Douseman

We are now readying for our journey home. The team is showering, packing, sorting, finalizing. I still have a to-do list. Not sure what else I will be able to get done. But sending off a final post from here is one of the items. This day has gone fabulous. The painting that we hoped to get done we wrapped up before 11:00. Jim mounted a bathroom light fixture that Ray purchased for Naromie and installed the switch so there will be light in the bathroom when the power is on. Jim and Bob went over and installed the bathroom sink and toilet at the property; the bathroom is really taking shape and looks awesome. I spent an hour with my drilling team here with instructions and demonstrations, we drilled a little more and my system is working amazingly well. Emmanuel shook my hand and said; “Pastor, we hope to call you soon and tell you the well is done!” I think I was able to instill a bit of confidence in them, and used the word ‘douseman’ (creole for slowly) to help them understand that if they take their time their problems will be small, if they hurry, MY problems will be big. Come to think of it, that is probably good advise for us Americans. Robinson explained it to the guys this way; if you are driving slow and you have a flat tire, you will only have to replace the tire, if you are driving fast and you get a flat tire, you may have to replace the whole car.What a great illustration. We have done so much on this trip it is a little hard to fathom. I am going to be drafting a list on our way home tomorrow, but for all the sickness and trials this trip brought our team, they have pulled through with flying colors. Krystle is miserable, suffering much. Keep her in your prayers. Ray seems to think symptomatically that both of the kids have suffered the dreaded ‘swine flu’. It has been a really rough week for them. Many in the country are sick right now. The rainfall is way down, and the dust is very high. We are all looking forward to breathing some fresh Miami air tomorrow. The team just got back from seeing our old rented facility. They are in awe. It is amazing where God has brought us from and what He is doing now. Beth and I went and looked at an orphanage building downtown. The owner wants to rent or sell it to us. Not sure what is happening, but something is in the making. Tonight my heart is full. This has been another high impact trip, for us and for our Haitian family. One day as we were walking the mile journey from the house to the church, all the sudden we heard; “Krystle, Krystle…” so even the town folk are connecting with us and it’s a warm feeling. As the teams show up, it helps our church family. Robinson told us that every time we have shown up, the church has grown its membership. We are grateful to be used by God in this great mission field. The team got to experience ‘noon prayer’ today. That is always a life transforming experience. It is rather sobering as they started at 11:30 and ended at after 3:00 and now as I am typing they are having a special prayer service from 6:00-8:00. It is staggering to try to take it all in. We are a blessed people, and I as I ready for the journey back home tomorrow, I am filled with gladness to come home, and yet a sorrowful longing to just stay here for a while longer. The load of team leadership is a bit taxing, I exercise the eyes in the back of my head a lot here. But God is so faithful, and these people so amazing, it lightens the burden, and makes it feasible to continue the journey to help this desperate land, to make a difference for a hurting life whose pain very few of us can understand or comprehend. Keep us in your hearts as we make our way home. Blessings tonight from a dark front porch...freshly painted!