Sunday, August 31, 2008
Our First Shipment
Just a quick note to say that we got our first packages from the US. They were a few things that I ordered from eBay. We have not received any boxes yet that our parents sent or anyone else has sent. We are very thankful for www.missionaryflights.org!!
Working Unwillingly
We have been trying to create the routine of cleaning our place on Saturdays. Yesterday started out OK, but I had a Haitian driver for the Mission knock on the door about 8AM and ask about some car parts. So I had to go down to the shop and help him out. I really didn't want to do any car work at all yesterday. When I got down there I helped not only the guy that asked, but others came to ask me things as well. Kyrk mentioned that they wanted to take the Canter out on Monday and I had the drive shaft apart to work on the parking brake.
I gave in and quit working on the house and went to the shop. I worked on the Canter for most of the morning and then worked on it in the afternoon as well. After a big struggle with various things on that truck, I ended up not putting the brake parts on and only hooking up the drive shaft. The parking brake cable is frozen stuck, so it wouldn't matter if the parts were there. I had thought that it had enough movement in the cable but after hooking everything up, there wasn't. So now we have to order a new cable if we want the parking brake to work.
I got back to the house around 3PM and we spent a little family time for the rest of the evening. We watched an episode of Little House on the Prairie (on my laptop borrowing the DVD). We ate some cookies and cream ice cream, too (the last time I went to the grocery store, I bought it as a family treat to have once a week at most - for a half gallon it cost $10 USD - we have 2/3 of the container left).
I woke up at 3:30 this morning and couldn't get back to sleep. Kayla was sleeping in the living room, so I spent a bit of time reading in the quiet of the morning.
We'll be spending more family time today after going to church at 6:30AM this morning. We still struggle with going to church when we don't know what they are saying (yet) and we missionaries meet as a group on Sunday nights (basically a whole church service). The concept of going and participating sounds good and all, yet to do it week after week and to give tithes when you cannot understand if what is said is truly biblical and correct theologically is proving challenging to us. But, we'll go until we come to a definite conclusion on this.
I gave in and quit working on the house and went to the shop. I worked on the Canter for most of the morning and then worked on it in the afternoon as well. After a big struggle with various things on that truck, I ended up not putting the brake parts on and only hooking up the drive shaft. The parking brake cable is frozen stuck, so it wouldn't matter if the parts were there. I had thought that it had enough movement in the cable but after hooking everything up, there wasn't. So now we have to order a new cable if we want the parking brake to work.
I got back to the house around 3PM and we spent a little family time for the rest of the evening. We watched an episode of Little House on the Prairie (on my laptop borrowing the DVD). We ate some cookies and cream ice cream, too (the last time I went to the grocery store, I bought it as a family treat to have once a week at most - for a half gallon it cost $10 USD - we have 2/3 of the container left).
I woke up at 3:30 this morning and couldn't get back to sleep. Kayla was sleeping in the living room, so I spent a bit of time reading in the quiet of the morning.
We'll be spending more family time today after going to church at 6:30AM this morning. We still struggle with going to church when we don't know what they are saying (yet) and we missionaries meet as a group on Sunday nights (basically a whole church service). The concept of going and participating sounds good and all, yet to do it week after week and to give tithes when you cannot understand if what is said is truly biblical and correct theologically is proving challenging to us. But, we'll go until we come to a definite conclusion on this.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
A Day's Work
We have had a little bit of a personal family struggle the last couple days. It seemed to start with Carter not trying when doing his school work. The days usually end up with Carter sitting and doing schoolwork from about 8AM until 5:30PM. It is something that should only take 2-3 hours TOPS, but he rarely tries. When he tries, he can get it done easily. I take a lot of blame for the way he acts - I am too hard to please and have to work on that (among many other things).
This struggle, unfortunately and by our own fault, causes Tina and I to get a little cranky. It is our sin that we let his attitude and actions cause this reaction in us. Tina has also been struggling a little her personal direction and walk here. There is a lot to balance and it is not easy, but this is where the Lord has called us and He will give us the strength, tools and encouragement.
This morning at 5:30 AM there was a quiet knock at the door. I was just waking up anyway so I heard the knock and got up. Normally I would have been up for about an hour, but we got to bed late last night (Carter slept with Christopher upstairs and we had Abby sleeping with Kayla down here). It was a visiting missionary from another area in Haiti. Last night we pumped up a tire that had a slow leak (it took a week for it to get flat) and I told him to let me know if he had problems with it in the morning. He was going to drive home with it and fix it when he got home. Well, the tire was flat this morning and he was looking for help. We found the leak, put a plug in it, and he left this morning.
Yesterday, our friend Kris came and we showed her and other visiting families around the mission a little and brought her to our place. She brought the printer and goodies (Tina had her get me Jack Link's Beef Jerky (Teriyaki) and gloves and I had her get Tina some nice slippers). We went to pay her for the printer and she said that she and her husband decided that they would buy it for us. What a great blessing! We didn't expect this at all! Thank you so much Kris and family!
Boring car stuff...
The generator (#2) says it's running hot again. I am wondering if it isn't the gauge. The huge manual for the generator says that you should change oil first and then the only other thing to check is the gauge. After changing oil, it seemed to help but only for a couple days. Today #2 is running so I think I will check on it more frequently to see if the needle varies a lot - then I think the problem will be the gauge. If it is steady in one place or another...I am not sure. I might look into hooking up a secondary gauge to verify the first or switch the senders and/or gauges between the two generators.
The generator roof was leaking pretty good with all the rain from the hurricane. I got some seal coat and sealed the whole roof up yesterday, so the next time you look at Google earth at the Mission (after they take another picture), the most white looking roof is the generator room.
I have been doing a number of various things on the vehicles. The old caged Toyota has a few bolts on the front suspension that seem to keep loosening up. I put loctite on the biggest problem (I only have medium strength) and I tightened it as much as I could with it being on the ground and not over the pit. The Canter is over the pit right now waiting for a couple retainer pins for the parking brake. The parking brake is integrated with the rear drive shaft and is a drum brake. I also had to replace all the battery terminals on the Canter (I think I may have mentioned this already). I replaced the rear brakes yesterday in the Mitsubishi Nativa (they don't sell this in the US - it's an SUV).
If I type any more car stuff, it will get REALLY boring so I'll stop.
This struggle, unfortunately and by our own fault, causes Tina and I to get a little cranky. It is our sin that we let his attitude and actions cause this reaction in us. Tina has also been struggling a little her personal direction and walk here. There is a lot to balance and it is not easy, but this is where the Lord has called us and He will give us the strength, tools and encouragement.
This morning at 5:30 AM there was a quiet knock at the door. I was just waking up anyway so I heard the knock and got up. Normally I would have been up for about an hour, but we got to bed late last night (Carter slept with Christopher upstairs and we had Abby sleeping with Kayla down here). It was a visiting missionary from another area in Haiti. Last night we pumped up a tire that had a slow leak (it took a week for it to get flat) and I told him to let me know if he had problems with it in the morning. He was going to drive home with it and fix it when he got home. Well, the tire was flat this morning and he was looking for help. We found the leak, put a plug in it, and he left this morning.
Yesterday, our friend Kris came and we showed her and other visiting families around the mission a little and brought her to our place. She brought the printer and goodies (Tina had her get me Jack Link's Beef Jerky (Teriyaki) and gloves and I had her get Tina some nice slippers). We went to pay her for the printer and she said that she and her husband decided that they would buy it for us. What a great blessing! We didn't expect this at all! Thank you so much Kris and family!
Boring car stuff...
The generator (#2) says it's running hot again. I am wondering if it isn't the gauge. The huge manual for the generator says that you should change oil first and then the only other thing to check is the gauge. After changing oil, it seemed to help but only for a couple days. Today #2 is running so I think I will check on it more frequently to see if the needle varies a lot - then I think the problem will be the gauge. If it is steady in one place or another...I am not sure. I might look into hooking up a secondary gauge to verify the first or switch the senders and/or gauges between the two generators.
The generator roof was leaking pretty good with all the rain from the hurricane. I got some seal coat and sealed the whole roof up yesterday, so the next time you look at Google earth at the Mission (after they take another picture), the most white looking roof is the generator room.
I have been doing a number of various things on the vehicles. The old caged Toyota has a few bolts on the front suspension that seem to keep loosening up. I put loctite on the biggest problem (I only have medium strength) and I tightened it as much as I could with it being on the ground and not over the pit. The Canter is over the pit right now waiting for a couple retainer pins for the parking brake. The parking brake is integrated with the rear drive shaft and is a drum brake. I also had to replace all the battery terminals on the Canter (I think I may have mentioned this already). I replaced the rear brakes yesterday in the Mitsubishi Nativa (they don't sell this in the US - it's an SUV).
If I type any more car stuff, it will get REALLY boring so I'll stop.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Tree, Airport Run, Friend
We had a little sun yesterday morning and then it rained lightly all day. There is sun again this morning and hopefully it will last. Our low temperature over the last week was 65 with a high of 80.
Tree
I wanted to mention a few things about the tree falling down early in the week. In the US, we would have chopped that tree up and lightly considered what was done with the wood. Here in Haiti, however, a tree like the one that fell is of significant value. The wood could be used for many months to cook with and some of it could be sold to purchase food. The owner of the property is really entitled to the remains of the tree. There were some people that apparently taking the large pieces of the main trunk and putting them in their vehicles (stealing the tree). The owner may not care, but the much higher value placed on a downed tree than I what I had normally understood is something that I came to realize through this event.
Airport Run
Yesterday morning I was called to drive Pastor Rob and his wife to the airport. Usually they would have a driver do this, but they couldn't reach him to tell him to come earlier after they decided that it would be best to leave early (the airport had been closed for two days because of the hurricane and it would be busy). We left at about 6:15 AM. I knew most of my way there with the exception of the last two turns (this was the first time I had been to the airport since we arrived two months ago). It was VERY BUSY.
One of the things that we had to do on this trip was to drop off a cooking burner/stove. We needed to get it to a person who would be going way up north to drop it off (to where I was last week). We were dropping it off in a pretty bad part of town. When we arrived to where we were dropping it off, the four Haitian guys in the vehicle were telling me that this is a real bad part of town and that they wanted to get out of there fairly quickly. They said that there were kidnappings, shootings, and misc. violence. They also told me that we should turn the air conditioning on and roll up the windows so we could lock the doors - so we did. We made it back with no problems - stopping at the grocery store on the way back so I could pick up some things for Tina and stopping by a street vendor to pick up some wicker baskets for her as well.
