A Day at the Beach

Just thought I’d let you guys know that I’m still alive and doing well. I think I’m actually even getting used to the heat around here! lol! We went to the beach today and it was so refreshing to swim in the Caribbean ocean… the water was as warm as bath water and clear as any of the pictures I’ve seen in any of those travel magazines. The beach is like a little paradise around here… it seems so far away from the rest of the world and all the noise and pollution in Haiti. The picture here is of me with Miesha, Marc and Lisa’s daughter.

A New Culture

Here are a couple pictures of me learning some basic Haitian lifestyles. The first one is of me getting a lesson on how to wash my clothes by hand and the second is of me getting water from the well. I thought you might enjoy these pictures... lol










As a side note it appears that I’ll always be a celebrity in the eyes of the Haitian people. It’s kindof funny how it works here. When I walk down the road, I am constantly greeted by choruses of ‘blanc, blanc!’ At some houses, little half-naked boys will run out of their homes to greet me, and stare at me with open mouths, as I walk by. Several of the children, in the area, have already learned my name and I will often hear it being called by people I don’t even remember seeing before. Sometimes, when I am walking, I will hear quick footsteps behind me, only to turn around and discover a little boy or girl running to catch up to me and join me for my walk. I enjoy being known in the neighbourhood. By now, I can recognize several of my students and people from the church, when I go walking around Grand Goave. It still amazes me how relational the people are. They truly value relationships and they love to learn English!

I’ve really enjoyed this past week of English classes. I really didn’t know what to expect at first, but it was a good week of getting to know the students, how they learn and what they already know. It’s been a week of assessing their oral and written English abilities, as well as working on some basic pronounciation tactics. There is yet to be an established English curriculum, here at Haiti ARISE, and so I am currently writing my own lesson plans. Each class, that I teach, runs twice a week for two hours. I would really appreciate your prayers as I tackle this somewhat overwhelming task. I’d also like to thank you all for the prayers you prayed for me this past week. I’ve had a real inward peace this whole week and I truly thank God for that!

My life in Haiti

It's really hard to put into words what Haiti is really like. It's actually not possible to help you really understand, unless you come here yourself, but I hope that in the months to come, I'll be able to help you see what my life in Haiti is like.
I've posted a picture of my bed here.The only thing missing in the picture is my mosquito netting, cuz I put that up after the picture was taken. I don't have a dresser, so I keep all my clothes on the top bunk, since no one's sleeping there right now. I have two roommates, Rachel and Rebekah. They're both from Alberta and we're like sisters already! There's actually nine adults, a two and a half year old and an eight month old baby living in our three bedroom, one bathroom house right now. It's a lot of people but we're so much like family that it works well.

Yesterday was my first day of classes and I thank you for your prayers! Classes went well. The students are very eager and enthusiastic to learn. In fact, they looked almost dissappointed when I told them it was break time, after they'd been sitting in class for almost an hour. Then I tried to dismiss the class at the scheduled time and they said that if we were going to finish class ten minutes before the hour, they they shouldn't have a break in the middle. I was seriously schocked! I've never been in a class at home where we protested a break in the middle of a two hour class!

Please continue to pray for me and the team here at Haiti ARISE. There are a lot of us living in tight quarters and it could be easy for us to become irritable with each other. Please pray for unity and love amoungst our team. We begin every morning with prayer and devotions at six o'clock and that really sets the mood for our day. I love spending so much time in the Word of God and in prayer for each other. I'm looking forward to seeing all that God is going to do, during my next few months here in Haiti!

In Haiti, Safe and Sound

After a few minor delays in travelling, I arrived in Haiti safe and sound on Friday at around 1:30pm. We got home to the mission house around 5:00pm and enjoyed electricity until about lunch time on Saturday, when it disapeared until around 3:00pm today. It's really hot here... thirty-one degrees in my bedroom, which is much, much cooler than outside in the sun!

Church was really good today. I absolutely love worshipping with the Haitian believers. There's really no way to describe it, but they really love the Lord and they are so musical... it's as though the whole congregation moves as one! I think I'm going to learn a lot from these people, while I'm here!

School registration is tomorrow and I'll begin teaching classes on Tuesday. I have two beginner's classes, a pre-intermediate class, an intermediate class and an advanced class. I'm feeling fairly aprehensive about all this, so I'd appreciate all your prayers. I have 63 students registered so far, and that could go up with registration tomorrow. This is definitely a task bigger than myself and so I'm asking and trusting God to take over and bring everything together. I"d appreciate your prayers for that too!

Visiting Chicago

I caught the train at 5:15 this morning. It was an early morning, and I was living off of two hours of sleep, so I slept a good six hours on the train today. I was very grateful for that, cuz I hate being tired!

The train ride went smoothly... less eventful than my last trip to Chicago. On that trip I was sitting near a Moody student who, for some reason, had a baby chicken in his backpack. The entire trip was spent with all kinds of kids and random people stopping by to play with the baby chick. It was a really interesting ride... lol!

I'm staying in my friend Salome's dorm room, here at Moody Bible Institute. I really enjoy spending time at Moody... it's sortof like a Spiritual retreat for me. Tomorrow morning is worship chapel, so I'm looking forward to some good time of worship before I head down to Haiti.

That's all for now....

Good-Bye HuronView Nurseries!

Today was my last day at work. Although I'm going to miss everyone there, I have to admit that I'm really looking forward to arriving in Haiti so much more after our Canadian weather turned so nasty!

