"Field Posts"

I took these this evening… Rob

I couldn’t tell you about our trip to Astruc with The Orchard EFC and leave out Braden!  Often I am struck by the reality that all he’ll really ever know is growing up in Haiti.  He’s a TCK (Third Culture Kid) to the core.  I love thinking about his already fun life at the young age of two!  He won’t remember Mommy driving back and forth to preschool in her Honda Odyssey, he’ll only remember asking Mommy if he can come with me to pick up Drew and Tessa on the four-wheeler.  He doesn’t yet distinguish between English and Creole. To him, it seems, it’s one big language. (We like to say the language Braden speaks is Crenglish.)  Just the other day Rob was leading him in a “repeat after me” prayer and it went like this: Rob: Thank you for our food  Braden: thank you pou manje  Rob: Thank you for Mommy and Daddy  Braden: thank you pou Mommy and Daddy It was so fun to see him substitute the Creole words on his own. To him ther...

As we approach the end of 2010, we are in need of your financial support.  We currently find ourselves with a $6,400 end of the year shortfall. No long explanation.  No whining.  Just straight up.  We need your help.   Would you please consider helping us meet this need with a special year-end financial gift? Give Online Now   |  Pledge   |  Give via Check in the Mail Thank you to those who give regularly.  Thank you to those who have given special gifts.  Thank you for being on our financial support team! Your fellow servants… Rob and Becky p.s.  As a reminder, any gifts given (postmarked) on or before December 31, 2010 will be tax deductible for the year 2010.

There are a number of things I seriously miss from the US. This list is not inclusive and mostly involves food: ground beef with fat (and flavor) good burgers and steaks boneless chicken breast pre-shredded cheese (that is super cheap) sales frozen veggies whole wheat bread and pasta feta grapes, strawberries, peaches, pink lady apples dishwasher central air swimming pool low fat milk already pasteurized and homogenized Thomas’ English muffins I could keep going, but my intent in writing this is not to focus on what I no longer have access to, but to revel in the pure joy of having something in my belly (and freezer) that I haven’t had in over 9 months: BROCCOLI Oh, broccoli, how I’ve missed thee! Look at the 6 pounds of fresh broccoli I was able to purchase tonight.  I was so giddy, I think Rob thought I was nuts.  Seriously, I am so excited to have broccoli.           ...

Today at lunch, I put up my hand like a gun and asked the Haitian ladies how you say “gun”.  We have heard a lot of gun fire today, so I wanted to know how many Haitians have guns.  They said it was “dwèt”.  So, I asked “How many Haitian have a dwèt/gun?  They said everyone!  Can you believe that all Haitians have a dwet?  You should have seen Becky and I.  REALLY?  Every Haitian has a gun!  We were astonished.  We kept asking the ladies, and they just sort of nonchalantly said, sure, every Haitian has a dwèt/gun. Then, we realized, dwèt is actually finger, not gun.  Duh…  yes, every Haitian has a finger.  We had a nice laugh over that one! Gun is “zam”, and now we know that only some Haitian’s have a zam. Rob

When Tessa was six months old, we knew she was going to be our social butterfly.  She was happiest when there were many people around and was full of smiles whenever we would drop her off at the church nursery.  She hasn’t changed!  Once she got past her first week of Haitian school (and the crying that came with it) she’s been content and happy to go. She looks forward to school everyday.  Watching her, I have been thinking that she just doesn’t mind all the kids around her and touching her.  Seeing her interact with the kids in Astruc this past week confirmed this.  She loved to be in the thick of things, hanging out with the kids.  Her spirit makes her Momma proud! That first Sunday, Tessa just loved posing with all the girls:                                       ...

At least, it speaks volumes to me! Rob

I think my kids are so blessed to be growing up here in Haiti.  Yes, there are some things they might miss out on over the years, like team sports and a large school, but there are so many other things they get to do and experience that most other American kids will never get to do.  Adventures are the norm for them—there is always something new to do or explore.  I love seeing how they respond so differently.  I love seeing their little personalities flourish here! Drew is amazing us with his knowledge of the Creole language.  He tells us he doesn’t learn anything at school, but then I will hear him speak a complete and grammatically correct sentence to our house help, and I know he’s learning much more than he thinks.  Often they will say something to him and he’ll respond either in English or Creole and we can just see he understands what is being said.  It’s so cool! Drew is more of a reserved, keep to himself kid.  He loves to find stuff ...