Friend
About a week ago we received an email from Kris. Kris is a person who works with the orphanage and adoption agency and she coordinated and attended our first trip to Haiti in June 2007. She is going to be in town today with another group of adopting parents and is going to be stopping by. She has graciously offered to bring some things for us. It took Tina and I a little while to figure out what we wanted to ask her for since we assumed that her space/weight would be limited. One thing that she offered to do is to pick something up for me to give to Tina and for Tina to give to me (keeping it a secret) - this is a great idea and a lot of fun!
Tina realized that getting a printer here would be a great help to her homeschooling and so at the very last minute we inquired if she had enough room and time to pick up a printer for us. I looked quickly on the web to find one that I liked as an example and sent it to here so she knew what we were looking for. She emailed back and said that she found the exact one that I listed and that after thinking they were maxed out on weight, she was able to fit it.
We are looking forward to reconnecting with her after 14 months!
Tree
I wanted to mention a few things about the tree falling down early in the week. In the US, we would have chopped that tree up and lightly considered what was done with the wood. Here in Haiti, however, a tree like the one that fell is of significant value. The wood could be used for many months to cook with and some of it could be sold to purchase food. The owner of the property is really entitled to the remains of the tree. There were some people that apparently taking the large pieces of the main trunk and putting them in their vehicles (stealing the tree). The owner may not care, but the much higher value placed on a downed tree than I what I had normally understood is something that I came to realize through this event.
Airport Run
Yesterday morning I was called to drive Pastor Rob and his wife to the airport. Usually they would have a driver do this, but they couldn't reach him to tell him to come earlier after they decided that it would be best to leave early (the airport had been closed for two days because of the hurricane and it would be busy). We left at about 6:15 AM. I knew most of my way there with the exception of the last two turns (this was the first time I had been to the airport since we arrived two months ago). It was VERY BUSY.
One of the things that we had to do on this trip was to drop off a cooking burner/stove. We needed to get it to a person who would be going way up north to drop it off (to where I was last week). We were dropping it off in a pretty bad part of town. When we arrived to where we were dropping it off, the four Haitian guys in the vehicle were telling me that this is a real bad part of town and that they wanted to get out of there fairly quickly. They said that there were kidnappings, shootings, and misc. violence. They also told me that we should turn the air conditioning on and roll up the windows so we could lock the doors - so we did. We made it back with no problems - stopping at the grocery store on the way back so I could pick up some things for Tina and stopping by a street vendor to pick up some wicker baskets for her as well.
Friend
About a week ago we received an email from Kris. Kris is a person who works with the orphanage and adoption agency and she coordinated and attended our first trip to Haiti in June 2007. She is going to be in town today with another group of adopting parents and is going to be stopping by. She has graciously offered to bring some things for us. It took Tina and I a little while to figure out what we wanted to ask her for since we assumed that her space/weight would be limited. One thing that she offered to do is to pick something up for me to give to Tina and for Tina to give to me (keeping it a secret) - this is a great idea and a lot of fun!
Tina realized that getting a printer here would be a great help to her homeschooling and so at the very last minute we inquired if she had enough room and time to pick up a printer for us. I looked quickly on the web to find one that I liked as an example and sent it to here so she knew what we were looking for. She emailed back and said that she found the exact one that I listed and that after thinking they were maxed out on weight, she was able to fit it.
We are looking forward to reconnecting with her after 14 months!
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Aftermath So Far
Rain total according to Kyrk's rain gauge as of this morning (it is still raining hard): 8"
One thing that Kyrk mentioned today is the number of deaths that are NOT recorded as being caused by the hurricane that are related to hospital people (doctors and nurses) not being able to get to work. People rely heavily on the tap-taps to get around and there were very few in operation today - many of the Haitian Mission workers did not come to work today because of the tap-taps were not running.
Here is the intersection today (with the lines still down) after we cleared it yesterday:
Here is the vendor's store - you can see the tree stump just behind the store:
One thing that Kyrk mentioned today is the number of deaths that are NOT recorded as being caused by the hurricane that are related to hospital people (doctors and nurses) not being able to get to work. People rely heavily on the tap-taps to get around and there were very few in operation today - many of the Haitian Mission workers did not come to work today because of the tap-taps were not running.
Here is the intersection today (with the lines still down) after we cleared it yesterday:
Here is the vendor's store - you can see the tree stump just behind the store:
Water, Water Everywhere
Where to start...
The rain has been falling for just short of two days straight as of the time that I write this. And most of the time it is a pretty heavy rain - lots of water. There has got to be a lot of flooding that I just haven't heard about yet.
Around 3 PM I got a call from Kyrk saying that I should meet him up at the entrance to the mission. As I was going up, I got a call from Rob asking if I was going up. I was wondering what was going on. When we got there, there was no way out of the Mission. A very large tree had fell from the other side of the road right at the entrance and blocked both the road and the entrance. It took a bunch of power and misc. lines down with it - including the electrical pole right at the entrance to the Mission. We went back to get equipment and change clothes.
This picture is from the road looking down the road where if you follow the wall on the left, it "Ys" into the Mission parking lot. Notice the amount of water going down the road - it's been like that for two days. I need waterproof boots - mine are soaked!
We worked in the rain until about 6 PM and finally got traffic to go through. There were about 3-4 of us using two chainsaws and a few others using machete as axes (which they do a lot here in Haiti - they're fairly effective too which surprised me). Some Haitians we walking around, some sitting and waiting in their vehicles, some others were watching as if we were entertaining them (and we were entertaining at times - we were having fun) and still others were actually helping out. It was good to speak a little with and work with the Haitians in the neighborhood. Nothing like a storm to bring neighbors together. Mostly Mission workers were helping to clear the debris. The main trunk of the tree was more than two feet in diameter near the base.
One of the street vendors had his wood-frame store (about 4 foot by 4 foot) smashed by the tree. He had paintings, carvings and other items in there that he was trying to save. We tried our best to work around his stuff, but I would say about half of it was lost (including most of the structure). I would like to do something for this guy, but I am not sure what is going to happen. I'll mention it at our dinner tonight and see if we are going to do anything.
Chicken
We ordered a box of frozen chicken legs since it is cheaper by the box and you can't get breasts (the US doesn't send them here much apparently). Tina and I spent some time before the tree incident repacking the chicken since the box the chicken was in got destroyed by the rain and there was chicken blood all over the floor by the door where we brought the chicken in. This is the kind stuff that takes a lot of our time up randomly throughout the day - things that we didn't have to deal with in the US. There is talk about more food riots here so we are happy to have a supply.
I don't know why these pictures are not rotated correctly, they look fine on the file itself, but it's no big deal...
Boring car stuff...
Since it was raining so much, I decided to stay in and work on the Mechanic database in Access that I had started. Just as I was getting settled in, someone knocked on the door and said the battery in the white pathfinder was missing. It was last used Saturday and now the battery is gone from under the hood. I still haven't found out what happened to it.
Shortly after that, I got a call from Kyrk at the office here by the mechanic shop and he told me about the Canter which had a small electrical fire in the middle of the dash Monday. So I went to go take a look and they were push starting it because the batteries (2) were not hooked up well. I had seen that the terminals were messed up, but never had access to the vehicle when I was able to work on it. A common practice here (at least at the Mission) is to jam nails, screws, or pieces of solder in between the battery post and the terminals to get it tight. This is usually done because they don't have the right battery for the terminal connection. This causes the battery post to become disfigured and further exacerbating the problem. So I replaced three of the four terminals (I didn't have enough to do all four and we'll have to do something about the battery posts, but it is good for now.
The rain has been falling for just short of two days straight as of the time that I write this. And most of the time it is a pretty heavy rain - lots of water. There has got to be a lot of flooding that I just haven't heard about yet.
Around 3 PM I got a call from Kyrk saying that I should meet him up at the entrance to the mission. As I was going up, I got a call from Rob asking if I was going up. I was wondering what was going on. When we got there, there was no way out of the Mission. A very large tree had fell from the other side of the road right at the entrance and blocked both the road and the entrance. It took a bunch of power and misc. lines down with it - including the electrical pole right at the entrance to the Mission. We went back to get equipment and change clothes.
This picture is from the road looking down the road where if you follow the wall on the left, it "Ys" into the Mission parking lot. Notice the amount of water going down the road - it's been like that for two days. I need waterproof boots - mine are soaked!
We worked in the rain until about 6 PM and finally got traffic to go through. There were about 3-4 of us using two chainsaws and a few others using machete as axes (which they do a lot here in Haiti - they're fairly effective too which surprised me). Some Haitians we walking around, some sitting and waiting in their vehicles, some others were watching as if we were entertaining them (and we were entertaining at times - we were having fun) and still others were actually helping out. It was good to speak a little with and work with the Haitians in the neighborhood. Nothing like a storm to bring neighbors together. Mostly Mission workers were helping to clear the debris. The main trunk of the tree was more than two feet in diameter near the base.
One of the street vendors had his wood-frame store (about 4 foot by 4 foot) smashed by the tree. He had paintings, carvings and other items in there that he was trying to save. We tried our best to work around his stuff, but I would say about half of it was lost (including most of the structure). I would like to do something for this guy, but I am not sure what is going to happen. I'll mention it at our dinner tonight and see if we are going to do anything.
Chicken
We ordered a box of frozen chicken legs since it is cheaper by the box and you can't get breasts (the US doesn't send them here much apparently). Tina and I spent some time before the tree incident repacking the chicken since the box the chicken was in got destroyed by the rain and there was chicken blood all over the floor by the door where we brought the chicken in. This is the kind stuff that takes a lot of our time up randomly throughout the day - things that we didn't have to deal with in the US. There is talk about more food riots here so we are happy to have a supply.
I don't know why these pictures are not rotated correctly, they look fine on the file itself, but it's no big deal...
Boring car stuff...
Since it was raining so much, I decided to stay in and work on the Mechanic database in Access that I had started. Just as I was getting settled in, someone knocked on the door and said the battery in the white pathfinder was missing. It was last used Saturday and now the battery is gone from under the hood. I still haven't found out what happened to it.
