This the second day we have no school due to the tropical storm Gustav. The rains have come steadily throughout yesterday and today saturating the earth. The water has no place to go but run off, causing the problems of erosion, mud slides, homes sliding into the swollen rivers, making bridges impassible. With the dampness, it is no wonder that the Haitian dislikes getting wet because where will they get dry clothes? I am truly blessed with my living accommodations.

The darker pictures were taken at about 8 AM yesterday without a flash, giving an idea about the darkness in the morning due to the storm.

This picture is taken toward the mountain, but the mountain is nowhere to be seen since it is totally in the clouds. PAP is surrounded by mountains. This is a real blessing since those mountains take the edge off the storm winds. They protect PAP by provider a buffer against the winds. Yesterday there were some gusts, but nothing note worthy. Today the sky is lighter than yesterday.

Yes the landscape here too is being saturated. Since the grass has been planted, there is no run off as in years past but the land soaks up most of the waters. The waters also fill the school cisterns. In all of my activities today, where did I see God, His power and majesty, His answer to prayers? In the rains He is there. In the winds He is there. Lord, give me eyes that see You always and ears to hear You speaking.

This past Tuesday was the first day of school. The grades 1 - 12 met on the basketball court for opening devotions. The Director welcomed the students to the new school. I led the devotions for this diverse group. The school theme for this year is the most excellent way. The ES was dismissed while the MS/HS were given some more instructions regarding their elective courses. This year we have 100 students in the HS. People were still coming to school trying to register after the first day of classes. Most Haitian schools will start in about three weeks time. Then the roads will be congested once again.

This past Friday was the new parent breakfast at the school 'cafeteria'. There were more than 50 parents there to meet and greet one another and get to know more about the school their children attend. They were served a continental breakfast of bagels, crescents, cinnamon buns, watermelon, apple slices with carmel, juices and of course coffee. After the breakfast Parent Action Committee gave group tours of the school in action, which the parents really appreciated.

This is the back yard of the Quisqueya Chapel, the church Mary and I attend. Just to confuse people, this chapel is not the chapel at the school but approximately 10 minutes drive from the school. It is situated on a nice piece of land with grass for these grazing cows and also for the children to play on the playground on Sondays and during the week. More than 200 children from the surrounding orphanages/schools use the grounds during the week.

Today was the first Sonday that our pastor, Carl Olson was back from the States. The church was still empty with some of the missionaries still being on the mainland. Each Sonday the visitors are asked to stand and tell where they are from and what they are doing in Haiti. Today there were approximately a dozen people visiting the church. They were working with one of the Christian organizations or in the process of adopting.


A snapshot on the way home from church. The streets were empty today. Many puddles were on the 'gravel' roads due to the rains we have had Thursday and Friday night. One travels slow on these roads,not knowing how deep the puddles are and not to splash the pedestrians.

Here are the Sonday sounds outside our apartment on a Sonday morning :-)

Even though the weather has been extremely dry, there are still blooming flowers decorating His creation, telling me of His majesty and creative powers. The school secretaries this past Thursday did also plant some 'native' ferns and other plants with the help of the Haitian workers to help beautify the school campus. Even top soil was ordered. Unfortunately after the dump truck dumped his load, the driver got the raised box stuck under a tree limb so that they had to cut the branch off the tree to free the truck.

We did have a few rains as can be seen by the lush green grass. Although the camera does zoom 12X it is not enough to get close to the guinea fowl that is feeding in the grass each morning and evening when there are only a few people moving about the campus. And the times I do get close enough to snack a picture, my camera is . . . . The grass is not only a blessing for the children but also increasing the bird life at school as well as the insects they feed upon. The campus has a lot of trees which is not natural for this part in Haiti. My banana plants are not doing all that well. This is the second year and still no bananas.

I was in charge for opening devotions and so I took a snapshot of all those present to take attendance. Not. We have approximately 25 staffers - full and part time for this coming year. This past week was a week of staff development and divisional meetings. Tuesday we start the first day of school. We plan to welcome about 260 students, but since the hurricane is approaching Florida, some families will be joining us later during the week or the week following because of cancelled flights.

I am back in Haiti. Mary will join me in September:-) It was a great summer experiencing God's goodness in our daily lives. There were too many happenings of His presence and daily workings that only a few are shown here. Mary and I enjoyed the time spent with my brother-in-law and sister in Michigan. We joined His church members cleaning the debris beside the highway - enjoying the presence of His people also in Michigan. Lunch was served for all who participated. His servants at work in His creation.

I attended the Christian School International convention in St. Louis, Missouri. This was the St. Louis RV Park - we did just that, park the RV. It was hot and humid and with no grass, nor trees. We spent the time in the pool and in the RV. The convention was good since it reminded me once again that my heart, head and hands all need to work together to serve Him. At times the head leads,or sometimes the heart or other times the hands - but the others soon catch up and are in sync with one another serving the Master.

