growth, school roof and hard work ...all in a weeks worth

this week on the plateau...

 Trees were purchased to start planting in the new land that was purchased for Lemuel. Rains have come and we trust they will continue to come. 

Mme Jak standing in her newly planted garden! We prayed with her that a harvest would come for this family and many other families who have planted. 

Lemuel's intern Jenna has transition from a staff position to student. She meets with Bonita for classes and is spending more time in the community learning from them. One of her projects this week was to finish the mural in the church. It's completely changed the look of the church. Stay tuned for the finished product. 

This week work started on the school roof to put the cement roof on the end. 

We are enjoy the growth and new life that is popping up all around us. Manis, Judy, Ani and Samuel are in the US  packing and shipping a bus that has been donated to Lemuel. Krischelle and Bonita are taking care of things back on the Plateau. The 'crazy' fever continues to spread in the community but we are seeing people recovering more quickly and many have been able to continue to work.

Thank you for praying! 

Chikungunya Fever - HIT

Hit with Chikungunya Fever!!!

I stepped outside to see some of the work going on outside and I noticed Gilbert on the ground. He said, "The fever just hit me!" This has been the case for many of our staff and people in our community for the last 5 days. This crazy fever that originated in Africa hit our little island about a month ago. Here's the description that was sent out.

"Chikungunya fever is a mosquito-transmitted viral disease transmitted by the Aedes mosquito, the same type that causes dengue fever and which bites mostly during the daytime.   Symptoms usually begin 3-7 days after being bitten by an infected mosquito.  They typically include fever and severe joint pain in the hands and feet.  Other symptoms may include fever, headache, muscle pain, joint swelling, and rash.   There is no specific antiviral treatment for chikungunya virus, but medicines are available to help reduce fever and pain."

We would greatly appreciate your prayers for us during this time. I still have enough medication to hand out but supplies are quickly diminishing. Among the list of those with the fever is our friend SuAnne who was here visiting last week. The fever hit as she was leaving. She arrived home in Wisconsin, but is down with the fever. 

Pressing on, Plateau Anse Rouge

Sunshine and a Bel Jaden by SuAnne Vannatter

Loved having rain nearly every day though with the lack of sun the solar panels were not obviously soaking up much from the sky. Rain is wonderful and needed though the cloudy days did drain the batteries. Well, today the sun did come out and it is very hot!! Cho is the Creole word and yes, when everyone asks me "Kouman ou ye, SuAnne" I have to respond truthfully, "Mwen cho!". 

                      Daina's doll clothing that I am excited to be bringing home with me.

Krischelle handles the organization's finances. This is her walk-up bank window! 

In the heat of the day it appears that I am the only one not wise enough to get out of the sun. 

 Actually I discovered that many have gone to their gardens as they are growing well with all the recent rain and the kids have all gone home after finishing their school day. 

 I saw many clothes on clotheslines today as everyone was apparently waiting for a sunny day to do their wash.

Soon I hope to be picked up by Mme Wisely to go and see her garden. "Picked up" in Haiti means she will walk to get me and then we will walk together to her garden....

"bannann" or plantains

Mme Wisely was very proud of the work she and her family put into having this "bel jaden" or beautiful garden and grateful for the rain God so graciously brought onto their fields.

Can you see Mme Wisely's daughter?

On our return from the garden the goats were gathered from where they were grazing. I was a little concerned crossing this little stream as I didn't want to now end my week by falling again.  Once I told them "mwen te tonbe" or" I fell" earlier in the week they were very willing to help me across.

When I originally asked if the walk to the garden was "far" and was told "no" I guess I should realize that defining "far" for an out-of-shape American is not the same definition for a very-in-shape Haitian! Yes, it was a rather long walk and I will walk it every visit to the Plateau to see the the "bel jaden" of Mme Wisely.

The Women's Center with Dadithe by SuAnne Vannatter

This morning I was blessed to watch Dadithe in action as she teaches local women how to sew that they might one day be able to sell their products to hopefully offer additional finances for their family. Not to mention they are gaining a wonderful skill or perfecting what they already know.
Class began at its current location at the old Tes & Fils building (for those of you who have been here before).

They began by singing a hymn which I was only able to sing along by reading the song book as Creole is very easy to read even though I wasn't sure of what exactly what I was singing!

After singing they began to memorize one of the Psalm's of David and next Dadithe read from the scriptures and taught a beautiful lesson as the women continued to stand and listen.

 Following there was a time of discussion and the devotion time ended in a time of prayer by everyone.

Next the sewing began; today everyone was working on completing skirts and tops they were making.  They are beginning with doll clothes to learn the process and next will progress to similar patterns in adult sizes.

Meet Daina, the doll who gets to try on all the new clothes they are making for her.  Unfortunately for Daina, I requested to purchase a skirt or outfit from each of the students. Each student offered me to look at what they have made and I chose which I would be purchasing.  For some they wanted to put on finishing touches of clasps or a belt and wanted to iron them as Dadithe and the students clearly have a high standard for quality and a pride in what they have created for others to enjoy.

Ironing in Haitian heat is interesting; not to mention the iron is not electric meaning it is filled with hot coals.

At this point they have 7 or more electric sewing machines but are unable to utilize them yet. Dadithe and one of the students used the sewing machine that did NOT require electricity and it worked wonderfully along with a little foot and ankle action. Majority of the doll clothes I will be purchasing today have been sewn by hand which is a wonderful skill that so many women from even the states have lost.

One highlight for me was to see and know that women with little ones are allowed to just bring them to class if needed.  Today I met two year old Abigail and after a few minutes she allowed me to hold her, read to her from Dadithe's Bible and then she peacefully drifted off to sleep allowing her momma uninterrupted time to sew.