Shortly after that, I got a call from Kyrk at the office here by the mechanic shop and he told me about the Canter which had a small electrical fire in the middle of the dash Monday. So I went to go take a look and they were push starting it because the batteries (2) were not hooked up well. I had seen that the terminals were messed up, but never had access to the vehicle when I was able to work on it. A common practice here (at least at the Mission) is to jam nails, screws, or pieces of solder in between the battery post and the terminals to get it tight. This is usually done because they don't have the right battery for the terminal connection. This causes the battery post to become disfigured and further exacerbating the problem. So I replaced three of the four terminals (I didn't have enough to do all four and we'll have to do something about the battery posts, but it is good for now.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Kid Update: Louinard - Gravity Dentistry
The potty training has taken a break for Lou. He hasn't been telling us when he has to go, so we will wait and try it again.
We had put Lou in a bed in Carter's room after switching where Kayla and Carter were, but last week he fell out twice on to the concrete (we even had a pillow on his side so he couldn't easily roll off). We didn't want that to happen again, so we brought the playpen back into our room for him to sleep. I would like to get him back into Carter's room, so we might try to put the playpen in there somehow. One of the times he fell out, it looks like he chipped a tooth. Now his teeth look more even because he already had one chipped.
Kayla is doing great in school. Carter is not doing very good in school. When he tries he does great, but he doesn't do that very often. This causes stress for everyone and makes mommy upset.
We had put Lou in a bed in Carter's room after switching where Kayla and Carter were, but last week he fell out twice on to the concrete (we even had a pillow on his side so he couldn't easily roll off). We didn't want that to happen again, so we brought the playpen back into our room for him to sleep. I would like to get him back into Carter's room, so we might try to put the playpen in there somehow. One of the times he fell out, it looks like he chipped a tooth. Now his teeth look more even because he already had one chipped.
Kayla is doing great in school. Carter is not doing very good in school. When he tries he does great, but he doesn't do that very often. This causes stress for everyone and makes mommy upset.
Hurricane Gustav
This will be our first hurricane since we came here to Haiti. It doesn't appear to be too bad, relatively speaking, but it's coming and should be over by the end of today.
Here is what the weather channel says:
Hurricane warnings are in effect from Barahona in the Dominican Republic west to Le Mole St. Nicholas in Haiti. Hurricane watches are in effect for Jamaica, southeastern Cuba (specifically, the provinces of Las Tunas, Granma, Holguin, Santiago de Cuba, and Guantanamo), and Haiti from Le Mole St. Nicholas northward to the northern border with the Dominican Republic. A hurricane warning means hurricane conditions are expected within 24 hours, and a hurricane watch means that hurricane conditions are possible within 36 hours.
More information here.
Here is what the weather channel says:
Hurricane warnings are in effect from Barahona in the Dominican Republic west to Le Mole St. Nicholas in Haiti. Hurricane watches are in effect for Jamaica, southeastern Cuba (specifically, the provinces of Las Tunas, Granma, Holguin, Santiago de Cuba, and Guantanamo), and Haiti from Le Mole St. Nicholas northward to the northern border with the Dominican Republic. A hurricane warning means hurricane conditions are expected within 24 hours, and a hurricane watch means that hurricane conditions are possible within 36 hours.
More information here.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Tropical Storm Gustav
It was nice and sunny around 3 PM today and I was soldering a teapot for one of the Haitian workers. All of a sudden it started to pour rain while it was sunny. Then the sun disappeared. I checked my news sources and found this heading our way:
Where we are, we are pretty safe. We're at the top of a hill on the mountain...well, the entrance of the Mission is at least. We're down the hill a little way, but are fairly well protected from rain and water runoff. When the rain hits, the water pours down the streets. There are very few (VERY FEW) storm drains or drains of any kind. In the few places that there are gutters, the rain is well controlled, but it has to go somewhere and that somewhere is where ever the gutter ends. The roads are not sloped in one particular direction or another, so the rain water collects and more gets added to it as goes down the road. This large amount of fast moving water washes very large rocks onto the roads, some are bowling ball sized or larger. These rocks then either block the way or the big trucks and cars smash them which breaks up the pavement under them. Some areas are much worse than others, but you can just see very easily how landslides start and homes get washed away.
I have internet access and I didn't know about it until the day before it is supposed to hit (tomorrow). How are Haitians supposed to hear about it and know it's coming. And even if they knew about it, what are they to do about it? Most in the flood prone areas don't have vehicles to get away quickly. They would have to find friends or family in a safer area and probably take a tap-tap (taxi-like service). Please pray for the people of Haiti as this tropical storm comes - and hopefully it stays a tropical storm and doesn't become a hurricane.
Where we are, we are pretty safe. We're at the top of a hill on the mountain...well, the entrance of the Mission is at least. We're down the hill a little way, but are fairly well protected from rain and water runoff. When the rain hits, the water pours down the streets. There are very few (VERY FEW) storm drains or drains of any kind. In the few places that there are gutters, the rain is well controlled, but it has to go somewhere and that somewhere is where ever the gutter ends. The roads are not sloped in one particular direction or another, so the rain water collects and more gets added to it as goes down the road. This large amount of fast moving water washes very large rocks onto the roads, some are bowling ball sized or larger. These rocks then either block the way or the big trucks and cars smash them which breaks up the pavement under them. Some areas are much worse than others, but you can just see very easily how landslides start and homes get washed away.
I have internet access and I didn't know about it until the day before it is supposed to hit (tomorrow). How are Haitians supposed to hear about it and know it's coming. And even if they knew about it, what are they to do about it? Most in the flood prone areas don't have vehicles to get away quickly. They would have to find friends or family in a safer area and probably take a tap-tap (taxi-like service). Please pray for the people of Haiti as this tropical storm comes - and hopefully it stays a tropical storm and doesn't become a hurricane.
Great Trip!
We had a great trip! We got to see a number of churches, different from the ones that I saw last trip. This seemed to be some sort of youth weekend and so Pastor Rob was asked to speak. This was his second time at this church.
A 100 miles into the trip we got a flat tire (moments like that make me thankful that I check the air pressure in the spare). It was another rough ride in the Ranger, but it made it there and back with no issues. It didn't even make the noise that it had during the last outing.
We stopped at a little (and I mean little) place to eat. It was like we were eating in their dining room and it was a small dining room (I didn't get a picture). We really trust God that the food we eat is good and we try not to think about what we are eating. There were so many flies around I couldn't count them all. We ate rice and beans with goat meat. One thing that I have to get used to is the fact that they do not use things like saws to cut up the meat which leaves you will one solid piece of bone to eat around. They use machetes and that chunks and chips up the bone which makes it difficult to eat around. I am still trying to get used to eating things that I either don't like or that don't look too good to eat.
On the way up we stopped to see at a couple churches. One was about a 20 minute hike to go visit. No one was there since it was a Saturday. The hike was steep down and steep up. Here is a look of the way to the church:
and on the way back:
There is no way the truck would have made that. We spent 20 minutes there looking around at the building to make sure that everything was OK and then hiked back. Pastor Rob and I helped a little girl stop her runaway donkey on our way there. It came trotting up to us and we held our hands out to stop it.
Here is another that is a school too - this one is brand new and was paid for by one person in the US:
Our trip to our final destination took a total of 8 hours (that's the time we were moving). We left at 6:10 AM on Saturday and arrived around 4-5 PM (the Total Time is wrong because the unit shut off when we were stopped). When we were moving, our average speed for that 8 hours was 20 MPH for a total of 165 miles (I am rounding if you are calculating). My neck was getting sore near the end.
We got there and we were showed around a bit and led to our place where we would sleep. Rob and I took one room and Darlin (the translator) took another room. Rob and I were in the room that looks like it was about to fall from the building. Mom and Dad, you would have loved this because the floor was slanted so much you wouldn't have to jack up the head of your bed (haha!). It had an outhouse with a BYOTP policy (Bring Your Own Toilet Paper).
The bed was comfortable and I got a decent amount of sleep (not great, but decent). Bugs were flying around my ears and keeping me awake, so I put my ipod headphones in to try to sleep better - it worked pretty good.
We got up the Sunday morning and ate buttered bread with hot chocolate for breakfast. You have not had sugary hot chocolate until you have had it hear. It was so thick that my spoon stood straight up (not really, but it tasted like it could have).
We went to church at 9 AM when the service started and Pastor Rob didn't start preaching until 11:15 AM.
By the time everything was done, it was 12:15. We ate with some of the other visiting pastors from the area and took off a little after 1 PM.
Pastor Rob started driving and about 30 minutes into the drive he asked me if I wanted to drive. I certainly did.
We drove thinking that we would be staying overnight at the Mission's Camp and then leave for home in the morning. I started out a little slow because I wanted to show that I could drive and then Pastor Rob said that we better move a little faster to try to make better time. This is where my fun really started. I jumped at the chance to speed it up. It is really hard and technical driving to hustle on those roads, but it sure is fun. (See, Mom and Dad, all those quarters playing car racing video games paid off!!). We made such good time that we decided to head all the way back.
It got dark when we were about 3 hours away. Dark is DARK out here - no street lights, people walking on the side of the road (lots of them), cars coming at you with no lights, with bright lights, cars in front of us with no tail lights, huge pot holes, sleeping policemen (aka speed bumps), goats, cows...you name it! It really was like playing a video game. On some corners (in the daylight) I hugged the apex and accelerated out of the corners bringing the back end around. I practiced a little trail braking as well. (Those last two sentences were for you Mr. Storm.)
We made it back to the mission at 9 PM without any incident. This included stopping for drinks once, potty on the side of the road once, and filling up the tire with air after we patched it Saturday (I handed out a few pieces of candy to some cute little girls who wanted to see what the white people were doing - that was fun!).
Time to go eat breakfast with my family. It sure was great to see them last night! Thank you for your prayers for a safe trip!
A 100 miles into the trip we got a flat tire (moments like that make me thankful that I check the air pressure in the spare). It was another rough ride in the Ranger, but it made it there and back with no issues. It didn't even make the noise that it had during the last outing.
We stopped at a little (and I mean little) place to eat. It was like we were eating in their dining room and it was a small dining room (I didn't get a picture). We really trust God that the food we eat is good and we try not to think about what we are eating. There were so many flies around I couldn't count them all. We ate rice and beans with goat meat. One thing that I have to get used to is the fact that they do not use things like saws to cut up the meat which leaves you will one solid piece of bone to eat around. They use machetes and that chunks and chips up the bone which makes it difficult to eat around. I am still trying to get used to eating things that I either don't like or that don't look too good to eat.
