Update on the Board Meeting

Family and Friends,

We are pleased to announce that our meeting with the Mission Haiti board was very positive, and there seemed to be a general consensus that the issues we previously had were addressed and worked out.  As you might have guessed, the main problem was breakdowns in communication leading to hurt feelings and misunderstandings.  With us normally in Haiti and everyone else back here in the States, emailing can be non-personal, phone service is unrealiable and expensive, and when our leaders lead teams to Haiti it is challenging to carve out the time we all need to talk through everything on our hearts and minds.  We all agreed to be more proactive and forthright in addressing our questions and concerns in a timely way.

Another key issue was how I (Cory) allowed my disappointment with the delaying of the Bible School plans to spill over into conversations with Haitian people, which was perceived by some to be dissent against Mike and Pam and/or Mission Haiti.  We apologized to the board for letting that happen, and we apologize to you, our supporters, as well.  Now we are anxious to get down there and reassure people that this ministry is united in serving the Lord, and stronger than ever in our commitment to the precious people of Haiti.

Speaking of getting down there, we will work with Mike and Pam in the days to come to chart our our schedule for the weeks to come.  One upcoming treat will be a visit from Lynn's parents, as well as her cousin and her cousin's son.  It might even work out for all of us to travel together. 

Thanks to everyone for your prayers!  Many of you contacted us with support and encouragement, and we want you to know how much we appreciated it. 

Happy New Year!  Or as they say in Haiti, Bon Ane!

-The Grimms    

Merry Christmas and an Important Announcement

Family and Friends,

Merry Christmas!  Wherever you are and whoever you are with today, may you sense the power and love of our Lord who has come to live among us.

Our important announcement is that we were asked by the Mission Haiti leaders and board to return yesterday to the US.  It would not be appropriate to give details at this point, but we will be up front in saying there are some serious conflict and issues needing resolve which involve us, the board, the Plasiers, and the Haitian people.  All of us need your prayers in the days ahead for the unity of this organization and for the will of God to be clearly known and understood by us all. 

Right now we are staying with Lynn's parents in Sioux Center and enjoying this unexpected opportunity to spend time with family.  It will also work out to join Cory's family for a get-together in a couple of days as well. 

God Bless,
The Grimms

Early December Medical Team

Family and Friends,

Greetings this fine December day, just 9 days before the celebration of our Lord's birth.  It is quite sunny here this morning, low-80s at 9 o'clock.  Last night in youth group was a special night.  I was feeling down in the dumps, which I have learned over time in ministry generally means God is about to do something great.  We continued our study of Abraham's life, and at the end we built an altar of big rocks, just like he did when God spoke to him.  Each of the people at the youth group meeting were encouraged to say something about their relationship with God, or lack thereof.  Evens (known as "cookie") mentioned he didn't have Christ in his heart, and evil spirits were grabbing at him at night when he is in bed trying to sleep. 

I asked him if he believed in Jesus and whether he was ready to repent of his sins and commit his life fully to Christ.  He said he wanted to do that and felt God had spoken to him personally on this night.  We talked through a few more things to make sure he was making a strong commitment and understood the implications of his decision, and then he prayed to give his life to Jesus.  This was special for me, because ever since my first trip to Haiti over 2 1/2 years ago, Evens has had a special place in my heart.  He has been a pet project of mine.  He is painfully shy, but a hard worker at home and at school.  He also has a fire in him that might propel him to do great things for God.  Last night we welcomed him into the community of the saints and celebrated his new life.

About a week ago we were visited by an interesting medical team, mainly from South Dakota.  The leaders were Chad Haber and Dr. Annette Bosworth of Sioux Falls.  They were here last Fall in the month of September, and you can find a blog post on that visit in our archives as well.  Just like last time they brought a huge amount and variety of prescription level drugs, leaving most of them behind afterward for Nurse Sue to utilize in the clinic.  They conducted clinics all over our community, even up in the farthest school of Toussaint, where their help is so desperately needed.

We could write a lot more about the week, but you might be more interested to read about it through the eyes of the team members and Dr. Bos herself.  Use the following link to check out what they have written and filmed:

www.annettebosworth.com


Have a wonderful day!
-The Grimms

Tarantulas and Deportees

Family and Friends,

This may seem like a strange title for a blog post, but a connection can be found here. Both tarantulas and people who have been deported play important roles in Haitian culture, and both of them seem to surprise you, showing up when you would least expect it.

We have had a lot more tarantulas than usual around our property in the last couple of months. Richard got a kick out of it when he was here. He likes to hold them and take pictures, even if they aren't all the way dead yet. We found one hiding behind our propane tank in the kitchen one day, a mostly-grown adult who somehow found a way into our house. I guess he was strong enough to push the screen door open a bit and sneak inside when no one was looking.   He experienced the wrath of the broom handle.  Then a baby one was crawling on Alexandra one day while she was in bed. When we said, “A little spider is on you,” she jumped out of bed in a flash.

There have been several others in the yard and tons out on the paths in the mountains. One evening after youth group a big fellow was running across the yard with Emmanuel in hot pursuit. He got to a cement step and stopped. This step is 8 inches high, but he was able to stand on a couple of legs and reach a couple of other legs over the edge and begin to pull himself up. That means his span was around 10 inches or so. That is a big spider. Soon he felt the bottom of Emmanuel's flip-flop mercilessly squeezing his life away.

Another fascinating story about tarantulas...Richard and I (Cory) were hiking through the mountains, and as we passed by the village of Jabouim we saw a little tarantula walking happily along the path. He was about 1 inch across or a little bigger. As we were watching intently, suddenly a huge insect flew in, something like a giant mosquito, and attacked the spider. Soon they were engaged in chemical warfare, each one stinging and striking and injecting poisons for all they were worth. The mosquito-like thingy won easily! It was pretty amazing to watch. It made me wish I had a camera for filming this strange event in nature. Tarantulas look so gross and intimidating, but they are virtually blind, very slow, and easy to kill.

