A Look at May

May has been such a fun and full month!

The month started out with our visit from Mom and Dad Swartzentruber who blessed us in so many ways, were up for lots of adventure, and now have a much better understanding of our life here on La Gonave. The opportunity to share the week and the people and places of our life here with them was so meaningful.

We have seen slow and steady progress in the garden with impressive fish growth, gambusia fish continuing to help with pests, plant growth and the beginning of okra harvests. Everyone at the Children’s Village has been waiting for the okra (kalalou) with eager anticipation! Please pray for wisdom for us and others involved as we try to make the Aquaponics system more efficient and productive in this environment and with the resources we have.

Jason with the gambosia that are thriving, multiplying, and helping to take care of garden pests

Okra!

Jason and Steven at work in the garden

I, Allison, have continued work with the Haitian Nursing School. After a week break for students and staff, we restarted classes with me helping in the skills lab. We are learning more advanced skills this semester and the students have been eager as ever to learn and be competent in these skills. Please pray for me over the next few weeks as I will be teaching skills lab by myself while Susie (another missionary who works at the nursing school) is in the States. We are currently learning injections and having fun giving shots to hot dogs!

 

The nursing students watched a video about injections and are now practicing. Soon they will be performing competencies on each other!

One of the biggest highlights of the month has been the opportunities we have had to build relationships with those around us, including neighbors, those we work with, and other missionaries. Although communication is not always easy, it has been such a treat to just sit and visit with these people, encourage one another, and share the love of the Lord with them. These friendships have truly been a blessing to us this month.

A visit to Nicolas and his family

The neighbor kids having fun

Thank you, too, for the ways that you encourage, bless, and support us. We are so thankful to have you on this journey with us! Please continue to pray that the Lord will make his plans for our next year very clear to us and that we will know how to best invest in and care for those around us. 

Our 7th Month

Happy May Day! 

I know that this post is a bit late, but we were away picking up Mom and Dad Swartzentruber from the airport over the last few days! It is an incredible treat to have them here visiting and we are so grateful for time with them!

April has been a full month with good reports to give from both the aquaponics system and the Nursing School.

Mid-April the aquaponics donors and supporters came for a visit and did a ton of work to help make the garden more productive. First on the list was a greenhouse revamp to cool the place down, especially as summer is approaching. A section of plastic at the peak of the greenhouse was removed and replaced with screening. We also replaced some of the very fine screen at both ends of the greenhouse with bigger screen. These adjustments have increased ventilation dramatically and we have felt our first breezes in the greenhouse! A new shade cloth was installed over the entire greenhouse to reflect light and give some relief from the Haitian sun. We also did some major pruning, especially of the tomato and cantaloupe plants, learned better pruning techniques, and got supplies for flying insect control. A big order of fish came over from the mainland. Some were talapia to fill our second tank and the rest were Gambusia (mollies) we brought in to eat our destructive red worms! The Gambosia have been hugely successful as we have seen a dramatic decline in red worms and increase in plant growth. It has been so exciting to implement these changes and see the almost immediate benefits. We always love to spend time with these men who are behind the project and we are so thankful for all of their help.

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Cutting open the peak of the greenhouse

Pruning the tomatoes

Gambosia getting to work on the little red worms!

I, Allison, have been busy in the hospital again this month, but now with Haitian nursing students. The sophomores have had clinicals for the entire month and have learned so much from their time in the hospital. They have been able to help with direct patient care, assessments, patient teaching, dressing changes, charting, and much more. They also have been able to observe and discuss surgeries, IV care, blood draws, births, and medication administration. I have loved helping these students see that nursing is not just a checklist of tasks to be done before it is time to clock out, but it can be used to share the love of Christ with patients, to show compassion and encouragement, and to provide education for better health.

Reviewing notes and charting

One of the clinical groups ready to get to work!

Jason and I are so grateful to be here in the specific roles and relationships God has placed us in to be his light on La Gonave. Your continued encouragement, prayers, and support mean more than we can say. As we finish our 7^th month here, we would ask that you pray with us for very clear direction from the Lord on what he has for us following our year commitment here. 

March!

As the month of March wraps up, we are finishing our first 6 months here. It is amazing how time seems slower in some ways here, but it has already been half a year since we left Indiana! March has been one of our busiest months yet with lots of highlights to share-

I, Allison, finished up my first trimester of work with Haitian nursing students. They did such a great job learning and practicing new skills. The energy and excitement of these students never fails to amaze me! They are taking exams this week and will start clinical time in the hospital next week. I am excited to work with them there and help with their real hands on experience.

I also finished my time with the Indiana Wesleyan University nursing students. It was wonderful to have them here- to share in their hospital experiences, see their love for the people of La Gonave, and to invest in their lives. In the second half of their semester here, we had some great adventures. I was able to join a day trip across the island to the small community school in Bwa Chandel where we did health and developmental checks for and spent time with students. We also had a great party with the two groups of students together. The friendships they formed were so fun to see.