 I am so proud of Dadithe, for her love of God and her desire to teach other the skills she has been taught.  I am grateful to be able to support the Women's Center, including each of these beautiful young women, and will be hoping and praying with them that they will be able to soon move to their new location which will offer more space and flexibility to expand the options for what the center can offer.
God's blessing on little Abigail, her mother and the others who are striving to live life here on the Plateau.

Making Coconut Rap with Wilda by SuAnne Vannatter

Yesterday I had the wonderful opportunity to watch another fine cook in action.

Wilda, a beautiful woman made a sweet treat called Rap and I was allowed to help.  Not much, but I did grate some locally grown coconut with the clear direction to only do the larger pieces as to not grate chunks of my fingers. I was trying to write down the recipe as she made it but I lost track as she cooks a lot like my husband and many other good cooks, by feeling, or smell or something I haven't figured out. So, start with a good amount of coconut....add around 3-4 ripe bananas.  I look like I am stirring in the one picture but actually I am only smashing little pieces of banana which didn't take long - just long enough for Judy to snap a picture of me.

Please see bruise near elbow-for full story see yesterday's blog

Then add a whole lot of sugar, I wrote down 4 cups, then 6 and I think it ended up around 7-9, not sure. Next add 6-7 cans (6 oz) of evaporated milk.



If you're not able to open the cans with a can opener go Haitian style with Judy and just take a sharp knife and jab it into the can.  I, nor Wilda was allowed to use this special technique and I, for one, was grateful.

 At some point you will want to run out to your outdoor cooking area and start the homemade charcoals that you will be cooking over. You can take a piece of paper or plastic and hold it burning in your hand while it is burning next to the charcoal until you see the charcoal start to flame. Did I mention you can hold the burning paper in your hand to get the charcoal started?










Then boil and stir and boil and stir until it gets harder and harder to stir to the point where you could use two cooks to stir!

Voila! 

Pour finished Rap onto cookie sheet, cool and enjoy, really enjoy....

Oh! Did I mention she also made a peanut butter treat? AND today a molasses tasting cookie!

 Mesi Wilda!

Mud, Mangos, and Friends by SuAnne Vannatter

Just getting to Haiti is apparently where the journey begins. I am not the first and won’t be the last to deal with delays and cancelled flights though knowing God is in control always helps.  I was grateful to make some new friends and practice my Creole with my new friends who happened to be in the same boat.

I was met at the airport by Petion who has driven and travelled the route from Anse Rouge to Port au Prince many many times and Wiltha one of the teachers for the school. If you want to see more of the landscape and the culture it’s great to make the drive which actually only took us 6 hours. The drive was fairly uneventful thankful for air conditioning and a skilled driver even when he had no idea what speed he was going!

Having gotten up at 3:15 am (for the second day in a row) it made my guest room at the Lemuel campus a welcoming sight. Krischelle was gracious to offer me the tour of  my “Ocean” themed room which is beautiful and made me feel like I was not here to serve but to be served! Of course the mahogany bed was the most inviting for me.

It was great and refreshing to hear and feel the rain falling as I reconnected with friends.

 As is always true I will eat the healthiest I do all year long and already it has proven true having been served a tasty chili and cheese quesadilla’s  made with Canadian cheese that ‘found’ its way to Haiti.

My first night in Haiti was humid and hot and on my way to bed I found myself laying on the rocks after my Toshiba computer when flying into the air and landed not far from me.  I discovered that rain soaked Haitian clay- filled ground is a lot like walking on ice like we have in Wisconsin.  I can’t remember the last time I’ve fallen and thankfully nothing broke but my pride and I felt bad for Judy who was walking along side of me as she didn’t know whether to rescue me or my flying computer. Walking a little slower and sitting very gently today and I am STILL very grateful to be here. The humidity is extremely high and it has continued to rain off and on making everything here on the plateau beautifully green and colorful.

Even on a day like today when the teams from the States or Canada are no longer here there is always a lot of activity.  The loudest sounds here are often only the loud roosters or the goats.  So, it seemed strangely out of place to suddenly hear a very loud noise realizing it was a small plane landing on the Lemuel airstrip which the goats have learned to share.  It was a Misson Aviation Fellowship pilot on his way to survey another area of land about an hour away - by truck -to see if another airstrip could be made.

It has been fun to see Jenna again and today she is working on her mural for the front of the church which is beautiful.  Nice to see Sam also who is always busy fixing something and can even take time to offer advice to Jenna.

I am currently sitting at Judy and Manis’ house sipping on Krischelle's lemon grass, Thai basil tea with a fan blowing directly on me also having been served a tasty and refreshing bowl of mangos. I love the fresh fruit and vegetables they can get here including mangos, tomatoes, and peppers.  It’s also interesting what goes in the refrigerator and what doesn’t.

 Nearby sits three beautiful young women embroidering while off and on humming and singing songs in Creole. My plan is to purchase a few of their items which helps them and serves to always remind me of them and Haiti.

 I’ve been so happy to meet again the friends I’ve made in past trips and amazingly nearly every single person is asking where my husband is; I guess Randy must have made quite an impression, not to mention they still remember his kettle corn!

OK, well time to take a refreshing afternoon cold shower before the darkness arrives and I have to walk by the beam of a flashlight being extra careful where I step. Two lessons I learned; some mud you sink into and can’t get off your shoes and the other feels a lot like Wisconsin ice; just as hard just not so cold.

Today even with the heat, humidity and sore “areas” on my body there is no place I’d rather be….