Like tarantulas, the people who get deported back to Haiti for whatever reason usually appear more threatening than they actually are. Recently a man named Patrick, probably age 28 or 30, was sent back here from Canada. He has many extended family members in this area, and they seem to be taking care of him for now. He is a big talker and seems to be drunk all the time, and something about him makes me kind of nervous. He is totally fluent in English, and the way he talks to me makes it seem like he would love for me to say something that would justify him (in his eyes) to try enticing me to argue or fight.

Antoine has begun taking Patrick under his wing. Antoine was deported years ago and has managed to give his life to God and make the most of his situation, even marrying a local girl and starting a family. Antoine told me, “Patrick is in that middle place, where he could either ruin his whole life or even kill himself, or he could begin to walk on the straight and narrow and have a real life.” Antoine is probably the perfect person to try to help him, because he has been in the same shoes, so I'm praying that it works out. In the meantime I will probably avoid Patrick unless God says to do otherwise. He just has a little too much hatred towards all white people right now.  He is probably harmless, but there are some fangs to contend with if you get too close.

Tarantulas and deportees. Both of them unpredictable, but both provide the potential for interesting adventures.

May Your Adventure Include Interesting Characters Today!

-The Grimm Family Adventurers

Bible School Update

Family and Friends,

We don't have a ton of information to write on the Bible School right now.  As we mentioned recently, the Mission Haiti board decided to put this project "on hold" for now.  We weren't given a full explanation of this conversation or the reasoning behind the decision.  The two basic pieces we were told was that when Pam was praying about it she felt like we were running ahead of God and disobeying his guidance by doing this project at this time, and later we were told that Mission Haiti would like to solidify current ministries before undertaking a new, big project like a Bible School.

That is pretty much all we know right now.  We weren't given a timeline of when this could be reconsidered, or a list of exactly what needs to be accomplished with current ministries or anything like that.  When we heard this news we were completely surprised and even devastated.  This may have been discussed previously by our leaders and/or the board, but we were unaware of it.  We felt the momentum on this project could not be stronger or more positive, and every day God was opening up new doors for funding, teacher and student recruiting, curriculum development, and campus construction.  However, we know that God works this way from time to time, asking us to put everything on hold and refocus on what is important.  So we are trying to trust Him and our leaders and use this delay, however long it turns out to be, to continue to work on the vision, language acquisition, and anything else we can to do put ourselves in a position to do the Bible School well when it is ready to go again.

Meanwhile we had to inform the resident directors (a young godly couple who had committed to coming as missionaries here), the professors (who planned to visit for a week to teach a class), and all applicants that the Bible School is "off" for now.  That was hard.  Also, the main grant for the construction of the campus came from Cory's home church, so we aren't sure how this delay will affect that relationship or their trust in us to complete the project for which they have contributed so much.  We also have several other grant applications floating around out there requesting funds for the school.  So all of those things are kind of in limbo for the time being.  It can be very discouraging and even embarassing to think about, but again, we are trying to make the most of this time.

Each day now we simply look around and see who we can help in any way possible to know God more.  We enjoy working with the youth group and the young kids we see each day.  That is a true blessing, but we continue to long for a setting where we can invest deeply in the young adults who will impact this nation and the world in years to come, helping them discover, understand, and put into action the deep truths of God found in the Scriptures.  So we are living in the tension between what is and what we feel we should be doing, hoping and trusting God has a purpose for this struggle.

Please pray for our family and Mission Haiti during this challenging time of ministry.  May God's grace and wisdom guide all of us as we work together and make decisions about how best to help the Haitian people be disciples of Jesus.

God Bless,
the Grimms

A Tropical Christmas

Family & Friends,

Greetings to all of you blog readers at home, at work, or in coffee shops! As you sit there sipping a cup of something hot, surfing the web, and looking out the window at the winter wonderland, just imagine us sitting on a beach down in Haiti with a gentle warm breeze, the lapping of the water, a cool drink of ice tea, and a background of palm trees. Okay, we don't really do that very often. We just thought it would be fun to make all of you jealous whenever you have to drive on ice or shovel the snow.

The last of our four mission teams have come and gone, and the time has arrived to update the blog on a more regular basis as we march closer and closer to celebrating Christ's birth.  For us it will be a tropical Christmas again this here!  Here are some posts you can look forward to in the coming days:

“Update on the Bible School”

As you may or may not have heard, depending on your level of connection to the Mission Haiti organization through other avenues, Mike and Pam and the Mission Haiti board recently made the decision to place the Bible School project “on hold” for now. This post will talk about some of the reasons for this move and how it is affecting our family.

“Reflections on the recent Medical Team”

This team that just left, who are traveling back to the US at this moment, included a doctor, several medical students almost ready to graduate, and several other individuals. They did some great clinics and left us with a ton of medicine. We will share some stories from their week.

“Tarantulas”

Everyone's favorite furry creatures in Haiti have been showing up more and more. We found an adult-sized fellow in our house the other day! We will write more about these experiences in this post.

“Music in Haiti”

Cory has had the opportunity to play on the church praise team each week, help youth group members write music, and help the new church youth choir. Through these experiences and others we have begun to learn some interesting things about music in Haiti and the potential to use the arts for ministry.

“School Program Dilemmas”

One of the biggest thing Mission Haiti does is administer the school sponsorship program for about 1,600 students. Part of this work includes trying to oversee four primary schools, which has been a major struggle. Read more about what goes on and some big decisions we need to make.

Here are some other quick updates you might like to know...

Santia (age 8) returned to live in the orphanage again. She had lived there previously for a year or two, left us to live with her older sister a few months ago, and then finally returned here at the beginning of this week. We don't know exactly what details went into that decision, but we are glad to have her back. I (Cory) have been trying to get a hug from her for two years, and she always runs away, but now I can continue that quest.

