Creole & living life together.

Shane and I just finished taking a 5 week Creole class. It was incredibly expensive however we learned a ton! We just want to be able to speak well to our friends, employees, and acquantances in Haiti. We want to be able to shout the truth of God and to be a part of discipling others. A huge thank you to our sponsors for making it possible for us to learn! 

You may be wondering about our kids Creole. Our kids study Creole daily for about 10-15 minutes and it is paying off. They are able to have basic conversations with the kids and adults and are learning more daily. Some of the hold up is our Grace kids actually speak quite a bit of English, so they don't 'have to' learn Creole to communicate. 

A lady named Daphne helps us keep our house clean. At first I wasn't sure that it was necessary to have someone help us since we were able to keep our home clean in the states (clean is relative). However with the amount of wind, dust, use, and traffic that our home has daily, there is no way I could do it myself. It literally needs to be cleaned daily. Also, it is cultural to have someone help clean your house because the expectation is if you have a home you should have the ability to provide a job for someone else. 

Anyway, it has been a pleasure to get to know her. The more Creole I know, the better friends we are able to become. She works hard, has a beautiful smile, is clumsy, and loves to tease. The other day she asked me why I thought there were so many languages in the world. 

I said, well, the Bible says that man got together and decided that they wanted to get to heaven. So they decided to build a very tall building so they could be like God. However, God got very angry at them and divided them by giving them different languages. As I was telling Daphne about the Tower of Babel, I thought maybe this was my chance to tell her about Jesus and was a door opening. However, as I finished my story, our pastor of Grace Church came to my door. I listened as Daphne began to tell Pastor Wesley what she asked me and my response. She gave me her official approval as a Christian, I knew my Bible. 

Something about this made my heart happy. She cared enough about me to check to see if I knew the Bible. This conversation led us to discuss the time we both spend reading the Bible and praying to our great big God. I love that I get to serve a God so big that nothing can contain him. 

One more story that made me laugh. Daphne and I were talking in my living room. I don't remember the conversation however Landen was sitting on the couch trying to study Creole and making a very annoying repetitive noise. I was just about to tell him to stop when Daphne stopped what she was saying, sternly told Landen to stop, and then looked at me. I think she was as surprised as I was, then we both laughed. I said, "All moms are the same" (or something like that since I said it in Creole and I'm not always sure exactly what I am saying) to which Daphne replied, "Yes, moms are moms". 

I love that we are more the same than different. I love that I get to serve such a big God. I love that God has called us to be here. I love that I get to face the hard stuff and learn how to become more like Jesus. 

Saturday morning Austin enjoys helping Vanea make bread in the bread ovens at Grace Village. I think he enjoys this for a few reasons; 1. Vanea is kind and patient. 2. Austin loves to learn 3. When Austin helps, he gets fed delicious bread. You be the judge :)

Sierra and Landen love doing the crafts with the Grace kids on Saturday with the short term mission teams. This week they learned to sew little bears. 

Austin was able to join the older kids as they learned CPR and how to operate a defibrilator. Very cool stuff. 

Our Grace kids are very creative. They made these little kites out of garbage and then shared them with Sierra and Landen. Its always windy at Grace. 

Stole this pic from a fellow missionary in Haiti. Makes me laugh. 

Keep those prayers coming! 

Another story

Shane and I spend a lot of time in prayer. People come to us asking for things daily. They assume that because we are white and American we have resources that they do not have. The tricky part of that is its true, we do have resources that they don't have. While we are missionaries and do not have an income, if an emergency arrived, we could ask our friends and family for money. We would probably be able to meet our needs. This is a heavy burden to bare; when do you help and when do you say you can do nothing? When do you believe the story that they are telling you and when can you know its a scam? So, I come back to, Shane and I spend A LOT of time in prayer. 

Psalms 119:124-125

"I am your sevant; deal with me in unfailing love, 

and teach me your decrees. 

