That's all Folks!....for Blogger, I mean.

We have now officially transferred all our blogging to the website, and our Blogger account will no longer be updated.  

Please visit our new blog here for the latest posts and news from Lemuel.

New blog post on the website!

We're a little behind on the blog.  Check out the latest post on the website to start catching up!

http://www.lemuelministries.org/catching-up/

New Blog, New Blog Post!

The first blog post done entirely on the new blog is up!

Please check it out here.

http://www.lemuelministries.org/mardi-gras-retreat/

Lemuel Has a Website!

Hello everyone,

Today we are ELATED to announce the launch of our new website!  You can check it out at www.lemuelministries.org.  Previously, that web address took you directly to our blog, but the website will now take over that URL.  (If you continue to be directed to the blog, try clearing out your web browser’s cache.)

Our blog can continue to be found at www.lemuelministries.blogspot.com.  The blog posts can also be found on the new website.  In the coming days, we will transition from blogger to the website entirely.  Once that transition is final, the Blogger account will remain open, but will not be updated.  It will include a link to the new blog on the website.

We cannot adequately express our thanks to Marek Kowalsky, who voluntarily designed and set up an incredible website for us. THANK YOU!

We are so excited for you to explore it.  Enjoy!

It's Carnival Time!

The school had a special day of activities on Friday for the kids to kick off Carnival break.  There were fun masks and lots of glitter.

There was a soccer match...between the teachers!  The kids cheered and laughed as each teacher--normally attired in their dress clothes for work--came out in their sport gear.

Even Kerline, Nadege, and Geniese got in on the action....Go, ladies!

Change of Plans...

Haiti...the country where you make plans A,B, and C, then decide on Plan D, and then execute Plan F when something goes wrong in the middle of Plan E.  

As you read the story of the last week and a half, you may lose track of the number of time plans changed.  But at the same time, you will get a glimpse of what it is like to live and function in a country like Haiti.  And yet again, you will be able to trace the amazing hand of our God, who is never taken off guard by unexpected circumstances.

A week and a half ago, Bonita went into Port-au-Prince on a Friday with the plan to run a few errands, pick up her new intern from the airport on Sunday, and return to the Plateau by car on Monday.

Friday and Saturday went off without much of a hitch. 

But by Sunday evening, our driver, Tiga, developed unbearable pain in his abdomen.  His cousin took him to a private hospital nearby. He was diagnosed with appendicitis.

The next morning, Bonita (who was staying with a friend outside of Port) tried to get into the city, but roads were blocked with burning tires and gangs of protesters throwing rocks and attacking vehicles. The public transportation workers were striking against the government and rioting due to high gas prices.

Tiga’s situation worsened, and the doctor said he needed surgery immediately, but they wouldn't do it until they received $16,000 HT--that's about $1800 US.  Bonita had grabbed some money before she left home, although she had not bothered to count it at the time.  She had the exact amount…to the last dollar!  But, she couldn't get to the hospital....

At the same time that all of this was happening, Bonita's intern, Rachel, was scheduled to arrive at the airport.  But, Bonita couldn't get to the airport either.  After multiple phone calls, she was finally able to find someone--the relative of a trusted taxi driver--willing to go to the airport and look for Rachel. Two hours after she was supposed to have landed, he was unable to locate her.  After some rather tense moments of waiting, we finally received the news that he had found her.  In fact, we found out that her plane had been delayed an hour and a half, so she had not even been waiting for very long.

But where was she to go?  She couldn't get to Bonita and Bonita couldn't get to her.  

Thankfully, a friend and pilot with Missionary Aviation Fellowship was willing and able to take her in for a night.

Meanwhile, back at the hospital:  Tiga’s cousin, Petion, convinced the surgeon to start the surgery while he went to meet Bonita part way to get the money.  On the way to meet Bonita, Petion was stopped multiple times by gangs asking for money. As he drove back to the hospital with the money in his hand, he was not stopped once. 