Mike and Pam are shipping a newer school bus down to Haiti loaded with school food and other supplies. The old bus is already sold to another ministry in Haiti. Please pray for the new bus to get through customs quickly and safely, without anything stolen or missing. When it gets through and our staff person Ronal gets it licensed and ready, Mike will fly down and drive it out to us where we will unload it and get it ready to pick up the next team around the 12^th of January.

Alexandra, our youngest daughter, invited Jesus to come into her heart the other day. After throwing a huge fit and saying a lot of nasty things she felt really bad. She said, “I try to be good but I just can't do it!” After that we helped her understand that she needed Jesus in her heart to help. She prayed for forgiveness and asked Him to come in. Later that day she said, “Jesus really is in my heart! I can feel him!” We had a celebration the next day with cake and other fun stuff. It was for all three kids because Kester and Elizabeth never got a party when they asked Jesus into their hearts a couple of years ago. Of course they all got in an argument about whose piece of cake was the biggest, and mom and dad got frustrated and angry with them, too. I guess Jesus isn't done with us yet!

Richard left with this last team after four weeks here. Sue is back in Haiti after a two week siesta in San Diego with family. The Haitian staff are starting to cycle through their Christmas vacations. We are planning a big Christmas celebration at our house for 200 kids from the village. Cookie has never been more annoying. The “Ti-Riviere Times” has been well-received (click on tab above to download). Everyone here is healthy at the moment. The youth group are all studying for finals. God is good!

Enjoy Your Christmas this Year be it Hot or Cold!
-The Grimm Family Adventurers

Recent Photos

Family and Friends,

THE DECEMBER EDITION OF TI-RIVIERE TIMES NOW AVAILABLE.  IF THE FIRST ONE MADE YOUR SIDE HURT, THIS ONE WILL ABSOLUTELY KILL YOU!   CLICK ON THE LINK ABOVE, AND YOU WILL BE DIRECTED TO ANOTHER SITE TO DOWNLOAD IT.  YOU CAN ALSO CLICK ON "NOVEMBER" IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THAT ONE YET.


The following photos come from our Thanksgiving getaway to Port Salut (on the west coast of Haiti, but only 12-15 miles from where we live), and an amazing birthday party on Sunday for Francia (18) and Gertrude (36).  Enjoy!

Three beautiful girls at Port Salut at sunset

Fun at the pool in Port Salut

The birthday girl...  Francia, age 18

Lubin and the other birthday girl... Gertrude, age 36

Two sandy girls at the beach

Striking a pose at Francia's 18th birthday party (Lepe, Rose, Kiki, Lucy from L to R)

Update on the Last Week or so

Family and Friends,

DECEMBER EDITION OF TI-RIVIERE TIMES NOW AVAILABLE!  IF THE FIRST ONE MADE YOUR SIDE HURT, THIS ONE WILL ABSOLUTELY KILL YOU!  CLICK ON THE LINK ABOVE, AND YOU WILL BE DIRECTED TO ANOTHER SITE TO DOWNLOAD IT.  YOU CAN ALSO CLICK ON "NOVEMBER" IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THAT ONE YET.

Wow!  Everything just goes so fast down here that the blog can get away from you in a hurry.  We had a busy Thanksgiving weekend as many of you did as well, we are sure!  Recently our third team of November came and visited and completed many helpful projects.  We weren't able to load their pictures very well, so we apologize about that.  The internet access here is still a work in progress and probably always will be. 

Here are the captions we would have put on the photos:

Larry Van Veldhuizen is a Farmer from Doon, Iowa. “It's not what I did for the Haitians, but what the Haitians did for me.”

Chris Godfredsen is a bi-vocational pastor from Rock Valley, Iowa... “God revealed himself to me in some amazing ways, especially (through) His people.”

Scott Lee is a Farmer from Inwood, Iowa. “With all the 'stuff' we have in the U.S., why aren't we smiling as much as the Haitians?”

Jen Peters (Geri Kraai's grand-daughter) is a teacher from Indianola, Iowa. “Nothing I could say would be enough. I love it here.”

Matt Dibbet is a cattle herdsmen from Sioux Center, Iowa. “No broadcasting...keep it dialed in.” (some inside jokes from the trip)

Bob Huyser is a farmer from Rock Valley, Iowa. “Great to get to know the Haitian culture.”

Scott Gray is a farmer from Sioux Center, Iowa. “Really enjoyed time at Kum-n-Go (Madame Jack's).”

Geri Kraai is here on at least her 6^th trip, visiting from Rock Valley. “What a week! Just keeps getting better.”

Dee Pieper is a counselor from Sioux Center, Iowa. “Loved working with Bible Study with the women.”

Bruce Milliken is on the Mission Haiti board and lives in Sioux Falls. “Working side-by-side with our Haitian brothers and sisters is always great!”

Thanks to everyone for praying for that team and for our family.  We are doing well.  Next we will try to upload photos from our Thanksgiving getaway and from a huge birthday party we attended on Sunday.  We are expecting the next team this Friday, so please begin praying for them and the medical clinics they will host around our community.

Enjoy Your Winter Adventure!
-The Grimms

Cyclones & Hurricanes

Family and Friends,

In Haiti the word for "Hurricane" is "Cyclone."  They pronounce it more like "see-clone," but the reason we mention that today is that we heard the Iowa State Cyclones played more like a hurricane than a little twister on the prairie on Friday night, defeating the 2nd-ranked team in the nation.  Lynn's family are big Iowa State fans, so it was fun to see the headlines about that game, and the mission team visiting us, most of whom are from Iowa, all got a kick out of hearing about it, too.  We tend to feel disconnected from the sports world down here, but that headline stuck out for us.

In the next couple of days we will post an update on this team complete with stories from their week, photos, and prayer requests.  Just know that we are doing well, and they are all having a good time, too.  As always God surprises us with changing our plans and giving us other projects to do.  That is just standard stuff on any mission trip, and probably more so in a place like Haiti. 

