Family Gathering in Galax, VA & Visitors to FDN

I was reminded today of this song I wrote while still in the Heartland Division by a former co-worker.  It touched my heart again so I thought I would share it.  It is to the tune "Fewster"

Open mine eyes that I might see
All Thou hast planned for me,
Knowing Thy will must always be
What brings me close to Thee.

Whether or not I understand
Or on my own I feel,
Help me to know You hold my hand
And with Thy touch will heal.

Now from this moment I reply,
My heart shall be Thy throne,
Nothing my heart can satisfy
But Thy great love, alone.

Father, I want what Thou canst see,
Holy, like Thee, to be.
Through the great work on Calvary
Thy seal was place on me.

by Violet D. '94/'95 (tune Fewster)

Greetings from Fond des Negres!

I have just gotten back from about 10 days in the states (FL, NC, VA).  I went up for my Dad's 80th birthday and Diane and Joe's 10th wedding anniversary. 

I started with a lay-over in the West Palm Beach area.  I was able to have dinner with two of my aunts and my cousin, Buzz, who is a UM pastor in KS.  I haven't seen him in ages and he just happened to be down to visit his mom.  I also got to spend a little time with my cousin, Leslie and her husband Brad before hurrying back down to Ft. Lauderdale for my flight to NC.  I had about a week with my parents in their lovely home.

My youngest sister, Diane, organized a family and friends get-together in Galax, VA in cabins along the New River trail, one of the "Rails-to-Trails" projects.  We spent a nice long week-end together, including opportunities for walking the trail, horseback riding, canoeing, kyaking, biking and just sitting around enjoying the fall weather and each other's company.  All of my sibilings and spouses (except Felix) were there and my dad's brother from New Hampshire was able to make it.

My return was fairly uneventful.  However, I was delayed in Greensboro, NC by 40 min because Atlanta wasn't able to receive us.  When we landed, I found that I had missed my connection but they had booked me on the next available flight to Ft. Lauderdale which left at 7 pm.  I got in to FLL around 9 pm and was met fairly quickly at the airport by one of the staff/soldiers of the SA there who took me to the SA guest house for the night.  He came back at 5:30 am so that I could make my 7:50am flight arriving around 9am Haiti-time.  All luggage arrived safely in FLL and finally in PAP.  Felix had a flat tire on the way in so I just waited for him inside the airport (baggage claim area) until he called from outside.

Our three visitors (Briana and Elyse and Taylor from Chicago) were waiting for us at the PAP children's home.  I hung out with them there until Felix was able to buy and mount four new tires for the vehicle.  We left PAP around 4pm and got home Tuesday about 7pm.

Wednesday I took them to our beach and then in the late afternoon two of them went horseback riding.  Thursday, Felix, I and the girls went to Les Cayes (about 1.5 hours west of here) to go by boat (45 min) to Ile a Vache, an island just off the coast of Haiti.  We visited an elementary school (320 students) and then had a chance to visit one of the nice hotels there and use their beach.  After we got back to Les Cayes, we ate dinner at a local restaurant and then Felix made a 15 min presentation of our AIDS program at a conference for about 150 local pastors.  We got back to FDN around 8pm, tired but content with the day's experience.  Friday they slept in a bit and then I gave them a tour of the SA school, childrens' home and corps.  By this time it was time for them to pack up and head back to PAP, traveling back with our staff transport vehicle.  It was a short visit but we packed a lot into it.

Now, it is back to work as I have a big budget revision to work on this week-end so the funders can have it Monday morning.  Felix is heading to PAP Saturday morning to get some work done on the clinic truck and to take in our AIDS Relief finance report.

Pictures to follow when I get a chance to download them from the camera.

Currently The Confident Woman: Finding Quiet Strength in a Turbulent World By Ingrid Trobisch see related

A Day in the Life of.....

Felix and I just got back from a trip in and out of PAP in one day (about 3 hours each way).  We had a audit conference for our AIDS Relief program (funded through Catholic Relief Services) that I tried to have scheduled for Thursday.  We really needed be at our Rotary Club meeting  near our home on Friday at 5 pm .  Unfortunately, the best they could do was Friday at 11 am.  In order for us to make the meeting we would have to leave PAP by 2 pm at the latest.

We got up early and left at 6:30am getting to PAP by 9:30, doing good.  Then we deviated...we went to the office supply store 'cause I remembered that we didn't have any more of those big receipt binders that we use for our monthly financial report to CRS along with some other items. 

Shopping here is a bit complicated.  First you select what you want and give a sample to a sales person to write up the request for it to be brought out of the stock room.  Then, she will give you the ticket and you take that to the cashier where you pay for your items.  Then you take the receipt that is marked paid to the area where they have brought your items to and get them checked and your receipt marked "delivered".  And they have different sections of the store to go through this same proceedure for different kinds of things.  While I was getting the binders and a pair of scissors, Felix was getting envelopes and cases of copy paper. This whole activity took us about an hour! 

