Permis de Sejour and other stories.

We have been working our Permis de Sejour, this is a work-type visa that allows us to stay in Haiti for more than 90 days. Some of you may not have read our Facebook postings on our Permis de Sejour 'Haitian Adventure' so we thought we would share. It still isn't over...

4/22/14

"It has taken 4 months, about 8 trips, more misc money and gas than I care to account for, but tomorrow we are going to go and apply again for our Permis. 

Please pray with us that we have everything and that God paves the way for us. (You think the government offices in America are tough)

An Update: the Immigration office has an unofficial week off this week. We will try again next week."

5/6/14

"Attempt #642 to go to Immigration and get our Permis so that we can stay in Haiti long term. Still not complete but we have a slim chance of finishing it today...prayers appreciated. Only God can make the government move."

5/9/14

"For those of you following our journey to get our Permis, attempt #645 will begin this morning. Prayers welcome.

Update: our paperwork has been staples together, our photo has been taken, fingerprints taken. Now we are waiting to pay for them...the employees didn't show up for work. 

Update: Forgot to tell you all: we met a man in the waiting room. He does this for a living. He has been helping us which is why we have gotten so far. I have no idea how much he charges, I don't think I care. 

Update: almost finished. He took our very important receipts (please God make him trustworthy) and said we would have our Permis next week. I think I may blog about this...it was so Haiti I was smiling much of the time (yesterday I cried so maybe I'm emotional). 

5/13/14

"Adventure #720. We were supposed to go into PAP yesterday to get our lisence, n# (thing SSN), & insurance for our car. However, on Sunday our timing belt broke. Shane spent all day Monday driving to get the part and fixing our vehicle. So today we are trying again. Only this time our vehicle overheated. We are now sitting on the side of the road waiting for it to cool so we can put more antifreeze in it. To be continued..."

Update: I think its all a great adventure. We don't get angry, just wonder what is next :)

5/13/14

"Adventure #722 we arrived at the place to get our drivers license. They won't let Shane in because he has shorts on (they suggested he borrow my pants...hmmm). I have now applied for my license but Shane is off trying to purchase a pair of pants on the street. To be continued...:)

Update: A miracle happened and he was able to buy a pair of pants (that fit great!) for 500 goudes (the equivalent of $11). Picture taken and now on to get insurance for our car. 

5/15/14

"Adventure #792 We went to get our insurance today and got a flat tire (so flat we heard the air coming out). Luckily we were in a great and safe spot to change it. Sadly our spare has a slash in it, our other one has already been repaired three times and leaks constantly. So we are buying 4 tires today. Not in our plans but we can still glorify God with our joy. :)

Today is 6/1 and we have learned a little more about the man 'helping' us. It sounds like sometimes he helps and sometimes he does not. So, if you are one of our prayer warriors, please pray with us that our paper work goes through and that we receive all of the paperwork we have paid for. 

God has been teaching Shane and I so much. Lately it has been about how to truly pursue God. David describes,

As the deer longs for streams of water,so I long for You, O God. I thirst for God, the living God. When can I go and stand before Him?

Psalms 42:1-2 (NLT)

Why is it that I allow the distractions of life to keep me from wanting to know and be near God with this kind of desperation. It is so easy to love God in the morning during my devotion time and then a little in the afternoon and some prayer in the evening, yet not really give my ENTIRE day to God. When I take a situation and talk about it, think constantly about it, plan for it, and worry about it I am letting the distraction of life take my focus off of God. This is not what God asks of me. 

And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me–everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.

Philippians 4:8-9 (NLT)

I want to be like Paul who stated 

...I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. 

Philippians 4:11c-13 (NLT)

He understood and had learned that the distractions don't matter, only knowing God more matters. And when I put my thoughts on God, surrendering my all, there is always peace. 

Prayer requests:

-There is a mosquito born virus called chikengunya and Shane had it 6 days ago and this morning I woke with it. It comes with fevers, major body aches, and a rash on your body. The fever lasts about 3 days but the body aches can last up to a year. Please pray for Shane but also for the many people that have this in Haiti yet don't have access to medication, clean water, or somewhere cool and comfortable to wait out the sickness. 

-Please pray that we will be given more knowledge of the Haitian culture so that we can work well with them. 