Enjoy your Sunday and week of Thanksgiving.  We hear there was an ice storm that hit, too.  Hopefully all of you are safe and warm. 

God Bless,
The Grimms

PS.  Just a reminder to click on the "Ti-Rivier Times" tab above if you haven't already and enjoy some fictional stories about the characters in our village.  No one has commented on this yet, so we aren't even sure if it is working for people.  If not we'll get that fixed...

November Mission Team #2

Family and Friends,

We are nearing the completion of another visiting mission team. Below are pictures and information about each of the members of the team as well as some quotes about their week. Nothing too out of the ordinary happened on this trip, at least from our perspective, though each member of each team goes home with a whole collection of personal memories and photos to share with the folks back home. Sometimes I forgot how world-changing it can be to come here for the first time, regardless of whether or not something crazy happens during the week.

One thing that may stick with me was a simple comment made by one of the team members to Mike Plasier, who is the leader of this team and Mission Haiti's board president. After observing the youth group and the church service she said, “I get it now. It isn't about giving people stuff like toothpaste and whatever else...it is about God working in the lives of the people...” I'm not sure about the exact quote, but it was something along those lines. I think we all have to reach that point, where we discover that though virtually all people here are poor in material terms by American standards, the real point of our work is to help people prosper in their relationship with God. If we need to give them a few physical things to spark that or help them a little bit, no problem, but it will never be the most important thing.

VISITING TEAM MEMBERS:

Jeri Van Den Hoek who works in customer service for Land-o-Lakes Seed Company, from Sioux Falls, SD. She says, “Great team and every trip leaves a different impression with me.”

Richard and Joyce Hildebrand from Milford, Iowa. Richard is a retired teacher who has done a lot of work with Habitat for humanity and now travels to Africa and Haiti on extended work projects. He will be here for three more weeks. Joyce is a Dell computers consultant and will return home after this week. Richard says, “It is hot down here!” Joyce says, “Amazing work is being done here.”

Kathy Sprinkel is from Aberdeen, SD, where she works as a nurse. She says, “You are making a difference.”

Sue Pfeiffer-Hansen is a physician's assistant from Aberdeen, SD. She says, “This is my 3^rd time here, and I thought I had seen it all...but soon found out I had not. Another unforgettable experience to take back home and share.”

Teri Lewis is from Aberdeen, SD. She says, “I am so amazed with the faith in Jesus, especially the youth. The praise and worship music was awesome!”

Arlene Stern is a retired school nurse from Sioux Falls, SD. She says, “I enjoy coming back to see the wonderful Haitian friends that I have made. Love is in this place.”

Nurse Sue will head back with this team and take a 2-week break in San Diego where some of her family lives.  On Wednesday we will welcome another team led by Bruce.  The next team has members mainly form Northwest Iowa.  The car owned by Mission Haiti is back in working order!  Praise God.  That finishes the story began on the day of Kiki's funeral over two months ago. 

Thanks as always for your prayers!

God Bless,
The Grimm Family Adventurers

Clinic Adventures

Family and Friends,

The 2nd November Mission Team arrived safely and on schedule.  This week will include more medical clinics in different locations and more work projects.  Please pray that God will do great things in and through each person visiting.  Also, Richard is on this team, along with his lovely wife Joyce.  Richard is the man how comes and stays for several weeks and makes furniture for Mission Haiti.


"Clinic Adventures"

I thought you might find it interesting, if you have never been on a medical mission trip here to Haiti, to read a brief description of exactly what we do and what happens during our mobile clinics. To give you one example of what we do and see, I will describe the clinic we did this past Monday...

Typically we ask a church or school (or both, because they usually share buildings) to host the clinic on a day we agree on beforehand. Normally we give them a few weeks to get the word out to the community that we will be coming. A lot of times the church will sell tickets or charge people a little bit at the door to come, and then the patients receive the medicine for free. I don't remember if I wrote about this previously, but at first I was against this approach, preferring to allow people to come for free. However, I can now say that charging a little something is probably a better approach. The reason is that when people pay something, they appreciate it more, and we tend to see more people who really need it, as opposed to every person in the community who isn't necessarily sick at the moment but hopes to go home with some vitamins and/or pain medication. Make sense? We are always striving to get the medical attention to the people who really need it as opposed to those who can push to the front of the line. This is just a basic principle to follow for any kind of aid distribution.

The clinic on Monday was scheduled for the Church of God in Gaspar, the village between Ti-Rivier and our county seat, St. Jean. It is a nice church building, for Haiti, and a good setting for the clinic because of ample seating for the waiting hordes. Unfortunately, the hordes never showed up there. The team went first thing in the morning and got set up. I had to teach at the high school from 8-9AM and planned to catch up with them later. Sue was working with Pam at other schools.  So they were on their own at first.  Well, they had Antoine to help them, and after all the clinics he has translated for already, he is practically a nurse himself. 

I ended up having to take a tap-tap and got there a little before 10 o'clock. At that time the nurses were seeing a few patients, and only a handful were waiting to be seen after that.  I took Chelo, another translator, and we began canvassing the neighborhood to make sure everyone knew there was a clinic. We were asking people if they had heard about it and if there were any home-bound individuals we could visit as well. The answer to both questions was “no.” People weren't really told about the clinic in advance, or at least not the people in the vicinity of the church. Others said they would like to go but didn't have the money to buy a ticket. One other issue they mentioned was that most people were either shopping or working in the market, because it was the day for the medium-sized market nearby to be open.

After awhile Chelo and I went back and talked to the team and asked if they would like to try to relocate to the market in order to see more people. One thing we have learned with clinics is that sometimes you have to be ready to go where the people are. I left them to think about that, and Benson (a guy in the youth group) and I took a motorcycle down to the market to look for a good location. It wouldn't be a good idea to try to set up in an open market booth or out in the open, because the people would probably press in and get unruly. I had in mind a house where we normally park our motorcycle if we are hiking up the mountain from there (this is the place where we go up towards the Jabouim and Toussaint schools). However, when we got into the market I spied an even better place.