I was looking at the Haiti ARISE September newsletter today and I started to get a lot more excited about being part of the staff there and serving the Haitian people, through teaching ESL. If you have a chance, I encourage you to check out the site for yourself! www.haitiarise.org Don't forget to read the September Newsletter, for the most up-to-date ministry information. God is doing such amazing things down there and I CAN'T WAIT to be part of it!!!

I'd like to ask for your continued prayers as I'm wrapping things up here in Canada.
Please Pray!
1. For the rest of my financial support to come in.
2. That I will honour my God in my heart and actions, and that my focus would continuously be on bringing Him glory.

If you feel led to support me financially in my ministry in Haiti, tax-receiptable funds can be sent to the following address:

Haiti ARISE
#7-4769 Hubalta Rd
SE Calgary, Alberta
T2A 2N9

Don't forget to designate the funds for Stacey Lynn Ramsay.

Once again, thank you to all of you who are supporting me both in prayer and finances... I wouldn't be going to Haiti without you!!! God Bless!

Snow In October?!

I really thought I was going to avoid snow completely this year, but I guess God had other plans for me! I was working at HuronView Nurseries today and was very glad that I was able to work indoors! Apparently, because we live so close to Lake Huron and all the other Great Lakes, we often experience what is called 'lake effect'. Well, today the radio said we might see some snow squalls, but those snow squalls sure seemed more like snow storms to me! There were times during the day when we could hardly see across the parking lot at work!

It was soo cold at work... even though I was bundled up quite a bit... I was craving chili all day long. So when I got home tonight, I made my brother and I some good 'ol home-made chili. Boy, was it ever good! :o)

Tuesday is fast approaching, it seems. It's wierd, but I always dread the last few days before I leave for a trip. It seems as though the last few days are always the most stressful with packing and finishing off last minute details, visiting with people, etc. I think I'll really enjoy my time with my friend, Salome, when I'm in Chicago next week. My plane doesn't take off until Friday, so we'll have a couple days to just hang out together and I'm really looking forward to it!

Turkey Bowl

Every Thanksgiving Monday, our youth pastor, Kevin Furtney, hosts a Turkey Bowl (apparently that's code for 'football game'). We like to do it college and career verses the youth group, but this year the C&C were vastly outnumbered!
This is our pround Pastor Kevin, strutting his stuff!
I don't think he had any idea I'd post this picture on my blog, so if you know him, be sure to tell him how stunning he looks... hehe!












Sometimes, things get a little out of hand, during our Turkey Bowl... like this pile-up of youth group girls. Man, some of them really take their football seriously! lol

You might be asking yourself where I was, during all this action....








I was part of the very devoted and loyal cheerleading team! It was a nice, comfortable day to be sitting on the sidelines.... I'm not complaining, that's for sure!

Happy Thanksgiving!

It's Thanksgiving weekend and I'm sure that most of you will be celebrating with a big turkey dinner. My family had our turkey dinner last night, and I thought I'd share a few photos with you.... The picture at the top of this post is of my Nephew, Michael; my brother, Ian; and my dad... I just call him dad.





This picture is of me with my three nieces, Mariah, Kaitlyn, and Laura. There was lots more family over yesterday, including my four sisters, their husbands and all their kids.... I'm glad it was a nice day out so we could all go to the park. It gets a little cramped with all those people inside!













This picture here, is of some of the desserts we ate last night. Pumpkin pie, apple pie and of course, Trifle were the desserts of the evening. Because we're a British family, we eat traditional English Trifle at every big family gathering!






This last picture is of me with my sister, Heidi. I'm really glad I was able to spend Thanksgiving with my family this year. I'll be in Haiti for Christmas and Easter, so I think that fact alone helped me to appreciate my time with my family so much more!

Sad News...

I recieved some sad news today. It was a letter from LaDawn, who handles the adoption paper work at GLA, in Haiti. Apparently, little Silvio, whom I've often referred to as 'my baby', and who I worked with quite a bit while I was at the orphanage, passed away suddenly. I guess it was a snap back to the reality of life in Haiti, for me. I'd almost forgotten what it felt like to be surrounded by so much suffering and grief all the time. GLA is like an oasis, in the middle of it all, but I guess there's no escaping reality. I know I'm headed for some tough times this year in Haiti, so I'm asking for your prayers to get through it. I have no doubt that God will sustain me, on the prayers of my brothers and sisters in Christ.

An Actual Update

So, apparently I'm not that great at keeping this thing updated anymore! haha!

Well, the dining hall is definitely coming down at camp. Tear-down of the old building has already begun and the new dining hall should be up before winter... well, the outside of it at least. Because of this, I'm moving in with my parents for my last couple weeks before I go back to Haiti. Apparently, the water and electricity on my side of camp, won't be on for much longer, so I thought moving back home was a good idea! haha

I wasn't arround at all last weekend, because I was up at a youth retreat near Walkerton, Ontario. I was asked by a couple girls from West Park's youth group in London, to cook for their retreat, and so we all headed up to Camp Cherith on Friday. It was a really great weekend, filled with great worship, challenging messages, and some really good fellowship. I was so glad I had the chance to be part of it... even though it was a freezing cold weekend! Fortunately, I had the only heated cabin there, and discovered how quickly it is to make friends when you share what God's given you! haha! Saturday night, I woke up to five girls coming into my cabin to sleep on the floor, cuz their cabin was so cold! Ah... good times ... lol!

This week, I'm back to working at the nursery. It's keeping me busy, that's for sure. It seems like I don't have much time for anything else, now that I'm working till six every night. This Saturday is our family Thanksgiving dinner, though. So, I'm definitely looking forward to that! I just love it when my family gets together. One thing's for sure... my family is never boring! haha!