On the way up we stopped to see at a couple churches. One was about a 20 minute hike to go visit. No one was there since it was a Saturday. The hike was steep down and steep up. Here is a look of the way to the church:
and on the way back:
There is no way the truck would have made that. We spent 20 minutes there looking around at the building to make sure that everything was OK and then hiked back. Pastor Rob and I helped a little girl stop her runaway donkey on our way there. It came trotting up to us and we held our hands out to stop it.
Here is another that is a school too - this one is brand new and was paid for by one person in the US:
Our trip to our final destination took a total of 8 hours (that's the time we were moving). We left at 6:10 AM on Saturday and arrived around 4-5 PM (the Total Time is wrong because the unit shut off when we were stopped). When we were moving, our average speed for that 8 hours was 20 MPH for a total of 165 miles (I am rounding if you are calculating). My neck was getting sore near the end.
We got there and we were showed around a bit and led to our place where we would sleep. Rob and I took one room and Darlin (the translator) took another room. Rob and I were in the room that looks like it was about to fall from the building. Mom and Dad, you would have loved this because the floor was slanted so much you wouldn't have to jack up the head of your bed (haha!). It had an outhouse with a BYOTP policy (Bring Your Own Toilet Paper).
The bed was comfortable and I got a decent amount of sleep (not great, but decent). Bugs were flying around my ears and keeping me awake, so I put my ipod headphones in to try to sleep better - it worked pretty good.
We got up the Sunday morning and ate buttered bread with hot chocolate for breakfast. You have not had sugary hot chocolate until you have had it hear. It was so thick that my spoon stood straight up (not really, but it tasted like it could have).
We went to church at 9 AM when the service started and Pastor Rob didn't start preaching until 11:15 AM.
By the time everything was done, it was 12:15. We ate with some of the other visiting pastors from the area and took off a little after 1 PM.
Pastor Rob started driving and about 30 minutes into the drive he asked me if I wanted to drive. I certainly did.
We drove thinking that we would be staying overnight at the Mission's Camp and then leave for home in the morning. I started out a little slow because I wanted to show that I could drive and then Pastor Rob said that we better move a little faster to try to make better time. This is where my fun really started. I jumped at the chance to speed it up. It is really hard and technical driving to hustle on those roads, but it sure is fun. (See, Mom and Dad, all those quarters playing car racing video games paid off!!). We made such good time that we decided to head all the way back.
It got dark when we were about 3 hours away. Dark is DARK out here - no street lights, people walking on the side of the road (lots of them), cars coming at you with no lights, with bright lights, cars in front of us with no tail lights, huge pot holes, sleeping policemen (aka speed bumps), goats, cows...you name it! It really was like playing a video game. On some corners (in the daylight) I hugged the apex and accelerated out of the corners bringing the back end around. I practiced a little trail braking as well. (Those last two sentences were for you Mr. Storm.)
We made it back to the mission at 9 PM without any incident. This included stopping for drinks once, potty on the side of the road once, and filling up the tire with air after we patched it Saturday (I handed out a few pieces of candy to some cute little girls who wanted to see what the white people were doing - that was fun!).
Time to go eat breakfast with my family. It sure was great to see them last night! Thank you for your prayers for a safe trip!
Friday, August 22, 2008
Going...
Unbeknownst to most, I have been having a difficult time deciding whether or not to go up north tomorrow. I was feeling like I was just there (80% of the way at least) and that going again wouldn't be as beneficial as staying here. One thing that I really wanted to do and that had the most weight regarding my decision was the possibility of helping the Livesay's move. The plan was to borrow one of our Mission's trucks and help them move to a new place in Haiti.
After talking with Pastor Rob this morning about going up North, I think that it would be best if I went with him up north. I really regret not being able to help the Livesay's move. Early in the week, I thought that I would be helping them yesterday, but their plans were not final until more recently and they included moving on Saturday (which really didn't work out, but as I stated, I wasn't sure I wanted to go up north).
All that to say, I am leaving early tomorrow to go up north. We will be bringing about 1300 lbs of rice to various schools along the way. We hope to be at our final destination by dark. Sunday morning, Pastor Rob will be preaching and when we are done, we'll start our way back. We hope to make it part way back by dark, stay over night at the Mission's camp/beach house, and make our way back Monday morning. So...I'll post an update Monday afternoon/evening.
Boring car stuff...
I adjusted the torsion bars on the Ranger this morning. They were nearly at the bottom of their adjustment range. After making the adjustments, the front end now sits 3-4 inches higher. It was like a free suspension lift kit! The last time we drove that truck up north, it bottomed out a number of times up front and the driver's side tire hit the inside of the wheel well, too. I don't think that's a possibility now. It should give us a better ride. It would be nice to have more suspension travel and 33 inch tires, but the 31 inchers should do just fine.
After talking with Pastor Rob this morning about going up North, I think that it would be best if I went with him up north. I really regret not being able to help the Livesay's move. Early in the week, I thought that I would be helping them yesterday, but their plans were not final until more recently and they included moving on Saturday (which really didn't work out, but as I stated, I wasn't sure I wanted to go up north).
All that to say, I am leaving early tomorrow to go up north. We will be bringing about 1300 lbs of rice to various schools along the way. We hope to be at our final destination by dark. Sunday morning, Pastor Rob will be preaching and when we are done, we'll start our way back. We hope to make it part way back by dark, stay over night at the Mission's camp/beach house, and make our way back Monday morning. So...I'll post an update Monday afternoon/evening.
Boring car stuff...
I adjusted the torsion bars on the Ranger this morning. They were nearly at the bottom of their adjustment range. After making the adjustments, the front end now sits 3-4 inches higher. It was like a free suspension lift kit! The last time we drove that truck up north, it bottomed out a number of times up front and the driver's side tire hit the inside of the wheel well, too. I don't think that's a possibility now. It should give us a better ride. It would be nice to have more suspension travel and 33 inch tires, but the 31 inchers should do just fine.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
He Bought Me Corn
Thinking about money kept me up a bit last night and then consumed my thoughts again this morning. I want to clarify that I am not trying to condemn anyone or anything that anyone is doing - I am simply stating what is going through my head from my experiences in my life.
It's so hard to think about the difference in the way we used to live and the way we are living now. The things that we focus on and the things that we desire are so different. I have mentioned this before - that being here really makes me rely more on God and less on myself, other people, or other things.
Anyway - so many thoughts, so little ability to put it on the web.
Today I went with three other Mission workers to deliver food to one of our schools. We got about .5 miles from the Mission and the driver asked if I wanted to drive. Of course I said yes. We drove for about 1.5 hours averaging about 10 mph (guesstimate). We saw some amazing scenery, got the truck stuck, and had a flat tire on the way home - it was a great trip. I felt good to deliver food to the school because where we went, it appeared very poor. We delivered 6-7 bags of rice and a case of fish from Japan. The school is on the right and the church is on the left...
We drove to a spot where we couldn't drive any further (and barely made it to where we got - the truck was sliding at one point and I couldn't stop it). Then 2 of the 3 guys went with me down the mountain to talk to the principal of the school. It was an amazing hike down and my legs got sore as we went down (I can't imagine how the people who will carry the 110 lbs bags of rice will feel after the 20 minute hike down).
We stopped at 2-3 homes along the way and one of the guys who went with (a translator) brought a teddy bear with different colors to do a little teaching along the way. He talked with the children a little bit and then explained a little bit about Jesus using the bear and the different colors. The children listened so intently. He did a great job! After he told his story, he prayed for the children and we said good-bye.
It was so interesting to see how these people live and what they had. It looked like they had one set of clothes and they wore them for a week. Some children didn't have pants and some children didn't have shoes. Some homes had roofs that looked like they could keep the water out. This was up in the mountain and their plots of land to grow food were really steep. It's amazing that they could work their field.
On the way back, the guy who started driving bought some corn and he gave it to me to split with a specific missionary here. This again, brings up the money thing that has been hitting me so hard lately. He doesn't make much money and he just spent money to buy me corn. HE bought ME corn.
I am thankful for...
• A concrete floor (as opposed to dirt)
• A roof that doesn't leak
• Food
• Running water
• Electricity (and the internet)
Boring car stuff...
Changing the oil and filters solved the problem with the generator. The oil pressure when I turned it off was 60 psi instead of 120 psi.
This is the side-view mirror on the Ford Ranger. I could be wrong, but I think that it says "Objects in mirror are not American."
It's so hard to think about the difference in the way we used to live and the way we are living now. The things that we focus on and the things that we desire are so different. I have mentioned this before - that being here really makes me rely more on God and less on myself, other people, or other things.
Anyway - so many thoughts, so little ability to put it on the web.
Today I went with three other Mission workers to deliver food to one of our schools. We got about .5 miles from the Mission and the driver asked if I wanted to drive. Of course I said yes. We drove for about 1.5 hours averaging about 10 mph (guesstimate). We saw some amazing scenery, got the truck stuck, and had a flat tire on the way home - it was a great trip. I felt good to deliver food to the school because where we went, it appeared very poor. We delivered 6-7 bags of rice and a case of fish from Japan. The school is on the right and the church is on the left...
We drove to a spot where we couldn't drive any further (and barely made it to where we got - the truck was sliding at one point and I couldn't stop it). Then 2 of the 3 guys went with me down the mountain to talk to the principal of the school. It was an amazing hike down and my legs got sore as we went down (I can't imagine how the people who will carry the 110 lbs bags of rice will feel after the 20 minute hike down).
We stopped at 2-3 homes along the way and one of the guys who went with (a translator) brought a teddy bear with different colors to do a little teaching along the way. He talked with the children a little bit and then explained a little bit about Jesus using the bear and the different colors. The children listened so intently. He did a great job! After he told his story, he prayed for the children and we said good-bye.
It was so interesting to see how these people live and what they had. It looked like they had one set of clothes and they wore them for a week. Some children didn't have pants and some children didn't have shoes. Some homes had roofs that looked like they could keep the water out. This was up in the mountain and their plots of land to grow food were really steep. It's amazing that they could work their field.
On the way back, the guy who started driving bought some corn and he gave it to me to split with a specific missionary here. This again, brings up the money thing that has been hitting me so hard lately. He doesn't make much money and he just spent money to buy me corn. HE bought ME corn.
I am thankful for...
