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<\/figure>\n\n\nSo I decided it might be a very good idea to post our Christmas pictures and letter here on the blog this year. So without further ado, here they are.<\/p>\n\n\n
First the family photos:<\/p>\n\n\n Dear\nFriends and Family<\/b>, \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 December\n2016Wishes for a very Merry\nChristmas<\/b> from our family here in Haiti to you and your loved ones! We\ncertainly hope that as 2016 ends you can look back over the past year and give\nthanks for many blessings from our Lord\u2019s hands, even amid the inevitable trials.<\/p>\n\n\n 2016 was a\nyear of blessings and trials<\/b> for our\nfamily as well. On the blessing side, the kids are getting ever taller and ever\nmore fun to be around. Caleb<\/b> is a\nsophomore now with a guitar and a driver\u2019s permit (though no driving in Haiti\nwill be happening anytime soon!), Hannah<\/b>\nis a keyboard-playing bookaholic freshman, Samuel<\/b>\n(8th<\/sup> grade) has taken up juggling and (maybe) drums, while Sarah<\/b> (4th<\/sup>) continues to be\nthe tree-climbing social butterfly.<\/p>\n\n\n The end of the 2015\/2016 school year came in late May, mere\nmoments before the end of Melissa\u2019s energy. She was trying, with much success,\nto balance teaching third grade full-time with overseeing about a dozen other\nteachers, guiding them in lesson planning and developing curriculum across the\ngrade levels. After the end-of-the-school-year commotion passed, she was\nespecially looking forward to a few family days back in Florida in early June\nbefore we would be driving up to Indiana. That break was cut short the day\nafter arriving in Florida with news that Melissa\u2019s brother Randy was in the hospital.\nThankfully, Melissa was able to fly to Indiana in time to see him face to face before\nhe passed away and then to be together with her family in their shared grief. Our\nprayers continue to be with all those touched by Randy\u2019s life and death,\nespecially the three daughters he left behind.<\/p>\n\n\n The rest of\nthe summer was much more joyful for us \u2013 my nephew\u2019s wedding in Washington, a\nweek of camp in Pennsylvania, and visits with friends and supporters in Oregon,\nWest Virginia, Iowa and Indiana. We spent a night on the Oregon coast, floated\non the Potomac River for the 4th<\/sup> of July and got our fill of Hoosier\u00a0sweetcorn. And ice cream \u2013 lots and lots of ice cream. All the while, though, our\nhome and friends in Haiti were never far from our minds and we spent a lot of\ntime encouraging family, friends and complete strangers to come visit us and\nsee Haiti\u2019s astounding beauty and deep needs for themselves! That is an ongoing invitation<\/b> open to ALL<\/b>.<\/p>\n\n\n We returned mid-August to begin our fourth<\/b> school year at Cowman. This year I am teaching 7th<\/sup>\nthrough 10th<\/sup> grade English and Bible classes (as well as my late\nafternoon adult English class). In 2.5 years, God willing, we will be\ngraduating our first class to earn a high school degree from Cowman. Melissa\u2019s\nrole is very different this year. She is no longer in one particular classroom\nbut, rather, is working as Cowman\u2019s assistant\nprincipal<\/b> with responsibilities covering curriculum development, literacy,\nand teacher training.<\/p>\n\n\n Late\nOctober saw Hurricane Matthew<\/b>\ndevastate southwest Haiti, followed by heavy rains and flooding<\/b> here in the north throughout November. We were glad to see\nmany folks mobilize and give aid through these disasters. So much of Haiti\u2019s\npopulation lives in such deep poverty that such disasters are life threatening\neven after the storms have passed. But these times also remind us how important\nit is to work for a better future for Haiti, a future where the power of the\nwind and rain is much less severe.<\/p>\n\n\n Thus, our\ndedication to education<\/b> here in\nHaiti continues to deepen\u00a0– as the influence of Cowman School continues to\nwiden. We\u2019ve been teaching and learning in a construction zone for over a year\nnow as we\u2019ve expanded<\/b> our facilities\nto accommodate our current 160 students<\/b>\nenrolled (up 30 over last year) and more than 20 Haitians and 9 Americans on\nour teaching staff.<\/p>\n\n\n May God<\/b> bless you<\/b> and yours in the coming year.\nWe are so grateful for all who support our family and the ministry in Haiti\nthrough prayer and financial gifts.*<\/b>\nAnd we are thankful for the Lord who loves and guides us all. May He bless you\nwith abundant<\/b> life, faith, hope and\nlove in 2017<\/b>.<\/p>\n\n\n In Christ and For His Kingdom,<\/p>\n\n\n![\"\"\/](\"http:\/\/stevegrossblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/20161116_154312_20161117115325050_20161127172303540-1.jpg\")
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