Brandon & Jessica

Brandon surfed in Haiti. This is a monumental thing that I need to document. It has only happened twice now. First time? We saw waves that he might actually be able to surf, and was so overcome with joy and childlike giddiness, that he chose to ignore what looked like tons of sea urchins thinking he could skim right over them, but in fact, he did not. His souvenir for his first time surfing in Haiti? About 25 black dots stuck in his feet, and about 10 in his hands. It was just plain sad. I feel terrible, and I’m not even personally the one being thwarted! Yes I am the wife, who for our entire dating and married life, has followed him on many wild goose chases down bumpy, wild, and tiny roads to just the possibility of surf. Some trips are short, more often they are hours, following the faint notion or hope that surf may be at the final destination.

But either way I really can’t complain. If there is no surf? We hang out at a great deserted beach. If on the slight off chance there is surf, he is off to spend hours alone enjoying God’s creation the best way he knows how. And and I am,well, still on a beautiful beach.

So when we went to the beach last week with Brent and Letitia, even though the waves weren’t great, or really even good, it was satisfying to see him out doing what he loves. And I think we both let out a deep sigh… all is well and normal with the world again…Brandon is surfing and I’m enjoying the beach.

Yay. !!

Beautiful.

Me and Letitia hanging out soaking up the sunshine! AND drinking cappuccino!! The only place to find a cappuccino that we have found!!

Brent and Brandon

We began the day with a prayer, together. I have to admit, my heart wasn’t in it. I was having a bad attitude, thinking about all the things I had to do at home, and how this was now day 14 of working from 6am till 8pm with constant guests in my home,  barely giving me time to pee alone, and frankly, I was cranky about it. I wanted to stay home today, and really certainly could have. This team was doing pump repair, and pump repair isn’t in my repertoire. So I didn’t have to go. But seeing as how there was only one woman on the team, the teeny ounce of kindness left inside me said that I should just suck it up. And I did. But my attitude was less than stellar.

On the way out the door that morning, I checked with Linda to see if she had everything for the day, and she said yes. So when we showed up to repair the pump, and she went to grab her supplies, she in fact didn’t have anything she needed. I chuckled a bit, seeing where this day was going, and told her we would be fine, we would figure something out. So she asked if we could pray. What good missionary would say no? But her prayer was healing, in that she simply prayed that the Holy Spirit would show us what He wanted us to do that day. Simple. Something I do often pray for, but when my flesh and attitude get in the way, it can also be the last thing on my mind-as it was that day.

We headed off. A few of the other days we had together we visited homes, talked with women, and had a great time together. So we passed a few houses, but nothing really beckoned us in. Then we came across a small river where I noticed some ladies doing laundry.

And God said, “This is what I have for you today”.

What did I do? Kept walking. The first thing that popped into my mind was this: About six months ago, when Brandon and I were at in a community scouting to see if we were going to drill there, I met a woman. She was re-mudding her hut. Something like exterior decorating, minus the flash and awe of house hunters. For those of you who don’t live in a mud hut, the how to is simple really. You collect some dirt, mix it with water, and make a paste. Then apply to your already existing mud walls that are cracking and in need of another coat. So, I chatted with her for a bit, and as I did, knew the Holy Spirit wanted me to help her. I asked where her friends and family were, and why they weren’t helping her. She had no money to pay them. Then she said she didn’t even have extra food to give them for helping. (I’m guessing like the idea of helping a friend move=yummy pizza at the end?) I was struck by this, and convicted, so I threw off my shoes, rolled up my skirt and plunged my hands into her mud while saying, ‘You don’t have to pay me, I’ll help for free.’

She laughed at me.

And then told me no. And better yet, shouted to her neighbors even though we were speaking in Creole so she knew I would understand her,  that “the crazy blanc wanted to help her mud her hut. haha.” I was mortified. I stood there, embarrassed. I tried to be gracious, but left irritated, humiliated and well, pissed. I was just trying to listen to the Lord, and look where it got me.

So, that scene played out before me when I saw the ladies doing laundry and felt a tug from the Lord. Of course, I kept walking. We managed to get up a hill, and still didn’t find a place we wanted to stop, when I couldn’t take it anymore. I casually mentioned we should go back the way we came and turn to the left. And we walked straight up to three ladies bent over scrubbing their clothes as I said, “Good morning. Would you ladies like some help washing your clothes?”

And one girl literally jumped up off her tiny chair and said, “YES!!”

