We have finally updated the newsletter section with all the latest updates from QCS. If you have time please read through them…. they are a great way to see what the Lord is doing here in Haiti both in and through the lives of the students, their families and the staff of QCS. Denise & I feel strongly that the mission and ministry of Quisqueya Christian School is very important, not only to lives of the students futures, but also to the future of Haiti.

Ok, this is back in August before QCS started this school year. We still lived on campus in our apartment at QCS. Over the summer we often visited the Bresma orphanage children or brought some of them to our home & the campus to play & eat. Two of them in particular (Stanley & Kenkins) stayed with us all summer long! We also had a few Movie nights when we had EDH & brought a group or 2 of the Bresma kids to watch & have dinner & popcorn.

The next main event we failed to post earlier was our journey moving off campus. To make a long & confusing story of events short, I can tell you that finding a home to rent, negotiating, getting it in fairly livable condition (that is with some sort of working electricity & some sort of water to the place) & actually moving into it & making it into a home is a totally different experience than in the states…& Sean & I had plenty of experience buying & selling homes & moving multiple times, even throughout multiple states…but this was not an easy task by any means. Fair enough though, we had been warned by many fellow veteran missionaries whom have lived for some time off of any sort of compound or complex in this third world country of Haiti…so we were prepared right??? Not. But now all is well & we feel very fortunate to have a “home of our own” here.

Another major thing was the first day of classes at Quisqueya Chrsitian School for the 2009-2010 school year!

Quisqueya Christian School has 56 new families this year! Praise the Lord!

Chloe is in 9th grade this year. Banning & Easton are in 6th grade this year. Reagan is in 4th & Bethaina is in Kindergarten.

Hi folks. Sorry about the long delay in updating our blog. As you can imagine we have been very busy. September and October came and went. The school just had their annual Harvest party for the elementary students. I was the MC for the 2 hour event. We had a duck pond, a maze, face painting, treats and a zip line. The day was a great success! We have some photos that we will post. We have been relatively healthy since our Dengue fever but now there is a nasty stomach flu going around. Reagan, Banning, Bethaina and Denise have had it.
We are finally starting to settle into our house. We are living off campus up the mountain towards Kenscoff about 25 minutes away from the school. The temperature is cooler but we have to deal with traffic, roads and other things that occur here while living off of a compound. School has been great. The 1st quarter was a little rough due to the sicknesses. They missed some school and then they went to Denise’s sister’s house to see their new baby twin cousins.

Sorry for the delay… We will hope to get more regular with our posts…

Thank you to those whom have continued to keep us in your prayers! They are much needed & appreciated!

We are pressing on with great hope in Him.

In His Service,
Sean and Denise

Link to a CNN video about child slavery here in Haiti…..Click here

Someday I hope to be able to do more for the street children of Haiti. I’ve got all kinds of ideas but of course am short on the funding side…In the meantime, we do what we can with what we have & focus on the children of Haiti, one child at a time. We remind ourselves to stay focused on the things God does have us doing here in Haiti and we are honored and humbled to be a part of it all.

Be imitators of God…And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us. -Ephesians 5:1-2

On the 4th of July we spent the day with friends and journeyed on a beautiful hike up one of Haitis’ spectacular mountains. Afterward, we had an amazing BBQ & feast with more friends that drove up that didn’t partake in the “treacherous” hike. The Carl family put it all together & held it at their house. Then we did fireworks. None of them are illegal here! It was a wonderful day. We hope that all of you in the states had a fabulous time celebrating the Birthday of a country that we all so love.

So we didn’t get any pics of the first half of the climb because it was so hot & so steep & so long. What was humbling & really rather embarrassing was the fact that many of the local Haitians travel this steep mountain path by foot everyday…while carrying items to sell on top of their heads…and all this while wearing shoes that are in poor shape, mostly skimpy slip on sandals, flip flops or old dress type shoes with slippery bottoms that don’t even fit right. They travel it with the ease of sure footed mountain goats. Seriously. It is amazing. Even older women and children.

As I hiked and climbed and struggled to catch my breath & balance many times, I thought about all the hiking I have done in the states & all the hiking that people do for pleasure in the states, including us on many occasions. Typically serious US hikers have on really good & specific hiking shoes or at least good tennis shoes. They have gear & special energizing food & water packs to get them through the day…and often any sort of safety equipment or climbing gear if needed. Before hand, during & after, we typically would hydrate ourselves with mineral & electrolyte filled “hydrating” drinks.

It always felt good plus was fun, challenging and exhilarating. Our family has been on some beautiful & awesome hikes in the states, mainly the great Sawtooths’ of Idaho and the wondrous & vast mountains of Colorado and Utah.

