Friday, March 30, 2007

2 Years old!!!

It's hard to believe it's already 2 years since we were handed that little 4 pound bundle of a very sick 10 day old baby girl. I remember thinking when we received Lala that day that there was no way this little one was going to pull through...and oh how glad I am that I was wrong. Now two years later we couldn't imagine life with out this beautiful little girl. She brings a smile to our lips, and joy to our hearts every day. We thank God for bringing her here, and allowing us to be His hands of hope extended to this precious child.

The rain continues to fall here in our area of Haiti. Now at least the days have a few moments of sun every now and then, but the rain and clouds persist. We are thankful that whenever our teams needed to travel they were able to inspite of the soggy conditions of the runway.

Thank you so much for your prayers on our behalf. I praise the Lord that I was able to finish translating and preparing the first 6 lessons of the Peacemaker's Study. We start the seminar with our kids and young people tomorrow afternoon. Please pray that God would work in all of our hearts as we learn to handle conflict in a way that pleases the Lord. Pray for strength and health for me as I teach these lessons all through this next week.

Some other answers to prayer include: Junior is doing much better, as is Julienne. Our students are finished with their exams, they are enjoying some time off from school.

Please continue to pray for Wilvens and another new child, Richoudly. Richoudly doesn't want to drink milk or take his medication, it is difficult coming up with ways to get it down him, and can be exhausting. Pray for our nurses especially as this falls in their territory to get him to drink as much as they can.

Thanks again for your prayers and support, we appreciate it very much. Have a great weekend, and coming week. With the seminar, I'm not sure when I'll get to write again, but thanks for keeping us in your prayers. God bless!


Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Rain and more rain...

Greetings from a very soggy La Pointe. I am somewhat disappointed about all this rain. They finally started to fix the road between La Pointe and our nearest town, Port-de-Paix, it was looking really nice, I could actually get to 30 mph in some places! (not a normal experience for those of you who have never driven on our road). And then the rain came, and came and came and is still coming. It's been days now. I'm pretty sure the road is no longer so nice. But I also know the rain is important to so many people in the area who have gardens, so I won't complain! There are so many people in other parts of Haiti who would do anything to have this rain.

As you can imagine things were very busy last week with the young people from Liberty University here. But it was a great week. They spent a lot of time teaching our young people a lot of truths from God's Word, I'm sure everyone here learned something new, and it was a really great time of growth. One of the sessions they talked with our girls about inner beauty, and then gave our girls make overs, you can see them in action in the picture here.

We thank God for getting the team off in time in spite of having airplane complications here in Port-de-Paix the morning they were to leave. Then that afternoon the dental team from Seattle, and the dental students from Las Vegas arrived. They have been working hard in the dental office. Unfortunately the rain has kept a lot of people away, but in a way it's been good because they've been able to give all of the kids at the HOH a good check up.

  • The HOH students have all started exams, so I'm sure they'd appreciate your prayers.
  • I am almost finished the 1st 6 lessons of the Peacemakers. Please continue to pray as I prepare these lessons that God would prepare the hearts of the 47 young people who will be participating in the seminar on March 31-April 7th.
  • I am gearing up for a trip to the US in May/June. This year I'll be heading West after spending a week in Corsicana, I'll then head to Seattle, then go North into Canada to Victoria, then over to Banff, Calgary, and Lacombe. Please pray as I am in the planning stage that I'd be able to work out all the logistics.
  • Having our own nurses seems to really be working out great. Continue to pray as they adjust to working at the HOH. Yesterday we had a little one pass away, that was difficult for them all.
  • Please continue to pray for Julienne, she got an infection this week, and isn't doing too well. Pray for her healing. Pray also for two new boys Wilvens and David, who are very malnourished.
As always, we appreciate your prayers very much. And thanks for your patience in waiting to have the blog updated

Monday, March 05, 2007

Time just flies!!!