• A concrete floor (as opposed to dirt)
• A roof that doesn't leak
• Food
• Running water
• Electricity (and the internet)
Boring car stuff...
Changing the oil and filters solved the problem with the generator. The oil pressure when I turned it off was 60 psi instead of 120 psi.
This is the side-view mirror on the Ford Ranger. I could be wrong, but I think that it says "Objects in mirror are not American."
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Money
I have been learning a lot lately - which probably goes without saying. One of the things that has been tossed around here in front of me a few times is that it may be a possibility that I take over another missionary's job because they eventually want to lead another base up north. They haven't necessarily been training me to do this, but through my daily interactions I have been learning quite a bit about what he does (there is A LOT to learn and most of it in a new language).
In addition to the money related post from this morning, one thing that I learned today is the amount that the Haitian workers here get paid. I really had a hard time believing it. The average Haitian earns about or less than $1 per day. These guys here at the Mission make about $5 US dollars per day (roughly...some more and some less). That's $25 per week or $100 per month. They shop at the same grocery stores that we do and go to the markets for food (which is probably a little cheaper than the stores). The first thing that I thought of when I heard this was "How do they possibly by food for themselves let alone their family?" I thought about trying to live on the same dollar amount per week for a week or two. I am not sure that we will really do this, but I am interested in trying it for myself to understand and for the kids to understand. The mind numbing thing for me is that I have been blessed so much that I can call it quits and live like we have been any time I want - these guys, and others far worse off, cannot simply do that.
Coincidentally, today our friends (the Livesay's), posted a great post that can help to clarify the earning and living situation in Haiti.
Hesitantly and reluctantly, I took the kids for ice cream today because it was warmer and I wanted to give them a treat. We spent about $8 US dollars for ice cream (or about two day's work). I will forever remember this number and apply it to everything that I buy. I almost don't feel like eating. I can't believe the amount of money that I used to make at my desk job and that I would waste it away at times.
This is one of those times that I feel like I have so much more to say, but there is so much there that I cannot spit it out. Not just about the money stuff, but other things as well. So, I'll just post a couple of pictures...
Here is Lou. Kayla slowly ate a spoonful of peanut butter (I won't even tell you how much that costs) and Tina gave one to Lou. Well...he saw that Kayla was eating it but didn't watch how. He downed the spoonful in one bite and this is what he looked like...
Kayla, our artist, took a look at her spoon and said "Hey, this spoon looks like Grandma Schilling!" (without the face)...
Boring car stuff...
I worked a bit creating a database for the Mission to use regarding the Mechanic stuff. It sounds like as I have time, there are other things that we'll incorporate into this database. It is in Access and this is what it looks like...
I swapped a rear tire with the spare in one of the Toyotas because the cords were showing - that's the only real car stuff I did today.
The #2 generator had high oil pressure as I mentioned two posts ago and so I changed oil and filters (oil, air and fuel) and tomorrow I will see if it helps. I also cleaned the air filter pre-cleaner. I took a measure of the air temperature in the room and it was 135 degrees F - HOT. There was a water leak in the roof of the generator room that leaked on generator #1 and I fixed that today as well. So, lots of work for the generators today!
In addition to the money related post from this morning, one thing that I learned today is the amount that the Haitian workers here get paid. I really had a hard time believing it. The average Haitian earns about or less than $1 per day. These guys here at the Mission make about $5 US dollars per day (roughly...some more and some less). That's $25 per week or $100 per month. They shop at the same grocery stores that we do and go to the markets for food (which is probably a little cheaper than the stores). The first thing that I thought of when I heard this was "How do they possibly by food for themselves let alone their family?" I thought about trying to live on the same dollar amount per week for a week or two. I am not sure that we will really do this, but I am interested in trying it for myself to understand and for the kids to understand. The mind numbing thing for me is that I have been blessed so much that I can call it quits and live like we have been any time I want - these guys, and others far worse off, cannot simply do that.
Coincidentally, today our friends (the Livesay's), posted a great post that can help to clarify the earning and living situation in Haiti.
Hesitantly and reluctantly, I took the kids for ice cream today because it was warmer and I wanted to give them a treat. We spent about $8 US dollars for ice cream (or about two day's work). I will forever remember this number and apply it to everything that I buy. I almost don't feel like eating. I can't believe the amount of money that I used to make at my desk job and that I would waste it away at times.
This is one of those times that I feel like I have so much more to say, but there is so much there that I cannot spit it out. Not just about the money stuff, but other things as well. So, I'll just post a couple of pictures...
Here is Lou. Kayla slowly ate a spoonful of peanut butter (I won't even tell you how much that costs) and Tina gave one to Lou. Well...he saw that Kayla was eating it but didn't watch how. He downed the spoonful in one bite and this is what he looked like...
Kayla, our artist, took a look at her spoon and said "Hey, this spoon looks like Grandma Schilling!" (without the face)...
Boring car stuff...
I worked a bit creating a database for the Mission to use regarding the Mechanic stuff. It sounds like as I have time, there are other things that we'll incorporate into this database. It is in Access and this is what it looks like...
I swapped a rear tire with the spare in one of the Toyotas because the cords were showing - that's the only real car stuff I did today.
The #2 generator had high oil pressure as I mentioned two posts ago and so I changed oil and filters (oil, air and fuel) and tomorrow I will see if it helps. I also cleaned the air filter pre-cleaner. I took a measure of the air temperature in the room and it was 135 degrees F - HOT. There was a water leak in the roof of the generator room that leaked on generator #1 and I fixed that today as well. So, lots of work for the generators today!
Smelly / Money
A couple things that I forgot to mention yesterday:
Our kids are getting bigger, there is no doubt about it. For years Carter has wanted to use my deodorant. He thinks that it is a sign of getting bigger and older - which it is. Today he came to me and said that his armpits stink, so I entertained him and took a whiff and sure enough, I had to gasp for fresh air. I told him where my deodorant was and he put some on. I think that made his day, week, month, year...
A couple days ago, I had my second worker at the Mission as me for money. This time, the person told me that he wasn't asking me for money, but if I wanted to give him some I should keep it a secret and not tell anyone. This is a person that I respect and he is very nice to me and to my family. I would very much like it if I didn't have to deal with these things. I ended up not giving either person money (this time or last). They have outlets within the Mission and other sources by which to get money if they need it.
I have always struggled with these things. My heart says that we should help them out. We were told that if we want to give someone money, that we should talk with others to find out if they have been soliciting money from them too and how much and so forth to determine the real need. I haven't done that yet, but I may. Another side of that coin is that if don't raise enough support, we won't be here that long ourselves.
When we came we knew that it would be on our dime and if didn't raise enough support that our line in the sand would be drawn and if we came near or crossed it, we would be leaving. The people who ask for money may not know this aspect of our situation. The other missionaries have funding for their stay. I don't know if even the other missionaries knew/know that this is the way we came. I recently told one of them this and they were quite surprised. God called us here and if He wants us to stay, we'll stay as long as He wants - one way or another, giving money to Mission workers or not.
One last thing: God's graces are so wonderful! In so many things (lots of them are little), we see Him working in our lives. From putting things and people in our path to teach us lessons, to being sick, to the big things like even being here in Haiti - God is good - all the time!
Our kids are getting bigger, there is no doubt about it. For years Carter has wanted to use my deodorant. He thinks that it is a sign of getting bigger and older - which it is. Today he came to me and said that his armpits stink, so I entertained him and took a whiff and sure enough, I had to gasp for fresh air. I told him where my deodorant was and he put some on. I think that made his day, week, month, year...
A couple days ago, I had my second worker at the Mission as me for money. This time, the person told me that he wasn't asking me for money, but if I wanted to give him some I should keep it a secret and not tell anyone. This is a person that I respect and he is very nice to me and to my family. I would very much like it if I didn't have to deal with these things. I ended up not giving either person money (this time or last). They have outlets within the Mission and other sources by which to get money if they need it.
I have always struggled with these things. My heart says that we should help them out. We were told that if we want to give someone money, that we should talk with others to find out if they have been soliciting money from them too and how much and so forth to determine the real need. I haven't done that yet, but I may. Another side of that coin is that if don't raise enough support, we won't be here that long ourselves.
When we came we knew that it would be on our dime and if didn't raise enough support that our line in the sand would be drawn and if we came near or crossed it, we would be leaving. The people who ask for money may not know this aspect of our situation. The other missionaries have funding for their stay. I don't know if even the other missionaries knew/know that this is the way we came. I recently told one of them this and they were quite surprised. God called us here and if He wants us to stay, we'll stay as long as He wants - one way or another, giving money to Mission workers or not.
One last thing: God's graces are so wonderful! In so many things (lots of them are little), we see Him working in our lives. From putting things and people in our path to teach us lessons, to being sick, to the big things like even being here in Haiti - God is good - all the time!
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Family, Another Trip, Misc.
Tina was feeling pretty sick yesterday - headache, stomach problems, etc... but today she is much better. Carter did much better today than yesterday with his schoolwork.
I will probably be going on another trip up north (with the director this time) this weekend. Lord willing, we will be leaving Saturday AM and coming back Sunday PM half way and then Monday AM the rest of the way. This trip will be at least an hour longer than the last trip - it's the same direction but beyond the last destination. The director (who is a pastor) will be preaching on Sunday and he has some other things to check out while he is up there. We'll be taking the Ford Ranger which was occasionally making a goofy noise towards the end of our last trip. I checked it all out and didn't find anything wrong - hopefully it (and we) make it there and back!
It rained tonight and before the sun went down, the kids found some snails (high res):
We are thankful to have food (I am wondering why much of the food has been labeled for export, though...)
Boring Car Stuff...
I have been just working on regular vehicles. The two Pathfinders that we have are having issues their front autolocking hubs, so their 4x4 doesn't work. One is also having minor idle issues - it's too low. I have adjusted the idle speed, but it goes back to being too slow again. I went to fill up the Montero's power steering fluid because a guy was taking it out and someone had put water in the power steering fluid bottle without re-labeling it. I put about a quarter cup in before I realized it. I'll have to drain and replace the fluid next time it comes back (in about a week).
The generator oil pressure was real high this evening when I shut it off. It was at 120 when it should be around 60 to 80 at most. I'll have to look at it tomorrow.
