Monday, June 26, 2017

Summer at last

Most everyone can relate to the sigh of relief that comes when summer is finally here.  School has ended for most of our kids and they are excited to begin their summer holidays.  And with them, a flurry of activity in our home...

Lala, Mike, Vava, Nannie and Kiky enjoyed an end of the year school field trip to a local beach...


 Esther gives Mits a ride in the hand-pedal tricycle
Finding ways to keep everyone busy and out of trouble becomes a full time job!  In this effort, Linda recruited our young men to start repairing things around the house that have been neglected over the past few months as everyone was deep into their studies.  

The benches and tables received a nice coat of paint and some tightening up in anticipation of our upcoming VBS Camp.
 The basketball court and play area got a fresh pour of cement...
And some holes in the roof and ceiling tiles were fixed.

A few of the kids are still studying, however, as the government exams for Grade 9 and Grade 13 are coming up.  Our grade 9 students:   Lovedine and Gachner will be writing exams the week of July 3.  And our Grade 13 students:   Sonson, Evelte, Herby, Reginald and Toodley, will be writing the week of July 10.  They'd really appreciate your prayers as they work study hard and take these often difficult exams.  

The next event on everyone's minds is the upcoming Spiritual Life Conference held by our parent Haitian organization each year.  Literally thousands of people descend on our little village to take part in Bible studies, times of worship and music and most notably for our kids a special children's program throughout the week.  Our kids love learning new songs and joining into some fun with other children from all over Haiti.  It is a highlight of their year and it happens in early July.

But the really exciting upcoming event is my (Jenny's) arrival during the 2nd week in July.  We have a great VBS day camp planned for this year -- the theme is Galatians 2:20, "...I no longer live ...but Christ who lives in me."  The Bible study books are made up and packed in my suitcases, the crafts and games are planned and supplies on their way in.  A team of 6 from Miami and 3 from Colorado are going to be joining us the 3rd week in July for the actual camp, and around 200 children and youth (80 from the HOH and the rest from our local area) are counting down the days for it to start.  

We'd love it if you prayed with us for safety in travel for each one heading down to Haiti.  Pray that all our supplies arrive safely as well.  Pray for health while we're down there and pray for a great time of praising, learning and community together.

In the midst of all the activity, we have a new arrival at the HOH.  7 month old Hendy arrived a couple of weeks ago.  He is quite malnourished and we were asked to give him a hand as his mom was also receiving treatment in a local hospital and wasn't able to care for him.  
Gotta love those big eyes!  It has taken a little while to get him feeling better and willing to smile... but here it is....
I can't wait to get there and hold him!

We hope you all have a lovely summer and want you to know we appreciate you all so much and all the different parts you play in making this ministry possible.  As you can see we have some busy weeks ahead -- thank you for praying.  Thank you to each of you who have come on board to help us financially, there is still room for more on our partnering team.   $10 a month goes a long way in enabling us to bring hope to the children and youth in our care.  If you are interested in helping us out with our financial needs, please let us know or see the previous post to see how to give financial gifts.