Wally

Meet Wally!

Wally is the newest addition to our family. Josh and I had lately been thinking that it was time to get a new buddy for Lucy. Josh asked our friend Jose if he knew of anyone that was selling a pure Lab - Josh has wanted a pure Lab ever since we were married. Jose just happened to know of a man who had 2 labs, a girl and a boy. Last night Jose took me out to the man's house, Josh couldn't go but gave me full power to make the decision. After talking with the man who who was selling them I just knew that this was our dog.

Wally's Bio:

* Half black, half brown pure Labrador

* 7 months old

* Current on all vaccinations

* Very sweet and eager to learn

* He had not received a name, any training, nor much attention. As a result, he is quite timid and easily scared. He is however a very fast learner and loves his new home. He and Lucy had a great "get-to-know-each-other" session and are friends already.

* He learned his name in an hour and now responds when we call him.

* He plays fetch really well

We are so happy to have him. This morning I'll admit I was a little nervous and anxious about adding another member to our family, but today has been a great day. New beginnings are fun. It's been 4 hours since he hopped out of the back of the car into his new yard, and after playing and exploring all morning - and nearly breaking my camera - he and Lucy and Smokey Joe (the dog we've been dog sitting for the past 6 weeks) are quietly sleeping next to me in the living room.

Haiti Day 3

Baking, laughing, sharing and crying all add up to a great day!

The evening of "Day 2" right after we left the community that evening, we went for a drive through the capitol to see what had become of the city. It was incredible. Nowhere else did the construction compare to what we saw right in the heart of the city. The Presidential Palace still lies in ruins as its people look on each day wondering what is going to happen as their beacon of hope lays untouched and their President out of sight. The largest and most crucial financial building was completely destroyed and not even safe to enter as the roof mostly caved in and its walls barely standing. And the building of justice and all legal records for the entire country lay in a heap of rubble.

Josh, a few others, and myself went back to the community that evening after our tour to show a movie - "Something to Sing About" - a older Christian film. We quickly got it all set up as dark quickly approached. Once we had a gathering of viewers we played the movie. The response was amazing. As we sat there watching the movie play in French, we listened as the crowd engaged with the movie; cheering when someone got what they deserved, clapping to the music when there was singing, and laughing at the funny scenes. About 20 minutes to the end Francine called on us as she had prepared dinner for us. We were so hungry as it was 8:30pm and we hadn't eaten since lunch, so we went into the kitchen with eagerness. I was really excited to try real authentic Haitian food. It was absolutely delicious!!! She cooked some noodles (that tasted somewhat similar to chow mien noodles but not as greasy) chicken, some kind of sausage, salami, and a little salad (which was super hot due to some kind of sauce she put on it so I did not try any).
We had such a great time and even though we were completely exhausted from the heat and work day, we were so glad that we put on the movie for the group.

Okay, so moving on with day 3...

We arrived in our little caravan to another day of excited people. As we got out of our vehicles kids were running all over the place calling the names of the people they knew in our team. Once Maggie, Cheryl and I made it to baking corner, we started off the day with teaching our ladies how to make baguettes and cinnamon twists all with the dough and same recipe that we had used the day before. We all had a great time teasing each other, tasting one another's goodies, and talking more with each other that the time past so quickly we hardly knew it was lunch.

When we returned from lunch we made... PIZZA! And it was the most delicious pizza I can remember eating ever! The dough was the same recipe as the bread. And we provided chicken, pulled steak, and provolone cheese (all items not used in our lunches during our time there). The women provided the sauce (which turned out to be ketchup - but different from what is typical for Americans, it was sweeter), green bell peppers, and onion. They took the meat that we brought and stewed it in Haitian spices and sauces. The first group of 3 women all made more or less the same kind of pizza which as I told you before, was superb. The second group of women added something that surprised me a little, mustard. Every two inches or so was a dab of mustard. I thought it was strange until I tasted it, so yummy!

We concluded our time with them by distributing to each woman her own started kit made up of all the baking supplies she would need to make four recipes of the dough. Additionally each kit included all the supplies like a bowl, mixing spoon, measuring cups, baking sheet, etc. for putting it all together. We were honored to hear each woman share her appreciation with us as they bared their soul. It was a very special time.

As a team we meshed together and now stand stronger than we have before. Experiences like these don't just help those you set out to bless but they permanently impact the person or people who go out of their comfort zone trying to make a difference.
My life is being changed one day at a time, one experience at a time; there is no going back.

Pan de Agua - the bread that we had planned to bake the entire time


Maggie is wearing the purple shirt and Cheryl the green. We worked together in the bread ministry. In this photo we are waiting for the dough to raise.

We just finished laying out the baguette and the cinnamon twists.



The guy on the right was our translator - Woodsie.




The PIZZA!!!