There is a nice house whose gate is right in the middle of the market, and I've always wondered who lives there. I decided it was a good day to find out. Benson and I went inside and knocked on the door. It turns out a Cuban doctor lives there with his wife. He commutes to the General Hospital in Les Cayes to work a certain number of days each week. When we started trying to communicate, a little bit of Spanish from high school came back to me. We were able to communicate enough, between my broken Spanish and his broken Creole, to get his permission to run the clinic out of his yard for the day. He was very hospitable and very welcoming. Later on he even participated in the clinic, which was really fun to see...Americans, Haitians, and a Cuban all working together to offer health care. Who would have seen that one coming?

So we packed up at the church and hiked for 15 minutes down to the market area. The team set everything up again and we got started. Over the next 2-3 hours we saw a nice, steady stream of people. We were able to control them at the gate and manage the crowd pretty well despite the fact that it was now free to enter. The team did a great job of giving people quality attention but also quickly moving them through and giving them the proper medications.  I actually made the decision to turn some individuals away if they couldn't clearly state why they were there (what sickness they had) and they looked healthy...especially teenagers, young adults, etc... It can be hard to do that, but when you have 80-year-olds and moms holding babies, all standing there in the sun at the gate, that makes it a little easier to make those decisions. The team later told me that there actually were some fairly serious cases, and they were able to help those individuals with the medications they had on hand. Soon we basically ran out of medicine, and the crowd dwindled at just the right time. We packed up and got ready to head for home.

We gave the Cubans a big “Gracias mis amigos!” and they were clearly a very nice couple. Their skin was basically as white as ours, so I'm sure they get treated as outsiders or “blancs” just like us. Most Haitians might not necessarily know how different Cuba and the USA are, exactly, so I imagine it was nice for them to spend some time with fellow foreigners despite the language barrier. It would be interesting to talk to that doctor a little bit more and find out why he is working in Haiti, what his life has been like in Cuba, whether or not he is a Christian, etc... Interesting stuff.

Each clinic we do is a little different, and each person helping in the clinic has his/her own perspective and personal stories to share afterward. You never know what kind of sickness will show up at the door. You have to be ready for anything, as we found out the other day when baby Mishel (closer spelling, I think) was brought in barely breathing. High blood pressure is very common here, as well as all kinds of skin conditions, chronic stomach pain and high levels of acid, joint pain and arthritis, eye and vision problems, cuts and burns that won't heal, lung congestion (sometimes tuberculosis), and too many conditions to name that persist without proper medication and treatment.

One little funny story from this clinic...I was managing the gate and sometimes that means joking with the crowd to keep them relaxed. Learning more and more creole helps a lot. A blind guy came up and asked for a card with a number on it so he could get in. I asked him, “How are you going to read the number on the card?” He said, “You are going to tell me the number, and I'll remember it for the rest of my life!” (everyone laughed) He continued, “Most of these people can't read, either, so just tell me their numbers and I'll remember for them, too.” (more laughter) Sure enough, whenever I would call a number he would say the name of whoever had that number, helping THEM remember that it was THEIR turn. Amazing. I asked him, “What have the doctors told you about your eyes? Are you totally blind? Is there a chance that treatment could help you see?” He retorted, “The doctors? I haven't been to the doctor...why do you think I am here?” (people laughed) I answered, “You have never been to a doctor about your blindness?” He assured me he never had. The guy was probably 40 or so. How sad is that? After that he and I led the crowd standing there in a couple of Haitian hymns. He knew all the words of course.

So if you are a medical person, how about coming down sometime and helping out?  As we always say, a paramedic is a nurse in Haiti, and a nurse is a doctor.


Have a Healthy Adventure Today!
-The Grimms

Year #1 of Our Adventure is Complete!

Family and Friends,

Wow! It is hard to believe it has been a year now since we first boarded the plane and left to be missionaries in Haiti. On the other hand, sometimes it seems like the life we lived before this was a very long time ago, somewhat of a foggy memory. Strange how both of those can be true at the same time. Maybe you can relate.

Here is a list of some of our adventures in year #1 in no particular order:

1. Learning how to navigate the open-air markets
2. Battling tarantulas, scorpions, cockroaches, lizards, frogs, snakes, and ANTS!
3. Adjusting to life here and simultaneously accepting the fact that Cookie, or racist watchdog, will never adjust, never change
4. Various adventures at the general hospital and cholera clinic
5. Transportation adventures...tap taps, motorcycles, broken-down cars
6. The political demonstrations and stranded team last December
7. The machete attack
8. Enjoying various Haitian dishes: rice and beans, beans and rice, rice and bean sauce, just rice, just beans, etc...
9. Leaving the car in the mountains during a rainstorm
10. Heat, Rain, & Bugs
11. Dropping Lynn's toilet bowl down the outhouse pit
12. Cory getting really sick
13. The “Pleasant Surprise” (Lynn's sister Cora and her husband, Marlon, visiting without us knowing beforehand they were coming)
14. Raising missionary support
15. Our new pets, the crabs
16. Homeschooling
17. Mentoring Youth Members
18. Starting a church
19. Starting the Bible School (ALEXIS)
20. Losing Kiki
21. Visiting the US for the summer
22. Christmas trip to Paradise Island
23. Countless trips to our convenience store, “Madame Jack's”
24. Adventures with Internet access
25. Moving from the Mission House to the old orphanage
26. Lynn's new wheelchair
27. Various building projects
28. Various medical clinics
29. Various ministry ideas tried, some good, some bad
30. Visiting friends in their homes
31. Everyone getting sick from time to time, but continually fighting ringworm, diarrhea, heat rash, and other nagging conditions.
32. Learning Creole
33. Learning French
34. Learning to understand Haitian people speaking English
35. Learning to play guitar in the Kompa style used in Haiti
36. Adventures in cooking/baking
37. Adventures in laundry
38. Adventures in food preservation
39. Teaching in the High School and English Schools.
40. Prayer meetings
41. Spiritual warfare
42. Healings
43. Demon possessions
44. Voodoo
45. Working with Haitian staff
46. Working with our directors and board
47. Sue's adventure
48. Meeting all the “Neighborhood Characters.”
49. Staying united as a family
50. Following Jesus day by day

