Wednesday, August 13, 2008

We are alive and well!

Greetings from the HOH! I've been back exactly 2 weeks today, and tomorrow I leave for the next chapter of my travels. I think I should start a travel book or something! I can't believe how quickly time flies by. These past two weeks have been filled with activity. Just getting things done that didn't get done while I was gone during the month of July; as well as receiving 20 visitors from England, Canada, the US and Haiti, occupied all my waking hours. The HOH was a hopping place, and I'm sure the kids are going to go through withdrawal when tomorrow all the visitors and Linda and I leave them.

One thing we were able to fit in was a fun day at the beach with almost all of the HOH kids (only those who were too sick to go stayed home). We were well over 70 people in all, squished into a truck and our Land Cruiser! Everyone had a wonderful time, from the oldest to the youngest(Ricardo and Nani are pictured here). The day had been planned completely by St. Germain, who is quickly becoming our Resident Activity Director. Linda and I didn't have to do anything, just go along and enjoy the day, and we sure did do that.

Here are a few snapshots of our fun day:

Of course everyone enjoyed
the beach...







A friend of the HOH lent us his BBQ for the day, and St. Germain and Caleb grilled some great BBQ chicken!






Yummy!!





And while it was a really fun day, it was just a fraction of all that's been going on....here's a quick glimpse of some other things to help you see how you can continue to pray for us through this busy summer.
  • We thank God for His protection of two of our boys who hit a lady as they were driving to town on a motor bike. The lady injured her foot, and had a head wound as well, but she admitted it being in the wrong, she tried to cross the road without looking first. God really worked on our behalf as we negotiated with the lady and the authorities in the area, and we were able to bring the lady to our hospital here and make sure she was well taken care of. In the end, the response of our boys immediately after the accident left a huge impression on the people in the area where it happened. When Linda went to the area the next day the people came out to where she was in the car and said, "your boys are so respectful, and well behaved, in spite of all that was going on." Linda was able to share Christ with the people and talk of the difference He can make in our lives. We thank God that in the midst of a bad situation, He received the glory!
  • Of all our students who wrote government standardized exams this summer, only 2 didn't pass. One of those, Mikerlange, was allowed to rewrite his exams, so we haven't received those marks back yet. Stephanie will have to wait until December to rewrite hers. The new school year is right around the corner with classes starting on Sept. 1. We have several of the younger kids starting school for the first time this year (Esther, Lala, Chedlyn and Baslet), and Linda and I won't be here for their first day of school! We will miss being a part of that, but we are so grateful for our the older kids here who take such good care of the younger ones and will help get them through those first days.
  • A number of our older boys were able to attend a camp that was run by the Lemuel Organization. They had a great time of learning from God's Word, and fellowshipping with other Haitian young people, from totally different parts of Haiti. We are grateful for this chance they had, it left a lasting impression on the boys, and I know they will be able to use a lot of what they learned in their every day lives.
  • The price of food and supplies continues to rise here in Haiti. We are constantly receiving extremely malnourished children here at the HOH, and are constantly receiving people coming in to ask us to give them some food to take home to their families. People are hungry, and it's always a challenge to know who and how much to help, and how to best manage our resources for our own kids. With school only weeks away, many families are wondering what they are going to do, as they can't even feed their kids, let alone consider buying uniforms, books, shoes, and paying for their children to attend school.
  • My time studying in the US at the WorldView Center was a really great time of learning. They kept us busy, but it was good as we learned many practical ways to be more effective missionaries in our respective countries. There were around 20 CrossWorld missionaries (working in or heading towards 6 different countries or areas) in attendance, and it was good to get to know them as well. Once things settle down a bit I hope to share more of what I learned with Linda, and see how we can start to put some of the principles into practice here in the ministry at the HOH.
  • Linda and I head out tomorrow to visit our friends and supporters in the UK. We have been preparing for this so long it's hard to believe it's actually time for us to go! We will be speaking in a number of churches and different events during our 3 weeks in the UK, and would appreciate your prayers as we travel, and also as we share about what God is doing in Haiti and specifically at the HOH.
Well this update has been plenty long, if you are still here with me, thanks for persevering, and also for your prayers on our behalf.