We started heading up to CRS (across town) and with the normal heavy traffic it took us 45 min. making us an hour late.  Inspite of that, the meeting went fairly well.  We were able to correct a few misconceptions and lack of documents to support our activities.  We hammered out some new proceedures that will add better control to our program (trip authorization logs, generator fuel log, different way to calculate payroll taxes, etc).  When we finished, it was 2 pm!

We had to make a quick stop at the bank to get details on closing an account, a stop at the grocery store to get some supplies for the clinic and food items we can't get in FDN (cereal, sliced bread, ground beef, etc), a stop at a hardware store to get a price on a 300 gal. water storage tank (needed for the new flush toilets we are putting in for the patients) and then to DHQ to drop off the mail that we had picked up on our way in.  By the time we were on the road out of town it was 3:40 pm and I called our Rotary Club president to let him know that we absolutely were not going to be able to make it. 

With that decision made, our tension level decreased significantly and we stopped to get chicken, rice and beans from one of the roadside vendors we often use.  It is a great buy for only H$20 each (US$2.50) and very quick...kind of like drive-thru!  We hit a couple of traffice jams but were clear of PAP by 4:30 pm.  I love the fact that I can read in the car so used my time to nearly finish Ingrid Trobisch's book, The Confident Woman.  I even read some parts to Felix as he drove.  We reached FDN by 6:45 pm, picked up Matthew at the children's home and came home to the clinic.  It was a long day but tomorrow's Saturday and we (at least I) don't have anything scheduled except Junior Soldiers for Matthew at 2pm. I'm looking forward to sleeping in since we were out both of the last two Saturdays with funerals and a wedding. 

Trusting your weekend is fantastic!

(This is the complete version of the little blurb I wrote on Facebook!)

Are You Ready???

(Thought I would share some thoughts from the sermon I preached today in FDN)

Theme for week of special meetings:  Zech. 4:6b, 7  "'Not by might nor by power but by my Spirit,' says the Lord of Hosts.  Who are you, O great mountain?  Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain."

One of the biggest "mountains" we face is death, but through His Spirit this has been removed.  "Death has been swallowed up in victory...God gives us victory through our Lord, Jesus Christ"  I Cor. 15: 54, 57

Recent events here have made me reflect on the certainty that "man is destined to die once, and after that face judgement."  Heb 9:27.  I just attended a double funeral for a man and his wife who died 5 days apart.  They were elderly and had lived a full life of service to their community.  Just moments after returning from their funeral, a small baby of 5 months died in our clinic.  A life just begun, leaving behind a young mother full of grief and remorse that she couldn't have done more to help her child.

We are all destined to die...we have no idea when that might be, when that might be for our loved ones...

Are You Ready? 

Luke 10:25-28  The teacher of the Law asked Jesus "What must I do to inherit eternal life?"  Jesus turned it back to him and asked what does the Law say?  The answer was "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength and with all your mind..."

I. Are you right with God?

A. Salvation  John 3:16  "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish but have everlasting life."  He is ready and waiting to make things right.  You just need to turn to him.

B. Continued Right Relationship with God: Heb 12:14b  "Without holiness no one will see God."

     1 John 1:7 "If we walk in the light as he is in the light we have fellowship one with another and the blood of Jesus Christ his son purifies us from all sin."  1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins he is faithful and just and will forgive us of our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."

Salvation is just the beginning, the first step.  If I start  exercising on the advice of my doctor, and stop after the first few days, I made a good beginning but it isn't enough if I don't keep at it, on a daily basis.  The same is true with our spiritual walk.

II:  Are you right with one another? Luke 10:26  Rest of the answer to how to attain eternal life was "and love your neighbor as yourself."  Passage before the holiness quote is "Make every effort to live in peace with all men...without holiness it is impossible to see God."  Heb 12:14

A.  Are things right with your family?  Will the things you fight over matter in 1 year?  5 years? Are you able to say that should a family member be taken suddenly that you would have no regrets?

B. Are things right with those you spend time with?  co-workers, neighbors, those at school, at church?

C. Are things right with those outside your immediate circle?  "Don't forget to entertain strangers for by doing so some people have entertained angels without knowing it."  Heb 13:2  Jesus said, "I was a stanger and you took me in..."  Matt. 25:35

ARE  YOU READY....WE HAVE TODAY....

(TO THE TUNE "IN MOMENTS LIKE THESE)

SI JODI A M' VIVAN, SE GRAS A OU, SAN OU SENYE MWEN PA ANYEN (REPEAT)

IF TODAY I AM ALIVE, ITS BY YOUR GRACE, I'M NOTHING LORD WITHOUT YOU.

M'AP LEVE MEN M ANLE POU M ADORE W

I LIFT MY HANDS TO ADORE YOU

MET AJENOU NAN PYE W POU M PWOSTENE M

I FALL PROSTRATE ON MY KNEES AT YOUR FEET

KITE VWA MWEN RIVE DEVAN TWON OU VIN ETABLI RWAYOM OU  (REPEAT)

LET MY VOICE COME BEFORE YOUR THRONE O LORD, COME AND ESTABLISH YOU KINGDOM NOW