for the love of Haiti [& more!]

wedding

2010-03-31T00:30:00.005-04:00

we're so excited to be getting married on june 19! but the excitement does not end there; we're SO thrilled to live life together & experience whatever it is that God has in store for us! that lifestyle causes us to need to be quite flexible in future plans, able to pick up & go to new locations simply & efficiently. with that known, we are keeping this winter open for us to be able to go and do mission work abroad. whether it be haiti, florida, cambodia, or even close to home, we're willing. Because of this, we will not need so many household items traditionally given as wedding gifts.

for our wedding, if you'd like to honor us with a gift, money would be most useful [yeah, we know, its not exciting to give cash]. money that would be put toward our winter months of service work. money that would be spent for us to participate in being focused only on giving, serving, and loving others in our world as we seek to give back, because we know we have been give so much by God.

thanks for loving us so much & we CANT WAIT to see you at the wedding!

uhhh . . .

2010-02-12T01:36:00.002-05:00

you might have thought that i forgot about this handy little blog. i kinda did . . . sorry faithful blog readers! im back typing, but i'll be home soon!

its been an eventful past 2 weeks, to say the least. i've been blessed to go on a few more excursions to see more of hawaii: a trip to the green sand beach & the active lava flow. both amazing creations of God for sure! I've been spending some more of my time working on a new tour to give, and did it for the 1st time today, and it went quite well. PTL! im doing better w/ this public speaking arena :)

a big decision has been a challenge in the past week: to go back to haiti or not. after much prayer, talking to a few people, and struggling to sleep, ive decided to save my return to haiti until a time when rach can go with me. it was a good decision for me to make; learning how to no longer think like a single person, but to decide what is best for us. so many things in life are very good to do, and learning what is more important can be a challenge to determine. God is faithful to help us walk in the right direction!

when iread the bible now, i see it with a new light. a i read it here, im faced to live it out in an environment of unsaved people. its much more different to read 'judge not'
' treat others as you want to be treated'
'love your neighbor'
'seek peace & pursue it'
'suffer for doing what is right'
and actually live them out where few people live it out, too.

and to add to the randomness of this post, ive thoroughly been enjoying spending my working days with the older volunteers. one guy counts down the days for me when i'll get to see my love again. another one "doesn't like to be hugged" but he always likes to let coworkers know that he got a hug from me. another one know that if he doesn't smile, i'll be sure to get a huge smile out of him somehow. ahh, the trouble that forms when i live in new places for a while: friendships form. then i have to leave. but then i know im always welcome back!

backpacking

2010-02-02T16:51:00.004-05:00

i just got back home from a 2 night [20 miles] backpacking adventure!! ive done hiking & camping, but never did it together - now i want to do it again! it was a great time, and an enjoyable way to spend my days off [and and extra day, too!]. my tan has definitely taken a turn for the best & my back is now a nice shade of red from all the snorkeling; amazing fish here in hawaii! there was 10 of us the 1st day, but 5 had to head back early b/c of work, so the 5 of us that remained hiked to 3 camps along the coast, enjoyed the sun & water, cooked together, and relaxed.

hiking over frozen lava does serve for an interesting hike . . .

so im writting this new program for my tours, and its all about native plants, but what im getting at in the talk is for people to experience what it must have been like to arrive to a new land [hawaii] and have all these new plants - not knowing what they are. so the talk will go on to expalin the plants, BUT what got me thinking was about what it must have been like for those 1st hawaiians [and native americans, for that matter] just arriving to a new land. they have no home to go to. they have not water faucet to turn on. they have not electricity. they have not shower or toilet paper. there is no refiderator to throw their food into.

hummm.

here i am in the same location that the tahitians & marquesan may have arrived on 1200 years ago. i have a sophisticated pack with all the food i'll need for days ahead. i have a water filter & portable stove. i have suntan lotion & good shoes. I also know when i'll be home so that i can use the shower, soap & shampoo. WOW. it really makes me think what, as a people, we have become.

well, it just made me think for a bit - i was able to thoroughly enjoy the days out in the backcountry exploring & seeing God's amazing creation. definitely points to a creator.

a theme

2010-01-29T02:54:00.003-05:00

so the hikes i do are generally about an hour. i take a group of people out into the rainforest and talk to them about the nature around them. but, before i can just take these people out & tell them about what they are looking @ i need to write a program & make an outline of what i will be saying to them. for this outline, its is necessary to have a theme. yes, a theme. remember when writing papers for school and ya had to have that topic sentence? well, that's what i have to come up with for my talks.

in the past 2 days ive been working at writing another hike. i have all my information, the plants, cultural stories, and ideas of what to say. all the information is right on and my sources are credible. But, i have to come up with a theme statement that ties all this information together. one sentence to write that will allow my mind to keep tying all what i speak about to a central theme.

then, after work, i was sitting here at my computer and wondered what is the theme for my life? what one sentence could i sum up my whole life, so that if i'd say this sentence, this theme statement, that i'd be continually drawn back to it. that everyting i'd do & say would be a reflection of this statement. hummm. now ive got to get thinking.

a theme for my life. if i had it, then i'd be able to bounce anything i do off this theme, and if it made sense then i'd do it. otherwise if it did not coincide with the theme, then i'd better not do it.

hummmm.....

haiti

2010-01-23T23:38:00.004-05:00

haiti has been on my mind, prayer list, and words MUCH the past week. its been so encouraging to keep up with the mission, BHM, and know how God is truly allowing miracles to happen left & right. Im still quite excited to head down to haiti this march, and i know for sure that i won't be working with the plants! you've probably already heard, but my haitian 'family' [st.forts] are all alive & well, and i was quite relieved to hear that news!

its was only today that i read and article on haiti that i resonated with. click me to read it.

feel free to keep praying with me for the country.

for the past 3 days ive had this awful sickness [fever, sore throat, congested nose, headache]. Yet through it all i realize how blessed i am to have a bed to rest in, tissues to blow my nose, a shower to wash off, vitamins to take, new clothing to wear, a washing machine, and food to eat. i have NOTHING to complain of compared to those who've lost it all. God truly is unfair - unfair to me. He's given me MORE that i deserve. 3 days of sickness isn't so bad.

earthquake

2010-01-16T01:44:00.003-05:00

so ive never felt an earthquake before. this morning, 15th, @ 7:34am i felt one. well, it was only a 3.0, but i still noticed it! i felt the windows in my room move in toward me. you know when somebody else slams the door in the house, everything seems to shake outward? well, in was like a much larger 'door' was slamming into the house. kinda neat. i did not think anything of it, aside from wondering if it was an earthquake, & when i got to work, i found out that it, in fact, was!

http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/last_event_states/states_hawaii.html has all the details.

mennonite, right?

2010-01-16T00:59:00.003-05:00

a week or so ago i posted about how free i felt to not be identified in any religious entity, its just God & i here. im continually finding my identity in Him and not identifying myself with any 'group' of christians.

today @ work i saw a group of people pile out of a van: dad, mom, aunt, 6 kids, grandma & grandpa. the women wore dresses & had a style of covering [bonnet-esque] that i hadn't seen before. the men were dressed with slacks & button down shirts, and had beards [those who could grow them]. immediately in my mind i knew that i wanted to talk to them.

why????

i identified myself with them b/c i knew, by the way they were dressed, that they had to be of some anabaptist faith. i knew that i would feel comfortable with them, i knew that we had a common bond & that we could relate. my reaction was to WANT to be with them. in all my glory as i was so empowered to be on my 'own' to not be part of a religious group, i could not help to want to be a part of them. funny how that works - outwardly im glad to be a christian on my own, inwardly i deeply desired the fellowship of other believers.

i felt like maria, from the sound of music, to be surrounded by all those children as i walked surrounded by all my fellow anabaptist believers.

after our time together, i found that they were from california and a part of the brethren in Christ church. in my mind i assumed that they were amish from ohio. oops!

i was SO ENCOURAGED to be among fellow believers - and i did not even think to ask for a hug :0

countries

2010-01-15T01:20:00.003-05:00

so @ home we don't need to go too far to meet somebody from another country. i've enjoyed that about life in souderton - we have sucha diversity of people in our area. the cultures & countries come to us! we get the benefit. and that is certainly no different from life here in hawaii! i have the privilege of meeting people from all over the world, daily. i started keeping a list the beginning of the month noting which countries are represented by the people i talk with. here is my list so far:

sweeden
canada
germany
netherlands
argentina
brazil
denmark
australia
new zealand
england
south africa
kenya
china
japan
columbia
france
korea
mexico
israel
greece
scottland
india
czech rep
findland
spain
austria
romania
russia

this, is such a blessing to me, i really value it - to see & meet the beauty all around the world!

church & science

2010-01-12T14:51:00.003-05:00

there is the ongoing argument among people related to how old the earth is. i thought id never post about this topic, but my beliefs were challenged & i had to think more about it.

do we believe, sometimes with blind faith about scientific discussions, even when science is clear in proof that we are incorrect? the church did this back around the 15th century when it, the church, blindly believed that the earth was the center of the solar system, around which the sun rotated. they took the position out of blind faith even though science proved that the sun was the center of our solar system, around which the earth rotated.

the church was wrong, science was right & nobody can argue that.

this made me think, alot. what might i believe that can be proven otherwise? ive taken the view that the earth is geologically young out of blind faith. i could be wrong. everything i've believed, thought & have been taught about the age of the earth could be false. wow.

im not saying that im changing my stance on the earth's age, but ive come to a place that i can see & understand why some christians adhere to a geologically old earth. from this new appreciation i'll no longer think 'im right & they're wrong' but rather hope to be able to come to the same conclusion with them that, in fact, God IS the creator.

does it really matter how old the earth is? of course not. if somebody needs to believe that the earth is geologically old to come to faith in Christ, so be it.

germans

2010-01-11T00:48:00.002-05:00

ive been meeting many, many germans here in hawaii. im really enjoying them, for some reason, germans are extremely nice as tourists. i remember on my 1st trip to germany, the germans i met in the shops were not to us american tourists, but since then ive met some wonderful germnas. and here in hawaii, every german is wonderful. well, most everybody is happy b/c they are on vacation and/or honeymoon. i love talking to the 'kids' who are on their honeymoons for some strange reason [hummm . . .]. i can pick out the honeymooning couples: the girl is hanging on they guys shoulder, they both have that prue happiness look in their eyes, and they guy is furiously paying with his ring, b/c he's never had one before.

back to the germans - i really enjoy the german visitors [and the australians] but the germans the past days have been very nice. lenard, a swiss friend, had suggested that i tell every german person that i meet: das ist ein volcan [i don't know if i spelled it right, but it says: this is a volcano]. so i tell this to all the german visitors, and they smile SO big - it just makes their day. they even say i have good pronunciation :) i guess that little connection makes me, and them, appreciate each other. i can't help it, i love germans!

so its been 2 months since ive hada hug. do you know how hard that is??? im tempted to, one time, ask some nice german people for a hug.

Why

2010-01-09T01:44:00.002-05:00

"Why, neal, are you so happy? Why do you always smile?"

ive waited so long for somebody to ask me this question. i was longing to be asked.

"once i found Jesus, he changed my life. i used to be negative, unpleasant, and angry, but after God got me, things changed"

and it all just flowed in a normal conversation, like we were talking about the game last night. my coworkers have known that im all about God, but now they are asking more!

PTL!

going, going

2010-01-08T01:38:00.002-05:00

it feels like life is now 'back to normal'. i have a schedule that is 'predictable' [haha rach], im at a comfortable place with coworkers & i know what is expected of me. then i realize that, in actuality, there is no 'back to normal' to experience. & ive also decided that i don't want anymore 'back to normal' days, weeks, months or years. i don't want things the way they 'used to be'. i like not knowing what is around the corner b/c it keeps me in a place of surrender. its a hard place to live in, but just knowing that God knows what is next is growing on me & im getting more & more used to living that way. i don't know whats around the corner [and i haven't for the past 3 years], so why should i want to live aware of what is next? life just takes more faith, but God's writting a beautiful, dynamic, awesome & epic story. im so glad to be in it. and if you're reading this now, you are part of my story. thanks for being w/ me on it! im glad im in your story, too. :)

mennonite, right?

2010-01-04T01:11:00.002-05:00

well, ive been away from home for 2 months now. one month i was associating myself with a free spirited baptist chruch, and for the last month ive identified myself with no church body whatsoever. & its been the best thing for me. yeah, ive replaced, yet again, the focus that i grew up in a mennonite body of believers to that of the fact that God & i are good friends. for the past 2 months, ive considered myself a follower of Christ, and in relationship with Him. nothing to identify myself except as His.

there is something very powerful and forming that is going on within me. this is the first time in my life when i have NOT been to church in over a month [& i think God likes it!!]. and it'll be 3 months of NO CHURCH until i come home. at first it frustrated me, now im realizing how helpful its been not attending a church, not identifying myself to a certain church, not having a denomination to stereotype me by, and not living in the comfort of a huge community of fellow believers.

nobody asks 'what church do you go to?' or 'who are you related to?'. they are finding out WHO i am. i know, i know this all sounds like im beating on my home town people. i am to an extent, but its good to step back from where i was & look @ how that culture was forming me. its not wrong; nor is it wrong here. they are just different.

its NOW that im, again, continuing to find my identity in Him. the thing i seek to have, which i sometimes wonder what im looking for is this: Christ's Love. the relationship b/w God & i can grow, contrary to what i thought, without the surrounding fellowship of [many] close friends & church family, without a 'home church' body, without a said denomination, and without living in a predominantly christian community. granted, this lifestyle would be hard to continue in year after year, but its healthy for a time - for me @ this point in my life.

God put me right where he wanted me @ just the right time. its just God & me for a while - & im excited for what we are going to learn together!

3month tourist

2010-01-03T01:40:00.002-05:00

i realized today what i feel like: a 3 month tourist. in this 3 months im learning lots about geology, volcanology, hawaiian plants & hawaiian culture. its very, very intriguing to me & im so fascinated about learning so much about how the world works from the inside & what makes lava flow. before i left for the park, i realized that i was going to be working more with lava than with plants. now that im here im finding myself to be very engaged in the material that im studying/working with.

why? i wondered why do i love geology so much & all the sudden? its because im not studying it in a textbook, classroom, or with rock samples. im in the field, on the flow, talking to professionals, and finding myself challenged as i answer visitor question. im seeing how interwoven biology & geology are.

i was talking with 2 ladies today about random stuff what they were looking @, answering their questions & telling them hawaiian cultural stories. i was enjoying sharing this knowledge [i love to talk about what i know] and they were enjoying the time, too. then they asked me how long ive been doing this. 4 weeks. then it hit me how much ive learned in just that amount of time.

im just a 3 month tourist :) what ever am i going to do with all this knowledge? God must have something up His sleeve. "He's always something up to"

haole makahiki hou

2010-01-01T02:06:00.002-05:00

haole makahiki hou [how-oh-lay ma-ka-he-key hoe]

yeah, thats hawaiian for 'happy new year'! to celebrate the day we had supper as a house group, played dominoes & uno. & did sparklers. welcome 2010. i had hoped that i'd see the great times square celebration live in hawaii at 7pm my time [midnight your time] and be able to watch it 'with' rach . . . but all that the tv had on was infomercials, so that plan did not work out.

anyway, i had a stellar day at work today. why? well, i had deeper conversations w/ my coworkers, did a great tour, had a person come back to the visitors center to thank me for the great day i recommened for him to go out and see, and got to 'rove' where i just hang out outside at the crater, answer questions, talk to random people, and enjoy the sun.

PTL. thanks, Lord. 60 days to go . . .

family

2009-12-29T03:09:00.000-05:00

we had our house pizza 'make, bake & eat night' this evening. we do it once/week, and i always look forward to it. we make pizza from scratch together, and its a great group thing. we also invite others that we work with over, too. i had received another package from dad today, and in it was some cookies from church friends - which i was thrilled to get! i decided to share the cookies with the group that was here & they were all excited, too.

i say that to say this. they asked me the question: 'you seem to be so family oriented, you are always getting packages, talking about rachel, dad & friends, so what are you doing here, away from everybody?' i had to smile @ the question. i had to explain that a year & a half ago, when i applied to work here, i was looking for ways to get away. i then shared that that is no longer the case, but regardless im here. i had to realize that my actions are speaking louder than my words in explaining how much i am 'family' oriented, even though im here.

i got a gift from a friend here: its a shirt that has 'run forrest, run' on the front! i told them how i always wanted to name my firstborn son forrest, but that all my friends did not really like that idea. the better news is that she also gave me a little shirt - shirt, for say, my first born son, that has they same words on the front: RUN FORREST RUN!

past week

2009-12-25T01:10:00.002-05:00

mele kalikimaka!! [hawaiian for merry christmas]

its interesting for me this year - im working christmas day. i don't much mind b/c im here w/o family, so im free to work that day, and it give the local people the day off. im constantly amazed at the number and diversity of people i chat with throughout the day, people from australia, new zealand, britian, france, sweeden, germany, japan, china, canada, and people from all around the mainland. for most people coming here are ESL [english as a second language] folk. oh how i wish i knew french!!!

ive been asked many times if working here is what i expected or if i think i could see myself doing this full time. i say no, then i say maybe, then i say i'll have to wait until im finished my term to decide. i love the work, talking with people, and helping people understand the way the environment works around them - im interpreting nature. i find it fufilling, but i would rather get to really know & spend time with people. i must meet 55+ people a day, but i don't get to know them as people. all i do is get them to a place of smiling and excitement to see the park. and then the fulfillment is over, they leave & i go onto talking to somebody else.

add to that mix that im w/o a christian community, surrounded by people who don't believe the same a i do, and don't have the love of my life with me. so its really hard to know if this is what i really want to do in the future. God knows what He has for us as time goes on, and i'll trust that that will be enough.

one think i know: i don't mind being away from the snow for the winter. really, that fact alone is enough for me to be willing to do this every winter!!! maybe everglades for winter 2010-2011 :)

been a while

2009-12-21T01:19:00.002-05:00

sorry i haven't posted for the past few days, the dust has been settling! no problems, just continued adjustment. this week ended my 1st week of giving tours to people & talking to hundreds of vacationing guests in the visitors center. i was not sure if i'd be able to speak anymore . . . but i managed not to go hoarse. ptl. im in the swing of things now, and, after today, my schedule has normalized to working wed-sun with mon & tue off - now i'll have some sense of a 'standard' week.

yesterday i had to chance to drive around the island with my housemates, denny & sharon. i was so blessed to be able to do this, so now i have much better sense of what the rest of the island is like, what people are seeing, and where random places are located. i also got to get my feet into some beaches here on the big island, as the beaches by my town are not the nicest for relaxing.

today i woke up with such excitement because i was going to church! i haven't been to church the the past 3 weeks, and looked forward to being among the fellowship of christian brothers & sisters. i left feeling alone in a room full of people - not the way one should feel after being @ church. the sermon was exactly what i needed to hear [coming back to God for peace & strength], but i had no fellowship that ive been placing such a high priority on. i realize God wants it to be just me & Him for a little while. and im becoming increasingly okay with that. it's not my first choice, but i guess He's teaching me something. wait, im going to EXPECT that He's teaching me something & look for how He's gonna work it all out . . .

until then, it's just me and God . . .

