The End of the Road

Lounging on our bed here at Bethel, in air-conditioning, looking back at the last three months leaves us both excited and sad at the same time.  We're excited to come home tomorrow, but now feel oddly hesitant to leave this country we've called home for several months now.

We're full of stories, covered in bug bites after three weeks in the south, and our hearts are overflowing with love and appreciation for our brotherhood here in Haiti.  Hundreds of brothers and sisters have left the comforts of their homes to move to where the need is greater as special pioneers, missionaries and regular pioneers.  Thousands of people are baptized here every year, congregations are splitting rapidly just to keep up with new ones, and more and more exciting changes are furthering the ministry here in Haiti.

So it's with heavy hearts yet joyful hearts that we leave tomorrow afternoon and share tearful goodbyes with our dear friends we have here in such a beautiful country.

Changing the subject before I get too weepy, our last post is dedicated to the three weeks we spent in Port-Salut.  Situated in the southwestern tip of the island, Port-Salut is a quiet little beach town with quaint little villages along rivers and nestled in the foothills of the mountains.  The congregation is relatively new and tiny - only 20 publishers but with an average meeting attendance of 40.  Their territory is vast and remote, with much of it never worked before.  They need help (as we were teasingly reminded every meeting by their two elders) but have a zealous spirit and have seen several foreigners move in to help just in the last year.

Our one night in Mirebalais, we got to see Nadine! And meet Luna!

 

Hello Port-Salut! The view from the house we stayed at.
Seriously.  The Caribbean as your backyard?! Pinch yourself.

 

Enjoying our first sunset on the rooftop.

Preaching on the beach with Rashaud, our fabulous host.

 

Pinch yourself again.

 

Canoes made from hollowed out trees are everywhere in Haiti.
When the congregation goes to an island to preach, they all go in canoes.

 

Point Sable is the public beach in Port-Salut.
There are a few outdoor kitchens with delish food and drinks.

 

Getting ready to cross one of several rivers in the territory.
We walked between 30 minutes to an hour every day just to reach the many huts and homes, and then walked all the way back...little different from driving around at home in service all day!

 

 

 

Two girls walking home from school together.
All of the schools are located in town - these girls lived in a little
community an hour's walk from the main road.

 

 

 

 

Coffee break at the local Starbucks!
(a.k.a stopping at a sister's house to drink coffee after a long morning door-to-door)

 

I actually started a Bible study sitting on a tomb.  No joke.  That was a first!

 

 

 

A beautiful waterfall we briefly visited while out in service.
It was torture not diving in to cool off! 

Adam and Mackenson, a special pioneer and the coordinator of the congregation.

Haiti, you are a very special place.  Thank you for the wonderful time.  This truly is Jehovah's organization and we feel humbled to be a part of it.  Thank you for following along - we look forward to seeing you all soon.  Au revoir!!!

Citadelle & Palais Sans-Souci

Checking in from Port-Salut!  Spent a night in Mirebalais with friends, which was a nice last-minute addition to our itinerary.  We also spent a night with Guy and Dorine back in Petionville, who then graciously took us to the bus station.  It was so good seeing them again - it felt like it had been ages!

Our bus trip to Port-Salut was pretty exciting.  We were driving along on the highway when we came upon a line of boulders blocking half of the road.  As soon as we saw this (Adam and I were sitting in the front of the bus) we knew what was happening - someone was going to try to hijack the bus.  Bus drivers here are trained for this, so our guy whipped into reverse with the other buses that were following.  After a few minutes, he decided to make a go at it, with local Haitians approving this decisions.  "Just go fast!" they all yelled, all the while complaining about the bone-heads who were trying to do this.  Sure enough, we barreled through the first section and a young kid came out from the trees hurling rocks.  Pity for him, as someone had already called the cops, who showed up quickly and took control.  Then away we went.  Gotta love Haiti!

*EDITOR'S NOTE* For everyone out there panicking now, bus hijacking is normally a manifestation, or a way for the locals to get the government's attention.  They typically don't hurt anyone or steal much - they just want the bus to block the road.  We were absolutely fine.

In the meantime, this post is dedicated to our last few days in Cap, including our visit to the Citadelle.

I'm going to go back to enjoying my ocean-front guest house here in Port-Salut with incredibly turquoise waters....actually it's really ugly here you would probably hate it... :)

Group shot (minus Chad, our photographer) before we entered Palais Sans-Souci

 

 

 

 

 

Chad and Linda moved to Mirebalais last year and so far love living in Haiti!

 

Looking back at the Palace.

