The weekend

I didn't realise how busy we were last week until Stacey said ' I don't know how Bill is still standing after the week he has had!'  Last Saturday we had Dan & Sharon from England staying with us until Thursday.  Dan had worked in Port au Prince for 3 months before they were married and we met them at the OMS young adults weekend last October.  They were here for a vision trip and wanted to see all of the OMS ministries up here in the North. 

Last Sunday we went to church in the morning and Bill preached at English Bible Fellowship in the afternoon.  I took Sharon & Dan round all the OMS ministries on Monday & Tuesday.  Bill went with them to the Citadelle on Wednesday he also taught his first classes on Tuesday, Thursday & Friday.  Finally on Friday morning Bill was preaching in Chapel.  The theme for Chapel this semester is humility so Bill preached on humility in suffering from 1 Peter 4 v 12-19. 

Bill's preaching was too much for Joel!

With Joel still not sleeping all night we were ready for a rest. Saturday morning we took it easy at home and Saturday afternoon we took the boys along with Dr Rodney's kids to Villa Cana for a swim. It was Rouds birthday on Friday so this was his birthday treat and he loved it.  

Today the Heckmans and Ayars went to a church pastored by one of the final year students close to the DR border.  They left here at 7am and we just couldn't get ready for that time! So we decided to visit the local OMS church here in Saccenville.  It is a small fellowship of believers some of whom work here at EBS including Jeansouis who works in our yard and Roselore who we buy milk from. During the service they asked if anyone wanted to come up and sing and this wee old man was straight up with his too big trousers, too big shoes and dirty shirt but he sung his heart out! We enjoyed going to church locally and hope to get to know some more people who live in the local community.

This is the only time in the week both boys are dressed and clean!

This afternoon Bill, Sam, Lily & Sophie were outside having a water fight when it started to rain.....hard! They had the time of their lives and Bill was loving feeling cold!!

Meanwhile Joel was doing what Bill and I wish we could do on a Sunday afternoon..........

Time to start working!

Our second set of visiting professors left last Saturday. We had.....

We have had the VP's eating at our house every 3rd night for dinner and its been really interesting to get to know them.  Now the intensives have finished and residential courses have started.  Bill has started teaching and has class on Tuesdays, Thursdays & Fridays from 8 - 11.30am.  His first couple of classes have gone well and tomorrow he will teach from 8 - 11.30 then preach in the chapel service which is from 11.30 - 12.30! 

I hope to go to the clinic next week to sort out my room where I am going to be working and hopefully start soon.  Sam is much more settled with Michilene now and Joel loves her!!  Joel is still coughing but is much better form and sleeping much better (thankfully!).

Wheelchairs

I managed to get two wheelchairs and was able to go last week and give them out.  The wheelchairs came  from the Swiss paraplegic foundation who sent in a container of 250 chairs to a hospital just outside of Cap Haitian and the chairs have been distributed around different physiotherapists. I managed to get two off a physiotherapist.

The first went to Mano a 15 year old with Cerebral Palsy.  Mano can walk a few metres unaided but it is really difficult for him.  He hasn't really left his house in a few years.

The other went to Alynx, a ten year old with microcephaly.  He loves sitting outside his house watching everyone and hanging out.  He was sitting on a wooden chair with a pole across the front to make sure he doesn't fall out.  Now he will be able to sit somewhere more comfortable and go out.  He lives very close to the clinic so once I start working someone can bring him over for physio once a week.

He was very happy to get his chair!! I couldn't find a child's chair but this is better than nothing.

Both boys were patients of mine when I was in Haiti before and I had to go to their houses to treat them hopefully now they will be able to come to the clinic for physio and with better facilities we should be able to do more.

The boys

People are always asking how the boys are so here you go....

Sam has taken a while to settle in to life in Haiti, he loves where we live and being able to play outside.   He never complains he is too hot and insists on wearing his PJ's and using a blanket at night time.  Being out in the community and going to church is a bit overwhelming for him, everything is so loud (especially church) and when he is in the street with me people are staring or shouting at him and the kids are all trying to touch him which he doesn't like but he is coming round and getting more and more comfortable everyday.