OH, i just read an article & it totally changed something ive been thinking about. so i always go back to John 6:44 that says God will draw people to himself when i think about helping ppl find Christ. i took the view of God will bring them to himself & if He chooses to involve me, then PTL. John 12:32 gives me a new point of view: 'if I am lifted up on earth, i will draw all men to myself'. hummm. so i can help this process along by causing His name to be lifted up & then He'll draw the people in. sure i knew this, but it hit me today.

busy busy

2009-12-16T01:07:00.002-05:00

today i gave my first talk. it was 15 mins standing around a 3-d relief map of the island of hawaii with 20 ppl watching & listening. it rambled on about how the islands were formed, and how the hawaiian volcanoes give us a picture of the beauty of life & death. it went okay, i need to refine it, but all good things take time & work. i'll get to do it again tomorrow, and the next day, and the next! i also worked the visitor center answering question after question, pointed out places to go on the maps, and felt a certain pride to be wearing a uniform of the national park. unfortunately, i don't get the park ranger hat; im just a volunteer. its crazy, its just like the military - there are different uniform colors, patches, hats & pin that you get [or forbidden] to wear based on your 'rank'.

im quite tired, mentally exhausted for sure. i need some rest& i'll be ready to go for it again tomorrow!

missing something

2009-12-14T01:43:00.002-05:00

today was a busy day for me: market @ 6:45, then left for a hiking trip @ 7:45. by noon the hike was over, then off to lunch. after making a few calls, it was out to do a little more exploring on some old lava flows. then off to see the black sand beach. when we got home [5pm] we made pizza dough for pizzas tomorrow, i got some meals made for the next few day. then the dishes had to be washed. the day blew by & i realized that tomorrow i work already.

i never had a 'sunday' this week & i realize how much i missed & needed it. im writing this @ 8:50 pm, longing for a regular sunday of church, lunch with dad, and then relaxing for the afternoon with rachel. God sure knew what he was doing when he gave us one day of rest - how do so many other people function w/o a 'sabbath'? IDK!!!

so what am i going to do about it? well, i don't have a day this week to just take off, so i'll just have to live on prayer & lots of grace! i think i may have found a wednesday evening church that i can attend, as i'll be working sundays the the rest of my term here. its just a matter of getting a gov't car to get there - hopefully they'll let me take it out to church . . .

ya don't miss things until ya don't got them anymore.

a note

2009-12-11T01:52:00.003-05:00

a few of you readers have expressed that its hard to find the pictures on the blog. on the right side of the blog there is a column that, if you scroll down, there will be a box that say: "pictures!!". under that it says 'click here to see pictures of hawaii'. then click the album: "in the middle of the pacific ocean". sorry its so confusing .. . but you're smart!

i was standing outside, enjoying a beautiful day after work. i was basking in the sun, watching the kilauea volcano erupting [its just a massive steam plume], standing on the edge of a 400' cliff at an outlook from the woods. isolated & at peace - a perfect time to pray. "so, God, what do you want me to pray about? who for? what for?" i heard no answer. then it hit me: God simply wanted me to praise Him for His creation, the wonder of the works of His hands that He created for ME to enjoy right @ that moment, never to be had again by anyone. just for me. thanks God!

christmas time

2009-12-10T03:07:00.002-05:00

this will be my 4th christmas that ive been glad to be away from home. yeah, im finally accepting the fact that ive been avoiding christmas the past 3 years [and this year, too, unfortunately]. ever since my mom left our family, i did not want to be 'with family' simply b/c it was not that same - we had a special family tradition that i valued so highly - but that value was not understood to me until i no longer had it. i took it for granted, expecting that it was 'normal' and would continue. over the years since mom moved, i looked for ways to take myself out of area [house-sitting, being in another country, or another state] so i would not have to face the hurt of not having that valued family time. i really need to put that way of thinking behind me - its only hurting me. and christmas is really more than family, afterall.

i got thinking about this after reading an article [click here]. if you read it you'll know how i've been feeling the past 3 christmases. as i read it tears flowed down my face; i could not hold them back. i know the pain christmas can be, and could feel for the writer. then, as it ended, i realized how selfish i was, thinking that christmas was about me, my family, and my happiness.

i must decrease; He must increase.

powerful force

2009-12-09T04:05:00.002-05:00

words have such power over us. how we perceive & understand words we read give us meaning by which we take actions. we were talking about speaking in our training on taking ppl on hikes, walks & talks today, and that made me think of all this. this short film we watched made me really think: click here. also about words, as ive been interacting w/ ppl, i discovered how much people complain. the first thing out of peoples mouths [coworkers here in the park] seems to always be negative, demeaning, discouraging, and rotten. why the continual discouragement? guess they have nothing to be bright about [i have something to give them!]. the power of the tongue - it can bring life or death. a spritual principle taking form [prov 18:21]. its much different than that car ride in europe - remember that lenard, court & lauren? living w/o complaints is such a better way to live!!!

we all have something to be happy for. focus on the positive things; if you focus on the negatives, you won't be able to see the good things.

when i begin to have despairing thoughts, i just remember where in the world i am: who wouldn't want to be in hawaii? i got no room to complain.

show me the lava!

2009-12-07T22:34:00.003-05:00

saturday was the day that i got to see REAL lava flowing down the existing lava field. amazing, powerful & breathtaking. the heat it emitted was incredible [2000F]. seeing it flow into the ocean, and the vapor [and HCL] it produced was a sight that is spectacular! the 1.5 mile hike out was like walking over the moon's surface [so i hear], and an experience i won't soon forget. i have pictures of it all linked on the lower right side of this blog page.

all this excitement comes with a change: im not self-employed here. its definitely a change for me: i can't make my own schedule, decide what i will and will not do, or choose to have sunday off or not. so this brings with it the humbling experience of allowing somebody else [u.s. govt] to decide when i'll work, what time i'll arrive & go, and what i'll do. it sounds like i'll be working on saturdays & sundays [along with christmas and other holidays], so i now have to decide what i'll do for a 'sunday' of church, no shopping, and no work. this week, monday was my sunday, and ive decided that its okay to do that: giving myself one day a week that i keep as a day of rest.

also, here i don't have a community of christians to pal around with, a church to run to, or a body of ppl with my same thinking of life. what do i do about it? well, i listen to sermons online as church. i also have to work to find a church to connect with, and actively seek out christian people should i want to be with them. ahhh, but this is the beauty of it all: im one of the few christians infiltrating a subculture that has not yet found God! isn't that where we, christians, should be?

i simply never realized how valuable it is to have a church family, like minded christian friends, and people that have the same idealiology as me around me. do i need it? can i live without it? is God enough for me, to have Him alone?

we shall see.

training

2009-12-05T14:14:00.004-05:00

its been an intense past few days:

-meeting & interacting with dozens of new people
-learning, writing & processing lectures, books, & interpreted hikes
-adjusting to a new environment
-figuring out how to make food for myself
-not having my schedule to be made by myself, im an employee again

today is my day off, and im so glad for it!

im here

2009-12-02T00:04:00.002-05:00

i arrived safely here at volcanoes national park today, tuesday, dec 1. i got some good conversations on the plane today - a bodybuilding japanese guy, woman going for dr. appt, family from new zealand, couple from seattle, and a overly friendly ticket agent. so yeah, i loved the morning 'commute' :)

i was coming down the steps @ the airport and i spotted a woman in national park garb, and she was smiling quite big, looking right @ me .. . i was [and am] so happy!! here i am, doing what ive been wanting to do for years: working for the national park. what a PTL. thanks, God, for bringing me here, now what do you have planned? sign me up for it all!

well, there were 3 national park ppl to pick me up, all of which were very nice, humorous, and very informative. i could not believe it, im surrounded by ppl who have the same love for nature, plants, & the environment that i have. maybe the fact that im so attracted to all this will become the reason im repelled from it . . .? regardless, im glad to be here.

we went to the grocery store, took a quick tour around Hilo [main town], and i saw an erupting volcano for the 1st time. ['erupting volcano' does not necessarily imply that its spewing lava].

then i got settled into my house, and to my surprise, i have my own room! i was told earlier that i was going to have to share a room w/ a married couple, but thankfully that won't be necessary. my one housemate is about 38. the married couple comes tomorrow, and a 5th member arrives jan 1st. so far so good!

tomorrow starts intensive training for the next 2 week; pray for me!

its here

2009-12-01T03:06:00.004-05:00

tomorrow, at 7am, my fight leaves for the big island. can't wait to go & start this long waited adventure. today, my last day in molokai was nice & simple. the plan today was to help out @ a family's home from church, but the winter rains decide to arrive today, so working outside there was out of the question. i had good a good conversation this morning w/ a friend, fertilized some plants, ate lunch, did some reading, packed my suitcase, cleaned up the space i used, said some good-byes, played a couple games of volleyball, and now sit here wondering what to write.

earlier today, i sat on my favorite rock here @ the church. its secluded, but gives a view of everything around . .. its the highest point for miles. i sat there and wondered how & why God loves me so much. who am i to deserve such love & blessing from Him? God is so unfair to me: He gave me so much - there are other people who could use just as much love, why don't they have it? then i knew what God was teaching me:

i want you to give all that love that's been poured on you to everybody around you who may not have it.

oh. thanks God. im having a hard time giving it all away . .. always seems to be more to give

next assignment

2009-11-28T19:06:00.002-05:00

i got an email today with the schedule for the first 2 weeks at hawaii volcanoes national park [starting dec 1]. !!!! talk about indepth training - they have me for the next 3 months of my life, and they give me saturdays and sundays off. im excited to serve my country - i don't support the war effort; lives are more important to me. so in effort to show my appreciation of living in this country where freedoms abound to me, im glad to give the next 3 months of my life to volunteering here in hawaii. all around, its pretty rough :P hahaha. some guys go through boot camp for the same amount of time . .. i go through a 2 week training on biology & geology of the 300000 acre park, learn how to be an interpreter: bringing all this science stuff to a way that everybody can appreciate & value it, and understand the 'heartbeat' of the volcanoes.

im thrilled about this new adventure in life that God has provided for me! its been 1.5 years in the waiting, and now its here. its gonna have its challenges, but im ready to take them on, specifically facing evolutionary thinking head on. i cant wait for all the people i'll meet, conversations i'll have, and things i'll learn.

sign me up!

thanksgiving day

2009-11-27T17:21:00.003-05:00

today was a 'no-frills' sort of day; which i enjoyed! hawaiians are really indifferent to the celebration of this day - they are as far from the east coast as you can get. it a holiday, nonetheless, so its observed. i went to a friends house for brunch and we had rice, turkey, ham, stuffing, spinach & cole slaw. it was the community of people that i enjoyed the best. the younger bro there was insistent that i play video games with him - from the moment i arrived he was outside telling me that he had 'ben 10' and that i should come in right away to play. i had not the slightest idea what 'ben 10' was, but quickly found that it was video game. he must have wondered what was wrong with me b/c i play video games as well as fish can type. he enjoyed having somebody to beat, and we had a grand time laughing.

i also had some good conversation at the 'adult table' [still haven't fully decided where i belong] about polynesian culture, religious beliefs, hawaiian history, and the availability of horticulture jobs here. islanders are much more diverse than we mainland people are. we are european. these guys are mixes of hawaiian, philippino, figian, samoan, indonesian, japanese, new zealander, have bits of french influence, and from all sorts of islands in the south pacific. very, very interesting stuff.

ya forget the rest of the world is out there when you live on an island. the island IS your world. so many cultures emerge from these islands, its truly fascinating. i have joy fogel, a friend who died a few years ago, to thank for sparking my interest & appreciation for the incredible diversity in people. beautiful.

good day for sure.

cant stand this

2009-11-25T01:53:00.002-05:00

i had several conversations with people, over the past week, who are [or know people] harboring racist thinking patterns. if there is one thing that disgusts me its that. i should know this by now, but its only confirmed more, the fact that you can't get away from people who have racial prejudices. all people groups ive met have them, and it makes me wonder why we have these negative thoughts. in the community in which i grew up [and even now] i hear the subtle, but serious, comments that degrade people because of their skin color, their nationality, and/or their ethnicity. harmless people think, but those spoken slams get into children, unknowingly forming prejudices in their minds. it happened to me, i don't want to pass it on. [no, dad & mom, it was not you!]

shouldn't we stop even making prejudice jokes? after all, at the heart of our jokes there lies a bit of truth.

this close to that!

2009-11-23T21:45:00.003-05:00

i was pleasantly working outside at a church members house w/ another guy, matt. im oblivious to the potential danger that the bugs here cause - and it seems to be a good thing b/c i get in there and do the work w/o fear. as we were cleaning up under the palm tree [im sweating here!] matt was making sure i knew what bugs were crawling around my hands: centipedes! these precious little guys bite hard & painfully. i moved to a rake to keep my hand out of their little home in the flower beds - i sure did not want to get bitten after he told me of the severe pain they inflict.

then we saw the daddy of all centipedes. it must have been 4 inches long [next time i tell this story it'll be 6" long :P]. it was scurrying around so i quickly stamped on it w/ my boot, as matt had only slippers, what the locals here call what we know as flip-flops, on. after i smashed the critter we saw no trace of him. hummmm. where did he go. matt joking said yeah, maybe he got up under your pants. the thought crossed my mind of how painful it would have been to have this creepy-crawly all up under my pants or down in my boot. OUCH!!! i quickly forgot about the fact that we hadn't located this centipedes remains, and continued working.

2 hours later i got home, to my room in the gym. i took off my boots, one by one, as i usually do. then i found mr. centipede escaping across my room with fury! he must have, as i tried to squish him, found a nice home under my pants and on the outside of my boot. thankfully, i was spared the agony of the bite this guy gives. unknowingly, i was living that close to such pain.

i wonder if there is an analogy to go with this? am i living so close to such pain that im not aware of? am i consciously choosing to put myself in situations that could cause such pain in my life. im not thinking of driving too fast or walking near a fire, im talking about the temptations of sin.

stay clear & run from it!

hangin' on molokai

2009-11-22T04:48:00.003-05:00

today was great, to put it lightly. it started out cleaning @ the church and then led to eating lunch w/ andrew, a new friend - having challenging & encouraging conversation w/ him. we went to see the worlds tallest sea cliffs [yeah, AMAZING!] and were just taking it all in. ive never seen anything quite like it . . . it totally left me speechless.

then got a lesson at driving stick shift - that could come in handy some time.

headed over to the local coffee shop to grab a 'mocha mamma' [the fav drink here on molokai] and as were were going, a classmate of andrew came out and asked for a ride home. so we said sure and took her home. hanging out @ the house w/ her brought out her other sis & 2 bros. so we were 'talking story' [what they call their random conversations] for a while, and then i asked if we could open a coconut. we did & i drunk the milk right from the coconut - never did that before. they [the kids i was w/] all had sucha great time @ my interest in their foods, lifestyle, & culture. they said i was at their 'polynesian culture event' and they were going to show me everything polynesian. i was totally into this & i asked how many other haoles [what white ppl are called here] they've taken on their 'polynesian culture event'. i was their 1st one. we ate kukui nuts, walked their property & saw their cows & horses. saw a triple rainbow, explored the sea cliffs again, which are right out their backyard, had a stir-fry supper, saw some of their traditional dances, played their drums, and i asked tons of questions.

as it turns out they are spiritually seeking, and we had an opportunity to share Christ, too. PTL! God turns up @ the most random times . . .

andrew & i were so blessed.

astonished, yet again

2009-11-21T02:26:00.003-05:00

tonite was the clearest night since ive been here, and i took a moment to just lay in the grass, in the pitch dark, with my headlamp to get there, and watch the show. after i watched the sun set [i thought that was great], but it got better tonite at 9:30. seeing the moon low on the horizon, the sliver that it was, was breathtaking. even though only the bottom right portion was illuminated, i could see the outline of the remaining portion of it. i smiled delightfully & PLTed. :)

then, back to laying in the grass i noticed several things. twinkling stars [brighter than in haiti!] so many sparking and all around that i only wanted to be able to see them all at one time! several shooting stars buzzed around; the most ive seen @ one time since i was in switzerland up at julie's bday party. i was told i could see the milky way from here. i always imagined just a little oval shaped spot off in the sky. its actually a HUGE portion of the sky. it, from my point of view, ran from the horizon up to the apex of the sky. it was probably 1/20th of the sky. i was taken back at its sheer size. needless to say, there was quite a show in the sky tonite here on molokai. thanks God.

oh, and i watched the moon on my ride home; it smiled pleasantly down upon me.

uncle!

2009-11-19T20:37:00.004-05:00

my job this week has been to work @ the overgrown flower beds surrounding the preschool playground at the church. pulling weeds, trimming lantana, and ripping out the bermuda grass has kept me busy the past days. the fun part of it is when the preschoolers come out for recess. they are captivated by my, as they call it: hammer, [mattock] & what in the world i am doing.

they called out, 'hey uncle!', to me when they first saw me. after all the kids started naturally calling me uncle, i realized that that must be the culturally appropriate way for kids to address older males [and auntie for females]. so in haiti im 'mr. neal' and in hawaii im 'uncle neal'. i wonder what's next: ranger neal :)

the kids made my job more enjoyable - they wanted to explore the bugs that were in the flowerbeds so we looked for cockroaches, millipedes, rollie-polies, spiders, ants, and frogs. then they wanted to hold the bugs, throw the bugs, chase the girls with the bugs, but they would not eat the bugs.

im the landscaper, preschool entertainer, & uncle neal. i only signed up for one, but im fine doing the other 2!

******

we had the young adult bible study last night, and it was really awesome. it reminded me of our group @ home - a diversity of people, various churches represented, and open sharing. the bond of Christ really brings us together, even though i've just met them all 2 weeks ago.

PTL.

new appreciation

2009-11-18T02:14:00.003-05:00

it hit me today: im experiencing the same emotions as our military guys serving all around the world face every day. i have taken their work for granted, but now have a renewed appreciation for what they face emotionally.

- i have to work and focus here, and do it well, all the while the feelings of melancholy - at the fact of being separated from my fiancee - roll.

&

- the thrill that come when a package arrives with your name on it! i got a package today, and even though ive only been here 2 weeks, it grants me a connection to home which makes me feel so loved.

life of the party

2009-11-17T02:31:00.008-05:00

i went to my first AA meeting tonite. i was curious, i had the time, and i met a friend who was going, so i thought i'd go as well.

no, no, don't worry, im not an alcoholic :)

i've been interacting w/ a friend, the woman im helping out with landscaping, who goes to the church i go to, but hasn't embraced Christ as her Lord & Savior. she attends AA meetings weekly, and has been sober for over 25 years. i find her life quite interesting, so at church i asked her more of how the AA meetings compare with church meetings. what she said made me WANT to go to an AA meeting, i had to see this for myself!

to her, AA meetings 'get right to the heart of the matter & church just has too much fluff'. 'really?', i thought. after the sermon we both heard, i felt that took the issue of selflessness right to the heart! so we chatted a little more, and decided that i found church to be a place of change & she found AA meetings to be a place of change. i realize that its a matter of what we choose, as individuals, to allow new attitudes to take place in our lives.

also, ive found the people in the greater church [not just my home church] to be accountable to, to tell me the truth, and spur me onto greater character development in my life, whereas she finds those people at the AA meetings. but it all got me thinking, i know that AA meetings have a 12 step plan that is based on the bible to get people up & out of addiction, but still i wanted to go & see it firsthand.

i went and said, 'my name is neal' and they said, 'hi, neal'. :)

i was totally impressed. these people have made a conscious effort to CHANGE themselves and STOP doing what they were ENSLAVED to!!! they have a great networking team to keep each other accountable. they share openly of what they have done, are working though, and how important God [or, as some say: a higher being] is to their change!

where is this type of interaction in the christian community? is it all 1-on-1? are their other christians who struggle who want to share their past and get healing??? maybe ive never looked hard enough for this type of group - shouldn't christians be an active part of working like this? ITS LIFE CHANGING!!

ive only ever been a part of something like this in the christian community for a brief season of my life before it dissolved, unfortunately. its freed me of my past, proved to me that REAL [not fake & put on] christian love that transcends sin issues IS out there, and it allowed us that shared together to live a much more fulfilling life! it took the pain of admitting to others, hard work to change, & "making a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God" [step 3 of 12].

spritual appliance

2009-11-16T04:24:00.004-05:00

a toaster holds toast and heats it up not for itself, but for you. a refrigerator holds food not for its own consumption, but for you. a oven bakes food not for itself, but for you to eat. we - if we are living for Christ - are spritual appliances, we do things [give, serve, help, volunteer, chat] not for ourselves, but for others.

the sermon today was about this, and i needed to hear it! i was getting frustrated & having negative thoughts of being 'used' for other peoples desires. i felt that i was not benefiting. i forgot, already, why i am here: to be an undercover servant! now ive got back on track and try to put the characteristics of selflessness into effect in my life. take the focus off of me, and put it back on others.

the part that i think is the hardest is endurance. i get caught up in the 'ive given and given and given and there is no change among people; when can i stop giving?' the answer: when i die. that is not the answer i want, but even if nobody appreciates, acknowledges, or accepts, i must continue to give myself for His purposes. hard stuff, but im glad that im learning it here & now.

want to be a spritual appliance with me?

oh, i posted some pic on the right hand column. click the link for pictures

the road not taken

2009-11-15T03:35:00.004-05:00

do you know robbie frost's poem about choosing which path to take on his hike, being analogous to life? ive always liked this poem, and find it quite true. i was out for a hike with friends today and it was exhilarating to say the least! we stood on the edge of 1500' cliffs gazing @ the water & rocks below. standing atop a near vertical cliff is mightily impressive when you are there taking it all in! we had our fill of guava fruits & strawberry guavas - so much so that i could not eat one more.

on the hike back through the eucalyptus-guava-ironwood forest [similar to our oak-hickory forest] i noticed that, at a spot pretty early on in the hike we chose the left fork of the path instead of the right one. while we were out and about having a grand time, i totally forgot that we decided to take the path to the left, "Yet knowing how way leads on to way I doubted if I should ever come back," as mr. frost says.

i had to think how i had to make a decision in my life, a major one back in fall 07. i can still remember the day at resonate one sunday evening talking to my new friends, lenard & albert, about this decision: work with delaware valley college & get a masters degree OR stay self employed and travel for the winters. i considered how awesome it would be to have worked @ a masters degree [for free], and "Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim" and decided to remain self-employed.

im thrilled to be doing what i am today!

