Still hanging on

Hello again,
Well, I'm not doing as well as I had planned on keeping this updated. But there are reasons. We have another great team here and they are doing wonders. I think I should start off with a "Thanksgiving List" for the last year, actually.

We have had 16 teams this year...that's a lot, considering no teams in May, June or December. Each and every team has done so much for so many here...it's awesome. And yet, no two teams have been the same, or had the same work project. We (and the Haitians) have been so VERY blessed by teams. It's hard to single out one team and say they did the best, because they have ALL reached out and touched a lot of people.

We are thankful for all the people we were able to see while stateside in May and June. We are thankful that Bev, my sister-in-law pulled through her really rough time. And, yes, I am even thankful that my sister has gone to be with the Lord. She is now pain free and celebrating with Jesus!!

We're thankful we have had no major lasting illness. Yes, there have been "times", but God has been, and continues to be, with us. There have been missionaries that have had to leave the field because of ongoing illness. God has kept us from that.

We are REALLY, REALLY thankful for our faithful prayer warriors. That is what keeps us going here. And we DO realize how many prayers have gone out on our behalf. Our financial partners have kept us here, doing what we need to do, and we are very thankful for those faithful people.

We are thankful for Stan and Gloria Curtis for all their continued work on behalf of us and the Haitian people. Without them, our ministry would be really difficult. They are a blessing, in many ways. Leg work in the US to get supplies for the containers, constant work with teams, and a friendship that means a tremendous amount to us, personally.

We are thankful for the many Haitians who have become a part of not only our ministry but our lives. What a blessing for us to have those we can depend on here.

And we are thankful for those of you who keep in touch, through the blog, emails, and letters. You all keep our spirits up and help us to focus on why we are here.

In our newsletter, Don shared about a pastor we have been helping for quite some time. Don had helped his wife through school, to some extent, and helped him at times through Bible School. Now he has been working for years in the church he established in a very rough area. The pastor needs your prayers, too, as he faces challenges we never even think of. His name is Pastor Wagner Wasembeck. He and his wife and two children have been working in a very small house they converted into a church. His needs are many and the challenges great. Please keep him in prayer.
The team that is here now has done an awesome job on many things. Finished our fence, cleared the dorm roof and took down a branch that was a huge problem. And to top it all off, they went over their goal for filling buckets for us. They completed 201 buckets. PLUS they bagged a LOT of other things to put in future buckets. Some of the items for buckets we cannot get here, so have to wait on the next container, which SHOULD come on the 30th. Today and Monday they are out helping Don deliver some of those buckets. They can see the fruit of their labors. Pray with us that these will be a blessing to many, many families.
This is bucket number 201...what a celebration. We were all so pleased they accomplished so much!!

And now...time to get to work and catch up on some of the things left undone while teams are here. Keep us, and all of the things we do, in your prayers...we want to keep focused on the Lord and what HE wants us to do. Pray for strength and wisdom in what we do. And say an added prayer for us, as we will be missing our granddaughter's wedding in December. It's a heartache, but there is no way we can go. Our hearts will be there, but we wish it could be our bodies, as well.

We pray you will have a really wonderful Thanksgiving, and remember to put the Lord at the front of all those "thankful" things. He has done SO much for all of us. We need to remember to praise and thank Him, constantly.

Busy as always

Trying to catch up seems to be the normal here now. But with work and teams, time is precious. Add Abbie into that equation and you can see busy is the word.

We had another team...and man did they work. We had 9 people, but two left for another trip after a day and a half. So, we had 7. Two were the gals (one mom and one daughter) who did the cooking, so it was 5 men working. Let me fill you in on just a little of what these guys did while here....Completed a roof for a Sunday school building; put in 3 (yes THREE) septic systems, one for a home, two for churches; made a tool to put in the fence posts for our yard, and put the posts in; worked on a vehicle that had some problems; and did other odd jobs around here. So, busy did not quite fit...they were ULTRA busy. And yet, had a morning at the Citadel. And to top it off, they were a great bunch of guys (and gals) who were fun to be with. Here are just a couple of their work projects...We have another team coming in next week. We are praying they will be able to help with the buckets again. They did such a fantastic job last year and it helped SO MANY, that we are more than happy to have them work on this again. Of course, there will probably be other projects for them, too...we'll see.

Every time we head to town, Abbie wants to take the camera. Her and Grandma like to get boat pictures. These pictures are a couple we both liked. The one is the fishermen bringing in a catch, like they did in Jesus time. The other is just unique sails...from banners across the road.
I'll keep this post short, but hope to keep you all updated again soon. Don will be making some food and water runs this week, so have to help get ready for that.

God bless, and keep Jesus at the center of your life!!