Friday, December 22, 2006

Merry Christmas!!

It was a great party! Last Sunday we enjoyed a program put on by our young people. About 100 visitors came to the HOH to enjoy the program and party with us, and it we had a very nice time, remembering our Savior, the ultimate gift, who's birth we celebrate at this time of the year. For many of the kids it was their first time, and you can see by their faces they were very excited.

Little Siliana is doing great, thank you for your prayers for her. She is now drinking on her own, and putting on weight. She also loves to sleep all day, and keep us up all night! We were sad to find out that her mother passed away on Tuesday, and she is now an orphan, but we are thankful we were able to get her in time to give her a chance to live.

Our school kids are enjoying a break these days, and I am enjoying a visit with my family in Texas. Please keep Linda in your prayers, as she is holding down the fort. Her family experienced a loss this past week with the sudden death of a beloved cousin in Miami. His funeral is Saturday, so please keep them in your prayers. We'd appreciate your prayers for our friends in Port-au-Prince, as security continues to be a big concern for them all.

We extend our wishes to you all for a very Merry Christmas!



Wednesday, December 13, 2006

"The Least of These"

We had seen her several times before, lying on her mom's hospital bed. Her mother was diagnosed with AIDS, and is extremely ill. Whether due to the AIDS or Post Partum Depression, her mom had mentally lost it when she was born, and had refused to accept her as her child. Her mom was better now, and accepted her presence there on the hospital bed, but still refused to take care of her. In fact, no one was taking care of her, everyone was preoccupied with her mom, and her sad state of health. But no one did anything about her needs. In fact, she didn't even have a name yet. She is 2 weeks old, and since being born, had not been fed anything of substance, her diet mostly consisted of sugar water the nurses gave her whenever they came by, perhaps once or twice a day. Sunday after church we stopped by to see her, and our hearts went out to her seeing this tiny 3 pound bundle lying there so helplessly. All that was going through my mind was, she, if anyone fit the description "the least of these" that Jesus had talked about in Mathew 25. She had been forgotten, and would soon die unless someone did something.

So we did. We brought her to the HOH. Cleaned her up, and starting putting regular amounts of formula into her little stomach through a feeding tube. We did tests for her at the hospital, and started her on medications. We have been taking care of her needs day and night. We even gave her a name: Siliana. Her mom's name is Silianie, so it's something her mom might have named her if she had been in her right mind. It hasn't taken long for Siliana to start getting better, she has already started to change color from a sickly yellow to a much healthier light brown. She is waking up more often, and has even given us a smile or two. Last night she was cooing in her bed, it was so cute, and we once again feel blessed to be able to take care of another precious treasure! And talk about a perfect time to receive such a treasure! The time of year when we are celebrating the coming of Jesus to earth as a little baby. When we brought her to the HOH the other kids here said, "Great! Now we have our Baby Jesus!".

We are busy getting things ready for our Christmas celebration on Sunday, it will be a busy but very fun day. We will be preparing in the morning, have the program in the afternoon, and receive the gifts in the evening. Excitement is in the air!

We appreciate your prayers and support very much. Junior is still about the same, but he isn't worse so we are thankful for that. Wendjina is doing much better, but when her dad came to see her this morning we sent her home with him to finish her treatment from home. She really misses her family a lot, and we think this is the best course of action for her.

Thank you for your part in this ministry. God bless,

Friday, December 08, 2006

Continued Prayer Needed

Thank you so much for your prayers for Wendjina. She is doing much better the past two days. Please keep praying that she'd continue to respond to the treatments we are giving her. Now we need your prayers for another young child named Junior. This is his second time to be at the HOH. He was here several years ago with TB, but this time has returned severely malnourished. His symptoms are very confusing for the doctors here, and we are trying to change his diet to see if that helps. Please pray for wisdom for us all to know how to help this sweet little boy.

The boat arrived this week! So that means at least some of our Christmas presents are here. I don't think they all made it in time, but at least some did, and we have already received a good number here at the HOH. The kids were all very excited yesterday as they saw the boxes coming in. Now they just have to wait! Thank you to all who sent gifts, we are looking forward to seeing the kids faces when they open their Christmas sacks this year.

The Our Hope young people are busy preparing the Christmas program for this year. They are being quite secretive about it, and have been going to the campground that is attached to our property to practice every night, so we don't see it before hand. We are happy they can now do this on their own, and we are looking forward to seeing the program on the 17th. That is when they will all receive their gifts as well.

We are enjoying having a young man from Vancouver, WA here with us for a couple of weeks. Mason Young is the newest human jungle gym here at the HOH! The younger children in particular have enjoyed having Mason here to play with them, and he is fitting in and helping out a lot. He has a kind heart and doesn't mind holding the little babies, and they sure are loving it!

Once again, thank you for your prayers and your support.

Saturday, December 02, 2006

Pray for Wendjina


Good morning, thank you for praying for Jean Daniel, he has recovered well from his surgery, and is almost back to his normal self. Now we need to ask you to pray for Wendjina, who is very sick. She is 2 years old and has been here at the HOH since September. She really was doing well, responding to her TB treatment, and starting to get healthy, and then during the past month she has started to really go down hill. The doctor doesn't know what do to for her anymore, and we are just trying everything we can to save her. Her parents think that someone has put a curse on her, and so have lost all hope that she will live. We keep telling them that is for God to decide, and that if He chooses, He can spare her life. Our prayer is that her family would come to know the Lord through this difficult time, and also that Wendjina would get better. Please pray for Wendjina, for her parents, and for us as we take care of her. Thank you.