Back to Sacramento

It was a very long and exhausting trip back home. God brought us back safe and we are so thankful. It is always an adjustment coming back to the states. We'll start working on getting our photos put together and get the link posted later. THank you all for your prayers and support.

Home and tired

We are home and resting. Both Brian and I are very tired. We would love prayer. Brian threw his back out today and I am dehydrated and tired. Our trip was blessed beyond measure and amazing. We already missing Haiti and the amazing food. Not to mention our wonderful friends.  We will post new pictures.

Love Brian and Tina

Last Day of the computer class

Yesterday was the last day of the computer class. We spent a lot the time in the morning reviewing all that we had learned.  Then we learned about email. They were so excited. We logged into Yahoo France and everyone got to create an email account. It was much harder than it sounds. The internet signal was not real strong and made it difficult to confirm the accounts. Plus, it was a very steep learning curve for applying what they learned. They really thought hard about each of the required questions that you have to answer to create an account. It took us a few hours to get everyone setup. But the results! Everyone in class has an email account and they started swapping addresses so they can communicate with each other. Pastor Bastia promised them that they can come on Saturday afternoons and they will have the lab setup for them.  They are so excited.

Then it was time to hand out certificates. You had to attend every day in order to get a certificate of completion. This was an important lesson for them to learn. If they weren't there, I wouldn't sign the certificate. It helped teach responsibility for the students and it showed them what it means to have professional integrity.  It was well received.

After we handed out the certificates each of the students got up and said thank you. They told me how this has completely changed their lives. They can't believe this opportunity that they could never afford a class like this. As Haiti develops and begins to offer jobs, computer skills are a requirement. If you don't have any experience or a certificate, you won't even be considered for a job. They are excited to have a future.

Day 4

I just finished the computer class. It was AWESOME!  We spent the whole time learning how to get on the Internet. I explained what a web browser is, a search engine, etc. Then we went ahead opened Internet explorer and went to Google.com.  We just opened up the world to them! They are so excited! They did research on the earthquake, the new president, the Cholera outbreak, etc. It is just amazing. They are so thankful. God is so good.

Tina is painting on the tower still and she has the camera. She'll give her update and add photos later tonight.

Friday

Tina is teaching a painting class today and I am prepping for my class this afternoon. The kids are absolutely loving the painting. Some of them are doing quite well. We'll post pictures tonight hopefully.

Today we will be doing lots of lab time and then learning about how to surf the web and then search the web. It's going to be fun!

What a Day!

What an incredible day today. Where do we even start?

Today was the first day that Tina got to really work on the radio station. She was able to accomplish a lot. While she was painting she also spent a lot of time with her "six little friends". She passed out paper and crayons and the kids around her colored and talked with her and played with her. She gave them little pieces of her Cliff bars and that was a big hit.  She also brought out some balls for them to play with and had a blast listening to them giggle.

I started on day3 of the computer class today. It was quite an experience. We reviewed network and the Internet and the difference between the two. It was a really hard concept. After two hours it began to pour down rain and I got concerned for all the computer equipment so we packed it up real quick.  We thought we were going to end the class and then we changed our minds. We just let people ask questions for a long time. Some of the questions were awesome. When they learned that we get Internet in Haiti via satellite, they wanted to know how the satellite got into space, who maintains it, etc. It was fun. They we really stretching my knowledge! Then we went into the office here and showed them how the satellite connects to the modem, which connects to the router, which allows the computers to access the Internet. It was a great "hands on" activity.  They are really wanting more lab time so they can get more experience.

After dinner tonight some of the teachers came by. We gave them some art books that Tina had purchased for the classrooms. The teachers LOVED them! They never get to do art, nor do they have any experience. We told them that we would do an art lesson tomorrow and let the kids paint. They have never painted before, so the teachers are as excited as the kids. I then asked the teachers what they thought of the computer class. They said that all significant jobs in Haiti require that you know something about computers or they won't even hire you. They can't believe all the opportunities that this opens to them. It was a great conversation.

They've already asked us to come back next year. They want me to figure out how we can get some kind of computer certification for the people here. And they want Tina to come back and teach some of the ladies how to make jewelry. They ave a lot of poor woman, many widows, and this would be an opportunity for them to support themselves and their children. Tina is very excited! We both are. :)

Please continue to pray for us. The heat is pretty overwhelming sometimes. They have plans for me teach all day on Saturday (starting at 8 and going until whenever). Right now it has been about 4 hours a day and that has been very tiring.  It doesn't help that my feet are swollen like sausages! For some reason the mosquitoes only like me. Oh well. There is so much to be thankful for. God is so good.

Computer Class Day 2

Oh my.  Computer class is going strong.  We had over 30 people today in class. Two of the computers overheated and wouldn't work.  So we had 4 people to each of the remaining 8 copmuters.  The overhead projector overheated & wouldn't work today either. It was REALLY hard to explain clicking & dragging files when you can't show people.  But the good thing is that they had the opportunity to do more of the "hands on" part of the class. I'm exhausted from prepping, teaching, and the heat. Betty has prepared a nice dinner for us and then I'm going to crash.

