No, not Caleb. Not yet.I suppose quite a few people aren’t even aware that Melissa has been working on her master’s degree for the last year and a half through Emmaus University just down the road.Last Wednesday she presented her capstone project in front of her class. It was her last big assignment and her topic was “effective teacher evaluation”.During Friday’s morning chapel service, we recognized both Melissa and Kacie, Cowman’s incredible first grade teacher and assistant principal to the elementary, who has completed the same program. Friday evening brought the “hooding ceremony” for all those graduating this year from…

An Update and a PleaFirst the update: “Mwen la.””I’m here.” This is one of the standard Creole responses when asked “How are you?” and it is my current status.  Our kids left a week ago for Indiana. Melissa left five days ago. (It all seems much longer to me!) I stayed behind to tend the crowd of puppies and to monitor the situation in hopes I might be of use to Cowman as soon as life normalizes. (Besides, I knew that back in the States I would find all the half-price Valentine’s Day candy had already been stripped from the…

“I feel GOOD … I knew that I would.”I never confided in anyone except Melissa, but over the last six months a fear began to take hold in my mind that I might be experiencing honest-to-goodness depression: I was tired ALL THE TIME. I just wanted to sleep. I would doze at my school desk after my lunch and then sleep away half of my prep period. Furthermore, I had to force myself to do things – even things that should have been very enjoyable. And I was gaining weight: about ten pounds over the course of six weeks. (Between…

Soon I will post some updated photos of the house and the progress we’ve made in transforming it into a home for our family.In the meantime, it occurred to me that I haven’t posted many photos of the GROUNDS around the house. When things got stirred up last spring on the OMS campus where we had lived for five years (with the threat of imminent eviction of the mission) and we decided proactively to move towards more secure living space, we literally moved to higher ground. Those who have been to Haiti will not be surprised by the beauty of our…

Tonight Caleb and I are a bit shaken up, but I am praising God for what DIDN’T happen.A bit of background: There’s nothing bad in our tap water that we know of, but simply out of desire to play it safe, we don’t drink from our faucets. Instead, we have a water cooler. So every few days I have to make a trip to a local shop just down the road with all our empty five gallon jugs to refill them with filtered water.  Today, after school, I asked Caleb to accompany me to help carry the jugs. The shop…

After an unintentionally long hiatus from blogging, I needed a photo-heavy post to ease myself back into the routine. Cowman’s second annual Harvest Festival yesterday more than satisfies that need.A bit of background on the motivation behind the event: Our parents are always seeking fun, kid-friendly events while, unfortunately, living in a place with extremely limited options for family entertainment.(There’s the beach.)Cowman, on the other side, is very interested in serving not just our students, but the whole family. Strong, healthy families are a priority for us. Thus, the Harvest Festival was born to be a win/win situation. (Not to…

Zenobia, on the left, will be teaching 5th grade for us while Kristen, on the right, will be teaching junior high and high school math. 

I need help. Lots of help. It is no secret that I am largely lacking the handyman gene and I have never needed it more. Melissa and I are seeking individuals and small teams who have some expertise in electrical, plumbing and kitchen renovation who are willing to join us in Haiti in the next few weeks and monthsYou might have heard by now that our family is in the process of moving into a new house. When we left Haiti last week to spend the summer in Indiana, we left empty the house on OMS grounds we have called home…

I simply cannot believe that four years have passed since my good  friend, Daniel Rodolphe, started taking classes at Emmaus Biblical Seminary in order to become a pastor. Back then, a leader from an international feeding ministry came to Haiti to see where her group’s soup mix was being put to use. At the time, Daniel was receiving bags of the mix on a monthly basis and preparing it each Saturday and Sunday morning to feed the hungry right outside his door.This ministry leader was struck by Daniel and his dedication to his neighborhood. When she asked him about his…