He loves saying 'Koman ou ye?' (how are you in Creole) to people he knows and is starting to say a few more things in Creole.  Sam's favourite things to do are go swimming, play outside with Lily & Sofie, visit friends houses who have kids to play with and play (torture) Bello Bello.......his kitten!

One thing which I appreciate here with Sam is the opportunity to teach him.  We had a young girl in the clinic who is 25 and pregnant with her 6th child. She is on her own, her mother is dead and her father threw her out of the house.  Anyway  I was explaining to Sam I was going to collect up some of his and Joel's clothes and give them to a little boy who didn't have any clothes. Our conversation went like this.....

M - Sam, I am going to give some of your clothes to a little boy who doesn't have any.
S - I don't want to give my clothes away!
M - How would you feel if you didn't have any clothes?
S - I would be sad, I am going to give that little boy some of my clothes.
M- Sam, that's very kind.
S - I am going to give that little boy some of my books too.
M - ok Sam
S - Can I give that little boy some of my toys too?
M - Sam you know if you give some toys away you can't get them back.
S - Ok I am going to give that little boy some of my toys and he will be really happy.
M -  Sam, that is very kind of you.

So he collected up his clothes, a couple of books and some toys and put them in a bag to give to this little boy and told me ' I am really happy that little boy is going to be happy.'
We went later that day to give the bag to Dr Rodney in the clinic who was going to pass on the stuff to the young girl.  Sam kept asking about the bag, when we were going to give it to Dr Rodney and he was very concerned that it went to the right person. He told me lots of times that little boy will be really happy.  Even for a few days after he was talking about it.  He also hasn't asked for any of the toys he gave away ( He doesn't forget anything so I thought he might ask for them one day!!).

  It was really lovely amidst the temper tantrums (they don't call it terrible twos for no reason!!) to see a different side of him and to see him thinking about other people and realising the world doesn't revolve around him. Also to see that he was valuing how that little boy would feel more than his clothes, toys and books which we know are very important when your 2!!

There are lots of obvious opportunities here to teach him about sharing, about helping other people and about being thankful for all the things God has given to us.

I told him last week Granny is coming to visit our new home and he has been asking about it everyday! He wants to know when Granny is coming on the big plane.  We are very thankful for facetime  and anytime Sam wants to talk to his granny we can just phone her.

Poor Joel hasn't been well for just over 2 weeks now, he is much better than what he was but still not 100 %.  He is still got a runny nose and cough but is in much better form and almost back to his very smiley self.  He loves anybody talking to him, or if you just talk near him he smiles!  He is wanting to get into everything but hasn't quite worked out how to crawl yet.  He loves watching Sam play but that may be a different story once he starts to move! He is still growing quickly and weighs 21 lbs!! Needless to say I don't carry him around a lot and I am looking forward to him crawling.

My favourite time with the boys is bath time and story time! Every night they are in the bath together and they love it then we go into Sam's room for a story, it s funny to see Joel sitting up watching the book at only 7  months old!

impossible to get them all to look at the camera at the same time.....I am hoping this will improve with age!

Photobombed by Pepper & Boone

EBS

EBS classes started back on 22nd August with the first round of intensives from visiting professors.  An intensive course usually lasts for two weeks with class from 8 - 12 everyday.  Bill taught one of these courses in 2013 and his students are now in 4th year.  He was surprised to see that his students remembered him.

Here is our first round of intensives....

This Saturday four more VP's join us for the next two weeks of intensives.  Then on 19th September residential courses will begin and  Bill will start teaching (he had initially thought he would be teaching an intensive).  This semester he will be teaching three courses, systematic theology, OT wisdom literature and the general epistles.  His days are spent in his office preparing and continuing with language.  Bill's Creole teacher has challenged him to write his power point slides for class in Creole which seems to be going well. He is really looking forward to starting teaching.

The latest edition to our house is a wee cat which Sam has decided to call 'bello bello' . Sam loves bello (a bit too much) he loves playing with him and carrying  him around and poor wee bello bello has been very patient!!