That's Life

The holidays have come and gone and now everyone I know is back to their routines while I am left to decide what my future will look like until I depart for the World Race.  I knew that returning from Haiti would present challenges, especially coming back to America during the Christmas season.  Had it only been for the reverse culture shock, I think I would have done reasonably well.  However, a lot of other things happened very quickly and I got to a point where I felt like I couldn't take anymore.

Talking things out with a friend I remember saying how excited I was to be going on the World Race...how I felt like this was the direction I needed to be heading....how I think God is going to teach me so much through it....and how I almost expected things to be a challenge since the roller coaster of life seems to take the largest fall after we're on top of the world.  I remember thinking, "Ok, I can see things happening that are going to challenge my attitude and my decision to go on this mission trip."  Looking back, I realize that I had put things into two categories....things that were ok to be challenged, and things that I relied on to heavily for them to be messed with.  Well, if you want to render someone ineffective, you challenge the latter of those two options....and that's what happened.

Relationships fell through, other changed considerably, things I relied on and put hope in have proved only to be temporary.  And while all this was happening I knew God was saying, "You still have a choice.  Will you let this take you out of the game, or will you rely on me and continue to move forward?"  To be honest, I felt like I didn't want to continue.  I wanted to get mad at people, to say that life had dealt me a raw deal, that God didn't care what I was going through.  But the more I thought about this option, the more I realized I'd regret it in the future.  I knew that swallowing my pride and trusting God may not be the easiest choice, but it would be the only decision to bring joy back into my life.  It has been hard and a continual struggle to trust God, but I am so grateful God gave me the insight to see what was going on.  If this life lesson had to come, I'm thankful it came when it did.  To have my family and close friends near-by, for them to be patient and let me work through my emotions, and to have their support, has been an amazing gift.

On another note, I'm currently in Cincinnati trying to catch up with old friends and raise support for the World Race.  Raising support has proven to be quite the challenge and a humbling experience.  I know God will provide everything, but He also doesn't mind making me a little uncomfortable in the process.  Thank you to everyone who has been praying for me and for giving to the ministry I'm a part of.  It has been great to see college friends and the hospitality I've encountered reminds me why I love the people here.  I'm still trying to determine what I'm doing for the next few months, but I'm enjoying time with friends while I figure everything out.

Food for Thought

The other day I came across the following information on The World Race website:

Take a good look at the food that is eaten in one week and how much is spent...

Italy: The Manzo family of Sicily

Food for one week:214.36 Euros or $260.11

United States: The Revis Family of North Carolina
Food for one week $341.98

Germany: The Melander family of Bargteheide
Food for one week: 375.39 Euros or $500.07

Chad: The Aboubakar family of Breidjing Camp

Food expenditure for one week: 685 CFA Francs or $1.23

If the family in Germany didn't eat for ONE week, the family in Chad could eat for 6 years....

Greetings from Ohio

I guess this brings the blog full-circle.  I started writing when I left for Haiti and now I am back.  However, I don't plan to stop writing, but simply switch gears into the next adventure.  I flew into Chicago on Saturday night where Nick and I met up with another roommate from college.  We stayed the night there and then I met my parents in Dayton on Sunday night and headed for home.

The past few days have been quite interesting trying to adjust to life here.  I know I spent most of my life in this society, but coming back after spending six months in Haiti makes me feel like a foreigner here as well.  I've become accustomed to life without hot water, without good roads, with unreliable electricity, and always being starred at wherever you go.  Parts of being back are great...but there are things I really miss from Haiti. I miss the simplicity of life there, the lack a pressure to be busy to appear important.  I miss my friends and the family I became a part of.  I miss the challenges of everyday life and seeing God work in so many people there.

I love the question, "So, how was Haiti?"  I get it all the time.  Sometimes I want to brush it off and say, "It was good and I'm glad I went, next question."  Sometimes I want to open the can of worms and say, "Honestly, it changed my life and I've had to reevaluate everything in my life and my walk with Christ."  I went to Haiti with so many questions, hoping to find some answers and more clarity, but what I've found is that I returned from Haiti with more questions than when I left.  There is so much that I have had to deal with and think through and wrestle with....part of me wants to say to people, "You will never understand what it was like, there is no way I can explain it, and if you really want to know, you need to buy a plane ticket and find out for yourself."  But then I think, that probably isn't the most productive thing to say and could be considered too coarse.  So, instead, I try to tell about the transformation of what happened to me there....I try to let God speak to them, to challenge them, to give them insight into how their life fits into His plan.

Alright, I'll stop ranting and get on with this post.  I've been putting off telling about what my next step is, mainly because I wanted to tell the people that it affected before I broadcast it on the Internet.  Now that I've been home I have been able to tell everyone, figured I might as well share it here.  I won't go into a lot of detail, but in June of 2009 I am going to be embarking on The World Race.  It is a year long mission trip that I'm very excited about and know it will provide some amazing opportunities.  If you want to learn more they have a great website:  http://www.theworldrace.org/

I am going to be sending out a letter to friends and family telling more about this opportunity.  I would love to send this to anyone interested and if you would like to receive the news/support letter just let me know.  You can post a comment on the blog or send me an email at:  mattruple@gmail.com

Ready or Not...

In my previous post I mentioned how I've been waking up and not feeling rested.  Well, last week my body started to ache pretty badly and I also had a small fever.  It worked out pretty well because we needed to modify our filter design, so I was able to do a lot of work at the computer and take it easier than normal.  However, even while I was sitting at the computer I would get tired and have to take breaks and lie down for a while.  We didn't think it was malaria due to the symptoms, but I was keeping a close eye on it to make sure nothing got worse.

