When the Going Gets Tough

Well.... I don't know what to say entirely.... I've been thinking about needing to write an update for the last couple days. It's been a tough week....

First, we had hopes for the condition of our young friend, Ketsia, who was in a serious motorcycle collision with two vehicles. She seemed to be getting better, inflammation in her body was going down, she was responding and moving her body, though she still could not speak. Then the doctor did more x-rays and found that her clavical bone and wind pipe were all crushed and he did not think she would survive a surgery on her airway, nor would she be able to support the pain or be able to heal. We pleaded for them to seek out whatever means possible to save her life rather than just giving up and unplugging her from oxygen, but as the family were on their way to seek out other options at another hospital, they got the call that she had passed away. 5pm on Saturday afternoon. We were all in shock and saddened by this turn of events. This young girl was exceptional, living in the midst of an area of very young teen pregnancies and young people with no vision, she had chosen to not let her life lead that way. She had worked and made her own way to learn carpentry and masonry. She paid for her own schooling and was working hard to finish high school. She had vision and dreams. She was only 23.

In the midst of all that, political upheaval broke out again in the town center of Grand-Goave on Wednesday. There has been problems since the old mayor who was in power for more than 15 years had overspent his term and had been kicked out by the people. A new interim mayor committee was put in place until there is a proper election, but the old mayor still does not want to leave. His partisans had hired some thugs from Cite Soliel, the worst slum in Haiti and possibly the world, to come cause trouble in town. Wednesday afternoon, the bodyguard for the new mayor was killed just a few houses down from our house. Then shots were ringing out all night long as the thugs paraded up and down the streets, right in front of our gate and on the main streets that our house sits at the corner of, just shooting in the air to make their presence known. Some of them were so loud, Marc and I hit the floor and slept there for the night. The next morning we packed some small bags for all of us and we all stayed down at the Haiti ARISE campus til Saturday when things finally calmed down. During those few days, all the houses on our street and the ones near us were empty and the roads were blocked. The police finally made a number of arrests and ramped up their surveilence of the area. The Cite Soliel thugs disappeared. All is calm. Now I just hope someone moves the huge bolders out of the road so we don't have to keep weaving through them.

I want to make it clear that even though it was scary and we lost a lot of sleep, we were not in grave danger. The problems were political and only included those involved. Though it has really effected the moral of the town and caused everyone to be on edge, no innocent by-standers were injured. This is the first time in all the ten years I have lived here that I was unsure of our safety in Grand-Goave. It has always been a peaceful area to live for the most part. I also want to say that our teams and everyone at Haiti ARISE are safe and were not in danger. We are located out in the country, on the outskirts of town and we have excellent security. We even had some of our neighbors come stay here for a few days when all the shooting was happening. We were closely monitoring the situation and were ready in case we would have had to evacuate. Thankfully, we did not have to do so.

On top of all that, because of shock and losing sleep, my milk supply went down drastically and poor little Austin couldn't get enough to eat, which made him pretty fussy. Not usual for my little mister. I also got sick from too much sun and not enough water on Friday while helping seal the floors in the clinic. Thus I spent the next three days in bed with a slight fever and even missed Sunday service. That's not usual for me! Finally caught up on sleep though and was back on my feet Monday.

Yesterday, we got more bad news, as one of our dear staff members, Madam Marc, fell sick suddenly due to high blood pressure. She was rushed to the hospital in town and then on to the Doctors Without Borders Hospital in Leogane. Right at the end of church service last night, as we were reminded to pray for her, we got the news that she died. This has been a real shock for everyone here at Haiti ARISE. This is the first time one of our staff members, in fact even a first for one of our core church members, to pass away. She was our school janitor and faithfully, with joy, cleaned the church as well. She was a strong woman of prayer and loved to make people laugh. She has left behind her husband, who is a farmer, and eight children. She was only 42.

