Monday, January 29, 2018

A New Week

Good Morning.  Thank you all so much for praying for the team at the HOH last week.  It took them a little bit to get Jamesley in for his surgery, but when they did everything went well.  He was doing much better and seemed to have stopped bleeding.  I waited a bit to write an update to make sure of what was going on with him, but just this morning he started to bleed again.  So, we are waiting for the doctor to come by and see what is up.  At least they were able to find blood for him last week, so we have that if it's needed.  We are so grateful for each one of you who prayed for us and send notes of encouragement.  Everyone appreciated it and we'd appreciate your continued prayers for Jamesley's health.

In spite of continued rainy and wet weather, the week seems to have started as a pretty typical week and the kids are off to school.  We do have a two other prayer requests to pass on:
  • Today a young lady from France is to arrive at the HOH.  She will be spending some time here helping Linda out in whatever way she can.  Pray for  good transition into life at the HOH for her.  Pray for her to be a help and a blessing, especially with some of our kids who need a bit of extra care.  
  • Linda is having some trouble with one of her eyes this past week.  The doctors have suggested she go see an eye doctor in Port-au-Prince, so she will be heading off there this weekend.  It is not easy for her to travel around Haiti, so pray for good travel, and for a solution to her eye issues.
Thank you so much for partnering with us in this special ministry. 

Tuesday, January 23, 2018

a little turn...

If you have a chance today, we'd appreciate prayer for Jamesley.  He was doing so good yesterday, but for those of you who maybe don't know, he is a hemophiliac and his status seems to change fairly quickly. 

This morning the doctors feel the need to go back into the surgery with him.  He has a pretty significant infection and started to bleed again in the night.  Please pray for wisdom for the doctors (Dr. Mozart particularly).  Pray that we are able to find blood for him at the Red Cross blood bank.  Pray for mental strength for Linda and the other staff and kids.  Pray for peace and comfort for Jamesley as these moments can be very scary for him. 

Thank you for standing with us!

Monday, January 22, 2018

So much better!

Greetings to you all!  We hope that you all had a very nice weekend.  We wanted to give you a small update today to let you know how things are going.

We appreciate your prayers very much for our sick ones these past few weeks. 

Moise is so much better -- look at his smile...
 Jamesley had his surgery and is doing much better as well...

We are so grateful for your words of encouragement, your prayers and support that enable us care for these precious lives.  Have a great week!

Monday, January 15, 2018

Thank you!

We appreciate your prayers for us so much.  Little Moise is doing better.  He came back to the House of Hope from the hospital, but is still in need of constant nursing care.  He is still having some trouble breathing, but overall is doing better and has not had seizures again.  
He slept most of the night...
School finally started today and life seems to be getting back to normal.  We appreciate your holding us up in prayer over this past tough week.   We wish you all joy and peace in the week ahead.

Saturday, January 13, 2018

Prayer needed for Moise

Good Morning.  We are asking you to please pray for out little baby Moise.  (If you read a few posts back you'll find out how he came to be with us).  He has been sick all week and has now been admitted to our partner hospital.  He's having trouble breathing and they have put him on oxygen, but this morning he has started to have seizures.  Unfortunately, we are unable to locate the medicine needed to stop the seizures and we have sent our boys off to the next town over to try and find it there. 
He has been with us just a few months, but is a beloved member of our large family.  As you can imagine it is difficult for everyone to see him like this.  Please pray for wisdom for the doctors to know how to help him.  Pray that we can find the medicines and supplies needed to help him.  Pray for Linda and all the others giving him care.  It's complicated having him down at the hospital and not in our home as people have to go down to be with him 24/7.  

At the same time, we are very thankful that we have a hospital and doctors so close by who are able to help us with our medical needs.  We are thankful that Handy the other baby not doing well is doing much better.  We are thankful for God's provisions that allow us to care for this precious life.  And we are thankful for you all who support us in so many ways -- especially right now with your prayers at this difficult time.

Tuesday, January 09, 2018

Happy New Year!

Greetings to all of you and a very Happy New Year as well!  We are sorry for the long pause in updating the blog, as you can imagine it's been a busy time for everyone.  Jenny just returned from her travels and things at the HOH are slowly getting back to normal.

The Christmas celebrations were a really special time for everyone.  The older HOH kids worked very hard along with St. Germain and Linda to host a Christmas Program for our local community.  On Christmas Eve over 150 of our neighbors came to hear songs, Bible verses and skits celebrating the Greatest gift of all -- Jesus.  
Here is Linda and some of the kids on the day of the program:

Then, on Christmas Day they had a special meal all together along with our staff members.  
Here is the staff table:
 
And some of the kid's tables:
 
The meal was finished with a special treat of homemade cake!

The kids waited patiently through the day as the meal was prepared, then eaten.  But the main event was still to come -- the presents -- sent to us from Grace Baptist Church in York, PA with the help of our friends in Miami and the Miami Shores Presbyterian Church.  It is such a blessing to have so many people work together to make sure this was a special time for the House of Hope.
Here are a few pictures of the joy these gifts brought to the kids:
 
 
 
 
 
Thank you to everyone who made it possible for our kids to have a nice Christmas and also have the chance to share the Best News Ever with those in our local community.  All of it is important: your prayers, financial donations, participation in getting us supplies and food, as well as sending gifts and clothing.  Without your giving and help, the work at the HOH would not be possible.  Thank you!

Now we are into the new year and it has been a tough start to 2018 in our part of Haiti.  It rained through the entire past weekend and many homes were flooded, some destroyed and lives lost.  Some of our own staff members lost their belongings as their homes flooded out.  The start of school had to be cancelled, but they hope to start again tomorrow.  As you can imagine this has been a tough weekend for many around us.  Please pray for us as we seek ways to help those in need, especially our staff members and their families.  If you'd like to help with these needs, please let us know.

We do have another couple of prayer requests:

  • First would be for health for several at the HOH who are not feeling well, including Linda -- who has been working very hard these past couple of weeks and now feels a bit worn down and under the weather.  Also having a tough time are our babies, Moise and Handy.  Both of them have diarrhea and are quite dehydrated -- they are receiving hydration solutions and we hope that they will recover soon.  
  • One last person on our sick list is Jamesley, our young man who struggles with Hemophilia.  He's been going through a tough time lately, and is going to need surgery this coming week.  Please pray for him and the doctors.
  • Then, we'd ask you to pray for a solution to the water shortage.  I know that might sound strange given that they've had non-stop rain for the past 4 days.  But the flooding has messed up the water pipes, what water they do get through is so muddy you can't use it and the pump on our campus isn't working to get us water from the well.  So, as you can imagine -- it's a bit frustrating and complicated caring for our large family with limited muddy water and needing to find and purchase water for them to drink.  
Anyone wanting to help financially with the needs of caring for the babies, children and young people at the HOH can send donations to either Extreme Response (www.extremeresponse.org) or Crossworld (www.crossworld.org).  Both these organizations give tax-deductible receipts and pass on your gifts to us.  These gifts enable us to provide hope in many forms to the HOH -- including medical expenses, food and nutrition, Eductation, love, care and spiritual hope.  Thank you for your help in this way.