It was quite a year. As they always say in books written for people thinking about being missionaries (you know, half-crazy folks), if you can get through the first year and keep going, you can stay for a very long time. We feel like our first year was very hard, yet if that is as hard as it gets, we could do this for many years. Of course we never know what God plans for us, what unimaginable trial of tragedy the future holds. This is true for any person, missionary or not. However, we feel more strongly than ever that we are exactly where God wants us right now, the future is bright, and his mercy and grace will somehow carry us through whatever is ahead.

If there was one overarching lesson we learned from year one it was the fact that ministry, or the Christian life in general, is not about us, our dreams, our accomplishments, or our sufferings. It is about God and His glory. This is His story, His plan, His vision, and we are just fortunate to be along for the ride with Him as long as He grants us the privilege. In fact, sometimes I regret the title choice we made for this blog, “Our Adventures in Haiti.” It should be something more like, “Here are some stories about us bumbling along, making a ton of mistakes, and God somehow redeeming our pathetic efforts in order to help people in Haiti know Him more.” That would be along web address, though, so we'll probably keep it the same for now. Just know that year one has taught us that God is in control of this (His) adventure.  Somehow when everything around us is dull and grey, He shines through us with vivid colors for all to see (see picture below).

Alexandra walking in the rain in a red dress

What does year #2 hold for us? Well, Mission Haiti has been in such a state of constant change over the past few years that it is hard to predict. We will do everything we can to help this ministry, the people of this community, the staff, the missionaries, everyone who comes to visit, and you our supporters. What that will look like exactly, only God knows. The opening of the ALEXIS Ministry Training Center, including preparations and the actual opening and the first couple of months of running the program, will surely define our next year in many ways as well. Because we are so confident that this program is carefully modeled after Jesus' ways of raising up leaders and the way Paul carried out his missionary work, we believe this will be a huge success in the future, though it will take many years for the impact to be known.

Here are 10 ways you can pray for our family and this ministry as we move forward:

1. Pray for continued physical health and energy
2. Pray for continued spiritual renewal and dependence on God for all things
3. Pray for protection from evil forces and people involved in voodoo
4. Pray for unity in our family
5. Pray for unity in the organization we serve, Mission Haiti
6. Pray for wisdom as we utilize the resources we receive and make choices about what types of ministries and programs to offer the people here
7. Pray for the success of our ministries- i.e. for many people to trust Christ for salvation, for growth in the knowledge of God's Word, for godly families, for young men and women to be holy and pure, for leaders to be trained and sent out, for God's kingdom to be established
8. Pray for the ALEXIS project: fund raising, student and teacher recruiting, campus completion
9. Pray for the staff and children who live with us on this property
10. Pray for the country of Haiti and its leaders

May Your Adventure Include Reaching Important Milestones!
-The Grimm Family Adventurers

First November Mission Team Complete

Family and Friends,

The first mission team of the month has already come and gone. Right now they are in some airplane or airport on their way to their respective homes. It was an interesting group comprised of several smaller groups from different communities. The main focus was medical clinics and some building projects in the Mission Haiti compound. Everything went very smoothly, for Haitian standards anyway, and many memories were made. We hope the seeds planted this week will bear a great harvest for God. Below are some pictures of the group, information about each individual, and some of their reflections on the week. After that is a short update about the ministry and our family.

Matt, Tricia, and Kelsey Spading from Charles City, Iowa, with their friend, Elizabeth Baridon (on the left). Matt is a trust officer, Tricia is a nurse, Kelsey is a senior at University of Northern Iowa, and Elizabeth is a nurse in Cedar Falls.

Dean and Sara Stewart from Charles City, Iowa. Dean is a realtor and Sara is a speech pathologist.

Darrel Hansen (left) and Jerry Snyders (right) from Larchwood, Iowa. Darrel works in construction and Jerry does construction and farming. These guys are heading up the building of a roof on a new house here, an addition to our meeting area, and some other small projects. They are staying for 2 weeks.

Diane and Ashley Van Kley from Rock Valley, Iowa. Dianne is a nurse and was on her 4^th trip to Haiti. Ashley is a beautician and a waitress and was on her 3^rd trip. This mother/daughter team wanted to take a trip here together before Ashley gets married next June.

Ty Ford from Sioux Falls, SD. Ty is a musician and student and is on his 2^nd trip here. Previously he visited with his fellow bandmates in the group “Scarlet Letter.” Ty did all of the Bible teaching each night at youth group, covering the “Spiritual Disciplines.”

Michael...fighting for life on day #1 with us

QOUTES FROM THE TEAM:

“This was an eye opener for my 1^st trip to Haiti or any other 3^rd world country. My experiences here included shock, despair, wonder, and hope. Many, many touching encounters this week." -Matt

“Watching God at work was unbelievable” -Dianne

“It was awesome getting to spend so much time with my sponsor child!” -Ashley

“What a privilege to be put in a place to reach out to a people in true need, to look in their pleading eyes and love them with touch, prayer, and medicine. Incredibly humbling to give hope by providing things that Americans take for granted – Acetaminophen, Ibuprofen, cough medicine, antacid tablets, bandaids, antibiotic ointment, vitamins. We are inconvenienced by a 30 minute wait at the doctor's office – some of the people we saw walked for hours to reach the clinic...carrying their sick child...up a mountain. An infant very near death was carried in her mother's arms to our clinic only to turn around and ago with us quickly (30 minutes) down the mountain, stopping only once to give syringe-fuls of water to the tiny (4.4 lbs.) 4-week-old who was severely dehydrated and barely breathing, eyes sunken, wrinkled skin. Faced with another 20 minute walk back to Mission Haiti, Cory paid for a motorcycle ride for the mom, infant, and myself. She took small feedings and now continues to improve and is more active after each nap. God blessed this baby and we were there to watch His miracle unfold. One of many stories from this week. Do you feel close to God, alive, and and active in your faith? If not, find someone who is hurting or in need and meet them there – God will be there.”

