Unexpected School Holiday

Apparently, we teachers did not get the memo, that today would be...

BRING YOUR STUFFED ANIMAL TO SCHOOL DAY!

Fruit

Jimmy and I planted some fruit trees in Texas this last year. There's nothing like a big fresh juicy apple or pear. We can't wait to see some fruit on those trees. The only thing is, it will be at least 3-5 years before we do. All fruit trees are like this, they require a long time of tending and growing and waiting before you ever get to see the fruit. I've been thinking some about fruit of the non-edible variety since our return to Haiti. The fruit God produces in our lives tends to grow the same way as physical fruit - slowly!

Some "Fruit" I have been thankful to begin to see lately:

1) Our wonderful daughter! 

This time last year I was sick sick - feeling tired and crummy all the time, and growing as big as a house. Now this year, we are loving the "fruit" of that time of pregnancy, which is our beautiful, super fun and happy girl.

2) A few relationships with Haitian women. 

Last year I knew that although we are spending most of our time teaching and separated from typical Haitian life, I had an opportunity to look for ways to get to know and to love the workers out at the property where we live. With language and cultural barriers, my attempts often felt awkward, and I never really knew how the things I did and said were perceived/received. But nevertheless God gave me opportunities to begin to to know different workers. On one occasion toward the end of the year, I had several of them tell me that they would really like to learn English. So I offered to try and teach them and have been having English class twice a week with 3 women (2 of them pictured below). Seeing God make this happen and continue to grow these relationships has really been a blessing and encouragement to me.

3) Development in our students and in ourselves as teachers.

There has been such an abundance of fruit in this area that I can't even begin to share it. We have loved seeing each of our students really blossom and grow. Grow in motivation and a desire/love for learning. Grow in confidence and ability to try/stick to hard things. Grow in independence and learning to work through some things on their own rather than being spoon fed. Grow in character. Grow in knowledge and understanding. And we have certainly been challenged to grow as we've had to learn new subjects in order to teach them and been able to learn specific ways of working with each student that best fits their individual personalities and strengths and weaknesses. On thing I have loved see the fruit of is teaching our youngest students how to read. Before coming to Haiti I had never attempted to teach someone to read, but I really love it. It requires a lot of patience, but is so gratifying to see the fruit begin to bloom as they are putting letters and words together. So exciting to know all the fruit that this one skill will bring throughout their lives.

 

4) A growing community group!
Last year Jimmy and I felt like we really needed to make an effort to connect with and build community with other believers here. (Although there are lots of missionaries in Haiti it is honestly really rare for them to really have community together and know and support one another. Everyone is really busy doing there own thing and life and transportation in Haiti tend to be difficult, so relationships really take an extra effort here.) That being said, we began a small group of sorts last year that ended up truly being a small group - just us and one other family - and met together most weeks to eat and worship and talk about Jesus and life and just hang out and encourage each other. It was pretty difficult to be consistent and stick to it last year, especially since it never really felt like a real "group". This year it has been really fun to be joined by multiple families and single people who are also in need of community and encouragement. We're thankful for this fruit that God produced after much waiting.

5) Literal, physical "fruit" around the farm.
This is a picture of Jimmy's yard that he has spent an innumerable number of hours working on over the last year. (Breaking up and moving rock and concrete, hoeing up the ground, planting seed, trying tons of different ways to water it- watering, watering, and watering some more, trying multiple ways of keeping it cut....) It is still a work in progress, but really is looking good. Way to go Jim! He also has chickens laying lots of eggs, a goat herd of 8 goats, lots of flourishing lettuce, and other crops in progress. He has put a ton of time and energy into all these projects and it is cool to see what they are producing.

6) Growing knowledge of Creole.
I don't know if this actually counts as produced fruit - it is probably more in the category of fruit that we are working towards and hoping for and waiting to see. But thinking back to a year ago, we are definitely further along than we were then and for that we are thankful. Praying for consistency to water this fruit tree and much grace and help from God that it will actually bear fruit.


These are a few of the things that I am so thankful for as I look back over the last year and see what God has done. They encourage me to be obedient to put in the daily watering and tending of the things God brings along today, even when they look like they're going no where, and to trust that our Father, the good gardener, will bring about fruit in season.

Galatians 6:9
Let us not become weary of doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up!

First Haitian Ticket

by Jimmy

So we decided to go hiking with the cool MountainTop Meadows before they join us on the hot, stifling plain in a couple of weeks. Things started early, as we decided to try to beat Petionville Saturday traffic. We shot for 7:15 and left at 7:42. My how having a baby changes timing. Anyway, we made excellent time up to the Meadows, and left promptly at 9:00. Halfway up the mountain, I was flagged by a man in a long sleeve sweater to stop. I was just about to ignore him, when it occurred to me that cops do that. On closer inspection underneath the sweater lay a Haitian National Police uniform. So I stopped.

