On the Road Again!

We made a quick trip to Jamaica over the weekend to attend the dedication service of the new campus buildings at Caribbean Wesleyan College. We left on Thursday (Oct 18), and returned on Monday (Oct 22nd). More to follow...

To Florida and Back (Part 2)

We arrived at Abson's parents on Sunday evening (Oct 7). We stayed home most of the time, enjoyed delicious Haitian cooking, and spent quality time with our parents. Grandpa Celius and grandma Wilna enjoyed spending time with their precious granddaughters. One evening, we took advantage of the babysitting available, and went to the Bayside area. We enjoyed a quiet evening together and listened to some great music.

On Friday, we left Miami for Brooksville. There, we visited with Rev. Dr. Wayne and Virginia Wright. We took a tour of the village, and spent some time with the Wrights and some of their friends and family members. We stayed overnight, and left Saturday morning around 5:00, and reached home safely in time to witness the end of the classic/thriller between UK and LSU.


Family picture



Dr Wright is giving Lara a crash course on "how not to crash a golf cart" ahead of our tour of the Wesleyan Village.

To Florida and Back! (Part 1)

Last week (Oct. 6-13), we took a road trip to Florida. Abson's father (Celius) has not yet had the opportunity to meet Sophie, and we wanted to take Sophie to him, and visit with some friends along the way.

We left Wilmore around 4:45 AM on Saturday. We stopped in Chattanooga, TN, to visit with Patrick and Myriamme Gue. Patrick and Abson grew up together in Haiti and are the best of friends. Patrick is also, Daniella's godfather. He and Myriamme are in the process of moving to South Carolina, where they will be planting a Haitian Wesleyan Church.

Around 11:30AM, we left Chattanooga and arrived in Oviedo, Fl 10 hours later, stopping for 15 minutes every 2 1/2 hours. We spent the night in Oviedo at Dr Tapiwa and Bertha Mucherera. The Muchereras are dear friends of ours. Dr Mucherera helped us wrestle with cross-cultural issues while we were dating, opened their home to us while we were commuting between Jamaica and Wilmore for Abson's PhD studies. Their children Shamiso, Ru, and Nesu love Daniella to pieces. Bertha is also currently pursuing PhD studies and she and Abson have covenanted to keep each other accountable. We went to church on Sunday morning, had lunch with them, then left around 4:30PM.

We then stopped at Boca Raton, Fl, to visit with some of Abson's relatives--Leony, Angena, Juna, and Cherline Constant. Leony and Wilna (Abson's mom) are first cousins. Leony is also Abson's godfather; therefore, the two families enjoy a very close relationship. Abson is still 'big brother' to Juna and Cherline. After dinner and fellowship, we took the 45 min drive that led us to our final destination.

Ru, Nesu, Daniella, and Miso, after church.

At the Muchereras, just before saying "God be with ye" or 'goodbye'.

Cherline, Daniella, Angena, Sophie, and, Juna

October Birthdays Celebration

October is a great month. I even consider it to be the best month of the year. The reason is very simple, I came to the world on October 5, 197? [I do not want to reveal how young I am :-)]. In addition, Lara was also born in October--the 24th.

Last weekend, we decided to celebrate our birthdays together, and invited some friends over for a little party. We had a lot fun!

Guess Who!

Below are pictures of Daniella and Sophie taken at 7 weeks of age, respectively. Can you identify which picture is Daniella's and which is Sophie's?

Fellowshipping in Jamaica

Last month (September), I went back to Jamaica for two weeks, to oversee (help with) the beginning of the semester at Caribbean Wesleyan College. Those were two very busy weeks as I was trying to take care of as many academic matters as possible. We also were still in the process of moving into the new office building.

