Summer

Well, I have been informed a few times this past weekend that I haven't posted in over two months!  So, I thought I should actually get back on and post about my last couple of crazy months.  Where do I even start??? I arrived back in the states June 11th and was back in the great, yet freezing, state of MN on the 12th.  The first weekend I was home I went to visit some friends in Sioux Falls, SD.  I went on two different big vacations. One was to Michigan(same place as last year) with 14 other girls(mostly from Princeville). The other one was to Kentucky with 5 girls from Bluffton......Hannah Rauch, Hannah Fiechter, Korrinn Kershner, Leah Gerber, and Lindsey Grube. I was able to attend the wedding of Alisha Gutwein & Brent Wagenbach in Francesville, IN. Also, spent some time in Illinois and a little time in Oakville.  Our family went Salmon fishing, and went to IL for a Knobloch get together.  Then between all of that I have been helping out on the farm...rock picking, baling hay, and stacking wood(after a big storm blew down atleast 12 of the trees in the grove!!!).  Here are pictures!!! Which I find way more entertaining than me talking anyways!!!!

At the beach one last time....Jared, Stuart, Beth, Bekah, and I

 Kentucky Trip!!! It was absolutely gorgeous!! Made so many amazing memories!!! Hiking/running back in the pouring rain, playing hockey with a burnt piece of toast, singing, mammoth cave, and our crazy waitress to name a few!!

 Our cabin

Visiting Tessa and Funso in Sioux Falls, SD

Tri-state marker

 Sioux Falls

Tuck & me

 Funso & I

 Riding horses

 Tessa & I at Funso's ballroom dance class

 and then....we had to try.....   :-D

 Camping with Moser's & Scheiler's

......me sliding down the wooden rail on a trail....

Em & I

Paige, me, Kels, and Manda

My big catch of the year!!!! 24 lbs!!!:)

Brent & Alisha's wedding weekend...

Michigan Trip - Very Brief summary too:)

 Amber's b-day & Victoria's 1/2 b-day!!

 Driving!!!:)

 Our awesome girl at the wheel

 Annual stop at the caboose for ice cream!:)

 Annual pic at caboose

 After church

 Pigging out after church....haha

 Laser tag

 Tubing on the 4 seater!!!!

 Driving....wahahaha:)

 Myca & I

 Going for more gas....

 Lost the gas cover for the boat in the water......yah....we did find it!!!....after several hours of looking and finally just feeling around in the muck with our toes....(JayLyn & I were the only brave ones to do that!)

 One of many tube rides...with an epic flip:)

Well....I would say that is probably enough pictures for now!!:) hahaha.....more information on my life to come....when more details come into place!  Love you all!!

Monthly post....:)

Singing at the Hospital

 Gator Ride

Ready for a trip down the mountain

 Playing instruments together

Views from Zanglais (where we had the AC support weekend)

Well, the girls and I finished up school this past Friday.  Which was pretty exciting all around! But also means I have to find things to fill my time with now........(which really isn't that hard to do).  

A few Saturday's ago, the Hartzler family, Franztou, and I took the gator and 4-wheeler to Barridere(they call it the end of the road...as far as the Bonne Fin road goes).  It was really fun and relaxing!  Oh, and we made record time on the way back.....I don't think it had anything to do with the fact that it was pour rain though......;)  Conrad and I were on the 4-wheeler when it started raining...and so we decided to take full advantage of it....we started muddin :)  He had a blast!!!

Then last Saturday Eric & his kids, Franztou, Jimmy, Eric's cook's brother (don't remember his name), Stuart and I, went to Plaissance to go spelunking!:)  We had heard that there was a big cave there....so we went to find it. It was pretty sweet!!:)

Last Sunday, there was a "concert" in the evening at church. Eric, Jamie, Stuart, Beth, Becka, and I went and we sang a couple songs for it and Eric & I played guitars.  Then Eric & I ended up going back up later and sang a duet.  It was a very entertaining evening!! Actually what happened, was there was suppose to be a special group coming to sing....but they never showed up.  So the Haitians were doing skits, singing songs, etc.  It was pretty cool to watch and participate in!!

