THE EAGLE HAS LANDED

Wow, what a day it was (last Saturday). We knew the boys (Remy and Daniel) had left Port au Prince with the Eagle, but we were not sure if there would be problems on the road or not. The turmoil in the country had calmed down a bit, but there were still "hot spots" in many places. So, we simply prayed the fellows would not have any problems. They left Port at about 7 AM. That 150 trip takes about 5 to 6 hours to complete. Well, by 1 PM, I was trying to call them and had no response to the call. That could mean they were in a "non cell" area, or just about anything. I was finally able to reach them about 2:45 and they said, "We'll be there in 15 minutes." So, the gals on the team and I stood out in the yard and waited. Below is our first view of "The Eagle".Then, two hours later, Don came home from the work site and saw his truck for the first time. Yes, that is a HUGE smile on his face. Of course, being a man, he had to check it all out, even under the truck. Today is Wednesday and he is ready to go out and deliver the rest of the food we have here. Sunday, the team traveled to church in the new truck, and they felt honored that Don let them in it. We have had rain since right after the plane yesterday, so the roads are pretty bad. But Don will be going to the easier to reach places today. He will be mounting the bumper from the Dove on the Eagle when he has the time. And he will be making a new cage for it, too. It's all pretty exciting.

Our other news, which you have pictures of from before, is what this last team accomplished. They finished that huge roof. It was great to be in church Sunday and see all the happy faces as people sat and looked at the wonderful roof they were under. It was a HUGE undertaking and they accomplished it all. What an awesome testimony to the Lord. The Americans and the Haitians worked so well together, even with the language barrier. So, we are praising the Lord for all He did through this team!! After 3 years of just having four walls, the church now has a fantastic roof!!!This is a short post, for sure, but we wanted to share the wonderful news with you all. Have a super, wonderful, Jesus filled day!!! And Thank the Lord with us for the Eagle. And pray with us that the finances come in to cover that cost!!! A letter will be going out very soon to let everyone know how they can help with this.

In His Name, Love, and Service,
Karen (and Don, too)

Praise and turmoil

Hello from problem riddled Haiti!!

So many things have come up and we were anxious to share them with you. So, I will start at the top and share all of our news.

I did share with you that our home church is going to raise the money for a new truck for Don. Well, they are still going to raise the money, but they (with the help of someone else) took a step of faith and sent the money ahead. They knew the desperate situation with the Dove and knew it was dangerous to haul teams in it. We praise God for that. The money arrived and our "kids" in Port, went to the dealer and purchased the new "EAGLE". I had hoped that by this time, I could write "The Eagle Has Landed", but that is not the case.

The day Remy, Daniel and Vero were going to bring the Eagle home, Haiti erupted in chaos. Our last week has been a bit unsettled with the situation here. We had one team leave and another arrive during this time.

Let me tell you about the teams, first. The first one stayed here and did a tremendous amount of repairs on the dorm and surrounding buildings. It was one thing after another and they accomplished so much. We had thought it would take the whole time to repair the two roofs they set out to do. Those were accomplished the first two days!! We are so thankful for all the work they did. It's amazing to think of what was done. A great team!!! The following pictures show just two of the mountains of work accomplished.This is the roof on the containers. By mid day the first full day.
The security door on the dorm was a needed item, too. It's all welded in place and ready to go.

And then our present team came in... wow, I think we have had two of the hardest working teams back to back. This group came in on Tuesday and went right out to the work site. They are putting a huge roof on a church. The first day they accomplished so much, it was unbelievable. Yesterday, their first full day on the job they already had four of the rafters up, and another on the ground ready to go up. This church will have 21 rafters, and I believe they will get the roof done, with no problem. The team has become one, in the fact that everyone has their job and it's like a well oiled machine. Things are flowing so smoothly. Our constant prayer is that the turmoil in the country will not stop them from completing the whole job. This is a great team and we love having them here.
Here they are, working like a well oiled machine!And this was putting up the rafters yesterday (Wednesday, April 9th).

Today we had to make a very difficult decision. We had to write and cancel our next team. Things seem to be escalating here and we do not want to put them in danger. We have our present team on alert, and they realize that if things become tense, they cannot go to the job site. So, we are asking for a LOT OF PRAYER for Haiti, it's people and the turmoil here.

Now, back to the Eagle. The morning the kids were to leave and didn't, they left the truck at the dealers. They have no place to put it and felt it was safer there. After a couple days of burning tires, businesses ransacked and total chaos in Port, they let us know what was going on. The dealer where the truck is sitting was broken into. They smashed windows in the building and there was major vandalism. But the truck was not touched. Praise the Lord! Vero flew home yesterday because she had to get back to work, but Daniel and Remy are still waiting to get the Eagle home to us. Keep them in prayer.

Again, we ask for prayer.... for the country of Haiti, for the people of Haiti, for out team's safety, and for the arrival of the Eagle!!! Until next time, Keep your eyes and hearts focused on Jesus, our Lord and Savior!!!