Praise and Glory to God!!!
We are a bit late with Thanksgiving greetings, but want to combine them with our Christmas greetings. We have so much to be thankful for this last year. Yes, there have been the "downs" and "hard times", but don't we all face those every year? And hasn't God brought us through to rejoice another day? We've had hurricanes, floods, and other disasters, we've had medical problems, emotional problems, but we can still rejoice in the fact that God is God, and He is above all. In 1 Thess. 5: 18, it says, "give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." It does NOT say, FOR all things... it says IN all things. So, in circumstances like the hurricanes, we pray, "God, make something come of this where YOU receive the glory." And we can rejoice, because so many people have come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, THROUGH THE HURRICANES. What satan meant for evil, God allowed for GOOD. Our faith was lifted so much by the response to the request for help for those who suffered. Just ONE of the stories where help was given is in the picture attached here. This is Cequer and his mom, after they got the walls up.
Their house was standing after the hurricanes...until someone touched the wall, and it fell in. It was a stick and mud house and this man and woman had taken in their grand kids and then lost everything. We were able to help one of seven of their children (Cequer) rebuild them a home, of cement blocks. All because of the caring hearts of so many of you. A smile is worth a thousand words...it brought tears to my eyes to see her and her son after he started working on the house. She has a home and can care for her grandchildren. These two photos are from just before the final walls fell down, to where they are now. They have a roof to put on and doors and windows to put in. The right half is the one being built. The one on the left is the family that took them in. The roof is part of what we helped with.
Praise God for the help sent to them. And this story is repeated several times. Add to that, the amount of people we were able to help with food. Wow, the praises that went up when a family could feed their kids. These are just a few of the many, many praises we have had.
Now we add to that, those of you who have realized that the situation for the people here is going to take a long time before they are anywhere near self-sufficient again. We praise God for your continued help to help those in need. Our God is great, but the people He has used are also high up on that list for us. The needs continue, and God supplies, through you...and we are humbled by it all.
We have had some fantastic teams who have accomplished so much in so many areas, especially those who helped bag and fill so many buckets of food to deliver. I wish I could name them all, but we don't have the paper for that. Working in clinics, doing work in evangelism, working on churches, schools, homes, and the dorm, too!! The list goes on and on. And aside from the work they did, they uplifted our spirits a lot. We were blessed, very blessed, and so thankful.
We still have our prayer requests, I think everyone does. So we will share them. And we will ask you to rejoice with us as God answers them, too.
- For the help to continue for these hurting people and their situations here.
- For health and strength for both of us.
- For our son and daughter-in-law as they continue this long drawn out process of adoption. That God would intervene and let their new son come home to them.
- For all of our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, that the Lord would make Himself a constant presence in their lives.
- For Karen's brother as he undergoes chemo therapy for colon cancer.
- For the government of Haiti, that the Lord would put His Hand on it, and change hearts and lives for Him, from the president on down.
- For the president elect of the US, that God would be a guidance and a presence in all decisions made.
- For this coming year...that the world would start to see the mighty works of the Lord in new and miraculous ways.
And through it ALL, that God receives the glory and praise!!!
As we leave 2008 and enter 2009...we pray that the Lord will become a vital part of many things, not only in the US, or in Haiti, but in the world. Pray with us for revival to start and build mightily. Starting in hearts and progressing to governments. The time is short and we are praying for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit in an awesome way.
"May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word." 2 Thess. 2: 16,17.
Our special praise and thanks go to:
- Missionary Flights, Int'l. for their unending service and help to all missionaries in Haiti, the Dominican and the Caribbean.
- Stan & Gloria Curtis for their team leadership, containers, unending encouragement and love and all the work they do 24/7 for Haiti.
- Our families for allowing us to follow the Lord and do what He has called us to do.
God bless and have a wonderful Christ centered Christmas!!
Hello again,
Well, I'm back in Haiti. I'd send pictures, but it's hard to take them under water. I came in on Tuesday and from that time on we have had RAIN...BIG TIME. It stopped long enough yesterday (Thursday) for us to unload the plane and get things to the missionaries. God really does have good timing. All the water is simply standing on the ground. It has no where to drain. And this isn't light rains, it's been pretty heavy and constant. Oh, and that brings cold here. Maybe not like you experience it, but for us, it's COLD. In the mid to upper 60's is like below zero other places. The damp makes it so much worse for the Haitians. I'm concerned we will be facing a lot more medical bills coming our way from people who can't pay them. The cold and rains bring on a lot of sickness, especially for those who have a poor diet to begin with and have no resistance to things like a simple cold. The type of weather we are having will cause many deaths, too. So, please, not only pray for the rains to end, but for the people to be protected from the effects of it.
I went stateside for a week to get some work on my back. Doc did a great job and helped a lot. But old age seems to be taking over...well, I know I'm not THAT old, but it's creeping up fast. Now we are down to learning to live with some of the problems, and thankful that others problems can be helped. I just have to learn to adjust to doing things a bit differently.