Anyway, those are some of the highlights over the past month.....that I can remember off the top of my head...:)  Yes, it would help to blog more frequently...I know.:)  

God's blessings!

Nou gen kouran kounye a!!!!!!!!!! (We have electricity now!!!!!!!)

Yes, we have been in quite a short lately!! Our big hydro and small hydro were both completely out of commission for awhile! For the past week we have only had electricity from 6-9 each night.  But they got the small hydro fixed end of last week and we are now up and running!!!  Praise the Lord for the miracles He gives us!!!

Saturday afternoon Eric, Gracie, Conrad, Jimmy, Frantzou, and I went spelunking!!:)  It was a lot of fun!!  It also rained....while on the hike....but it didn't start until we had started out....and quite when we were almost back...:) We took lots of pics and videos though!  There is also a 50 ft waterfall by the cave.

Friday was another exciting day!! Why? Because the Hartzler's and I went to town for groceries and volleyball.  Which normally groceries is not too exciting..although volleyball is!  But the reason it turned into an awesome trip, was because before heading up the mountain...we ate at the Hot Spot.  And we had REAL cheeseburgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Honestly it tasted almost like a whopper!!!! It was delicious!!!!!!!!!!!:)

Some pictures from Spelunking

Looking out from the cave

 Gracie :)

 Jimmy

 Exploring a room

 Frantzou & Eric

Thanks for all your prayers and support!!

Mom's Thoughts

It has been over a week since my return from Haiti, so I had best 
succumb to my daughter's wishes and write about my travels there! I am 
not sure where to start, as this is Alyssa's blog, but my trip to Haiti 
started the minute I was dropped off at the airport! Lots of little 
side notes occurred along the way, but to shorten this up, I will focus 
on Haiti! I arrived in Haiti with a work team headed by Rich Bertschi 
from Roanoke, IL (a wonderful group of people!:-) ) It was great 
getting to know them as we traveled together. Tim R picked us up at the 
airport, and I was moved by the fact that, before leaving the parking 
lot, we shared a prayer for safe travels...which took on a whole new 
meaning as we made our way out of Port and on up towards Les Cayes!

I will say, that my first impression, as I saw the sights in Port au 
Prince was feeling a bit overwhelmed by the poverty and lifestyles of 
the people there...(how in the world does anyone know where to begin??) 
Coming from an accomplishment-based society to a survival-mode society 
was a difficult transition for me to make. It took the journey up to 
Les Cayes for me to sort through my thoughts and process the fact that 
"the poor ye have with you always" and that we are just vessels to be 
used of God to serve Him in any capacity that we are able, in order that 
His Word may be brought to others, and that they may also have the 
opportunity to know and experience Him.

You do not have to drive very far out of Port au Prince to see the 
beauty of God's creation around you, even amidst the little shacks, 
rubble, etc. Alyssa and Sheila picked me up prior to Les Cayes, and we 
headed on up to Hospital Lumiere. (we flew in at 12:15 pm and it was 
probably 7:30 pm when we arrived at Hospital Lumiere) Most of the 
journey had been via paved road, until meeting the girls...the last 45 
minutes was a rough, rocky mountain road - a part of the whole Haiti 
experience! It was getting dark, so I didn't notice the beauty around 
me until the next day, when we headed back down the mountain! I found 
out that the most awesome views were experienced to and from hospital 
Lumiere and Cavione(sp?) via the ride atop of the toyota van! My stiff 
neck as a result, was a very small price to pay for the gorgeous views 
and true feeling of experiencing in Haiti - where often they ride on the 
top of the vehicles (usually on top of cement bags, produce, etc).

