Brandon & Jessica

We got a puppy!!!

We love dogs. We just do. Some people are cat people, others dog people. I don’t really understand you cat peeps-sorry I just don’t!-but we had to make a decision. It was cats or rats. So, we chose cats.  And while we  have a pet, she is no dog. Yes, she might follow us all around the house or even beg during meal time, but she is still a cat. And cats just don’t hold a place in our hearts the way a dogs do. Oh, except for the other day when I found a huge rat tail and the top of a rat on our doorway-she earned a quite few love points then.

Yes, that is my flip flop just so you can see how big that beast was.

The kittens-rat killers in training !

Penelope nuzzled right into my heart from the beginning- the car ride. We had to drive to Port au Prince to get her. A friend of ours, Melissa, is working for a great organization down there, called Heartline. There is actually a link on your right, if you wanna check them out-click on women’s programs to find the part about making purses and jewelry.  This particular program is called Haitian Creations-crafting beauty, giving hope. And while we were down there, we grabbed a whole bag of purses and necklaces to sell at our house when we have teams. I’m SO pumped. I’ve already bought a bag and some earrings for myself! I just can’t help it-they are so cute and the proceeds go directly to them and to support that ministry and other ministries that Heartline offers!!! Talk about empowering.

One of my favorite spots in Haiti.

The drive to Port au Prince

My favorite part? Each item for sale has the name, photo, and a write up of the woman who made that particular item. What a unique and special thing.

And while we were there, we got to hang out with Melissa.  Not only was it so fun to just see her and catch up, but we also went out to this fancy restaurant! It had twinkly lights and water fountains and the food was Mediterranean! What the heck? We sure don’t like the crazy hustle and bustle of Port au Prince, but finding gems like that, and visiting their grocery stores were I found wraps, feta and apples-was so fun.

We got all dressed up to go out on the town!

Good food, great company!

Oh right, back to the car ride. It was a jostling event, for Penelope and us. (yes, I renamed her!) She was such champ. I sat in the back with her, trying to calm her down since she was pretty freaked out. But she did great, and just laid her head in my lap the whole time. And only yacked once-not on me thankfully- but I did move to the front after that.

Penelope and me bumping around in the back seat!

I’d say she’s adjusting well. Sometimes we forget that she a puppy, seeing as how she is already about 85 pounds. She looks like a great dane, because she is tall and hasn’t filled in yet. Her dad and mom both are pushing about 200 pounds. Can’t wait.

Isn't she beautiful?

Meet the Crossroads team from Loveland Colorado…

Brandon teaching the team the drilling basics...

Jo and two men from the community of Pistere

Tom and Levi working hard!

As we drill, we set out samplings of what we find.

This is the school in the community of Pistere, and we hung out with them all week. It was a national school, which means it is funded by the government. They have very little resources. And since we were not drilling on church property this time, for many of the kids, these Bible stories were new to them. It was a great way for them to hear about Jesus, and come into the local church.

The national school. There are about 200 kids that go to this elementary school.

It's BYOC-bring your own chair !

We walked the kids from the school to church and did told Bible stories to them.

We visited a few houses in the community. We asked the pastor if there were a few families the we could visit, and pray with. We were able to visit two families per day, and it was so nice of them to welcome so many strangers into their homes. It was great to just visit with them, pray with them, and encourage them too.

A house we visited in the community

Every afternoon we met on the soccer field to play with the kids form the community. The team brought soccer balls, jump ropes, bubbles, and frisbees. They loved it every minute of it. And the end of each day, we rounded up all the toys and brought them back the next day. In some places, those toys grow feet and wonder off. Then we have the game of hunting them down. I’m not going to lie, I get pretty moody when one of those toys disappear. But my newest strategy is locating the kasak, pastor, or man in charge and he always seems to hunt it down. But we didn’t have that happen here in Pistere. When it was time to go, they all lined up and put everything back in the bag and we returned again the next day.  They were so polite, and so happy to play with the toys, with the grown ups. At the end of the week, we left the bag with the pastor of the church and the director of the school.

