Tropical rain and electric fiasco

Today is another rainy day in Jarabacoa. Usually the rain is welcomed by all to cool us off and refresh the earth... however, it's been raining quite a bit lately so we'd really like to see it go. So here I am, sitting on my couch during lunch break listening to the sound of pounding rain on the tin roof and watching as it drenches the earth, leaving puddles all over our dirt driveway and watching the dogs perform "muddy-paw-print" art all over the white patio tile, and I thought that it would be a good day to write a blog.

It's been a peaceful few days, not to much out of the ordinary has happened, that is, aside from Sunday's 2:30am power transformer explosion. (Can you sense that a story is on the way?)

So there we were sleeping peacefully in the wee hours of Sunday morning when to our shock and surprise we heard a very strange and loud sound coming from outside. As we turned our heads toward the window we saw a brilliantly bright light, almost like fireworks. I opened the shutters and out by the street we could see sparks flying everywhere and a giant glowing yellow light. About 10 seconds later the light went out and so did our electricity. We laid in bed for like an hour afterward, just laying there. Neither of us could sleep after that, not to mention the room got a little stuffy without the fan on. About an hour later, much to our astonishment, the electricity came on, but only for about 2 hours, when it went away again. When we woke up later that morning, we were delighted to find that the electricity had restored itself once more. When we walked the dogs we stopped by our electric post to find the entire thing covered in black smoke and a rather important looking piece melted on the wet ground below. We were relieved to see that it hadn't been the fault of our neighbor trying to steal electricity again, but then we couldn't figure out what had happened. Later on that morning as we were preparing to get showered, we came to realize that, while we had electricity, something had happened to our water, as in, it wasn't working. So we quickly grabbed all of our clothes for church and shower supplies, and headed off to the base where we were able to grab a quick (but ice cold) shower just in time to get the group ready and off to church.

Now there are two things you should know about the DR: 1, customer service is not valued the same here as it is in the States; 2, Sunday's are a day when everything is closed, no one works. So, Josh and I thought we'd be without water until Monday when someone from the electric company could come out and fix the mess. However, Lowell, being the persuasive person that he is, got a crew to come out and take a look. It turned out they had to completely rebuild our electric circuit, it had been totally fried.

That was Sunday.

I Will Priase You in the Storm

Through the hoops and hurdles of life our character is refined and sharpened. We can use the challenges that come our way to grow and get stronger or fall into a pool of self pity and depression. Josh and I have been walking through a dark forest of despair, each day delivering to us a new mountain to climb. Every morning we walk the journey clinging to the hope that God will deliver us from what lays before us, praying that the uncertainty of the day will not bring anything more to push us down.

With each passing trial we can see God’s love, grace, faithfulness, and provision. God has been our joy, our energy, our strength, and our hope. Even though the world around us seems to be crashing in, God meets us each morning with the promise of His love for us. Each morning we are reassured of His goodness and glorious plan for us - one not to harm or hurt us, but a plan of hope and a future.

I have walked these past two/three weeks with so much joy and happiness that sometimes I forget what is and has been going on. While there have been some tears shed, we remind ourselves who is in control and who can use any and every situation for His grand purpose. We rejoice in our suffering, knowing that it is because Satan sees the work being done and wants to put an end to it.

Our affliction has been in all areas of life -
* in our minds through bad dreams giving us restless sleep
* in our bodies through sickness
* in our work place through conflict and discouragement
* in our finances through extra expenses (car repair, medical testing, both dogs sick)
* in our friendships through conflict (largely based simply in miscommunication)
* in our pets (sickness)
* in our relationship together (the stress of everything ripping apart our harmony)
Praise God that He deems us worthy enough to suffer for Him. Praise God that amist the storm we have been growing stronger. Praise God that we have been able to see His provision in a very real and dramatic way.

This blog is not an appeal for sympathy but to share about the Savior I daily follow and His provision and faithfulness to us during such trying times.

I want to brag a little about my God...