I laughed, greatly encouraged by her enthusiasm, thankful for the invitation, and we set to work. And we worked. Doing laundry is not exactly my favorite chore-it is something I have come to love here in Haiti though, because I line dry everything and there is something lovely about hanging your clothes out in the warm sunshine. But I also have a washer. And have only hand washed my clothes here and there out of necessity. However, I saw things from a different angle as I was bent over working with these ladies.

Now, I don’t want to romanticize things, cause let me tell you, it’s tough work. But check it out: these three ladies obviously all know each other. And they come to this spot to wash clothes every three days, the same three days. As they are bent over working they chat, laugh and enjoy each others company. They talk and joke with everyone who passes by-and let me tell you the fun we had talking with people who walked by who were oh so curious was to what we were doing. My favorite was a man who walked by asking what the blanc was doing washing clothes. I told him I was helping my new friends, and he was of course taken back by my Creole. Then, I asked him why doesn’t he help out too? To which he said, as most men wish they could but aren’t that gutsy, “I don’t know how.” All us ladies laughed pretty good. So I asked him, you really need someone to show you? Here, watch this. And showed him. To which he replied, ‘I don’t need to learn how, I have a wife.’ I died laughing-so honest, SO true. I said you could you help your wife, to which everyone laughed even harder. I didn’t get it. Only then did he point to the woman beside me to tell me that was his wife!! HA.

Back to the story. When we had washed and rinsed about three loads, the ladies grabbed their now very heavy buckets and turned to go and lay them out in the sun. We followed. But they were not so sure about this. They pointed to the very top of a pretty decent hill, and explained that was where they were going to lay out their clothes. We said we’d help. They still were unsure. So what did this stubborn girl do? Insisted we could do it. I did have to take off my wet and slippery sandals, but all went well. We got back down the mountain without incident.

When we got back to the river, I wanted to dive back in and help them with the last few loads they had left. Linda wanted to bust out some gospel bracelets she had and tell the gospel story and make a bracelet for them. So, we compromised-I kept washing with the women, while she told the gospel story. And they loved it. They listened while they continued to work, and enjoyed making and having a cute bracelet to take home.

But, I am still struggling with my thoughts on this. Because, often, since I live here, I really enjoy the moments I have with Haitians where there is no stuff involved. When there is no handout, no gift, nothing. We simply talk, share, and that is that. I can’t explain to you, without sounding like, oh, the worst person ever, that it gets old when people simply see you as a dollar sign or what you have for them. Of course this isn’t true of everyone! But then there is the flip side. I also know the Bible commands us to help those in need -in a real and tangible way. I mean, for goodness sakes, that is why we are here. So in this context, the bracelets didn’t bother me per say, but it was rather that I thought we shared this perfect moment together, where we showed them the love of God without involving any stuff. Yet, the flip side being that Linda was deliberate about sharing the entire Gospel message with them, and I did love that. And maybe adding the bracelet in there really will be a good reminder of the story told-a story that if listened to carefully, and taken to heart, could save their lives if they don’t know Jesus.

I also think you can’t just parade around telling people how much God loves them, when some of those people are struggling to survive. You just can’t.

Which is why we do love working for Living Water, because we can say Jesus loves you, and give them something that they desperately need-clean water-so they see the love of Christ through our actions, and not just our words. You can tell someone you love them, God loves them, but when you ignore very real needs,confronting needs, I believe that message can get lost.

Anyway, I just wanted to share with you one day. One day that turned out great because the Lord forgave my bad attitude, still chose to use me and Linda, and reminded me that He will show me what He has for me in each moment, if I only allow Him, listen to Him, and obey Him.

She was so sweet, the wife of the man who “doesn’t know how” !!

Isn’t she beautiful, and just lovely?

The guys fixing the pump!

The team did a great job with the story of the prodigal son…and it was impressive because this was an impromptu gathering with tons of kids, but Yvenor does such a great job with the kids!

We repaired this pump right outside of a school with over 400 kids bursting from the seems! We were able to go into the school and share Bible stories and lessons with them too.

The view leaving St. Suzanne. Yes, that is the ocean glittering off yonder!

The whole team…even Penelope made the photo!!

Something I have come to love and appreciate about Haitian culture is how welcoming people are. You can pretty much walk up to anyone’s house, chat with them for a few minutes, and they will almost always welcome you in. ‘In’ may be in their courtyard, in front of their house, or even inside. But no matter what part it is, they do a great job of making you feel welcomed, even when they don’t know you. I guess I appreciate it so much because you just don’t find that in the states. When was the last time a stranger came knocking on your door? And if they had the courage, did you ignore them, or pretend you weren’t home? Yes, we all do it !