Tina got overheated trying to work on the tower this morning. So she took a nap and waited for it to cool off a bit.  So while I taught class she went out and started painting. She created the outline and started painting today. 

More updates to come!

What a blessing!

Class yesterday was so successful. We've had nothing but positive feedback on the class. The attendees are studying their notes and trying to memorize all the terminology that was thrown at them. They now know the parts that make up a computer, they can turn it on, login, and search for files. Today we'll be reviewing, learning to switch between programs, using control panel more, personalize their desktop, etc. It is very important to learn how to work with files & folders, so we will spend lots of time on that. I'm looking forward to teaching them about networks. Currently, no one knows what a network is. Having a background in computer networking makes this an easy and fun topic for me. And they are eager to learn it!

Tina began working on the radio tower today. They built her a very nice (and sturdy) platform to use. Within an hour she was feeling the heat and had to take a break. Please pray for Tina's safety and tolerance of the heat. It is very hot here in Haiti! We really have to pace ourselves. They are very excited for Tina to finish the mural on the tower so that it can be seen from the road in either direction.

Please keep Haiti in prayer. The needs here are very great. The Calvary Chapel we are working with does so much with what little they have. They provide a school for free, they provide the church, and until recently they had a free medical clinic on Saturdays. They've run out of funds so they can't complete the roof for their church and they had to stop the medical clinic. Diesel for the generator has become very expensive so they are not able to run the radio like they used to. The radio is used to communicate with the community. So when they couldn't have the clinic, they couldn't announce it on the radio! Lots of needs here, lots of prayer needed.

Thanks everyone!

Tueday Night Bible Study

TOnight we were blessed to hear Pastor Bastia teach from JOB 38 tonight. Betty interpreted for us. It was wonderful to be reminded that GOd is in charge. We sang worship songs but we had no idea what they said. It was a blast! 

we are so richly blessed!

Computer Training

Today was our first day of computer training. Instead of 6-8 people, we had about 25 people! It was such an amazing experience. Most of the people had no to little experience with computers.  They were so hungry to learn.  Today we reviewed hardware and how to login into the computer. The last thing I showed them was how to change their desktop background. It was so cool to hear them say "oooh."  They were so excited!  Pastor Bastia can't believe that computer training has come to Caneille. This remote location can now train people on computers!  My coworker lent me her projector and it worked wonderfully.

And the food is awesome! Betty is a great cook and we are being fed very well!

We've Arrived

It was a long, uncomfortable and bumpy flight from San Francisco to Miami. We arrived tired and groggy.  We were blessed to meet some other Christians who were ehading to Haiti to do mission work. There were three pastors heading to something called the "Leadership Connection" - which is where they would be teaching at a gathering of 200 pastors. We also met a sister in Christ who brings power supplies (solar, etc) that provide power to 40 homes. She might be able to get this to Caneille - Pastor Bastia was very excited to learn of that.

The flight to Port-au-Prince was nice and smooth. We went through customs without a hitch. Once you get past customs it is always chaotic.  We held our ground and waited inside the iron gates for Bastia to come pick us up.  It was about 4 or so hours to get to Canielle in the truck. It is amazing to see how far Haiti has come. The infrastructure along the way has improved drastically in the past year. There is a paved road to Hinche (a large town about 3/4 of the way to Caneille).  And the govt is working to get powerlines and telephone lines all the way from the hydroelectric plant miles away.

We had a warm and welcome greeting from Betty and we are already getting our plans ready for training this week. Originally I was going be teaching about 8 people. Now they have asked me to teach about 30 people. It doesn't matter how much I plan, God has a way of changing things. We'll how the first day of training goes tomorrow.

It was such a blessing to see how much has changed here at the mission house. The school kitchen is completed and it looks amazing!  The new church has walls up and they are saving for the roof to be completed. The have need for an electrician for many different things, so there are things to pray for.

Airport Security

In order to get through airport security check point we had to pull all our laptops out. We had 15 bins all together! Brian had to have his rear patted down and hands swabbed after going through the full body x-ray machine. We caught a lot of stares. But we are through and waiting to board. :)

Tomorrow's the Day!

Finally! We are packed and ready to go. Our friends came over and helped us pack EVERYTHING. 6 suitcases will be expensive, but it's the only way to get to the supplies to Haiti.

We Leave in 3 Days!!!

Please be in prayer for Tina and I as we are packing and finalizing everything. We each have two carry-on bags and two suitcases. I think we have more stuff than will fit!

For those of you who don't know, we are traveling to Haiti for two purposes. One, I will be bringing laptops and computer equipment to setup a computer lab and train Haitians how to use computers. Second, Tina will be completing her mural on the radio tower and teaching art classes to the children.

Please be in prayer for our health. We have not been felling well the last couple days as we are scrambling to get everything before we leave. Please pray for safe travels. Please also pray for Pastor Bastia and his wife Betty as the prepare for our arrival. Bastia will pick us up at the airport. It is a long drive both ways.