As a child my Mom took me & my siblings on many long but beautiful hikes as well. As I hiked this day in Haiti, I enjoyed the memories that filled my mind of the hikes I have done in the past. When the going got tough and the kids looked tired & we stopped for breaks (breaks for all of us that is) I recalled the times hiking on long hikes with my Mom when I was a child the ages that Banning & Chloe are now & remembered thinking & probably complaining to my Mom how tough & ridiculously long it was. I remember her always stopping for a moment & pointing out flowers like Indian Paint Brushes (one of her favorites), Antelope Brush, Mountain Bluebells (another of her favorites), Buttercups, Violets, Suncups, Calypso orchids, Alumroots…pink ones, yellow ones blue ones, white ones…so many different shapes & sizes. I liked them then & obviously it all made an impact on me personally but now a days, as an adult & perhaps even more so as a Christian, flowers growing on any mountainside exposed to all of the elements that the days & nights bring, these flowers, blossoming & thriving all on their own are truly a miraculous & astonishing gift created by God.

So Sean & I pondered & found ourselves as adults once again walking the paths that our parents have taken with us. And as adults realizing the incredible beauty that can’t be described with words alone of this great earth that God has created. I think as adults, if you enjoy hiking more than when you were a child, it is because of the pitiful & obvious fact that as we grow older our imaginations grow smaller… much smaller. We don’t play in the way we did when we were children & create awesomeness around us with our hearts & minds. When you hike as an adult or do outdoor recreation that involves the gorgeous views, thrills and realities of this great world, you don’t have to use your imagination at all. The wondrous & immense beauty of the world is right in front of you and around you…so amazing and breathtaking that mere pictures or movies alone just cannot replicate at all. What an incredible gift this world is that God has given us!

Here are many pics of us once we got to the last part of the hike. It was easier, the ground was rolling, more outstretched & greener and so much cooler, it felt so nice.

Praise the Lord! We made it to the top! We were pretty proud of ourselves & especially the kids & the safety God provided as we kept a good pace & made it up in 3 hours and 15 minutes! Whew!

We were so blessed to be able to celebrate the 4th of July here in Haiti with safety, gratefulness and fellowship of friends. Thank you Lord for such a wonderful day & such a beautiful world even if in the midst of much brokenness.

We hope you enjoy this small glimpse of Haiti. Denise & family

Things have not seemed to slow down much here in Haiti. Another consistent thing… the weather sure is HOT!! Our children are doing well. It has been very dry & very humid & very hot but today started out a bit different…a little breezy, then actually windy and then later turned cloudy and now as evening settles in, it has been raining off & on for the past hour….everything has cooled down!
Here are some pics from the end of last week at Bresma orphanage~

We took Maryann to the airport today as she is returning to the states. She has spent the last 2 weeks with us recuperating from an emergency appendectomy here in Haiti. It was acute and a little scary but she was in good hands & all went well. Praise God! Sadly for us & the children of Bresma she ended up leaving 6 weeks early as she was originally scheduled to stay the whole summer & work. We will miss her and her wonderful & willing spirit. We promised Maryann we wouldn’t post any pics of her in the hospital after surgery looking her finest… although we do have a great one for future negotiating

Here is an article from “Our Daily Bread”, it’s connotation has always kept me inspired to be all that I can be for my children:

Our Legacy

A friend of mine wrote recently, “If we died tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of days. But the family left behind would feel the loss for the rest of their lives. Why then do we invest so much in our work and so little in our children’s lives?”

Why do we sometimes exhaust ourselves rising up early and going late to rest, “eating the bread of anxious toil” (Psalm 127:1-2), busying ourselves to make our mark on this world, and overlooking the one investment that matters beyond everything else–our children?

Solomon declared, “Children are a heritage from the Lord”–an invaluable legacy He has bequeathed us. “Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one’s youth” (v.4) is his striking simile. Nothing is more worthy of our energy and time.

There is no need for “anxious toil,” working night and day, the wise man Solomon proclaimed, for the Lord does take care of us (Psalm 127:2). We can make time for our children and trust that the Lord will provide for all of our physical needs. Children, whether our own or those we disciple, are our lasting legacy–an investment we’ll never regret. –David Roper

Blesh kids, Bresma orphanage kids & friend pics~

~Denise & family

All is well here. Praise God! The 2008-2009 QCS school year has ended. The end of the year was busy and full with exams and exciting events. Senior graduation, prom, field trips, 8th grade promotion, 6th grade step up…big steps for many young people!

Also, several goodbyes to fellow missionaries~ not only our co workers but friends and family to us~ not only for the summer but to ones that are moving on or returning to the states or Canada & will not be returning to Haiti next school year. We will miss them greatly and were blessed by them beyond words; blessed by their friendships and their wide range of expertise, experiences and personalities. Sad times, but with every ending in each phase of life, their is a new wondrous beginning!

We are now busy with running a summer educational enrichment camp here at QCS and also volunteering even more at Bresma 1 & 2 and with Maryann and the kids there.

Summer seems to be flying by already! It is hot & muggy here. We had a week of no EDH (city power) at all. “Normally” we have EDH for about 7 hours every night. But even that can change on any given day. No EDH for a week was interesting to say the least in this heat…

Here are some pics. Sorry for the long delay in posting~