Just last week, we had another team right after the Liquid team. And something new for me was there was only one woman that came with a whole gaggle of men. She came on the trip with her husband, and she was excited to get out into the communities and get to know people. From my perspective, both sides can be tough to do-a team with a lot of people, and a team with just one doing Bible stories/Vbs stuff. But we can go around and visit homes more easily with just two of us, and that is exactly what we did.

I enjoyed coming up with things for us to do, knowing we could visit and talk with women more easily if there were less of us. Thankfully, Linda came prepared, and had fun little craft ideas and things we could do with women and mothers. So while the men were off repairing pumps -this was also a different trip because it was pump repair-we simply walked around. I told her it would be fun to just go around the village and talk with ladies, and we could use the crafts and things she brought if we wanted.

And off we went. We simply walked down the road, calling to women as they worked-sweeping, cleaning, doing laundry, cooking. And every single time we stopped to say hello, chat, and asked if we could come in and chat for a moment, these ladies said yes. An enthusiastic yes. We invited us onto their property, where a few houses are close together. Then we would stumble across a few more women, silently working or talking with each other. And they too joined us. We are always offered a place to sit, and made to feel welcome. And something new occurred to me at the first house we visited. I have come to know and see that families usually live pretty close to each other-this is pretty common in Haiti. Most of the time, in one little village you will meet someone’s sister, mom, aunt, nephew, grandparent. But something struck me differently that day.We introduced ourselves, and then they went around and introduced themselves. And since almost every single one of them was holding a child, we asked the child’s name, age, etc. And I noticed something.

Most women were holding other people’s children.

Not just anybody’s child, but as they pointed out who the mothers were, I realized all the mothers were right there. And when we asked who was related and how, I realized they were all sisters, cousins, sister-in-laws, aunts. They were holding and loving these children like they were their own. I feel like you can usually tell who the mother of a child is simply by the way they interact, but in this situation, it seemed like they were all mothers to each child. They all loved each child, helped take care of them, bathed them, held them, disciplined them.

And my heart ached.

You know that feeling, that deep down ache, that makes you want to cry one of those good, long, uncontrollable cries? You know, the ones that make our poor husbands blankly stare on as they pat us on the back?  I thankfully held it together, I don’t think anyone noticed a few tears. And so, there it is. I miss my family. I miss being a part of their everyday lives-doing the mundane, the normal, the ordinary together. When you count the cost of living in a foreign country, often times people think it’s hard to just live here, that it’s hard to be surrounded by poverty, hard to live in conditions we are not used to, hard to give up comforts. And that is true. Yet the real struggle is rooted in relationships. Relationships that will survive across the miles-I don’t doubt that at all-hence why there is the ache. It’s more so coming to terms with not being a part of the daily routine that involves those you deeply love and care about.

There it is. Plenty of people we know live far from loved ones and family. And they know what I’m talking about. So I guess what I’m left with is this thought:

I want to continue to make the most of the people and relationships I have now.

I may be away from my beloved sister, my BFF, my family-but, but, but I look around. God has provided in other ways to bring along new brothers, sisters, mothers, friends to fill that void. He is faithful. He knows how we are made, He knows what we need, and He will provide. So I encourage you, choose to live in community, choose to live with people surrounding you that love you, care about, notice when you are having a hard time. It’s not always easy to find,it’s not easy to reach out again and again and put yourself out there. But I believe the reward is great.

The good news? In the midst of the ache, God has provided. We met a few special friends that we hold dear from when we lived in Port de Paix. And now, a year later, God has continued to be faithful and we have met a group of friends who are wonderful. They love the Lord, care about us, and are willing and wanting to share life together. And that is beautiful thing. So we may not be ready to build houses right next to each other -let’s face it, the idea of community living is grand, but the implementation is much harder!! Okay, I’m not ready to have my hut a stones throw away from everyone I know, but I am ready to acknowledge there is something to be learned.  And I think I need to continually say it to myself: make the most of where you are, of the people God has blessed you with in your life. Enjoy them, lean on them, share with them, love on them, and open yourself up to them.  The rewards are great.

So I may not have a Target, or a grocery store bigger than a 7-11, and I may not have a mall, or even a drug store on every corner. But what I do have are lots of little shops. I don’t have a mall, but I have about 25 tables with jeans of all different sizes shapes and colors. And there may not be a fitting room, but I have about 30 personal shoppers that will tell me if that pair will fit me and look good.

