April 2022

I suppose I should apologize. It has been a long time since I have posted an update here. March was not an easy month and in some ways neither was April. I like to be honest and open but sometimes it is easier to hide the hard times. We all know that social media is fake. Influencers are the best actors, pretending that life is perfect. I never want to make people think that my life is perfect but I also don’t want to sit in a pity party.

March was a lonely month. I honestly don’t remember much of what happened or what I did. But I remember being lonely. That happens. It’s normal. But it doesn’t make for a very exciting blog post. I have a lot of dog pictures from the month of March and that is about it. There were several deaths that affected those close to me in the month of March. I am not going to claim to have had these wonderful relationships with those who passed, but I do have relationships with their family and friends. It is always hard to see the ones you love grieving and hurting. One death in particular hit close to home. A young man (22) was killed in a motorcycle accident. He was very close with some friends of mine and I knew him a little as well. The sudden loss of someone so young was and is hard on his family and friends. With all of this loss, it can be hard to look on the bright side. On the 31st, however, I thankfully got to go to the wedding of a friend of mine. It was a blessing to celebrate with her and her new husband. The following Sunday I was blessed to witness a good friend of mine and Otis’ marenn be baptized.

The first few weeks of April came with some of my closest friends returning home. To say that I was happy to see them is an understatement. There is something to be said about those that you can be your true, genuine self around and feel totally loved. Before they returned, we had a farewell party to a missionary family who are transitioning back to the states after years of living in Haiti. While sharing, another missionary shared a quote about some friends of hers that really touched me. “You know everything about me, even every ugly thing, and you love me, and you care.” Those people and relationships can be hard to find. The friends that returned, that is what they are to me. We attended two funerals in a week. It can be draining to be around such sorrow.

Don’t let me pretend as if there is only sorrow. There is also much joy. Not only in being together but in the experiences. Sometimes they are deep and emotional and sometimes they are silly. One day we were shopping and as we were pulling in, Tina pointed out a man holding a rabbit. I was driving and didn’t get a chance to look but she and Lydianne were watching him. He went into the store we were going to and put the rabbit on the ground. We were all shocked. The rabbit just sat there, seemingly unbothered. It was for sure a first for us! This same store also has a gorgeous cat (pictured below).

One week was convention. So many people come to Simon for this event. This is a few days of worship and meetings of MEBSH churches. It is always fun to see how crazy Simon gets. With all these people come good street food and cool items to buy. Then, we celebrated Easter together as a missionary community with a sunrise service. Waking up so early isn’t easy but it is worth it. Worshiping and fellowshipping together as one. Sunday evening a few of us had dinner together. It is the little things that keep away the pesky loneliness I mentioned in the beginning.

I spent a day or two on the road assisting in gift delivery as well as getting some things together for some special projects. It always lifts my spirits to be around the kids. There is nothing as beautiful as the laughter of a child.

Lydianne and I started French classes this month. It is going to be challenging but I am looking forward to it. This will help us out a lot while living here in Haiti. It will help to develop our Kreyol skills. Many Haitians live in French as well as Kreyol depending on their background. Sometimes this can be hard when attending church, going to meetings, and dealing with officials. Learning French will be helpful to us and also will be fun to do together.

At the end of the month, RMI welcomed a team. It is always nice to have teams in country, to see them interact with their sister churches as well as to get to interact with them personally. I was thankful to spend the weekend with them out at Zanglais. I always feel renewed when I return home.

Please continue to keep us in your prayers.