Ripe Mango Chronicles

I sometimes wonder what it must be like to live in an active war zone. Bombs are dropping, but you never know when or where they will fall, you hear gun shots and wonder how far away they are, but you still have to eat breakfast, drink water, keep your kids busy and get through the day. I know we are not living in an active war zone, but we are living in an active spiritual war zone. This week has been interesting to say the least. Both Kenol and I have been having difficulty sleeping, spending hours just laying awake mulling things over, and praying. I’ve been having nightmares again, but in a new way. I actually woke up so upset I was crying, which was a first for me. The discouragement is so heavy on us all day yet life must go on. We need to get the boys to school, plan a birthday party, bake a yummy cake, get dinner on the table, keep the orphanage running, plan meetings and so on. Life doesn’t slow down to wait for us to be ok. On Wednesday of this w...

This weekend was so great for both Kenol and I, a chance to get off the mission and to step out of our stressful roles for a day. Coming home is always a little shocking though. When you are in the middle of something you sometimes don’t realize the extent of the emotional, physical and spiritual exhaustion you have been experiencing. When you have a moment to step out of it and breathe, it becomes increasingly difficult to sink back down into it all over again without feeling like you are drowning. Things at the orphanage have actually been going really well lately, discipline issues are started to get dealt with, the staff has been collaborating and working really well together. Things have really been changing for the better which has all been very encouraging. Kenol, on the other hand has not been experiencing such positive changes. Work for him has been an uphill battle for a while now, and recently the incline seems to have become dangerously steep. I can see him trying ...

This weekend I had the chance to visit a part of Haiti I have never seen before. Kenol was invited to preach at a crusade in Miragoane, which is in the south part of Haiti. I jumped at the chance to tag along. I pretty much take the same routes over and over and over and over and over and over, so turning onto a new street is always very exciting. You never know what you will find, although lets be honest, we don't always know what we'll find on your regular routes either.  We took the usual roads to get to the city, and a bunch of other roads I could vaguely remember from different trips here and there and then all of a sudden I was looking around and seeing everything for the very first time. The farther south we went the more beautiful the scenery became. Mountains behind mountains, behind more mountains. Banana trees taller than any I had ever seen. Fields of sugar cane as far as the eye could see. Trees everywhere. It was breath taking. It was so refreshing to sit and ...

Unmarked cars were lining the street into Leveque and security guards with those fancy ear pieces were around every corner. Why? Because someone pretty well known was coming to visit Mission of Hope. Photo by Chris Towle As you may know, President Clinton has been very involved in work in Haiti for some time now, and this Saturday he came to visit the MOH500 project in Leveque. Kenol was pretty excited to meet him, and welcome him to Haiti. Photo by Chris Towle   President Clinton is very involved with agriculture projects in the country and will be donating a drip irrigation system to be used by Mission of Hope. Photo by Chris Towle God is doing some pretty amazing things through Mission of Hope, and word is spreading! It's pretty exciting to watch God continue to open doors for Mission of Hope. Peace, love and presidents. Rachel

What is there to say on this solemn day? There is a thick sadness in the air as we all remember things we have so desperately tried to forget, but at the same time there is a hope that lingers just beneath reminding us that we were chosen, hand picked by God, to live. That has to mean something. As I looked at my boys this morning, I realized that January 12 th means something completely different to me now. This was the day my husband became a widow.   The day my boys lost their mother. It is also the day that sparked a series of events that would eventually make me a wife and mother of 3. It is hard to mentally digest all the emotions flowing through me today. This was the worst day of my life, yet if it had not happened our precious family would not exist. So, instead of wallowing in my confusion I have decided that today I choose to celebrate. I choose to celebrate the amazing perseverance and everlasting hope that is wired into the DNA of every Haitian I have ever met. I ...