We just recently lost Josh's laptop and believed that we had lost mine as well (Ron was able to fix mine). The day after it happened I received an e-mail from the mom of a girl who is coming here on Monday and she asked me for any prayer requests. I had asked for prayer in health and for extra funding to come in for a new laptop. The next morning Josh and I spent some time in prayer together for everything that has been going on in our lives - including the laptop. Following that time of prayer I went to check my e-mail and saw that the mom had e-mailed me again. She had decided to send us $500 for a new laptop! Praise God!

Another huge blessing in our lives has been our 9 (soon to be 11) summer interns. So much of our ministry here is in short term relationships - every week or two saying good-bye. But we get to invest in, build, and grow in these 11 relationships for 8-10 weeks. Each and everyone of them is so unique, beautiful, and special. We get along with them so well and they're so great. We have already been blessed by them and I know that the remainder of the summer is going to be amazing!

As the past few days have come and gone, it seems that the hardships have been passing along with them. I think we have finally reached the the edge of the dark forest and see the light. I feel stronger, and more in love with God than ever before. Thank you to those of you who have been praying for us recently, we have needed them.

Buenas Tarde - (good afternoon),
Vicki

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!!!

Haiti Part 2

Day 2~

Our second day was spent working in the tent community that we had connections with.

Some background on this community: There are about 150 families living in the community. They have an advantage that many do not; they are in a secure area with four walls and a gate. This provides them more security. In this camp is a building that had been a woman's home (her name is Francine and she is on the committee). She moved out of it even though it is safe because her husband died in it when a wall fell on him. She is only in her late 20's or early 30's. This community has its own "government" you might say. There is a commitee of five people and they make decisions and are the spokes people for the community. And I believe it is because of the committee that the community is doing so well.

The first morning we arrived we had a lot of unpacking to do. We had 7 different teams working with different ages and genders of people from kids to adults. Everyone was excited to see us and very eager to help us get everything set up. Inside of the building is where the dental team set up and worked and where my team, the bread making team, set up and worked. Outside under tarp-tents that we brought is where the kids age 4-6, 7-10, and girls 13-17 were. The boys 13-17 were out in the sun playing sports all day (with Josh), and our construction team brought and assembled 4 shower stalls.

Each team had a translator so that we could communicate. Haitian's speak two languages, Creole and French, and none of us spoke either. So with our translator's help we began! My team worked with 6 women to teach them how to bake a bread called "Pan de Agua" which is a typical Dominican bread that a Haitian friend of ours said that the Haitian's in Haiti would probably like. After we explained to the women what we were going to be doing they got really excited and couldn't wait to learn. For our morning session with them, we demonstrated how to make the bread as they watched and asked questions. After we finished preparing the dough and were waiting for it to raise (1 hour) the ladies asked if they could begin making their own, they wanted to start trying right away! Because of their eagerness we figured we could steer away from our plans and let it just happen naturally and see what happened. These women were so excited and loved doing it! They never once used their directions they had already memorized it from watching Maggie do it that one time! Because of space in the oven we had to do it in shifts, 3 women first and then the other 3 could follow 20 minutes behind them. So in the morning session 3 women got to make bread for the first time!

When we came back from lunch break we let the next 3 ladies make their bread. While we waited for the bread to rise we sat around the table just getting to know one another. I spent a little bit of time getting to know our translator, his name is Woodsie. He did a great job translating and was really fun to interact with. He is an intelligent guy with an opinion on many things.

When we returned from lunch break the second group of ladies began. When they finished - and we all sampled - they began asking what other things we were going to teach them. We were totally unprepared for their excitement and enthusiasm and so had only prepared to teach them how to make bread. Maggie did some quick thinking and came up with some other ideas of how to use the same dough to make other things. After we talked it over with the ladies and received some ideas from them, we came up with 3 other ways to use the dough.... and to find out you will have to read the "Day 3" blog!

Here are a few more short videos from our trip.

This video gives you an idea about street life. I explained in Part 1 that just about everything is sold on the street. In the beginning of video you can see two women preparing food to sell. The video then pans past what looks maybe a buisness where lotto tickets are sold. Then you can see another area where someone cooks things to sell. There is an upturned refridgerator where they probably keep the food in order to protect it from bugs.