Give discernment to me, your servant;

then I will understand your laws."

We so desperatly want God to teach us to be more like Jesus, to have the discernment to hear His voice. The amazing thing is that the more time we spend reading the Bible (the way God talks to us) and praying (the way we talk to God) the clearer we can hear God's leading. 

Grace Church

Our church has children's church from 8:30-9:30 and then the children stay for the adult church from 10-12. I don't know if you remember my other blog, but often the children come to church before they eat. They then sit through 3 1/2 hours of church and try to focus. Hunger usually makes the older ones quietly fall asleep and the younger ones cry and fuss or begin picking on the other children. 

We felt a real urging to do something about this issue. I connected with the lead usher and found that we could buy 10 little packages of Haitian type saltines for about $1.10. They aren't anything special as our lead usher told me, "They don't have creme (like a cookie) so the children won't eat them just to eat them." So we began to purchase these little snacks. We end up going through about 300-400 packages a month. 

I don't tell you this for personal affirmation. It is an absolute pleasure for us to have God use us and the resources that he continually supplies for us. There is joy watching our ushers hand out the food to the children that are so obviously hungry. There is joy in watching the children able to learn about Jesus because they aren't distracted by hunger. There is joy in knowing that the children are seeing Haitians helping Haitians. 

Some prayer requests: 

-Pray for unity within the organiztion of Healing Haiti and those of us working together at Grace

-Pray for rain in Titanyen...this is one of the driest seasons they have had and it is beginning to affect their food

-Pray for continued wisdom and discernment for the management staff

Imsland specific prayers:

-Pray for parenting patience

-Pray for my children's continued transition (especially for Austin)

-Pray that our marriage is protected and stays strong

-Pray that we get better at balancing our work/home life (they kind of reside in the same place)

Thank you everyone for supporting us by reading our blogs, praying with and for us, and for your financial support. We are so incredibly grateful. 

Everyone has a story

We are approaching our six month mark. The amount we have learned about Haiti, ourselves, and the God we are serving is huge. Much of it is beautiful, some of it is incredibly hard. 

The other day a woman came to the gate and when she saw me pass by she asked if she could talk to me. I was on my way out of Grace Village for the first time in a week so I told her I was too busy to see her. She insisted and as I slowed down enough to really see her, I saw a woman; with a 2 year old little girl clinging to her leg, a 7 month old in her arms, the smell of someone who is unable to bath often, clothes that are clean but old, and the look of a woman who loves her children and inspite of her circumstances is able to smile. 

She began to tell me of her story. She is a single mom, the dad of the babies is no longer with her. She has a job but has no one to watch her children. Her mother was watching them but will no longer help her. She wanted to know if we could take her children for the next two years while she works and tries to get things in order so that she can support her children. 

I was watching her with her children. Her baby was in her arms and was fussing while the mom was speaking but this mom never got annoyed. She would kiss her baby and hush her a little and continue on with her story. At one point, one of the other missionaries went to her and offered to take the little baby. As the other missionary held her, she smiled and laughed like a well taken care of baby should. The two year old was a little more reserved but had a sweet smile and shyly stood by waiting. Haitians learn to wait at a very young age. 

I had to tell this woman that we can not take her babies, that we only take true orphans, not social orphans. I told this momma that I could tell that she loved her children a lot and that I would be praying for her. The other missionary and I put together a very small bag with some snacks and a water bottle in it. We gave her a little money so that she could take a taptap back to the place she was staying. We also gave her the number to the social services in Haiti so that she could contact them if she chose. 

It was heartbreaking. Why? Why in a place where jobs are so scarce did we run into a mom that has a job, loves her children and still things aren't coming together for her? I trust God, I know that she trusts God, yet the injustices are so painful. 

Some of our older Grace Village kids learning the art of making bread in the bread oven. 

Sierra helping braid some hair as they wait for the bread to finish cooking. 

