It's a year and another season!

September 5 meant that we've lived in Haiti a full year! It's hard to believe that much time has passed and yet we've experienced and learned so much.  Joel is now driving in Haiti and sometimes drives teams here and there.  I haven't driven anything except our four-wheeler and the truck on the mission center.  We both can speak SOME Creole and can understand a little, as long as people aren't talking too fast.  Pray for us because the ability to communicate in Creole is key to our ministry here.  We can negotiate the stores and even talk and greet our neighbors some.

Surprising Leah in Aurora, OH

When we signed our contract with RMI, we asked that we could go to the US (the States) about every six months to see my parents, Leland and Lettie Bond. They are now 90 years old and want to see us and know that we aren't on the other side of the world. So, this summer, we took our two weeks vacation to make a whirlwind trip to the States, visiting children and family we missed on our December trip.  It was important to visit Joel's two brothers who are in poor health.  It was important to see Mom and Dad and it was important to visit our children in Ohio and family in Pennsylvania and the DC area.  Along the way, we were blessed with the opportunity to visit friends and family in supporting churches and to be at the worship service in the retirement home where Mom and Dad live.

The happy couple before the wedding vows

As soon as we returned to Haiti, we plunged into team activities and lots of work at RMI.
But, the highlight was attending the wedding of Perguens and Xphania Hyppolite.  What a beautiful wedding at the RMI Retreat Center! And, the different wedding traditions were a blessing to see.

Water filter dedication

So, what has been going on in the ministry.  Where can we start?  Only two sister church teams have been here since we last wrote, but this is the slower time of the year.  We've also had three special project teams during that
period.  Joel and I were actively involved in all but two of these teams.  Joel continues to work hard with maintenance, thankful for the help of Daniel Nunemaker and others. Daniel is the oldest son of our new missionary family.

Home that was replaced

One team built a home while another member of the team worked with our Haitian staff, teaching English grammar.  She teaches English as a second language at a college in the US.  A member of their church in the United States donated a goat to a young Haitian child to provide future income. Another team financed and installed a water filter system at a sister church here. This water system  provides 5000 gallons of fresh, drinkable water daily to the church and to neighbors in the community.

Creekside team ready to fly back to Florid

Practicing chest compressions in CPR

The special projects team from our Florida church flew into our local airport on a private plane. Their purpose was to interview sponsored children, their families, their teachers, the church pastor and deacons and to understand the life of the sponsored children. Two members of the team hiked two hours one-way up a mountain to visit a sponsored child with his family. The highlight for me was to see sponsored children talk with their sponsors back in the United States using an international phone call.  Another purpose of the trip was to discuss the specifics of the new school/church building project at the church and to determine the extent to which they could help.

I had the opportunity to plan and teach a first aid and health information class for our Haiti office. I felt back at home talking about high blood pressure, heart attacks, bandaging, and cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR).  I was so thankful for a colleague, Janella Zimmerman, from the Bonne Fin hospital community who taught the majority of the course.

Les Cayes Botanical Gardens

We have time to relax at beautiful locations like the Les Cayes Botanical Gardens and the ocean at Port Salut!

The roar of the waves on the tail of Hurricane Joaquin

It has continued to be hot and humid, but we are thankful for rain that is almost falling an hour or two every day.  Of course, rain brings mosquitos and bugs, as well as increased humidity.  But, we need the rain and we are thankful that bites have not been a major problem.  We are also thankful for our missionary community, our wonderful Haitian neighbors, and for good health!  God is great!

And now it's summer.....

  It is so much quieter now at Citi Lumiere.  Many of the missionaries have left for the summer.  They've gone for vacation, to visit family and friends, and to gain further support for themselves and their organizations.  True!  They are missing the humid and hot summer, but it is also a time when activities slow down for all organizations.  It is our first summer here in Haiti and we're glad to be here even in the heat!

Arne, Priscilla, Olivia, and Lilia Clemm

In June, we finally moved into our new home in Simon.  We live on the second floor and another missionary family from Germany live on the first floor.  We are so thankful for the US Church work teams, some of our own RMI staff, an electrician and plumber who helped us get the house ready for us.  Several volunteers helped Joel with the painting.  A big thanks to everyone!

Batteries for backup to city power

We are learning how to adjust to differences in everyday life like using generators, monitoring inverters with batteries,  having inconsistent city power, and chlorinating our drinking water. One day, I came home to the batteries boiling! It's a challenge, but we're learning!  Compared to missionaries in other countries and early missionaries in Haiti, our life is easy!

We are amazed at the differences in the culture of the mission center and the village where we now live.  It's much noisier, but there is varied and beautiful music along with many interesting people.  We experience beautiful smiles each time we smile and greet with a "Bon jou. Koman ou ye? (Good day.  How are you?).  Blessed experiences like our older neighbor who thinks it's her responsibility to take care of me.  She covered my four-wheeler with a sheet so I wouldn't get burned by the hot seat from the sun and walked me across the street (one lane dirt) so I wouldn't get hit by a motorcycle.  Joel had a lady stop him twice to quote scripture and to pray with him. He calls her his "angel." A merchant in the street market GAVE me 10 bananas and said it was a gift.  These people are blessing us daily!

Building a home in a very mountainous place.

Several work teams that have been an invaluable help to Joel and to RMI.  Their projects have included building homes and doing projects at our Simon house and at the RMI retreat center at Zanglais.

Work team helping at the retreat center

I've transitioned into responsibilities more in line with my educational and experience background.  I'm developing an education program for our staff than has health care, cultural knowledge and awareness, computer and language skills, basic driving and auto maintenance, leadership, and spiritual growth.  NO!  I'm not teaching all of the modules! I'm also involved in a directing a small research study with the purpose of  measuring outcomes of our child sponsorship program, Hope for Kids.  Who would believe that I would come to Haiti to do research?

Our field director, his two children and the Nunemaker family

  We just welcomed our new RMI missionary family, Lee and Tina Nunemaker with their four boys, to our Haiti RMI family.  It's really exciting as they bring even more talents to the mission here.  They are living in our "old" home.  Pray for them, too, as they transition into Haitian culture.

  Joel and I are so thankful to be here and to experience daily what God has in store for us.  We still are struggling with our Creole, but are much better than nine months ago!  At least, we can talk with our Haitian neighbors and staff in Creole, however slow and incorrect it is!  Creole is the key to our work here with the Haitian community.  Real knowledge of the love of Christ and His saving power is limited even though there is a lot of "church."



  We need your continued prayers and support for our work here.  We are supported at a little over 50%.  We need your help!  Please consider donating toward our mission here by clicking on the button at the side of this page or writing a check to either Reciprocal Ministries International or The Seventh Day Baptist Missionary Society.