I may not have a salon or any kind of spa like the ones back home, but there is beauty shop on almost every corner.

And I am not a fan of big bad corporate businesses that put all the little guys out of business (don’t even get me started on Walmart!) which means by default I like the little guys. In Haiti, the little guys are the only guys, and when you have a list of 20 things you need, chances are you are stopped at about 15 stores.

What does that mean for everyday life? Craziness. Not only being okay with only finding 10 things on your list, but rejoicing that you actually got ten things on your list! And it also means that there is lots going on. All these little shops are right on the main road, advertising their goods with brightly colored signs and pictures for those that can’t read.

I have to show you so you understand.

Since I don’t like being that person with a camera pointed out of the car all the time, there are still many things I have yet to capture on film and share. But when we have a team, there are few cameras out, and so sometimes I join the masses and bust mine out too. On this day, Christine and I were ridding shot gun (with an impeccable view of everything) so while she was making a video-which really tells the story even better than photos- I grabbed her camera and started snapping away. Let me show you some interesting finds along the way. Check out my Facebook timeline if you want to see the video Christine took of downtown Cap Haitian.

Beauty shop.

A mobile store-okay not really. But a loaded down tap tap, a common site here in Haiti, which makes driving anywhere quite a challenge!!!

The lovely open air mall.

The pictures crack me up-but it’s smart really since so many people can’t read.

A section of Home Depot-in new and improved PINK.

Another beauty shop-I’m telling you people here make sure they look good, all the time!

The bike shop. New and used-get ‘em while they are hot!

Body shop with a VIEW.

The tourist market…all your souvenirs at “unbeatable low low prices….everything is on sale all the time! “

Beef store or road block ?

The hunky hunk store? haha. Bran and Rich.

Have you ever noticed that you can see and experience the same event,or an accident, or be at the same party,  or even just in the same room but see things completely different than the person next to you? One thing I like about having teams come to visit, is seeing things from their perspective. We are in the same location-drilling or interacting with the community each week-but people tend to see and notice different things. And when we come together at night to talk about the day, it’s so interesting to me to listen and hear what they saw and observed from the day.

Sometimes I notice this too when I grab photos from different team members. One set of photos tells one story, and another set tells another story. Of course, there are a lot of the same photos, but you get a different perspective based on who is behind the camera. And so I would like to share another perspective with you, from the same trip and team that came from Liquid Church. I loved Mike’s photos because he got so many candid shots,action shots, sneaky shots, behind the scenes shots. And I love these ones too, Christine’s, they are of the people, their faces, and expressions. Check ‘em out…

When we first arrived at the church/drill site, we sat around talking with the ladies who lived next to the church-we had so much fun! Left to right: Christine, me, Alex, (Vanessa in the white shirt) Lynn.

I took the ladies for a walk around the neighborhood. It was pretty muddy, but we had a tough group of ladies who didn’t mind at all! Lynn, Amy, Erin, Erin, Linda, Alex

I’m the tour guide-minus the little flag !

Cute.

Brandon gave one of these little guys hit hat for a while-he loved it!

Everyone from the team got a chance to meet the Living Water national staff-Pastor Jiles (pictured) who does is a pastor that works with the local church, Maragreth who is our hygiene coordinator, and Riccardo guy who gets the communities involved and engaged.

Christine couldn’t get this little guy to smile all week long…

But persistence paid off and he finally cracked-how cute is he???

So shy !

She had a way of making everyone smile or laugh.

Once you take one, the guy next to him wants his taken too!

Lovin’ on each other.

I love this shot-he finally gave in and gave her a smirk !

Check out this photo… the team brought the Canadian frisbee (there were quite a few Canadians on this trip) and the kid was wearing a USA T shirt. We all got a kick out of this-it was kind of like the team- a great blend of two countries loving on people in the name of the same God!

A man from the community loved having his photo taken too.

One day the team did the story about Jesus washing the disciples feet-something that is a really big deal here in Haiti for two reasons: One, just like in Biblical times people’s feet get super dirty here, and Second, someone who is a master/leader/Jesus washing people’s feet is a big deal. In Haiti, the more you move up the economic and social ladder, you just don’t do manual labor, work, or anything like that. So I think this story was huge for the community to hear and see acted out.

Rowing in their makeshift boat-the kids totally get into acting things out. They loved the Biblical story of Jesus telling the fisherman to throw their nets on the other side of the boat-learning at a young age to trust in Jesus and what He tell us. Good stuff!

We all sat quietly and listened to the Bible stories-the kids are so well behaved!