 

A forty-five minute hike to Citadelle was tiring but worth it!
I felt like I was in England looking at an old castle.

 

Baby cannons at the entrance of Citadelle.

 

 

Adam posing with pyramids of cannon balls.

 

More incredible views of Haiti.

 

 

 

There are a number of beautiful cannons preserved that were gifts from the British,

 

 

A well preserved cannon, complete with wheels.

All in all, the Citadelle was impressive, and definitely lived up to the hype.  Saying good-bye to Cap was tough, and frankly with only two weeks left of our trip, it's easy to get a little sappy while reminiscing.  Haiti is an incredible and frustrating country. 

Now I'm going to go back and enjoy this really rough part of Haiti with its ugly beaches... :)

Labadee, Cormiers Plage...and the Haircut

Greetings from hot and sweaty Haiti!  We got some exciting news last Thursday night at meeting.  Imperial, our lovely "host" congregation here in Haiti (and the congregation Bethel recommended we check out) has been growing so successfully that starting January 6th, the congregation will split! It goes to show you that Jehovah is blessing the efforts here in Cap.  Last year they sent four missionary couples up here and in one year, our friend's congregation had to split to accommodate all of the visitors and new publishers!  The fields are truly white for harvesting here!

Tuesday I had the opportunity to conduct my first Bible study here in Haiti. With all of the bouncing around we've been doing and our learning curve, I'm so excited to have now cultivated my own calls here in Cap.  So far Adam and I have been really happy to see the results of the preaching work - just last meeting we had two people we invited to come to the meeting attend and ask for us to come back and study with them.  What a wonderful privilege Jehovah has given each and every one of us to proclaim the good news of his Kingdom...even if it means stumbling through another new language!

We had the chance to go visit Cormiers Plage with an IV couple visiting for the weekend and we visited Labadee for the day with our friends and the Service Overseer of Bethel and his visiting family.  Here are some pictures!

Adam catching some waves at Ginsu.

Enjoying lunch with our fabulous host Jacqueline.
She and her husband take in all visiting brothers and sisters.
They were so generous and hospitable!

While we were staying with our Haitian family,
they added a new second-story deck.  It was so interesting
to watch how they do construction here - it looked like hard work!

Our neighborhood, complete with a garbage pile...

Jules and Adam conducting a Bible study.

Enjoying dinner with three of the four missionary couples here in Cap.

The breathtaking view on the road to Cormiers and Labadee.

Cormiers Plage...

...complete with Caribbean waves and sun loungers...and beers!

Enjoying the beach!

Cormiers Plage Hotel

  

Dinner with Jules and Sabrina and the visiting IV couple, Shane & Kim.
Safe travels back to the US guys, and we hope to see you soon!!!

LABADEE

Labadee is a "town"in Haiti.  It's a beautiful piece of land that was purchased by Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines and turned into a luxury port-of-call for select cruises in the Caribbean.  It's not exactly possible to visit Labadee if you arrive via Cap, for all of you wondering at home. Only if you arrive by Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines.  So how did we get in?  We know a guy who knows a guy - capisce?

Entering Labadee.

The beach at Labadee.

Setting up for lounging on the beach!

Jules and Sabrina having fun, per usual.

Elain & Isabel.

We're having the BEST cruise ever!!!! *wink wink*

THE HAIRCUT

The time came when I looked at my adorable husband and told him we should start figuring out what to do about his shaggy hair.  Now, back home, I'll beg Adam to get his hair cut and he will reluctantly go to the hair shop in by our place in Seattle and get it cut.  However, here in Haiti, almost every person has a different hair texture than we do, and they tend to buzz hair instead of cutting it.  So what were we to do? Well have no fear, Jules was here!!! As if being a superstar in service was not enough, he found the time to make Adam his Sistine Chapel!

BEFORE

An hour in, Jules was meticulously cutting EVERY hair.
Adam was nervous.  I was amused. :)

AFTER!

Oh the adventures the month of December brought us!  We had the privilege of working out in service with missionaries, having lots of fun dinners, enjoying the beauty of the Caribbean, and making new lifelong friends.  Tonight some more friends from the States who moved down here last year will be staying in Cap, and together we will go explore the famous Citadelle!

After this weekend, we sadly say goodbye to Cap-Haitien and begin making our way down south to Port Salut.  Our time here in Cap has been life-changing.  We're really sad to be leaving our dear friends here but also look forward to spending our last three weeks here in Haiti with a brother from our old circuit in California.  

We can't believe our visit to Haiti is almost up!  But we have lots of fun things to explore until then!

As always, we send our love to everyone out there reading this - we miss you all!