Charis Around the World

Life in the Caribbean
By Sheena VandePanne
 

Sheena and Ryan VandePanne Life in Haiti has been very interesting for over the past month!  We’ve had a few adventures.  The first was when Ryan was burning the garbage (which is a normal weekly job here) and someone had thrown something highly flammable into the burn pit.  He started to light a piece of cardboard on the very edge and the entire thing blew up in his face.  He was pretty much standing in a 30 foot flame.  We realize this could have been very very bad, especially since medical care in Haiti is inadequate at best and most often simply not available.  Much like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, he came out of the fire alive; however he did smell like smoke and he was quite singed.  His arms and legs and some of his face are burnt, there are a few second degree burns on his legs where some burning plastic landed on him, and his hair won’t look quite normal for a little while.  We are so thankful that it wasn’t worse.  We are thankful that he was lighting the edge of the garbage and was not standing any closer.  We are thankful that he will heal and the scarring looks like it will be very minimal.  His face only has a few burns that are not easily noticed.  If you have ever prayed for our safety…thank you. Another Haitian adventure happened a few weeks ago when I went into town with Leslie, the wife of the couple who directs CWH (Clean Water For Haiti and with whom we are now living), to run errands in Saint-Marc.  There was a long line of traffic backed up in Pierre Payan (the town we lived in) and as we inched along we came to a large group of rioting people.  There were men wielding machetes, lots of yelling, policemen kind of sort of trying to do something about it, vehicles trying to sneak by all the chaos, and people taking advantage of the crowd by trying to sell bananas.  We got by them after only a few minutes.  We did our shopping, ran our errands, and on our way back could see that the rioting masses had somehow gotten hold of a semi and had it parked across the road so no one could pass.  We thought we’d be smart about it and go the back way.  So after a ten minute detour we got to the end of the bumpy dirt road only to discover they had anticipated that and blocked it off too.  Here we were, not even two miles away from home and stuck in a long line of angry drivers.  For forty-five minutes we waited.  We were eventually able to find out what was going on by the people who were able to get through on foot. Apparently a local elected official, who was very well respected in the community, was lured into a desolate area and brutally murdered.  The police had three men in custody but the people from the area don’t trust the justice system here.  They wanted these men handed over so justice could be dealt with by the community.  Basically they wanted to kill them.  The police said no, so the rioting started.  I honestly can’t tell you whatever happened with the three men.  No one can really say for sure if the police would be beyond giving into the demands.  We did get home, they let us drive out, unbothered and all. So that is what our last month has been like.  It’s a strange life here.  Weird things happen.  Horrible things happen.  Yet amongst all of those things we made Christmas cookies, had funny learning-the-language-moments, sat on our deck watching the sunset over the ocean, played paper dolls with our three-year-old neighbor… It really is hard to explain.  Living here isn’t about liking it or even hating it.  It has nothing to do with our fortitude, our age, our sense of adventure, our skills, our desires, our strength, our passions, our abilities, or our own fulfillment.  All of those things are constantly changing anyway.  It’s about Jesus.  It’s about Jesus Christ crucified.  It’s about living our lives saying “Whatever you say Jesus, whatever you say” before He even says it.  Even if the world points and laughs and calls us crazy, whatever He says. Blessings, Sheena

Our International Charis Family
Your stories from around the world touch us and we pray for your safety.
Thanks, Love and Blessings to every one of you!