Merry Christmas!

Chè Fanmi & Zanmi (Dear Family & Friends),

2014 has been a crazy year of coming and going. By the time the year is over I will have been to the States four times and the Dominican Republic once. Having only been in the States twice in 2013 this seems like a lot.

• 2014 brought challenges along with the joys, here are a few of the joys.   Most of you know the stories of Richcarde and Caïla, both filled with a rollercoaster of emotions. I had the opportunity to spend time with both of them in the Dominican Republic and U.S., respectively, after each of their surgeries.  God used these times to teach and challenge me. I was also blessed with the opportunity to speak with each of them about Christ.
• 2014 brought many changes at Respire Haiti Christian School - we now have a new Haitian director of education and we are so excited for the rest of the school year. The atmosphere is so different from last year and the first part of the school year has gone incredibly well! We have nearly 500 students receiving a Christ-influenced education atop Bellevue mountain.
• Our single American staff members moved to a new house, which has been such a huge blessing. We are closer to everyone else, off the main highway, aren’t living in a dark basement dungeon any longer, and have the space to live, fellowship, and be together.
• Our medical clinic was finally finished, and we are now open to serve our staff and students, as well as their families.
• Sonson, another Respire student who has been living with Megan and her family for just over a year now, got his medical visa this month and is now in the States! He will be receiving more medical testing as well as a kidney procedure.

Looking forward to 2015, I know it will hold these same things, joys and challenges.

I heard this quote listening to a missions video clip, “If you send them out alone they will not stand.” Having lived overseas, in a third world country, for two years now this statement resonated with me. Many times I have felt alone and like 'I may not be able to continue to stand', but it is encouragement in the form of prayer, financial support, a note, or care package, from you my senders that is a reminder I do not go or stand alone.

The greatest prayer request I have personally - here goes the broken record - is for spiritual growth, encouragement, renewal, protection. Serving in a country where there isn't a strong local church and there isn’t that weekly fellowship, challenge and encouragement is difficult. Especially when you are pouring out daily but aren’t being poured into regularly.

In order to continue to stand I need your prayers, I need your encouragement, I need financial support.

As we head to the end of the year you can give a tax deductible gift at www.worldoutreach.org/donations Just select my name from the drop-down menu (I’m the last one, to make your search a little faster).

Thank you for sending and standing with me.

Merry Christmas!
-Sharon

Getting to FaceTime with Caïla while I'm in the States.

Haitian nativity scene, complete with ice cream cones?

Beach trips are a rare but much appreciated time of relaxation and rejuvenation. 

Heading to the beach Haiti style, packed in the back of a tap-tap.

Some of our adorable first graders on the first day of school!

My dear housemates whom I'm blessed to call sisters. 

Oh, Haiti Life

I was up extra early this morning, coffee made, wash tubs filled with water and dirty laundry, worship music playing, ready for the usual Saturday morning routine.

It's just after 6a.m. and I'm a few minutes in to washing when there is a knock at the gate.  I call out “Ki moun?” (Who is it?) “Bonhome,” comes the reply, one of our security guards.

I open the gate expecting him to hand me keys or something random, instead he says “yon madame kouche sou té a la kay mwen. Ou bezwen koupe lonbrik li.” (A lady is laying on the floor at my house. You need to cut her belly button.) He says this while making a slicing motion with his hand across his belly. What?!? Excuse me? You want me to do what?

I ask B if he’s called Megan, immediately knowing her phone is probably dead after 36 hours without power, he tells me he’s called but can’t get ahold of her.

I ask what’s wrong with her, looking for a little clarification as to why we need to “cut her belly button.”

He then tells me she has a baby, and is doing birthing motions with his hands as if we’re playing charades. I have a momentary “I have no idea how to deliver a baby” thought rush through my mind as I head toward my phone, not knowing exactly who I thought I was going to call (Everyone’s phones are either dead, or they are sleeping and would also have no clue how to deliver a baby…) I return to the gate and tell B “you need to take her to the hospital.” He again repeats, “you need to cut her belly button” and I finally understand that she’s already had the baby but the cord needs to be cut and they aren’t sure what to do or how they should do it.

