The People Behind the Girl

Jesus Is Lord!

Mardi 25 Aout 2009
Three Angels Children’s Relief,
Petionville, Haiti

Dear Centennial Family,
Hello! I am so exciting to be greeting you from my new home here in Haiti. For just over two weeks now I have been acclimating to life here and think that an update is appropriate. I hope to report to you all many of the things I have been experiencing, learning, and doing, as well as the general goings on of the Three Angels orphanage, school, and clinic.

The American “on the ground” staff here at 91 Delmas (our street address) consists of Dr. Jack & Marcia Nonweiler, Megan Haug, a twenty-something from Evansville, IN, and me. Jack & Marcia serve as the Field Managers of the orphanage and medical clinic. I am learning that a typical day for them begins at 5 am or earlier depending upon how early the sick babies need attention or how soon they are awakened by the crows of our neighboring roosters. They might even arise as early as 3 am, the time at which city power enables them to best access the internet! I have been enjoying my mornings with them, my newly “adoptive” parents (Marcia decided that I am to be their sixth daughter & claims that it will make Amy, their youngest, happy to no longer be the baby J). Their apartment, which includes a bathroom, pantry, kitchen/dining room, sitting room, and outside veranda, and my room share the upper floor of the orphanage, so we take most of our meals together upstairs. During the morning hours J & M read some scripture and pray, work on small projects (such as color-coding adoptive file folders), and overview their vision for the tasks of the day, which necessarily requires the flexibility to adopt Plans B through E! After breakfast they get right to it. Daily tasks include a variety of things. In the past two weeks they have wired the new office with electrical wire, daily treated +/-10 patients who visit us from the neighborhood with diverse medical needs, shopped twice at Mega Mart for orphanage supplies, and mucked through the adoptive process for our now 26 children, among other things!

I have been charged with the homeschooling of our 10 oldest orphans. Colleen Monfills (you’ll probably hear her name quite frequently so I had better introduce her) is an adoptive mom of two of our little guys here and serves as our stateside Orphanage Director. She and her husband Mike are based out of Chicago and she makes frequent trips down here, helping us immensely each time! Hers was the idea to pull the older orphans out of Three Angels Christian Academy, the on-site Haitian grade school, and teach them from a homeschooling program in order to better prepare them for their transition to American schools. She elected to use the A Beka home school curriculum- a choice for which I am praising God! It basically includes a “Teaching Preschool & Kindergarten for Dummies” manual on which I completely rely, being a dummy so far at teaching preschool and kindergarten. J Praise God that Marcia is helping me with the schooling! I am thankful for her experience as a mom and grandma, for her energy, and for her logistical help. Currently she is undertaking the mathematics and I the phonics, but we tweak and modify things as we go. I am learning that in Haiti, you have to be flexible.

Challenges that I continue to encounter in now our second week of school must be specific to teaching in an orphanage in Haiti. For several of my students language is a major barrier. Bless their hearts- I don’t yet speak Creole and they can’t yet fully communicate in English! Obviously the goal is for them to get up to speed in their English skills but it would be immensely helpful to them if I were able to speak both languages (and helpful to me as well). Several of my kids know their kindergarten basics in French and Creole but you can see on their faces their little minds searching desperately for the English terms. Another major challenge I’m facing at this time is 8 younger kids for whom (Haitian) school doesn’t begin until September 7th- these little guys are quite a distraction. For the next couple weeks until school begins for them my few schooling goals are to create a routine for my students and to instill within them the basics of sitting quietly, listening, and OBEYING!

Along with acclimating to orphanage life, I am laboring to develop a life outside the orphanage. I that think church will be a good outlet for this. Port au Prince Fellowship Church has been for me a breath of cool air on these hot August days. Services are held in English but 90% of the congregation is Haitian. Pastor John Mchoul and his wife, Beth, are ex-hippies who have been serving in Haiti for years. Their authenticity and their love for Jesus are very attractive. Recently Pastor John has been teaching on Elijah the prophet. I am encouraged that our God pursues us so specifically and that He is sympathetic with our human limitations and frailties. For me a highlight of the service is the worship music which lasts for no less than half an hour! What a delight to be praising our God in a foreign land together with men and women of so many shades! What a healthy thing for me to be in the minority!

It is evident that you all are praying for Jack, Marcia, myself, and the people we’re serving here. Thank! you! Keep praying for us. We are grateful for your support and have a lot of joy in praying for your needs as well. Here are some specific requests that are currently on my heart…

Disciplining the children. I’m trying to learn my boundaries as a non-parent responsible for so many little hearts and minds. These kids are good kids but when they disobey they need spanking! Pray that I will have wisdom and love to use discipline as an opportunity to share the Gospel with these little sinners!

Staff members. We’re seeking to serve the needs of the staff here & have a burden for their spiritual needs. Cultural disparities are cumbersome obstacles that make our tasks even more difficult. For example, when (as a cultural generality), Haitians “tell you what (they think) you want to hear,” how do you form authentic relationships? Whom do you really trust? Pray for wisdom and for God to go after our staff members’ hearts. Pray that we as Americans will not be a distraction to the Gospel we desire to communicate to the nationals. Also pray for the spiritual maturity of the believers who work for Three Angels.

I am indebted to you all for your friendship and support. You all, my fabulous family, are the reason I have been able to make the move to Three Angels and your prayers sustain me and the work God is doing in and through me. Love you my friends!
Abbey McArthur/ Jeremiah 17: 5-8