Our summer in the States has ended in what has become a familiar pattern: a rush of goodbyes, thank yous and packing. All culminating with my brother Russ and his son Ethan helping our family and 14 suitcases make it to the Indianapolis airport EARLY Tuesday morning, one week ago.  We really enjoyed having another Hoosier family to travel with throughout the day – Jeff and Chris Love and their son Camden shared our flights as they moved to Haiti to begin work at Cowman School. Chris will be teaching our junior and senior high science courses and Jeff will…

“If I traded it all … If I gave it all away for One Thing, Just for One Thing … If I sorted it out … If I knew all about this One Thing, Wouldn’t that be something?” (One Thing by Finger Eleven) Yesterday evening, Melissa and I were stopped at our local JayC grocery store to grab a quick and easy family dinner of deli fried chicken on our way home from Indianapolis when I heard these pop song lyrics playing faintly over the sound system.”If I traded it all … if I gave it all away for One Thing…”And I teared up…

Last Friday night was the 16th anniversary of the day Melissa and I said “I do”. It is safe to say that we had no idea what we were getting into that clear summer day, but it has been a fantastic journey … and one that gets better with each passing year.About every other July 15th, we manage to do something special to celebrate. For example, last year we were on Lake Okoboji with all the kids and some dear friends and the day was perfect, ending in a romantic sunset viewed from the back of a boat. It was…

It’s not hard to see why people fall in love with the Pacific Northwest. We just returned from a trip to Oregon and Washington and, if not for our call to Haiti (not to mention the frigid climate!), I might be ready to make the move myself.Of course, the Northwest’s draw on me may not have so much to do with the beauty of the surroundings as with the wonderful people we encountered there. Our trip was “double-duty” – with the opportunity to visit with family at my nephew’s wedding AND opportunities to share with friends and strangers about the…

Beyond Melissa’s extended family, our immediate family also covets your prayers. We need wisdom as we seek to find a good balance over the summer and, of course, God’s protection as we travel. Our kids would be in paradise if our schedule allowed them one sleepover after another with their friends, but our reality is that much of our summer will be focused, once again, on sharing about our ministry at Cowman School and raising the necessary funds to keep us working in Haiti. While we’re on the topic, Melissa and I still have several Sunday mornings we’d love to use…

Beyond Melissa’s extended family, our immediate family also covets your prayers. We need wisdom as we seek to find a good balance over the summer and, of course, God’s protection as we travel. Our kids would be in paradise if our schedule allowed them one sleepover after another with their friends, but our reality is that much of our summer will be focused, once again, on sharing about our ministry at Cowman School and raising the necessary funds to keep us working in Haiti. While we’re on the topic, Melissa and I still have several Sunday mornings we’d love to use…

Maybe I’ve watched too much TV over the course of my life, but you know how your favorite sitcom will throw in some new twist at the end of a season – a big breakup, an unexpected wedding, a new job?  And then comes the summer hiatus and and you’ve got to wait months to find out how it’s going to play out in the next season?This feels a lot like that.We’re nearing the end of our third school year and it’s been a wonderful and exhausting season and last week I heard our family has new neighbors.I have probably…

At 9:45 Saturday morning my phone rang: “Good morning, Teacher Gross. We are waiting for you at the front gate.”My adult English class is a funny group this year. They like to party. At Christmas time, it wasn’t enough for me to bring a cake for our celebration together – they had to turn the whole thing into a feast. Fried goat, plantains, pikliz.So I wasn’t surprised when, as our final class of the school year began to approach, they decided they wanted to organize a trip to the beach before we went our separate ways in June. Yesterday was…

Yesterday my family and I had the privilege of worshiping in a Baptist church in the heart of Cap Haitien. Pastor Marcellus Joseph is a student in my adult English class and when he pulled me aside after class one evening to invite me to preach from his pulpit, I jumped at the opportunity. The church sits directly on the very busy “A” Street, just down from the “four-way-go” where Route Nationale #3 leads to the airport. There’s no parking on the street and so Pastor Marcellus met us in front of the church just before 10:00 am and showed us…

The imminent expiration of all four of our kids’ passports in mid-April necessitated a trip to the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince. Melissa and I debated three options to get the job done – bus, truck or plane. Although Port is only 85 miles from Cap Haitien as the crow flies, it is about 150 miles through mountainous terrain to drive it. Melissa nixed the bus idea early on – if you’ve ever seen how crazy the bus drivers are in Haiti, you’ll understand why. To drive ourselves in a truck was going to involve a 6 to 8 hour (scary!)…