August, 2008

Dear Friends and Supporters of Clean Water for Haiti:

Olivia is taking her morning nap so I thought I would take the time to get a start on this month’s update letter.

Things are still a buzz of activity around the mission base here in Haiti, and looking at the calendar for the rest of the year there will be no slowing down. It can be really overwhelming to look at everything coming our way and sometimes hard to navigate through all of it. I would be lying if I gave you the impression that we’re always fabulous with handling all of it. Some times we just get worn out and tired and those times are harder to move through than others. We are getting better at recognizing the stress though and that helps.

Being in full time ministry can be a huge blessing, as well as a big drain. I was reading a devotional the other day that really got me thinking, not just about ministry and how I move through the things that come our way, but also about life in general. It was talking about being a thermometer versus being a thermostat. Thermometers go up and down with the weather, and are rarely constant. A thermostat is designed to set the climate by regulating the temperature and doing everything possible to keep it constant. It was a challenge to me in regards to how I approach life here. Am I going to go up and down like a thermometer when things are changing, or am I going to be a thermostat and help set a constant climate? Chris and I know that part of our role here is to set an example to our staff about healthy ways to navigate through life. We know they are always watching us and the decisions we make. Please pray that Chris, Matt and I will be able to set a good climate around here.

 Last week we were treated to this at one end of our beach…

 

 …and this at the other. The two pictures were literally taken within a minute of each other.

I'm so happy to share that this week will bring the first phase of construction on the dorm to a close. The smaller side was finished two weeks ago and my aunt got to be the very first occupant. She was really impressed with the facility. After she left Matt moved out there and will live there until the second storey is finished. We’re so happy with how the first floor has turned out. I think we really had no idea what we were getting into when we started this, and there were some snags and some really stressful moments, so to see things turn out so well feels really good. We know the building is sound, and overall just a great facility so far. It’s a great addition to the mission.

The very first group of visitors using the new dorm will be here in a few weeks when we host a training class. It’s been over a year since the last class and we've been itching to get going, but have met several hold ups. It'll be nice to resume that part of our work here.

I shared that we have a full calendar from now until the end of the year. That’s an understatement! We would love it if you would remember us in prayer over the coming months as these things take place:

• Aug. 24-29: Training Class
• Sept. 9-19: Leslie away
• Sept. 23-30: Friends from Milwaukee visit
• Oct. 7-15*: Visit from potential long term volunteer
• Oct. 18-25: Vision Trip
• Nov. 8-15: Vision Trip
• Nov. 20-27: Chris’ Mom and sister visit
• Nov. 21-27: Matt’s friends visit
• Dec. 20*: Leslie’s family arrives for Christmas

*These are tentative dates

Aside from having visitors to the mission our first priority is always making sure our filter program is running well. Manes has been doing a good job with welding up the molds and we now have 9 working, meaning the filter yard fills up a lot faster. He was able to weld up the most recent mold in 6 days! Once the rain stops, probably around October, we'll be able to get out to areas of the Artibonite Valley that get rained in, and our workers will be busy doing deliveries and installations in those areas again. Until then we’re trying to target other areas and introduce the filters. .

 

 While mowing the lawn Chris found this HUGE bug. He said it was a cockroach but I'm not so sure.

As you know, we ordered a new van for the mission back in February. Chris was finally able to get an update about it a week or so ago. The van should arrive in Haiti mid-September, meaning we might have it a month later. It'll have to clear customs and such before we can take delivery on it. We’re used to the way things work here, so when they told us it would arrive in June, I decided to hope for October, that way I wouldn't be disappointed and annoyed about it’s delay. Too bad we weren't taking wagers, I think I would have been winning at this point. Can you imagine a vehicle that you ordered from the dealership taking so long to get into your possession back in North America? It would be unheard of. Your standards for things drop considerably after you've lived here for long enough.

Last month we got our new transformer at the mission. It’s all hooked up now and working wonderfully. I know Chris has shared about the many times that he’s had to go up the pole on the street to fix our power here for some reason or another, usually because someone else cut our lines either out of spite, or because they didn't know what they were doing. It’s very common to steal other people’s power. Generally you would hire someone to go up a pole and tie a wire onto another active power line running to a house. Now that the transformer is in our yard people can't do that. They also can't cut our lines. I'm not sure what Chris will do with all his free time now.

As you saw in the calendar of events above, I'm going to be away for 10 days next month. I'll be heading back to Canada to be in a friends wedding, and to spend some time with friends and family. I'm looking forward to the visit as it’s been a year since I was home. I am sad that Chris and Olivia won't be able to join me though. I think Chris is an amazing dad and husband for being willing to look after Olivia on his own for 10 days!

I know this email gets sent to friends far and wide, but a good number of you are living in the Okanagan Valley. As you know, the IPE (Interior Provincial Exebition) is coming up from August 27-31. Clean Water for Haiti has the opportunity to host a booth at the fair this year and I would love to encourage those of you that will be attending to stop by and see Doug Carlaw (our Canadian board President) and the crew that will be manning it and say hi, and encourage your friends and family to stop by as well. The purpose of the booth is to raise awareness about what we’re doing here in Clean Water for Haiti has its roots in the Okanagan (our founders, Tal and Adele Woolsey, were from Vernon BC) so it’s a great opportunity to reconnect with people and show them how they can be involved in improving the lives of Haitian families in a very practical way.

In closing I want to share about a little adventure we had this week. Early one morning we got ourselves ready to go and went with our night guardian to visit his family at their home. We could only drive so far, not even as far as Chris had driven the first time he went because a big rain had come a few days before and the river was too high to drive through. As we walked with Jan Filip he showed us where wind and rain had wrecked entire banana fields just a few days before. The walk was beautiful, and muddy, and steep in places. As we walked I couldn't help but think about the fact that Jan Filip walked that path every day, sometimes in the rain, so he could come to work. When we got to his home we were warmly greeted by his family and treated to fresh coconuts. The coconuts you see in the grocery store are old and dried out. When you get a young, fresh coconut, the meat inside is like jelly, and it’s full of refreshing, sweet water. We each enjoyed two and it took the edge off my thirst. After a really nice visit we decided to head home. As we were putting our shoes on Madame Jan brought out a big bag of fruit that she had bought for us as a gift. It was so incredibly humbling to be the recipient of a gift when I know that every penny in a Haitian home counts. I asked Matt if he would carry the bag and Madame Jan refused to give it to him and told us she was going to carry it for us back to the truck and hoisted it up on her head as we set out. Jan Filip wanted to walk with us for a while too, and offered to carry Olivia which was so sweet of him.

 

 As we walked I asked Madame Jan how many days each week she walked down to the market, at least an hours walk down the mountain from their home. She told me every day, except that day. That day she was just walking with us because she wanted to. When we arrived at the truck we parted with a hug and I felt incredibly humbled by the hospitality of Jan Filip’s family.

 

 We hope this finds you well and enjoying the last bits of summer. We'll look forward to sharing more stories and adventures next month.

On behalf of everyone at Clean Water for Haiti,

 

Chris & Leslie Rolling

Executive Directors