"I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference."

why am i here?

2009-11-14T02:52:00.004-05:00

you may wonder how i got here & what exactly i am doing. i never went into detail to explain the journey that found me at a baptist church on the island of moloaki in the state of hawaii.

rewind to spring 08 when i was doing taxes w/ HR block. i did NOT want to be sitting there another winter, so i looked for something to do for the winter, a seasonal position of some kind. i searched for hours online, and discovered that the national park service had seasonal positions to be filled. in my searching i found a 3 month term to work in hawaii volcanoes park. when i called them, their next available period was dec 2009-feb 2010 - so i applied, was accepted, and signed on.

realize then, i was looking for a winter 08-09 adventure, not winter 09-10. i found out about haiti for the winter 08-09 and went.

while in haiti, i shared that i was going to hawaii for winter 09-10. they all liked the idea, and thought it was ironic b/c one missionary family working in haiti worked at a church/school in hawaii before they came to haiti. very interesting.

it then occurred to me that im going to hawaii for 3 months, why not go a month earlier! so i asked the post-hawaii missionaries in haiti to connect me w/ the church in hawaii, and that leads me to where i am now! [would not have done any of this if i knew i was getting engaged 2 months before i left :)]

so what exactly am i doing here? i came with the intent to do landscaping around the church property, and i will be doing that, but i haven't started it yet. so far ive been helping church members with their landscapes, increasing my world view, and being a servant to all in whatever form that could be.

philippians 2:7 is my focus verse for the 4 months i have in hawaii: Christ 'took the disguise of a servant'. serve, give, pour out. ive been learning alot while doing just that . . . more than i expected.

unseen world

2009-11-13T01:38:00.003-05:00

spritual warfare hasn't taken long to impress itself upon me. last night i woke up to the very feeling of evil around me - a feeling of the presence of evil as ive never felt before. i was lying in my bed on my side and to my back i could feel so strongly that i could visualize the demons pressing onto me, trying to get to me. speaking the name of JESUS, JESUS, JESUS allowed me to be at peace. the power of HIS name is so strong. i could only imagine the war in the spritual world going on above me at 3am there in my room. praise God that i was able to soon fall back to sleep and wake up well rested.

why do i share this? to describe the reality of the spritual world. quite honestly, i don't thinks its felt so strongly in our towns of telford, sourderton & harleysville. yes its there and active, but we have a penetration of christians all around there. in other places of the world the christian population density is not so great, and darkness reigns. no, im not in some heathen land, no more heathen than the towns mentioned, but it makes me think: does just the presence of Christians change the spritual atmosphere? so the lack of Christians would cause a change in the opposite direction?

we're all on the same journey, fighting the same battle. purity & righteousness are necessary to be ready to fight the battle and win. good thing we can go to Him to take the land! psalm 19. the word protects us.

adventures around every corner

2009-11-11T02:26:00.003-05:00

today. oh, today! i was totally blessed, and can't stop PTLing at the opportunity He put in my path. i got to go on a 3hr hike through some mountains here on moloaki, the island in the hawaiian islands that im living on. !!!!! the best part was it was led by a horticulturist that knows all the hawaiian plants - certianly could not have asked for a better way to be introduced to the plants of hawaii. this guy, butch - the name he goes by, knows his stuff. i learned so much, and excited about what other things i can learn from him.

this wasn't just a random hike in the hawaiian mountains: here is how i got in on this adventure. okay, its a long story, so im going to sum it up: i have 2 friends here on the island that got me here to begin with: len & adele lieb [i met them in haiti]. adele has a friend whom she and her hubby are staying with on the island. the friend, pat, volunteers with butch & the land trust that he works with. so pat made the connection for me and asked for me to go along on this hike. it was more than just a hike - its land that is going to get grant $, so it needed to be photodocumented. butch was taking pictures & i was asking question to which he enthusiastically responded. he's the fun type of a plant person that i desire to become: excited bout plants, down to earth, humorous, very well education, practical, and relevant.

isn't it great how God puts all these connections together for me? and He does the same for you over & over again. have you noticed that recently? i'd love to hear your story, tell me!

i asked a person today what brings them joy. they answered their family, and did not ask me the question back. later in our conversation, they answered the question again, sharing how they realized how blessed they are, and followed it by asking the same question of me. what gives me joy? the little things, connecting w/ people, making new experiences, and simply being conscious to what God has for me now.

random, unorganized thoughts

2009-11-10T03:18:00.004-05:00

funny how ive only been here what, 5 days, and have already made MANY connections with people. i say aloha to people in the grocery store, in town, and at the wharf. its so crazy how quick you can penetrate a people group. i guess its easier here b/c there is only 8ooo people on the island, but anyway if you put yourself out there you'll find connections. i really love it - a lot! walk down the market and ppl say much more than just 'hi'. real conversations are had. the locals tell me of hawaiian history, culture, hawaiian games, instruments, and the old hawaiian kings. i hear stories of the guys who served in the us military [many hawaiian serve] and they have me laughing up one side and down the other. the stories are exaggerated, but its a good laugh.

all this makes me think: why don't i live this way in souderton? why don't i spend more time just being with my ppl in souderton? why don't i know all their embellished stories? maybe its b/c my purpose here is specifically to meet people & get to know them. thats what i seek to do.

since we are on an island lots of stuff, okay, everything, is imported. today i was down @ the wharf where the barge was to unload all the food that we [church ppl & everybody else in moloaki] ordered. they needed to see my license to get in w/ the truck, and wondered what in the world a PA guy was doing in HI. :) so the morning was spent breaking up our pallets of food down into individual orders. something that isin't done in the mainland . . .

anyway, i met a woman today from the church to help her w/ her landscaping. oh, man, im working a landscape w/ cacti, aloe, crown of thorns, and agave plants! but the neat thing was that she knows a hawaiian horticulturist and tomorrow, im going out on some project w/ him, and some others!!!!!

crazy awesome how, after 5 days, im meeting up w/ the plant people of hawaii. GOD is so GOOD!

oh, and i managed to get to the beach, again, today. ive been to the beach more in the past 5 days than i have in the past year. i can't wait to post pictures of what the beach looks like here - atlantic ocean: you've just been replaced.

im here & have internet now!

2009-11-08T04:06:00.003-05:00

uneventful describes my life since i left for molokai [and island in the state of hawaii] wed, 4th. until yesterday. i was glad for a simple transition, pleasant people, and safe place to lay my head. then i realized that im in hawaii & have no idea where to go, what to do, or what to do w/ myself. exploring the island ALONE really did not thrill me. what to do? 10th ave north sung the answer to me: satisfy me Lord / help me see you are what i need. okay, okay, i'll find my fulfillment in him and no other. once i focused on that and found peace w/ God and loving him, he changed everything up: i met up w/ len & adele lieb. this awesome couple i met while i was in haiti last winter, and they worked here, at Moloaki Baptist Church where im serving, for over 20 years. they actually connected me to this place, but i did not know when i'd see them while i was here. they showed me all around the island - and gave me that confidence to know where to go to explore, what to see, who to meet up w/, and what there is to do!! amazing!

some of things ive been experiencing:
- stars brighter then ive ever seen [against silhouetted palm trees]
- talking for hours with the local hawaiians
- eating new fruits [and knowing outdoor markets to go to]
- exploring the 'outdoor aquariums' in the rock formations at the beach
- PTLing over & over at God's creation. He is just so much MORE than creative
- learning to prepare [or lack thereof] all my own meals
- socializing and understanding how hawaiians think, deal, interact and live
- talking with people about marriage relationships
- realizing how hard it is to be so far from the one i love the most: rach!
- wishing that people in philly were as nice as they are here on moloaki

my work here at moloaki baptist church includes working with the maintenance crew [fixing irrigation issues, mowing the lawn, weeding] around the property here. next week i'll be working on organizing a landscape plan for the property after its discussed w/ the trustees. ive also heard alot about members @ the church hoping to get me to their properties to do some work for them - i'll be glad to help out however i can! PTL that God gave me the know-how!

with the connections ive made so far i have the opportunity to go: spear fishing, join in on a kind of boat rowing, meet w/ a horticulturist here on the island who know the scientific plant name of all these amazing plants, and go explore the island of maui . . . we'll see how much happens, but it looks to be an exciting month!!

im 5hs behind you in time, if you are interested. if you would like to mail me something, my address for the month of november it is:

neal frederick
c/o MBC
po box 555
hoolehua, HI 96729

if you mail me a little box w/ your address on it, i'll mail you a surprise!

this winter

2009-07-13T22:50:00.002-04:00

where am i headed this winter? off to hawaii on nov 4th. i'll be spending a month on the island of molokai at a mission, and then travel to hawaii's big island [called hawaii] dec 1. i'll be there until the end of february [2010] volunteering at the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. i'll work along side the paid employess doing what they do, taking people on tours and working in the office - more horticulture to learn!

the plan, as it stands now [i don't have the ticket yet] is to go back to Haiti for the months of march & april 2010. i already have the 'to-do' list ready for my time there - so haiti: HERE I COME!

i can only but praise God for granting me with opportunities such as these. the experiences are invaluable, the people i meet are outstanding, and my worldview is ever increasing.

season

2009-04-28T07:09:00.002-04:00

i feel the tug on my life to go to to a little town in pennsylvania: telford. nothing too special about the town, aside from the fact that its full of people who are searching for the very person that the people in fermathe, haiti are trying to find, too - Jesus. God wants me to go there now in during this time that He's given me, and i'll go. i don't know yet how long i'll be there before God draws me to another place. ya know, God's good at keeping my heart with no place as 'home', and to keep me knowing that 'home' isn't here, but hidden away with Him. matthew puts in nicely [8:21]: foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.

glad you could join with me as i loved//connected//learned in haiti for this season of life. i suspect that i could keep a blog as i go about my next adventure in america, it'll be an exciting one im sure!

amen.

beautiful day in the neighborhood

2009-04-24T20:05:00.002-04:00

a friend emailed me and reminded me and mentioned, 'work, but don't work so hard you forget to breathe'. i took that to heart, and did just that today. though i have much to be accomplished, i can only get done what i can in the next few days - and people are more important than plants. what a breath of fresh air i got today. it was one of those perfect days: sunny with beautiful billowy clouds, awesome visibility out over port-au-prince, and the right temperature to be outside.

i started out this morning with one of the missionaries here who has been real to me, taken the time to be with me, and always helped me when i asked [and he never made me feel like a fool when i messed up]. knowing its going to be one of our last face-to-face conversions for awhile makes me, well, appreciate it all the more.

i took time today to just look at the views which ive grown so used to, and totally take for granted. taking a deep breath, and letting it slowly out and just seeing the beauty of God creation was so simply abundant. i could only but praise my creator.

i went to get food in the market for lunch today, and i just had to smile that this has become my home. i felt totally comfortable out on the street - being the only white person that i could see. greeting many that ive come to know over the past months here in fermathe; the peace that passed understanding flowed over me. ahhh.

later this afternoon i noticed one of the missionary kids sitting alone, so i went over and chatted with him. before long, two haitian guys came over and the four of us hung out talking in creole and english for the next while. we did not talk of anything important - it was good to have that time to, just hanging out with people who i'll probably see in the street tomorrow.

then before supper i talked w/ daniel, david, and davidson for a while. there we were, the four of us joking and laughing together like life-long friends. there was something about it that was so special. they all know community people so well [or the community knows them!]. so glad to be able to say, yeah, these are my friends.

looking deep into the eyes of ALL these people today let me see their beauty, their humanity, and Christ looking back at me. id have it no other way.

digging for plants

2009-04-23T21:05:00.005-04:00

i was working at planting some ferns today, and one of the little kids [haitian, 9] came up to me and asked me if i found the plants. yeah, i said. i dug if off the side of the mountain, actually. he looked interested. then he told me that he had some plants for me. oh, i thought, but was not really astonished b/c the kids here know that i like plants. so he tells me to follow him - i do and he brings me to a bunch of spider plants [white and green houseplant] and a 2.5' tree that looks pulled out of a small pot. humm . . . very interesting. all excited, i told him thanks, but i don't know who was more excited: him or i.

then he went on to tell me that there is a whole pile of plants that we could get, and then we of course went to check this out! there was several trees, houseplants, and geraniums all around in this dumping ground. so here i was, amongst banana trees, digging through thrown out plants, used potting soil, and trash to salvage what could be found. the little guy was thrilled to have shown me this great treasure pile. i would never have known of this pile of stuff - but he knew of it. he did not know what was to do w/ these plants - but i did. the power of working together.

i say it again, i don't know who was more excited: him or i, yet i do know this: God was smiling.

work

2009-04-21T21:40:00.006-04:00

my to-do list is growing as fast as im crossing things off! people to call, places to go, and plants to contend with. ive even started making a list of things i want to do next year if/when im back. i know, too far planning ahead. so yeah, ive gotten many of the plant projects done here that i hoped to get completed so far, or have got things ready for next year. right now im doing alot of transplanting and some plant shopping [okay, its only 3 plants]. its fun, for me anyway. its neat to now be planting the cuttings i took this past december, but they are so small planted out in the flowerbeds. hopefully they'll grow fast!

a few more trees have to come down, the photo inventory [over 300 species] needs to be double-checked, watering has to happen for some [now alot] of plants, trimming of plants that escaped me in the past 5 months, and yes, still more transplanting. i must have dug up every plant in every flower bed.

it amazes me how many english-speaking plant-people live within the 5 mile radius of the mission! ive gotten to talk to many of them, and im sure there are some i have yet to meet. the plants bring us together, but then we get to talk about life, God, and haiti. its so great.

i had to laugh today, there is this woman that works here that ive only ever exchanged greetings with. today she says much more, and lets me know that she wants all my clothing when i leave for her sons. i smile and act like i don't fully comprehend . . .

indoor picnic

2009-04-19T22:40:00.003-04:00

there is this 'thing' going around here at the mission recently. its not a sickness, a heart issue, or a mindset. its the thrill of having a surprise party. there have been surprise parties for the birthdays here of late, and i always would joke w/ the ladies that, 'haha, my birthday is in june, so ya can't get me!'

well, i was gotten today! the people here had a indoor picnic [indoor b/c they know ive been prayin' for rain] for me as im preparing to head back to the states [april 29]. we had sandwiches, picnic food, and good conversations in elsa's house. we also did group pictures - and i can't wait to get the one of me and, as they say here of me, 'all your kids'! i prefer to think that they are all my little brothers and sisters, though.

of course, rob [field director here] called me over and did a nice informal talk of appreciation, to which i did not think i turned red [i embarrass easily, if you don't know]. the kids let me know that i was a light shade of pink after that - i said, no its just a light sunburn. the kids looked at me and sarcastically said, 'miiissterrr neeaaalll!'

thanks BHMers! its all mutual, so glad to share our lives over the past 5 months - and im sure i'll find an excuse to come back someday.

its neat

2009-04-17T19:56:00.002-04:00

today i was digging in the flower beds, and one of the missionary kids came up to me and said, 'you have no fun.'

'yeah, i know that, im pretty boring' i said.

she responded with, 'you plant flowers all day. dig, plant, plant, plant, plant. thats soooo boring.'

'well, i think playing with barbies is boring' was my response.

'playing with barbies is fun' she said, 'i like it!' she quickly said back.

i love honesty from kids like that, saying what they really see. after she left, another missionary friend came rolling in from his home [he does not live here]. he and i had plans to go visit some haitian plant hobbyists that live up the mountain tomorrow, but instead we changed plans and went today. i love to meet people who share an interest with me, and we can connect over it. so i talk to people who have an interest in gardening, and my little missionary friend will play barbies with her friends. God's given us all a unique gift to connect with others, isn't that so neat?

well, after we met with the haitian gardeners, i went back to the missionaries home with his wife and child and we had awesome conversation about mission work - the first people who have done mission work as i see it in my mind, but did not know how it should look: to be living life no differently than they would in the states. not regarding material possessions or comforts, but in the way they serve God. missionaries should not live life differently in the way they interact with people [seeking justice for them, caring extensively, spending time with them, and sharing their hearts] whether here or there.

and they are doing just that. so amazing!

God's been bringing to reality so many of the thoughts and ideas that i've had swirlling around in my mind over the past 6 months, and the above is just one of them.

a person to ask

2009-04-15T20:10:00.003-04:00

so there has been this crew of [haitian] guys working here @ the mission doing construction, adding onto the hospital. there are some guys my age, so we'd say a few words to each other. over the past 2 months of them working here, we've gotten to know each other a little bit better, but its still hard b/c the conversation we have is limited to my small conversational creole knowledge. i can get a tree cut down or ask for a shovel w/o a problem [in creole], but when it comes to 'oh, you look sad, what is wrong' conversations in creole, i simply don't know speak enough of the language.

the mission had given food/shoes to the workers here, and also decided to give the same things to this construction team that has been here. one of the guys from that group i have talked with more than the others, so we were acquainted. he expressed to me yesterday that he was sick [and not at work] the day the mission gave out the food/shoes to the rest of the crew, and wondered if he could get it too. sure he could, and after checking to make sure there was one left for him, he got the stuff and went away so thrilled.

it made me look back and smile [what else is new?]. the guy knew that he could come to me and get what he was allowed to have. he could have went to anybody else that worked here at the mission, but he asked me. i know, i know, maybe he figured that i would give him it b/c i knew him. anyway, the funny thing is that when we first got to know each other, he asked me for shoes. all of me wanted to give him shoes then, but if i did it for him, i'd have to do it for all his friends too. i regrettably had to say that i could not. and even though i said no, we'd still talk frequently.

now look at what happened, i got to give him shoes after all.