It always seems to be this way in life, especially in Haiti, that when the going gets tough, it gets REALLY tough and all at once. The amazing thing I have found is that God's Word still remains true and when the storms of life are circling all around, if we stay right in the center of His will, in the eye of the storm, there is peace. His peace still remains. Everyone here is still smiling, even if the atmosphere seems somber. We know that though sorrow may last for the night, His joy comes in the morning. (Psalm 30:5)

This coming weekend we are going for a bit of a break. Our anniversary was on the 6th of May- 13 years of marriage! Marc wants to take the family up to Bouvard, the mountains up north past Gonaives, so the kids can see where he was born. That should be refreshing.

Miracles Happening

We want to thank you for your continued prayers and for those of you who have given in support of Ketsia. Her condition has improved considerably and her brother gave us the report that she no longer need brain surgery and has stabilized. She is responding to voices and moving, although she is still not conscious. Thank you so much for your prayers. Please keep praying. This new development really is a miracle, since they did not think she would even live. Keep praying that all of her functions will be normal, that she will not be paralyzed or have any kind of brain damage.

God is good. He truly is moving here. The Spirit has been moving powerfully in our church services and in the people. I am so grateful to be a small part of the big miracle of His works!

Urgent Prayer Request Update

I want to thank you for praying for Ketsia and ask you to KEEP PRAYING. We have not gotten much news on her condition except that she is still unconscious and still awaiting surgery. Our church was able to provide the family with the remaining amount of money they needed to cover the surgery. It ended up being HA $ rather than US $ which was a big relief to the family and to us. But she and the family will still need financial assistance to ensure she gets all the care and rehabilitation she needs... if she makes it. Please, please pray! Pray that she does not have brain damage and that a miracle will take place and her life will be saved. She is a precious girl, full of life, so much drive and potential.

I have a hard time grappling with events like this when they happen, trying to come to some sort of understanding why God would allow such an awful thing to happen to a wonderful young person with such a bright future before her. But sometimes there are no answers and I must just trust that God has it in control. Accidents happen and though better measures of protection and risk management could happen to prevent such a horrific accident, it still remains an accident. What is harder for me the understand is when things come more into the control of man's hands and still seem unjust. Here is a girl needing surgery right away and each passing moment could make her chances of coming out of more severe brain damage slim. Yet, she still has not had surgery... why? Because of money? Lack of medical resources? Lack of expertise? I don't know... only God knows. What I do know is when everything here on earth does not make sense or doesn't come through, I serve a Great God who can make sense of it and is always faithful.

Let's intercede together, plead Ketsia's case before God's throne, because HE can heal her and bring a miracle. May all this is happening just for that cause, to bring glory to HIS name.

Urgent Prayer Request

We have some sad news and need to ask for your urgent prayers and assistance.

Ketsia is a young girl, 24 years old, who has learned carpentry and usually works on our construction crews with Roy Ralph when he is here. She is our only girl on the crew and is a very hard working and ambitious girl with a bright future. 

Ketsia got into an accident on a motorcycle on her way home from PAP this Tuesday. She is in really bad condition and has had some sever head trauma. They are concerned she may have brain damage because she was bleeding profusely from her nose and ears. She has already had one surgery on her internal organs, as she was bleeding internally as well. Now she needs to have surgery on her head. They are not sure if she is going to make it. She is unconscious in the general hospital in Port Au Prince and needs a lot of prayer! We ask that you would have your church or any prayer groups you are a part of to PRAY for a miracle for Ketsia!

She also needs financial assistance to be able to have the surgery on her head done. THe surgeon said it will cost about $7000 US and he will not operate until he has the cash in hand. That sounds so harsh, but that is the reality of a country without health insurance. So we as a church here are trying to give what we can. If you feel moved to help financially, please send some support immediately and note that it is for Emergency Medical Assistance- Ketsia.  You can DONATE online with credit card or through Paypal or you can send a check to our US or Canada office.

Thank you for your coveted prayers and support! We will update you on her status as soon as we know anything.

