Dear Loved Ones,

May 12 is my birthday. This one was special. First it happened when I was in Port-au-Prince to renew our Haitian residency and to buy some eye clinic medicine.

Around 11 AM Kihomi called me saying Happy Birthday. I asked her whose birthday it was. She started laughing saying that it was my birthday today. We both broke laughing like mad persons. She did not know that it was my birthday until she read an email from our headquarter office in Valley Forge. She then got an idea to call and wish me a Happy Birthday.

I completely forgot that it was my birthday. In fact birthday is just another day for me. I did not grow up with the tradition of celebrating birthday in my village in our old days. My DNA has never registered the birthday remembrance and the celebration that goes with it.   

Since the French president was in the city, it complicated the traffic in the downtown area.  Police men and women were everywhere and many streets were closed to the traffic. 

At 2:30 PM I was at the airport to catch the flight back to our city of Cap-Haitian. They told me that I was late for the 3 PM flight and needed to wait for the 4 PM flight. I made some noise but no one paid any attention. 

At 4, they told me that the flight was going to be 15 minutes late. 15 minutes turned to 30, then one hour and we flew at 5:30 PM. I was the only passenger on the flight with two pilots.     

I got home at dark to eat some of Kihomi best fried fishes, vegetable and some Luku (Congolese dish). At 10PM we had tasty mangoes before going to bed.

Thank you all of you  for not forgetting us and wishing us the best and saying a prayer on these special days. We have deeply appreciated your gifts, cards and letters. We enjoyed laughing on comments and wishes on Facebook.

May God bless you all.

In Haiti,

Nzunga & Kihomi  

 

Friends of Nzunga and Kihomi,

I wish to add my thanks to all who sent birthday wishes to Nzunga.  Even though it is not his tradition all missionaries appreciate knowing they are thought of and loved.  He should have told the airline people it was his birthday and I’m sure then they would have let him on the 3:00 PM flight!!!!

Blessings,

Dennis Shewell

Mission Partnership Team Communications Advocate and Convener

Nzunga and Kihomi Ministry

E-mail: deshewell@gmail.com

Phone: 812-569-1352

 

Other team Members:

Les Roberson

Diana Peysha

Terry Bivens-Fry

Charles Newman