I will probably be going on another trip up north (with the director this time) this weekend. Lord willing, we will be leaving Saturday AM and coming back Sunday PM half way and then Monday AM the rest of the way. This trip will be at least an hour longer than the last trip - it's the same direction but beyond the last destination. The director (who is a pastor) will be preaching on Sunday and he has some other things to check out while he is up there. We'll be taking the Ford Ranger which was occasionally making a goofy noise towards the end of our last trip. I checked it all out and didn't find anything wrong - hopefully it (and we) make it there and back!
It rained tonight and before the sun went down, the kids found some snails (high res):
We are thankful to have food (I am wondering why much of the food has been labeled for export, though...)
Boring Car Stuff...
I have been just working on regular vehicles. The two Pathfinders that we have are having issues their front autolocking hubs, so their 4x4 doesn't work. One is also having minor idle issues - it's too low. I have adjusted the idle speed, but it goes back to being too slow again. I went to fill up the Montero's power steering fluid because a guy was taking it out and someone had put water in the power steering fluid bottle without re-labeling it. I put about a quarter cup in before I realized it. I'll have to drain and replace the fluid next time it comes back (in about a week).
The generator oil pressure was real high this evening when I shut it off. It was at 120 when it should be around 60 to 80 at most. I'll have to look at it tomorrow.
Monday, August 18, 2008
A Good Weekend
We had a nice relaxing weekend. I didn't work in the shop at all. We cleaned up our place and moved the kids around a bit. We switched the rooms that Kayla and Carter were in because we moved Lou with Carter. The room that Carter was in is smaller and so Kayla, being by herself, got that room. Carter and Lou got the larger room. Saturday afternoon nap was the first time that Lou got to sleep in the bed. After he got up three times, he fell asleep and since then he seems to be loving his new bed (which is more comfy than the portable crib).
We have been limiting Lou's food to certain items and it seems to be helping with the spit-up. Tina is doing a bit of research trying to figure out how to handle this. It is more difficult to put up with in an older child than it is with an infant. The food is worse seeing it the second time and the volume is greater.
We are persevering through the church situation. It is very difficult to sit through a service with three kids and none of us can understand what is being said. It concerns me that they may be saying things that I do not think the Bible supports and it may appear that I am there support what is being said. The sooner we learn the language the better. Now that we are more settled in and are starting to have a decent routine, we will be hitting the language study harder. Tina has included it as part of the homeschooling routine and I am asking her to have them study things that I will find useful in the shop as well. The more we start talking the same things in the house the better!
We have been limiting Lou's food to certain items and it seems to be helping with the spit-up. Tina is doing a bit of research trying to figure out how to handle this. It is more difficult to put up with in an older child than it is with an infant. The food is worse seeing it the second time and the volume is greater.
We are persevering through the church situation. It is very difficult to sit through a service with three kids and none of us can understand what is being said. It concerns me that they may be saying things that I do not think the Bible supports and it may appear that I am there support what is being said. The sooner we learn the language the better. Now that we are more settled in and are starting to have a decent routine, we will be hitting the language study harder. Tina has included it as part of the homeschooling routine and I am asking her to have them study things that I will find useful in the shop as well. The more we start talking the same things in the house the better!
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Plan Update
I wanted to provide what I believe will be the last plan update that we will have until we find out that the adoption of Lou is complete.
Our intent is to travel to the States when the adoption is complete, so we can visit friends and family. When we find out that we are near the end, we will plan our travel dates. After we arrive, we will speak with our church mission leader about possibly supporting us here in Haiti. We hope to get Lou checked out by a pediatrician (one that specialized in Down Syndrome we hope) and take care of whatever his needs are. I would anticipate being in the States for a couple to few months, then it will be back to Haiti. All of these steps are Lord willing.
Our intent is to travel to the States when the adoption is complete, so we can visit friends and family. When we find out that we are near the end, we will plan our travel dates. After we arrive, we will speak with our church mission leader about possibly supporting us here in Haiti. We hope to get Lou checked out by a pediatrician (one that specialized in Down Syndrome we hope) and take care of whatever his needs are. I would anticipate being in the States for a couple to few months, then it will be back to Haiti. All of these steps are Lord willing.
Tropical Storm Fay
This is our first tropical storm - it came in last night and mainly brought in rains all night long. The Weather Channel said there was 45mph winds, but we didn't experience it that I know of last night and it isn't windy now - just a little breezy. It is normally not too breezy or windy where we are.
Friday, August 15, 2008
Dinner / BCS: Canter - A Resolution
We went out last night with a mechanic who used to work here a the Baptist Haiti Mission. We went with his wife and son to do a little running in town and then we went to eat. We ate Kibby (which was like rice and ground beef in a corn dog casing) and beef shishkabob. It was so very good and so very American tasting! At about US$15 per person it was a little expensive (as usual, Tina and I split with the kids so we got two servings of everything), but we haven't had food like that in a very, very long time. We had great conversation and have continued to build this new relationship. They are great people and live close by.
Here is a picture of a pretty flower with a pretty flower:
I now have generator duty (starting and stopping). Here is Carter helping me out - there are two of these big, loud things:
When we patch Lou's eye, once in a while we have to hold his head so he moves his eye instead of his head. I thought it was funny yesterday when Tina was holding his head, so I took a picture:
I am finding out that my clothes are not lasting very long. I have two pairs of pants that I wear 3 days in the shop before having them washed. I have a total of 4 pair here and I don't want to mess up the other two pair. I am going to be ordering another pair for working in the shop. My boots when I bought them were purchased because they were cool in temperature. My next pair will be leather so the do not get ripped. I am looking forward to a package that my parents sent (thanks Ma and Pa!) because it has Mechanix gloves in it. My hands are getting pretty beat up and I seem to have a new cut or gouge everyday. I do not remember where more than half of them came from.
Boring car stuff...
I started working on the four wheeler with the two boys here (Carter and Christopher) as a way of having shop class for homeschooling. We got interrupted (this is the second time), but from my perspective is was a good thing. After talking with another mechanic for a few days in a row, he stopped by and walked through everything that I had done. There was nothing that we went over that sounded incorrect. After looking at a number of things, he looked at the travel on the brake pad through the viewing hole and saw that it was moving too far - it would be using all the fluid up just to make the pad travel that distance.
The brakes on the Canter have a manual adjustment (not automatic like on most cars). I had adjusted these once (twice in the case of the rear wheels). Two things happened that I learned from. One was that the other driver/mechanic had adjusted the brakes (the wrong way apparently) since I had last looked at them and he didn't do it correctly. I should have started all over from the beginning and looked at it as a fresh new vehicle (which is hard after looking at it for a number of days in a row). The other thing that I learned is that parts are made differently as the vehicle ages. There is an arrow on the back of the hub that points in the direction that you are supposed to move the adjustment wheel. Well...that arrow was pointing the wrong direction. The wheel needed to go the other direction. This may be why the other driver/mechanic did it incorrectly. So I made the adjustment and the Canter now has brakes. Praise God! (coincidentally it was after I had my revelation yesterday morning, my life-lesson learning experience).
One of the Haitian guys wanted to take a picture of me working (yes, my pants are 2-3 sizes too big and I have to add a notch to my belt):
Before we figured out the Canter, I needed a break and so I worked on a mount for a hubodometer (the odometer doesn't work) on the big dump truck. I measured and had the metal workers make it for me. I put on the final touches (like rounding the sharp metal corners and enlarging the mounting holes) on the mount using my die grinder (which I will need a new one soon because this was a $15 cheapie from Menards and is starting to fall apart). I found out that it could be fun to use a die grinder as an art tool!
Here is a picture of a pretty flower with a pretty flower:
I now have generator duty (starting and stopping). Here is Carter helping me out - there are two of these big, loud things:
When we patch Lou's eye, once in a while we have to hold his head so he moves his eye instead of his head. I thought it was funny yesterday when Tina was holding his head, so I took a picture:
I am finding out that my clothes are not lasting very long. I have two pairs of pants that I wear 3 days in the shop before having them washed. I have a total of 4 pair here and I don't want to mess up the other two pair. I am going to be ordering another pair for working in the shop. My boots when I bought them were purchased because they were cool in temperature. My next pair will be leather so the do not get ripped. I am looking forward to a package that my parents sent (thanks Ma and Pa!) because it has Mechanix gloves in it. My hands are getting pretty beat up and I seem to have a new cut or gouge everyday. I do not remember where more than half of them came from.
Boring car stuff...
I started working on the four wheeler with the two boys here (Carter and Christopher) as a way of having shop class for homeschooling. We got interrupted (this is the second time), but from my perspective is was a good thing. After talking with another mechanic for a few days in a row, he stopped by and walked through everything that I had done. There was nothing that we went over that sounded incorrect. After looking at a number of things, he looked at the travel on the brake pad through the viewing hole and saw that it was moving too far - it would be using all the fluid up just to make the pad travel that distance.
The brakes on the Canter have a manual adjustment (not automatic like on most cars). I had adjusted these once (twice in the case of the rear wheels). Two things happened that I learned from. One was that the other driver/mechanic had adjusted the brakes (the wrong way apparently) since I had last looked at them and he didn't do it correctly. I should have started all over from the beginning and looked at it as a fresh new vehicle (which is hard after looking at it for a number of days in a row). The other thing that I learned is that parts are made differently as the vehicle ages. There is an arrow on the back of the hub that points in the direction that you are supposed to move the adjustment wheel. Well...that arrow was pointing the wrong direction. The wheel needed to go the other direction. This may be why the other driver/mechanic did it incorrectly. So I made the adjustment and the Canter now has brakes. Praise God! (coincidentally it was after I had my revelation yesterday morning, my life-lesson learning experience).
One of the Haitian guys wanted to take a picture of me working (yes, my pants are 2-3 sizes too big and I have to add a notch to my belt):
Before we figured out the Canter, I needed a break and so I worked on a mount for a hubodometer (the odometer doesn't work) on the big dump truck. I measured and had the metal workers make it for me. I put on the final touches (like rounding the sharp metal corners and enlarging the mounting holes) on the mount using my die grinder (which I will need a new one soon because this was a $15 cheapie from Menards and is starting to fall apart). I found out that it could be fun to use a die grinder as an art tool!
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Canter - A Revelation
Today will be day four of working on the Canter and I finally realized something - and it's not how to fix the truck's brakes.