God is good. ;-)

out & about

2009-04-13T20:04:00.002-04:00

do you remember the dutch kids that were here at the mission back in jan/feb-ish? i spoke of them in other blog posts, and have a picture of them on the pictures link. their names are jeroen and fardau. the orphanage they are working at is in port-au-prince, and they had need of trees on their property. i have alot of trees here at bhm. so we worked some stuff out, and today we planted 10 trees down at their property: mango, loquat, & avacado.

i think thats neat to be able to use some of the trees here at bhm, that i'd otherwise throw in the compost pile, for another [unrelated] organization. it'll be several years before those trees produce fruit, but [in haiti] ya don't plant trees for now, you plant then for later.

it was also fun to be w/ the dutch kids again. they have been such good friends to me while in haiti. again, a thing that made me smile how God brought us together. thanks, God, for planning all this out! their strong creole knowledge helped me get out and around more than i would have by myself - so that made things better for me!

we shared alot of how we think we've changed, how we might live differently, relationships with friends at home, and how we see God moving. it was nice to chat about these things with others living in the same place. it really made me think - ive had no huge crisis of belief here, no wild and amazing experience, nor any grand stories to share.

i see God as a personal friend who is there constantly when we look. i see all people with a need for dignity, i realize i have no rights at the same time. i see Christ as i look into the eyes of every human. i praise God over and over [hopefully transforming my prayers]. people take priority in life regardless of any pressing need, i have more than is necessary to live comfortably, and i realize that there is nothing new under the sun.

i think that God allows all things so that the name of the Lord be praised.

easter bunny

2009-04-13T07:46:00.002-04:00

haitians celebrate easter like its the end of the world. services most all week leading up to easter. food aplenty. and the voodoo ppl get all worked up and parade around the streets. well, on sunday morning i went w/ daniel & david, along with their singing group, el hai, to a church where they performed. so much better than hearing them on a cd! it was funny, we took a group picture, me included, and when i saw the picture, it reminded me how white i am. im mean, here i am white w/ red hair, w/ a whole bunch of black guys w/ black hair. since i don't see myself when im w/ them i forget that im white, and i forget that im w/ black people. we are just ppl afterall.

on the way home, we picked up a tap-tap. i hopped on last, and stood on the bumper w/ daniel. everybody was hollering at me to put one of my legs in the truck, on the other side of the tailgate. i said no, i'll be fine, but they insisted. so, to silence them, i put my one leg in and stated, 'just b/c im white, doesn't me that i can't do anything!' a roar of laughter came out of the tap-tap. and the rest of the way home, the guys were saying, 'just b/c im white! . . .' it made me think, that they live in a black society, so they don't use the 'race card' like we hear it in the states. so just b/c im white doesn't mean i cant live in haiti forever!

then i had easter lunch w/ the missionaries here at bhm. after lunch, two of the ladies said that they had a special treat for each family. it was a good-sized basket of easter candy - more than ive eaten in the past 5 months! each family got one, but b/c im single, i got one all to myself! one of the married guys then said, over everybody, 'neal, you gotta share all that candy w/ your kids!' kids referring to all the missionary kids. i love the kids so no problem, i thought. so i offered it to the kids, and nobody came for it. funny thing was that after i took that basket of sweets outside the view of all the parents, the kids gladly helped me eat it! that made me smile, and remember that is probably what i would have done when i was a kid.

to finish up the evening, we had a showing of the movie, 'the passion of the christ' at a local church. the church was packed, and the pastor gave the salvation message during the last 15 mins of the film - it was neat how he presented it! it again, reminded me of the true meaning of easter - Christ being the center - with no easter bunnies in sight.

a plant exlorer

2009-04-11T18:09:00.003-04:00

as the crazy plant-person that i am, ive always had this desire to explore a remote land, unexplored by human eyes in search of new plants. i can hear your laughter, i know, i know. :-0

we here at the mission we have a huge mountain-side that has been reforested in the past 40 years or so. in this growing forest there are lots of little plants that i could find, i imagined. so today i did just that. i scoured the mountain side for new plants. running into plants that i never expected i'd see. orchids, tree ferns, and other unidentifiable plants.

okay, it was not that great. i was just looking for plants that i could use in new planting beds around the mission. and i found what i needed, so instead of having to buy the plants that i intended on buying, they are right here for me to, as my professor in college would say, liberate!

i'd still like to go to some random country and find new plant species, but until i get to do that, i'll be happy w/ my 20 acre mountain side.

and yes, i know that you are laughing and rolling your eyes at what i consider fun. ;-) but i still wanted to write it on here for anybody to read. so what i wanna know is what have you always wanted to do? i have a friend who wants to have a ranch someday, another who wants to build a castle, one who wants to have a music studio, one who wants to fly jets, somebody wants to go scuba-diving, a friend who thinks it'd be fun to have a mini-farm, still another who want a daycare, one who wants to take purposeful pictures all around the world, some who want to live in foreign countries, and others who want to manage a company.

what about you?

easter dinner

2009-04-10T19:49:00.003-04:00

this was unexpected today. today the offices were closed at the mission, so david & daniel did not come to work, yet they invited me over for the afternoon. so i worked until lunch [okay, a little after] and then went over to their place. what a good afternoon of talking with david and daniel individually. im a one-on-one person, and they must sense that, so they [maybe w/o thinking about it] talk to me individually [we talk all together, too]. it was such a good afternoon speaking of perceptions of haitian and american cultures, the past, personal lives, struggles, and everything that i would speak of with my close friends back home. it amazes me that we can speak so many times and for such long time about all these topics . . .

then they said its time to eat. i eat with them weekly [saturdays, when i hang out w/ them], so this is nothing unusual. what i did not know was that this was their 'easter dinner'. the amount of food that my haitian mom [daniel & david's mom] prepared was shocking. we ate and ate until we could eat no more. food was piled on our plates w/o us asking - mom smiling as she did just that. they say haitian moms control their children's belly size. we had a thoroughly good time talking [creole and english] during the meal, laughing, joking, and just being present with each other. exactly what we would do at home for our easter dinner. im unexplainably thrilled to be a part of these events in their life. so included. i feel like ruth, when she asks boaz: 'why have i found such favor in your eyes that you notice me -- a foreigner?' ruth 2:10

we did not have a ham dinner, though. it was much better - there is something about haitian food, i love it so much. we had:
- rice w/ beans and the sauce to go w/ it [sauce is amazing!!!]
- 'red salad' - potato salad w/ red beets
- lettuce salad
- patat - sweet potato skinned and boiled, eaten so
- fish - fried herring
- bannann - flattened plantains that are fried w/ pikliz [spicy hot cabbage relish] on top

i forget so often that im a foreigner. mabye that's how it should be, though. when we are w/ the body, we are family. i smile over and over at the power of Christ.

mesi Jezi [thanks Jesus]

carrots & broccoli & sugarcane

2009-04-08T20:25:00.006-04:00

there is an old guy [haitian] that sells the produce of his garden to missionaries here. he never asked me to buy anything, nor did i ask him for what he had. yesterday i wanted carrots, and i saw him randomly, so i asked if he had carrots that i could buy. he said he'd check. okay, off we both go. today i was in on my creole lesson and guess who shows up? the vegetable seller. he said he was looking for me all day [im all over the campus during the day] so somehow he found me [suprise!]. he brought carrots for me, and had some broccoli, so i said id, take it too. no problem. i got the goods, not really looking at them, we talked a bit, and he left.

later that evening, after supper, i opened the bags to wash the vegetables, as i opened the carrots, i just had to smile. it looked like, too me, that he must have pulled the carrots early just so that i could have them. they were so small [ive gotten good sized carrots from the market before] and it just made me smile. then came the broccoli, i pulled it out of the bag and some was almost gone to seed. im so trained as an amercan to have 'perfect produce' that anything less that that makes me think twice before i eat it. not anymore, this is what this guy had, and im glad to buy it from him. it was so good to see his smile when he proudly came up to me w/ the bag of carrots he had - he knew it'd make me happy; and it did.

about 2 weeks ago i asked one of my haitian friends [13 years old, and lives here on the mission] if he knew what sugarcane looked like. yes, he said. i hadn't found it on the property yet, so i asked him to show me it, and he produly took me to where it was growing. today when i came home, in at the foot of my door there was a piece of the sugarcane plant sitting there for me. i smiled. i knew just the person that put it there. when i found him to thank him for giving it to me, he told me that i could plant it and it'll grow another plant.

examples of how people with nothing are going out of their way to give to me. the vegetable seller did not have to pull his carrots early, and most teenargers would not think to give a part of his sugarcane plant to me. yet they both did.

thanks God.

whatcha doing?

2009-04-07T13:48:00.002-04:00

i get carried away on this blog and write all these things that im learning, experiencing, observing and i forget to write about the work on the grounds here at bhm. so what have i been doing work related?

- still waiting and making plans for daily rain so that i can finish up transplanting perennials, trees, and shrubs
- planting the cuttings started back in december, now that they have roots and are doing well
- many large [and weed] trees are coming out, along with selective branch removal
- weed pulling is always necessary
- redoing the planters on another missionaries' porch is in progress
- further research on the unidentified trees on campus, and always emailing photos and questions to those helping me; they are located in miami and other parts of haiti
- connecting with a local grower for some plants for a new planting bed
- the tree project for a local school is hanging, but should get started this week

lots of random things to know and do, and i enjoy it all!

vacation

2009-04-06T13:59:00.002-04:00

so we got back today from being on vacation at another mission. much time was spent enjoying each others company, discussions about the future of bhm, and playing in the pool. not much else to say about it, it was vacation - and needed by us all.

something neat happened coming home, though.

on busy roads, when traffic jams occur [and even when they don't] people sell their stuff window to window, offer to wipe your car off, and beg for money. it's kinda like local non-profit organizations in the states having the people w/ buckets at traffic lights fundraising; but here they are selling stuff. generally, when people come up to the window i usually shake my head, say no, and stop looking at them. today was different.

we were in the car, and a guy came up and started wiping off the car - we all in the car shake our heads and say, no thanks. he continued to wipe the car off, even though we did not have any money [i did, but did not intend to give him any]. he finished wiping off the car, and the driver of the car wanted to give him something, so he gives him a bottle of juice. the guy takes it, looks at it, smiles, and goes on his way. we then see him in the rear-view mirror and the guy GIVES THE JUICE to another haitian who [probably] has less then him!!!!!! how unbelievable! he has nothing, and gives away what he just got to somebody who has less.

we waved him back to us after we stopped again [in 3 car lengths] and gave him some money. he deserved it, he earned it. and we in the car learned a good lesson. i think that next time in in that situation, i'll want the guy to wipe the car off, and be glad to give them some money. why was i so selfish?

thanks for another lesson, Lord. if i keep my eyes open to people and don't make snap judgements, my interaction with people turns out much better. ive needed this lesson time after time here, you'd think after its happened at least a dozen times i'd get it. i guess i needed it again today.

mission as transformation, among other things

2009-04-03T00:00:00.004-04:00

i saw this book in our library called: 'mission as transformation'. that's an interesting title, it makes no sense to me, but it sounds good. its 500 pages, so im selectively reading the chapters that i like to [its not the bible, so i can!]. of course i skip the theological foundation section [i don't know what that says about me spiritually?]. but now im in the 'missiological expressions' sections. another new word they formulated, but its neat b/c it makes sense. it puts words to what im experiencing, living, and considering normal. there always seems to be a term and study behind what i think and do w/o me knowing it.

the first sentence of this chapter made the statement 'mission as transformation' make sense to me. 'one of the most significant responses to mission today is to see mission as transformation.' there is all sorts of concepts and components to this idea, but the one that is seen in what im doing is simply this: im inviting people [w/o them knowing it] to join me on a journey in which we see Christ exalted. im not here to bring transformation to myself [although that's happening], its about bringing transformation to the people that choose to be on the journey w/ me.

okay, okay, this is the most convoluted post ive written so far, i had to read over it several times to make sure it made sense [and it still might not . . .] it all goes back to simply this: He must become greater; i must become less. and the best part, is that 'mission as transformation' can happen for all of us whether we are in souderton, pa, coral gables, fl, or fermathe, haiti.

who have you invited on your journey?

******other things******

- today i went to the market to get lunch and some mangoes. nothing out of the ordinary, but today i forgot to bring a bag to put it all in. when you are out and about in haiti, you never see people carrying what they bought for all to see; its always in a bag, usually a bag that you cannot see through. i forgot my bag today; so everybody saw what i bought. not a big deal in my mind, but throughout the afternoon people commented on what i bought. maybe they simply mentioned it b/c im white - or b/c i forgot my bag. well, the funny thing in all this is that people saw that i bought stuff in the market [they usually don't see it b/c i have my backpack] and it was a 'suprise' to them that i could buy in the market w/o a haitian helper. i had to smile. the simple things that make people talk. 'the white guy went to the market and got mangoes!' quite the gossip for the day. its good the have haitian friends that tell me what is being said about me when im not around. i only hear the funny and 'good' things though. ;-)

- more good conversations w/ people today; time i would not trade for the world.

- i was working today, and the kids [american] were helping. i was almost to the point of frustration w/ them hanging around and playing while im working. then i realized that my life is not my own. 'mr. neal, i like working with you. its so much fun!' one kid said 'i wanna work in the gardens when i get older and be just like you!' needless to say, that changed my perspective!

- oh, and btw, we [missionaries] are going away for the weekend for our annual retreat. i'll tell you about it next week.

later!

blan

2009-03-28T22:10:00.005-04:00

white people have gained the name, blan [meaning white or stranger, depending on who you talk to], in haitian culture. various cultures give other names to the white people on foreign soil. its generally said that it is not a derogatory name used toward the white people, but . . . anyway, i had to explain 'blan' to say the following.

there are 2 kids [haitian, appx. 8 & 12] that live on campus here at bhm. as time has gone by, they've gotten more comfortable w/ me, and now generally help me work when it involves digging or destroying something, or when my work requires the 4-wheeler. well, we've been talking more and more, in creole and english, they've been teaching me haitian plants [smart kids], and letting me know how much i should be spending on things in the market!

now what does 'blan' and these 2 kids have to do w/ each other? the kid and i were working mixing compost into planting beds for coffee transplants recently. one of the kids, enoch, looks up at me and says, 'you're not blan; you're neal. im not haitian; im enoch'. WOW! that made me really think. this kid is already allowing historical race issues be dissolved, and he doesn't even know it. it made me smile. alot. somebody planted that seed inside him that we aren't identified by our race, but by who we are as an individual. i unknowingly came by to water that seed [and continue to do just that], and its up to God to cause the continued changes in that little guy's heart, mind, and spirit.

we're not identified by our color or race, and we don't ever 'find ourselves' until we find our identity in Christ. im sure God will bring that to him when he's ready for it, just like God did for me.

i was/am on a journey - past 2 years and continuing - of 'finding myself', and i ended up finding who I am in Christ instead. i came to the realization that it was not me that i was looking for; it was Him.

to a foreign land

2009-03-25T19:45:00.004-04:00

i was thinking the other day: why does God want people to become dislocated from their home country and spread the gospel to a foreign land? whats up w/ that? why are we to go into all the world and share? wouldn't we be more effective serving Christ in our home land? well, for me i know God wanted me here. i also know God wanted the missionaries here that He has here, ive heard their stories. its so obvious, but why? idk. it just is.

then i was thinking and realized that God has always been having people go to foreign lands to fufill His purposes.

- ruth
- jospeh
- abraham [along w/ issac and jacob]
- moses
- jonah
- paul
- john the baptist
- all the 12 disciples
- daniel [along w/ shadrach, meshach, and abednego]
- countless missionaries . . .

all these people were called out of their home to do what God had for them. maybe its God's way of mixing us, maybe it causes Him [and us] to smile, maybe He knows it challenging for us to up and go, and i bet He knows its faith building. maybe He knows it brings glory to His name. maybe He knows how fulfilling it is for us to go, and He wants us to experience that fulfillment.

i guess God simply knows best, and i shouldn't worry about it.

thanks for bringing me to Haiti, God, i wouldn't trade it for anything.

Q&A w/ mr. neal: part 4

2009-03-24T17:04:00.003-04:00

Q: glad to have you back again, mr. neal. what have you been up to?
A: im always glad when you ask questions, i never know what to say. what have i been doing? well, we had some college guys here, [ones i talked of before] and we got to spend a good deal of time together talking, worshiping, going to the market, and hiking. also, i was out this past saturday w/ mr & mrs. turnbull [founders of the mission]. we were visiting people, interacting w/ those they know, and sharing in conversation. i acted as their grandson, b/c ppl always said, 'is this [me] your grandson, madam turnbull?' sure, i am. and we got to stop in w/ some haitian gardeners to ask questions and learn about tropical plant diseases. and we did what i love doing: getting haitian food.

Q: do you like the haitian food?
A: love it. ive been wanting to get off the mission to get cassava 'pancakes' but it hasn't worked yet. maybe tomorrow. the rice and beans never gets old, except when its leftovers for 3 nights. now that i know that i don't get sick off the street food [haven't yet!] i feel more confident about eating more of it, so i hope to get out there for more.

Q: anything coming up exciting soon?
A: i always look forward to supper time, b/c idk how to cook. they make supper for us all.

Q: no, i meant going somewhere or seeing someting
A: oh, sure. we are going out for our annual staff retreat to a town outside port-au-prince. its the first weekend in april, so that'll be something good. another exciting thing: i haven't gotten to daniel/david's house the past 3 saturdays [not the exciting part], so im excited to get over to their house again. i still see the guys everyday, but i like the rest of the family, too! this past saturday i did not get to their home b/c madam turnbull captured me for a longer part of the day that i had expected. so on monday daniel/david said that their mom, madam joseph, had a meal all prepared for when i got there [she knows i come over every saturday]. i told daniel/david that they'll have to capture me next saturday so i for sure get to their house! that was neat for me to know that my haitian mom was that excited to see me again. and that haitian food that i missed eating! oh, man! i wonder if daniel/david are excited for when company comes over b/c they know mom will make a better meal. that was the case for me at home [im america]: mom always made a better meal when we had company over! lol.

Q: how is the bhm property looking?
A: funny you ask. today i took a visitor around on a mini-tour of the plants on the property. he wondered what i do [so do i sometimes]. so as we went around i noticed changes since i got here, things that i never really took the time to see [im always looking for what else needs to be done]. the trees that i pruned in december are pushing new growth, the empty planting spaces are full of coffee transplants, towering pines are removed for increased view, compost is in planting beds, brush piles are cleaned up, planters are redone, and new flowerbeds are taking shape. its still far from a botanic garden, but im happy w/ it so far.

Q: what is left to be done?
A: much more planting, transplanting, and digging. ive been connecting w/ some local growers about getting more plants [and hopefully cheaper prices, too!] for the new planting spaces. we also have alot of fruit trees that we don't need on the property. they are small and i would just pull them out and get rid of them, but instead i'll be potting some of them up for children in a school for them to take home, plant, and care for it [the teachers can make a good lesson out of it, too]. also ive made friends w/ ppl @ an orphanage in port-au-prince. they expressed their need of some fruit trees, so i'll be taking some of our trees down there to plant for them. there are some haitian friends that need fruit trees @ their house, too - so i'll get them set up w/ that, too. always something to be done. and im amazed at the connections that form only after being here 4 months! God is good!

Q: do you havea final thought?
A: i read this this morning, and it jumped off the page: 'He must become greater, i must become less'. it so true. its not about me, its about getting ppl to think of Him.

ethnocentric

2009-03-20T07:23:00.004-04:00

our church, from back in pa, has a congregation-written devotional book that we do for the season of lent. yesterday was my entry to that devotional book. even though its not an experience of haiti, it is still relevant to culture, Christ and vanity.