Piano lessons. 

This child cracks me up... this is where he likes to eat his snacks. Shane calls him our 'closet snacker'.

Why?

TV time. Always makes me smile. 

Its not my picture and I don't know who to give credit to, but I love this. Haitians are SO creative!

Manna

We are back from our two week trip to the states and have begun to settle again into our 'real' lives. This last week back the Imslands have had a relatively blank look to their face, cry often, and are incredibly tired. Coming back to America was a lot; a lot of fun, driving, talking, connecting, transitions, food, activities, friends, and family. Halfway through Shane and I looked at each other and said, "We are about ready to go back." God isn't done with us yet. It was a nice affirmation. 

I made a silly list of the things that our family appreciated as we stayed in America:

Warm showers 

Forgeting to use hot water knob when washing hands and dishes. 

Ability to drive anywhere, anytime

Jimmy Johns

Static electricity

Sleeping with LOTs of blankets on

Enjoying a hot drink

Soft toilet paper 

Movie theaters

Dry skin/flat hair 

Carmel latte 

Hugs from family and friends 

Eye contact with those who love us 

Listening to the radio while driving and listening to the kids in the back singing along with the radio. 

Great steaks

Apples 

Knowing that for the most part, people will follow the rules of driving

Snow storms

The way snow sticks to the trees

Fireplaces

Return to Haiti:

Getting out of a shower and not freezing

Changing the drinking water 

Warmth 

Greeting the Haitians I missed 

Amazing fruit

There are so many things we appreciate about Haiti but I think the biggest is knowing that we are being obedient and watching God use us. It isn't about how great we are, we just show up. God does the work. One of the things he does EVERY DAY is allow our family to see what we are calling 'manna'. In the Bible the Israelites were miraculously freed from the Egyptians and were following a cloud of the Spirit of God around a desert. They were wandering and had no way to produce food, but every morning there was manna from heaven. God informed them to only gather what they would need for that one day because it would not last longer. He used this manna to teach the Israelites how to trust in God's provision for them daily. Well, He is doing the same thing for us. 

Things are never boring here and there are many times that we feel dragged down, but we have noticed that God provides enough 'manna', or encouragement and affirmation, to continue on to the next day. He doesn't give us extra but he gives us just enough for the day. Shane and I know that he is doing this for the same reasons he did it with the Israelites, he wants to know, "Do you trust me to provide what you need every day? Will you surrender to me?" Our answer is, "Yes. We trust and are SO grateful for the daily manna!"

This is half of Landens face from the customs in MIA. The machine was broken and didn't go down for him. (FYI everyone looked like a zombie in these photos). We laughed about this for two days. 

Sierra loving on our little dog Zoe

I just love a Panera Carmel latte. Mmmmmm. 

My Cece.  

Sierra got to spend a weekend in Rochester with her cousin/best friend Cara. 

The look says it all...we are now 13 years old and you are annoying me (Austin's cousin Kaitlyn is only 2 days older and they have grown up together). 

Awww...

Dress up with friends. There were 3 or 4 rounds of changing outfits. 

It snowed...a lot. And was very cold. Beautiful and cold. 

Almost 17 years of marriage and I still like him. :)

If you have ever wondered why I am so strange... Meet my parents. (Mom looks deceivingly normal here). 

Sierra and Auntie Shannon. 

Shane's cousin Jessi was in Haiti this week. Shane was able to go deliver water with them in Cite Soleil and then the kids bonded on Thursday when the team came to Grace for a tour. 

A friend of ours gave the kids clay. They made volcanoes. I started to talk to the kids about volcanoes before we did our baking soda vinegar experiment and Austin says, "Mom, I've got this." And proceeds to explain better than I could how they are formed and why they explode. He is so smart...seriously. 

The kids watching tv. I know I have posted this before, but every time I see them like this, it makes me chuckle. 

Is dentistry our calling?