-Tricia

After baby Michael (not sure about spelling) came here, she weighed 4.4 lbs, as Tricia noted above. After four days of eating formula she was up to 5.4. Nice improvement! She looks much better. The parents came to see her and were very excited and relieved. The story is that the mom couldn't produce milk, and they were keeping her alive on some homemade formula comprised of various ingredients. It really is a miracle they kept her alive that long. We are pretty sure she will be fine after another week or so here and then being sent home with plenty of formula.

Today is our “down time” for cleaning the mission house and yard, going to the city to get more supplies, helping both the American and Haitian work crews in our yard keep on track, trying to squeeze out a few hours of family time, catching up on the blog and monthly ministry reports, and getting ready for the next team's arrival tomorrow. Today is day 365 of our Haitian Adventure, which means tomorrow is the anniversary of when it all began! We'll try to put together a post to look back a little bit at the best and worst moments of our first year in Haiti. Thanks to all who are holding us up in prayer on a regular basis and over this first year. God bless you all!

God Bless!

-The Grimms

Always an Adventure

Family and Friends,

Rarely does a day pass in Haiti when you don't experience something new.  That was very true today.  I don't have time to elaborate right now, but here are some small snapshots for you to think and pray about:

The team did finally make it on the first day, and they had the luggage!  Thanks for those who prayed.  The next day went very smoothly, both for the nurses who did the clinic and for the men who worked on the roof for a new house we are building, though one guy had a little brush with the razor-wire.  He is fine.

Today was the team's second full day.  The women and a couple of the men headed up to Jabouim to host a clinic in one of Mission Haiti's schools, and it was quite a hike.  Everyone managed the climb and got started seeing patients.  Pam and I (Cory) headed up to the school in Toussaint for a quick meeting with teachers.  When we returned it was time for me to hike back down to head to the city and get a shipment of lumber for the men (this will require a separate post).  At that point Sue told me there was a baby not doing well who needed to be rushed down to the house and maybe to the hospital.

To make a long story short, we spent the next hour walking/jogging down the moutain with a 5 lb. (maybe) 1-month old baby who was barely hanging on.  At one point the mom started praying out loud.  I stopped beside her and saw the baby's eyes rolling back in her head.  The nurse with us (who manages an intensive care unit for babies, praise God!) did a few tricks, gave her some droplets of water, and we pressed on. We hopped on motorcycle taxies at the main road, rushed up to our house, and started pumping formula into the little girl named Michael (pronounced "mish-eye-el").  That was my "wow, I've never experienced this before" moment of the day.  I am happy to report that not about 7 hours later she is doing really well.  She will stay here for the next week to 10 days to make sure she is improving rapidly.  After that we will assess what is next.  I'll try to carve out a few minutes soon to write more.

The team is doing well, our family is holding together, youth group meetings are great, and we all thank you for your prayers.

God Bless,
The Grimms

An International Adventure

Family and Friends,

MISSION TEAM UPDATE....

Just got a call from Pam and the team did make it into Port at about 7AM this morning. Unfortunately, however, the luggage did not come through, so as of noon they are still waiting. Bummer. We hope to get a call any minute that it is all worked out and they are on their way. Please pray.

AN INTERNATIONAL ADVENTURE...

On Monday I (Cory) went with Adrien to Les Cayes to get some supplies and bulk groceries for the entire Mission Haiti compound and for the upcoming teams. As you know our car still isn't working, so we always need to coordinate with Adrien to get a ride to the city to do the shopping. He is very gracious.

Adrien had already been planning to make a trip to town to do some work at his other home there. He and his siblings from the US own a nice home in Ti-Rivier and a very nice home in Les Cayes. The home in Cayes is normally rented out for a hefty sum. For the last couple of years it was rented out to Doctors without Borders, an international organization who ran the Cholera clinics in the area as well as other projects. After they left a couple of months ago, Adrien rented it out to nine Russian pilots working for the United Nations.

The requests for this current rental agreement were somewhat demanding. Each room had to have its own air conditioning unit, and several other creature comforts in the bargain. In exchange Adrien asked for $3000/month, a price they readily accepted. However, a problem came up the other day when some of the soldiers were staying up drinking late into the night. They were making a lot of noise, and two local thugs hopped over the wall and held three of them at gunpoint. After getting some computers and money, the thugs left. You can only assume the Haitians had no idea that these Russians probably had bigger weapons somewhere on the property. Fortunately, no one was hurt.

So the leader of the group called Adrien and asked him to install razor wire around the perimeter of the compound so no one could hop over the wall anymore. The leader placed the blame for the incident on the soldiers who made themselves a target by making so much noise at night and getting drunk. So Adrien was off the hook for any lack of security. Our plan was to visit the property and see if the razor wire had already been installed by the contractor Adrien hired to do the work.

I was a little bit excited to meet some Russian UN troops, just for the sake of experiencing something new. Adrien had mentioned that some of them knew a little English. Then Dan Elliot, the other missionary in the village, called and asked Adrien if he could pick up some guests who were arriving on a bus in Les Cayes. After a little bit of searching we were able to find them. The group consisted of two women and one man, all natives of the UK. After carting them around with us as we picked up the needed supplies, Adrien didn't want to make them wait while he visited his home and decided just to head back to the village and return again the next day. So I didn't get to meet the Russians, but got some Brits instead. I thought about naming this blog post, “Switching from Vodka to Scotch”, but then thought better of it.

