Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Praises!
It is a bright and sunny day here in Croix des Bouquets, just outside of Port au Prince. This land may be poverty stricken but God is smiling on it with all the beauty of his creation. The landscape is truly awe-inspiring. When I checked the weather report at 2PM, it said the current temperature was 90F and felt like 107F. Nice! I don't personally think it feels that hot, but then I am not out laboring in the fields all day like many of the workers here.
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And what a difference a day makes! If you could have seen me last night, you would have seen a sad example of a missions worker - downright depressed and discouraged. You see, I had been unable to maintain a consistent internet connection to my laptop for the first two days I was here. Sadly (one might suppose), I am a slave to technology and felt like I was missing an arm. Two of the guys here who are the most computer-proficient weren't able to help either. But fancying myself a bit of an amateur computer guru (I know I said amateur guru), I wasn't ready to give up so easily. After messing around with almost every internet connection functionality, I finally figured it out. Praise the Lord for this huge answered prayer as it would have made getting my work done here difficult to say the least.
Additionally, I was beginning to doubt my ability to perform the tasks that Arthur had requested of me. But again, God provides! It is still a lot to accomplish, but after getting a start on paper, I can begin to see an outline of what needs to be done. And the bigger praise is that I have been paired with an alternate interpreter. His name is Renald and he grew up with missionaries in Port au Prince. His English is near perfect and he is full of charisma! The Spaldings had him translate the prayer service for me last night and they told him to whisper, but there is no "whisper" in Renald's book - hopefully it was only partially distracting to those at the service. I think he will be a big asset to my work here.
Through prayer & petition...
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. - Philippians 4:6 |
and with hope and faith...
I can do everything through him who gives me strength.- Philippians 4:13 |
...I made it through!
They also got me set up with this sweet single speed cruiser with whitewall tires and cool fenders! It is a Murray "Westport". It was kind of hard to ride an old school rig like this at first - flat pedals, coaster brakes, unfamiliar riding position - but I persevered. Yes, I am keeping it dusty on purpose for two reasons: (1) it will get dusty on the dirt roads anyway, and (2) to make it look less desirable. Although the Haitians don't lock up their bikes, I have been told that they might not feel bad about stealing a bike from an American because we could afford to replace them. Hence, the U-Lock I brought down with me that you can see in the photo.
I am definitely feeling a bunch better too. I have to say, this 8 hrs of sleep every night thing is pretty nice! Even though I have a cool headlamp from my sister, the power down at 9:30PM is a strong motivator for going to sleep. Bonsoir!
# posted by A*Dub @ 5:18 PM 