Opposites

I was thinking today, as I was turning on the shower at our house in Haiti, how some things in life that we are taught from childhood in our culture are so opposite from other cultures. And often in areas of things that you would never think about, things that become routine and standards of life until we are met with a culture that just does not do things the same way. For example, from childhood I remember my dad teaching me the simple principle of "lefty loosy, righty tighty". Translation: When you turn something to the left, you loosen it. When you turn something to the right, you tighten it. I thought this would be a universal principle that made sense and just happened everywhere, a principle that doesn't change no matter where you are. But this month I am acutely aware for some reason how many things in Haiti that are completely opposite of this principle and it seems to take me a lot of effort to figure them out, since it was so engrained in me as standard routine. So, getting back to the shower? Yes, our faucet has to be turned the opposite direction to turn on and off and everytime I enter the shower, I have to think about it before turning the handle. What else is opposite? The kitchen faucet, the hose tap, the faucet in the campus kitchen... and it's not only faucets. Our light switches have to be flipped up to turn off and down to turn on.

Whenever you are going to visit another culture, or live in another culture that, be prepared for everything to be different. It's not wrong, just different. These opposites for me, though simple and seemingly insignificant, for some reason have taken up a lot of my head space trying to remember which direction to turn things now each time I go to turn on a faucet. I just thought I would share... :)

A Month Back In

It's been like a dream coming back into Haiti and I can't believe a month has already passed since getting back down here. My heart was so full of joy and contentment to be in our home here, with our church family and missionary friends. I took a few weeks to get head back in the game and work on a schedule that well accomodates continuing homeschool, feeding baby and getting office work done. The early mornings I had to adapt to again. In Canada I got used to sleeping in and staying up late after kids were in bed to work. Here everyone is up with the sun. We are down at the campus by 7:30am for breakfast with the teams and then Jasmine and Ariana head off to preschool and kindergarten. Miesha and Asher get started on their homeschool work by 8 and finish by 10:30 so they can go for break with the school kids and then go in for French and Creole class til 1 pm. This gives me ample time to get some office work done or help provide direction for people. There is a lot of activity going on all the time on any given day, especially Mondays. Austin stays back at home for a long morning nap after having his breakfast at 7am. I catch up with him again when we get back home in the afternoon. The kids play and I feed, or take a short rest, then do some computer work. It is amazing how Haiti is advancing in technology. Though our internet provider for wireless has not yet come through to provide service (that's been since Oct), we all have Natcom internet sticks with Unlimited service that can almost be checked from anywhere. So I can be sitting at home, with no power even and still be on the internet! There are still times it does not work smoothly, but it sure is a leap from where we were even just a year ago with communication abilities.

Since we arrived back down here so much as happened. We've had four or five great teams already, hosted a youth/worship conference with 700 youth in attendance, had a men's retreat with about 100 men from our church, gotten lots of work done on the tech school and children's duplexes, even started the 2nd duplex, and have held clinics for the past week and a half. We just met with the new Haitian clinic staff to plan our opening for April 1, finally now that we have Diane Sampson, a nurse from Manitoba, here to help us with training and starting operations.

Here are some photos below...

Jasmine & Ariana off to school with Daddy.

Start of the 2nd Duplex.Little girl's life saved last year through surgery sponsored by medical team.All new shelves and files for medical clinic.

The kids are adjusting well, picked back up on their Creole quickly, reunited with their entourage of friends and loving interacting with the teams. We have a great group of long termers here right now- lots of handy guys- Wayne Hohn and Ken Rae from Nelson, Tim Leech from Cape Cod, Damen & Dakota Thorne from Medicine Hat to name a few. Val, Marilyn and I were feeling pretty outnumbered, so we openly welcomed Diane's coming. 

I am loving being here! I am heading back to Airdrie on Thursday for a week of meetings and not all too eager to go since I feel like I just got here. But am looking forward to some good meetings and progress to see the ministry propel forward with more hands to help. If you are interested and around Calgary March 16th, come to our Moral Owners Meeting at 2pm at Eastside City Church. We are looking for more people to be involved and help establish committees for different areas of the ministry.

Cleaning and Packing... and more cleaning

Well, the count down of hours is on until we jetset away. I have been packing all week- a monumental task to pack for not only myself, but five others too! I'll be glad when everyone can pack their own bags. Actually, the older ones were a pretty big help getting their things together and in the bags. We bought new luggage, a necessity long overdue. No more days of traveling with tattered, broken handled, torn zipper luggage. When one travels as much as we do internationally it is important to have sturdy, easy to handle and identifiable luggage. So I think I got everything finally in save for the kitchen sink.

