Adventures in Haiti!

Hello Family and Friends!

It has been a couple months since I posted last. So I will try to catch up and fill you in on all that has been happening. In my last blog post I talked about fixing the car and all the car parts we brought back with us after Christmas. Well, we are finally getting there and getting it fixed. Right before my mom came we were able to fix the A/C in the car, which has held up and is a huge blessing. Not because it is so hot (it can be, trust me), but because it is very dusty and with our windows down it is pretty bad. There are still a few other things that need to get fixed, but the A/C has been awesome!

After Christmas Daniel and his co-worker switched from doing every other week in Cap-Haitian to doing two weeks in CAP and two in PAP. So they are still spending half of their time away from Port-au-Prince, which can be difficult, but I was able to go with Daniel in February for about 10 days and it was really great to get out of the city and change the scenery. We went on a couple hikes/runs up the mountain in the morning and got some pictures the second time cause neither of us thought to bring the camera the first time.

The lookout from the top of the mountain on our hike

Daniel is still working hard at his calculus class and getting an A. He has been applying for universities to attend this fall in the states for Aeronautical Engineering. So we are waiting to see where we end up in August. But we are both really excited to see where this leads and being back in the states is always a plus too!

I am still volunteering with MAF but on a part-time basis now, as my position as assistant to the Program Manager is done. I am helping with random projects and working a few days a week or when they need someone extra to help out. I have been talking with some friends who work for other organizations here and need someone to help them out part-time, so I am figuring out if I can work that out also. Hopefully in my next blog post I will be able to share more.

Birthday celebrations! With Dawn, Annie, Caroline
my mom!, me, Daniel, Jess, Cynthia,
and my wonderful friend Cheyenne is taking the picture.

On my birthday, February 24, my mom was able to make it to Haiti for about 9 days, which was really great! Daniel was able to get a couple days off from work on the 25th and 26th, and we went to the Wahoo Beach Resort about an hour away. We hung out on the beach and went snorkeling one morning, ate really amazing food, played games and slept! My mom spoiled us while she was here and it was really nice for her to be able to come and see what our life is like here. She saw the good and the stressful parts and I am grateful she didn't get on a plane the moment that we started driving home.

My mom at the Heartline
Maternity Center.

Praises:
-Had a wonderful birthday in Haiti with Daniel and my mom being able to come.
-The time I was able to spend with my mom here and creating our own adventures.
-Daniel's class is going well this semester.
-I am heading to Gulf Shores the end of March to spend time with my friend Lisa and her family.

Prayers:
-Daniel managing his time with work and school.
-For our health and safety here.
-That our car keeps running well and gets us through August and then we will sell it.
-Remembering to put God first in our life/marriage when we get busy and forget that we just need to give it to God and He will provide in the way we need.

Daniel and I extremely grateful for all of your thoughts, prayers and support as we are figuring out what we are doing here and how we can serve others in this time. May God bless you and your families in whatever you may be going through. We all have our situations that at this moment we are wondering how we will get through it or where God is going to lead us next. However, when we look at everything that God has given us, when He doesn't even need us, we really are blessed to have Him as our Father, friend, provider, protector, comforter, etc... I am thankful for how God has put all of you in our lives and that we can love each other as Christ loves us.

God Bless,
Amy & Daniel

Update on the Tredway's

Dear Family and Friends,

At Famous Dave's for dinner with the family

We hope you had an enjoyable holiday season with family and friends. Daniel and I had a great time spending our Christmas in Kansas. We were able to have quality time with family and friends. It was a really great time not only enjoying family and friends but having a break from the chaotic life in Haiti. When we arrived at his grandparents house in Topeka on Christmas Eve night, I had this feeling of being refreshed. Not that I felt really clean or anything, because we had been traveling all day. But a feeling of ease and relaxation. Don't get me wrong, we were busy the whole time we were in Kansas trying to see everyone we could, but it was just knowing that we can get around easier, and quick run to the store if we needed something. We also had the special pleasure of getting to see two movies in the theater, one with his dad and the other with his sister, Crystal. My parents were also able to come for the weekend after Christmas and visit with Daniel's family. All around, it was wonderful being able to spend my first Christmas in person with Daniel and the people we love.

