Earthquakes, Spiders and Answered Prayers

Ark Constanza kids with the newest member "Nube" (spanish for cloud im pretty sure...)

It has been such a whirlwind around here since I got back Jan 5th that I don't even know where to start! Hopefully I can give a good recap of my 1st 10 days back on the island.

With travel logistics to Constanza tough it ended up working better for me to spend the first 5 days back in Jarabacoa. At first I was a little hesitant because I didn't want to constantly be in the way or a hassle to anyone, but it really ended up being a blessing. I got to visit with old ark friends from previous visits and through sponsorships, as well as develop great relationships with some of the newer kids at the Ark that I hadn't really gotten to know yet. I also got to spend time with Brian Veen who I studied with in Guatemala and it was good to reconnect and catch up a bit after the holidays. The missionaries were great and I really enjoyed spending time with the Jarabacoa crew.

One of my great Jarabacoa friends on my motor. Our family has

been sponsoring him and his brother for years and he rarely leaves

my side when I visit Jarabacoa.

One of the big blessings from spending the time there was I was able to spend a lot of time with the short term group from St. Mary's College in California. I spent the night at the team house for the 5 days and 3 of those nights were with this group. They were a blast and they just took me in as one of their team members. I am excited to meet up with them again this week as they will be in Constanza to serve from Saturday through Saturday.

I also celebrated my first "Dia de los Reyes" which was very fun. After mass producing pancakes in the morning for the big pancake breakfast, the kids opened presents and then we spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing and playing with the kids. My kind of holiday!

The Rowley's picked me up after dropping Carter off for school and we headed back up to Constanza. It was really great to see them again, it was weird being away for a few weeks after spending so much time together right before Christmas. Housing has been a big transition, as I have basically been living out of suitcases since September 20th now, but the Rowley's were great as I spent the first few nights at their house until my temporary apartment was ready again.

A very common question during my time at home was "what are the biggest challenges you face there?" and "how can I be praying for you?" I usually geared answers to both questions back to the uncertainty and constant transition of not having housing nailed down. There is no doubt that everyone really followed up on that and prayed for it to work out because less than 24 hours after I had arrived in Constanza the housing had worked out better than I could have imagined! I will be moving into a fully-furnished apartment for the rest of my time here and in the same Colmado I have come to love. Altagracia and Yuli have been so great for me and helping me get settled in their property, it has been fun to get to know them so far. They have also felt kinda bad about me not being able to move in so they have really been taking care of me!

The only downside to this is that the temporary apartment I am in now is taken from January 20th-30th...so I will move into the teamhouse here (again with the St. Mary's team for the first few days..) and then move in permanently on the 28th! Needless to say I am very excited to finally move in. There is some stuff I haven't even used yet that was packed all the way back in September that will finally get used.

Always a good time doing sponsorship letters

with the kids....this picture is a pretty accurate

depiction of a typical day trying to get letters done

with the kids.

St. Mary's will be our first group of the year and I am excited to get going with teams! I know it will be a lot of extra work, but it is something I am pumped for. The Rowley's and everyone here have been putting tons of work in to get the new team house ready for guests. There has also been someone just chillin at the team house for who knows how long and I don't know if he is ready to give up his kingdom he has started on the outside wall! I asked one of the dominicans working at the team house about the spider and he said it was very very very dangerous and that one bite or prick would be very bad...not what I like to hear already hating spiders...When a Dominican tells me to stay away from something like that I ALWAYS listen..(well except for taking the picture..)

My new friends! And what I think about before going

to bed every night...(don't let Kirk see this...)

One of the first days back in the temporary apartment, I was checking a problem in the toilet because mechanism to flush was broken...so I was taking a look inside when all of a sudden the water started slushing back and forth which seemed strange to me but I thought maybe i had leaned into the toilet or something. Then I realized that the whole bathroom was shaking! I started walking out of the bathroom but was very disoriented and could see the whole floor moving in waves...I didn't have the urgency to get out of the house that I should have had because I had never been through an earthquake before, and especially not one like this. I finally made my way outside and saw the ground still moving in waves and heard everyone yelling and that is when I realized it wasn't a fun thing it was a serious thing. Constanza is on the same fault line as the earthquake in Port au prince and that is why it was so strong here. Thankfully everyone in my area was fine and I didn't hear of any damage. Keep Haiti in your prayers, it is uncertain how we will be affected from this but I have heard rumors that there will be some Haitian orphans coming to Kids Alive for as long as 6 months.

To me this earthquake was a unique, interesting, and unsettling experience....but for millions in Haiti it was life-altering and tragic. Please pray for everyone in Haiti, and especially my good friend Grant who is serving as a missionary there and will certainly be front and center in the rescue mission and months ahead.

A lot has happened these first few days back but I am so blown away by God's answered prayers. The housing situation is looking great, the kids all remembered me and we picked up right where we left off, and it looks like internet is on the horizon in my apartment as well which would be awesome. Thank you so much for your continued prayers as my constant transition continues!

The two youngest kids who were very excited when I

came back! The boy on the right is the newest ark arrival

and older brother of the girl in pink!