Playing soccer with the neighborhood kids.

Bubble time !

Then it was their turn and they loved that even more!

The team also brought nerd footballs.

The best part was we had a huge jump rope that fit five and six kids in it at one time!!

These girls sure could jump!

Tom trying to jump as high as the girls!!

I'm always amazed at the things these kids come up with to play with-a stick and a tire.

So of course Jo went for it and tried to do it too!!

Even the ladies got in on the action! Nicole rilling away!

Dennis and Vicki on the rig.

People just sat and watched, praying alongside of us for water.

The boys checking it out, soaking up every minute of drilling!

Hanging out, drilling drilling drilling the day away !

So after just the very first morning, we were able to drill down 75 feet. We were so excited because we got so deep in such a short time. And on Tuesday we drilled the rest, reamed the hole out, and prepared it for the casing (the big white pipe that encloses the drop pipe) Wednesday we put the casing in and discovered there was indeed no water. The formations that we dug up indicated that we might, and the hard part with mud rotary drilling is that you don’t know if you have hit water until you put all the materials down and start pumping. (Because we drill with water, it does shoot up in the air like you’re imagining-that only happens with air rigs) So on Thursday, we started drilling a new hole, one that was deeper. And once we got to about 130 feet things really slowed down. We have hit some rock formations, and it’s taking almost an hour to go down 5 feet. It’s slow going. The team gave up their ‘cultural day’ in which they wanted to hike the citadel, in order to continue drilling. The Colorado team left on Saturday, and as they said, they are “disappointed but not discouraged”. I love that. It’s so true. It’s been so hard to not hit water, especially in a community like the one we are in.  The people here are so lovely, so welcoming, so sweet. We have to continue to trust in the Lord on this one. We have to know that He has plans for Pistere, and we don’t know what they are. Perhaps it doesn’t involved getting water, yet. We are trying to patiently wait for the Lord, and let Him guide and direct what happens.

And for now, we have continued to drill in Pistere. We’ve drilled there all last week, and just yesterday we were there all day, and only got down about another 15 feet. Now we are at about 170 feet. Please continue to pray with us. That God would be glorified whether we find water or not. That the people in Pistere would come to Jesus. There is one church pretty close to where we are drilling, and a few people from the community go there already. We’ll continue to pray for water for Pistere, but also that they would experience and know the Living Water.

Meet some people from Pistere.

These ladies were here everyday to watch the drilling. And they were hilarious!

We met with their Kasak (mayor) pastor, and school director before we began drilling, and we were pleasantly surprised. This community already had a water committee formed, they sent in a formal written request for a well, and they knew exactly where the greatest need was in their community.

Now meet the people from Crossroads Church in Colorado.

The first day-setting up the drill rig.

You have a community that needs clean water, and you have a church that donated money for a new well. But that isn’t the peanut butter and jelly part, yet. The true peanut butter and jelly happened because the community of Piste understands and values the need for clean water, and Crossroads did one very important thing before coming to visit-they read “When helping hurts”. So instead of thinking they were coming down to drill a well, or to fix Haiti, or whatever reason they thought, they were very open to the fact that they are visitors-here to see and experience a different culture and to see the need. And the key difference being that when they saw the people and their need, they didn’t react emotionally by trying to just give them stuff. Of course it can be hard to come down and see a place like Haiti and not emotionally react. It’s so different here.They live very differently than we are used to seeing in the States.

But because this team read that book to help prepare their hearts and minds, there was a difference in how they interacted with the community and treated the people there. In addition to the fact that this community was special.  Haiti is has long history of foreigners coming in telling them what to do, and also doing it for them. They have a history of receiving handouts, and thus a lot of people react to seeing foreigners by holding their hands out and asking for something. Now this is neither here nor there. It simply is what it is. It is a controversial topic, and one in which I’m not in the mood to debate. But, know that the vicious cycle is the expectation from some Haitians that when we show up anywhere, we have to give them something. And on the flip side are foreigners (ourselves included!) who see such huge needs and want to help by giving stuff. But is giving someone a piece of candy helping them? Or hurting them? I mean, it’s only a piece of candy for goodness sake. But what about clothes, since some of theirs are torn and worn? Or how about money for a new house since they live in a mud hut with a mud floor?  And on and on it goes.