Daniel with Crystal (sister) and Mark (dad)

We arrived back in Haiti on January 1, 2015 and it has been crazy ever since. We were able to get a bunch of the car parts we needed sent to my parents and they brought them with them to Kansas and we took them back with us from there. Daniel has been busy with his class (calculus) this semester and is still working everyday, and obviously doesn't have time to work on the car. So that would leave me, the person who didn't even know how to change a tire to look up YouTube videos and internet websites to learn how to do it. So far with some and a lot of Daniel's help (strength), I have changed the front rotors, breaks, tire rods, shocks, fuel filter and diagnosed a misfire on cylinder 1. The next big project is the air conditioning. I am not sure how much I really enjoy working on the car, but I am glad that I can help. Still not sure when I will be done at MAF, and what I will do after that (besides work on the car). So we will see and just take it all one day at a time.

Changing the rear shocks

As I think about our life in Haiti, some things like stated before, take more time here than they do at home. Or we have better access to things in the states than we do here. Which makes living in the states a lot easier some times. However, when living in a country other than the one we are used to, it is easy to forget that we can have some of the same issues there.  Life is a gift that God has given each of us, and if we worry so much about all the problems we have and what the future holds, then we are missing out on what God is teaching us right now.

Praises:

-That our trip home for Christmas went smoothly with no delays and a great time with family and friends.

-We were able to get our car parts back to Haiti without any hassle in customs.
-Meeting new friends in our village and having a "family" community.

Prayers:
-For Daniel's calculus class, and that he will be able to do his best work and keep up with his class.
-Daniel working everyday and being safe with the aircraft he is working on.
-The car repairs and all the stuff that has to get done around the house.
-What is next for me after I finish at MAF-Haiti.

Thank you all for your prayers and support for us as we are here and learning where God is leading us. We greatly appreciate all of our friends and family and the encouraging words that make a huge difference for us.

God Bless,
Daniel and Amy

Update on the life of the Tredway's!

Greetings family and friends!

Lots to write about, so I will keep it as "short" as possible. I returned home to Michigan from Haiti on October 2 and spent those two weeks finishing all the wedding planning and enjoying my time with my friends and family before the wedding. It was a strange feeling of going back to MI and thinking that I didn't have to go to work, it was like I was on vacation! But I kept pretty busy running around finalizing the details and meeting with my vendors. The wedding turned out really well! I felt so calm and at peace, it was so nice to enjoy the day with Daniel, and he was as handsome as ever! I can't wait to see all of our wedding pictures. The one showing is one that his mom took.

My parents drove us to the Chicago airport on Sunday where we took off to our honeymoon destination, Maldives! We were there for a week. We got there in the rainy season but it was still GORGEOUS! It was the perfect time of relaxing after the crazy wedding planning and before we go back to the stressful life in Haiti. Unfortunately, Daniel's class he was taking finished the week we were there, so he had to spend part of a day taking an exam. He got an A!

As great as my time back in Michigan and the Maldives was, it was really difficult to come back to Haiti. As I was vacationing, I kept telling myself not to get used to it and remember what it is like to live in Haiti. I am not saying that because we have horrible living circumstances, but it just takes awhile to get back into the routine of things. It took about a week to adjust back to the 9 hour time difference from the Maldives and get adjusted.

I am still volunteering at MAF through sometime in January. It has been going pretty well. The week after we got back, I had to catch up and close the month of October. But somehow it all fell together at the end! I am very thankful for the opportunity I have to work here not just because it is convenient and close to where Daniel works, but for me to be able to do something that I think is valuable with my time and make a difference in Haiti. I have learned so much about accounting in this position and I hope that I can carry that over to another job sometime. I have no idea what I will do when this position is done, but I am sure that God does and I will just have to wait to see what that is.