Today and yesterday though, I felt much more like a nurse and janitor than a world traveler. I was really happy to be getting rid of the older kids so I could get the house cleaned and organized before leaving, but then Ariana fell sick yesterday, puking every 30 minutes or so. She did not have much in her stomach fortunately, so it was not too bad to clean up, but nontheless, this added a new element to my plans of getting the house in order without interruption. I learned quickly to keep the all-purpose cleaner and paper towels close at hand. Thank God for leather couches and wood floors and the fact that she wanted to lay on the couch rather than in her bedroom on blankets and carpet. I'm also thankful that the three older kids still went to other people's houses overnight so I could accomplish my tasks of cleaning and organizing, as well as keep them away from the sicky. In between feeding baby and puking sessions, she slept (and baby too) and I worked feverishly to pack and clean. And miraculously, I got it all done before Miesha and Jasmine came home! I'm really praying Ariana is all better by morning. I would hate to fly having to hold the airplane bag to her lips. Please pray for her.

So bags are loaded and ready to go, including an extra full of Creole Bibles given by a gentleman in Three Hills from the Gideons. We will distribute them at the youth/worship conference as well as give them to pastors for their churches in the area. Chris Girvan will be coming in the mornign to take more of them in his luggage too, then we'll be meeting everyone else at the airport to head off. Haiti, here we come! Yeah! I soooo, can't wait to see Marc and all of my beloved Haitian brothers and sisters.

Eagerly Awaiting

It's just 12 more days til departure day for kids and I, as well as three teams heading down with me from Nelson, Peachland, Calgary and two guys from Ontario. I am constantly reminded of how God's grace and favor are so sufficient and how very blessed I am to have such a good Heavenly Father who looks after my every need. Not only did he provide one person to fly down with me to help travels with five kids, he gave me a whole team! I told those flying with me from Calgary that I don't plan to sit with any of my children on any of the three flights down. They can each take one for me and I can sit back and relax. Ha!
I have been so overwhelmed also with many gracious friends who have come by the house to help out with cleaning, meals and watching the kids so I can get out and get a few things done. It's amazing how very little can be 'accomplished' (in our task oriented culture) when there are five kiddies vying for my attention. Today I got to go to Starbucks to get done in five hours things I've had on my whiteboard list all month! That was a real relief, but I have to say I've been so blessed to be able to enjoy a different sort of accomplishment- investing in our children. When Marc and I agreed that the kids and I would stay up here during this time, one of our main goals was to make our family priority in the midst of all the ministry work and to be sure that they knew it. Our investment in their lives is just as much a part of our vision for raising up godly leaders. We pray one day one or maybe even all of the Honorat children will lead in ministry, be it Haiti ARISE or another, or just serving in a local church and community. That's our first heart's cry. And God is so gracious and amazing how He directs our steps- Asher, our oldest, just turned 9. I remember at the same time we conceived this Blessed Son of Promise, the ministry of Haiti ARISE was also born. The vision for raising up leaders came right at the start with a very practical and hands on model in our own home. What God does in the spirit, He shows in the natural too.
So, I'm eager to get back to Haiti! And to take our children along to help us in this great task of reaching out to people and raising them up. Asher too can't wait to get back to his Haitian friends, Ken, Rosney, Kiki and David- these are his disciples in a way, as each has come to Christ through his friendship. And we are eagerly awaiting for more, knowing that our investments in people's lives now, be it our children's lives or their investing in friends lives, will reap eternal rewards.

Two Months Gone By!