Little did I know that it would be in Haiti that I would have the 
opportunity to meet up with a couple of sisters from the states that I 
had traveled with in my single group days & hadn't seen since!! Rudy & 
Polly (Uhler) Zollinger were staying at the guest house when we arrived 
- Polly & I had been to Colorado together (a few moons ago), and when we 
greeted the medical team that came on Saturday, I greeted Jeannie 
Hangartner (traveled to Canada in '89)! It was a wonderful week of 
rekindling friendships and making wonderful new friendships! I feel 
blessed in getting to know the missionaries serving in Haiti also. It 
was moving for me to see them work amongst the people, the team, and 
their families - to watch God's love and their heart of service come 
through in their lives. It made me truly grateful to know that Alyssa 
is surrounded by such willing servants of God!

I did various things throughout the week, such as share time with other 
missionary families for a birthday (which included Alyssa's:-) ), MEBSH 
church on Sunday, went to a beautiful beach (experienced eating Haitian 
lobster & fish there), shadowed Alyssa/helping her with home 
school/kids, experiencing ti mache (little market) that they had for the 
hospital employees that week, handed out dresses to needy village 
children, played guitar/sang (both at hospital and at the guest house), 
went on an excursion on the 4-wheeler farther up the mountain (gorgeous, 
rugged & more of a taste of hatian life), did odd jobs, and visited the 
CRP (Cancer Redemption Project) with the medical team (which was amazing 
in itself).

It was all very humbling and amazing at the same time! You could see, 
by the faces of the Haitians who's lives had been touched by the hand of 
God, that they were bursting with joy and very thankful for what they 
had - be it very little as compared to us. Spending time with the 
medical team, I could also see the challenges of trying to educate the 
hospital employees on how to help their people in a way that is foreign 
to them, but common to us (basic hand washing, wound care, etc). 
Touching the lives of the Haitian people for Christ envelopes so much 
more than just giving them a Bible - they are being touched by watching 
the lives of missionaries that are willing to serve and be a Christ-like 
witness. It became very evident to me that God was very much alive and 
being experienced daily there, in ways that we take for granted 
here...we sometimes forget that everything we have is a blessing from 
God - not something we have obtained or deserve. It's about 
relationships - not things! A conversation that stuck with me was when 
Jeanne shared that she was discussing with the interpreter about 
families coming and caring for loved ones in the hospital..."so what 
happens when the patient doesn't have family?" The interpreter looked 
at her in a bewildered fashion and said "EVERYONE has family!" Jeanne 
said "not in the states!" It really made me think. They take care of 
their own (even if they have very little) ...what are our priorities?

It is hard to package my trip into a blog that includes everything, yet 
doesn't bore the reader, as the week was filled with much more than you 
can put on paper. So, I will sum it up by saying that I am truly 
grateful for the experience and am thankful to those that made my week 
there a special time! My love to all!

God's sense of humor

Well thought I would share something about God's wet and dry sense of humor. A couple of Saturday's ago, down at the couple's cottage a poor man had an earth shattering experience as the toilet completely fell over and shattered....as he was sitting on it!!!:)  Water was shooting everywhere with the pipe broken....etc...you can about picture the scene....well maybe except the fact that most toliets don't just fall over and shatter into many pieces!  That would be God's wet sense of humor.  That same day, Sheila told me to just take the four-wheeler for a drive up north past the hospital, since I have never been very far up that way.  So I headed out, I was planning on going about 10 mins, and then turning around and coming back....just a nice relaxing trip!? Right?  What could go wrong on such a beautiful day?  Well, let me tell you something....you know the story about the flour and oil that never ran out?...yah, well....that didn't happen with the gas left in the tank.  I had driven 10 minutes and had just made it to the first big hill down the other side of the mountain...and boom...the 4-wheeler shut off.  So I parked on the side of the road and pondered my predicament.  First step was to call someone back on the compound and tell them to bring me some gas.  So I pulled out my phone and tried to call several people.....only my phone didn't work!!!  Now what??  Well in my last post, I mentioned God's needs as He DEFINES them....so I figured, this was for a very good reason.  I decided to take a little while to just really enjoy the beauty around me. Then I started walking back to the compound (which would have been a 45 min walk atleast!!)  after I had been walking for a while, a man stopped on his motorcycle and asked me if I needed a ride to the hospital...assuming that it was my motorcycle that was broken down.  I told him I had ran out of gas, and yes I would love a ride!  So he drove me to my place, I paid him, and set out looking for someone and some gas!  Well we finally found the only gas left (and it wasn't much)....but it was enough that it would get me back home!!  Anyway...that would be God's dry sense of humor.  Next time I will have to remember to check the gas!  Although...I have always wanted to ride a motorcycle taxi here in Haiti....it wasn't fully the true thing...but close!:)