Daniel has been busy with his classes towards his degree in Space Studies/Engineering. He has been working everyday because American Airlines is now flying into an airport in Cap-Haitian (northern Haiti). There are only two main mechanics here in Haiti, one is in Port-au-Prince and the other is in Cap-Haitian, so Daniel and Mandi switch locations every other week. It has been stressful because our car isn't working very good, and he doesn't have time to work on it, especially when he isn't here. Thankfully, when he is in Cap-Haitian he has time to catch up on his classes there. Their boss is looking for another employee to share the work, but an extra mechanic hasn't been hired yet. So we will be spending Thanksgiving here in Haiti.

Praises:
-Heading to Kansas to spend Christmas with Daniel's family Dec 24-31, and my parents are going to drive there to visit us for a couple days.
-The wedding turned out great!
-Returned to Haiti safely after a really great time away.
-Daniel met a plumber while I was in the states and he fixed our kitchen sink! Makes doing the dishes a lot easier!

Prayers:
-Daniel as he is working every day and taking classes.
-Safety for both of us when he is not in Port-au-Prince with me.
-That our Toyota 4Runner keeps working, especially when Daniel is gone.
-Staying healthy
-Myself as I am figuring out what I will do when I finish my contact at MAF in January.

Thank you so much for all your prayers and support. It means so much to us to have the support of family and friends. May you and your families have a wonderful holiday season!

God Bless,
Daniel and Amy

One day at a time

Greetings friends and family!

It has been over a month now since I last posted and soon I will be busy with packing to go home for the wedding! I have less than a month before I go back home and the wedding is in 41 days. I am so excited to be back in the states and not feel the worry and stress that I have living in Haiti. However, I am very thankful for the fact that God has kept us safe and healthy so far. Daniel was gone in Boston for about 10 days last month, training with Copa Airlines. Without him here, it reminded me how much of life is out of my hands and that I need to put my faith in God and trust that whatever is going to happen God will protect me.

I am a planner and I like to know what is coming up and be prepared for whatever could happen. The culture of Haiti is very much spontaneous and you just go with it. I don't know if I will ever adapt to that part of Haiti. But I do what I can and just focus on the day that God has given me. It's so hard sometimes to want to fast forward and skip to the exciting part. However, if we are always looking to what is coming next and wanting to get back in our comfort zone, we are missing what God is doing RIGHT NOW in our lives. Yes, I am so looking forward to the time when Daniel and I can move back to the states in about a year or so. But if I keep focusing on that, I might be missing out on something really big that God is trying to teach me now.

In the middle of August I was able to get a couple days off from work and visit a school (Haiti School Project) that my home church in Byron Center (Compass Church) has been sponsoring for awhile. This school is located in Villard, Haiti about a 2-3 hour drive depending on traffic. We spent 2 days there and did some crafts with the kids of all ages. The main craft was for the kids to draw a "dream star". Basically they needed to draw a star, decorate it and in the middle write out any dreams or goals they had. I don't know how to read Creole, so I didn't understand a lot of what the kids put. But a couple of the stars had said something about God. It was really great to spend some time with the kids and see them learn. Most of them didn't even know how to draw a star, so we had to help them.

The kids here in Haiti are so precious. God has created us each so differently, but yet we all have struggles and deal with them differently. It's hard to see when the kids aren't being treated or nourished the right way, but once again we need to trust in Him. The people of Haiti in general are so beautiful, not just their looks, but they work so hard and most people have very little, but they still have a smile on their face. What a special and unique gift that is that God has given them.

 

I will be finishing my first 3 month contract with MAF on October 1st. When we return from our honeymoon on October 30, I am planning on continuing at MAF for another 3 months until the person whose job I am doing now returns from furlough. I managed to get through 2 month end closing periods. July was really rough, and I felt that I had messed a lot up. But August went really well. Let's just say I learned a lot from my mistakes in July and made sure that didn't happen in August. The best part of my job is when I get feedback after helping someone, and they say how much they appreciate what MAF does here in Haiti and they love flying with us.

