A week in the Life of the Nunemakers

This week was full of celebrating the arrival of the Christmas season, it seemed. We wrapped up the second marking period at Cite Lumiere Christian School and enjoyed the fruit of the hard work of the CLCS student body as they shared their Christmas program with friends and family on Thursday evening. We all participated in one way or another with the performance and or the behind the scenes portion of the evening.

Isaac was a shepherd in the celebration of the birth of Christ, along with the other three second grade students at CLCS. Daniel and Josiah helped with sound and lighting for the event.

Lee shared a brief Christmas message following the students' performance. Nathan was our family photographer for the evening and Tina helped out with the refreshments downstairs, after the service. It was a joy to celebrate with the CLCS family and missionary community.

Before going to the performance Thursday evening, Nathan and Isaac helped to decorate the igloo cupcakes that Isaac had chosen to make as a special treat for his class’s Christmas and reward-for-good-behavior party on Friday.

Since the second graders had achieved 20 “green days” for good behavior and good work during the first two marking periods, Friday was an all day game party for the second grade class. Normally, Isaac and I (Tina) only go to the school from 11:30-1pm, but on Friday we spent all day with the class so that Isaac could participate in their fun, games, and learning. Nathan didn’t think this was quite fair, but it was a lesson in the fact that life just isn’t always fair:)

In addition to a Christmas party, reward party, and birthday party all wrapped into one, Friday was also the day to say “we will see you later” (since we don’t like the term “goodbye” in these circumstances) to the second graders' lead teacher, Renee Leger, as she and her family leave this week for the states. Mrs. Leger will be tremendously missed, but we are also thanking the Lord for providing new teachers to step into that role in January. Please keep Renee and her family in prayer as they transition over the next few weeks and months, as well as the second graders and their new teachers as they make the necessary adjustments following the Christmas break.

This week, we also observed Tobi finding amusments in some of the more common things in life. It is amazing how much fun a fallen coconut branch can provide when he is tied during the day (in the picture above). Tobi also enjoyed playing with a centipede on our back porch (you can see the little centipede just above the corner of the chair in the lower left corner of the picture). It was quite entertaining for those of us who had the privilege of seeing it happening. We were disappointed that the video we tried to take did not turn out.

Lee also caught a couple of pictures of the beauty of nature in Haiti this week. Above is a butterfly that looks like its wings may have taken a little beating and below is a spider that he and the boys were fascinated to find one night on their way to lock the gate for the night.

Today (Sunday, December 20th) is Isaac’s 8th birthday and he enjoyed a down day at home, with the family, full of boxed mac and cheese, hotdogs and corn, nerf gun battles, chocolate cake with peanut butter icing and homemade ice cream, riding a new scooter, and fun chasing Tobi with his new remote controls. We also took a quick trip to Tet Simon to try to do some grass sledding on cardboard (which didn’t work too well), but Isaac had fun climbing a big tree.

Have a great week as you prepare for the celebration of the birth of our Savior!!! We appreciate all of the love and encouragement that we receive from so many of you in notes, emails, and packages.

This Week at a Glance

Last Sunday (12/07) started quietly at our house. First thing in the morning, Nathan was found on the front porch giving Tobi some much appreciated loving:)

But Sunday morning, also rewarded us with several tree limbs which were brought down in a rainstorm Saturday night. This gave the boys a good reason to get out the new machete that we bought and give it a good workout. Notice, Tobi was there for some moral support, as well.

Sunday afternoon, Lee, Daniel, Nathan, Isaac, and one of our teammates, Greg Harvie, went for a four wheeler adventure in one of the dry river beds close to our home. They had lots of fun and were overjoyed to come home with no repairs needing to be made to any of the vehicles.

Each morning, the RMI staff meets for devotions at 8am. I can’t remember which morning I took this shot, but Greg Harvie is leading our devotion on this particular morning. This half hour or so is always a highlight for me (Tina), because it is my brief opportunity to interact with the staff most days. Each morning I am in awe of what God is doing in and through this incredible staff of Haitian and American men and women coming together to serve our incredible God. One morning, I hope to get a video of our time of worship to share because it is always so beautiful, whether or not I am able to understand what is being sung:)

Also, this week, I finally remembered to have the boys help me to get a picture of this little hummingbird nest that we found in our citron tree on Thanksgiving morning. This one lone egg has been in the nest for the last couple of weeks and we haven’t seen any birds sitting on the nest, so I’m guessing that it won’t hatch, but it was fun to find it, anyway.

This week was also the Annual Assembly of MEBSH (The Baptist Ministry that RMI works alongside). The Annual Assembly brings all of the MEBSH church pastors and leadership together for a few days of meetings. This particular picture was taken on Thursday evening as RMI’s Haitian Director, Benjamin Altema shared the heart a passion of RMI with those present for the evening.

And I close with this picture of a little corner of our living room with just a few of the special Christmas decorations that we brought with us, reminding us of special people at home, whom we love and miss as we move into the Christmas season. We are excited to have the opportunity to spend Christmas in Haiti this year with new friends, but that does not mean that we have forgotten all of the family and friends that are celebrating back in the States. Thank you to each of you who have played a role in making sure that we were here this year. We are so grateful for what God is doing in and through us.

Just Another Saturday

This morning while we were doing the grocery shopping in town, we received the news that there was a container on its way to the RMI depot that needed to be unloaded this afternoon. So, in a few short hours, the RMI team gathered at the depot to await the container and prepare for the work ahead.

Most of the RMI staff had arrived by the time that the container did and there was plenty of work for everyone once we started unloading. (Does anyone notice something special about the orange Haiti shirt in the pic below on the right? Check in with me if you think you do!!)

The challenge was figuring out where it would all be stored until the time that it is needed for the teams coming to distribute it.

The container was extremely hot and dusty. . .

There were plenty of heavy items to be moved . . .

But it is a great privilege to serve alongside these guys . . . whether it is hot and dusty, or not.

Look at those smiles, even after all of the hard work:)