On the way home I had make a quick stop at a little grocery store and asked if the guests wanted something to drink. The man declined, one woman asked for a Coke, and the other said, “A bit of sparkling water, if you please.” I wasn't sure exactly what she was looking for, much less whether or not I could find it in a store in Haiti. In the end I bought her a club soda. She said, “thanks, that's lovely”, so I took that as a good sign. The man offered me money and I replied, “Not at all.”

They described their work for us for the remainder of the journey. Their main purpose is to test water and give people containers and chemicals for treating it before drinking. Interesting stuff. Dan had invited them to come to the village and make some suggestions concerning the main water source used by most people here. They did that and later visited our new orphanage to check out our new well. That was nice of them. I thought about offering them some “tea and biscuits” but then realized we didn't have any. They played with the kids for awhile and then headed on their way. Nice people.

May You Meet Some Interesting People on Your Adventure!

-The Grimm Family Adventurers

Introducing...The Ti-Riviere Times

Family and Friends,

We hope you have enjoyed a wonderful October.  We definitely have had a great month down here in Haiti and look forward to an even better November.  There have been a few cooler days when the high only reached 89 or so.  We're thinking about breaking out the jackets.

Please remember Mission Haiti in your prayers over the next few weeks as we host three mission teams and hope to make a positive impact on our community in so many ways.  We Grimms will need a big dose of energy, health, and perseverance to handle this marathon of ministry.  We won't share a house with the teams like we used to, so that will help us a lot.

In this post we also are excited to introduce "The Ti-Riviere Times" a somewhat true, somewhat fictional, humorous newspaper based on the characters in our village.  If you have visited Ti-Riviere on a mission trip or just followed our blog regularly, this should provide you with a few laughs.  Just click on the little bar below the main picture, dowload the "November 2011" file, and enjoy yourself.  Let us know if it doesn't work for you, either to download or to make you laugh, and we'll give you your money back.  Ha! Ha!

We hope you have had a fun Reformation Day, or Harvest Festival, or Family Fun Night, or Beggar's Night, or whatever you are accustomed to celebrating this time of year.  In Haiti the whole "Halloween" issue is a lot more black and white.  No one pretends it is a fun little party for kids here.  They just call it "The Day of Death (or the dead)."  Many Christians spend the day praying at church. 

We'll try our best to post during the next few weeks, but please forgive us if we get a bit behind.  Be careful as the snows start to come, and enjoy some great family time this November and December.

Happy Adventuring!
-The Grimm Family Adventurers

How Do You Build a House in Haiti?

Family and Friends,

We are quickly approaching the completion of our first calendar year in Haiti as a family. You might remember the whole adventure began last Nov. 9, and it has been quite a ride. This blog is a testament to the variety of challenges we and others in our community have faced in the first year.

One challenge or adventure we haven't written too much about is the fact that most of this past year there has always been at least once major construction project going on around us. During the first two months after we moved here last year a small house was built on the roof of the mission house, right above our heads. For most of the first half of 2011 the orphanage compound, on the other side of our wall, was slowly taking shape. Also, Richard was here for six weeks running his power tools in our yard, and we are looking forward to his return in just 2 weeks!

This year also saw some major construction at three of the schools Mission Haiti directs:

• Completion of several classrooms at the mountain school.
• The beginning of an entirely new school at Toussainte.
• The construction of a new pre-school at Lines School.

Mission Haiti has also funded the construction of some homes, or updates to homes, for extremely poor families in the mountains. Then there was the one-week project of beginning and finishing the famous “Hurricane-proof House” down on the new ALEXIS property. Recently we began the ALEXIS Dormitory, and in the coming months we plan to begin the cooking shed, meeting/eating area, shower/toilet building, classroom, and hopefully the Director House with ALEXIS office and library. You can see that construction has been a major theme here in our first year and will continue into the near future!

What does it take to build a house in Haiti? Right now a second small house is being built on the roof of the Mission House. They are really putting this one together quickly. Unfortunately, they did break through the ceiling trying to attach rebar to the house, but they are planning to fix that little mistake. The process mainly involves cinder blocks, rebar, and a ton of hand-mixed cement. The roof will be a little more complicated, building a frame with wood and covering it with sheets of tin, but these guys look like they could do the cement part of it with their eyes closed.

Below are some of the basic tasks they need to do to make it all come together:

Cutting rebar with hacksaw

Bending rebar against the tree

Laying the blocks...this man is called "Blan" by the other workers because of his slightly lighter skin.  When I am visiting they call us "blan & pi blan"  (white and whiter)

All the piles of sand have to be sifted by hand to get the bigger rocks and gravel out.  After that cement mix is added, plus water, and buckets of cement are hauled up to the roof.

Looking pretty good for morning of Day #2!

It is fun to watch these guys work.  You can begin to discern the hierarchy determining who gets to do what jobs.  When you see one of the younger guys getting a chance at trying something new, it is easy to see how much pride they take in proving themselves. The pay scale is pretty simple, too.  The regular laborers get a set amount per day.  The "bosses" or skilled guys get twice that amount, and the contractor of the whole project gets three times what the everyday laborer gets.  I suppose all of that is somewhat close (in ratio anyway) to what goes on in the US. 

This small house they are building today will have two rooms and a nice porch area, or "gallery" as they call it here.  It will house short-term missionaries (individuals or couples) who come to work here for more than the normal week.  This is probably the same crew who will build the rest of the buildings for ALEXIS, too.  We have been pretty happy with their work so far.  At least they haven't tried to rip us off or anything.  It will be fun to see how they handle a more sophisticated project like the building we will use for the Director's house and the ALEXIS office and library, if we can get the funds donated for that.

May Your Adventure Include Building Something New!

-Grimm Family Adventurers