even my internal thermometer ready for Haiti! I'm looking forward to living in perpetual summer, where the coldest it gets is 80 degrees at night in the winter!

Speaking of Haiti, it looks like a November departure just might happen!! I'm so close with the fund raising-- praise the Lord!!! I only need another $5,600 out of the $27,000! It's fun and wonderful and scary and exhilarating to be so close!! Thanks for your prayers!!

May you have a wonderul, blessed, pumpkin-spice-filled fall week!

The Start of the Blog

Hi, friends!!
Here it is... my very first real blog post!! Below are a few little blogs that I wrote last year when I attempted to blog, but I have finally decided that it's time to really blog.
Now for a little background on me and my sudden urge to blog... :o)
The last three years have been wonderful... I have had a wonderful job working with great people in an ER (and getting great stories out of it, like the college guys reenacting Braveheart with steak knives and the patient who tried to steal an ambulance :), I traveled to see dear friends scattered all over the globe, I developed an insatiable addiction to swing dancing, and I renovated and decorated an adorable, cozy cottage.

All that is about to change (not the wonderfulness, just all those details :o).

I'm embarking on a new adventure and following God to Haiti for a year!! I'm so excited to join God in the work that He is doing there! Here is how my life is about to be quite different:

~Job- I will be working in a 26-bed hospital that serves 100,000 people. I will take call on a rotating schedule with 2-4 Haitian doctors, and the most common ailments are HIV, malaria, high blood pressure problems (stroke/eclampsia), and machete lacerations. And I get to work in the only 2 rooms on the island with AC-- the 2 small surgical suites-- woohoo! :o)

~Travel- I will be living on the island of LaGonave, which is located in the bay of Haiti. It's only 38 miles long, but because there are no paved roads, it takes 8 hours to travel from one end to the other. To get there, I will fly into Port-au-Prince, take a 2 hour ride in the back of a pick up truck, get a 2 hour tour across the sea, and arrive at the crystal clear waters of our boat dock on La Gonave. The language of Haiti is Creole, which is a fun dialect of French and I'm working hard at it (Sa ou genyen diarre? do you have diarrhea? ;).

~Fun stuff- There will be 3 other young adult missionaries from the States with me in Haiti, and we're hoping to start a small group for young adults at the Haitian church. Few people have electricity, so most people are free to do stuff once the sun sets (at 6:30pm), leaving an awesome opportunity for us to engage in fellowship on the missions compound (which has electricity until 9pm). Also, there is a huge desire to learn Spanish on the island, and I'm hoping to start a weekly Spanish club for practice and relationship-building, since they can't practice Spanish like we can in the States (by going to a local Mexican restaurant or watching the Spanish channel on tv). I'm also excited about visiting the local orphanage, full of adorable children who have smiles so warm they could melt chocolate.

~Housing- I am excited to get to live on the missions compound with a bunch of great missionaries!! There are several families who will be there and 3 other young adults. There is very little prepackaged foods on the island, so we do have a kitchen and employ 3 cooks for when teams come down for short term trips from the States. I hear I can even get one of them to bake me a loaf of bread every week, as there's no where to buy it! But they do have peanutbutter and delicious mangoes in the open air markets where I'll shop-- I'm excited!!

I'm going through Global Partners, the missions arm of the Wesleyan church (i currently attend FWC/ALIVE... www.fwcalive.com) and the link to my page with them is www.wesleyan.org/gp/mdirectory2/WM29-0070.  I'm in the process of raising the last $7,500 out of $27,000 that I need to go, and I have been so blessed to see how the Lord is providing!! God has been bringing people into my life--without me doing anything-- who have been huge supporters and promoters. One of my nurses approached me about speaking at her church, where the pastor gave me all of this normal sermon time, I was informed at the last minute that I should give an alter call (first one EVER), and a girl got saved!!! I was approached by another coworker, who wants me to speak on her uncle's local Christian radio station!! God sent me wonderful renters for my cozy cottage, and I never advertised it!!

It has been an incredible summer, and I'm so excited to see what's next! I'm hoping to leave for Haiti by the end of the year, and I would love to have you share the journey with me!!

Ready or not, here I blog...
~diane

So much of life can be described by "hurry up and wait." Sometimes I wish that my life were a bit like a movie-- all the exciting parts are there and ya can fast forward thru the boring ones. And yet, most of the living goes on the in the simple day-to-day operations. I am trying to learn to be thankful for the lulls and the "normal" days. In them, sparkle gems of God's love and traces of His fingerprints. Today, I got to see a little of that in the glorious budding of the trees in our neighborhood. I picked my favorites (heehee... or maybe i just picked the ones that i could actually reach :), and they now sit in a lovely pitcher on my dresser to remind me that God cares for the lilies. He has not forgotten me. I just read a sweet lil devo that ended with the words, "Our God is the living God of the Heavens, and even when He delays it is part of His goodness." So, even when I feel that nothing is happening (no sign of a future house or a future knight or a future international adventure on the horizon), this, too, is part of knowing Him. The normal, everyday life is a gift from Him. And I don't want a fast forward button to miss that! :o)