Wednesday, May 07, 2014

Giving and Receiving

Almost everyone likes a holiday from school and our kids are no different.  This year they seem to have had a lot of them, and the latest was May 1.  Usually, we at the HOH have to plan and prepare for a day with all the kids at home.  It's not bad; actually it's usually a good fun day, but it does take some extra energy to keep everyone occupied. 

This past week though was a different kind of holiday for a group of the kids from the HOH.  Our friend Brother David runs a "Bible Club" every Friday afternoon for the children in our community.  Our kids participate in this club in various ways.  Most of the younger ones attend the club.  Some of the older ones help David out.  On this past school vacation they planned a day long hike and picnic in the mountains around our town. 

 Brother David with some of the hiking group

Excitement ran high as our kids prepared for the hike for days.  Choosing out just the right clothes and shoes and hats...
  Can't remember where these straw hats came from, but someone sent them to us many years ago, and they sure have come in handy!

The day of the hike, the HOH was a buzz of activity as our older kids prepared the meal for the kids ahead of time.
 the HOH helpers

Then it was up the mountain...
A line of kids walking two by two for as far as the eye could see!

The entire group at their destination

It was a very fun day, and the efforts of David and team were greatly appreciated by the HOH staff.    We love our own HOH kids being able to be part of community events like this, on both the giving and receiving ends!

We appreciate so much the part each of you plays in giving to the HOH.  Here are some prayer requests we'd love to have you pray with us:
  • The annual government school exams are fast approaching.  Our students are hard at work preparing for these very difficult exams.  Pray for:  Desimène, Magloire, John Wisly, Rodlin, Junior, Terrence, Mikerlange, Dieuny, Rosnel, Jumalia, and Linda.  Also pray for these students who did not pass last year and will try again this year:  Saingermain, Jn Daniel,  & Manno.  Pray for strength and health as they study long hard hours.  Pray that they'd be able to capture the material they need to learn.  Pray that they would be able to do this all in a way that brings glory to God.
  • One of the High Schools where our kids attend has not had classes for most of the year.  The teachers are on strike, and the students have ended up missing most of the year of school.  Thankfully, those who are in government exam years can study at our home with students from other schools and try to keep up on the material, but as you can imagine it is difficult for them.  Pray that this situation would get resolved in the months ahead of the exam so they can be better prepared.
  • Junior is having trouble locating all the correct paperwork he needs in order to write the exam this year.  All of his paperwork was lost during the earthquake in 2010.  He has worked diligently on getting this resolved, but so far it isn't and we could use your prayers as he works through this.  As I've mentioned before, paperwork in Haiti can be a challenge!
  • Continue to pray for Linda and our group of young leaders.  Pray for diligence in work, for patience in dealing with the issues that come up every day, for unity amongst themselves, for creative ideas in running the HOH and for a total reliance on Jesus for their strength every day.
  • Pray for me (Jenny) as I am preparing a special VBS week for when I return to Haiti in July.  Its a lot of work putting together materials, songs etc.  Pray for clarity of thought, wisdom in dealing with special topics and putting all the logistics together; and for the Holy Spirit to already be preparing hearts as the time arrives.  We are looking forward to a fun time together, but also one of learning and growth.
  • Pray for continued increase in our monthly support.  We still have trouble being able to pay our staff, and are thankful for our partnering hospital who are still helping us out in this area.  We need to pay them back for this; pray that we'd be able to both bring down this debt and get in enough for our needs each month.
That's quite a list!!  Thanks so much for helping us out in this way!  If you are interested in helping out in any other way, please just contact us.

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