"Field Posts"

There are a lot of foods I miss from the US.  So many of them are convenience items I think I took for granted all my life.  Convenient and cheap (especially if you could find them on sale and stock up!)  I’m a little jealous of all you ladies who buy like $100 of groceries for like $10.  There is no such thing as a sale here!  And while it is a 3rd world country, food is not cheap.  For example, eggs are plentiful, but they cost the equivalent of $3 US a dozen.  Things I took for granted in the US as readily available and cheap include:  cheese, sour cream, frozen veggies, bread, milk, eggs, lunchmeat, snacks, cream cheese, and anything with whole grains.  I’m sure there is more, but this is what comes to mind.  I have recipes that include many of the items above.  I often have to make substitutions.  For example, I rarely can find sour cream.  When I do, it costs about $6 US for a 16 ounce container.  What I can f...

I would love to know what goes thru Braden’s mind.  I look at him and think about how lucky he is to grow up here!  His experiences growing up are and will be completely different than mine.  His perspective on life and his worldview are being molded right now, as he learns to speak (two languages, which to him, is one big language) and as he interacts with the world around him.  Since we moved to Haiti before he turned two years old, I know he will know nothing other than this life.  His world is different in such a neat way.  It’s so much more adventurous! The night before Rob takes a moto trip to visit a church, he usually sets out all his gear, since he usually leaves pretty early.  Braden loves to try it all on!                 He loves being outside!  We really enjoying going to this area called Tet Simon.  It’s 2 big hills with cows and other animals grazing.  Rob...

It’s been so hard to blog lately.  Sorry for the silence.  It’s not as if there is nothing going on!  There is plenty, but I find I often don’t have the words for what we are doing/experiencing.  I finally got some pics off of our camera, so I have a few posts to update you on what we’ve been up to as a family. This afternoon, I took Drew and Tessa to SEED for a tour of their agronomy facilities.  Drew has been saying for over 8 months that he wants to be an agronomist when he grows up and it was our first chance to tour the fields and where they keep their animals.  SEED is a ministry that provides agronomy training to Haitians.  Students take classes to earn a degree and participate in all things agronomy.  Are you wondering what agronomy is?  Wikipedia had a great definition: Agronomy is the science and technology of producing and using plants for food, fuel, feed, fiber, and reclamation.  Here, it also involves animal husbandry as...

If there is something I should have learned by now, after almost 10 months in Haiti, it’s that it’s better not to have any of my own expectations.  Let me tell you, having any expectations about anything is killing me!  Yet I keep having them.  And then am extremely disappointed when they aren’t met.  It’s a lesson I just can’t seem to get.  Guess that’s why God keeps working on me in this area. Take this past weekend for example.  We had a plan and my expectations were that this plan would come to fruition.  We were to meet the team from our former church in Linwood, NJ at the Retreat Center, spend Friday night and Saturday morning as a family with them and then the afternoon and Sunday with a little down time enjoying the beach and time with each other.  Our plan was to leave Sunday afternoon.  We’ve all had a chest cold this past week, but were feeling well enough to go.  We did have a really nice walk on the beach Friday right befo...

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.