There is so much more I could write, but to keep it simple I will just save my other stories when I see you all in person.

Prayer Requests:
-The kitchen sink at Daniel's apartment is leaking. We are managing to get the dishes done in a tub, but we haven't been able to find a plumber anywhere.
-Health and safety as we are getting ready to go back to the states for the wedding and our travels for our honeymoon in the Maldives.
-Finalizing the wedding details and just having peace about whatever happens is just fine as long as we are married at the end of the day!
-Time management for Daniel's classes for his bachelor's degree.

Praises:
-God has keep us healthy and safe thus far!
-Daniel and I have been able to finish Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace course and learned a lot about how to save our money.
-God has provided for us when I was ready to give up and go home.

Thank you all for your continued prayers and support! May God bless you and your families in whatever you may be going through. Take one day at a time so you don't miss out on what He is teaching you today.

Love,
Amy

Update from Haiti!

Family and Friends,

I can't believe I have been in Haiti for over a month and a half! Two months from today I will be leaving to go home for our wedding! It's hard for me to know what to write in my blog. Part of the reason I like to write is for you to be able to experience what is happening. However, I also write because it helps me slow down my thoughts before I stress out about all these things I have no control over. It helps me remember to thank God in the good and hard times in the adventures that He has put me on.

I see things everyday that are hard to write about and describe. But as I look around at the people here, they are content with it all. This is what they are used to and how they grew up. They don't know anything different. So sometimes, I try to think that this isn't any different than how I have grown up and just be content in what I have and what God has provided for me.

BEAUTIFUL MOUNTAINS IN THE BACKGROUND 

I have had quite a few people back home ask me "How's Haiti?", well I am not going to lie...it has been a difficult adjustment. The heat, mosquitoes and the driving rule of "its always your turn" can be hard. I am learning to be more confident in driving here, but it is still very stressful. Thankfully, Daniel drives too, but I am learning in case of an emergency or something. A more positive side of Haiti is being here with Daniel! I am so thankful that we have this opportunity to be together before we get married. That in itself has been the most important thing to me. It's so much better being in a third world country together, than being in a first world country apart. Haiti is stressful on both of us, and we were able to take a day off together last week and go to the beach! 

WAHOO BAY BEACH

I am still adjusting into my volunteer position as the Assistant to the Program Manager at MAF. I have also been learning a little bit about flight following. In our office we have a computer with the radios next to it and we follow where our planes are going and record down what the pilots tell us. Every morning I enjoy my walk next to all the airplanes on my way to our office/hanger and during lunch we watch all the commercial airplanes take off right next to us. It is a pretty cool opportunity to be here and help out.

MY WALK TO THE HANGER EVERYDAY

MAF HANGER

AIRPLANES  BY THE MAF HANGER

Praises:

-My main one is that I have found a place in the same neighborhood as Daniel and can live there until I go back to the states in October!

-Daniel and I have been healthy and avoided the Chikungunga virus.

-I am getting used to driving in Haiti.

Prayers:

-That I would continue to understand more about my job at MAF and have good team work with my

 co-workers.

-Stay healthy

-Daniel's college classes: that he can manage his time to get his homework done, on top of having a full-time job and us going through our pre-marriage classes.

-Even though I have moved to a less expensive place for rent, I am still looking for supporters to come along and be apart of the adventure with me. Almost everything here can be twice as expensive as it is in the states because they have to import it all. Please see the information on the right side of my blog if you are interested in joining me!

ONE OF THE MAF AIRPLANES

May God bless each of you in your own journey in life and give you the wisdom and understanding to follow what God's plans are for you.