What I realized is that God works in EVERYTHING whether I (we) see it or not. Through my constant struggles with the Canter's brakes, numerous Haitian men have been watching me. Some of the Haitians are welders, some of them are drivers, some of them are landscapers and some of them are carpenters or masons. They work for the Mission (some have even come to visit me that do not work for the Mission). Not all of the workers at the Mission are Christian - I do not know how many are. They see that I have been working on the Canter and that I am always trying something to solve the problem. I am never sitting and staring at the vehicle. I am diligently working on trying to resolve the issue. I am not getting upset (outwardly at least).
I had two guys come up to me and tell me, in as much English as they know, that I am a hard worker. They see that I am there at 7:30 or before and that I am there until 4:30 or later. I am beginning now to see the ministry opportunity that the Lord has laid before me.
Through my efforts in working on the vehicles, I can be an example of hard, diligent work (as often as I can, thanks to God). I can be an example of perseverance and patience. And in all that I do, I can point to the Lord as the reason for the way that I work and for the reason I am here.
My language skills are increasing and I am learning new words every day. I have not been studying books, but rather I am in the shop with the drivers and others who stop by to see what is going on. I talk with them about what I am doing and ask what the words are for various things and usually have many opportunities to use the new words in the following days.
One of the few young Haitian boys who lives on the Mission (because their parent does) was hanging out with me at the shop yesterday. He was teaching me creole and I was having him use the big air tools because he wanted to help (he could hardly lift the air gun). I had to bury my opinion of him because he is sometimes a crazy kid that causes trouble. The more I let him help me out, the more he may become less crazy. He may even become a mechanic some day.
All of these thoughts thrown out on this blog to say that I am beginning to see the fruit of my labor thus far. I am seeing that others are watching me and that I should be a good example. I am seeing that there are people here that may want to become involved in mechanic work. Whatever the Lord is pleased to have me do is what I want to do and I will be doing it willingly (or trying to do it willingly). I want to give Him as much credit as possible. God is why I am here. God is why I became a mechanic at a mission working on concrete from being a product manager for a broker/dealer who sits at a desk all day long. God is the reason for everything that I am. To God I am thankful!
What I realized is that God works in EVERYTHING whether I (we) see it or not. Through my constant struggles with the Canter's brakes, numerous Haitian men have been watching me. Some of the Haitians are welders, some of them are drivers, some of them are landscapers and some of them are carpenters or masons. They work for the Mission (some have even come to visit me that do not work for the Mission). Not all of the workers at the Mission are Christian - I do not know how many are. They see that I have been working on the Canter and that I am always trying something to solve the problem. I am never sitting and staring at the vehicle. I am diligently working on trying to resolve the issue. I am not getting upset (outwardly at least).
I had two guys come up to me and tell me, in as much English as they know, that I am a hard worker. They see that I am there at 7:30 or before and that I am there until 4:30 or later. I am beginning now to see the ministry opportunity that the Lord has laid before me.
Through my efforts in working on the vehicles, I can be an example of hard, diligent work (as often as I can, thanks to God). I can be an example of perseverance and patience. And in all that I do, I can point to the Lord as the reason for the way that I work and for the reason I am here.
My language skills are increasing and I am learning new words every day. I have not been studying books, but rather I am in the shop with the drivers and others who stop by to see what is going on. I talk with them about what I am doing and ask what the words are for various things and usually have many opportunities to use the new words in the following days.
One of the few young Haitian boys who lives on the Mission (because their parent does) was hanging out with me at the shop yesterday. He was teaching me creole and I was having him use the big air tools because he wanted to help (he could hardly lift the air gun). I had to bury my opinion of him because he is sometimes a crazy kid that causes trouble. The more I let him help me out, the more he may become less crazy. He may even become a mechanic some day.
All of these thoughts thrown out on this blog to say that I am beginning to see the fruit of my labor thus far. I am seeing that others are watching me and that I should be a good example. I am seeing that there are people here that may want to become involved in mechanic work. Whatever the Lord is pleased to have me do is what I want to do and I will be doing it willingly (or trying to do it willingly). I want to give Him as much credit as possible. God is why I am here. God is why I became a mechanic at a mission working on concrete from being a product manager for a broker/dealer who sits at a desk all day long. God is the reason for everything that I am. To God I am thankful!
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Doctor Bernard & Louinard
I had been working occasionally on Doctor Bernard's car - the alternator was not installed correctly. He asked me how everyone was and I told him how Lou is doing. He came to see him. He had perscribed decongestants and antibiotics in the past and recommended them again (the blessing is that is has been free of charge). I personally think that his the raspiness of his breathing is due to reflux. The next time we feel it is bad, we'll ask the good doctor for this type of medicine. Lou is doing pretty good healthwise. Once we get rid of the urpiness and raspy breathing, he'll be better than new.
Lou has been doing pretty good with his English. He can (when he wants) say Dada, Mama, Louinard, and Kaykay. He hasn't said Carter yet. He seems to be getting so big and strong - really walking good and fast. He still seems to not have much or any depth perception, so when he comes to a spot on the ground that has a different color he'll completely stop and not move without holding someone's hand or scoot his feet across slowly to make sure that it isn't a drop off.
He was getting crazy in his playpen yesterday with Kayla on the outside taking pictures. She got a couple horribly ugly and scary pictures. Here is my favorite:
Lou has been doing pretty good with his English. He can (when he wants) say Dada, Mama, Louinard, and Kaykay. He hasn't said Carter yet. He seems to be getting so big and strong - really walking good and fast. He still seems to not have much or any depth perception, so when he comes to a spot on the ground that has a different color he'll completely stop and not move without holding someone's hand or scoot his feet across slowly to make sure that it isn't a drop off.
He was getting crazy in his playpen yesterday with Kayla on the outside taking pictures. She got a couple horribly ugly and scary pictures. Here is my favorite:
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Donations
We found out who our donors are today via email from the Mission office in Michigan. We sincerely appreciate everyone's donations and we'll be sending a communication to everyone who donated in July. Thank you all very much! It is such a great blessing!
Boring car stuff...
Since I didn't have the parts to install the rest of the front brakes, I worked on replacing the knuckle boot (like a CV boot) on the Canter. That was a lot of work taking off lots of big greasy parts. My own body parts are not used to all this work - I am used to a desk job. My muscles are tired, but my farmer's tan is awesome! I spent 80% of my time crawling around on the greasy concrete working on my reverse french manicure (which looks almost as good as my farmer's tan).
I got the boot replaced after about 5-6 hours of work and then worked on the brakes because the parts came in. After about 3 hours, I got all the brake parts installed. Bad news, the pedal still goes to the floor. I tried two different methods of bleeding the air from the brake system and still the pedal goes to the floor. I checked the vacuum in the tank for the booster and it was reading 23 inHG which should be enough. There is nothing else to replace that I can think of. I have no idea why it's not working. I need to sleep on it and hope for a miracle thought. If anyone has any ideas, please let me know.
Since I am frustrated with this thing, I think that I'll set aside a couple hours tomorrow to work on that four wheeler or the motorcycle.
Boring car stuff...
Since I didn't have the parts to install the rest of the front brakes, I worked on replacing the knuckle boot (like a CV boot) on the Canter. That was a lot of work taking off lots of big greasy parts. My own body parts are not used to all this work - I am used to a desk job. My muscles are tired, but my farmer's tan is awesome! I spent 80% of my time crawling around on the greasy concrete working on my reverse french manicure (which looks almost as good as my farmer's tan).
I got the boot replaced after about 5-6 hours of work and then worked on the brakes because the parts came in. After about 3 hours, I got all the brake parts installed. Bad news, the pedal still goes to the floor. I tried two different methods of bleeding the air from the brake system and still the pedal goes to the floor. I checked the vacuum in the tank for the booster and it was reading 23 inHG which should be enough. There is nothing else to replace that I can think of. I have no idea why it's not working. I need to sleep on it and hope for a miracle thought. If anyone has any ideas, please let me know.
Since I am frustrated with this thing, I think that I'll set aside a couple hours tomorrow to work on that four wheeler or the motorcycle.
Donations
I wanted to let our donors know that we have not yet received information about who has donated to the Lord's work through us in Haiti. I will be doing what I can to get the information so I can communicate with those who have donated. I hope to have it soon!
Monday, August 11, 2008
Electricity / Thankful
We have had a lot of electricity lately. We run our generators from 7:30AM to 5:30PM every day and lately when we have electricity when we go to bed around 9PM. When we get up at 4:30AM, there usually isn't electricity but sometimes there is. The country seems to be doing a better job with the electricity and it's great! Our fridge is colder in the morning and we don't have to be as concerned about opening it.
Things to be thankful for...
The Lord provides for us in so many ways. We see (and appreciate) this so much more since we came here to Haiti. I want to start sharing the things that we are thankful for and that we give God all the praise for - it is thanks to Him that we have these blessings. Today's list...
• My own tools - I am glad that I brought them
• Food in the grocery store
• Water that doesn't make us sick
• Warm water for showers (while the electricity is on)
• Cool weather here on the mountain (we usually range from 68 to 82 every day)
• Friends and family to talk to/chat with
• Great kids
Things to be thankful for...
The Lord provides for us in so many ways. We see (and appreciate) this so much more since we came here to Haiti. I want to start sharing the things that we are thankful for and that we give God all the praise for - it is thanks to Him that we have these blessings. Today's list...
• My own tools - I am glad that I brought them
• Food in the grocery store
• Water that doesn't make us sick
• Warm water for showers (while the electricity is on)
• Cool weather here on the mountain (we usually range from 68 to 82 every day)
• Friends and family to talk to/chat with
• Great kids
First Day of School
Today was the first day of homeschooling. It was a little rough. Carter is not very motivated (why would he be?). Lou is doing good with the eye patch (he is doing a little more schooling than that). Kayla did very well and is pretty motivated. Most of the learning was being done by Tina as she figured out the way things should work (well...she will figure it out). She could use prayers insofar as homeschooling is concerned. It is not easy to do it with limited resources and access to resources (including the internet).
Boring car stuff...
I figured out by pinching the brake line on the Canter that the driver's front is the problem corner. They sent for new brake cylinders up front, so I am hoping that it is finished tomorrow. I struggled for about 3-4 hours getting the passenger front off when the driver's front took only a half hour. Each vehicle has too many things to do that I am just taking care of one thing at a time. I also replaced the ball joints on the Landcruiser and took care of the doctor's alternator for good this time (there was another bolt missing from it that I didn't see the last time).
Boring car stuff...