This video shows the larget tent community that I saw. It went for what seemed like forever! These tents were really nice tents, we saw communities where the "tents" were made from sticks and sheets. Clearly these had been brought by other coutries in their aid packets. This tent community also had shower facitilies and toilets - you can see them, they are grey tall and skinny tent looking structures with the Red Cross sign on them.

Haiti - Part 1 (revised)

Hopelessness, Desperation, Powerlessness, Starvation

Can you imagine a country where this is the reality?

Day 1~ 12 hour car ride to Port-au-Prince

What I thought would have been one of the longest days of my life turned out to be so fun! I was in the van with Lowell, Cheryl, Josh, and Chastity. (The rest of the van was full of our luggage and our supplies.) We had SO much fun joking around and teasing each other that the time passed by quickly. Our fun and games came to a sudden halt when we reached the border and had to sit in the most chaotic mess I've ever seen in my entire life. It took us about 2 hours to get through because of the disorganization. This border crossing is nothing like one could imagine without experiencing it for themselves. When you arrive to the crossing you would never know that you had actually approached it because of the heap of semi trucks lining the road as they wait to cross over. The many people walking around and selling things in the mud and heat is also a distraction to what awaits. When we finally reached what could be mistaken as a traffic jam, turns out to be a building and a few security guards deciding who to let through without trouble and who to hassle - we were hasseled... I think I actually saw money signs in their eyes when they saw us. After about 3 different stops - all within 70 yards - we were finally through! Once we were in Haiti our van was silent as we watched. Every now and then someone would comment on similiarities or differences to the D.R. but we all just watched.

We made it into the city of Port-au-Prince about an hour before dark. At one time in my life I thought 5:00pm traffic in Kirkland was bad, but this was worse! Because the city is without power, everyone tries to get home before dark. We hardly moved, just inched our way through the streets trying to find our way with the written directions we had. Luckily we brought along a Haitian lady with us who was able to guide us to our destination for the night, but not before Nate tried to do it himself... we had to turn 3 vehicles around in the middle of the street where traffic wasn't moving, and our van was hauling a trailer! INSANE!!!

Once we made it to the hospitality house we all just crashed. It was 7:30pm and it was hot! We ate dinner, took showers (BTW 23 people, 2 single-person bathrooms), a few of us sang worship music and then tried to sleep in the heat with ridiculous humidity. The entire city is without electricity so after 11pm the generator was turned off which meant no fans... we were all sleeping and sweating... gross.

Poor photo quality, I know, but it was through the car window. I really wanted to show you this one because this happened to several buildings we saw... they completely crumbled, one floor on the next.




In this community you can see houses that stood and houses that fell. Lowell was telling us a lot of the buildings that crumbled did so because of poor construction or really old constuction. On the side of the street we could see people making the "block" that is used for the walls. Lowell said that they are not using the chemicles in them that make them strong and durable.




This is the same community, just a different view



Same community, different view





There were 2 men knocking down the walls in the upper level. You can see a pile of rubble in front of the house from what had been the roof, other walls, and balcony.




This photo was taken right in front of the Presidential Palace. A huge tent community living right on the street. There is a line of Honey Buckets out in front, which is a huge advantage, many communities have no place to go to the bathroom.

Presidential Palace - Left side. You can see a UN vehicle sitting on the lawn in front of the building. There were a few UN members standing at the entrances keeping guard.

Presidential Palace - Middle

Presidential Palace - Right Side

There were people sitting all around the palace just looking at it. It's a constant reminder of their failed government. No one knows what the President is doing besides sitting in his mountain home over looking the destruction from his air conditioned, comfortable, well stocked home.

This was the legal building holding all the records of the country and its people in it. Most of the legal records were destroyed in this building when it collapsed.

Another view of the legal buiding with documents all over the road.


Tent community in the middle of the city.

Driving through the city with difficulty as we had to watch for large pieces of rubble in the road.