Visiting another house in the community that the pastor lead us to. We got to talk with them, share with them, and pray with them. I love how Haitians are so open and let you walk right into their homes! So sweet.

A great shot of an open well-another reason why the communities need a drilled wells. This well is shallow -meaning too many things can contaminate it-, it’s open-you can imagine what may fall/land/be in there, look at that bucket and rope-it’s lowered into the well and pulled back up-introducing lots of germs and bacteria into the well too-do I need to keep going?

A home in the community.

Ivenor who works for LWI, has such a special way about him. When we go and visit families in the community, he does such an amazing job relating to them, talking with them, joking with them, and making them feel comfortable and at ease having strangers in their home. I am so thankful for his gracious and kind heart.

Another home in the community. I love these shots.

Out wondering around the neighborhood. Even though many of the trees and rainforest has been chopped down, it’s still very green and beautiful up in the North. This is a sugarcane field and those lovely green mountains behind it.

In the afternoons we simply played with the kids and loved on them. One way we did that was painting the girls nails-and what girl doesn’t like her nails painted??

She was loving the bright blue !

Cleynel is another LWI employee who works with teams too. One day he brought his son over to the house to meet everyone-he is such a ham!!

I love this shot of this little boy watching the well being drilled.

Rich really enjoyed some alone time he got to spend sharing and talking with some of the people from the community.

This community was so excited and so thankful for their new well, that when they finished the dedication ceremony, they brought us some coconuts. They were so tasty!

Another way the ladies wanted to say thank you was by braiding our hair. Now, I have to say, I vowed I would never braid my hair while in Haiti. I think it looks ridiculous on us white girls, with our bright white scalps blinding the world. But, I couldn’t be rude, and since they wanted to make us look beautiful, and show their gratitude in their own way, we all got our hair braided! It was so funny to see us all lined up getting fixed up. It was truly a labor of love-it takes a while to do!, but they loved doing it and we felt so loved on!

Wanna hear something sweet? This team casually asked when our next team was, and they found out that when they left on Saturday, we were literally dropping them off and picking the next team up! So, they got together and gave us a “date night” and sent us out for the night to have some alone time. How sweet is that?? We had a great time going out and pizza was the special for the night-wooohoo!

The citadel. It still is breath taking-even seeing it three weeks in a row!

This cracked me up-and they got some serious air !

You have to work for your beautiful views at the citadel-it’s a mile straight up to the top. So us three girls called this excursion, OTA. Operation tight … Well,what part of your body is that really good for?? (hint: it’s not your heart!) 

This woman was pretty sweet-and selling lots of fun necklaces!

There are some ‘church’ words/terminology/phrases that are just plain strange. But when you have grown up in the church or been going for a few years, you don’t seem to notice anymore. That doesn’t mean it’s not strange, only that when you talk about it some people are probably thinking, ‘what in heck are you talking about?’

The church body or the body of Christ.

If you are not ‘churched’ this would probably sound very strange to you. And even more so than how is sounds is trying to explain it. This is how I interpret the Bible to talk about it: The church is like a body, we each have different parts. Just like you can’t have a working body with no head, no heart, no lungs, etc-each part of the body is very important. And if you are the head of a body, you can’t go around telling your legs, heart, arms that the job they do isn’t as important. All parts are needed for the body to function, work, and thrive. Sure you can function without some parts, you can get the job done with maybe one hand, no legs, even one kidney. But if you could choose, wouldn’t you want a body with all the parts, in working order?

And so what baffles me, is that this concept of the body of Christ doesn’t just exist within a ‘church’…it’s something that happens no matter where you are. You have a “church” and that specific church is made up of all the different body parts-all the people from the church have different functions and roles that should properly work together to make a functioning body.

That fact alone amazes me.

But then you throw in things like having a body of christ with people from other cultures and backgrounds, some that don’t even speak the same language as you do. And that is a beautiful thing to experience people who can look past their own agendas and what they are doing to realize in the grand scheme of things, anyone who believes in Jesus is part of the larger ‘body of christ.’

What I’m trying to get at -I know, sometimes it takes me a while to spit it out-is that one cool facet of living here is experiencing and being a part of the body of Christ-not just the larger Haitian body of Christ, but the larger American body of Christ. Because of our job, we have lots of teams that come to visit, all from different churches, denominations, backgrounds, everything. But the bottom line is, we are still the body of Christ.