During that time, I had the chance to enjoy some fun time with Dr Clifford Van Sickle and Professor Mary Maness. Both are retired professors from Oklahoma Wesleyan University, whom I invited to come to CWC to teach two week intensive courses. Dr Van Sickle thought Speech and Communication, and Mary taught Principles and Methods of Teaching. Mary Maness and I met in Haiti in 1998 during a Teacher Training Seminar that World Hope International organized. I was Mary's translator, and we became great friends. She was the person who encouraged me to choose Asbury Theological Seminary as the place to do my graduate studies. And I met Dr Van Sickle a couple of years ago, through her.

I also enjoyed some fun time with Dr Timothy Iwagami and Priscilla Iwagami. They are the newest additions to our faculty. They are originally from Japan. One night, Priscilla was kind enough to give us a taste of Japanese cuisine: we had Japanese pankaces made to order--the real thing!

Lara and the girls did not travel with me, and that was the hardest part. But the two weeks went quickly by. They went so fast that I did not even have the time to share with you what was happening :-). Below are some pictures that are worth a couple thousand words.

Mary Maness is giving an object lesson during Chapel.

Dr Van Sickle sharing the word of God at one of the chapel services.

Orientation--Because of the new facilities (new regulations and so on), both returning and new students had to attend.
I also spoke at one of the chapel services. With me are Dr Timothy Iwagami and Priscilla Iwagami. Dr Iwagami holds a PhD in NT studies from Manchester University, England; and Priscilla is currently doing a Doctor of Ministry degree at Asbury Seminary, her expertise is in the areas of Christian Education and Spiritual Formation.

Japanese Pancakes... yum, yum, yum!

The blessing of friendship...

We recently were blessed with the visit of Jared, Claudia, and Daniela Holsing. Jared and Claudia are missionaries with Global Partners--the missions hand of the Wesleyan Church. They are making preparations to go on the mission field and came to Wilmore to pay us a visit. We have many friends in different parts of the world, but our families share a special bond of friendship, and have a lot of things in common among these:
-Jared went to Haiti and preached at our wedding in June 2003.
-Lara and I had the opportunity to participate in Jared and Claudia's wedding in Washington DC in September 2004.
-Coincidentally, we have given the same first name to our first born child respectively--Daniella Joseph and Daniela Holsing. They were both born in June!
-We are both cross-cultural families who have been called by God to minister to a third culture: Lara (Russia) and I (Haiti) are ministering in Jamaica. Jared (US) and Claudia (Columbia) will be going to Europe.
We had a great time visiting together, and could not but thank God for the blessing of friendship. The Holsings are very close to our hearts, and we would encourage you to pray for them as they prepare to go to Europe to minister.

Daniella meets Daniela.

Another great friendship is in the making. Friendship begets frienship!

What does it take to be a big sister?

If you were to ask Daniella this question, she would probably ask: "one just needs to have a younger sister!" Well, from the time Daniella first saw Sophie at the hospital, she demanded that we give the baby to her. She is the first one to run up to the crib when Sophie starts crying, wants to hold her, and even tries to tell us what to do. There is one little problem, big sister tends to overestimate her own abilities. She thinks she is even big enough to be mother :-).

Sophie Margueritte at one month of age...

No Turning Back!

A couple weeks ago, Daniella turned an important page in the story of her life: she started (pre) school! We found a very nice program for children of her age group at a church near by-- Southland Christian Church. She goes for half a day from Monday to Wednesday. She has been enjoying it, and the teachers are impressed with her.

Haiti leaves World cup after loss to Nigeria

The U-17 Soccer team is out of the FIFA world cup tournament after losing 1-4 against Nigeria. They are coming come after making the entire country believe again that better days are ahead. They displayed great skills and a lot of courage.
You can continue to follow the rest of the tournament by following the appropriate links.

All is Well after Dean

Just a note to say that all is well after Hurricane Dean. I have communicated both with Jamaican and Haiti. The college suffered no damage. Electricity came back last night (Tuesday night), and we are getting ready for the start of the Fall semester (August 27th).
The south coast of Haiti took some heavy blows, but we escaped the worst of it. Thank you very much for your prayers.

