The Wedding and the Trials Ahead

The wedding was great! It was a little stressful leading up to it, but I think that is normal. I loved having my parents and grandparents here for a few days! We also had a wonderful honeymoon. It was a much needed break and probably the only whole week I will have off for quite some time. I will work on making a separate post with some pictures from the wedding for those of you who do not have facebook.

Coming back from the honeymoon was tough. I got spoiled having hot, pressured water, air conditioning, and a comfy bed for 5 nights. We came back to the place we are staying in Haiti in the dark with no power and no running water. Quite the abrupt contrast! Also, there really isn't a replacement for me when I'm away from the school so the work just waits for me to return. I'm sure some of you can relate to that.

For the first time in my life I'm really struggling with personal finances. It is difficult living off of support. Until March of last year I had always worked as much as I had to to make ends meet. Serving in Haiti in a volunteer capacity has made me (and now my wife) almost solely dependent on financial support from people in the United States. It gets harder each day as I see the bank accounts heading to zero and my credit card holding a balance--also a first for me. If our current monthly support level(less than 50%) continues we won't have enough money to live like we are living by as early as March (We live on about $1,200 to 1,500 a month currently). That is even adding in the monetary gifts we have received from family and friends from our marriage.

Christian Light School is also facing severe financial problems. Donations to Haiti have fallen and many organizations are having to scale back their programs. We will have to start cutting programs very soon if things don't turn around quickly. Please be in prayer for the financial needs of the school and for Fabiola and me. Also be in prayer for the political situation. It's not very stable right now.

Thank you for all of your love and support! Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! May God bless you!