Friday, May 22, 2009

Back at the HOH

I always hate leaving the HOH for an extended period of time, but there is nothing quite as pleasant as returning after being gone for a few weeks. Often I can hear the cheers coming from quite a distance as we honk the horn on the car announcing my arrival (I'm usually not the driver!). It does indeed make me feel special.

Then comes the kisses...everyone has to greet me, welcoming me home, there are hugs from the younger ones, and in the case of Micah, his hug lasted a full 10 minutes as he wouldn't let go until he finally fell asleep in my arms! He looked quite different as he has had his curly locks cut off, and now is sporting a bald head, but as you can see, he's still cute!

I was gone for 4 weeks. The first of which was some time spent in Port-au-Prince with the other CrossWorld Haiti missionaries at our annual retreat. We had a good time visiting with each other, and really enjoyed having our good friends Walt & Dotty Baker there with us. Walt's sharing from God's Word was just what I needed, and it was a huge encouragement to me.

The other 3 weeks I was in TX, at my sister's house. They were full weeks of buying shoes and school supplies to ship down to Haiti, visiting friends and supporters, and also getting a bit of rest. Unfortunately, the getting rest bit was too short, so I got back to Haiti feeling pretty exhausted, and have spent some time the past couple of days trying to catch up on some sleep!
So the next few days will be filled with trying to catch up on things that didn't get done in my absence, and trying to catch up on all the news of things that did take place while I was gone.

School is almost over for the year, and everyone is studying hard for final exams. We have 13 students who will be writing various government level exams this year, and we'd appreciate your prayers for them as they'll be writing them during the last weeks of June and beginning of July. Here's a list of those writing the exams:
  • Grade 6: Joseph, Stevenson, Dieujuste, Donald, and Kendrick
  • Grade 9: Mikerlange, Mirlène, St. Germain and Rosnel
  • Grade 12: Ricardo, Dada, TiBen
  • Grade 13: Caleb
Thank you for your prayers. Pray that they'd be diligent to study, that they'd be in good health to write the exams, and that they'd be examples to the other students as they write their exams.

The Saturday boy's club continues to meet, but this Saturday will be the last as everyone is preparing for exams and then summer vacation is here. We do have plans to do some things with these boys during the summer as well, to keep up our connection with them. Continue to pray for them to put into practice the things they are learning, and for those who do not yet know Jesus as their Savior, that they'd fully understand the Gospel message, and come to faith in Christ.

There are several things going on at the HOH that we aren't able to share with you, but still desperately need your prayers. Hopefully in the next month or so we'll be able to share everything with you, but in the meantime, we'd appreciate your prayers for wisdom, a Godly attitude and the fruits of the Spirit as we deal with some difficult situations. Thank God with us that He is Faithful, and totally in control, and we can count on Him for everything we need.

We appreciate your partnership in this ministry very much...God bless, and hopefully the next update won't be as long in coming as this one has been!