The police officer of course did not smile, and on my telling him I did not speak Kreyol, he of course asked if I could speak French. That failing, he wrote me a ticket, informing me that out of the 4 existing stickers on the windshield, I did not have one. Apparently I needed five. Of course that was in sign language.

He pointed out the infraction, #31, and the penalty, 1000 HTG, (US $25), and told me to go to the police station up the road to pay the fine, along with a few other things I did not understand. Fortunately he did not insist on me paying him the fine, since I have decided to refuse to pay any kind of bribe. He did however keep my American Drivers License. Had he not kept my license, I would have seriously considered not going to the police headquarters, as it is pretty easy to figure out that they have no way to keep track of that one ticket in my name with an American Drivers License Number. I probably would not have gone, so that is one thing I have to work on... doing the right thing regardless.

I did go to the headquarters, and met two very helpful American UN police officers. One felt that my DL should not have been kept, and had the original officer bring it back up to me. He also said that the ticket would be taken care of, that I did not have to travel to another department to pay the fine. Just to get the sticker.

All in all, I fared much better than some of the other Hatian Police stories I have heard. About an hour took care of the ticket, which could have ended up a whole day affair. We were a little late in starting our hike, but the cool mountain air stayed with us all day. I highly recommend Kenscoff and Wynne Farms, as an awesome place to get away from the city. Just be sure to have all the stickers you need.

Futher adventures of Urban Third World TeacherFarmerDad

by Jimmy

The garden is begun. Compost is composting. Seeds are sprouting, and the rain is falling. We have even gotten our first crop of lettuce. Thinnings, but it still tastes good on tacos.


With "Take 3" of the garden going, I have decided to do another take on the Goat Front. The lawnmower idea did not pan out so well. Buying goats just before the rainy season, and finding out that goats are picky eaters, did not work with my idea of a nice cut lawn for the school. After working so hard to first break up and haul off concrete, spade it up, plant grass, and water, with only marginal results, I came back to Haiti, expecting the worst. The grass has grown in most areas of the yard, but is still a little thin too. I did come back with a now-favorite tool, however --- my Scythe.

And it works! Now I can cut the grass, quickly and easily, without expensive lawn mowers needing gas, and use the cuttings for mulch, compost, even hay for the goats. I like it.

Of course I did get a lot of ribbing from my father, and wife. But they accept my idiosyncracies, and love me anyway.

So back to the goats. The herd of three has increased to a herd of eight! How does that happen? Triplets and twins is how. The babies are doing great. Now I just have to figure out what to do with them. And while I contemplate that issue, I am now shopping for more goats - milk goats. I am probably doing this whole goat thing wrong, but you live and learn. I have just appealed for help from an expert, and will find out more this week. Maybe I should have done that in the first place.

With milk at about $10 - $12 per gallon, and tasting TERRIBLE, I figure I could save quite a bit on milk, if I could raise it on my own. I have managed to succeed with eggs, so why not milk. (Plus, I love my French Toast. If I could only figure out how to raise a good crop of wheat, I would be set.)

On to other topics - Teacher



It is such a joy to teach in a small school. Getting to thoroughly know the kids is so much fun. Funny things these last couple weeks -
   Issac - as always learning so many new vocabulary words and using them correctly now. He is keeping a journal of all the funny things Abbi does. Or in Livesay lingo - all that "Abi-baby-gail" does.

Here she is sitting on the teachers desk, playing with, and losing a marker.

   Lydia - as documented already by Tara, has a little sibling rivalry going on with her slightly older sister. When Phoebe mentioned that she disliked stretching during PE, Lydia exclaims, "I LOVE stretching." I knew she was going to say that.
   Jackson (age 3) spontaneously getting up to give a presentation like all the other kids. "Uhmm, uhmm, uhmm, baseball, uhmm, my dad, uhmm, uhmm..." Adorable and Awesome! Got a video of it as well!

Phoebe took the cake this last week however.

She wandered a little bit going in between rooms in the school, and somehow managed to find herself outside. Paige saw her out in the front of the school. She asked her what she was doing out there and she calmly replied, "I want to kill a chicken with a rock." Wow! Was not expecting that.

And the following day at lunch, Phoebe finishes eating and is running around playing. She slips and falls, and scraps her knee. Being just a bit of a drama queen, she bursts out hysterically crying. Becky, trying to calm her down, tells her that she is fine, and to settle down, asks her what happened. Through her loud sobs, and wanting a bandaid, she practically shouts, "I was chasing a chicken and just want to kill one with a rock!"

I have always heard, (and have always been told myself) that you have to watch out for the quiet ones. You never know what they are thinking. Case in point. Why she hates chickens, we do not know. I suppose them lounging under the trampoline is a capital offense.