On Saturday, Bobi and I headed to Port to pick up our friends that were coming to visit.  Nick was the first to arrive.  Nick is one of my roommates from college and the guy I backpacked Europe with.  After getting Nick we ran a few errands and then ate a nice long leisurely lunch.  Afterwards, we headed back to the airport to get Bobi's two visitors and then headed home.  Their flight came in later in the day and we had to drive part of the way back in the dark.  If we have the option we don't like to drive too much after dark, but everything went fine and we all arrived safely.

Nick and I have been keeping busy with the usual activities here.  Church at Canaan, missionary meeting, hiking, snorkeling, a full day of filter deliveries and installations, and a checkup at the local hospital.....let me explain this last one.  I've been starting to feel better lately but still notice I just don't have the energy I usually do.  The conversation had come up before that I could go see a local doctor, but I figured I would just get over it eventually and I was willing to wait it out.  Someone mentioned waiting to go to a doctor when I get home and have a few test run to make sure nothing is wrong.  After thinking for a few seconds, I decided that there was no way I was going to a doctor when I back to the States. I don't have health insurance and if I was going to get tests done it would be here in Haiti where I can pay out of pocket for most things.  So, Nick and I spent most of Monday morning in the Pierre Payen hospital, where I had some blood drawn and tests run.  The verdict: no malaria....that's good....mild typhoid....that's not so good.  Long story short, I have some medicine that I'm hoping takes care of the typhoid and I should be good as new in a few days.

On another subject, I'm getting ready to leave Haiti for the first time in over six months and come home for the holidays.  The departure is better sweet.  I'm excited to see friends and family but will miss the friends and the life I've built here.  There is so much to write about this and about what is going to be happening in the future, but I'll have to save that for another time.

I don't like to leave a post without any pictures, so I put together the following photos.  They are of people that I've met in Haiti and each picture carries a story that reminds me a friends I've made here, friends that have come visit, and the lives that have been changed in the process.

What Is Normal?

On Saturday I tried to sleep in a little since lately I've been feeling more unrested than normal. I made it until just after 7:00am....not to bad considering I went to bed around 10:00pm. I started the day off by reading for a couple hours and finishing off the book Adam and Reneé had brought me. Later in the day I took the dirt bike to Canaan and then walked to the ocean with some friends to go swimming. By the time we got back the sun was setting and I had to ride home without my sunglasses on...which isn't a great idea because of all the dust and other foreign objects that try to make their way into your eyes. It took a little longer than normal, but I made it home. When I got back we had two visitors from CAWST (Centre for Affordable Water and Sanitation Technology) that were going to be staying with us overnight. CAWST does work not only in Haiti, but also all over the world and we try to communicate with each other to share information and ideas.

On Sunday I went to church at Canaan like normal and then stuck around to hang out with Bobi, Elsie, and Elsie's parents who are visiting from Costa Rice. Elsie wanted to show her parents the Artibonite valley that is north of Saint-marc, so we all hopped in one of Canaan's vehicles and headed out. To get to the valley we had to pass Clean Water for Haiti and as we were approaching it we noticed a large amount of people and vehicles close to the mission's driveway. A bus had somehow gone off the national highway and was stuck on the side of the road. A truck mounted crane was parked across the highway, trying to lift the bus back onto the road. After a while, people started to get restless and were driving up into a field off the highway to get around the incident. We followed suit and got past everything without too much trouble.

On our way back to Canaan we passed this location again and the bus had been removed. However, the mobile crane was still hard at work because another bus had managed to get itself stuck in the field where people were trying to get past. I just laughed to myself and thought that the crane owner must have been pretty happy about all the business he was getting. We then went to Montrouis and walked across the bad bridge and through the market that is on the other side.

I had driven the VW to church in the morning because we were having trouble getting the blue truck started. It was dark by the time I was ready to head back home from Canaan and as I started the vehicle I quickly noticed that the headlights didn't work. I tried fidgeting with a few things and after I couldn't make them work, I gave Chris a call. He gave a few suggestions, but nothing helped so I said I would just drive really slowly and try to make it home without them. After we hung up I remembered the flashlight I carried in my backpack...just for emergency situations like this when you have to drive a vehicle using a flashlight for headlights. So I took off and had to learn quickly that when another vehicle was passing, I couldn't see anything. And you can't just assume that if you continue in a straight line on the roads you will be fine. Here, you never know when you'll come across a large rock, pole, machine swallowing pothole, goat, or something else. When a car would pass I would stick my head out the window to get a better view and then pump the brakes to start the slowing process (the brakes are still a bit fidgety and slow to respond). I made it about half way home before the next adventure started. As I was going through one of the bigger water-filled gulleys in the highway, the VW stalled. I tried to get it started again, but to no avail. Cars were starting to line up behind and in front of me...and patients ran thin fast. With all the people standing around looking at me, I was able to have them help push the vehicle out of the water and out of the way so traffic could pass.  I gave Chris a call and he brought the red truck with a rope so we could tow it back. Before long we were back home and eating dinner. I later thought to myself....if something like this had happened when I first got to Haiti, I would have thought it was a crazy day. But, now that I've been here a while, it honestly didn't hit me that this was an interesting story until later that night. It is funny what becomes normal after time.

Alright, that's all I have for now. Since I didn't have any pictures with this story, I will leave you with one of the many beautiful sunsets we get to enjoy this time of the year.