This particular team reminded me of that fact. One main reason is that this is the third team that has come down to Haiti from the same church, Liquid Church in New Jersey. I’ve shared before in past blogs about this church, and why they hold a special place in our hearts. (Hint: they are passionate about the Lord, clean water, and they bring us-(and Penny) treats every single time!!) Each team that has come has been comprised of different people, but the theme is still the same: We are in this thing together. And I’ve got to think there are a few reasons behind that. First, they really do understand the concept of being the body of Christ, and how we both need each other to accomplish anything. Secondly, Liquid Church has played such a huge role in the work we are doing in Haiti-and specifically the North, that we are,as a whole, acting like the body of Christ. We have people praying, giving financially, shopping for goodies to keep the crazy missionary couple happy, people visiting to help do the work, people visiting to catch the vision and share with others, and people behind the scenes that no even knows what part they are-kind of like our lungs or heart-you obviously know they are  there, but you take for granted the ease at which it works and allows you to live!

Liquid isn’t an anomaly, there are many churches like them out there, and I love it. They did just come for another visit, bringing along some special visitors, and we had a great week with them. So here are some recaps from the week together.

I’m going to try something new too. These first set of photos are from a guys camera named Mike. He is such a sweet guy, and took some amazing photos. That was fun for me too, since I could just look through them and poach them at the end. Here is the week according to his camera-his perspective. And depending on how long it takes me to load, I’ll show you another perspective!

The beautiful church we went to on Sunday-the church where we drilled the well. Right outside the front door in fact !!

Bring it on! Me and Christine rocking it!Turns out we happened to have a professional jump roper ( she can reveal herself if she wants) She was amazing, and taught us some awesome things I didn't even know you could do with jump rope!!The best part? Busting it out with the girls in the community-they love jump rope and loved learning new tricks!!

This move was wicked awesome, Amy is real, real good! In the middle of jumping two ropes, you stop mid-jump and stand up in the middle-I was amazed!

Thats right. FOUR ropes, eight people. A.M.A.Z.I.N.G

The first day of drilling-and what a great day it was! Left to right: Cleynel, Mike, Paul, Lynn, Linda, Erin, Christine,Ed, Brandon.

While the first group drilled, the other group hung out with the kids. We did Bible stories, games, and had a lot of fun doing it! (This is them teaching them, "touch a friends knee touch a knee next to ya..."!!)

In the afternoon we went and visited a few families the pastor set us up with. We ask him who we can visit, pray with, and encourage, and he takes us to their homes. It's a special time of visiting and sharing, and it always amazes me how willing Haitians are to let you in their home! In the states we'd be so mad that you didn't call first! ha

Simply walking around in the community is a spectacle!

Praying before we get started-a simple thing that reminds ourselves and the community that God is the one who finds the water-we're just His instruments.

In the afternoons we played with the kids from the community-which is fun when we drill since we are in the same place all week long and get to know each other a bit.

After Alex, Erin, Amy and Erin taught the kids to play 'duck duck goose' they had a dance party! woot woot

Ed and then Rich got a shot of mud right in the face! Part of the job boys, part of the job.

Rich got it good too-he's pry still finding mud in his ears! (Christine's photo!)

I about peed my pants. I love that he went for it, and he was pretty good even with heavy boots on!!

Rich got into too-these boys caught some serious air! Christine's photo

Mike jumping high, going big. (Christine's photo!)

This sweet girl volunteered to teach us a song in Creole.

The view from the tiny window in the church-I love this photo.

The goodies Janet and her behind the scenes helpers packed for us-oh man-it was pretty awesome!

A H.U.G.E thank you to Janet and the sweet folks at Liquid who continue to love on us and spoil us so much !!!

Penelope says thank you too !!

An unwelcome visitor just came strolling right in one morning! Ten points to Brad who killed him off!

Everyone signed the inside of the new head of the pump-that was pretty cool!

A muddy day is a good day!

Brandon explaining to the people-lots of kids- what is going on. We like to tell the whole community what is going on each day.

The guys in the community built the pad for the pump.

I loved this shot too, can you see all the different things going on?

The well dedication ceremony. The Lord provided water, and it was a celebration indeed!!

The ceremony was great-it was lead by our pastor on staff, and our community engagement facilitator spoke too. Also, the local mayor, and the pastor the church, the guy who constructed the cement pad, and Brandon spoke. It was awesome!

The whole team-they worked hard to get this church and community water!!

Love this shot-clean water is a beautiful thing.

Cultural/Free day-Citadel baby. Here we go !

All the ladies in front of the princess sign-yes, we are all princesses!!

Love it. Love it.

Downtown Cap