On a hopefully unrelated side note of strange happenings - Paige and I were outside working on Physics, and Paige noticed a chicken head just lying on the ground close by. No body, just a decapitated head. Weird. Such strange things can happen in Haiti.

Let the adventures continue...

First Week of School

by Jimmy

Our first week of school has started. Being that we live in Haiti, we do not necessarily observe Labor Day. Seeing as the kids are so excited to start school, they would be sorely disappointed if their first day of school were postponed.

So here they are...

Our students starting School Year 2012.

With their teachers.

Starting class time.

Notice the socks and bare feet. We were blessed with new tile just in time for school to start. It rained the night before, so we all had to take off our shoes so that we would not track mud everywhere. They all did very well.

It is such a joy and privilege to teach these kids. The difference that we are able be a part of is stark. Going from 30 students per class period in the public school system, to 4 to 6 at a time here, makes us very grateful. Even throwing in a hot, fussy baby, still does not close the gap. 

Abbi has been a little needy over the first couple days of school. I personally had it in mind that she would just sleep and play on the rugs or in her crib, and we could teach as normal. With it being so hot and humid, her naps are limited, and she wants one of us to be right there. I think we will get into a routine, but it may take a little doing. We just have to figure things out. 

This is our second time through this curriculum, so we hit the ground running. The younger ones have their older siblings to help them, and we now know what we need to do from the beginning. Staying on top of things will be so much easier from the get go. I am very excited about this new year.

Back to Haiti

by Jimmy
We are back in Haiti! Our internet is back and we are just waiting on EDH our city power. We weathered the storm, Isaac pretty well. Here on the property we just had a few large branches come down, and part of a neighbor’s roof come over the wall. Nothing too major. I probably freaked Troy out a little when I texted him that a branch fell on the truck.

Looks pretty bad, but it had hung up and was barely sitting on the truck. I drove out from under it, and we pulled it down.

Returning to Haiti, we did not really know what to expect. We were kind of expecting the worst - flooded house, bugs, mold, dead batteries... SOMETHING. There really could be anything. We arrived last Tuesday to a clean house, EDH, and ice in the freezer. Very, very nice. Thank you Jr. for taking care of all that. We slept quite soundly and have since. It is so nice to be home and not have to worry about packing and unpacking.

We did have a very good summer, just too much traveling. We loved seeing family and friends. God blesses us too much.

I immediately started working on the garden. Unfortunately, the tomatoes I had left as seedlings had grown and died. I had such luck with tomatoes in the states. Not so much here. All that survived was basil, which grows like a weed, and one good onion. Well, here goes Take 3 on the garden. I have high hopes after the compost I was able to make through the summer was added.

We have two new baby goats, for a total of eight now, and after I finish the second coop, their pen will be next. 16 Leghorn chickens are ready to start laying (fingers crossed) soon, so I am almost back to my farming self. I even went out scything this morning, and it worked better than I could have hoped.

The school has new tile on the floor, and lesson plans, well today have not gone so well, but up to today, very well. We are excited to start this next school year.

Abbi update: Adjusting well to the change. Both flights she started crying just as the plane left the terminal, and we thought "Oh, no." But she soon settled down and flew like a champ. Hopefully she will get into some kind of sleeping/eating schedule. Something she has yet to know.

Here she is eating bananas, sitting up like a big girl at the dinner table. 

She has yet to find a food she does not like.

First Sunday back, looking so pretty in one of her many outfits.

This was just wrong I know, but she was fussy.

She loves crinkly plastic, and she doesn't know what rock candy is yet.

Ready for bed with dad. I cannot believe how big she is. Love it.

Of Fathers and Daughters

There's not much more important in the life of a child, daughter or son, than their father. And sadly in this day and age, there is often nothing much more absent either. Thankfully my father was not. As an adult child I now have 2 wonderful Dads to celebrate on Father's Day. 

First, my own Daddy, Harry Blackmon, who has for my whole life believed in me more than anyone else. I have often felt somewhat invincible, like I really could do anything in the world, and I know this confidence came from my Dad's confidence in me. At church this Sunday, our pastor mentioned 3 things that make a good Father. Being present, being loving, and being generous. My Dad has always been all 3 of these. Thanks Dad for reflecting our heavenly Father in these ways - I am blessed. I now get the double blessing of my children experiencing all of these from you as grandpa.

Secondly, my husband, Jimmy Burton, who is now the Father of our Daughter. We just celebrated our 1 year anniversary, and every day I am more and more thankful to be married to this man. What a blessing to get to share life with him. He has loved me so well since day 1 and now lavishes that same love on our daughter. I know she will one day be thankful for the same things about you, Jimmy, that I am thankful for about my Dad.

I love you both - Happy Fathers' Day!

 The girls and Daddy at the Rangers game.

 Abigail and her Daddy.

 Abigail and her Grandpa.