… should share with the person who has none.””That is the verse they quoted to me!”Last night I listened intently as Daniel explained a conversation he had had recently with some “friends” of his in his neighborhood.  They were quoting John the Baptist to him (as found in Luke 3) and taunting him: “You say you are a Christian, you say you are going to go to seminary, then PROVE you are a Christian.”They were rudely testing the sincerity of his faith with their demand that he make a willing sacrifice.In the American church, we speak of the sacrifices associated with faith in Christ in…

Tonight I got Melissa back.  For the past week she’s spent every spare moment with her friends from back home in Indiana.  (Reminded me of the week she discovered “Downton Abbey” DVDs!)  Three of our visitors over the past week – Kate, Keri, and Karen – are women Melissa numbers among the best friends of her lifetime.  The fourth – Kelly – came as a stranger to us and left as a new friend.  (And with the four of these ladies came four other new friends from Ohio.)  One of the first things Keri did was to show pictures of HER four kids…

While our friends and family back home in Indiana are barely a week out from the latest (and last??) snow shower, we are well into the heat of what feels like SUMMER here.  Good Friday was hot and sunny and we had the day off from school.  After spending some time in Daniel’s neighborhood in the morning (more about that in another post), it was refreshing in more ways than one to have a simple task like washing the truck turn into a raging water war among our four kids and my three “Haitian sons” – Ruysdael, Johnny, and Mikenn.It started with a simple chore…

This past weekend was a busy one as we celebrated three birthdays: Johnny’s, Hannah’s and mine.Some gifts came early through the mail – like these bagels Grandma Trudy sent for Hannah.  (The puppy was NOT a gift – it belongs to the Bundys next door.  Buddy is more than enough for us to deal with right now!) Here’s MY favorite gift – Melissa ordered me in a bottle of Nyquil and I was finally able to kick my sinus infection. She didn’t intend it for my birthday, but it was certainly a welcome “treat”. Before heading into the restaurant, we stopped next door at…

Yet another sinus infection has been dragging me down (for three weeks now!) and Hannah has been diagnosed with pneumonia (she’s on the upswing) but if I keep waiting until we’re all feeling top-notch to write more about our week with Dan and Jill, I fear it may never get done.And there’s so much more to tell.  I’ll tackle the easy part now and leave some deeper stuff for another day.The picture of Jill below encapsulates what made their visit so incredibly fun and MEANINGFUL for us.  She is holding a water bottle, a giant leaf, some previously unknown fruit which is called Abrika (which had a…

Dan and Jill arrived early Monday morning a week ago on a flight from Florida – our first official visitors!  Jill was Caleb’s 6th grade teacher last year and they developed one of those rare teacher/student bonds that will, undoubtedly, last a lifetime.  Jill’s students (with her guidance) were the ones who got behind Caleb’s efforts a year ago to raise supplies and funds for The Potter’s House orphanage in February 2013.  I’m guessing Jill never imagined that she would be here a year later on her spring break with her husband.  The Lord works in mysterious ways!I picked Dan and Jill…

It’s been way too long since we last visited the kids at The Potter’s House.  We saw them at Christmas, but then time got away from us – Saturdays were occupied with this or that other concern.  We didn’t even get to help them when they made the move to the new house since it was a school day when it happened. And then, more recently, the orphans started passing around chicken pox and we thought it best to keep our family at a distance.Even yesterday, as we had time and reason to visit the House, we heard the chicken pox still hadn’t finished its rounds…

I am one of those who would gladly live on the seashore, given half a chance.  Walking the beach. Snorkeling.  Hunting for shells.  Listening to the waves.  Enjoying seafood. So these past five days were fully therapeutic.  We joined all the other OMS missionaries for a retreat in the town of Sosua along the northern coast of the Dominican Republic.  It took the better part of a day to get there and the better part of a day to get back, but the three days in between were so incredibly sweet. We traveled in the large van with the Aberles and…

Cowman’s principal, Angie Bundy, and I have been talking off and on throughout the school year about a way to get our kids to broaden their horizons a bit and find joy in serving others, preferably even outside the walls of Cowman School.  About a month ago, we found a focus for our desire to serve:  A short walk down the street is a “Starfish” school, a church-run and OMS affiliated school which is supported, at least in part, by sponsorship of individual students. That means that just like thousands of other students across Haiti, the kids of Maranatha are able to get a…

Friday was a special day at school – for both Melissa’s students and mine.For the kindergartners and first graders, Friday was the 100th day of school.  The kids each made a special hat and a necklace with 100 beads (ten each of ten different colors).  And since they had been counting the school days throughout the year thus far with an ice cream scoop graphic, Melissa decided to treat her class to some homemade ice cream for their celebration. The ice cream was quite a treat for them … their excitement was quite a treat for everyone around them!   For…