Saturday, March 25, 2017

Things to Pray about

Life can be uncertain at times and it's always nice to have a team of partners to share things with and know you will pray with us about them.  It is also a comfort to know that even though we have no idea how each of these issues are going to work out in the end; we know we can trust our Father to walk with us and no matter the outcome, work things out for His glory.   So, we want to share a few things we've been dealing with and ask you to pray with us about them.  

  • The Fletcher family who have been part of the larger HOH family for years had an unexpected death in their family.  Jonathan had come to the HOH several times and left a very impressionable mark on all of us.  He passed away suddenly, leaving behind a wife and small daughter.  They could really use your prayers during this difficult time.  Pray also for our kids, Dieujuste and Desimène who are especially close to the Fletcher family and took this news hard.

  • Then comes our 3 girls with medical issues... 
    • Lyse has taken another turn for the worse and need another transfusion of blood.  Pray that they can locate that for her and find veins to be able to give it to here.  
    • Dorothy continues to remain the same with no noticeable improvement.  At least she isn't worse, so please continue to pray for her.
    • Oliana, our young lady with the numerous health issue, diabetes being the most difficult is really in rough shape again.  This morning they woke up to her being completely delirious and not knowing who she was or where she was.  Her blood sugar levels are just on a roller coaster up and down and they are having difficulty stabilizing them.  She has been with us a long time and is such a huge part of our family.  Please pray for wisdom for the doctors, courage and strength for all those who are caring for Oliana, especially Linda (as many of you might be able to empathize, it is so difficult to feel so helpless and unable to help someone who means so much to you), and pray for healing for Oliana.
  • Our last challenge of the week is that our parent Haitian organization has encountered some issues with their US bank.  They are working very hard to get it all sorted out but in the meantime are not able to get us any funds through them.  We had already waited almost a month to receive the funds they sent us and now we found out we can't access them.  As you might be able to imagine, this puts us in a very tough spot and has caused quite a bit of stress this week.  We are so thankful that we received a shipment of dry food this past week, so we are still able to feed the kids, but we are going to need some help to get through this challenge until those funds can flow again.  We are also thankful that we have more than one method of receiving funds.  While most of our funds come through the Haitian organization, we do have another partnering organization that can receive funds for us and get them to us in a much less complicated method.  We'd ask you to pray for 2 things:
    • Pray that the Haitian organization can work out this bank issue and get our funds flowing again.
    • Pray that God would provide for our immediate financial needs through other gifts. (if anyone wants to help us out with this need, they can donate through Extreme Response International either online at www.extremeresponse.org or by sending a check to one of their offices:  PO Box 345, Snellville, GA  30078-0345; or PO Box 1013, Simcoe, ON  N3Y 5B3  Canada).
Thank you so much for caring about us and our needs.  Thank you for praying for us and helping us face our challenges.  Thank you for loving our kids and holding up their needs before our loving Father.

Monday, March 13, 2017

Ups and Downs...

We were full of good news in our last update.  But you have to be ready in our line of ministry for the ups and downs.  This past couple of weeks has not been as good for our two girls that we've been tracking with you all.  

Dorothy has not made any more progress ahead.  She continues to receive her food and meds through the tube and cannot spend much time out of bed.  They doctors continue to be stumped and unsure of their diagnosis.  But we are doing everything we can for her at the moment.  Please continue to pray for her physical, emotional and spiritual healing.

Lyse had a rough couple of weeks as well.  Her blood count dropped significantly and the local blood bank was out of blood for over a week.  As you can imagine, her parents were incredibly frustrated and discouraged as they waited for blood to become available.  Thankfully they found some and she has received it now.  Please continue to pray for all of them.

Meanwhile, we have received a few newcomers to our home these past couple of weeks.  Brothers, Markens (3) and Marc Edner (2), came to the HOH with malnutrition. 

Another little girl, Rose Naisha (20 months) came with malnutrition as well.  

These children will be at the HOH at least a couple of months as we feed and care for them and also find out what is going on with their family situation.  Often, with learning some of the issues going on in the family home and then with some education for the moms or other key family members; these children are able to return home once they are healthy again.  

As for the rest of the HOH...
  • Our students are facing mid-term exams and so are studying and feeling a bit stressed.  They'd really appreciate your prayers for them.   
  • Our vehicle is broken down.  It is being fixed, but it is taking a lot longer than originally thought.  It is a vital part of our work and not having it to rely on is tough on Linda and the young people who help her.  You could pray that it gets back up and running again soon.
  • While we've significantly reduced our debt to the hospital, it is not completely gone yet.  Our staff are really due a raise, but we are not allowed to raise the salaries until our bill is at zero.  Please continue to pray that we would receive more funds and be able to pay this off -- then that we would get in enough to give our staff a much needed and very  much overdue raise.
  • Jenny will be making a trip to the North Eastern US to visit some supporting churches, friends, family and supporters.  She hopes to encourage our current supporters and also pick up some new ones as she travels.  She will be in the Philadelphia area off and on from April 22 to May 13. She'll be in White River Junction, VT at Valley Bible Church for the weekend of April 28-30.  Then she'll be in the Lancaster, PA area from May 4 - 10.   Sunday, May 7th she'll be at Grace Baptist Church in York, PA.  If you are in or around those areas and would like to schedule a time to get together with her -- just let her know.  If you want to come to one of the church services while she's there -- you are most welcome.  She hopes to see as many of you as she can!  For those who aren't in the area, please pray for safety and health as she travels.
We are so thankful for each of you who plays such an important part in this ministry.  This past month here are some of the blessings we've also received:
  • A church sent us some tubs of much needed clothing and medical supplies -- especially insulin syringes that we've had trouble getting in our area of Haiti.
  • A friend in Haiti has been working hard to help us get our car fixed.  A supporter raised funds to help us cover the costs of fixing it.
  • A church donated funds to cover food costs and shipping this month.  The food started arriving over the weekend as the boat was being unloaded.  Food shipments are always a huge help to Linda.  A friend in Miami always helps us purchase it and ship it over -- couldn't do this without him.
  • Another church sent over a bunch of sheets and towels -- they haven't been unloaded off the boat yet, but the excitement is high for those -- everyday they wait for those drums to get offloaded!
  • Many of you have supported us either with finances, encouragement or prayers -- We are so blessed by you all.  Thank you!