(This has been a VERY different Christmas for us and I will post more about our recent experiences soon, when I’ve had more time to process everything. But I couldn’t pass up sharing a bit right now about this evening’s events.)About a week ago, our good friend Johnny was saying that his family doesn’t really do anything special for Christmas.  Nothing out of the ordinary at all.  In fact, he explained, without electricity it isn’t even possible to watch any Christmas specials on TV.  That got me curious.  Just what kind of “Christmas specials” show up on Haitian TV each December?”Well,…

(This has been a VERY different Christmas for us and I will post more about our recent experiences soon, when I’ve had more time to process everything. But I couldn’t pass up sharing a bit right now about this evening’s events.)About a week ago, our good friend Johnny was saying that his family doesn’t really do anything special for Christmas.  Nothing out of the ordinary at all.  In fact, he explained, without electricity it isn’t even possible to watch any Christmas specials on TV.  That got me curious.  Just what kind of “Christmas specials” show up on Haitian TV each December?”Well,…

… is a great time to go to the beach in Haiti.  And you can be jealous if you want, but it’s not like I haven’t invited you to come join us! (Seriously – any time.  Come visit us.  We’ll roll out the red carpet.)  Put Haiti on your calendar now for next Christmas.Every once in a while, I find myself looking around in wonder and thinking, “Dude, I am living in the Caribbean!”  As I write this, I am finishing off a piece of banana cream pie Melissa made last night and watching the living room curtains slowly inflate and then deflate with…

School is out for two weeks and Melissa and I welcome the break with open arms!  It’s not because we dislike our jobs – we’re loving teaching here – it’s just that we’re so looking forward to having some flexibility in our days, the opportunity to do some new things and a bit less stress.Speaking of stress, Wednesday we topped off our last few days of classes with the traditional Cowman School Christmas Program.  A good chunk of MONDAY morning was spent next door, upstairs at Radio 4VEH, where there is a reception hall big enough to accommodate all the…

A common misconception holds that people here in Haiti sit passively and wait to be helped by outsiders.  Even if this were true, could we blame them?  Resources are TIGHT here.  But it’s NOT true.  Many Haitian churches and individuals give – sacrificially – to minister to their neighbors.  The man who started The Potter’s House orphanage GAINS nothing material from the enterprise – he simply couldn’t bare seeing the children wander alone and helpless.  Our friend Pastor Civil dreams of starting a school at his church on the hillside – certainly not as a source of income, but rather to reach out to…

It’s beginning to look a LITTLE like Christmas around our house.Our question is: How do you get it to FEEL like Christmas when you are surrounded by coconut trees and lush jungle?  And your tree sits in front of an open window? And it feels like you’re stuck in a perpetual summer?  I doubt that night-time temps have been below 74 degrees yet. (I’m not complaining … or attempting to rub it in either.  It just takes getting used to.)  So we’ve done what we can to get a bit of holiday spirit around here.We put away ALL of our…

A few weeks ago the staff of Cowman International School had the chance to evaluate where we currently stand as an institution and to plan for the future.  We all agreed that Cowman is a great school … with room to continue growing in greatness.  I believe it was our principal, Angie, who mentioned that Cowman alumni, years down the road, often rave about the school and appreciate the solid Christian education they received and the godly atmosphere.  And yet many current students often seem to have an attitude more like this: “meh”.  We decided that one thing we could work on as a staff (with very…

School was out yesterday (Monday) for Vertieres Day – a Haitian holiday commemorating the last decisive battle in the slave revolution that led to the nation’s independence from France. And since this coming November 28th will be just another work day here, we and our fellow missionaries took the opportunity to celebrate Thanksgiving a bit early (or late, for those Canadians among us).  I didn’t know what to expect, so I was pleasantly surprised to find that the day really felt like a HOLIDAY … with a few significant differences.SAME: Day off equals opportunity to run.  DIFFERENT: Sweating profusely in November as…

We get a long weekend from school – Monday is a Haitian holiday.  AND we passed the three month mark this past week.  Is that enough excuse to spend a Saturday at the beach?  YES.We got the opportunity yesterday to explore an unfamiliar beach – Dhaloo.  It’s a bit past Cormier Plage, where we have typically gone.  And it’s just a smidgen past Labadie, where Royal Caribbean has its Haitian playground.Part of the fun is that the final leg of the journey requires a water taxi. The landing point at Dhaloo: Boat repair on the beach: The Bundy kids were…

That’s the title of a Calvin and Hobbes book.  And the artwork on the cover features the little boy Calvin on a tree branch reclining against his stuffed tiger, Hobbes, while nestling a water balloon on his lap.  Both boy and tiger have big goofy, satisfied grins on their faces.  Nothing of note is getting accomplished, but they’re tuckered out and happy.A lot of our days here feel kinda like that.Take this past Wednesday for example:6:30 am  I’ve just walked a fast 15 minutes from home to meet Ruysdael and Mikenn on the main road to catch a tap-tap to Ruysdael’s school…