A little relieved I grab my keys and head across the street to the guest house where our team is staying, because it just so happens that on this team we have a former labor and delivery nurse, as well as a student midwife and doula. I wake them up and tell them there’s a woman who has just had a baby and her cord needs to be cut. As they get dressed I start asking B questions and realize he hasn’t even been home after work to know the situation. He doesn’t know how the mom is doing, doesn’t know if the baby is a boy or girl, but does know that she had the baby around 3 or 4 in the morning. He kept telling me in his happy, distinctive Bonhome voice, “we’ll know what we need when we get there.”

I head upstairs to grab some gloves, decide to stuff some alcohol wipes in with them, and without any luck look to find something to cut with.

The four of us head back to my house where I find some scissors, and grab dental floss and a strip of cotton fabric. On to B’s house we go.

We enter to find a young lady (20) laying on the dement floor of  a dark house lit by a single kerosene lantern, back propped up against a wood and iron chair, baby laying there on the floor, in blood, between her legs…

I tell B he needs to go to Megan’s house and get her because she can translate better than I can. He stands there, I’m translating for the ladies, he keeps standing there… I  say a little pray that everything is okay and nothing goes wrong because I am not going to be able to translate anything serious or in detail like it would need to be if there were any sort of emergency.

We immediately poke at the baby. Baby cries. Relief. 

Lindsay and Ali try to get the baby up to mom’s chest but the placenta hasn’t fully delivered so the baby can’t reach. Lindsay tries to get momma to push and deliver the placenta but she can’t so they decide to go ahead and tie off (with that random piece of cotton fabric since I couldn’t find string) and cut the cord.

Lindsay then helped momma deliver the placenta.

Did I mention at this point not only are there three white women who are complete strangers, but the father, a sister, brother-in-law, three young nieces and nephews and now a neighbor lady all in this small home looking on as all of this is going on and we are trying to get baby to breastfeed.

We help mom bathe, get clean clothes on, make sure she drinks water, and get her off the floor and on to a mattress where she can rest.

Ali takes care of baby girl, who was given a name by this time, Djennica.

We left mom and baby exhausted and sleeping. 

All before 8 a.m. and then it was back to laundry. Just another day in Haiti.

I am thankful God had Lindsay and Ali on this team, I am thankful that three hours after birth mom and baby were both okay, I’m thankful mom had a successful, safe delivery with no tearing, I’m thankful God has given me the ability to remain calm instead of freak out, I’m thankful He gave me all the words I need to speak/translate, and as inconvenient as knocks at the gate can be at times I am thankful we are a gate that people know they can knock on when they need help. I am thankful God has me here to answer knocks on the gate (though at times I need to remind myself to answer those knocks with an attitude of thankfulness).



P.S. – Supporting my ministry is easy and gifts are tax deductible.  The fastest way is to make an online donation via www.WorldOutreach.org/donations and select my name from the list.  The system can process USA & International cards.  You can also set up automatic monthly gifts if you select the "Monthly" option.  Or simply mail your gift to World Outreach Ministries, PO Box B, Marietta, GA 30061 and designate it for Sharon Zuercher #378.

Life in Pictures

It's time to post a blog again and I realized I haven't done a photoblog in quite some time :)

           So today I give you these photos from the past four months!

August 17-September 16 I wasin PA and MO with Caïla, a Respire Haiti student, while she recovered from spinal surgery. 

Sending birthday wishes to Haiti from PA

We had lots and lots and LOTS of time together, Caïla is doing my hair :)

On our way to MO from PA where Caïla is continuing to recover until she is able to travel back to Haiti.

An amazingly beautiful "reverse" sunset, this is looking to the east

We had a fantastic student turnout for the first day of School, October 1. There are some voodoo beliefs about sending your child to school on the first day of school after a break. The chains and myths are slowly being broken.

Lunch under the shade structure, first time for meals to be served outside of the classroom.

One of our community English class students showed up at my house with a birthday present for me... a puppy dog. That was far too young to be away from it's mother.

He was really cute, and it was fun for awhile but he had to find a new home.

Two of the sweet girls from our accelerated class snuck in a "Happy Birthday" pic during student photos.

A good friend of Respire came with a belated birthday gift a few days later, just in time for me to cheer on the boys in blue during their world series run.