Ok, can someone tell me where the month of February went? I was just sitting here telling you of my upcoming trip to Miami, and here we are into March already. Here are some of the highlights of things that happened since I last wrote:

I did indeed go to Miami, and had a very busy but great weekend with our friends at Miami Shores Presbyterian Church. I was also able to do a bit of shopping and get some much needed supplies that you can't mail, and then our friends took them to the boat in Miami to bring them into Haiti for us.

The team from East Stroudsburg, PA did come down, and sure did a lot of work both for us and for the hospital. We enjoyed seeing those who have been down many times over the past years, and also the chance to meet a new member of the team as well. I personally didn't get to spend a lot of time with the team as I was in Miami, but Linda and the kids did and enjoyed having them here.

The day before I left for Miami Linda came down with Malaria, so she was sick most of the time I was gone. In spite of being ill, she was still able to help the Veterinarian run a clinic for the animals in the local area...mostly dogs. The day after I returned Linda left to go to Cap Haitian and visit her family. She took along a number of the older kids here who were on vacation from school as well. They had a great time, but were really missed here at the HOH by those of us holding down the fort.

The team from PA left and another smaller group from PA came through for a few days. Jeb Bland and his wife and a friend stopped by. We always enjoy having them stop by, as they have developed some really close relationships with some of our young people. Jeb looked over out building project, and helped Ronel decide what was the next step for getting the building under way again.

Ciliana spent the weeks eating, sleeping and growing, she is up to 6.5 pounds, and actually feels big to those of us who remember her being under 2 pounds. She is sleeping better during the nights, much to our joy, and is really starting to recognize people and has a pleasant and happy spirit about her most of the time. She is such a joy to us all.

Our own nurses started working on March 1st. So far they are doing a great job, and it is a relief for Linda and I to have someone here to look after our children's health needs 24/7.

We are looking forward to a team of young ladies coming from Liberty University this week. They are coming to do seminars and lessons with our young ladies on "Knowing your True Identity in Christ". We are looking forward to a very fun week of trading cultures, and learning God's Word together as these young ladies interact with each other. Please pray for their safety in travel, and for health as they spend just over a week with us.

I am excited to also have a long time friend from College come to spend the week with us as well. Amy and I were in our freshman year at Pillsbury Baptist Bible College together before we both went our separate way. We have always kept in touch however, and I'm so excited to welcome her to Haiti and enable her to see the ministry down here.
Here are some prayer requests for you all to continue to pray for us during this coming week:
  • I am still working on translating and preparing the first 6 lessons of the Young Peacemakers Bible Study to teach our children and young people this coming Easter break. It is a lot of work as you can imagine, but I'm very excited about the chance to teach these precious truths to our young people. Please pray that I would find the time I need in between all the activities of the teams coming, and the other administrative needs of the HOH, to finish the first half of this project in time. Pray also that the Holy Spirit would already be preparing the hearts of everyone here for the things they are going to learn, and that the lessons throughout the first week of April would bring forth much fruit in the lives of our young people.
  • Pray for safety and health for our visitors and for us over the next couple of very busy weeks.
  • Pray for the dental team from the University of Nevada Las Vegas that will be coming down again this year with some dentists from the Seattle area, that God would prepare the way for their trip. Pray that those who need to be here for both dental care and to hear the Good News of the Gospel would hear about the coming dental clinic, and be able to make it here for that week. Pray for clear chances to share the Gospel during this week, and that God would be glorified through the use of His servants with skills in the dentistry area.
  • Pray for several newcomers to the HOH, including Julienne, pictured above. She has only been here a couple of days, and isn't to the smiling stage yet, but she's getting closer every day, and is really starting to look healthier. Pray for her father who was also very sick when he brought her here last week, her mother just passed away about 3 weeks ago.
  • Pray for our nurses as they get used to their position here. Pray that they would build good relationships with each other, among the kids, and with our other staff. Pray for wisdom as the provide health care for our children. Pray that they would also have the chance to grow in their spiritual walk as they spend time here at the HOH.
  • Pray for all of our spiritual growth, that we'd seek to be more like Christ each day, and reflect Him in our lives.
  • Praise God for his faithful provision for our financial needs and pray that He'd continue to provide all we need.
We hope you have a great week! Thank you for your support and prayers.+