Haiti draws (1-1) with France to keep their hopes alive

After losing 3-1 against Japan. Haiti held France to a 1-1 draw to keep their hopes of advancing to the second round of the FIFA U-17 World Cup that is being played in South Korea alive. The task will be a hard one as the team faces Nigeria who has already qualified after beating France (2-1) and Japan (3-0).
For more news, highlights, and results, follow the links under "Haiti at U-17 FIFA Soccer World Cup."

Prayer Request for Jamaica and Haiti

As you may know, Haiti and Jamaica have been predictated to suffer blows from Hurricane Dean. We would appreciate your prayers on behalf of the inhabitants of these islands. Especially, for Caribbean Wesleyan College in Jamaica, for the protection of the buildings and lives of the students and staff.
I have been in communication with two teachers who live on campus, and the campus is ready. I have not been able to get through to Haiti. I will post updates on the situation of those closest to us.
Thank you for your prayers.

Advice to Writers :-)

As I rose from the table after lunch to go back to the library, Lara asked me:
--So, how is the writing process going?
--I am stuck, I replied. I have been reading for a few days now, and feel like it is time to start writing again. However, I have been thinking about what to write, but have not been able to put anything on paper. I know what I need to write, but I struggle to find the first five sentences that will allow my thoughts to flow.
She looked at me pensively, smiled, and told me:
--Start with the sixth sentence!

What's baking?...

This week, the heat has been unbearable in Wilmore as in other places in the US. Being from Haiti, I am used to hot temperatures, but not of this kind. One expects it to be hot between 12:00 noon and 3:00PM. Around 4:00PM the sun is going down, and is leaving place for fresh air. I still cannot get use to how hot it can be at 9:00PM.

At 3:10 PM on Wednesday, the Citizen Bank's thermometer in Wilmore registered 111 degrees. Out of curiosity, I went online and checked the temparture in Port au Prince, Haiti; and Montego Bay, Jamaica--88 and 90 respectively. The heat index in both places was 107.

About a year ago, I had the opportunity to go to Thailand. The flight took us over the Artic region, and I was able to get a picture (no pun intended) of the effects of global warming. As I went over the pictures that I took, I kept wondering whether or not the degradation of the earth has already reached the point of no return. Could it be that all we can now do is delay the inevitable? Can it be that the end will come as a result of another act of disobedience: our failure to be good stewards of the earth God has entrusted to our care?

I should probably be asking: "who's baking?"; because, every time I step outside of my apartment or the library, I feel like I have just walked into an oven.

When Sophie came to the world...

A week ago today, God blessed us with the gift of our second daughter, Sophie Margueritte. Later that day I brought her grandmothers and her sister to meet her. I wanted to capture the moment so as to remember their first reaction. The grandmothers were overwhelmed; Daniella was excited and demanded that Sophie be given to her. After I took the picture, I thought to myself, "I am blessed, and outnumbered!" :-)

We came home on Thursday, and everyone is doing well. Thank you for your continued prayers on behalf of our family.

Sophie Margueritte Joseph in Pictures

Sleeping peacefully.

We are ready to leave the hospital.

At home.

Meeting big sister for the first time.

Update on dad Wright

I spoke to mom Wright this afternoon and learned that Dr. Wright has made much progress. He is now back at home and will continue therapy there. He speaks normally, but has difficulty enunciating some letters. He is able to walk with the help of a walker, but his balance is still affected. His therapy will mainly focus on this area.
The family is very thankful for your prayers, and appreciate your continued intercession on their behalf.

Unto us a daughter is given!

We are happy and blessed to announce the birth of Sophie Margueritte Joseph. Sophie was born this afternoon, Tuesday July 31, 2007 at 3:19PM. She weighs 6 pounds 11 ounces; and measures 19.5 inches. Mother and baby are doing well. We thank you for your prayers.



















Sophie with Dr John Greene