I figured out by pinching the brake line on the Canter that the driver's front is the problem corner. They sent for new brake cylinders up front, so I am hoping that it is finished tomorrow. I struggled for about 3-4 hours getting the passenger front off when the driver's front took only a half hour. Each vehicle has too many things to do that I am just taking care of one thing at a time. I also replaced the ball joints on the Landcruiser and took care of the doctor's alternator for good this time (there was another bolt missing from it that I didn't see the last time).
Ran Out of Eye Patches
so we are now using knee patches. I think Lou is thinking "I think eye kneed an eye patch, matie."
Blog Colors
I changed my blog colors this morning, but I am not finished. I feel like there is a beautiful sunrise coming up over a freshly laid drag strip. There are tall, green trees lining the track and the stands are empty. All the track equipment is new and the temperature of the track is perfect, yet there I sit - with my feet on the pedals of my tricylce with the lights on the starting tree shining a bright green.
This internet connection may just be the end of me. I am working on prioritizing my time and leaning more towards my family and this internet connection (used mostly for blogging and mechanic stuff) makes me feel like I am sitting on that tricycle.
This internet connection may just be the end of me. I am working on prioritizing my time and leaning more towards my family and this internet connection (used mostly for blogging and mechanic stuff) makes me feel like I am sitting on that tricycle.
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Face Full of Fluid
Shopping this morning lasted a long time. We left at 9 AM and got back at 2 PM. Nothing is simple. Since the place was like Sam's Club we spent a lot of money and got cheap prices. The price was lower the more you bought of each item. We went in with another family so it was even cheaper. We should be set for a while. Oh...if you ever go to a Chinese restaurant in the States and want more MSG, I can hook you up...
Boring car stuff...
When we got back we ate and then I ran off to do work. I got the oil changed in the Nissan Patrol (SUV) and it has two oil filters. It took 11 quarts of oil...11!!! Then I worked on the Canter's master cylinder. I ended up getting a face full of brake fluid (face includes eyes and mouth) during the bench bleeding process. The unfortunate thing is that replacing the master cylinder didn't seem to work. I have to replace the front tie rods before I can take it for a spin to see what happened. This is frustrating me...seriously frustrating me.
Boring car stuff...
When we got back we ate and then I ran off to do work. I got the oil changed in the Nissan Patrol (SUV) and it has two oil filters. It took 11 quarts of oil...11!!! Then I worked on the Canter's master cylinder. I ended up getting a face full of brake fluid (face includes eyes and mouth) during the bench bleeding process. The unfortunate thing is that replacing the master cylinder didn't seem to work. I have to replace the front tie rods before I can take it for a spin to see what happened. This is frustrating me...seriously frustrating me.
Shopping
Lou's potty training seems to be only beneficial to us in terms of number of diapers we use. It is saving us diapers, but he is not understanding enough to tell us when he has to go. I guess that is the deciding point in when he will be ready. So we'll try to continue to do #2 in the potty and leave #1 alone until he is ready.
This morning we are going shopping at a Sam's Club-like place and doing a little grocery shopping. We are leaving at 9 AM and expect to be back around 1-2 PM. Then I have a bunch of mechanic work to do until dinner.
Tina and the kids are doing great! We are still adjusting to a number of things and slowly struggling with how to handle them. We'll be fine, but could use your prayers as we work through these things.
My parents shipped the first package that I am aware of yesterday and we'll see how long it takes to get here. They seemed to find that FedEx was cheaper when sending 10+ lbs. boxes.
Boring car stuff...
I got a lot done yesterday. I got the master cylinder off the Canter in an attempt to solve the brake problem. I also took off the ball joints to replace some that had been fixed incorrectly. I will also be doing that on the Toyota Landcruiser and took them off yesterday. The Ranger that we took up north started making some driveline noise and I took a quick look at that yesterday as well. I will look at it closer Monday. Yesterday I also worked on a big dump truck. The back was not coming down. As I checked the hydrolic fluid, there was no cap on the resivoir. The sock-like filter on the inside had little rocks on the bottom. Apparently it's been that way for quite some time and no one told anybody. Now that may have messed up the hydrolic system. I'll be playing with that Monday. It's kinda cool to be in such a large vehicle! I also cleaned the carb of the motorcycle and it seemed to run a little better, but I didn't ride it much. I went down a big hill and then back up. On the way up near the top, the idle started to surge fast and slow so I still have a bit of work to do on it (Mr. Storm...any ideas?).
This morning we are going shopping at a Sam's Club-like place and doing a little grocery shopping. We are leaving at 9 AM and expect to be back around 1-2 PM. Then I have a bunch of mechanic work to do until dinner.
Tina and the kids are doing great! We are still adjusting to a number of things and slowly struggling with how to handle them. We'll be fine, but could use your prayers as we work through these things.
My parents shipped the first package that I am aware of yesterday and we'll see how long it takes to get here. They seemed to find that FedEx was cheaper when sending 10+ lbs. boxes.
Boring car stuff...
I got a lot done yesterday. I got the master cylinder off the Canter in an attempt to solve the brake problem. I also took off the ball joints to replace some that had been fixed incorrectly. I will also be doing that on the Toyota Landcruiser and took them off yesterday. The Ranger that we took up north started making some driveline noise and I took a quick look at that yesterday as well. I will look at it closer Monday. Yesterday I also worked on a big dump truck. The back was not coming down. As I checked the hydrolic fluid, there was no cap on the resivoir. The sock-like filter on the inside had little rocks on the bottom. Apparently it's been that way for quite some time and no one told anybody. Now that may have messed up the hydrolic system. I'll be playing with that Monday. It's kinda cool to be in such a large vehicle! I also cleaned the carb of the motorcycle and it seemed to run a little better, but I didn't ride it much. I went down a big hill and then back up. On the way up near the top, the idle started to surge fast and slow so I still have a bit of work to do on it (Mr. Storm...any ideas?).
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Trip to the Northwest
What a trip! I thank the Lord for keeping us safe as we travelled! I am having a hard time determining where to start and what to say, so I'll just start at the beginning.
We left at 5:45 AM on Wednesday and drove about 2.5 hours to St. Marc where we had a little trouble. On the way, we picked up a 50cc Honda Wave motorcycle that we were delivering to someone on the way. We put it in the back of the intercooled turbo 4 cylinder Ford Ranger. The Haitian police had a check point and we got stopped. They wanted to check our papers for the cycle which we didn't have - the owner had them. After waiting for 15 minutes, it dawned on me (I feel stupid it took me so long) that I should pray about it. I prayed that the policeman would understand that it was being delivered for a Mission and that he would simply let us go. Immediately after I got done praying, the back door opened and one of the two Haitians travelling with us got it. He said that he told the policeman that we were delivering the cycle for a mission and that then he let us go. God is good! (It was only God that kept that thing in the back - those roads were so rough!)
We drove though some amazing countryside and on some incredible "roads" (as always, you can click on the image to enlarge):
Check out the size of this fishing net - it's not even in the frame of the photo:
The water here was about 2-2.5 feet deep.
We stayed at a missionaries guest house which was real close to their house and was where we ate a great dinner. This was my bed:
This was one of the churches we stopped to look at. It was very nice and served a lot of people. We ended up looking at about 3-5 of the schools and churches in the area and others were pointed out to me as we drove by them. Some of them needed extra things done and some changes (this was the primary purpose of our trip - to check out the buildings and the construction - it is definitely necessary work).
On our way back home this is what the GPS said after 3.5 hours in the truck:
It said that we went 55.4 miles in 3 hours and 23 minutes, averaging 13.8 MPH. I learned real quick to keep my elbows and knees away from the arm rests and doors, so they didn't get bruised. It was a good workout for our neck muscles! It was about 130 miles one way and it took us a bit over 7 hours to do it.
I learned many things on the way there as we talked. I got to know Kyrk whom we had only met a week ago - he is a good guy. I learned more about the Mission and where things were and about Haiti itself. It was an excellent trip and I continue to pray the work that is being done will be used to bring more people into a relationship with Christ.
There are more things that I would like to say, but this is about all the time that I have this morning. This whole experience of being here is simply beyond words and pictures. My hope is to be able to simply present a glimpse of what life is like in Haiti and what great work the Mission is doing for the people.
We left at 5:45 AM on Wednesday and drove about 2.5 hours to St. Marc where we had a little trouble. On the way, we picked up a 50cc Honda Wave motorcycle that we were delivering to someone on the way. We put it in the back of the intercooled turbo 4 cylinder Ford Ranger. The Haitian police had a check point and we got stopped. They wanted to check our papers for the cycle which we didn't have - the owner had them. After waiting for 15 minutes, it dawned on me (I feel stupid it took me so long) that I should pray about it. I prayed that the policeman would understand that it was being delivered for a Mission and that he would simply let us go. Immediately after I got done praying, the back door opened and one of the two Haitians travelling with us got it. He said that he told the policeman that we were delivering the cycle for a mission and that then he let us go. God is good! (It was only God that kept that thing in the back - those roads were so rough!)
We drove though some amazing countryside and on some incredible "roads" (as always, you can click on the image to enlarge):
Check out the size of this fishing net - it's not even in the frame of the photo:
The water here was about 2-2.5 feet deep.
We stayed at a missionaries guest house which was real close to their house and was where we ate a great dinner. This was my bed:
This was one of the churches we stopped to look at. It was very nice and served a lot of people. We ended up looking at about 3-5 of the schools and churches in the area and others were pointed out to me as we drove by them. Some of them needed extra things done and some changes (this was the primary purpose of our trip - to check out the buildings and the construction - it is definitely necessary work).
On our way back home this is what the GPS said after 3.5 hours in the truck:
It said that we went 55.4 miles in 3 hours and 23 minutes, averaging 13.8 MPH. I learned real quick to keep my elbows and knees away from the arm rests and doors, so they didn't get bruised. It was a good workout for our neck muscles! It was about 130 miles one way and it took us a bit over 7 hours to do it.
I learned many things on the way there as we talked. I got to know Kyrk whom we had only met a week ago - he is a good guy. I learned more about the Mission and where things were and about Haiti itself. It was an excellent trip and I continue to pray the work that is being done will be used to bring more people into a relationship with Christ.
There are more things that I would like to say, but this is about all the time that I have this morning. This whole experience of being here is simply beyond words and pictures. My hope is to be able to simply present a glimpse of what life is like in Haiti and what great work the Mission is doing for the people.
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