-Please pray that we continue to know how to keep our eyes on God

-Please pray for our children as they continue to transition into this life as a missionary. When we first started I thought we were the missionaries and they could just be kids. That is an unrealistic expectation. They are sacrificing and learning to love just as much as we are...so prayers for them. 

-Prayers that we will figure out how to do schooling, family, and work with balance (this one is cross-cultural:)). 

Thank you all for covering us daily in prayers. We can feel those prayers.

I have borrowed this beautiful picture with saying from my friend. There are many boats like this in Haiti. 

Our family was invited to participate in an Easter egg hunt at another organization. My kids had so much fun!

We went to the beach with some of the Grace Village orphanage children. This little man was hanging out with me.

Landen...

I love this pic. I can't remember if I have posted this one before. 

We are going to try and sell these baskets to support our living expenses in Haiti. If you are interested, please send me an email at imslandj@yahoo.com. We are selling the stacks of three for $35, however prices are negotiable. :) 

Missionary's hair, rummage sales, & a changed prayer life.

I have always thought that missionaries have their hair in a bun because its more holy. As a missionary, while I don't wear a bun, think ponytail or clip, I now have some more realistic reasons why missionaries often have their hair in some sort of updo.

1. It is hot...hair on your neck makes you sweat more. 

2. It is dirty. Third world countries are dirtier than you can possibly imagine, unless you camp. Then you have an idea. However it is almost impossible to keep your hair clean when you are outside in a third world country. 

3. At Grace Village in Titanyen, Haiti it is ALWAYS windy. This is wonderful because it cools us off. It makes your hair annoying as it whips around, into your eyes and mouth. 

4. It is difficult to get your haircut (colored) in third world countries. Therefore your hair gets long and needs to be controlled.

5. In Haiti, it is culturally normal to have your hair slicked back or in braids. :) Yeah for us because greasy hair does this wonderfully. 

Those are the reasons I have come up with so far. I bet if I asked some of the other missionaries they would have a couple of extra reasons too. However, now you know that it is not holiness that requires the buns, simple common sense. Ok, done with silliness for the day. On to other business. 

Our organization is blessed with the ability to have donations brought down by almost 900 people a year. I know from my work with donations coordinator that the struggle has been to be good stewards of our goers generosity. At Grace, we have been looking for a way to get our donations out into our very needy community without doing damage or causing dependance.
One thing I am learning about Haiti that I feel is so important to know is that it is an expectation to share something if you have it. This is such a large expectation that it is considered rude and people do not think that you are a Christian if you do not share.

We found a solution to this dilema when one of the other long terms and I were visiting Three Angels, They told us about the rummage sales they have with their extra donations.  They usually sell their items for 10 goudes (unless the item is incredible valuable and then they do it as a silent auction). This allows their employees to be blessed by the donations but still allows them to be responsible and have ownership because they are purchasing the items. Not only does this get the items out, this kind of sale will be perceived as sharing what we have and will help us relate better to the community of Titanyen. 

Tuesday we had our first rummage sale. It was a huge hit! The staff was thrilled and kept telling us over and over how excited they were to be able to purchase these items. They shared that it made them feel more part of the Healing Haiti community and more valued. What a blessing for both sides.

A fun part of this is that our staff knows that the money being raised during these rummage sales will be used to have a Christmas party for the staff. So it truly is a win/win situation. :) 

I wish you could hear the noise and feel the excitement as well as see the picture. 

2 Corinthians 12:9

Each time He said, "My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness." So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. 

The last 6 months have been storm after storm and I have been clinging to Jesus so that I don't drown. I have learned so much about God's faithfulness and about my own shortcomings. My prayer life was and is my lifeline, my lifesaver and I know I could not make it through the day without constant prayer. 

For now, the storm is quiet and I told Shane my prayers are different. I'm not sure what to do. They lack the desperation that I had, yet I still need God and the connection of prayer. Shane told me, perhaps now it is time to be grateful. I thought on these words as I was sitting in the shade of a beautiful tree, listening to the ocean and marveling at the beauty of God's creation. I had a breeze to cool me, a drink with a pretty pink umbrella to hold and a book to read. It continues to bring me to tears with thankfulness. 

Psalm 29:1-2

Honor The Lord, you heavenly beings;

honor The Lord for his glory and streanght.

Honor The Lord for the glory of his name. 

Worship The Lord in the splendor of his holiness. 

Thank you Father God!