A few photos from our trip to Bwa Chandel

The Haitian American nursing student party

One last photo with the American nursing students

I got to participate in a great learning experience with some of the kids from the Children’s Village when a visiting team did sewing workshops. I helped as they learned basic hand stitches, applique techniques, and sewing machine use. The kids all had their own bags at the end of the week.

We had a beautiful Easter with a combined Creole and English service at church, picnic lunch and yard games with other missionaries, a nap, and evening worship. I am so thankful for the Lord’s sacrifice and gift of salvation and the opportunity to celebrate this with his children here!

Kites are everywhere on Easter

We continue to do work and see progress in the Aquaponics garden. The battle with worms, mosquitoes, and heat continues, but we are impressed by the ongoing harvests we have. The strongest crop right now is tomatoes and the ladies who cook at the Village are loving this. We took a trip to the hatchery, Caribbean Harvest, in Port au Prince to get more fish food and some tilapia to replace those that have died. It was fun to see the place where all the fish come from and make connections with people where we have just had email and phone calls before.  We think we have found a solution to our red worm problem that we talked about last month! We are waiting for the arrival of some carnivorous fish, gambosia. We will put them in the planting trays and they will eat bugs but not plant roots. Nicolas and the older kids at the Village continue to do a great job working in the garden.

The huge fish tanks at Caribbean Harvest

Our beautiful tomatoes!

We wanted to take a minute to introduce you to Steven, one of the boys who has been a huge help to us. Steven is 13 and has been under Madame Soliette’s care for 7 years. He is from Anse-a-Galets, but both of his parents died when he was very young and he lived with his grandmother for most of his life up to age 6. When she was no longer able to care for him, Steven’s grandmother brought him to Madame Soliette. He says that he is very thankful to live at the Children’s Village, his favorite class is French, he has good friends here, and he wants to be a doctor when he grows up. Steven has impressed us so much with his hard work in the garden. He acts as a leader to the other kids working with him and helps to keep the young kids from destroying everything J Almost every afternoon, Steven takes responsibility to get the greenhouse key, feed the fish, clean up the equipment and log his work all on his own. We are so thankful for Steven’s help and that we have been able to get to know him more and more as time passes.

Sunday, Jason, Nicolas, and Steven

The feeding log sheet... you can see all the work Steven has done!

Thank you so much for your encouragement, prayers and support as we try to be the hands and feet of Christ here in Haiti. We appreciate all you do to make our life here possible!

February in Review

It is so hard to believe another month has already flown by! Thank you all so much for your ongoing encouragement and support as we continue work here on La Gonave. February has seen a lot of continued work in the Aquaponics and nursing arenas.

One big role we play with the Aquaponics garden is to find and fix issues that are unique to the Haitian environment we live in. It seems like we have found a lot in this month! We have had an infestation of little red worms that love to eat the roots of plants, especially cabbage- a favorite at the Village. These worms have been a mystery, but we think they may be mosquito larva or somehow connected to the mosquitoes. We have been working to get rid of the pests and save plans, but it is a slow process. We have started to plant a lot of new plants to replace those that died (416 cabbage seeds yesterday!) and are hoping for a clean start. Nicolas and the older kids at the Children’s Village have continued to work so hard on and take ownership of this project. We have seen a lot of good growth in the garden this month, too. We have loved having both large and cherry tomatoes and have seen lots of growth in the fish!

A sad cabbage plant after attack of the red worms :(

One of our very tasty tomatoes

Our HUGE fish ready for their March 1st weighing

A few of the kids helping to haul a harvest up to the kitchen

I, Allison, have continued to work with both the Haitian and American nursing students. I am loving the opportunity to teach this students the profession of nursing, not only skills, but caring well for patients and the importance of education. This is a very stretching process as the clinical focus for the American students started out with maternal/newborn care and is now pediatrics, neither of which I have had experience in since school. Needless to say, I am also learning a lot!

At the beginning of February, we had the great opportunity to participate in the annual Summit meeting of many organizations doing work all over the island of La Gonave. It was another opportunity to see we are not laboring alone here, get new ideas, and see how we can collaborate to achieve more. Jason did an amazing job sharing with the group about the Aquaponics system- his stretching experience for the month!

Jason presenting at Summit

Another of our hopes is to use our home as a guesthouse to welcome teams to Anse-a-Galets and host other missionaries who are in town. We had the opportunity to host some other missionaries and translators for Summit. It is a challenge to host in this place that still seems so new to us in so many ways, but we have enjoyed the opportunity to open our home, build new friendships, and serve in this way.

