Ain’t Nobody Got Time For That

I woke up this morning on my bunkbed to a light Haitian breeze and sunshine! I love starting off my day thanking the Lord for the great honor of allowing us to serve in Haiti and asking with anticipation what adventure does He have planned today! We finally came up with a [Creole] name for our little studio cottage, Les Belle Maison (which means beautiful cement house.) It takes about 5 minutes to clean and sweep our concrete floors and make our bunks. Hannah mentioned to me that she feels like she’s at camp, including the bugs and lizards and peeper frogs. The only thing missing is our son, Michael who will arrive in Haiti on December 17^th for winter break from college. We are so thrilled he’s joining us on our adventure!

Today, Jennifer and I headed back to Pignon Hospital (photo) on the back of a 4 wheeler to donate blood to the Haiti Home of Hope (HHH) clinic mom who has TB and pregnant. She really needs a transfusion to help her gain strength for her delivery coming soon. We entered the crowded hospital for the 2^nd time and I started working on my shallow breathing technique. Jennifer has witnessed so many difficult things in the hospital, women having babies on the floor, maggot invested wounds, puddles of body fluid, TB patients and regular patients sleeping all in the same room. We were turned away again from donating, this time for the lab not open on the weekend. We visited the mom and told her we would come back on Monday. As I looked around, it broke my heart to see the conditions and hardships of the people living in Pignon. Life is hard. “Suffering is never without purpose. God takes it all- the pain, the tears, the fear, the confusion, the questions, the doubts- and uses it to build us up in our faith, to help us see who He is, if we trust Him through it all.” (Live-Dead Journal)

We zipped back home bouncing on the back of the ATV. Hannah and I jumped in the truck with Bill and Roger to take supplies to the new building site for a clinic family. I met this family of six back in January living next door to a witch doctor and surviving in a “leaning” mud hut with their twins (wait till you see the before and after photos!) It was the poorest living conditions I’ve ever witnessed anywhere in the world. A mission team donated the cost of land and a new home for this family. Our family gets to be “happy helpers” starting on Tuesday building their dream home. I’m soooo excited!!

We accomplished all this before lunch!

One of the things I love most about living in Haiti is the fellowship with other missionaries. There are a total of 5 adopted Campbell children, and four other people living with the Campbells and multiple teams that come in and out of HHH. We all sit around a big table for meals – Roger mentioned we look like the Walton Family. Jennifer made a huge pot of creamy turkey soup (Thanksgiving leftovers) and we had just set the table for dinner, when there was an interruption outside. Typically, if it was my home, I would be a little miffed if someone dropped by uninvited just before dinner .. I like to eat a hot meal. Inside, I might think … Ain’t nobody got time for that! Thankfully, God always knows the perfect timing, even when the soup is hot. A distraught husband and his 22 year old daughter walked up to the house with broken hearts. Early this morning, his beloved wife and mother to his 5 children had unexpectedly died. The grieving family came to receive formula for the 2 month old baby and asked for the Campbells to take the child. It broke our hearts to see the aftermath of losing a loved one. We all prayed for them and offered to help in any way we could to bring comfort and help with their needs. Wednesday is clinic day, so we are hoping they will bring the baby for extra TLC.

I’m learning that what might look like, through my eyes, as an inconvenience, .. it’s really an opportunity to love big. I want to always have time to help, even if the task is mundane. Last night, Hannah and I had dish duty for the mission team and families … over 20 people makes a lot of dirty dishes. One sink had soapy bleachy water and the other sink, clear bleach water. We started talking about music and friends and movies coming out … the time standing with her was so precious to me. She has been such an example of faithfulness, obedience, and flexibility, and we are proud of our daughter. I don’t necessarily like doing dishes, but I loved being with Hannah.

Please pray for Haiti Home of Hope ministry and the missionaries that serve in Pignon, Haiti. They serve wholeheartedly and love extravagantly 24/7 the community and face hardships and challenges every single day caring for the fatherless. What an honor to have our family here helping with this amazing ministry. Thank you for investing in our family this year, supporting, praying, and cheering us on the mission field.

Next week, we want to start a special project for the boys living here at the HHH orphanage- they desperately need new mattresses and bed-bug covers for comfort and relief. URGENT NEED: 22 twin mattresses + 10 other sizes. We can order on Amazon Wish List and they will ship directly here to us. More info coming soon …