Always thankful when we are able to get a restful afternoon away.

Respire Haiti has partnered with an Organization called Universole, we have three girls making leather goods.  Stephanie and I work with these girls three times a week.

This is Islore assembling a sandal.

Daphna punching fish shapes, for coasters, out of leather.

More sandal making. 

Spent a fun Sunday afternoon to Port au Prince with all of our American staff. My first ever drive to Port au Prince and we survived! Music blasting, A/C not working and all :)

Family picture during our Sunday funday.

Thankful for the community I have here in Gressier.

Serving up plates of rice at our Saturday feeding program.

Building relationships while baking cookies, now you're talkin. 

A pretty typical looking afternoon at our house. We get home from school around 1:30ish and about 2/2:30 the knocks on the gate for homework help start happening. Lots of relationship building happens around this table.

Found these handsome boys outside my gate as I headed to church yesterday. Both are neighbors and Respire Haiti students. 

Some of the faces and things you'll see going on at a neighborhood party. We play, we dance, we sing, we share God's Word and then finish of with snacks and water. 

P.S. – Supporting my ministry is easy and gifts are tax deductible.  The fastest way is to make an online donation via www.WorldOutreach.org/donations and select my name from the list.  The system can process USA & International cards.  You can also set up automatic monthly gifts if you select the "Monthly" option.  Or simply mail your gift to World Outreach Ministries, PO Box B, Marietta, GA 30061 and designate it for Sharon Zuercher #378.

Defeat

Today has been one of those days where you just feel defeated.

It was a wonderful first day of school, so many kids in new uniforms, new teachers, a band at the flag ceremony, so many parents there to show their support, new beginnings, new possibilities.

And then there are the kids who come, wanting to be in school… There are five young men in particular who want to be in 9^th grade and I got the terrible job of telling them we don’t have space and they can’t come. Their reply, “all the other schools have closed enrollments, they aren’t taking new students. What are we suppose to do? There’s nowhere else for us to go.”

Telling a Kindergartner “no, you are too young” is one thing, they have many years and won’t really be behind. These 9^th grade boys? If they aren’t at our school I know it’s true, no other school will take them this late. They won’t be going to school this year. If they don’t go to school this year will they even try next year now that they are yet another year behind? What will these boys end up doing if not in school?

They stood outside the school gate all morning. I wanted to cry every time I walked past. My heart weighs heavily when I think about them, knowing they so badly want to come to school, to have hope for a better future, but there is nothing I can do…

Then there is Universole, a non-profit organization that trains at-risk girls how to make leather sandals. About a month ago they arrived in Gressier with all the equipment we would need, and spent two weeks training some of our American staff and the four girls we choose, how to make sandals and a few other items.

Well today things started well, one girl was on time (yay!) and did the best job she has done yet with sewing. I was so proud of her!

And then everything started breaking… Literally. Every. Thing.

One sewing machine was already not working, something with the bobbin, the heavy-duty machine got jammed up today and when that happened the needle and bobbin got out of line. We snapped two needles and it still isn’t re-aligned…

Our “clicker”, as we call it, started leaking oil and then started distributing pressure unevenly so it wasn’t cutting through the leather properly. One side would be cut through, and stuck in the self healing mat, while the other side of the die wouldn’t have even made a mark in the leather.

Steph went to use the thread burning tool and it too was not working. 

Broken. Everything.

We finally sent the girls home because they couldn’t do anything.

Defeat. That’s what I’ve felt. Attacked. This is something good in these girls lives, it gives them hope, it opens up new opportunities and possibilities, we are having Bible studies with them and working with praise songs playing in the background. This is an environment these girls have never had before and I am convinced satan doesn’t like it, these are all attacks of the enemy. He doesn’t want anything good for these girls, he doesn’t want them to have hope when all they’ve known lately is hopelessness.

I’m trying to look at all the good and see all the positive things God is doing at school, through Universole, through Respire Haiti but today is just one of those days where defeat seems to weigh you down. (And you just have to write a blog to get it all out.)

I am so thankful we are heading up the mountain to worship tonight, it is very needed today. 

Please remember to pray for us as we open up a new school year. Satan is always lurking, looking for new ways to attack us, may we always be ready and stand firm in knowing the power of Jesus name.