Haiti

Amanda, Sophia and I taught English camp yesterday...All the children come through the gate at 9:00 and greet all the teachers and adults with a kiss on the cheek. I got 60 kisses to start my day, I started thinking how much nicer corporate America would be if we would all walk in and greet each other with a "Bonjour" and a kiss. We danced, sang and then had a Bible lesson from another teenage girl missionary who talked about how life isn't fair. Wow, the tears started in me and I had a hard time stopping them. Life isn't fair here, their mom's have died, their dad's aren't around and they often are hungry. How do you speak about a loving God to them when life just seems so hard?

After lunch, we went to the women's clinic and helped to administer to pregnant women. I loved that!!! There were 18 women who came, we had them in line, someone did blood pressure, another did weight, another pulse, and I took their temperatures...Then we took them to the clinic, and heard their baby's heartbeats. Funny how we moms all over the world are the same, we all smile and tear up at the sound of our baby. Then we pray over the women, their birth, the health of their baby...There is also a sewing room for the women who have had their babies, and Beth is trying to teach them a skill so they can KEEP their babies and have a skill. She said ultimately, it would be nice if the women's clinic would put the orphanage out of business!

Last night we went to Bible study. It was our first adventure in the back of John's truck across town. Sophia started out on the bed, up to the wheel well, sitting on the edge, then on the way home she stood up with Amanda and Desta and laughed all the way back. I can't begin to describe the sights and smells as we drove. People honking, chickens, goats and cattle hurrying out of the way, people staring at us...Then back home in the dark, but the streets are candle lit with lots of loud music and people still out and about...Dan and Jothum have been busy hanging our wall system, fixing a sewer and are already gone today hanging ceiling fans.

Yesterday was a big day for all of us. Five of the seven of us had Compassion children to meet... They drove 2 1/2 hours to see us that day... At about noon, we took 18 people out to lunch!! I had chicken, so did Sophia. Dan was the brave one and ate goat...The meal portions were huge and I could not begin to eat all of mine. Roseline [our Compassion child] and her mother ate EVERYTHING which just amazed me. They get every scrap of meat off the bone, they suck on the bones until they are basically sticks. There is no waste in Haiti...There are many things they can do with $32 a month that they would do without otherwise. Her mother also had every letter, every picture we'd ever sent to Roseline in her purse and says she looks at our pictures often and prays for us. (Prays for me, imagine that!!).

We had a great day yesterday at a beach that was a two-hour drive from the house we are staying. We took two vehicles and had over 20 people (get a visual on that)... We played in the ocean water which was very clean and very clear, we were able to snorkel and see some colorful fish. After lunch we roamed the resort, went swimming in a fresh water pool and back to the ocean. Sophia and I got in the ocean together and she was on my back. We went out about 50 yards or so and I was almost chest deep. All of the sudden Sophia started saying, "mom, there is something down there in the water". She then proceeded to SCREAM as I've never heard her that there was a shark. I looked down and sure enough, there was a rather large, dark shark. Sophia proceeded to completely lose it, and was trying to climb on my head, on my shoulders, anything but in the water. I was scared, but remained calm, trying to calm her...I didn't have the time or the tenacity to look, I just kept walking as fast as I could. Luckily we were at the end of our day as there was no way she was getting back in the water. She must have told me 10 times, "mom, that was the scariest thing that ever happened to me in my entire life!"

Today we've been to John's church in Haiti which is similar, but has many differences to Cottonwood Church. It lasted longer than we are used to, but the people there are so hungry for God's word. I had a young man sitting next to me who asked me to explain something in Creole that was said in the Bible. Needless to say I couldn't do it, but I tried nonetheless as I just appreciated his hunger and desire to know what he's being taught. It's moving to see Haitians worship and be so faithful as they have so little.

Our morning started out early as John took us all to market at 8:00 so we could be back to teach English camp at 9:00...There are many things to see at the market from clothing to toiletries, fresh produce and meat. The produce looks different here and everything is covered in flies...John says no one will buy the meat if there are no flies on it. In other words, if the flies think the meat is bad, it must be REALLY bad, so any good meat has a bunch of flies. Sophia thought this was a very good point.

Back to English camp which starts with singing, announcements and a Bible lesson. Dan Cooley did our lesson today from his book, "Bizarre Bible Stories". He did a very good job and connected with the kids. Then Sophia and I had a junior high aged class to ourselves (plus an interpreter). I was pretty much left to my own lesson plan which was basic as I have basic teaching skills. We did numbers, letters, simple sentences and then we learned colors which they had not learned yet...I taught them to play "Simon Says" which was Sophia's idea and they loved the game. I also read to them from some academic book about different houses from around the world. They really were interested in igloos as we were all dripping sweat without a breeze, igloos sound like a very GOOD idea. I was proud of "Faustina" who is 14 when she offered what she had learned for the day to the entire group of 56 kids. She recited every color I taught her, and pointed out the colors. Then she looked at me and beamed.

Bonnie

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Afghanistan

Hey Everyone, My email group is still messed up so Dawn has offered to forward this update. Things are busy here. The weather is warming up quickly; it’s hard to imagine how cold it was not so long ago. The work here is all out or none at all. The down time is insane! 2 weeks ago I was asked to take over a Team where the Team Chief and his Sergeant had been relieved of duty for impropriety. (I can’t go into details, but they are in trouble). With the new Team we cannot go into our Districts or Provincial areas until the judgment from this investigation is rendered and relationships with the host nation are patched up. So we do a lot of missions that no one else wants, mainly transporting service members to and from the Marmol German Air Force Base.

I’m finishing the main body of a homicide investigation of a 3 &1/2 year old girl by her father. Sad! The sadness of this place is at times overwhelming. You have to pace yourself or you feel the pendulum of emotion sway its heavy swathe. My visit to the nearby orphanage went well, but then again, couldn’t do it every week or I’d become a bumbling idiot.

Relief in place comes up for 2/3 of my Team in 4 weeks. I am in charge of 8 soldiers, 4 civilian contractors (DYNCORP), and 4 interpreters. I’ll be down while we train the replacements and get them their “Crew Certifications.” With the better weather, dust is becoming a factor. When you go “out of the wire” and down the road, everyone and everything gets caked in dust. If we don’t have a light breeze, it just floats.

The word mentor should be removed from our job description. Essentially we herd cats. I experience small victories now and again, but mostly we pursue seemingly endless statistics and reconcile weapons, ammo, finances, and count police at their respective stations. Our emphasis changes with the drop of a hat………frustrating!

I am well, thanks for ALL of your prayers. I have not been ill this whole time “in country” since December 21st! That in itself is a genuine miracle. When I’m on our little camp I get to work out at the gym early most mornings. Keep praying for the people of Afghanistan, they will not be successful until they shed their ideology and experience true freedom in CHRIST!

Thanks for all of your support of me and my family. I am indebted to each of you!

Troy Chadwell

II Tim 2:3, 4

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