Well, time sure flies by! It's been two months today since I last wrote a blog. I just have not been able to find the time to enjoy putting my thoughts into a journal entry, let alone a blog. Marc arrived back in Canada to join the kids and I on Dec 6th and it was a joyful reunion. The kids and I were all so happy to be reunited, it was like this great peace settled over our family. The kids were well behaved and talked their dad's ear off. We had a wonderful week just enjoying being together. We took the kids to see the play Annie at the local live theatre, then went on a date with James and Michelle, Claire and Nelson Roberts to see another play, at a quaint out in the country theatre called Rosebud. The play was called May and Joe , which was a modern day story of Mary and Joseph. Wonderful! My dad flew in for the holidays, then my mom and I sang in a community Christmas choir concert that I had joined in Oct and thoroughly enjoyed.

On Dec 20th, we were pleasantly surprised at the early arrival of our newest little bundle of joy, Austin William Jonathan. He came in less than 2 hours from the first signs of labor to pushing out into the new world at 2:35am. He was determined to come before Christmas to enjoy the holidays with us! Unfortunately though, when baby and I got home the next day, everyone but my dad in the house was sick with the flu. Not a fun holiday pass time. We got through it without getting infected ourselves (baby and I) and still enjoyed the time just being together all as a family.

January 1st, Marc boarded the plane to head back to Haiti for the kick off of the new year 2013 with our 8th Annual Pastors and Leaders Conference. This year's conference was hosted by MFI (Minister's Fellowship International) and CrossRoads Church and we were pleased to have MFI guest speakers Bob MacGregor from Vancouver, WA, Phil Jaquith from Mexico, and CrossRoads pastors Shawn Hubert and Dallas Lundell. Marc said there were about 300 pastors that came from all over the western part of the island and God was present in powerful worship and ministry. Our church members drew together in various committees to help pull the whole production off with success; feeding all the pastors 3 wonderful meals a day, recording and copying CD's of the sessions, providing message notes for all the pastors and much more behind the scenes work. We have a great group of Haitians serving with us!

We are also so pleased to have Roy Ralph back with us in Haiti as Project Manager for the Children's Village duplex, as well as Wade and Marilyn Fitzpatrick as Team Hosts. Our other long term missionaries, Howard and Val Horner and Joe Park are still with us down there, making for a full house on the campus. We are blessed to have them all on board with us and ask you for your prayers for lots of grace and peace between everyone as we work together for a common goal!

The kids and I are still in Canada for another month, working to get baby Austin's passport done before we head back. I'm also praying that the political climate in Haiti will calm down, as it has been volatile lately with Aristide fanatics protesting, gangs kidnapping to try to get ransoms and communities rioting against their political leaders. The people are tired of the government and the UN not doing enough, or seemingly anything, for the people. Even in Grand-Goave there has been rioting against the mayor, who has been in office past his term and has done very little for our town. This is the same mayor who worked against us in the construction of our South Campus wall and cut down our mango tree on our main campus property line. Please pray for some security and stability to come to the country. Though I am eager to get back down to the sun of Haiti, especially with the negative degrees of weather here in Canada, I also want to be sure that the situation of security is somewhat improved. In all things, I trust God's direction and protection as we follow His will, and know that He will bring His peace for our travel.

If all goes as planned, Feb 10th we will be traveling back down with an entourage of folks. I was hoping to travel with at least one person to help me with the kids through airports and on planes and God has blessed me with not one but six travel buddies! Hey, I may not have to sit with any of my kids! That would be the most peaceful plane ride of my life! (Just joking, well maybe...) My travel partners will be returning team members, Chris Girvan and Olive Ralph (Roy's wife), as well as Todd Swisher, Mark and Anna Cole from Eastside City Church and Jim Riemer who we will be joining up with his team from Nelson and another team from Roy's church, Emmanuel in Miami, as well as John Finocchio and Bryan Vos from Harriston, Ontario. Those traveling with me will be helping do a youth/worship conference for four days when we first arrive. The other two teams will be working on construction projects and two guys will stay longer after their team goes- Wayne Hohn and Ken Rae- great handymen who were with us for a few months last year.

Well, it's a busy time of year for Haiti ARISE. We have a lot of projects on the go, as usual, and as you can see, lots of hands coming to help do the work. We are so grateful for God's provision of so many willing folks coming to volunteer their time, talent and energy. Thank You!