The surgery lasted for three hours.  Before they were quite finished, they ran out of anesthesia.  Tiga woke up, and they had to tie him down to finish stitching him closed.  Although Tiga was in horrendous pain, if he had not been the one to drive Bonita into Port-au-Prince that weekend, he very likely would be dead. The closest hospital to us on the Plateau is one and a half to two hours away.

When Bonita went to see Tiga on Tuesday, the area where the hospital is located was surrounded by the signs of burning tires. How Petion was able to get out and back that day is only a testimony of God's hand.

So, instead of coming up in the car with Bonita on Monday, Rachel arrived on the Plateau in a plane with a team from Timothy Christian School in Chilliwack, British Columbia on Tuesday.

The team came to participate in a variety of projects, including mounting the blocks for a depot for Samuel's Trees.  The depot will be used as part of the tree nursery.

It is always a special joy to see people coming from other countries to work alongside our Haitian staff for the sake of this community.  We greatly appreciated the TCS team's flexibility and willingness to come as learners, despite the fact that several of them were already experienced in construction.

As the men worked on the construction of the depot, the ladies painted the house where Krischelle will be living.

Speaking of changing plans, one reason Bonita had gone into Port-au-Prince was to buy the paint and supplies for painting the house.  But, no vehicle was able to come back to the Plateau.  On Tuesday, when the team arrived, we still had no supplies...and no paint, for that matter.

On Wednesday morning, we were finally able to arrange a way for the paint to make it to Gonaives. (This involved about 5 different plan changes, by the way). The only vehicle left on the Plateau able to make the journey to retrieve it was the green box truck belonging to Manis' business (both the 4-Runner and the bus were in Port).

Since they were unable to begin sanding or painting, the ladies willingly pitched in for a morning to help Mme Bogi and Widline collect gravel on Samuel's land for the construction of the cistern that will go on top of the depot.  By the afternoon, we were able to find some acceptable sand paper, so that they could begin sanding the walls.

The painting supplies finally arrived on Wednesday evening, except for......the paintbrushes. Thursday morning involved a scramble to scrounge up any usable paintbrush that could be found (thankfully, between Judy and Krischelle, there were three).

Finally, they were able to begin.

The house looks beautiful, and they will always be remembered as doing the CLEANEST paint job we have ever seen!

The men finished were finished on the land by Friday, and proceeded to help out in various other projects as well.  Some cut and installed a decorative edging around the edge of the gazebo ceiling...

(PS For those of you familiar with our gazebo, there is no longer any danger of a baby bird falling from the nests in the roof into your plate of food.)

...while others worked on door frames for the school latrine...

...and discussed plans for the latrine roof.

The team also spent some time out in the community with some of the families on the Plateau.  And they did the first-ever motorcycle tour of Anse-Rouge and the salt flats...it was a big hit!

We would like to shout out a huge THANK YOU to the TCS team for their whole-hearted participation with us, as well as for their desire to spend time with the people and get to know our community.

Rachel, meanwhile, became acquainted with her host family and participated with the team as she waited for Bonita to arrive back on the Plateau.  She will be spending the next five months with us, going through Bonita's internship program, learning about Haitian culture, and assisting in the ministry of Lemuel.  

Finally, innumerable plans later, Bonita was able to return to the Plateau on Thursday...


...but we still haven't found the paintbrushes.

Getting on the internet...(A video blog!)

The fact that we can get on the internet at all where we are located is in and of itself a marvel and something for which to be very grateful.  But the saga of using the internet on the Plateau definitely merits its own blog post. This may be our first video blog ever!

Can I just say that it seemed impossible to convey the force and chill factor of that WIND?!

If you don't believe me, here is how Ani showed up for a visit a little while later.

I rest my case.

On a Friday morning...

The school kids started off their day by watering the trees in the school yard. Unfortunately, the drought is once again having debilitating effects.

These boys rushed past me joyously rolling a water drum, racing against their friends (not pictured).

Boys will be boys....they can turn almost anything into a race car.  Most frustratingly, after I snapped one picture, the camera batteries died!  By the time I was able to change them, the kids were already done.