My point being, there will always be needs in a place like Haiti. So how we go about helping with those needs is very important. And of course we have, and will continue to make mistakes along the way. But we are also so pumped that Living Water is transitioning to really work on the development side of things too, so that we are not simply giving things away and doing it for them. That, and it’s not just about the water. Because we can meet basic needs-and that is very important-but do they know the Lord? And how are we supporting and building up the local church in the process?  When you read a book like ‘When helping hurts’, your perspective changes a bit. And you want to help in a way that edifies and builds those who you are helping up.

I saw peanut butter and jelly happen with this team simply because the people in the community weren’t asking for handouts while we were there-they were so thankful that we were trying to help them get clean water. And the team was there to simply see the need, and show those people God’s love. They didn’t bring lots of stuff that can sometimes cloud the message of “I love you and so does Jesus”. The times the community and the team looked forward to the most were simply the times spent together-playing on the soccer field every afternoon, doing Bible stories with them, chatting with the crowd that sat by the rig to watch, or visiting people’s homes and praying with them.

And not to spoil the ending, but we didn’t find water. After drilling to about 80 feet, and casing the hole, we discovered there was no water there. The formations looked like there would be water, but in fact, there was not. Our first dry hole. That dry hole hurts, especially after you get to know the people who live there. We walked to the next closest hand pumps and one was a half mile away, the other a full mile. Of course we prayed and pleaded with the Lord to produce water. And He reminded us that He is indeed in control. His timing is perfect, even though it would have been great timing to hit water with the team here. So we’ll continue to drill, until we find water or we run out of drilling pipe.

Where to begin?

We’ve been back a week now, and sometimes switching from one universe to the next isn’t a big deal, and other times it leaves my head spinning. Do you want to know what I was doing the last 48 hours before we left? Certainly cramming in more family time, but also shopping and stocking up on all sorts of ‘needed’ times. I get so intense those last hours. I have a constant tetris game going on inside my head, trying to picture our two suitcases and what will fit. Can I get away with three boxes of wheat thins or just two? I’ll take them out of the box, but will it be pointless because they’ll get all squished and broken? And of course I end up with about a dozen books I can’t leave behind, because even though we got a kindle for Christmas last year, I still buy or borrow hardcopies because I do love the smell of a book book-something a kindle can’t replace. That and my husband doesn’t share very well, so it’s a marriage saver when I have my own something to read.

This last minute packing, weighing, packing, cramming, sweating nonsense has become quite comical to on lookers. My mom and mother in law were around to witness my insanity and tried to help but realized it was like trying to step into a swirling Toronto and not get sucked in. At first glance, it seems like nothing will fit,but I have learned the art of stuffing and will leave no item behind. And of course, all this is done the hour before we are supposed to leave, causing us to usually be a little late for the trek up to LAX.

And for what? I sit here a week later, and can hardly even remember or find those precious items I felt couldn’t be left in the states. Well, that may not be entirely true as I just had some chocolate covered macadamia nuts (can’t exactly find those here) and I did use some yummy vanilla powder in my trader joe’s coffee this morning.

But then, after driving through town the other day, I feel like so lamel. How is that? I can buy buy buy, consume and consume and not feel any remorse in the states. And yet just a day after coming back here, I see a large family living in a small hut with not a whole of material possessions in the world, and my mind goes blank. What was I doing?