-----------------------------------
thursday, march 19.
john 3: 14-21.
boundless love.

Ethnocentric [eth'no-cen’tric] – a word learned last November when I was at ECHO in Florida. Becoming aware of this word made me realize that the feelings that I had a year ago were real, and that more people than just me had feelings of being intrinsically superior to others simply because of our respective ethnic groups. I’m really ashamed to admit that I had feelings of supremacy to others, but it’s true, I did feel that way.

MCC has a program, IVEP, in which college age kids come here [to the US] from all over the world. Through it, I got to know peers from Germany, Papua New Guinea, Switzerland, and Cambodia - and still maintain friendship with them. When I first met them I had, as I see it now, horrible, conceited and downright wrong feelings that these new friends didn’t know as much as us Americans, that they weren’t educated like ‘US’, nor could they understand how we live. I was being ethnocentric and didn’t realize it.

I quickly figured out, thankfully, that my new friends have more natural intelligence than I, are more educated than I, and know positively more than I do about living in another culture. Did I have these feelings simply because I am an American? Has our culture engrained into me that we are simply better than others? Or is it just a tactic used to prevent me/us from shining the light of Christ with people we think are unworthy? Regardless of the ‘why’, it’s wrong in any form of thought.

Ethnocentric. Im so glad the message of Christ is not for a favored group of people! We get to share it with everybody! Nobody should be left out. NOBODY. It’ll be so awesome to stand in the presence of God with all our brothers and sisters in Christ of so many beautiful colors all singing in one voice to one King! Can we attempt to live with any and all people NOW? Treating anybody that we meet as an equal with no thought to placing people into social levels? Sure we can: look deep into people’s eyes and you will see Jesus. Take the time to look; He’s there.

want more?
- imagine yourself outside of the US with a new skin color . . . what might you face?
- do you find yourself ethnocentric? who are you around at those times?
- where do you think those feelings came from?
- how can feelings like that be erased? its more than just forgiveness & prayer . . .
- @ www.desiringgod.org; search for the sermon, “Jesus Is the End of Ethnocentrism” there you’ll find more scriptures and inspiring thoughts.
- listen to ‘Sing’ by Sanctus Real, and picture the words in your mind.

-------------------------

its a good thing God opened my eyes to see the ethnocentricity in my life and got rid of that quickly [and before i came to haiti]. its those little, subtle things that are in our lives that prevent the full abundance God has for us.

normalcy

2009-03-18T18:26:00.002-04:00

sometimes it takes an external force to make us realize something that we consider as normal; i had such an experience today. there are 2 guys [my age, americans] who are here at the mission for a few days. i was asked to have them help me do some work around here that would give them something to do [they wanted to help] and allow me to get projects done. humm, i had to think, what work do i have that random strangers could do? PULL WEEDS! lol. there is a part of the mission that i haven't touched since i got here; its full of weeds, little trees, rocks, and trash. and now i have some helpers! perfect fit!

we begin working, and i began thinking, these guys haven't come all the way from mississippi to pull weeds in haiti, did they? they don't deserve to do such menial work, right? they don't want to go home and tell ppl that they pulled weeds, how lame! then i look at myself, what am i doing? pulling weeds in haiti. yeah, i guess it just reminds me that im not living any differently here than i am at home - i still connect w/ people, i still desire to show Christ's love in any way possible, i still look forward to hanging out w/ friends, and i still pull weeds.

i brought up that subject w/ the guys as we worked, and we talked about how mission work involves more than just sharing the gospel w/ them. how we all at the mission have a role to play and job to do in addition to spreading the love of Christ. pulling weeds just so happens to be a task that belongs to me.

i haven't looked at pulling weeds as a 'lesser' task until i had somebody else help me do it. its like what brother lawrence talks about in his book, the practice of the presence of God: do everything in a way to honor God whether it be washing dishes, shoveling snow, sweeping the floor, walking the dog, or yes, pulling weeds.

thinking outloud

2009-03-18T07:42:00.003-04:00

i haven't posted in almost a week, i just realized today. nothing outrageous happened, but some items of note . . .

people [haitian guys my age-ish] come up to talk to me almost daily - and i never know what their motives are. some just want to talk, others want to practice english, and still some need money to pay for school or another pressing need. so there was this guy - who spoke very good english - so we talked for a while. in conversation he said that he has a garden and works doing that to earn money so he'll have enough to get into school. impressive i thought. the next time i saw him, he came and gave me 2 heads of lettuce. humm, he's serious! of course i gave him some money to pay for it, and he was glad. it made me think of kids at home going door to door selling their candy bars to raise money. here its lettuce.

remember those monkey bites i got a few weeks ago? they are all healed up now, and there are no signs of rabies, fyi.

there was an unexpected option for my time here: changing my return flight. i honestly went back and forth for days, knowing that the decision either way would be hard. i talked to many people, looked at my financial situation, and spent much time in prayer. then yesterday i changed my plane ticket to come home april 29! this will allow 4 weeks longer to finish up projects, continue to deepen relationships, and speak life in haiti. unexpected opportunity taken.

i got to talk w/ a guy [missionary] about sacrifice and mission work. should sacrifice be a part of mission work? i thought so, but after talking w/ him, i realized that if you are following God's plan, He'll put fulfillment into your life wherever you are. it might be painful, but it'll be worth it. like paul in the bible, he went through lots of pain and discomfort, yet to him it was total abandonment to God, and not sacrifice. yeah, i know its idealistic to think of it this way, but it opened my eyes to a new way of thinking, opposite the way i had thought. thanks God. we'll see how the 'sacrifice' of me staying away from those who i love an extra month works out . . .

major PTL

2009-03-12T18:09:00.003-04:00

there has been a lot of concern on my part wondering if i was gonna get plants, potting soil, compost, etc. to be used here at the mission. today was the day that made me thrilled. i got potting soil and plants!! i went along to pick up the potting soil, and when i asked about a plant, he was like, 'take what you need, its a donation.' it was another of those 'shocking' moments for me. i had to double check to make sure he was serious. he was, i could take whatever plants i needed. it was one of those moments where i had to 'design in my mind' where i'll plant the plants that were available to me at the moment. so then i had a little dilemma: take the plants that i think i'll need, take less than i might need in an effort to be nice, or go hog-wild and take some of everything!

guess what i did . . .

i took just what i thought i would need. it was a good thing, and i could not [still have not] stop thanking God for blessing me w/ these things for the mission!! once again proving to me how God provides MORE than i could ask or imagine for. thanks so much God. You are so aware.

why am i countually blessed? well, its for the mission, not me specifically, but still. why does God bless me w/ so much [and extra stuff, too] yet i have friends and know others who have so little. im just responsible for having more. luke 12:48. btw, i was talking w/ a friend about this, too, and he mentioned that i look at blessing as material stuff. my friends w/ so little have other blessings which i don't have: astounding musical talents, ability to speak 4 languages, faith beyond what i can comprehend and resilience when disaster strikes.

thanks for the plants, God.

yet another lesson . . .

2009-03-12T17:48:00.003-04:00

i had a lesson in humility this week. oh how i don't like it, but i know its good for me. well, i just got done saying to some ppl here how i enjoy working here b/c nobody criticizes my work, challenges my ideas, and makes me defend what i do. i just get to go and do what needs to be done. of course i ask before doing major things [sometimes] lol. so there was a situation early this week - it involved a tree which i had not identified. it was needed to be removed for a construction project, or just have some of the branches taken off. i decided, viewing the location and the health of the tree, that it should simply be cut down. it was halfway down when somebody told me it was mahogany. oops! i wanted to craw in a hole. im the plant person here, and did not realize a mahogany tree when i saw one! needless to say, i now know what mahogany trees look like . . .

thoughts went through my mind, and i came up w/ all sorts of excuses in my mind for how i could shift the blame, but, NO i decided that im gonna take the blame. i made a mistake and i have to live w/ it. it was a good lesson in humility. and hey, if the plant person doesn't get worked up over a valuable and rare tree being unwisely cut down, who else should?! right?

i did, after the dust settled, apologize to the [american] guy in charge here. it amazed me how he responded, with such care and a non-condemning spirit. instead, he shared w/ me a mistake he made regarding mission stuff. i felt better, but it was only after i took the blame. [its not like they wanted to send me home or anything]

then, a few days later [today], there was some commotion going on regarding another tree that one of the workers was gonna cut down b/c somebody [not me!] told him to cut down. and guess what - the [american] guy in charge here came to me and told the workers to ask me before they cut any trees down. i was like, 'you trust me?'. my eyes opened wider and mouth dropped open in surprise.

everybody makes mistakes, thankfully there is forgiveness w/ people when we makes dumb choices. i took the blame, felt the shame, and now walk in better friendships. and all this was over a tree, people!! isn't it much better that we have a God who takes away are dirtiest secret and allows us to walk with Him and be 100% fulfilled not dwelling in the past? i love it.

PTL.

2 [simple] thoughts

2009-03-10T21:13:00.004-04:00

thought 1:
what place should i consider home? do i have a place to call home? ive moved 3 times in the last 4 months [so little to move, so its easy!], and then thought about the move to telford, pa coming up in the next month or so. as i was thinking i was looking at the amazing terraced mountain side out my window this afternoon, and realized that my home is not of this world. my ultimate destination will never change, and will not require me to bring anything w/ me. so wherever im at during my days here . .. well, its fine w/ me. i'll eventually get Home.

thought 2:
my focus on the work of the grounds here at the mission have been approached w/ the mindset of the present, not planning for the future. i based all my decision [until today] on what is best for the plant life here on the day i was working on it, im only here 4-ish months, so im thinking short-term when i should be thinking long-term. pulling out baby trees, cutting down medium sized trees, and ripping out random 'in the way plants' [btw, the kids here like to remind me that i sure do make a big mess]. but, i should be making decisions based on the future, too, right? keeping those baby trees to replace the big ones in the next 10 years. and making the next horticulturist's job here easy. don't get me wrong ppl, its not like ive taken out every tree under 2m tall - but i did have to reconsider what i was hacking away at today. its 5 years of overgrowth, so alot has to come out . . .

i can't let this thought go w/o a spritual analogy, right? here are some thoughts:
- how are you approaching the way you live life? focused on today or the future?
- consider its not YOUR future, but the future of the 'little trees' around you - what are you doing to help those kids around you grow up to replace you? i plant the tree where it'll grow best, then let it do its own growing. kids need the same thing.

i know, i know, i need to stop talking about kids, b/c im not a parent and have no experience in that area. sorry. my environment surrounds me by many kids, and they're part of my life. "i like kids" yes, bible study group, i'll admit it, you'll all be happy that i changed, but i still am not interested in babies! lol

made me think

2009-03-07T16:57:00.003-05:00

i was pulling wild cherry tree seedings yesterday, and a young [15 years old] haitian-american guy came up to me and started talking. whenever this happens [almost daily] i automatically assume that the kid is gonna give me some sob story and then ask for my phone number, email addy, addy @ home, or support. i really need to stop assuming that all people want something from me, b/c this kid honestly just wanted to talk. so i listened. [the conversations go radically better if i assume they want to genuinely be a friend, instead of thinking they are gonna hold their hand out - attitude adjustment on my part]. so he talked, and i found out that his parents are haitian, but he was born, and lives, in america. he says that his coming to haiti [3 weeks] is 'punishment' from his parents.

radical differences exist - as i see it [and i have no kids] b/w this 15 year old haitian-american and 15 year old haitian kids. culture, and parenting, makes the difference. i could give examples and explain what i noticed, but im not a parent so im not 'qualified' to give observations. i don't want to have to 'eat my words' when i have kids some day . . . so i'll just ponder those things in my heart.

but, back to the part that made me think [title of the blog] what when this 15 year old haitian-american started asking me questions about what i do - it caught me off guard. he asked what kind of music i listen to - i listen to christian music i said. he was surprised.

then he asked, well, you drink? no.
smoke? no.
go to the clubs? no.
have lots of girls? no.

it went on, and other subjects came and went - but i walked away from the conversation thinking, what do i do? how lame am i? i don't do any of those things that the world, and a 15 year old kid, sees as fulfilling - yet im 110% fulfilled. then i realized that nobody tells me not to do those things, i choose to walk away from them [beginning verses of romans 12].

then i think, why am i writing this on my blog; it has nothing to do w/ haiti. it has everything to do w/ relating to people: haitian, american, and anybody in between. getting people thinking, considering their life, actions and identity. allowing Christ to flow from me. maybe, just maybe, that 15 year old haitian-american kid is thinking about all these things just as much as i am right now. hummm. God gets to do the hard part: changing the heart!

if you care to keep reading, im gonna ramble about the plants here @ the mission:
we've had about a week worth of rain, so ive got much transplanting done, which is a major PTL, and im happy how things are turning out . . . but the rain has suddenly stopped, and now hand watering has to happen. regarding the other projects that i'd like to do, but need materials to complete them: ive emailed my 'request list' to the mission board to supply me w/ materials that i need, and im waiting to hear back on that being granted [potting soil, plants, compost]. my time here is fading away quickly, so i hope that these materials get here sooner than later, which leads to me considering extending my time here at BHM . . .

thinking a new way

2009-03-05T06:52:00.005-05:00

would i live life differently if i was here in haiti indefinitely? i was thinking about this this morning, wondering if im settling into comfort or allowing reality to hit me regarding the fact that im coming home in a few weeks. my actions, as im looking back, show me something interesting. i haven't been studying creole much at all the past 2 weeks and ive been focusing, almost exclusively, on american friendships. 'isn't this contrary to what i should be doing?', i thought. shouldn't i be totally sold into speaking creole fluently and investing hours w/ as many haitian people as i can?

i don't know, actually.

i still keep up w/ david and daniel [haitian friends] daily, and have little conversations w/ other haitians that i see throughout the day. but ive found that since i speak english so well, that its much easier to grow and walk w/ my english speaking friends more than with my creole speaking friends. yesterday i was thinking about this and actually decided put my shovel down so that i could go and talk w/ a haitian peer whom i haven't really connected w/ as well as i would like to.

i guess there really isn't a right and a wrong way of living these thoughts out, and i should not be thinking that ive talked to 12 white people today, and only 7 black people. that's just childish. its not a game that im living here; its real life. if im God's servant, He'll bring me into people's paths, right?

ministry: the need is never the call, the need is the opportunity.

mission monkey

2009-03-03T06:53:00.002-05:00

the mission here has a zoo, little, but its fun. in this zoo there is a monkey, fifi, which everybody loves. i always thought she was a cute little thing, but seemed to be a little crazy, so i never took the time to talk to her [i think she speaks creole, anyway]. well, yesterday a mission friend took her [the monkey] out of the cage on a leash. i was there and thought i'd check it out.

my missionary friend, ken, posted to his blog the story of the events that unfoled w/ the monkey and i. i copied what he wrote to here, its hilarious [when 'I' is used it refers to ken!]:

Mr. Neal, our plant-guy, got bit by Fifi the deranged (this is my opinion and not a medical diagnosis) monkey yesterday. It looks like it will heal and Mr. Neal will live. Fifi didn't mind the kids or even other people, but I KNEW that she didn't like me (must be the hair). She tried to show me her fangs which had been clipped a long time ago and that was good enough for me to know not to get near her - the hiss noise she made also added to my being convinced. She pulled a fast one on Mr. Neal and let him hold her, but when Mr. Neal (who after being at the Mission here for a few months now loves to be called Mr. Neal) went to put her down, she bit him. Mr. Neal tells a great story so if you ever meet him, you'll have to ask him about it to get the good details.

For me, past performance IS indicative of future results and I will not pet the monkey (I want my financial friends to know that I still know how to speak the FINRA talk - having your Series 7, 24, and 66 is like riding a bike - you never forget how).

your name

2009-03-02T20:49:00.002-05:00

i sit here wondering what to write. what will inspire? what will challenge? what will be interesting to read? what did i do today that you'd like to know about? it was a normal day today; nothing outrageous to tell about, no amazing experience, nothing that is captivating to anybody's attention.

i had a song stuck in my head today, 'your name', its called. i sung it over and over, 'your name is a strong and mighty tower, your name is shelter like no other, your name; let the nations sing it louder for nothing has the power to save, but your name'. i just now realized where i got that song from: i was praying w/a friend sunday morning, and in his prayer he prayed that song text.

so ive rested in that name today: Jesus Christ. there is healing in that name. there is power in that name. inspiration, strength, glory, salvation, and joy.

im so glad that i can simply rest in that; i think that is all i needed to do today. focused so much on what can i do for others constantly, i just needed to be plunged in the spirit again. today i was practicing reading my creole bible w/ david; which was fun. then david said he'd read me a psalm in creole, he asked me to pick one: psalm 74 i chose. he read it so well, w/ intensity and expression. it was nice to receive that gift; to hear the word read.

i know, ya kinda had to be there for this one. so, read a psalm to a friend today and you'll understand . . .

this & that

2009-02-28T18:48:00.003-05:00

sorry i haven't posted for a few days . . . the internet was down. but now its back again. it is neat, tho, when i don't have internet b/c it reminds me to focus on God and learning from Him. i get 'distracted' w/ email, cnn.com, and reading friend's blogs. lol. anyway, i have a few random things to write about, but they don't go together at all so im just gonna write them.

- today, i was walking around in the town and one of the kids i passed said, 'gade cheve sa!' [look at that hair]! i had to smile and laugh [outloud] b/c it was a 3 little kids giggling and saying it, along w/ me. the funny thing is that ive been here 3 months and nobody before ever mentioned about my hair being different. well, i look different in many aspects, so my hair is just part. anyway, i thought it was funny. kinda have to be there for that one . . .

- when i got here in december i tried to make up a schedule of what to do and when to do it, timing it all out so that i could make the most use of my time. granted, that did not work out how i planned it, but God organized my work for me. its proof now, as i look back over the past months how everything i did occurred at the optimal time. one of my last big projects is to do major transplanting on the campus - but to do that i needed the rain to start falling. it was tuesday, and i told God that im ready for the rain, and guess what has started? the rain. every evening since tuesday it has rained! PTL! transplanting can happen now - God has perfect timing!

- i was looking out over the view of port-au-prince [the main city here, where the airport is] this morning. i noticed a cloud i never saw before: a vertical cloud, sitting over port-au-prince. i thought i was strange, then God opened my mind to realize that it was reminiscent of the pillar of cloud that led the israelites by day. i had to think that this is God's way of starting - in my heart and mind - that i must realize going home is going to happen in 1 month. seeing that pillar of cloud over port-au-prince is God saying to me: 'neal, follow Me'. i gatta go to the airport to get home. God is giving me one step at a time; and that's good enough for me. im in no way ready to come home; but God is stirring those feelings within me.