When Manis first started planting trees in this community, people told him he was crazy--that he was wasting his time and energy.  Now, watching the school kids participate in the reforestation of their community reminded me of a reality of which we often speak in Lemuel: The first, and even the second generation are resistant and slow to change, apart from a few stand-out individuals.  It is the younger generation who really carry the hope for a better future.  The things these kids are growing up learning and doing today--the things that are shaping them--are what will really transform this community.

After changing the batteries in the camera, I visited the men hard at work on the school latrine. 

Perhaps you remember this picture from a blog post in 2012.  It was then that our school latrine began to sink into the ground due to waters from hurricane Sandy.  Since then, the kids have been using a provisional structure.  

Thanks to a special donations from Missionary Aviation Fellowship-Canada and the Summit Church in Ontario, we have been able to begin construction of a new latrine!

A little bit later--right before lunch time--there was a soccer match between fifth and sixth grade.  As part of an initiative to plan more activities to enrich student life, the school is holding a soccer game every Friday for a few weeks.

(Obviously, they did not play on a full field or with a full team....or a full-sized goal, for that matter.)

The game attracted a variety of on-lookers, as foutbòl often will.

(In addition to those standing in the background to the left of the photo, the motorcycle to the far right was also stopped, so its riders could watch for a few minutes.)

Almaïs served as announcer and animator, surrounded by attentive fans.

Catch a little bit of the action in this video clip.

Sixth grade held out 1-0 for quite a while.  But in the second half, fifth grade came back with a goal, and the game ended 1-1.

Well Drilling UPDATE

Many of you have been following the updates on the well that have been posted on our Facebook page.  But just in case you missed them, you can catch up here on the blog.

After determining that it was no use continuing to drill on the Lemuel campus, the drill rig moved down the road to the Lemuel garden land.  There, at 55 feet, they hit rock...again.  After some debate about what to do, they decided to take a break until after the 1st of January, so that the men running the rig could spend some time with their families over the holidays.

On January 10th, the men returned, and on January 11th, they broke through the rock and hit water!

The well is 105 feet deep.  They will put a hand pump on it for now, but hope to install a solar pump, so that it can run continuously into a cistern

At this point, we do not know how much water there is.

We do know the reality we face: in our location, there is a high likelihood that the water could go dry very quickly.  The first taste was sweet; but that doesn't mean it won't turn brackish.  It has happened before.

But we also know our God:  He can bring water out of a rock.  He can turn the bitter waters sweet. We can trust His care for us no matter what the circumstances.  We can even rejoice in Him "though the fig tree should not blossom..."

So, we thank the Lord for this unlooked-for opportunity and for the water that He has provided for us.  And thank you for your many prayers for abundant, sweet water...keep them rising! 

Christmas on the Plateau

Happy New Year 2015!

We trust you had a wonderful and meaningful Christmas.  Below you will find a few photos from the Christmas celebrations on the Plateau.

The School's Community Christmas Party

 Thony came from seminary to spend his Christmas vacation with us.

(Photo-bombing, classic Thony-style.)

The kids were all decked out.

Richardson (the boy pictured at right) was the winner of the Plateau's first ever spelling bee (the final was held Dec 21)!!!  As spelling champion, he received a scholarship for next school year.

Rachelle--one of Lemuel's youth from when it was working in Port-au-Prince--came to the Plateau for Christmas and helped to emcee the school celebration.

There was dancing...

...and performing...

...and gifts!

NOVA (the church youth) Christmas Program

This year, NOVA did a special Christmas celebration for area youth.  For one unique activity, they chose three pairs of sisters to each prepare a table laden with a variety of foods that they had prepared.

The Rouzard Sisters 

The Dumesle Sisters

 The Simon Sisters

Each table was judged on taste, presentation, and a few other factors.

The judges confer.

Chela and Nousta were the winners!

Everyone enjoyed a meal together in addition to sampling fare from all the sisters' tables.