~Amy

Life in Haiti

Wow! Did I really just move to Haiti??? Just kidding! It didn't really hit me that I moved here until a few days ago. After all the craziness of the rush of getting here, finding a place to stay, and starting a new job, I let myself think about what I just did. Part of me is shocked, and the other part doesn't feel any different. I have my doubts about why I am here and the unknowns ahead, but who am I to judge that...so far God has been the one to follow through on it all. I am fortunate to have such a great community of people I work with at MAF and other missionaries here to build each other up with encouragement of why we are here.

It has also been really great to see Daniel on a more regular basis! It has been so great to be able to communicate in person without having a bad internet connection on Skype and trying to figure out what the other person was saying. We eat lunch together when we work on the same days and sometimes like today, on Daniel's day off he came to MAF and ate with me.

On my first day of work, I got to go out on a flight to La Gonave which was about 20 minutes both ways. I had heard about some of the MAF landing strips but I needed to see it for myself. We did a fly over the landing strip first because often there will be cows, goats, other animals and people on them. This time there were 2 ladies walking on the runway :). It was a pretty cool experience being able to see what MAF does for the people here in Haiti!

This is the landing strip at La Gonave.
Dirt & Rocks make for a really
 smooth landing and takeoff! 

I moved out of Daniel's co-worker's house on Monday and now I am living with one of our MAF missionary families until I can find a place closer to Daniel. I am actually living in the "servants" room of the house, but it works out pretty great! So thankful they opened up their house for me to stay in. Unfortunately it is about a 30 minute commute on a good day for Daniel to drive up to see me or for me to go down and see him. But when the Lord provides, you go with it!

Praises:
-That I have a place to live until Daniel & I get married in October or if I can find a place closer to him that isn't too expensive I will move out sooner.
-Made it through two weeks of work doing a lot of accounting stuff
-Haven't gotten sick from the virus that is going around from the mosquitoes

Prayers:
-Adjusting to the culture, language barriers and the ways of how things get done here.
-Health (There is a really bad virus going around that is being carried by mosquitoes that a lot of people I know have had it or have it right now. It is similar to Dengue fever and the only way to prevent it is to keep putting on the bug spray.)
-That I can be a witness to others through my words and actions. God has given me so much and I want to spread it to others around me. GOD IS GOOD...ALL THE TIME!

Thank you for your continued prayers and if you are interested in supporting me financially there is information on the right side of the blog.

God Bless,
Amy

Greetings from Haiti

Hello friends and family,

I just wanted to let you know I made it to Haiti Thursday afternoon! My flights went as well as they could and only had about 15 mins of wondering if someone stole one of my suitcases in Port-au-Prince.

I am currently living with Daniel's co-worker in her house for the next week or so, which has been a huge answer to prayer because it only takes me a couple mins to walk to Daniel's and it is in a gated community so it is pretty safe. Unfortunately I can't stay living there because there are other guests coming that need a place to live.

I don't have much else to update you on because I have been here for less than 48 hours. But I have some prayer requests if you could keep us in your prayers.

Praise:
-I have a place to live that is safe and close to Daniel for the next week or so.
-I am able to RELAX today after the transition of moving out of my friend's condo and moving my non-Haiti items to my parents attic, finishing up some big wedding plans, and packing for Haiti.
-We found a place to store our car in Michigan and the rest of the items can be stored in my parent's attic.
-My checked suitcases all made it under 50lbs and one of them showed up at 53lbs but then changed to 49.5lbs when the American Airlines agent looked at it!

Prayers:
-That I can find the right housing situation until Daniel & I get married. I have options but none of them stick out to me as being the right option. Please pray that I will be able to listen to what God's plan is and we can feel at peace about it.
-Getting around can be difficult here and we do have a vehicle to use. But I am not comfortable with the area yet to drive myself and if I need to get somewhere then Daniel has to drive me.
-I start my job at MAF on Monday. Pray that I have a smooth transition into work that I will be doing and have unity with my co-workers.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support!

God Bless,
Amy