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….

Bonjour! This is David Ong reporting from the Plateau today, and I am leading the team from Millar College of the Bible that arrived here at Lemuel ministries on April 26.

Our team consists of 10 Millar students, plus myself, from our campus in Saskatchewan, Canada. We have been getting ready for this trip since December and it has been exciting for us to be working and serving alongside the many amazing people here.

                        Tim the Pilot, David the Canadian, and Manis and Judy, the lovely couple!

I came out to the Plateau in the summer of 2008 and first met Manis and Judy at one of the summer camps they held here. It has been a huge blessing to serve alongside them again and see the many changes that have taken place since then.
 
From the time our team first arrived, we have been served and welcomed with much love. We have truly enjoyed getting to befriend so many people here and watching the ministry and work that God is doing in this place. The main purpose of our trip was to help with finishing the church, through raising funds for the porch and to paint the church.

 Before shots of the inside of the church

To paint a church, just complete the following simple steps:
1. Sandpaper the walls
2. Power wash the walls
3. Prime the walls
4. Paint the walls
5. Enjoy the school kids that come to say hi during recess
6. Chase away any goats that come into the front lawn
7. Don't work outside during 1-3pm (The hottest time of the day)
8. Learn a couple of Creole songs as best you can to sing while you work
9. Draw straws to elect someone to paint the rafters
10. Don't fall off any ladders (The girls are very good at this one. The guys not so much)

Part of the money had been sent ahead of time and went towards skilled workers pouring cement and finishing the church porch. We were blessed to learn that while there was a drought that had been taking place in the area, many workers were able to be find employment through the porch project.  

  The front of the church with the finished porch

One of the other projects we have been able to be apart of during our time here, was traveling to a tree nursery that is a CAM ministry, purchasing and transporting trees from there, and planting them back here around the Lemuel compound. This was definitely a highlight for our team, as we have been learning a lot about the importance of reforestation. And our team member Raquel, who is from the mountainous area of British Columbia, was just thrilled to see trees being planted.  
   

    Raquel in the CAM greenhouse at La Source

 Planting the trees one photo at a time

Connor and Wilferne's work ethics were growing wonderfully

Getting to live and experience life in the community is also something we have appreciated while being here. Community highlights have been getting up at 5AM to walk to the marketplace, getting to do laundry by hand, having different kinds of gifts left in the bedroom by neighboring wildlife (The best one was an egg right by one of the girls pillows. The guys are not so blessed yet!), celebrating the rain, and waking up to the friendly roosters in the morning! 

The ladies on washing day!

Spending time with the youth 

Last Saturday, we were able to go to the beach with a number of the youth from the community and we all traveled together in the back of a big truck. Nothing builds fellowship better then 55 people all trying to stay standing upright while the truck navigates bumpy roads!    

 

The Millar team at the beach!

 Enjoying the beach!

This week we have been putting the final touches on the church and working on a special evening service with the youth for this Sunday. Judy and Krischelle were able to translate one of our English songs to Creole and we have been learning it with the youth. We have also been teaching them a couple of drama skits which we will perform on Sunday night.

Our team has been truly blessed during our stay here and we will miss the people of the Plateau when we leave. Some things that we have been learning while out here is the oneness that we can enjoy as the body of Christ. To be able to live and work and worship alongside fellow believers is an awesome privilege at any time. But to be doing it amidst a different culture and language helps to provide a chance to examine the most important commands of Christ: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind. And love your neighbor as yourself. 

 The youth and the Millar team

The church at the halfway point. Stay tuned for the final product!