We are STILL praying and praying for our son and daughter-in-law's adoption. It makes me frustrated and angry and at times even furious that they have to fight so hard and can't seem to make any progress in this mess. And that is just me...I can't imagine how they feel, waiting to bring their son home and hitting so many roadblocks. And our new grandson is only one of many, many who have to wait on the whim of someone in government to sign papers. There are so many who have homes waiting, and families who love them waiting, and here they sit, in orphanages that are overcrowded and understaffed, while some bureaucrat pompously takes his time to sign papers. Well, that is my frustration talking. I know the Lord knows all about it and we have to trust Him to make these things work out. But it's so hard not to say, WHY???? Will you pray with us? Not only for the adoption to move along and get to the point of completion, but for peace, and joy, for all involved. It's been a hard, hard time for everyone. We need the Lord to move in hearts in government, and bring peace to those who WAIT!
Abbie continues to be a joy for us. She is definitely 3 going on 13. Her memory, here skills and her actions far exceed her 3 years of age. She is smart, without a doubt, but she is also wise beyond her years. She knows just how to work into every one's heart and soul. She loves singing about the Lord and doing her memory verses. Her mommy is doing a great job of working with her when she is not working. She is continually curious about life in general. A simple statement like, I KNOW God made that orange, but how did YOU get it? Or, God even loves the bad men, doesn't He? I keep thinking of the verse in Matthew 18:3..."And he said; "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." When I see Abbie and her insights and love for everyone, I think of that verse. She is not torn by circumstance, by prejudice, by hurt...she is simply following Jesus' lead. Oh that we could all be that way. And let Isaiah 11:6b become a part of our thinking..."...and a little child will lead them." Wow...Abbie sure does lead many.
This was supposed to be just a short "catch-up" note, but it sure didn't stay short. Sorry for my ramblings. I think I need to adopt our daughter-in-laws way of including praise items in my blog. She really is an encouragement to me, too. So, I'll start by saying, I am so thankful for the woman our son married. Through her blog, she has helped me to praise God, even in difficult times. And I'm very thankful for the wonderful chiropractor who has kept me moving (in many ways) in the right direction. And for MFI for all they do for so many, not just us. And mostly for our Lord, who cared enough to give His all that we might live and breathe and have our being!!! (I also love Christians songs that teach us God's ways and His word).
Until next time, God bless and keep your eyes on Him!!
We have another great team working here. First they did a fantastic job of putting up a roof in a day and a half. Actually only 8 hours of work to complete it. Then they turned to working at the dorm. Believe me, we are really getting "up town" with the dorm now. Our watchman's room (which he only used for storage), is now holding our chest freezer, a washing machine and it has a light in it, too. It's become a great storage place for water bottles, pop bottles and all the cleaning supplies. They also put a ceiling in it. To top off that, they added hot water for showers...this is something a LOT of teams will enjoy. And the gals did some awesome work of arranging things there at the dorm, painting the closets, and a whole lot more. Some of the fellows and gals painted the last two outside walls of the dorm. They all did an afternoon of evangelizing. And there is so much more, but my mind in on hold right now. You get the idea...they are awesome. 
We've had two great weeks of people, for sure. And through all of this I wasn't a lot of help. I came down with something. Doc has me on meds, said it might be close to pneumonia. So, I'm laying low.This team leaves on Tuesday, and I'm going out with them to get some work done on these old bones. I should be back and going strong after a few adjustments. While I am in Florida, MFI is having their banquet. I'll get to go to that this year.
On Wednesday, November 12, we will be celebrating our 25th anniversary in Haiti. At times it doesn't seem we've been here that long, at others, it seems longer. But we are where the Lord put us and we will celebrate in His leading.
We ask that you keep our son and daughter-in-law in prayer. The adoption is STILL not moving. Not really sure what the hold up is, but we are praying that somehow, someway, something starts to work out right for this whole thing.
We've had a lot of rain again. More than we need. And it has kept Don from getting out to some of the more remote places he wants to take food. It's been a blessing to hear how the help we have given to those in Gonaives is progressing. All they needed was some encouragement and some way to get the work started. God has used SO MANY wonderful people to help these people. We simply can't say thank you enough for all the help given.
Well, it's Sunday, and we have to get ready to go to English church soon. We keep praying God's word will go out in force in this nation and that people will turn to Him for guidance and help. Reaching out to Jesus and letting Him become their source of life is what we are praying for.
Till next time...God bless and have a Christ centered week.
Their house was standing after the hurricanes...until someone touched the wall, and it fell in. It was a stick and mud house and this man and woman had taken in their grand kids and then lost everything. We were able to help one of seven of their children (Cequer) rebuild them a home, of cement blocks. All because of the caring hearts of so many of you. A smile is worth a thousand words...it brought tears to my eyes to see her and her son after he started working on the house. She has a home and can care for her grandchildren. These two photos are from just before the final walls fell down, to where they are now. They have a roof to put on and doors and windows to put in. The right half is the one being built. The one on the left is the family that took them in. The roof is part of what we helped with.
Praise God for the help sent to them. And this story is repeated several times. Add to that, the amount of people we were able to help with food. Wow, the praises that went up when a family could feed their kids. These are just a few of the many, many praises we have had.