- 'give and receive council' - this statement always swirls around in my mind, and i got it from the 'new believer's covenant' from my home church in pa. i always took it to be learning from others and encouraging those within my church family. now here, outside of my home church family, i discover that giving and receiving council occurs with my [wider] church family. its so great to live this out w/ haitian brothers and missionary friends. the church family is such a wonderful family to be a part of. thanks for bonding us all together, God!

i could go on and on . . . but i wanna hear how God is moving in your life too!

give it up

2009-02-24T07:15:00.002-05:00

right now haiti has its annual 'carnival' time; our american equivalent is mardi gras, and its happening today, 'fat tuesday'. in the past days leading up to today there have been free-for-all parties going on in the cities and towns. its interesting to me how all this parting coincides w/ the beginning of lent happening tomorrow. if you put both together, mardi gras and lent, looking at the timing of each, it looks like: do whatever you want and have fun b/c tomorrow its time to walk the line.

well, interesting thoughts. living a 'mardi gras' lifestyle is not what i choose to do, even if i can straighten up later. today IS tomorrow, and walking the Jesus road is what is required of me now, not tomorrow. some of the haitains i know asked, back in december, if i wanted to go to carnival. sure i said, having no idea what it really was. isn't that how it happens sometimes? going w/ the flow. i did not end up going, fyi, and the churches around the country have an 'alternative event' like we have alternatives to trick-or-treating in the states. there is nothing new under the sun, people.

well, i say all that b/c ive been thinking about lent. what must i 're-surrender'? i usually do the, 'i'll give up junk food', but now i don't have junk food to eat, so that would not be much of a sacrifice. i did much thinking and praying of this, deciding what in my life i need to 'give up'. i haven't been having the prayer life that i desire to be having right now, so ive decided to put comfort to the side when i pray. how will i do that? when Jesus was praying in the garden of gethsemane, it was not a comfortable time. think about it, gardens look nice but are not comfortable to kneel in. Jesus had no bench to sit on. gethsemane was not a botanic garden!

that exactly what i'll be doing: giving time to daily pray in the position of kneeling. not looking for comfort, but for how to lose my life . . . for His sake and the gospel's. mark 8:35.

you'd be welcome to keep me accountable . . so long as i can keep you accountable about something, too!

at least 10%

2009-02-22T12:13:00.005-05:00

ive been thinking about tithing, and as a missionary am i required to tithe? i don't get a slary or income, so im not earning any money. but i do have support; people have given me money for me to live here and serve the haitian people. so then should i give at least 10% of that to the local church? hummm. i haven't stressed over this over the past months b/c 100% of my support, time, and life is given to the service of God via BHM and the haitian people.

but shouldn't i be 100% given to God all the time anyway? in america or haiti? - that thought for another time.

regardless, last night i was looking over my expense for living here and the support i had received. i noticed in my list of expense was items such as 'ink and toner cartridges, supplies for BHM, tape and various school supplies, laptop, vitamins, and shoes for haitian friends in need, tools for landscaping, and gifts of money to haitian ppl'. so i added all those things up an realized that those 'expenses' totaled at least 10% of the support that has came in for my time here. it made me smile and realize that yes, i have been tithing of the support that people have offered - it hasn't been used only to keep me going, but also for the needs and work of BHM along with the haitian people that i have build a friendship with and have obvious needs of surgery, clothing, food, and having been robbed.

its just 10%. to whom much has been given, much will be required. luke 12:48

my fam

2009-02-21T21:33:00.003-05:00

i thought it was gonna be hard to leave my fam, friends, and tight community at home last november. it wasn't, and it hasn't been. PTL!! God's given me fulfillment to be away from those i hold closest to me, but there is one thing better that God's granted me: haitian family and missionary friends. i just can't get over it - the power and provision of God!

the st. fort family [david and daniel's family] has been my replacement family for the past months since ive been away. my haitian mom, dad, brothers and sister - its so awesome. i go over to their house every saturday to work, talk, hang out, and eat haitain food. the family unit is exemplified yet again in my life regarding families i love in america and haiti. interactions are the same, hospitality is abundant and conversation is healthy.

im w/ my [new haitian] family here, which i value so much. i realize that its just like when i go to american families homes, the things that i really value are not the house, the computer there, whats on TV, or the fact that that they have a comfy couch. its my brothers and sisters in the family, its dad taking time to talk and ask questions, it reading the bible together, its chatting w/ mom as she makes supper, its looking into my little brother's eyes all in smiles then roughing him up, its giving my sister a kiss on the cheek, its chasing around the family chicken, its sweating together, its comforting my brother who is frustrated with life, its sitting and talking with mom, is just being present with each other. the things that make family -- family.

then the missionary families that God has allowed me to be with. ive known these people for 3 months and i feel comfortable enough [they do too, i think!] to just walk right into their house when they are home [if the door is unlocked]. hang out w/ the kids and play games. watch old tv shows together. laugh about life and not be bothered by it. play with the family puppy. reflect on our days. get hugs from kids who give better hugs than my friends at home. share what we are working though in our Christian walks. have a mom who teaches me how to make granola. have a family that values family time. just being present with each other. [yep, there is that 'being present' again!]

so in all this ive discovered that i can be removed from what i know as comfortable and familiar. i can move out of the community that ive lived in for 24 years and be 100% fulfilled. as i look at it now, i relied on those people that i had in my life more than i relied on God. God pulling me out of that community allowed me to rely more strongly on Him, see His hand at work increasingly, and find out that real christian community happens all over the world. the power of the Spirit to bring us together in unity - even if its only for 1 month - astounds me.

thanks God for Your extended family: many moms, dads, brothers and sisters! i value and am thankful for them all!

Q&A w/ mr. neal: part 3

2009-02-19T06:53:00.002-05:00

Q: how is the work going so far?
A: which work?

Q: what do you mean?
A: oh, there are 2 types of work that im doing here: working the grounds and working w/ people. ive been thinking about this recently: what am i here to do? what is the work God intended for me to do? God used plants as a way to 'sucker' [lol] me into coming to haiti. i surely would not have come here if it weren't for the plants to work on. but then i get thinking, if God used the plants to simply get me here, them there must be something else that He has planned for me to do, right? so then is the work God has for me the plants? or is the work God has for me everything else?

Q: what is 'everyting else' you speak of?
A: growing with my haitian brothers, sisters, and mamas and papas. seeing changes in people regarding race issues. encouraging brothers in the Word. speaking with new haitian friends via email even after we've both went home. shining Christ. growing with new american friends here. giving and receiving council. offering a hand. being present.

Q: why do you bother thinking of all these things: just do what God has for you today
A: thanks, you're right.

Q: interesting, but i still wanna know about your work with the plants
A: yeah, sure, there is plenty of that going on! the compost is spread [there is more somewhere i hear, and i need it!]. there is about 5 more fruit trees that need to be pruned; but im waiting until the fruit is off them. there is another section that needs to be cleaned up - i had left it for aaron and dad to help with me but they had pressing electrical issues to face. i had spoken with the president of the board of BHM about my needs for funds and supplies [potting soil, rice hulls, compost, fertilizer, and new plants] so some of my work hinges on if he provides the funds or not. then there is about 10 trees to take down and assorted shrubs to be pruned. the spring rains should be coming soon so that the massive transplanting project can happen, too. im excited about that last one! and i got just over a month to do it all in - pa gen prowblem [creole for 'no problem']

Q: i wanna know about the haitian girl
A: which one? i just get to kiss them all on the cheek. . . . pa gen prowblem. well, i'll tell you one kissing story: one sunday i greeted a haitian woman like i do all others, kissing her on the cheek. david was with me and after she left, he told me who she was: the wife of one of the men that i have gotten to know. so i told him on monday, "hey, i kissed your wife yesterday" he was like, 'good for you!' i could only laugh, culturally its normal. im not in america right now . ..

Q: aside from kissing, what else have your been doing?
A: i took dad and aaron over to david and daniel's house the other day to say hi. when we left, i just naturally said bye and started to walk. then dad and aaron said bye, and kinda hesitated. then i realized this is a final good bye for them. then it him me that in 5 weeks [8 weeks ken!] im gonna be doing the same thing. guess i must say 'bye' to say 'hi' again. aaron asked me if im ready to come home yet. w/o hesitation i responded w/ 'no'. no, im not ready to come home yet, but im confident that God will grant me the mindset i need to desire to come home again when i need it. hey, He did it to get me here, why would He not help me out when its time to head home? and yes, i know, there will be no kissing when i get home, but if you wonder how it works, i'll be glad to give you a haitian greeting [ladies only]!

Q: what about the guys?
A: they can't get a kiss, but there is a 'special' haitian handshake if you want it, so don't feel left out.

Q: thats good to hear.
A: and im expecting hugs from you all when i return!! hugging is not a haitian thing, tho.

its a choice.

2009-02-17T19:45:00.003-05:00

how sneakily and easily bitterness can grow. it makes me ashamed, but at the same time im thankful that i notice it happening and could stop it before it overtakes me. so what happened? well, today i could say that i had my worst experience with the haitian people ever. i had many little things happen within 4 hours that made me furious and even led to bits of hatred flowing around in my mind - to the very people i came to love and serve. but, PTL, i recognized what was happening and decided to look on the grand experiences that i had today, and refused to allow those negative thoughts to control my outlook for the day. its a choice, a daily choice, how we view our day. we can look at our day and see all the negative and hurtful things that happen OR we can choose to look a little harder and find those amazing things [even though little] and let our minds dwell on those uplifting moments.

in choosing to view the smiles of the day and not the frowns, im not gonna write about why i got bitter and frustrated with haitian people, but im gonna go off about the things that i chose to think upon . . .

so dad, aaron, david, daniel, john bernard, roger, and i went out to chauffard school to take pictures of the sponsored kids. daniel and i are working together and as we are busy getting the kids all in position, speaking in creole to them, and smiling - i look up and see dad off a little ways. it makes me smile all the more to have dad here with me. such a neat blessing - to get to share the joy of haitian life with dad!! it so special to me.

then we went to visit aaron's sponsored child. they live in a house the size of your largest bathroom. and all the grandma could do was praise God for having aaron be this little girl's sponsor and bringing some little gifts. grandma when on [father died and mom has health issues] how she pursues God daily, and remains thankful. to meet the child you sponsor is such an incredible experience - and smiling is all that you can do. hugging and kissing are only tangible expressions. and one day, both aaron and this family will be united together again. we all look forward to the day when all of us brothers and sisters in Christ will live in unity!!!

more than i bargained for

2009-02-14T17:36:00.004-05:00

ya know, this whole past 4ish months have been totally more than i asked for. well, i never really asked for any of it. being totally fulfilled, finding new close friends, having faithful friends from home [who care about me more than i realized!], rediscovering a live and powerful God, and gaining world-views of so many things. then to top if off, i got to pick up my favorite dad and awesome friend, aaron, from the airport here on thursday! they are living w/ me for a week, touring, working, and simply being present. [there's that 'being present' again!]

its neat for me to hear from dad and aaron their perceptions and thoughts on culture here that i have not considered before. i have my perceptions and forget that that there are other ways of seeing the same thing. thoughts on mission work, thoughts on giving, and other mindsets to ponder in my heart. its good to be stretched; i like it. well, i guess i like it b/c i can then stretch others when the opportunity arises. lol.

we had a lesson on reliance today, too. we went out swimming in the caribbean ocean [yeah, life is tough] and one of the missionaries gave us snorkels and masks. he did not come out w/ us right away, so we put them on and were like, great. a sponge here, a little fishy there. oh, look, a little tiny sea urchin. why did we get snorkels? then he comes out w/ his snorkel and mask and asks us what we saw. we tell him, and he says, 'ya aint seen nothing yet!'. when we let him be our guide, he took us out to what we haven't seen: beautiful coral reefs alive w/ hundreds of species of coral, plants, and fish. the colors are amazing! this is now awesome!!! we got more than we bargained for.

isint that how life should be? totally relied on our Guide that we don't think 'oh, this is odd', 'what am i doing here?', 'how do i get through this mess?' or 'why can't i go here, God?'. if we go where he tells us, and use the tools he's given us, He will be faithful and true to finish what He's started. philippians 1:6. its good to get more than we bargain for. its all blessings! PTL! thanks God!

oh, happy valentines day from haiti - i give you a huge hug from haiti, and i expect one back!

oh, sorry.

2009-02-11T16:58:00.002-05:00

hey kids .. . sorry i haven't posted for a week, but i had this awful cold going on: the worst cold ive ever had, it lasted 4 days! of the few sicknesses ive had here in haiti so far, they have all been the worst cases ive gotten . . . interesting. but, i managed to praise God through this one b/c i know how blessed i am. anyway, on about sunday i was better, and 5 of us left for the northwest coast of haiti. its an 9 hour drive [with stops!] from where we are in the south. we went to a little town near the large town: port-de-paix [idk how to spell the little town's name]. i could go on and on, but i'll just get right to the exciting stuff: i saw the rarest palm tree in the world, drove through a haitian desert, and did some plant liberation. oh, and we went into the amazing blue water of the caribbean ocean.

the missionaries [from BHM, where im at] that planned the trip are doing some work with the mission schools/churches there currently making plans for the future. the missionaries that live there in the NW had been down visiting us @BHM, and told me they had the rarest palm tree, and i could not believe it. i heard about this rare palm tree, and wanted to see it. so i naturally got to go along on this trip. so i got to go on a 3 day expedition through desert, mud, rain, rock, hiking, sleeping in mosquito nets, and even doing some work in a machine shop . . . all to see this palm tree. it was worth it!!!

haitian living in these parts is totally different than back at home [fermathe, haiti]. palm branches replace cement in houses here. donkeys are used as the family car. everybody has the same job: farmer. english is not spoken and white people are much rarer. i now see that im living an abundantly blessed life even in the region of haiti that i live in! i know that the mission [bhm] is blessed, but im referring to the the surrounding town here in suburbs of port au prince. we have supermarkets, CD stores, clothing shops, banks, police stations, and car dealerships. all those nice places are not found out where we were living the past days, near port de paix in the northwest.

so again, i see how im blessed. how am i not blessed? why has God's hand been so upon me? i simply haven't ever seen it, i live expecting it i guess. so during my 4 day trial of a sickness i thanked God for having work, trade skills, friends, an awesome father, haitian brothers, ability to walk, run, learn a new language and talk on skype, and a Father who is watching out for my every need.

talk about God providing for my every need, this is amazing. so there have been 2 nights since ive been here that i haven't planned my food out well enough and had nothing to eat for supper. my fault, i don't get supper. the crazy thing is this: on one of those evenings one of the women here randomly gave me a can of soup to 'try'. wow, God, you were watching out for me, and provided me soup for supper! then it happened again: nothing for supper, a sunday night. i did not work, it was a sunday, so i'd be fine anyway. we have bible study every sunday night, and one of the ladies, when i arrived, asked if i had supper. sure, i did, i said. she asked what i ate. i did not have to say anything for her to know and before that i had a plate of supper in my hands. God knows my needs, and provides.

then i have to think that there are hungry haitians those nights who did not get supper, and i wasn't about to either . . .. yet God provided for me.

how has God provided 'soup' for you last week?

teaching

2009-02-05T16:47:00.002-05:00

so in coming down here i had made up in my own mind that i probably was not gonna be able to change people that work here of their ways. these guys that work here are trained already by another guy, so i knew that a 24 year old white guy was certainly not gonna change anything here. so i just pleasantly go about my work. i notice often that the guys watch me do what im doing. it doesn't bother me, i figure they are seeing how i do it. hey, doesn't everybody want to work like an american? lol

well today i was pleasantly surprised. i was pulling/digging weeds w/ a mattock [aka grubbing hoe]. its like a pick, but with a wide blade on it. one of the haitian guys [who i thought had no care for me] was watching me like a hawk. i was almost frustrated w/ him. then he came up and said that he wanted to try. WOW, i thought! he wanted to try a new way of doing things from a 24 year old white guy. God is truly at work. i know, i know, pulling weeds w/ a mattock is not revolutionary. but in my mind its incredible. the very fact that they see me working and have interest in trying a new way, well, its something that i simply thought would not happen.

its goes to show God's power. why should i ever have doubted God?

ironic, as im finishing this up, my itunes library randomly picked the song, might is the power of the cross, to play next. its so true. it speaks of how powerful God is in changing people. its not US that does the heart change, its Him. and i know, this does not relate to a haitian using the mattock, but it got me thinking about His power.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkO-D0fatRQ

or the text:

What can take a dying man and raise him up to life again?
What can heal a wounded soul?
What can make us white as snow?
What can fill the emptiness?
What can mend our brokenness?

[Chorus:]
Mighty, awesome, wonderful
Is the holy cross
Where the Lamb laid down His life
To lift us from the fall
Mighty is the power of the cross

What restores our faith in God?
What reveals the Father's love?
What can lead the wayward home?
What can melt a heart of stone?
What can free the guilty ones
What can save and overcome?

[Chorus]

It's a miracle to me
And It's still a mystery
It's a miracle to me
The power of God
For those who believe

pinocchio

2009-01-31T19:58:00.002-05:00

one of the young haitian kids that i know, he's about 10-ish, called me pinocchio the other day. okay, whatever, i'll laugh along w/ you. then i realized, he was commenting on my nose being so long, and inside im thinking, well, your nose is short and fat . . . your nose is funny not mine. but im the foreigner, so i guess im the one w/ a 'funny' faicial characteristic. it just made me laugh. us white ppl have long thin noses and large ears, and the haitians have short fat noses and tiny ears. its so fun to see the beauty of His creation, and im glad to know that im a part of it - even if i have a 'pinocchio' nose. then another day i commented to one of the haitian kids i know, he's 12, that he has huge lips - larger than any other haitian i know. his 12 year old friend, who was there, just went off laughing and laughing. when he caught his breath, he told me that all their friends mention the same thing about this guy having generous lips. haha. talk like this may sound pointless, but to me it proves growing friendships. so good . ..

so im in my new apt now. i actually -don't tell anybody- miss not having all the pets. but i can still go see them yet. anyway, i was spoiled while housesitting b/c i had such a 'big' house. now i have 3 rooms and it feels so tiny - perceptions are so funny. then i go to david & daniel's house and see the 2 rooms, and consider that six ppl live there. my 3 rooms are HUGE for just me to live in; THANKS Lord for blessing me w/ more than i need. imagine 6 people sleeping in one room that is 20X15 . . . its real here. seeing that puts things into perspective for me; im so blessed.

perception & perspective: im enjoying getting new ones.

power of money

2009-01-29T19:51:00.004-05:00

you've all heard the stories of giving stuff and money to natives when us white ppl are in foreign countries, right? there are right ways to give and wrong ways to give, and my eyes are definitely opened to it all. im always asking visiting missionaries about it, trying to find out more. its unique, im here giving my talent, time, and energy to this mission, and feel that i haven't given a thing to the haitian people. its so ingrained in me/us that we have to tangibly give money or food or a toy to a person [from our hand to theirs] to make us feel better, or feel like we have changed somebodies life. i now realize that if i never gave one penny to a haitian person here, i have given much. God knows and that's enough for me.

so im rambling, but these are good thoughts [i think so, anyway!]

im asked daily for money, food, my boots, my watch, or something. hey, it does not hurt to ask, right? im beginning to feel cold-hearted b/c im constantly either saying no or sending them to somebody else who deal with the 'giving out' of stuff. but them im made aware that people will ask and ask until there is nothing left. they don't want to be my friend, they want what i got.

so this one older guy has become friendly with me. never asked for anything. over the past 2 months we talked alot, and its been good to hear his stories. ive been amazed at how intelligent he is, the skills he has, and his ability to plan with his money. really ingenious he is. well, 2 days ago he wanted to talk with me. so we talked. nothing unusual, we talk every few days. he starts into that he needs money. 'Lord, what do i do?' i think. im torn b/c he seems like such a good guy. a guy w/ a head on his shoulders. a guy i could trust and help out. then i really think, this guy has friends and family [who have money, he's told me] and he has to come to me. hummm. a guy well known in the community and he has to turn to the new white kid on the block who does not know a thinkg about him to ask for money. so i say we'll see what happens.

i talk to some ppl here at the mission. i pray. i get mixed answers. i pray more. i think i should take a chance w/ him. then i think i'll have 10 more ppl asking for money. aaarrrgggg. i decide to give money to ppl w/ a need that i can see and to those who don't beg for it, and im encouraged in it by older, wiser missionaries.

so now i see this friend every few days, and the relationship is strained. its awkward for us to be w/ each other now. all b/c of money. its amazing the power of the dollar bill. but then maybe its just me b/c im sure he's been through this before, im not the first white person he's asked for money. learning how to give correctly is so hard. saying no is just as hard. it'd be so easy to just give $ out, but would that help? dependency is created and the cycle begins: asking until there is nothing left. then the giver leave and the full-time missionaries have to deal with this problem.

oh the challenges of mission work. challenges that are constant. Lord grant missionaries around the world discernment to effectively determine need. help them to be culturally aware and be wise in all their moves. work in the hearts of those being ministered to, that they'd desire more than just a hand-outs. thanks that i don't gotta do that part b/c you do the heart changing! continue to guide us all in your individualized plans for us as we are all missionaries to ppl at the library, supermarket, college, kids, office, mall, next door . . .

amen.

im so glad!