Grace Village had their very first dental team work in our new clinic and stay on the property. It was amazing how many needs they were able to fill and how many lives will be a little more pain free because of their visit. My daughter decided that she wanted to help so she was an assistant for the first full day and half of the second day. Here are some pics. 

Of course the boys saw how much fun she was having and wanted to give it a try. They only lasted about 20 minutes. :) 

Austin gave it a shot too but I missed him with my camera. Anyone who knows Austin knows he moves fast. 

We are coming home in two days and I keep getting asked if I am excited. The answer is yes and no. Yes I am excited to see my family and friends, I have missed them immensely! I am excited to be able to take a break from the togetherness and to be able to take a break from cooking every meal (Shane helps but still). 

But part of me is not ready to go. I will miss the Grace kids and my friends in Haiti. I will miss the slow pace of life and the togetherness (I'm tired of the togetherness and I love the togetherness). 

I know that I will be asked a lot of questions, many of them I don't have an answer to and thinking about this makes me tired. But I also know that sharing our story is part of our ministry and allows others to share in the ways God is using us and helping us grow. Sharing also allows others to know how to pray. 

A part of me knows that I may not want to come back. Serving God this way is hard. He is refining me and teaching me what sanctification in Christ really means. It means death to all of the parts of me that want my way and allowing Christ to really live in and through me. My stubborn, sinful self does not want to let go. I like to joke with Shane that God sent us to Haiti because it was going to take something this challenging to get us completely reliant on God. We are willing and we are learning, but man...it is painful. 

I cling to Philippans 1:6:

And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. 

So after this reflection...I would say yes, I am excited to come to Minnesota. I trust God completely. I look forward to seeing what God wants to teach us in America in these next two weeks. I am just so glad that he is allowing us to continue to be part of creating His kingdom here on earth, both in Haiti and in America. 

 

The influence a family can make

One of the Haitian employees at Grace had a dream the other night. She said she dreamed that Shane was walking around Grace Village with many of the other workers following him. As he was walking around the grounds, Shane would stop and point to a place in the ground and say, "Here" and he would bend down and begin to dig. He would then remove a voodoo bottle. In her dream, Shane would then continue to another place and would point again and remove another voodoo bottle. 

What an amazing dream! A dream of God using Shane to lead those at Grace Village, of those at Grace trusting Shane and following him, and of this group routing out the evil so that Grace can shine God's light. 

I read this verse this morning and it fits the dream of our employee/friend. 

"Your eye is a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is good, your whole body is filled with light. But when it is bad, your body is filled with darkness. Make sure that the light you think you have is not actually darkness. If you are filled with light, with no dark corners, then your whole life will be radiant, as though a floodlight were filling you with light." Luke 11:34-36

One of our missions here at Grace is to just be an example of a family. We are broken, as I have said very often in this blog, but we love Jesus, we love each other and we know how to say we are sorry and mean it. Some ways we are an example is just by living here. The Grace kids are able to see that families eat together, they look after each other, they fight and get into trouble sometimes. 

One time, my children were being very naughty so I sent them to bed at 6:30pm. I then went out to hang out with the Grace kids for a couple of minutes. They started to ask for my kids and I told them that my children were not listening so they had to take a punishment and go to bed. The Grace kids where incredulous! My kids didn't listen?? They got in trouble?? The questions went on for quite some time. I know that the Haitian culture often thinks that white skin means better, but we are human and we get to show them that humanness. Who knew our humanness could be part of our ministry. 

Another way our family is being used is an example of a father's protection. One of the boys at Grace intentionally hurt Sierra. Normally this is something that we would encourage Sierra to handle with her words or would help her work through with a monitor and the child to understand what happend. This time was different; the boy was older, we know this boy struggles being kind to others, and Sierra was really hurt. So Shane went to have a talk with this boy about how he treats his daughter. It was done respectfully but with force. Every child that was near stopped to watch Shane. The point was made, a dad protects his child. 

