Haiti Days

I've been spending considerable time scanning slides from Haiti and other places. These pictures date from 1969-1972. Those are the years that I spend teaching missionary children in Les Cayes, Haiti. I was considered a missionary. I went to Haiti with a mission that was known at the time as West Indies Mission. The name has since change to WorldTeam since the work to spread to many other places.

My assignment was the junior high kids. I had been teaching primary grades in the States and so this new responsibility was quite different. I enjoyed it immensely, but there were times, especially in algebra, that I stayed a step ahead of them. By the time I reached there, "modern" math was the vogue, and that was not how I learned algebra. We survived.

The school was primarily for children of missionaries, but as time went on, we welcomed other children into the school. The only requirement was that they speak English. One family entered our school from Belize. The father was a worker with the UN, working on mosquito control. Some other children who joined our school were Cuban children whose parents had lived in the States in the Miami area and then came to Haiti and worked in a large sugar mill that was not far from our center.

I've been posting these photos in albums on FaceBook, and they've been quite popular among these kids. They're not kids any more, but adults with their own children. I'm not sure if any of them are grandparents yet. One of the Cuban girls, who, when she saw these photos, wrote to me and said that she couldn't thank me enough for posting them because she had so few photos of her childhood when her family worked in Haiti.

We had no TV's, no VCR's, no video games, and so books were very popular. Everyone was a reader. Even the children who struggled a bit in reading skills were seen with books in hand. Playing outdoors was a given, as well. There all sorts of places to explore and all kinds of bugs to find. The boy in the photo above was famous for catching lizards and keeping one or two in his shirt. He could be seen pulling one out of his shirt, giving it a kiss, and then putting it back. He was also our tarantula hunter. I brought one home with me one year to have on display. It certainly did garner all kinds of comments.

In the newspaper today there was an article about how iguanas are taking over in Florida, eating turtle eggs, burrowing owl eggs, and many plants. D. lives in Florida now. I wonder if he ever goes hunting. I think he could have quite a business.

Motorbikes were a favorite means of transportation. With the roads as they were, a motorbike was the best means of getting around. I sometimes accompanied the kids into town to have diner at the local hotel, and I generally was left in the dust. This was not the best thing since I wore contacts, and my eyes were often red from the dust.

The three and a half years I spent in Haiti were rich years. Many of these kids that I taught are missionaries themselves today. I have always considered it such a privilege that I had a part in their lives. Now that we are as old as we are, we are almost contemporaries. Now, when they see me, the say, "Hi, Bev." No more "Miss Wright."

Just because

On Wednesday I'll be flying to Virginia in anticipation of birthday #3 of this dolly.

Maybe this could pass for Carmi's theme "elemental."

This might fit a "Caption this" theme. My first thought was "King Kong."
Have a good weekend.

In Christ Alone

This song has been going through my mind all day. Three years ago I had opportunity to work at an Inter-Varsity camp in upper Michigan. What a thrill it was to hear 300 college students sing this hymn of praise to God.

Today on the radio, Tony Dungy mentioned a football player who back in 1993 was playing in his first playoff game with the Buffalo Bills. He had been listening to this song all week. In the third quarter of the game, the Bills were losing badly, but this player led the team to a 41-38 victory in overtime. When he was asked how he did it, he laid down his playbook and quoted the words of this song, "In Christ Alone."

I pray that the words of this hymn touch your heart as it has mine today.

Muddy Monday

Mud is very nice to feel

All squishy squashy between the toes!

I'd rather wade in wiggley mud

Than smell a yellow rose.

Nobody else but the rosebush knows

How nice mud feels between the toes.

Distant - Carmi's theme

As I was on my way to Virginia in May, I left home about 3 in the afternoon, and I hoped to get as far as Brunswick, Georgia before it got dark. I almost made it. If you've traveled on I-95 or any other highways for that matter, you know that there is generally road construction. As I was approaching Brunswick, the traffic slowed down because of one-lane traffic on a bridge. While I sat there, I thought I might as well take a photo of the sun setting in the distant west.

Carmi's theme this week is "distant." If you visit his site, you will see his offerings and links to others.

My exciting fourth

I had an exciting fourth. I looked at the doors that go out to my pool this morning, and there lay a black snake on the inside. He must have been 3 feet long, if not longer.

I saw him by the front porch the other day. I'm assuming it's the same one. I thought later I should have grabbed my camera for proof, but I was so shocked at seeing him, all I could think about was getting him out of my house.

When you live alone, there is no one to call for help, so I got a broom and tried to hold him in place while I unlocked the door. He scooted over the broom and started further into the house, but I got him swept out.

I'm sure he was as glad to be outside as I was to have him out. I have no idea when he got in or exactly how, but I'm glad he's out, and I hope that he is happier outside than in. I've learned over the years not to be afraid of them, but it is rather startling to see one inside!

A Sure Shelter

This has been a rather long week to me. On Tuesday I had four squamous cell carcinomas removed, one from the top of my head, and one on my hand, the other two on my arm. I spent most of Tuesday, well, part of Tuesday in two different doctors' offices. The first doctor did the Mohs surgery on my scalp and hand; the second doctor did the repair work and excised the other two spots. By 1:20 Tuesday afternoon I was all stitched up and out the door.

I was given a prescription for an antibiotic and one for pain, and I was on my way. During the time that I was in the plastic surgeon's office, it started to rain...quite a downpour. By the time I was ready to leave, it had subsided, and I didn't get to wet walking to my car.

Before she started cutting and sewing, we were talking about lots of things, and I mentioned that I had lived in Haiti for three and a half years, and then the conversation turned to the difficulty of the living situation of the people in that country. She kept saying, "How do they make it through these storms and the hurricanes that sweep through the country?"

Well, the answer is, "not very well." Sometimes houses are swept away, animals swept away, even many lives are lost. It is a hard thing to see.

I picked up my prescriptions, got something to eat, and came on to my nice, dry home, safe from the storms around. I settled in for the rest of the day and listened as the rain came down, thankful.

I think too of the storms that come in my life...losses, hurts, disappointments, illnesses...and I think of the shelter I find...friends that I see often, friends that I only know through the internet, family, my church, and most of all my Lord Jesus Christ.

I was reminded of a song that we used to sing a lot at church...A Shelter in the Time of Storm.

The Lord’s our Rock, in Him we hide,
A Shelter in the time of storm;
Secure whatever ill betide,
A Shelter in the time of storm.
.
A shade by day, defense by night,
A Shelter in the time of storm;
No fears alarm, no foes afright,
A Shelter in the time of storm.

The raging storms may round us beat,
A Shelter in the time of storm
We’ll never leave our safe retreat,
A Shelter in the time of storm.

O Rock divine, O Refuge dear,
A Shelter in the time of storm;
Be Thou our Helper ever near,
A Shelter in the time of storm.

Oh, Jesus is a rock in a weary land,
A weary land, a weary land.
Oh, Jesus is a rock in a weary land,
A shelter in the time of storm.