I moved to Haiti September 4, 2001. The
following is a brief synopsis of my time here
since then.
Year One: I miss my nephew, Lukey! I
meet Margarethe, deliver my first baby, and tend to a little burned
boy: Jean Dony. The clinic starts functioning and the patients come
en masse.
Year Two: I move from a cot in the
dorms to an air mattress in my new apartment above the clinic.
Communication with the outside world moves from satellite-phone-only
to the internet. Tooth-pulling Tuesdays begin.
Year Three: Davidson Jean Phillippe, my
first godchild, is born. I begin teaching baptism classes for the
local youth. Chelsea and I spend two weeks in a Haitian house.
Year Four: Danny and Leann join the
Seguin team. I turn 30 while cliff jumping in the Dominican Repulic.
Danny and Leann move on to Jacmel, and I'm once again alone on the
mountain.
Year Five: I float down a river in my
Land Cruiser (oh, the irony!). Cell phone reception makes its way to Seguin, and I make my first call to friends in Port from inside my Seguin apartment.
Year Six: Jessica spends six months on
the mountain with me. Other wonderful interns come and go. In the
end, I'm once again alone on the mountain. At the urging of friends,
advisors, and the Holy Spirit, I give my six months' notice and pray
about where God wants me next.
Year Seven: I visit Christianville at
the invitation of Jim and Sandy. I meet Ryan. I move to
Christianville. Later, I start dating Ryan, and we get engaged under
a waterfall.
Year Eight: Ryan and I are married.
Pregnancy immediately follows. Really. Immediately. Nine months
later, Eleanor Nancy Price is born. I move from full time at the
clinic to part time.
Year Nine: Our bodies, living
arrangements, work environments, relationships, and perceptions are
shaken to the core by the earthquake of January 12, 2010.
Year Ten: Our family grows to four, as
Titus Christopher Price is born. I start a Children's Church program
at Lasalle Church, and begin teaching Creole Grammar classes to
American missionaries.
Year Eleven: Jim and Sandy move down
the road, and I get used to working in the UNICEF tents with them. My
sister and her family move to Haiti and live within walking distance
of me (yippee!).
Year Twelve: Our family grows once
again when we welcome our second boy, Samuel George Price. My sister
and her family move back to the States (boo!). Construction begins on
a new eye clinic. I continue working part time at the medical clinic,
teaching Creole classes, and creating curriculum for the Children's
Church program. I stay connected to Seguin via a latrine
project, a Boys' Home for mountain boys that need to go to High
School in the city, and through hosting many Seguin friends who come
visit us at Christianville.
Community Christian Church supports my
ministry.... from year one all the way up to the present!
Here are some of my favorite pictures. The little boy standing with Eleanor was born the day after the quake, in front of my house. The older woman and child are Margarethe's mother in law and Margarethe's fourth child. God has been faithful to both Margarethe and me and has brought us quite a ways since those early days in 2001.