The best thing was the follow up. Later that night Shane made sure to find this boy and give him a hug so that he knew there was forgiveness. I am not sure they see that very often. For a while after, the other children were careful around him, but they soon realized that he really did forgive the boy. 

This ended up resulting in another lesson as a few of the boys talked about how if Shane hit me, he could kill me. We were able to have a very good talk about how Shane NEVER hits me and never has. That hitting a woman can never be an option because a man has so much strength but instead a man is to protect his wife. In a country where it really is about survival of the fittest, this is something they don't understand very well. In fact, it came up again with two of our young men that live at Grace. We found out that they hit one of the girls and we were able to discuss "What is a real man?". I pray constantly that this message seeps into their hearts and minds and that they are able to apply this in their life inside and outside of Grace. 

The children play a lot of games with each other's emotions and use manipulation to get their way. This is no different than any child, except they don't have parents that are helping them process through these emotions and make better choices. One of the things the children like to do is to be mad at one another. I have been on the recieving end of this mad (which looks like ignoring, talking about, and dirty looking) and it can last for as long as a month. The person on the receiving end can have no idea why the other person is mad. Our family is combating this by addressing the person that is mad. When we notice a child is acting mad at us, we ask them if they are mad, we then let them know that we are sad but that we are here to listen if we have offended them somehow. Sometimes they stay mad a long time, but more often than not, they decide that since we are not trying to take their power, it is more fun to just address the issue and be friends again. 

Our house is also a place of safety. Some of the chidlren received Legos for Christmas and we gave them the option of putting their toys at our house. Quite a few took us up on that offer. They know that at our house, we will respect their things by not touching or allowing anyone else to touch their toy. Our hope is this will teach them that there are safe places. 

One little boy that has been having a very hard time, has found our house to be a place of refuge. He often spends time in our time-out room, but he also spends a lot of time on our couch. Sometimes he is playing video games with one of our phones and sometimes he is building Legos. Recently he came into our house, lay on the couch, put a pillow over his head, and cried. It is a safe place to be sad. 

One of my favorite things to do is to go to the dorms and kiss the kids goodnight. We don't do this every night, but it is a fun way to see the kids and let them know we value them. The little boys will get a kiss from me and then run to lay in their beds so that they can get another one. Or sometimes they will offer a kiss back. So sweet. At first I thought the older boys would not be interested, too cool, but they always offer their cheek and a shy smile. The little girls always welcome the kiss and will often squeeze in a hug. The big girls are tricky, but one of my favorite things to do is tell them how gorgeous they are as I give them a kiss. 

God is using our family. It isn't the huge things that we do that is making the biggest difference, but the little things. God is using our relationships to make change happen and to make a positive impact. Life in Haiti is never boring.  

 

Austin has found his favorite spot to sit and read. 

Sierra doing homework. 

The boys practicing their soccer skills. 

Shane was able to be a firefighter in Haiti. There was a grass fire and he ran this water down the school's roof to put out the fire. 

Our Grace kids are SO creative. They used construction equipement to make a drum set. (photo compliments of Rachel)

Culture Shock

We have hit the three month mark. We have survived and even thrived in many areas. So it got me thinking, what is the process. What is normal? So I did a little bit of research to find out the stages of culture shock. 

First Stage: Honeymoon or tourist stage

I think this lasted like 2 minutes. :) No, not really. I think that this stage actually lasted about 3 weeks for Shane and I and maybe a little longer for the kiddos. Some fun things about this stage:

1. There were times we were sort of bored

2. Every one we met had a clean slate

3. The kids favoite part was hanging out with so many friends

Second Stage: Irritation and anger stage

So this stage is where you feel overwhelmed. Overwhelmed by all of the differences in the culture. Apparently it is normal to get mad at the differences and feel like your home culture is superior. 

I think we jump in and out of this stage regularly. It is just SO different. 

