Friday, August 31, 2012

Long Summer Days

Well, we have another month of summer vacation before school starts.  I'm not sure what the government down here basis their decision of when to start school on, but I'm pretty sure it's not on how the parents feel.  Our the kids for that matter, some of ours have been heard discussing how happy they'll be for school to start. 

So just what have they been doing to keep busy... here are some pictures to give you an idea... some are here at the HOH.  Some are taken at the campground that is connected to our property.  When there isn't a camp going on, we are allowed to take the kids over there to play... we are thankful for the extra land for the kids to be able to run around on and explore.
Wetsen and his cache of almonds that he collected, this is a favorite pass time whenever we take the kids to Bethel Camp.
Berlanda breaking open her almonds with a rock.  Young and old take part in opening the almonds to find the tiny nut inside.
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If you are very lucky, you can find an almond that still has the soft juicy flesh on the outside.  Here Rose Carline is eating the outside of an almond before breaking it open to get to the inside.

Ivinsky & Daphno are perfecting their methods of kite flying. 
Lala and Nitchy decided to prepare a party, only no one had their birthday that day.  Well, that's not too big of a problem, there's always plenty of volunteers to be the Birthday Kid...

Nani (on the left) was the chosen one for this party.  What was served?  Almonds of course!

Ti Joseph plays a game of "I Spy" in the office.

Ronaldson adds to the noise level at the HOH with his toy drum.
Nani takes a break from the noise by eating popcorn and watching a movie with Tati Jen.
Gachner and Jameson battle it out on the soccer field.
Many thanks to all of your for your various ways of support.  Please continue to pray as we work to pay off the debt we have, and then for the monthly support needs we continue to have.  We know we have a great God, who is able to do more than we can imagine.  And we know we have a great group of supporters.  Many have helped out already.  Thanks to those of you who have, and pray for others to be able to do so as well.  Blessings to you all, and a great weekend to you wherever you are!

Monday, August 20, 2012

Blessings!!!

We share our needs with you often enough, so today we wanted you to share in our blessings.  
A shipment of food from our friends in Miami came in over the weekend. 
 Our food depot was empty... now it is full!  
Thank God with us, and enjoy the pictures of our kids enjoying the blessings....







Thank you to those of you who gave in some way or another to make sure we received this shipment.
God bless you for your generosity!!

Monday, August 06, 2012

Whew!!! We're back!!

Wow, well, that was quite the trip!  It took me 5 whole days of traveling to get back to the House of Hope from Canada this time.  I guess it was that short cut through the Dominican Republic -- we'll be thinking twice before we take that route again!  We had a great 6 weeks in Canada visiting friends, family and supporters.  Thank you everyone for the great hospitality.

Arriving back at the HOH was a joyous occasion as always.  It's always a great boost for the moral when you pull through the back gate and hear the chants of "Here's Tati Jen!!" getting louder and louder.  We got back to find the kids neck deep into summer holidays. Thankfully, our friends from England and the Hands of Hope charity were here to keep them busy during the days.  And the week before that it was our friends from Miami Shores who were here.  The kids sure have had a lot of fun spending time with these different teams, and with all the free time they have every day.
Berlanda, Ivinsky, Nitchy and Lala wearing their homemade necklaces and playing a very unique rendition of Chinese checkers



The Poultry coop is teaming with life again as the kids have rebuilt and restocked it.

Ronaldson adds some extra noise to the day with his drummer boy routine.

Real men wear Pink!!  Making masks was a fun way to spend an afternoon. 
Now we are looking forward to a visit from our friends from Centennial Church in Frisco, Tx.  Lord willing they'll be coming in later on this week, with lots of energy to entertain the kids over the weekend.  We are thankful for the blessing that these teams are to the kids. 

Before I left for Canada, we sat down and had a bit of restructuring at the HOH.  Linda and I have felt for a while that the older kids needed to take on more responsibility at the home, and I have felt a need to spend my time in some different areas of development.  Our goals are to work to more self-sufficiency, and at the same time responsibility and ownership among the kids, and not spoon fed from Linda and myself all the time.  With this in mind, we have done some shuffling around of positions and job responsibilities.  The most significant of this has been my stepping aside as Linda's assistants to make room for a team of three young men who have stepped up from the ranks of the HOH to become leaders under her direction.  These three young men are St. Germain, Jean Daniel, and Ernst.  My role will be much more one of coaching, and support/donor development.

Over the past number of years really, our support level has been in decline.  This partly has caused us to put our new project "Hope Village" on hold for the present time, as we work through these issues with the kids and young people at the HOH; and also as we attempt to rebuild our support base. If you have any way of helping us in this area, please feel free to contact us at houseofhope1@hotmail.com.  

Prayer requests:
  • Pray for the three new leaders who have stepped forward to try and make changes at the HOH.
  • As the kids are busy enjoying their summer vacation, we are starting to pray about God's provision for us to be able to pay for another school year for them.  Please pray with us for God's provision.  Share the news around to friends and family if they'd be interested in helping us provide our kids with an education.
  • We have lots of traveling planned over the next couple of weeks.  From teams traveling in to see us, us traveling around for various reasons, and the kids traveling back to their home communities to touch base as they do every summer.  Please pray for safety, wisdom and smart choices as we are all on the road (or in the air).
  • We have come into debt quite heavily with our local hospital.  They have, for a number of months now, covered our staff salaries as we were not able to.  We need to pay them back these funds as they are in desperate need of them now.  It looks hopeless from our human perspective, but we know we are not alone.  Please share the word around that the HOH needs a helping hand with our finances at this time.  And please pray and ask our Heavenly Father, who has all the resources we could ever need, to open his floodgates of blessing and meet this pressing need. 

Thank you so much for your partnership in this ministry.  We marvel everyday at the lives God has changed through this ministry. 
  • Ayi, the boy with Myosthenia Gravis is doing incredibly well.  He passed his grade at school, and is now even able to play the keyboard in our church services.
  • Remember Nani, the 1.8 lbs little 2 week old baby no one thought was going to live?  She'll be 6 in November.  She just graduated from Kindergarten and just lost her first tooth.
  • Carl Evens who has been working through University in Port-au-Prince will finish this year with a degree in Business Management.  He has a job working at a factory in PAP.
  • Jean Daniel, Ernst, and St. Germain all started here as sick young kids... now they have stepped up as leaders among their peers. 
The list could go on and on, we praise God for his work, and thank you for your part.  Blessings...