The Janofski's with us and the Tucker family, who stayed with us for Summit

We so appreciate your prayers and ask that you would continue to pray for our focus to be on the Lord, that we would show His grace in every situation, for discernment in thinking about taking on additional work/projects, and wisdom as we work in the garden. 

New Beginnings

As promised, there have been lots of changes with the New Year and things are picking up speed for us here on La Gonave.

Jason continues with his work at the Children’s Village Aquaponics system and we have seen great results. Madame Soliette told us the other day that because of the harvests, she has not needed to buy any cabbage during the month of January. We are so glad to be able to bless the children and those who work so hard to take care of them in this way. Work in the garden is not without its challenges, though. We continue to have more ants than can be counted, a few watermelons have spilt due to heat, and we have learned that cabbage plants are very mean to beans, zucchinis, and cucumbers. Nicolas and the older kids continue to do a great job helping with the garden and are learning tons!

Harvest day at the garden

We are anticipating some new crops: cucumbers, watermelons, and tomatoes!

I, Allison, have started assisting with the Haitian Wesleyan School of Nursing that meets in a building on the Wesleyan Station here in Anse-a-Galets. I am so honored to be a part of this program that is working to train skilled, critical thinking, and caring nurses here in Haiti. I have been working with anther missionary in the skills lab training the second year students in hands on skills. So far, we have worked on vital signs, bed making, patient transfers, use of assistive devices, basic dressings, personal protective equipment, and sterile fields. There are many more skills on the way, too! It is so much fun to work with these 28 young men and women who are eager to learn, love to have fun, and desire to do their best.

One group of second year nursing students in our wonderful lab

Ready to work in the lab... we''ll see how long these scrubs stay white :)

This semester, I am also working with a group of 12 nursing students from Indiana Wesleyan University who are here for study abroad. These are also some incredibly Godly, caring, and quick learning ladies. I am working as a clinical instructor with them in the hospital for maternal care, pediatrics, and transcultural nursing. They have been very gracious with me as I have not worked in the maternal or pediatrics setting. I am learning a lot right along with them! I have also taken a few of the students to House of Hope. This is a home for the homeless elderly in Anse-a-Galets. The students’ grace and desire to bless those they serve is an incredible example to me. It is such a joy to be able to work with them!

My IWU clinical group after our first day in the hospital

Thank you so much for your continued prayers and support as we seek to serve and glorify the Lord here in Haiti!

Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 1 Peter 4:10

Happy New Year!!!

As I look back at 2015, I cannot believe the work that God has done and the changes we have seen. At the beginning of the year, we were going about life as usual in Indiana with the hope to move to Haiti at some point. Then, we felt the Lord calling us to go sooner than we thought, so we prepared to go for several months. This summer, there was a change in plans and the door was no longer open for us to serve here, so we tried to get back to “normal.” Then, we were asked to rejoin the team and come to Haiti as soon as possible. After much prayer and debate, we made the decision to come and were amazed to see God pave the way for us in just one month!

December has been a fun month of steady progress. We have worked hard with Nicolas and the older kids at the orphanage on care of the aquaponics system. We have new fish that are huge and the kids love to feed. The plants have grown by leaps and bounds and we had our first harvest, including lettuce, pak choi, kohlrabi, swiss chard, lima beans, and a zucchini. It is such a blessing to give this food to the women who cook for the Children’s Village… even if there is some confusion about what exactly a zucchini is and how to use pak choi!

Our incredible growth over the month of December

The kids feeding the fish

Weighing the harvest

We have also been working really hard on language learning with our tutor, Daham, and in everyday conversation. Some days are better than others, but we are getting better at speaking and understanding Creole. This is a great way we can build relationships with people here in La Gonave. We have seen friendships growing with the people around us and were honored to attend one of the Children’s Village staff member’s wedding as well as a Christmas Gala in town.

Us with Daham

One of the girls from the Children's Village at the wedding

We have reached a certain level of comfort and routine here in Haiti, but of course we are now stepping into a time of further transition and new challenges. Craig and Renee have almost completely moved into their new house, so we are working to make this our home and learning to run our own Haitian household. We are slowly and wisely giving Nicolas and the older children more independence with the aquaponics system, which means more of a supervisory role for us. I, Allison, will be starting a few new roles in the upcoming weeks. I will be assisting in skills lab for the Haitian Wesleyan School of Nursing a few days a week. This involves teaching and practicing hands on nursing skills, like vital signs, patient transfers, wound care, and medication administration to Haitian nursing students. I will also be working as a clinical instructor in the hospital with Indiana Wesleyan University nursing students who are spending a semester abroad here.

These changes are very exciting, but present us with new challenges. Please pray for wisdom as we serve, that we will truly be a light for the Lord in this place, and that we will have His wisdom in the next steps. Thank you for all of your love and support and may God bless you richly in the year ahead!