1. One of our biggest challenges has been food. If you remember my earlier blog we seriously struggled with how to eat a balanced diet,  how to eat food found in Haiti, and how to have food we enjoy. (Good news is in this department anyway, we have moved to the next stage). 

2. Why is it so hard to develop unity at Grace? 

3. Why is driving so dangerous in Haiti? 

4. The kids would wonder why it is so difficult to be friends with children from another culture & from an orphanage. 

Third stage: Adjustment & reintegration

This is the phase where you become more open and accepting. You begin to understand how the culture will react, you know how to do 'life' in a way that is acceptable, and you begin to be proactive. 

We are toying with this phase. We are working on self care and putting up good boundaries. We live at our job, with our coworkers. Its a lot of togetherness. Don't get me wrong, I like togetherness...this is a lot. :) So we are communicating a lot with each other as a family and making sure that each persons needs are being taken care of. Some fun things about this stage:

1. I know where to go to get food that I can't buy at the local market! Yea!!

2. We are making friends with those in the community and feel safe driving home at night. 

3. The kids would say, they are learning more and more Creole which is helping them communicate and avoid some friendship pitfalls. 

Fourth Stage: Integration and assimilation stage

In this stage, you compare both cultures but you do so realistically. You feel comfortable and settled. You are just living a normal life. 

Someday we will be here. I'll keep you posted when we get here. 

Fifth Stage: Reverse or reentry stage

This stage is being excited about going home. Yet slowly realizing that things changed while you were gone. 

Sixth Stage: Shocked about the differences

In this stage you realize that things are not better at your home country. You even begin to miss where you were. 

So there you have it. We are working through the process. I know that one blessing has been that we are here for a two year commitment. This length of time has kept us from looking at our end date and instead keeping our eyes focused on the now. We are coming back to Minnesota Feb 10th-24th and that has got us missing our family even more. We are so excited to be able to visit them and refill. 

I have been making a list of things that I want to remember about our first year in Haiti, before we get to the Fourth Stage of culture shock. 

-Everyone shares what they have

-For Christmas they stay up late Christmas Eve and sometimes set off fireworks 

-I bought a laundry basket for $250 goudes (about $5 American dollars). Before that we were using a black plastic bag. It's the small things that make a difference 

-The reason the Haitian's use baby powder is that the sweat starts to hurt

-You can not flush #1 toilet paper or it will fill up your septic system. 

-If your system gets filled, someone (who gets paid a lot of money) will go down and shovel out the stuff that is left (apparently they drink a lot before they go down...yuck). 

-When you see someone for the first time of the day, it is required that you greet them. If you do not, they will think you are mad at them. They will probably ask you why you didn't say hello. 

-While driving, it is considered 'ok' to pass someone as they are passing someone else.

-Glasses of water left unattended often have small bugs floating in them. The bugs need water too and it is the drought season. 

-The kids play soccer on cement. This is an upgrade from rocky terrain. 

-Taking a shower the American way is tricky because there is little water pressure. It's easier to do it the Haitian way, with a little bucket. 

-It is important to tuck your sheets VERY tight so bugs don't crawl in there during the day. This also keeps the dust out of your bed.

-2 hours after cleaning the house we can write on the dresser because there is so much dust. 

-Haitians almost never fall even though their ground is really rocky. 

-All windows have bars, doors have locked gates and it is very important to make sure they are locked at night. (The police will probably not come if you call in case of an emergency)

-Church is held Mon-Fri from 5-6am, Wed 6-8pm, Sun 10am-12pm. Their worship is amazing. 

-When there is a grass fire in the mountain no one is able to put it out. 

So often when we drive or walk through the streets of Haiti I am overwhelmed by the love I feel for my Haitian brothers and sisters.  I know this love is only a fraction of what God feels for the Haitians. I am so grateful we get to serve here. 

(The information on culture shock was taken from expatcapetown.com blog. So good, thank you!)