I also do not want to forget to mention that today is the 3rd anniversary of the Jan 12, 2010 earthquake that killed more than 300,000 people and left another .5 million homeless in less than a matter of minutes. Please pause to pray for the Haitian people and those who lost their families and homes. Pray also for the continued rebuilding of the nation. She is still in dire need of assistance to get back on her feet.

Longing for Haiti

It's been an interesting six weeks for me here in Canada while Marc is back in Haiti doping the daily ministry of Haiti ARISE with the lovely people there. I have four of my own lovely little people to minister to, but some days it seems so thankless and tiring. I have enjoyed having some time just being a stay at home mom and living a North American life, which is one we don't often get to enjoy amidst our travels and life in Haiti. But at the same time it just seems something is missing. The meaningful life changing moments that happen on a daily basis in a place like Haiti that has so many glaring needs that they cannot be missed. Here, I know there is need, but it is more hidden and takes much more seeking and diligence to find in what ways we can impact others' lives for Christ. And even then, I am unsure really of the impact and how far it really may stretch, since the results are not seen immediately or on the surface. Please don't get me wrong. I am not complaining, or not trying to sound like I am. I know that God has given our family this time so that our children know they are first priority in our lives after God and that our new baby can grow and develop well without the potential threats of tropical disease or pre-term labor on an airplane. I am really enjoying having the time with the kids. I think too God is using this time to teach me how to better relate to my North American friends and families better, to understand more the daily routine and monotany of life here as it can get.

I have to say, though, it is not for me long term. I love missions and the thrill of travel and knowing I can make a lasting change in someone's life that is in need, as well as allow God to constantly work on my character through the myriad of challenges that face us in third-world country living. Here in North America, my challenge is not allowing myself to get so comfortable that I forget I need to reach out, to be the salt and light and that it takes effort to be so. Also, there is the challenge to not succumb to the environment and culture of always wanting more material things. Wow, does it ever cost a lot to live here and stick to a reasonable budget! In Haiti there is very little to spend money frivolously on. Though a lot of staple items are about the same in cost, as well as some regular bills like power and gas, the lifestyle is much simpler and people are not weighed down with the burdens of debt or materialism as it is here. There is a greater focus on survival and relationship being the basis of that survival. This is really engrained in me that I recognize here too my desparate need for relationship and help sometimes. Caring for kids constantly can get overwhelming and if it weren't for some great friends and family in my life these past few months, I am not sure I would get through it here- Elisa, Claire, my great neighbors Daniel and Brandi, James and Michele... wonderful people.

It has been a great privilege though to be able to communicate regulary with Marc through Skype free of charge! We can discuss things, I can still help provide him input on ministry issues and when he feels he needs my support he can call me. It's not quite the same as being there doing the work together, side by side, but at least we can connect. I still spend a large part of my days doing Haiti ARISE work online, answering emails, keeping up on finances and working on reports and such. It's usually easier to do though at night, after the throng of the little rascals are tucked away in their beds, visions of sugarplums dancing in their heads- Ok, they probably don't know what sugarplums are, but the point is after they are in bed and I finally get some moments of quiet so I can think clearly.

The next teams are getting ready to head to Haiti, from Crossroads Church in Red Deer, and Cochrane Valley Community Church in Cochrane. There are some other individuals joining the team also from BC, Medicine Hat and California. They are all going solely to get the work on the technical school done. There's been lots of communicating between them all and our long term missionaries on the ground to get tools and supplies in order and lined up, ready for their arrival next week. I wish I was going along with them, even if it was only for the ten days. Geanne, our secretary and my dear friend, gets married next Saturday. I am sad that I am going to miss the big day, but am definitely feeling way to pregnant to fly. I can hardly sit to watch a whole movie without my sciatic nerve killing me, let alone be able to take 3 planes totally more than 9 hours to get down to Haiti, and then all over again to get back here. No thanks. Glad we decided I would stay home with the kids if just for that reason alone, even though I am longing for Haiti. 

God has been a great strength to me, guiding me daily and teaching me how much I need him, no matter where I am. I'm grateful for where we are at right now, as a family and as a ministry. God is forever faithful!