2009-01-28T07:19:00.002-05:00

my largest fear in leaving my home community for 5 months was that of loosing connection with friends [i knew family wasn't going anywhere]. I still remember that day, back in early november, when i was unloading compost from the back of my truck, that the peace that passed all understanding flooded my whole person: the fear of leaving everybody vanished that day and has never returned! God is so powerful, making all things work when His plan is in progress. He truly does hold us all in his hand, and grants us what we need to accomplish His work - im continually amazed!

i say all that to say that im so appreciative and glad for you who have made the effort to keep me up to date with what you are doing in your life, too! its so good to read your emails of daily life stuff, the challenges you are facing, and what God is teaching you! Im so encouraged and motivated by your life stories as well!! it definitely is a two way, and that makes me thrilled!! it truly means so much to me that you take the time to tell me about you, too. im so thankful to have such a body of friends [more life family] at home, and around the work, such as you. i love ya' KIDS!!

mesi anpil!! [thanks alot, in creole]

friday brings with it moving day for me as the family returns whose pets im watching and house im living in. i actually will miss the dog licking me feet and kitties purring as im checking my email . . . but its not like i'll never see them again, i'll be living a 40 second walk away. yeah, so i'll have a little apartment to stay in for my remaining 2 months here, and it should be good there as it was here in this whole house!

a real haitian day

2009-01-24T17:51:00.003-05:00

you probably know daniel and david, my haitian peers that i talk about all the time, right? well, i knew that are starting to building on to their 2 room house - that 6 people live in - so i offered to help. they are in the 'leveling the ground stage', and its difficult b/c they live on the side of a mountain. no machines, shovels and picks w/ handles less than 1m long, and sandals as work boots. so we began moving rocks, shoveling clay [that is the soil; topsoil washed away long ago], having a grand time, laughing, learning creole, smiling ear to ear, comparing muscles [im the weakest], and working hard together.

i had to prove to them -and all the ppl that walked by - that americans can work. they were surprised that i kept going all day. even the little brother, 12 years old, thought it was a good idea that i came and helped. this kid is 12 and he was hauling rock, and moving a wheelbarrow that weighed more than him all day long. when there are no machines; its all done by hand. and the rocks that are too big to roll, they need to be broken . . . w/ a sledgehammer.

whats hard work w/o good food? not worth it! lol. of course we had AWESOME haitian food. the mom cooked all day while us guys worked. i felt a part of their family, ive been there before, i know them all by name, and its comfortable there. its neat to see how they live, what they must do to wash up, use the bathroom, what they do when they get a cut, where the water gets hauled in from, what is done to relax after the work is done, and how the wash is done. there is no shower as we know it, no sink, no wash machine, no oven, no couch to relax on, no carpet or tile floor, no TV, no computer, no lights.

and there is no complaints.

joy abounds b/c were are all together. there is a learned sense of contentment, a character trait we are not born with, but must learn. paul [from the bible] did much of this. he had it rough, and he had it good. yet he remained inwardly content; his external environment did not cause him to change. i know ive said it before, but phil 4:11-13 speaks to this. i have no room to complain about anything; all i should do is thank God for blessing me excessively. thank you, Lord, thank you, mesi anpil [thanks alot in creole], thank you, thank you! God doesn't get sick of hearing that; i think He kinda likes it anyway.

if you are still reading, you must care and have interest in what im doing, so i'll take advantage of your attention and tell you about the work here at the mission that im doing. work is work to me, and i doubt that you really are interested in that part, and are more interested in the stuff like the above events, but you might be wondering, what is neal doing in haiti anyway? i sometimes wonder that, too.

so.. . im pretty well done the photo inventory of the 170+ plant species here. take a picture of every plant, get it identified [lots of emailing] and store in on the computer. the fruit trees are all pruned, except for about 5 loquat trees. i have several trees that need to come down, but im saving that work for when dad and aaron come down! lol. i have a 'green-house' of cuttings that have taken root, and will be planted around the mission 2 weeks before i leave. idk how many cutting i have growing, but im sure its well over the 200 mark. i discovered some unused compost heaps, so im hauling that out to the existing [and new] flower beds that need it - which is all of them! the first 2 months here i pruned trees daily, and now these last 2 months will be more detail work involving planting, and transplanting, and working with the container/accent plants at the residences here.

oh, and did i mention that i have a major project that im working on: my tan!

art

2009-01-22T07:46:00.005-05:00

im a fan of artwork. i love to see what people create, paint, draw, or form. its intriguing to me, to see somebodies creativity in tangible form. and expression of the human mind. astounding to me; and proof of our Creator. i haven't yet bought any art during my time here; but i have seen many beautiful creations. creations of our Heavenly Father: i see beautiful people everyday! im surrounded by them! i was the only white person in a haitain church this past sunday, and as i looked around i realized that im surrounded by beauty. faces that radiate our Savior, african lips that sing his praises, worked hands that are raised to Him, fat little babies looking deeply into my eyes, smiles of older haitians i know and work with, awesome handshakes with haitian brothers, and kisses on the cheeks of my haitian sisters. so much light radiates from their faces; all exquisite people formed individually by God, maker of all we see.

so then we have skills to create and make like our Heavenly Father. like the kids here who draw me pictures. i totally appreciate those pieces of art work, from the hand of a child. i have a growing collection of drawings from the kids here, and i love each piece. i got a special one yesterday, though. i was walking home in the afternoon, and some kids were running around so i sat down to talk w/ and watch them. "mr. neal!" one girl said, "i have a picture for you". so i naturally got excited and she quick ran off and got the pictures for me: one was a pig [which we named matilda] and the other was a drawing of a wall full of paintings. how neat. later into our time together one of the haitian kids that was running around w/ us expressed that he wanted to draw a picture for me, too. well, sign me up for that one! so i had paper, and another kid had a pencil, so he got buys at work. in a little bit, i had my own haitian child's drawing. it so neat. . . guess what it is? the same thing i - and probably all americans - drew as kids:

a picture of our house.

i could find differences if i looked for them; they surround me. similarities abound, and strike me.

ptl.

2009-01-19T19:55:00.002-05:00

okay, okay, i now know what you all've been praying for: pictures online of what haiti is like. well, miraculously the internet works and its fast enough to load pictures. so i have uploaded pictures still from when i was in miami, and now over the past month.5 here in haiti.

remember that im working @ 'being present' so there are not many pictures to show . . . but enough to put faces to names. and i just realized that ive been so present that i haven't gotten pictures of the kids here, the adults, and kids i hang out w/. i guess its b/c i don't carry my camera to work, nor do i take it out and show it around. one time i had it in my pocket to take pictures of plants, and one of the little haitian kids ran up to me, reached in my pocket, pulled out a camera and would have ran off w/ it . .. thankfully i caught him by his arm and got it back.

well, enjoy the pictures, and i'll be adding more as i take them!

Q+A w/ mr. neal: part 2

2009-01-18T07:45:00.002-05:00

Q: well, mr. neal, im glad to get a hold of you once again! its seems rather challenging to get any time to sit down and talk with you . .. but i guess that is a good thing; you must really be enjoying your time, getting out there, and considering alot. Anything of note this week?
A: yeah, this week has been interesting and full of excitement! mid-week i ripped a chunk of my thumbnail off w/ my saw, but thankfully it was the last cut i needed to make on the tree. after i cleaned it all up, i realized it is kinda hard to work w/o an operational thumb. then it occurred to me that i've been putting off working on the 'photo inventory' of all the plant species here on campus and the design work that i need to do. so ive been taking pictures, organizing all the identified plants [now over 150], and noting plants that need to be moved once our spring rains begin to fall.

then on friday i got to hang out w/ dean & kathy, marsha, and hannah!! so good to see ppl from back home and get american hugs. its all handshakes and kissing here w/ the haitians . . . we exchanged some stories/experiences of what we had seen and done here in haiti. its was a good time in just being 'present' for me; and the girls had me laughing even after they left [you'll have to ask them about that one!]

saturday brought w/ it another exploration in the bustling suburbs of haiti: petionville w/ my dutch friends. we decided to hitchhike the whole way instead of tap-taping around; adding to the excitement. we are always bargaining in the streets [i bought some plants: surprise, surprise! hey, its for the mission, not me!]. we ate at a restaurant and none of us are sick yet, PTL! and we had to fight off some aggressive beggars. something that has become standard for us when we go out is that when ppl ask where we are from, and the dutch ppl say they are from the netherlands, and that im 100% haitian. the haitians look at me, surprised, and say, 'but he's a red haitian!' i just say 'wi' [yes] to all their questions and they completely believe that im haitian. kinda funny.

sorry, i hope im not rambling . ..

Q: no, no, its good to hear your interesting weekend adventures!
A: yeah, im so glad i met these dutch ppl; so i have other ppl who like to explore. i for sure would not travel around haiti alone! and to haitian friends who go along, its nothing new .. . its their country.

Q: ive been looking for new pictures on your blog, but haven't seen any. is your camera broken?
A: no, no my camera is just fine. there are some issues w/ uploading pictures [connection and speed] so i can't put any more pictures online until after our IT guy gets back: the end of this month.

Q: have you found a woman yet?
A: haitian or american?
Q: haitian
A: oh, why do you ask such things? i won't tell the truth on a blog, so email me. lol.

Q: how is learning creole going? are you improving?
A: im definitely improving! i can generally ask what i need to ask, but the response i get is hard to understand - its spoken too fast [for me], and many contractions are used. im getting to learn 'buzz-words' or statements that i'd say back home, and say those things alot, and it gets ppl laughing. still i find that so many english speakers are in this area, so i can get by. im definite more effective in encouraging ppl and talking of Christ in english than in creole; so i kinda decided to use english in that manner. and creole to make jokes, bring smiles, and when im working.

Q: what do you have now that you did not have when you were in the states?
A: greater appreciation for the little things. like having a college degree, having skill in the green industry, knowing more than 10 ppl that i can trust, little potholes in all paved roads, having a government that offers protection, internet at home, a couch, and the fact that i am an american and have been blessed beyond all that i could ever ask or imagine - even if i only had a tenth [or a 50th for that matter; average income here is b/w $200-400 USD/year] of what i have.

Q: what are you gonna do now?
A: study creole, like i do all the time!

na we zami yo! [see ya friends]

marketplace: food courts of haiti

2009-01-14T07:39:00.002-05:00

yeah, a kind of "food court". lots of food for sale [raw and cooked], lots of ppl, lots of noise. to picture it think if a flea-market on unlevel ground, smoke from little fires cooking food and making charcoal, crooked tree branches stuck in the ground holing up torn tarps to make 'roofs' for the sellers, and all people oblivious to brushing shoulder with fellow 'shoppers'. people pushing their product encouraging a sale, offering things which we don't want or already have.

i did not really need anything, but i thought maybe i'd get some lettuce. i naturally looked around for the lettuce that im used to, the lettuce that i see in the supermarkets at home: big, leafy, green heads of lettuce. i saw one woman selling little heads of lettuce that had leaves that were beginning to brown on the edges - it thought, 'who would buy that?' and moved on. i came upon the head of lettuce that im used to seeing, thought about it, and decided that i did not need them after all, so i continued to just look at other stuff for sale w/ my friends.

one friend i was walking w/, unknowing what i was thinking about lettuce in my head, mentioned how bad they felt for those ppl who had the pitiful looking heads of lettuce. they said how they almost would buy those heads b/c those ppl probably live up in the mountains, walk many hours to get to market, and have just a little garden patch. my friend continued on about how hard it must be for them where they live to grow even those small vegetables, but so much 'easier' for people around here, where im at, as they grow the lettuce.

hummm. conviction. i just agreed along with my friend about that thought process, not admitting that i was thinking like an american. oh, how my eyes are opened daily. thanks God, for that lesson.

next time when im in the market and i need some food, i plan on not thinking like an american, to get the biggest and best, but rather looking at the people and seeing who i can help by buying from them. how many people have invested in me and helped me along my life, even though im not the 'biggest and best' of all the people that somebody could have helped.

thanks for investing in me so i can invest in others.

here, there, everywhere

2009-01-11T19:40:00.002-05:00

everything kinda happened all at once this weekend. i had planned on having 2 days to study creole, read, consider, and work on my tan. plans changed, and i only got to do one of the above things: work on my tan!

a new dutch couple is staying here @ bhm for about a month, so ive been joining them when they go places off the mission compound - its so great to have more kids my age here that wanna get out and see haiti. we went tap-taped down to port-au-prince and petronville. we hada grand time talking to random haitians [the dutch ppl speak creole well], haggling in the markets, getting food [not sick yet], going into the palace [its not that great; well the rooms they let us in anyway], and hitchhiking home [flagged down a random person w/ p/u truck to get home, and it wasn't the first time!]. its was such a grand day!!

then sunday, today, i was out w/ pastor baker, 3 haitian pastors, and benjamin [a haitian peer]. we squished into the truck [i love being crammed into places w/ the haitians! personal space flew out the window and i made no effort to catch it] and traveled about 2 hours on rough terrain to the destination church. the views were astounding, i just could not get enough! i enjoyed talking w/ benjamin; he's such a neat guy. yah know, God has really been blessing me w/ ppl who speak english, and are not americans. its so neat what i learn from them and how i can encourage them in their work for God here in haiti. good thing God has a plan, and that he's leading me in it!

ive been here a little over a month, and relationships are really forming well among my haitian peers, im so blessed with that! that also leads to me hanging out with them more, and having less time for everything else! [aka - if i don't post as often or email or call, this is why]. but now i have relationships that allow me to get to understand people better, and more deeply here. i really did not learn much when i was here for just a week, but how im seeing life differently now is interesting. not life shattering, but just raising awareness in my own mind of realities that i simply didn't walk through b/c of the abundance of american life. neither american nor haitian lifestyles are wrong, they are just different, and there is much to learn from each.

hey, ya gotta go yourself and WANT to find these things out.

oh, one more thing. so today we were driving in the p/u, all squashed together in the back seat. benjamin and i were sitting next to [practically on] each other in the truck. i noticed i could see our two faces in the rear view mirror, but i could only see one full face at a time; either his, mine, or half of each of ours. as we bumped and shook around, seeing these faces moved back and forth quickly, and my eyes & mind began seeing the same person in both faces, the eyes, nose, mouth, cheeks, and forehead were all the same. as i saw the faces shift in the mirror the only difference i noticed was in that of lightness and darkness in the color of the faces. its like we are the same person, but only a hint of difference. thinking now, i realize that we were both made in the image of God, and that causes all hints of difference to vanish.

as those differences flew out the window, i made not effort to catch them either . ..

?

2009-01-07T19:30:00.002-05:00

idk what to say, really. i wanna give an update, but there is nothing really exciting to report; so i guess i'll just tell you what i did today.

woke up @ 6:10 and took puppy out. fed her and kitties. had breakfast and qt; then at 8 work started. today, though, i did 'office' work for 2 hours. i found another guy to identify plants for me, so i got his email back, and had to go through it and research these new plants and decide what to do with them here at the mission. ive learned at least 50 new plants, if not more! it seems like constant emailing out pictures of new plants to get identified; but that is coming to and end; after a month i THINK i have found all the plants here!?

after 'office work', which i usually do saturdays, i went out to find ppl who know about pine tree seeds, and find out what fertilizers i can get here, along with prices. then i talked with one of the missionaries here about other needs for the property, found some more plants to take cuttings from, worked on my 'greenhouse' of cuttings, and then it was noon. lunch.

back out to the grounds . . yesterday i started transplanting snake plant onto the side of a hill, so i continued on that today. i was at the source planting of them and one of the little missionary kids comes running up to me, 'mr. neal! can i help your work?' sure, bud, no problem. we filled up the wheelbarrow w/ snake plants and were ready to haul them off. i asked if he wanted a ride [he's 4]. oh, his eyes lit up, so he hopped in and i wheeled him to where we were planting. he helped well. it was amusing to talk w/ him as we worked together. thoughts from a 4 year old; it really made me enjoy kids more. my watch beeps every hour, and when he heard it beep yesterday, he asked why it does that. i told him - jokingly - it means the end of the world. so he smiled, and said, no its isn't! so today whenever the watch beeped, he'd look @ me w/ huge eyes and a huge smile and say, 'oh, no, the end of the world'.

im glad to report that the world did not end [it will some day, though] and that i got to creole lessons today at 3:30. lessons have been going. im kinda just there on the language, i know i must spend more time studying on my own . . . i know all your prayers for me won't work if i don't do my part studying; so i gotta get on that. well, i did do much better today in lessons, i was able to make sentences better than before, noticed improvement [thanks for prayin'].

after lessons, we all hung out talking. daniel, david and i talking. oh, was that conversation such a blessed one. i sincerely desire for you all to have been there. a conversation like no other. the lives of friends, what they had to deal with growing up; things i won't write on the blog. totally has given me a totally different world-view. we also talked about how we often ask God, "God, why did you make me haitian, and not american" or "Lord why was i born an american and not haitian?" their faith is refreshing and so encouraging to me. the way they hold to our Lord increasingly during their lives simply amazes me. makes me wonder where my faith is when i don't have a fifth of the struggles they've fought their way through. different lives, different experiences, same astounding Heavenly Father. the unity in Christ.

then supper w/ everybody @5:30: rice, beans, sweet potatoes, militone, salad, and bread. good conversation, then back home. talked to dad on skype and then chatted w/ a friend online.

time for bed, its 10:30.

goodnight.

today.