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think my three bags were excessive-yes we did pay extra for two extra bags!- but it still gets me thinking. It’s so easy to be consumed by what surrounds you. I’m not always thankful for living here, a place that constantly reminds me how much I have, or how wealthy I really am. On some of my hard or bad days, when maybe our generator goes out, or our batteries die, or we can’t get the water to turn on, or our truck breaks down-all it really does after I vent and sometimes have a small pity party-is remind me that I have all those things. I have a house with plumbing inside, knowing most of my neighbors do not. In fact, 7 out of every 10 people in Haiti just go right outside anywhere. Or how about when I’m mid shower and we run out of water? I’ve learned, two years into this, to take a deep breath and that soap left on my body will dry off just fine. Okay, who I am kidding, I’m not always that cool about it. And when I do freak out, I feel like such a tool because none of my neighbors even have running water in their houses.

To be honest, those are the things that make me both love Haiti, and not love it so much. I don’t like to be constantly reminded of how well off I am. I don’t like to read verses about the rich young ruler and realize that I am indeed that rich. It’s annoying. I’m not rich, Bill Gates and his friends are. I don’t like that I can hardly go a few days without seeing, experiencing, or hearing of someone’s struggle to live and survive.

But since when is it all about me?

I chuckle to myself because God has to remind me of that a lot. It’s not all about you Jessica. There is more than what meets the eye-God sees our hearts. So, thankfully or not so thankfully sometimes, living here allows me to examine my heart. Often. The Lord is showing me, teaching me, and reminding me, that I am accountable before the Lord. Period. Me and only me will stand before His mighty throne and have to give an account of what I did with my time and my resources.

I didn’t mind grocery shopping back in the states. I know plenty of people who hate that job, but not me. However, grocery shopping here in Haiti isn’t so fun. The main reason? We have a huge out door market and it’s not exactly like the quaint ‘outdoor market’/ farmers market we all are used to. If you take away the fresh cut flowers, the free samplings, clean tables displaying goods, and people sauntering about with their dogs-they are basically the same. Our food items are displayed in in what I would describe as opened up rice bags filled with the basics-like flour, sugar, wheat, etc. And make shift tables display goods like mini stores-one table holds all household items, another canned goods, another meat, etc. Whatever scarce produce and veggies you can find are all piled up nicely, but laying on the ground instead of a table. And it sounds like you are at a flea market because there is a hum throughout the whole place-this low murmur of women bantering back and forth. The way these Haitian women negotiate is an art form! I’m of course intimidated, but after the rough markets in Port de Paix, Cap Haitian isn’t that bad! I used to have to simply concentrate on walking the narrow pathways without stepping on food, into a nasty puddle, or running into someone else. I’ve had to get used to arguing over the price of my chicken, rice, beans, cleaning product, everything. And the point is, you have to negotiate. It’s just the way it’s done. You never take the first price, because word will quickly spread among the small booths that you don’t know what you are doing. Trust me, that is experience talking! It’s never too unfriendly, but I have to be on my A game at all times!  Thankfully, now Manette will go for me or with me too.

But we also have two grocery stores. That’s right, two. That is two more than we had in Port de Paix. And one even has sliced turkey and sometimes cheese. I know, delightful! It’s about the size of a small 7-11, but it’s like heaven when you can find sometimes find cream cheese, chocolate, baguettes, and on the rare occasion yogurt. The other grocery store is like the size of a normal 7-11, but it doesn’t always have power, so buying things there can be a gamble. I’ve learned-the hard way to only buy a few things there.

One of the best stocked days-I had to take a picture. Do you see the cream cheese and even FETA?? Yes it's about triple the 'normal' price, but some things are worth it!

Kind of like the organic isle in a grocery store-way over priced. It's for the folks who don't wanna brave the market!

You never, ever get a chance to forget where anything is from in Haiti..fish with all body parts attached.

We have also discovered the other side of life, that is the other side of the border. Just on the other side of the border, in the Dominican Republic, they have pretty amazing stores! Including but not limited to: a great grocery store, hardware store, pet store, ice cream store, and even a tasty restaurant with high speed internet!! It’s pretty much amazing. We’ve figured out we can hop over there and do some shopping in one day, and hop back. So, a little bit ago, we did just that with some friends.