We rarely saw restaurants or stores, everything was just sold on the street. Here this women is preparing her little road-side restaurant.




Another tent community

Another tent community

The UN kind of left a bad taste in mouths while we were there. We never, not once, saw them doing anything but driving around in their vehicles holding their guns. I'm sure their job is be a presence to keep some kind of order, but we never saw them helping out... that was dissappointing.

The streets were lined with people all the time. Everywhere we went looked like this, packed with people.

Below are some short videos I took from the van we were driving in, they will give you a little glimpse into what we saw.

This short video offers a breif look of the outskirts of Port-au-Prince. Many people are walking, headed toward the city. The paintings on the walls are advertizements for local buisnesses or brands. You can see that people have set up things to sell on the street, this is their market. We rarely saw any shops, everything is sold on the street by vendors. Once we got into the city, the streets were just packed with people, there was little room to walk on the side walks because everyone is selling their goods there.

This video is just outside the heart of the capitol. (In the capitol the traffic is too crazy that I couldn't get a good video.) There is rubble all over the sides of all the streets. As we would drive around we would have to dodge huge piles of block and rebar. 13 seconds into the video you can see a truck with people on it pull out in front of us; this truck is called a tap-tap and it is a taxi. All the taxis look like that.

You can see in the beginning the market on the side of the road... this is what it looks like everywhere in the heart of town. On the right you can see a building that came down. As we went on our tour around the capitol we would see buildings that were completely unharmed by the earthquake standing next to buildings that were completely destroyed.

More to come tomorrow... thanks for being patient!

Jarabacoa Half Marathon 2010

Sunday April 18, 2010
Jarabacoa Half Marathon
Start Time: 6:30am

Being that I was the only contestant in the race and my husband was the President of the function, we started a few minutes late at 6:45am. The race began at a hotel near our house called Hotel Pinar Dorado. After Josh took a few “start of the line” pictures he said go and off I went. It was a perfect day for a race, bright but slightly overcast with white clouds which kept the morning cool. The beginning of the race was out in the country where cows and horses were waking and wandering in their fields. The middle of the race was through town where street market vendors were getting set up for the day; and then for the last few miles I was on the main street and at last, ended at the river, which I gladly sat in once I crossed the finish line.

Josh rode his moto alongside me, almost the entire time, shouting “Go Vicki!” and “you’re doing great!” among other words of encouragement. He also told me my time, estimated about how much further I had yet to run, told me how many minutes I had left to beat my time from the race in 2008, took pictures, and handed me water. Talk about an amazing guy!

Our friends, Ryan and Caroline Holloway, ran the final mile with me. They encouraged me along the way and Ryan finished out the end in a sprint with me, challenging me the whole time. I finished the race in 2 hours 7 minutes and 9 seconds. I have to check with my dad but I think this beat our November 2008 time.

After I pulled my pruny body from the river, we headed home and celebrated with Ryan & Caroline over waffles and Wizard (a card game). Then Caroline and I enjoyed some girl time over mocha frappaccinos (which I made) while the boys went off to play ping pong (a daily event) and we all met up for lunch at the Holloway’s house and watched the movie “The Blind Side.” To wrap up the evening, Josh played in a soft ball game, which I left shortly after arriving due to finding out that the game wouldn’t be starting for another 45 minutes and I didn’t want to sit alone on a hard concrete bench. So I relaxed at home with Audrey Hepburn in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” and have been listening to Moon River non-stop since.

My final thoughts: I have now enjoyed and conquered 3 half-marathon races and am ready for something more challenging – possibly a full is on the horizon.

Interesting Fact: I have worn that red WSU shirt in all 3 Half Marathons

Before the race began in front of the hotel sign.

About 1/2 mile into the race headed out to the cows and horses

Almost 4 miles... I still have some spunk

Running my final steps in town, headed for mile 7

Last 75 feet... that's Ryan, he volunteered to run the final stretch with me to make sure I didn't wimp out

The President & The Champ

My race shirt - Josh made it for me