2009-01-04T20:35:00.002-05:00

a few weeks ago i got invited to go horseback riding, and we went today! 3 of us went out for the afternoon/evening - it was so good to again be among the haitian people. riding in the tap-taps [their public transportation]. we always see pictures of people smushed on the back of these trucks; well i was smack-dab in the middle of it all in one of those tap-taps. oh, i love it so much! so much in the culture here is bargaining. well we had to do that for the horses; a 'business' woman friend went with us today, so she took care of all the bargaining. 40 mins later, we were on the horses. it was really a simple ride, just on the road to an awesome lookout, then back down to where we started. i forgot, horseback riding is different here than in america . . . i had to smile to myself. how different my perception/expectations of life growing up american; not that it's bad, its just different. we got some street food to eat afterwords - plantains, pork, and spicy shredded cabbage. tasty, and its eaten all together like we would eat crackers, ring bologna, and mustard. and, not a suprise, there a haitian girls that they want me to meet next time. . . ash [creole for 'oh, man'].

this morning i was walking with david to meet up w/ daniel [david's brother] at the church. we heard them singing, and david said they [group of guys my age] were practicing. [its common for a group of guys to have a band or singing group around here]. i said i'd like to listen to it for a bit, so we went in, and i saw a group of 10 guys standing in a circle, holding hands, and singing praises to God together. my heart rejoiced! i loved to see that, and their harmony was beautiful . . . then they invited me to join them. there i stood, humming the tunes of familiar hymns [sung in creole] holding hands with my haitian brothers in Christ. they broke into spontaneous prayer, fervent prayer -the spirits presence was there. what and unexpected gift. afterward a couple of the guys talked w/ me - they were the english speaking guys, and they wanted to practice english w/ me. ironic how im here learning creole; and the haitians want to learn english from me. so be it. and then i was able to encourage them to come to the english sunday school class - they said they did not feel comfortable going b/c they don't speak english well enough. i told them i understand, i don't go to the creole church service b/c i don't understand it. so we decided we'd compromise and go w/ each other to church & sunday school.

all the smiles. all the new friendships forming. the new guys were excited for the 'fun' creole words that i know; it always gets them laughing when i tell them -in creole- that they are looking snazzy today or when i ask about their girlfriends.

i was out in the entrance to the mission talking w/ ppl and i noticed a guy coming down the way. it was Emalyse, a older guy i work with here at the mission. it was so good to have remembered his name, address him by it, and exchanged pleasant greetings outside of the work place. it put a smile on both of our faces. we then both simply continued w/ what we were doing.

the power of a smile. give one out today, i'll smile when you tell me about it!

independence day - for haiti

2009-01-01T20:07:00.004-05:00

today is haiti's independence day, along with being january 1st. they gained their liberty from the french people back in 1802 [or something a bit over 200 years ago]. i was invited along with david [remember, the guy on the prayer card], to a friend's house for pumpkin soup. this is the special soup that all haitians have every jan 1st - so needless to say, i was ready to eat this soup!!! hey, everybody is doing it! lol. imagine tomato soup, but instead of tomato, its - surprise - pumpkin. then in this soup there is potatoes, plantains, noodles, beef, carrots, and pork. so its more of a stew then soup . . some families make a thinner soup depending on what ingredients they have access to. it was healthy filling, and tre bon [very good], i always enjoy 100% haitian food. i think the only thing i might not like to eat here is chicken feet, but if they were served i'd try them. goat eyes might be too much, though. yeah, they make a soup out of the head of a goat - i haven't been served that one yet . .

well, at 9 am i left the mission compound by myself to walk to david's house - about 15 min walk. its interesting to see how ppl respond to seeing a white person out walking in haiti, not a typical sight [safe in the day, not at night]. kids generally stare until i smile at them, then they smile back. people generally will not gawk, but just continue walking. when i'd offer a greeting, they'd always respond pleasantly. after all, they all know that i must be from the mission which is so close.

after getting to david & daniel's home we hung out and talked for a while, them walked on to the friend's home to have this pumpkin soup. its prolly a half hour walk, but we made use of a tap-tap [local 'taxi'] and motorcycle. so we arrive at the friend's house have soup and enjoy conversation. there must have been about 4 other people who came in/out of the house during the time we were there, so i always get to meet more and more people. we took a walk after lunch and enjoyed the sun. we all joked about me wanting to be black - they reminded me i'll get sunburned before i turn black . . . oh, man.

somehow the topic of me dating a haitian girl almost always comes up in conversation - they all know the perfect girl for me, too. today's offer was 40 years old, to which i pleasantly turned down. i always remind them that i have friends @ home who are more than willing to help me find a woman. dad: watch out who i might come home with!!

back at 'home' we missionaries all had supper together [like usual] but this week we've had 2 missionary couples with us here @ BHM who are resting from their work in haiti. we've struck up good conversation together, and i greatly appreciated their knowledge. ive learned/am learning so much about missionaries, their real work, realities that we don't understand back at home, goals that take 30 years to achieve, how giving really effects the natives, and leadership transfer b/w foreigner and native. definitely eye opening stuff. maybe you all back home already understand mission work and the ins-and-outs, but i just got a taste of what is really is all about, why people do it, and why projects are at where they are. i guess im just interested in it all now b/c im here.

"oh, Lord, thanks for the simple things in life. for pumpkin soup. for sitting outside in the sun talking with friends. for playing peek-a-boo with haitian twins. for being able to speak more confidently in creole. causing peoples faces to light up in smiles simply for sharing a smile. getting to see the determination of people. for willingness of people to open their homes and share what they have. for being able to joke in creole. the gift of a pat on the back and kiss on the cheek [cultural mind you]. crouching down to say 'bon ane' [good year] to a little 3 year old haitian girl and her giving me a kiss on the cheek. having a 4 year old boy come up to me all in smiles, offer his hand for a hand shake, getting it, then quickly scurrying off. i just have to smile, Lord. thanks for all these priceless moments; these abundant blessings. even though i feel like im receiving more than im giving, continue to let your divine life flow from me in any way you see fit. amen."

Q+A w/ mr. neal

2008-12-30T19:53:00.002-05:00

Q - so, mr. neal, whats up with the "mr."?
A - the kids [white] here at the mission call me that. when they see me from their window, up in a tree, or at supper they all yell out, "mr. neal!!". i have to laugh to myself every time i hear it. its good, though.

Q - what have you been enjoying thus far?
A - i love to get off campus while here. i really enjoy seeing Haiti, the people and their homes. I am invited to a Haitian new years party - its new years day at 10am; not an all night bash like we have in america. then another friend invited me to go horseback riding with them, and im also headed to a friends church to hear him and his brother sing during the service - there is always something happening that i have to look forward to. regardless, every day is abundant simply b/c i get another day.

Q - describe that abundance you speak of
A - ive learned that abundance is not eating from a buffet table, having a glamorous job, or an exciting event to do every evening with 12 friends. abundance shows itself in shaking hand with a new haitian friend, being a jungle-gym for the kids, hearing a haitian say, 'bon travay' [good work] to me while im up in a tree, being able to say a few words in creole to get peers laughing, having the chance to talk with friends from home and being so loved and encouraged, praying with people, and winning the affection of children while gaining respect of adults.

Q - what is the connection b/w what you expected and the reality of where you are at?
A - knowing i would get this question, and knowing that i really would not know what to expect, i tried to keep and open mind and be ready for whatever happened. i knew that there was a possibility of the hurricane destruction being so bad that i'd be rebuilding with everybody else. im not mechanically or constructionally minded, but i decided that i'd be available. PTL that all the plants are still here and need lots of work! regarding the grounds, i was pretty much told, in not so many words, "just do what needs to be done". i kinda found myself as the one who hears what people would like done, noticing what needs to be done, and then simply doing it.

Q - do you have free-time?
A - there is always something that needs to be done or happening here. but when i do get time to myself i'll read [i only brought one book w/ me other than the bible - im on page 84 of 254 - and ive been here 1 month], skype, hang out w/ daniel & david, and write on this blog. oh, and learning creole! nothing too exciting, but i really love the simple things. watching the sunset. looking out over the mountain ranges. sitting and talking with the missionaries here.

Q - what neat thing happened today?
A - when i walk by ppl here, i'll say bonjou or bonswa [good morning, good evening respectively]. when its a white person, i'll generally say hi or hey. today i saw a white person and thought i'd say bonswa to her. i did, and and she said bonswa to me as well; and we said it at the same time. i had to laugh and smile. talking in creole with a fellow CSL [creole as a second language] person! it made me think of my european friend who where in the states last year. german is their native language and they thought it was funny to speak english to each other. normally they would speak german w/ each other, but here they had conversations in english. so it reminded me of them when i spoke w/ a white person in creole instead of english. the simple things .. .

Q - you have 3 months left; ready or not?
A - here i come!! i can't wait for the next months here - ive built relationships w/ peers here that can now grow, learned some of the language and grew my personal relationship w/ God. idk what is next, but there is nothing holding me back from what is in store. hey, if God is for me, who can be against me?[rom8:31] i got nothing to loose, my future is secure, and my life is not my own .. .

Q - homesickness?
A - no, honestly, i really am not sad to be away. i thought i would have more pull to get home, but it simple isin't there. i really have the peace that passes all understanding! thanks God! since im able to keep in contact w/ ppl at home via skype and email ive stayed pretty connected, so that makes it very nice! and i very much enjoy the extended family i have here.

Q - i have 8 more questions on my list; ready for them?
A - no thanks. its 9:20 and i have to get puppy and go to bed!! its so nice to get 7 hours of sleep! besides, i don't think those reading really care to keep reading.

thanks, mr. neal. we'll be back w/ another round of "Q+A w/ mr. neal" another time. . .
email your questions to: yougotneal@gmail.com for us to ask him.

of a dog and raspberries

2008-12-28T14:43:00.004-05:00

every summer, one of my favorite simple things to do at home is go out and pick raspberries. i go out with a dish to put them in, but its comes back empty b/c ive eaten the berries as i pick them. i love them so much: black, red, or yellow. idk why, but its just so fun to me to pick them off the plants and eat them right away - its like im beating the birds, dad, and brent to them. there is always enough berries to pick [and eat] them with a friend, though!

Well, we put the dog outside on a new 'wash line' so she can run around all day and stay out of the house, thus keeping the house floor clean, aka the floor is not longer a potty. taking her out there, i noticed about 10 raspberry plants growing up over the 2.5' wall. humm, i went over the the plants and realized that they are producing fruit right now!!! So, like at home, i walked down the row of plants, picking [and eating!] all the fruit. it was so nice to be able to do that. an activity that i only get to do for about 2 weeks/year at home, but now get to do for a second time this year!

it made me smile. thanks God for raspberries. and a dog that drove me to find them. well, i cant say that im thrilled and praising God to have the dog around . . .

so the dog is getting used to me; and im getting used to the dog. duchess, her name, goes out to her wash line to run every morning at 6:20am and then i bring her back inside around 8:45pm. we are pretty much used to the routine now, and i'll have her until the end of january when her owners come home [im living in their house for now].

a friend back home was encouraging me to find parables in lifes stories. ive been looking at this situation w/ the dog; and haven't discovered a parable, but i have found an analogy.

i am to the dog, as God is to me. how many times does God have to smack my nose, say 'sit' or 'no, neal', or pull my collar b/c im going somewhere i should not? how often to i 'bark' to God for his attention? How distracted am i for the 'food' [or blessings] he is giving me that i don't even notice it's him giving it to me? how long with it take for God to get through my stubbornness. why cant i be told once and they obey His voice? i guess i know ultimately what i desire for the dog: obedience. and God wants that for me, too. he can see the whole of my life and His plan for me; just like i can see the whole of duchess' life.

yeah, okay, i really read into my dealing with the dog, but it was good for me. to shed light into a new - positive - view of puppy.

the property here is changing. one of the kids said, "mr. neal, you are good at making messes, but not good at cleaning them up. well the yard men do that anyway" i had to laugh, b/c day after day, piles of branches are cut down and drug away. im doing the cutting, not the dragging. so the child spoke truth. lol. this weeks work: pruning more trees, and taking more cuttings. im getting pretty familiar with the plants here; so im happy about that.

i won't be removing any raspberry plants soon . . .

what parables [or analogies] can you draw from your life? i bet you'll find them in the most unlikely places. psalm 145

merryCHRISTmas

2008-12-25T11:11:00.003-05:00

my plan today was to sleep in. i figured i'd take the puppy out a 6 [she warmly licked my arm to wake me. i told her she's been such a good dog recently, let her lick my nose -only once - then took her out]. upon coming back in, i could not sleep, so i was up and about. emailing, cleaning, and reflecting.

reflecting on how christmas is no special day to most of the haitians. well, its special in that it is christ's birth, but not lots of gifts or major parties. it really is a good alternative to the christmas day i grew up knowing year after year. for me, today, presents are not the focus. it was the excitement to give care packages to those in the hospital here. we did 2 things: us adults gave bags of hygiene items to the patients, and the kids gave candies out. i was quite surprised, but again, should not have been, that the patients were so happy, had smiles, and lit up faces NOT when we adults gave them this stuff, but when the little kids gave them a piece of candy. really its so special to have a child give you something. i had to think how much i smiled when some of the mk's here gave me a picture they drew. i smiled a lot for that; and still do when i look at them . . .

guess we can't but help to smile at the gift of baby Jesus. what a precious baby born to take our sins. he must have been so cute. there was a newborn haitian baby born today, this morning. i got to see him, grandma was holding him and was more excited than the mom . . . the joy a child brings to us.

no wonder Jesus, when older, always beckoned the children to himself. the mutual smiles. giggles. poking. the simple things. even the haitian kids here will give me the biggest smiles they have. some i see day after day, we greet each other via 'kore m' [fist-pound] and oh the smiles. they are not old or bold enough to call me 'blan' [white stranger] yet, so their smiles are pure, and not of joking. the truth, love, and joy that children bring. i never thought i'd say these things, but its true.

ive realized the gift of friendship is so valuable. today, being away from everybody, makes the priceless-ness of people shine through. knowing i have such a great group of ppl back home who love and care for me is simply all i need. nothing more and nothing less. genuine thankfulness is another item ive experienced while here. ive been more thankful here than at home. kinda odd, but it true.

less stuff = greater thankfulness. this is one of those statements that you have to live to know the truth. well, alot of what im experiencing here i can tell about, but the reality of it only hits when you live it firsthand.

oh, and this afternoon/evening us missionaries had dinner together, played games, joked about the kids [im the only single person here :-0] and shared stories. it made me look and realize that a missionary is no different than a mechanic. a professor. a landscaper. a homemaker. a truck driver. a welder. a computer tech. a student. a missionary is no different that you.

amen. praise God for a simple, yet abundant, day.

your christmas card from me, lame i know

2008-12-23T12:45:00.004-05:00

this year i did no Christmas cards and no gifts. i felt bad, so i gave 2 gifts to friends here, and now im writing you this Christmas card. yes, this is a public card to you. i know that if you are reading this, we must has a special connection. this is for you:

friend -

thanks. i really have found value in your life over the past months getting to know you. i always look forward to the times that we are getting together. i will often look in my calendar and see that we're meeting up that evening; and i'll be excited about it all day. thanks for always bringing a smile to my face - even when you are not next to me in person. ive been so glad that we can be praying for each recently. that is so special to me, and i hope that its mutual! pray for me in my patience and as i learn creole. how can i pray for you?

growing together in life, sharing experiences and where we are at along the journey, and going places with you are all awesome memories i will always have of you and me together! ive been looking forward to this summer when we go camping, boating, hiking, and .. . . to philly! and sure, we can use my truck, no problem. lol. you can drive when we go out to eat or to resonate, though. this year, unfortunately, i really can't do all those 2am nights anymore. i mean, sure it was fun, but i need my rest. okay, okay, maybe once every 2 weeks will be fine. i really enjoyed sitting in the car, just the two of us, and talking late into the night - we'll do that again! just being honest with each other - thanks for being such a safe place to share, and im always here for you when you need it, too.

your friendship has really been a gift to me. i know i would not be half the man i am if it weren't for your impact on my life. even if you are younger than i, i've learned much from you; i just haven't told you. and you being older than i, well, i haven't wanted to admit it either, but your wisdom has blessed me over and over again!

thanks for simply sharing in friendship; its all i need from you; and all i have to give this year.

continue in Christ; you know there is no other way!

love, and merrychristmas,
neal.

jeremiah 9:23-24.

stories

2008-12-21T11:19:00.003-05:00

i wanted good stores to come home with. so far all i got is dog poo to clean up and a orange tree thorn to the head. not too exciting. i always hear of missionaries having all these good stories to bring home; and wow everybody with what they had to deal with. ive just been made aware [by God in my QT] that this not how i should be thinking. i know, i know, you don't have to tell me that you already knew this. i have to learn the 'hard' [or simple in this case] way.

these stories i desired, these experiences, would only be worth while if they drew me closer to God. having an 'experience' does nothing if i only look for gaining an exciting story. what good does it do to tell a good story: we can watch a movie for that. the part of the story that i was missing was the piece that would draw me and those i share with to the Lord!

in looking for stories; all i got was the problem dog. and that sure is not much of a story to share. we all deal with that at home at one time or another. but i learned much from dealing with the problem pet: humility, grace, patience, fruit of the spirit, anger mgt, submission, and love. God uses the low things of the world to shame the prideful [1 cor 1:27-31]. once i realized what God wanted me to learn from the pooch, i found a story. not glamorous to say the least. but now my perspective is changed to find God at work; and then the story is revealed. experiencing God needs to be central; not having a 'good story' to tell.

telling about Christ at work is exciting in itself!!!

im gonna stop looking for stories, experiences, and stuff to tell. im gonna refocus on how God is active; and what he is doing. that should be enough. no, that IS enough.

"faith that is sure of God is the only faith there is." ~Oswald Chambers

1 corinthians 2:10-16

an apple.

2008-12-19T19:52:00.004-05:00

so i got a Christmas gift today: an apple.

at first i thought, an apple? what is this a joke? then i realized where i was, and that apple trees don't grow too well in haiti. then i smiled, and honestly appreciated that apple. that little gala apple. i had to think how we always hear "we got an orange for Christmas and that was it. and we were happy". i got an apple and was truly satisfied; i did not need anymore. that apple was so good to eat, and i was content with it.

paul's words: 'i have learned to be content with little or lots' is so true. i have little now, and im totally fulfilled this way. its b/c i have his grace.

Christmas this year is obviously going to be different. i don't yet know what im doing next week for Christmas day but my perspective this year has taken a new light. the view of seeing how Joseph & Mary must have felt. what they had to deal with regarding Jesus' birth. Joseph & Mary knew this pregnancy was not of the two of them; but of them both remaining virgins. How would anybody else in the town believe this? For sure they would be accused of premarital sex and the stigma that goes with that. What to do? but simply take it. can you imagine the honor they must have felt by God to be the birth parents of the savior of the world? talk about the humble being exalted!!!!

then today i was thinking about Jesus dieing for the sins of the world. i know, that is an easter story [but the whole reason Jesus came to this world - to die for our sins and allow us to accept the free gift of SALVATION]. i was thinking about easter, when Jesus was killed and resurrected b/c today, while pruning an orange tree [they have 2 inch long spines on their branches] one of the branches smashed into my head and caused a bloody mess. i had to smile [it wasn't that bad] b/c it reminded me of the crown of thorns Christ had pressed onto his head. i only had one pickan [haitian word for thorn] strike my head, Jesus had at least a dozen . . .

so thoughts of Jesus' birth to death. im reminded of his only purpose in coming to earth: to save his people from their sins. and that is what he did even though he could have taken the easy way out . . . PTL he took the punishment so we could live forever w/ him!!

_new thought:

the citrius orchard has one last tree to prune down to size, and a few more trees to remove. then im moving onto trimming more trees, and starting some transplanting along with taking cuttings of plants to be planted around the mission in march.

creole lessons are going - i hear words i know, but don't quite know what to say back. i usually think of what to say after the fact. im glad my mind does this, i think this sentence forming should happen more quickly over the next weeks and my vocab will be growing. david and daniel [creole teachers, as well as friends and peers] have their friends try me with questions, and me them. its been fun asking haitian girls if they are single . . . [only when david and daniel are around!]

im looking forward to rest on saturday and sunday. i get so exhausted so quickly. i don't know why: altitude, less food than at home, or the dog. well, the dog has been better. we are getting into routine here. less accidents on the floor, and much sounder sleep is happening . . . PLT! its not perfect, but progress is being made!

hopefully all these random ideas makes some sense; its time for bed for me . . . ive had it!

isaish 53.

nothing to do

2008-12-16T19:40:00.004-05:00

can you imagine having nothing to do? NOTHING. all responsibilities finished for the day. nowhere to go. no big event happening. nothing on the calendar. so sitting around and talking occurs. playing with random pieces of trash. fighting over my empty water bottle. sitting on concrete floors. no TV to watch. no hot tub to relax in. sitting. playing. hoping.

so different from a traditional american lifestyle. we desire a life like the above sometimes. to get away from the distractions of life - but its the other extreme of life. goods and bads in both; how do we respond?

to whom much has been given; much will be required. it does not matter that others have less then us; or that others have more than us. it only matters what we do w/ what we have. we don't have to live a life of poverty b/c somebody else does; doing so does not draw us closer to God or make us better than somebody else. all that matters is how accountable we are with what we have; are we wise, unselfish, and aware of what we have? are we using the little or lots of stuff we have in way that is beneficial to us and those around us?

to whom much has been given; much will be required. its not sin to have stuff; we are just accountable for what we have; little or lots.

luke 12:48.