Dear Friends and Family,
Thank you so much for your prayers over these past two weeks. It has been an exhausting time in our lives, for sure, but we are so thankful for God’s provision of strength, protection, and fellowship. It is because of the incredible people that God has surrounded us with that we are able to keep smiles on our faces and are reminded that God has this difficult situation.
We weathered the storm well, in light of the circumstances. Another missionary family joined us in our home for the storm, since their roof was made of metal and not concrete. This proved to be a good decision for them because most of their roof was ripped away during the storm; they are still assessing the damages to their belongings. Fortunately, there is another home on the center that was empty, so they have moved in there for the time being, until repairs can be made to their home. There are several missionary families in our community that are experiencing the same types of damages to their homes in differing degrees.
It took four to five days to get running water operating at the mission center, but now we all have water in our homes again, which is a huge help to all of us. Yesterday (Saturday, October 15), crews were able to get electric back up and running for the center, as well. Although we lost our inverter during the hurricane, so we will not have power all the time, some is better than none. The boys said last night that they feel like we are now living like kings and queens. Since electric is back up now, work can resume on repairing the internet.
Wednesday was the first day back to school for the children of Cite Lumiere Christian school. We felt it was necessary to try to get some routine and normalcy back into our lives, whether we all felt ready for it, or not. That proved to be a good decision for us all, and we were overjoyed to see that all of our students; Haitian, American, and German were able to return.
Everyone has been very busy with different aspects of the clean up here on the mission center and the surrounding communities over the past two weeks.
We have had anywhere from 2-4 young men (our cook and housekeeper’s sons), along with Lee, the boys, and some of our teammates working on our yard almost everyday since the storm, to try to get some of the mess cleaned up there. Yes, there was that much damage and that much mess. We lost about a dozen trees and that doesn’t count the trees that came over the wall from the neighbors’ yards. Our house help and their families have been an incredible help to get life back together here at the house. We feel like we are finally able to enjoy our yard again. It looks a world different than it did the day after the storm. There are still some trees that need to be tended to, but the worst of the clean-up is complete.
This week, RMI staff also started to evaluate the needs in the communities and churches in which we work. Our partnership facilitators have been traveling out to churches and meeting with pastors all week to see where the greatest needs are. As I have seen a few of the reports, it looks like the situation is extremely difficult in many of the areas in which we serve. Most crops are completely lost and many have lost their livestock, as well. Many homes are at least damaged, if not completely destroyed. You can imagine that with the condition of homes and the loss of crops and livestock, the issue of hunger is huge here. Everywhere we go, people are asking for food and water. The needs are great, and continue to get worse the further west that you go.
Since the storm, Lee and the boys did a tremendous amount of tree trimming and cutting, burning brush, repairing water lines, assessing the needs with the internet system, and numerous other projects. One project that Daniel and our team member, Joel Sutton, had was to construct a cage for a four to five foot pet iguana whose cage was destroyed during the hurricane. After the hurricane, he was moved into a bathroom for about a week, so that he wouldn’t escape into the community and cause more fear and commotion. He is now happily enjoying a new temporary home.
Throughout the days immediately following the hurricane, we were feeding between 11 and 25 people at our home everyday. With limited supplies and food resources, it proved to be a challenge some days, but God provided tremendously for all of us over that time. They may not have been categorized as gourmet meals, but there was food to nourish hungry and exhausted bodies. There was also a tremendous amount of clean-up from water and leaves that blew through the windows during the storm, as well as the constant stream of mud and debris that we were dragging in and out all day, every day. Now, we feel like we have a handle on many of those things, and it is a matter of sorting through and getting life back together.
We continue to be amazed at the resilience of the Haitian people. The faith and trust in Christ in the Christian community is amazing. We are encouraged by them every day and are constantly reminded of how difficult their lives are from day to day. If this past week has done nothing else for us, it has been a constant reminder to me (Tina) that I have nothing to complain about... those days when we had no running water and the heat was rising after the storm, I longed for a cold shower... and then I would be reminded that 90% of the people who live around us, live like that every single day of their lives... no running water, no electric, and no internet... that really puts things in perspective.
A number of you have asked how you can be of help during this time of difficulty, both to the Haitian community and to our family. If you want to help the Haitian people in this great time of need, please see RMI’s website for ways that you can help financially to provide food, clean water, and/or shelter to the Haitian people. Some of you have asked how you can bless our family with care packages. We appreciate your thoughts in this regard, as well. Some items that we have depleted are: our supplies of are paper supplies (plates, cups, plastic ware), granola bars, canned meats, drink mixes (individual or canisters, such as Gatorade, Kool-Aid, Lemonade, Tea, etc.), Ramen Noodles, seasoning packets (salad dressing, marinade mixes, etc.), and other quick and easy snacks and meal ideas. Just please keep in mind, if you are sending a care package, that we need to pay between $2.50 and $3.00 per pound for the packages that are sent to us, until the customs and flight expenses are paid. If you would prefer to help financially, that would be greatly appreciated as well. We were blessed to be able to acquire a generator for around $1,000, thanks to Agape Flights, and we will will need to purchase a new inverter (approximately $1800). In addition, we have used a tremendous amount of gas and supplies during these last few weeks.
Other items that we recently realized that we could use, are DVDs, books, and/or CDs for us to use for Bible studies/church services when we don’t get out for Sunday services. These do not need to be new, but we would be happy to use items that you have already used and found beneficial for you and your family. We often watch and or study sermons or series that are available to us online, but these last couple of weeks with no internet have made us aware that we don’t have a lot in the house that we have not already seen or studied. There are still a few things that we can use, but some other materials would be helpful in the future.
Thank you so much for all of your prayers and support over the past few weeks, starting even before the storm. No words can begin to express our appreciation to all of you. When we get the internet back up and working again, we will do our best to get the pictures of the last couple of weeks out to you through our blog posts.
In the Lord’s service with you,
Lee, Tina, Daniel, Josiah, Nathan, and Isaac Nunemaker