We had a construction team down here last week working on the Klopfenstein house.  The team was alot of fun, and they all made themselves right at home!!  We had a great Chef on the team too!!:) haha....  I was actually quite impressed with his ability to cook!:)  We made 2 pepperoni pizzas, a breakfast pizza, and breadsticks throughout the week!!  Of course, we did this around 11 or so everynight....so most people had already gone to bed!!:)  We went to the beach on Wednesday, and about nine of us rode on top....unfortunately, it started raining right as we were leaving to go, but it stopped about half way down the hill...although by then we were all well soaked!:) But after that, it didn't rain and we had a great day at the beach!! Then on the way home, once again some of us climbed up top....and it started raining almost two minutes after we started up the road!!! So we were all well soaked once again!!!

Anyway, I was recently talking to someone and told them all the different pains that have come to my body since moving here...:)  And said I am interested to see what happens next.  Yah...well spoke way to soon on that one!! I was washing windows with Desma and Polly and an unnamed man on the team....started spraying water at us.  My first instinct was to run...I took a couple quick steps backward and turned to get out of the way....but right as I turned....boom....kersplatt....I fell into a fairly deep hole.  I will admit, that I am lucky that I didn't break anything or do more damage.  Instead I just had a sore ankle and a pretty gruesome bruise covering quite a bit of my right thigh!:) haha

My most exciting news is that my mom is coming to visit me!!!!!!  She arrives here on Friday!!!  I can't wait to have her here for awhile...even if it is just for a week.  It will be so nice for her to see where I live, what my life is like down here, and most of all why I love this place so much!!!  It is sometimes hard when so many of my family/friends can't even imagine/understand what such a huge part of my life is about!  Anyway, I can't wait to introduce her to my new life and spend time with her!!!!!!!

Sorry for the lack of pictures....I really need to do better at taking them.  Hopefully my mom will take plenty and I will have a selection to choose from !!:)  Maybe I can even get her to write a post on my blog....;)

Bondye bene ou (God bless you!!)

As God Defines...

Sorry, I really don't do very well with updates....Most of this week I worked as a plumber!:) Since Eric's parents and sister were here most of the week, the kids didn't do school, which gave me the opportunity to work at Daryl's house more and such.:)  We now have the Gator up here, which is pretty exciting and is getting used quite alot!!:)

Last weekend was the missionary retreat at Kaliko (a resort north of Port).  The Pfister's and I were the only ones that went from the hospital, but there was alot from Cayes that came.  Pastor Russell from Ft. Meyers was our speaker throughout the weekend.  It was overall very spiritually uplifting and very relaxing!!! We played lots of volleyball and swam!:)

Tomorrow we are getting in a large construction team in!  I might have someone sleeping on a mattress in my room too!!  They are going to be working on the Klopfenstein house now!  We are also going to be getting the sea container on Monday, which will have all of Daryl & Norma's furniture, etc on it!! So they will be able to start moving into their home!

Food for thought:
God will provide all your needs.....as He DEFINES them!!!  Our need might be going a night without food, without a heater, losing a child, losing your job, etc.  We think we know what our needs are...I think of my needs as clothes to wear, a shelter over my head, food to eat... but those really aren't necissarily needs.