Hi friends,

Happy New Year!

We pray that this new year finds you all healthy and happy and content! I am still sending you greetings from the land of the frozen tundra!!! Okay, so maybe that is an exaggeration, but it is really, really cold for me. I think I'm freezing. We have our thermostat set at 68 degrees and I'm freezing, my hands are never warm and if I sit still and do anything I'm cold! I currently have a turtleneck shirt on and a sweatshirt....and I'm cold!!! amazing. When I stop to analyze this I realize that it just means I’m used to 85 to 100 degree weather and the coolest it gets is just under where my thermostat is currently set. AND....when it's that cold in Haiti, I'm usually asleep with a sheet and blanket on me next to my extremely warm husband!!!!! No wonder I'm cold!

Okay, enough mumbling. I am still sick and can't seem to get rid of this ridiculous sinus infection/cold that everyone seems to have. I've been sick since we got here on the 20th and I'm tired of it. Guess I'll have to break down and go to the doctor tomorrow (Mon.) and see if he will do anything about my nose that has been stuffed up totally for 2 weeks! We'll see. It's hard to be here in the winter and be sick. I usually don't mind the cold...I even enjoy going out, bundled up of course, and walking in the snow etc.....but being sick, I haven't wanted to do any of that. I'm putting a picture on of Steve all bundled up! When we got to Idaho last week, a piece of tin was flapping like crazy and we were afraid that it would totally fly off if not fixed, so Steve put on a couple of layers and nailed it down! Success. When I sent this picture to Vilex in Haiti...he wrote back and said that it must be really cold because Steve had so many clothes on! He is used to seeing Steve in shorts, tank tops and sandals! It must look really funny to him. He said he showed it to his dad...and his dad laughed. We must look really silly huh?

Everything is fine in Haiti while we are gone. Vilex is staying at the house and feeding the animals...I know that they are very glad to have him there. Sejan just loves Vilex and barks to play with him when he arrives. We had told Vilex that we were going to take Sejan down to the river to give him a bath, but we didn't get to it before we left. Last week Vilex sent a couple of pictures of Sejan in the river below the house. Vilex decided to take him down there to "bath". Of course Vilex doesn't soap him up like we do and actually give him a bath, but he said that Sejan just loved swimming in the water. I wrote back to him and asked him if he found the leash to walk him with...and also what everyone thought. He said that "no" he just walked with him and called him and Sejan was really good and always listened and did what Vilex asked him to do.....I know Sejan was bilingual......now I’m sure of it! He said that everyone ran when they saw Sejan and were really afraid of him! It made Vilex laugh. He said it was quite an event and he actually enjoyed it. I think Vilex enjoys being the Haitian that isn't afraid of the dog and has such a big dog for a friend. He also told me he would probably take Sejan down there again before we come home since Sejan had such a fun time the first time!

They also moved our Isuzu car that has its battery out. It was parked under a big Breadfruit tree and he and Dis (the yard guy) were afraid that a limb would fall on it. When I asked him how they moved it....he said that Dis and another friend Jaklin pushed it and he drove it! Now, that would have made a great picture!

All is well here in the cold Northwest. We didn't have any trouble getting over the snowy, windy pass on our way to Lewiston. The day after we arrived, they closed the same pass due to wind and more snow...so we went through just in time. Robin says that snow is all gone in Seattle, it's still cold, but raining and just wet! We are supposed to get more snow tonight and maybe tomorrow, but we don't currently have any on the ground...so that won't be so bad!

Thank you one and all for everything you do for us. We are enjoying our time home and know that it will go all too quickly....and we will be back in the land of sunshine before long. I am enjoying some time to sew and quilt....which I don't do so much in Haiti due to a lack of electricity! Steve will be putting in some new cabinets in a small room off of the kitchen that used to be a laundry room! So we are getting some things done that we both enjoy. We have not gone to church here together, ha! I was sick last week and he was sick today.....but we are praying that next Sunday we will both be able to go. It is wonderful to be with our church family and sing in English! Silly huh? I was able to stock up on hugs today which is a wonderful feeling. We will enjoy the next 10 days of seeing friends, going to a few church activities and eating out with those we love here. I'll probably wait and write on this site again just before we leave........

I pray that you are all good....I am so grateful to all of you that support us with prayers, love and financially as well! We know that we could not do any of this without you......know that you are loved!!!!

Blessings,

Joline

Dear Friends!

We had a great trip to the states and returned to Haiti last week on the evening of the 20th. It takes us about 24 hours to get from Seattle, Washington to Marfranc, Haiti! Quite a long day and it usually takes us a few days to get ourselves together again and back into Haitian time.

Our trip was way too short and way too cold! We just happened to be in the states during one of the worst winter's on record, ha! Asked for a white Christmas and got it and then some. We stayed at Robin and Rhodel's house in Seattle until the day after Christmas, then drove to Idaho over a high pass. Didn't need chains, just studded tires, so we were fine. Came home to a driveway with 8" of snow and only 1 track in it! The snow actually stayed for a few days, then melted, but the temperature hovered around 30's and low 40's in the daytime. It snowed several more times, which was nice. Had a great time visiting and talking to kids, visiting Steve's mom in Oregon and visiting with our home church and friends! It was really nice. Joline had a cold the entire time she was there...Steve got sick about a week, so we didn't do a lot of activities this time, but resting was good for both of us.

We will not be going back to the states until mid-September and will probably stay about 6 weeks. Steve's daughter, Beth, will be getting married on Sept. 19th, so we will go to Portland, Oregon area for the wedding and then go to Idaho so Steve can hunt for the first time in 4 years! It will be nice to be here in Haiti for a longer stretch as well, it actually doesn't seem like we have been away, the time went so quickly.

If you want to see what our weather is like here in the Jeremie area, if you go to MSN weather, or whatever you use and type in Vieux Bourg de Jeremie, HTI I think you can find it. I know it's on the MSN weather site. It would be fun for you to track how nice and WARM we are. Actually today is kind of cool, it was beautiful and sunny this morning, but we just had a rain storm and it has cooled off a lot, think I'll go put some sleeves on! Okay, I'll quite rubbing in the fact that we aren't freezing!

All is well here. Sejan did the Happy Dog Dance for about 10 minutes when we got home, it was great. He has settled down now to normal, except when Vilex comes over....Vilex house sat for us while we were gone and Sejan just loves him. Our house was great when we got back. Vilex, Dis (our yard guy) and Jaklin (a friend of ours and Vilex's from the church) actually hauled water onto our roof by 5 gal. buckets so that we would have water when we got home! It's a long way to carry 5 gal buckets of water from the pump to the house, then haul them up to the roof and pour them into the tank! Nice guys! They had dinner ready for us when we got here, it was a warm and wonderful homecoming! Went to church today and it was nice to see friends again, they gave us a warm welcome as well...nice to be back.

We are looking forward to tons of work, new programs and continuation of working on the house, the 2nd school building, the medical building and whatever new projects come up. We will try to keep you posted. Keep checking the NLH or Congo-Pres websites for weekly journals. It has all kinds of news on it!

We send all of you love, thank you for keeping us in your prayers, loving us and supporting us! We know we can not do this without you. We send you prayers as well.

We are adding a picture of the front of the house.....and Sejan. It's a great picture!

Love to you all,

Ke Bon Dieu beni ou,

Steve & Joline