We took the hour or so drive to the border, parked a car, and all piled out. Everyone brought duffle bags to fill up on goodies we are missing, and heading across. They day was filled with tasty food, shopping at the hardware store for the boys, a mini sad like Kmart, but a haven to us girls(complete with hangers, hair dye, and even some Christmas decorations!!) and ended with everyone at the grocery store. Do you remember that old show, Super Market Sweep? Where they would time couples and race about the grocery store to win a prize? Well, that’s pretty much what it’s like. Because while this store has more than we can ever get in Haiti, it’s not stocked like stores in the US. And therefore, when you spot something you have to go for it. Like tortillas, or tortillas chips, or yogurt. There could be five of those items,or only one. Sometimes you have to be ruthless, and sometimes we’ll each just take one and share with each other-of course it depends on the item! But it was such a fun day, hanging out and doing activities we all miss-even that old chore of grocery shopping!

That is Nikki riding in the back of this cart thing that took all our groceries the few blocks to the border for us! Nikki took one for the team and rode in there to keep an eye on our stuff. Cracked me up!

Nick and Nikki in the back of the truck loaded down with groceries.

We all squished in one car-very Haitian of us-Left to right-Nikki, Nick, Jillian, Dan, Julie, Tabitha.

The border.

I have been a Christian for a long time, and was baptized when I was little. However, I don’t remember that important event.  And I have thought about doing it again, several different times throughout my life. I was going to do it in high school, when I finally starting making Christianity more than just something I did because my parents did, or just going to church on Sunday. I thought about doing it again about three years ago when I really began to grow in my relationship with Him. But it always felt strange, since I had been baptized before. But it also felt strange that I didn’t remember it. Don’t you think something like that should be remembered? And so, when one of the pastors on the trip announced he was going to do baptisms, I perked up. I thought, it’s time. It seemed appropriate to  do in Haiti, considering this is where the Lord ultimately led Brandon and I. It was three years ago that we began to question ourselves, our relationship with the Lord, and what it really meant to be a Christian. We read several books like Crazy Love, The Hole in our Gospel, and Forgotten God and they left us questioning our walk with the Lord and our commitment to Him. Of course we loved Jesus. Sure we wanted to please Him and do good. We went to church on Sunday, were in a growth group during the week, we tithed and volunteered. But something wasn’t quite right.

All we knew was that God wanted us-all of us-and nothing less.

And He wanted obedience. In my experience, sometimes obedience is that nagging feeling in the bottom of your stomach-knowing your supposed to do something but not sure how to do it or even if you want to.  In our lives, it started with small things, things that seemed fairly inconsequential at the moment. But I believe God was challenging us, giving us opportunities to obey him to see if we would choose to obey-even when it’s hard, or inconvenient, or not what we wanted.  Of course there were times-and still are-when we know what the Lord wants or is asking but we still don’t do it. Why? I’m not sure really. Fear is one. Or my pride will get in the way. Or even laziness. But He is faithful.  Even when we miss an opportunity, or disobey Him, he freely forgives when we repent, and gives us another chance.

So I did it. Even though I felt slightly silly, since I have been a Christian for a long time and baptism seems to be something you do when you first become a Christian, or when you are ready for everyone to know. But I think the reason I finally did it was actually because it became an obedience issue. Those other times I mentioned how I wanted to get baptized throughout the years was because I think the Lord wanted me to. But I didn’t want to. It seemed embarrassing to do it so many years after I had given my life to the Lord-like I wasn’t that committed at the time, or only now was I wanting others to know. So, as strange as it felt-as a missionary getting baptized-I did it. And it was pretty awesome.

Everyone on the team went out for culture day, and one part of that day was visiting a beautiful Caribbean beach. There were five of us who wanted to get baptized and we took turns being dunked into the clear warm ocean. We shared our testimony with everyone else who was there. And it was pretty cool to have Brandon on the other side of me, baptizing me with Ryan.

Brandon and Ryan baptized me.