After our visit to the Port Perry church for our show and tell to the congregation, we spent some time in the Niagara area. We used to live in St. Catharines which was about 30 minutes from the Falls. At the Falls, our Lord showed His promise to us once again that He is our God and He is our Guide each and every day. His promises never fail. He is my Redeemer King and I will continue to work in His presence each and every day. He is faithful. Help us to be living witnesses Lord each and every day wherever we are planted.

Family is important - the family of God and our family. The nurturing of one's children and grandchildren never end. I need to be a more faithful story teller, telling the next generation how the Lord has worked in our lives. Here are family members and their friends sharing the celebrations of July 1st, or Canada Day. Thank You Lord for all the opportunities You give to serve in freedom in this nation. Help us to never take all those freedoms for granted, especially the freedom to serve You.

Together we could celebrate God's faithfulness as a family celebrating Mary's 60th birthday together before I left for Haiti once again. I left the day after her birthday. We had our children, grandchildren and brothers and sisters come together to celebrate. Be careful of the shunk crossing. See the signs? Mary was totally surprised when we arrived for the party in Chatham. The kids did a super job in preparing the party centered on an Oriental theme. What a blessing to be able to come together and celebrate!

You need to look very carefully and you can see the wires on fire by this transformer. That happened this past Sonday and the loud noise it made, I just had to go outside to see what made the noise. After seeing the burning hydro wires I wondered if we would still have EDH - city power - at night. We did but the dwellers on the other side of the street didn't. Oh, the simple pleasure of life like electricity.

This past week was exam week on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday mornings. There was no school in the afternoons. There were special programs on those mornings. This is a snapshot of the graduating grade 8 class. Their ceremony was held this past Tuesday morning and many of the parents were also present. Yes they also came to school on Wednesday morning. On Wednesday we had a step-up program for the grade six class. They were stepping up from elementary school to middle school. The students were challenged at both programs to live for Jesus.

The elementary students had a 'field' day last Tuesday. The grade 1 - 6 were divided into groups and had various fun activities such as the one pictured here - a wet sponge was passed over and under the team members and the dripping sponge was squeezed to see which team could fill the coke bottle first. Many of the students cooled themselves before the water came to the coke bottle.

Yesterday was the school graduation for the grade 12 students. There were 15 graduates. It was neat to hear a former graduate give advice to the students. A parent whose daughter was graduating, who himself was also a graduate of the school, prayed for the class. A teacher addressed the graduates giving what their names meant in service to Him. This picture is the inside of St. James the Just Episcopal Church. There was a reception after the service celebrating Amelia Chabot, a QCS graduate. The service was in English. Starting time as stated on the bulletin - just after 8 A.M. The doors were still locked when I came. The traffic noise outside drowned out the service many a time of the many trucks going up the mountain:-)

During the last weeks in school the students in grade eight were working on Challenge 4, a unit from A World in Motion. The students enjoy these hands on experiences, exploring series and parallel circuits, a solenoid switch, a galvanometer, flashing lights, and even a small electric motor. It was great to see and hear the excitement when the group got the project to work. Their excitement was not without a cause - when the group worked together getting the experiment to work, they received an A!

The grade seven's looked at various bridge structures via Nova and realized that different bridges span different crossings. The various bridges also had different construction costs. They had to determine which bridge to construct to span the various barriers. After this their object was to construct a toothpick bridge according to the instructions given. Upon completion we will test the strength of each bridge on the last school day. These two girls completed their bridge and were anxious to try the load limit of their construction. Impressive.

During the last week of school, the boys' basketball team challenged the staff and community to a basketball game after school. The following day there was a soccer game between the two teams. The 'staff'' lost the basketball game by 4 points but won the soccer game. When there is a soccer game, all the real 'pros' come out to play. Some of the adults play twice a week and love the opportunity to play more than that. This develops great community.

At the end of the school year, the school Board shows its appreciation of the staff at a board/staff dinner at a restaurant. It is a time of saying thank you to the staff who are staying, and saying farewell to those who are leaving the school. Each of those leaving are 'roasted' by a fellow staffer:-) The out going board members are also thanked for their service and the new board members are introduced to those in attendance. Good food. Good fun. Good fellowship. Building good fellowship - unity in service and purpose. Thank You Lord.

This past Saturday, Sous Espwa met at the Van Dam home to say farewell to Leslie and his wife (Leslie will be working for another Christian agency here in Haiti) and to Junior and Cari (Jumior and Cari have been at QCS for three years and they will be returning to Canada to study and work).. This was a food affair once again - a time of food, fellowship is always appreciated.

This week the students received their school year book. This was done at the end of the day because their interst was peaked, trying to see what was said about them, or what pictures were included in the book. Then the signing frenzy of eachother's year book began. It was interesting to see their reaction and hear their comments.