Sunday late morning..the 28th

We listened to a good sermon this morning.  But it's really weird...no traffic noises, no people noises (except the beggars in the yard).  The law is that no vehicles can move on election day.  Only those tap-taps that have a special sticker in the window.  And we have heard nothing, so those must be VERY limited this time.

Have NO idea how the voting is going, or what people are doing.  In town may be different than here, but we are enjoying the peace and quiet.  

Update on cholera...it is not slowing down at all, in fact we have heard it is escalating.  How true is that?  We have no idea.  But the health officials we have talked with, and in talking to other missionaries...it seems to be really bad.  Yes, there are some cases in this area, but they are confined, PTL.   We may have some problems doing the final work on the gate, since no one is willing to go into the river to get sand and gravel...they are afraid the rivers all over are infected.  We know many are...but not exactly which ones or where those are.  We are praying, along with many others, that the meds keep coming in and will be sufficient for the situation.  And we are specifically praying for the medical personnel.  They are all so overworked and worn out.  

We are dealing with so many who come and say they either have someone with cholera in their family or someone in the family had died from it.  It takes a LOT of discernment to separate and find out the truth.  Some are using it to simply get money.  Pray for that situation here.

I'll try to post some more positive photos soon.  We have the decorations up and it's a daily struggle with Abbie now about Christmas.  She keeps saying TODAY is Christmas.  (She wants some presents).  Minor things, like a LIVE eagle (who won't bother grandpa's birds), and other way out things.  Then things scaled down, and she said a doll.  I told her she has 4 already.  She said she has enough love for more dolls.   She has a soft bunny who she named "Puney", she said he needs some friends, so we should get him a present, too.  She does love to GIVE AWAY things to others, too.  And we have a box of toys she is packaging up to give to other kids who don't get anything.  She does share and we are happy about that.  

For today, that's about all the news.  We will keep you informed as things progress with the election..although it will take days to hand count the ballots. 

We pray you will keep this season a Christ centered one.  Don't let the gifts and glitter overshadow the real reason we celebrate.  Someone had told us it's wrong to have a specific day for Christmas since no one REALLY knows when Jesus was born.  My feeling on it is that no, we don't know, but having a day set aside to HONOR Him and His entrance into the world via human form is fine.  The specific day is not what is important, it's the REASON He came that should be what we celebrate.  I have a song on a CD that I like.  The chorus is "He had the birthday, we got the gift..."  And that is so true...yes he was born FOR US...and He died FOR US...we need to focus on His coming, that it was all done ~ FOR US!!  If you don't know Jesus as your personal Savior, it's time to sit down and learn what this season is all about...Jesus Christ came to this earth to live and die in OUR PLACE, so we can have eternal life!!!!  So....CELEBRATE Jesus this season!!

Friday AM

We are still thankful...no problems in country at this point.  Although we have heard from many different sources that they will erupt. It's nice when so many are wrong in this way.  We are still praying that nothing happens. 

Vero and Shannon made it home safely last night.  They sat at the airport in Port ALL day, waiting to get on a plane to come home.  We had our thanksgiving dinner once they got here.  Abbie was so wound up about the "Thanksgiving feast" that it was hard to keep her down.  All I kept thinking about was "This will be so much worse when Christmas comes".  She had Don and I up at the crack of dawn to have the feast.  At school they had talked about the pilgrims and the feast they had with the Indians. 

Again I ask you to keep Barb and her boys in your prayers.  I guess it's more than just them, it's the spouses and grandkids, too.  Our hearts are still heavy for them.

Today, while Abbie is at school, we hope to get the Christmas decorations up.  Don't know if it will happen, but we are going to try anyway.

As this election draws near things are getting wilder and wilder here.  We even have the candidates calling on cell phones telling you to vote for them.  Before it was text messages, not it's recorded messages.  So, the states have nothing on us with that now.  Had a plane flying over dropping photos and "vote for me" messages the other day.  Had to clean our yard out with those things. So we'll be really happy when this whole mess is over.

We are living evidence of how God works daily in people's lives.  It seems there is something big each and every day where His presence is made visible.  And that makes it so awesome to work for Him and have His guidance and care obvious.  I hope you are in that same place with the Lord, where you can see and feel Him working with and through you on a daily basis.  God bless and keep smiling.

Thanksgivng blessings

On this 2010 Thanksgiving day, I am first and foremost thankful to the Lord Jesus Christ for all He has done for me!!  I praise Him and thank Him and am totally humbled by being able to be a small part in His work.  

So, it's time for a "thankful" list.  I am thankful for:

   My husband ~ with all his accomplishments and busyness, he still loves me.
   My children ~ although they are all far away, they are always a part of my heart and life.
   My grandchildren ~  even though I didn't get to see them often, they still have a part of my heart.
   My great grandsons ~  that the Lord has blessed us with these gifts from heaven.
   My friends ~ who uplift, encourage, laugh with me, cry with me, and love me, even when I am not lovable.
   The privilege of being able to serve the Lord, even in a small way.
   For those who help keep this ministry going, even in the hard and tough times.
   For our friends here in Haiti, American, Canadian, and Haitian, who walk with us through the difficult times here, as well and the great times.
   For our Haitian family...Vero, Abbie, Betty, Ruben and on and on...
   And again, for the Lord who walks with us, keeps us, encourages us, sustains us, and simply loves us, through all things.  
   I'm thankful for the home we live in, the vehicles we are privileged to drive, the provisions we have, when so many others are in need, all of which the Lord has provided for us.


It keeps coming back to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  He is a part of every aspect of our lives, in all we do and say.  And we praise Him for it all.


I hope you have that knowledge...that Jesus DOES save...that He is there for YOU...and that you can walk in the fullness of life with Him at your side, guiding, protecting and loving you. 


And we thank all of YOU for being there for us with prayer support, with financial support and with your encouragement and understanding.  God bless you in a mighty way!!!!


THANK YOU Jesus and our friends...for being what we need when we need it!!

A difficult Wednesday

I had originally planned to do a "thank you" list today, in light of Thanksgiving tomorrow.  I may have to wait and do that tomorrow.

On Monday we had received word that a good missionary friend of ours from Bohoc (near Pignon) had a heart attack on Saturday evening.  The good thing was that he was in Florida at the time.  Many, many prayers went up for Jim.  This morning the family had to make a very difficult decision to remove life support.  Jim passed away not long after that.  We have known Jim and Barb Howard for many, many years.  They are a fantastic couple who have done a tremendous job.  Their goal was to help put people in business so they could be self sufficient.  There are many in Haiti who have been helped by Jim and Barb. 

We are asking all who read this to lift Barb and their boys up in prayer.  This will be a very difficult time for them.  

I remember when they used to come down to the airport for mail and cargo.  (Now their things are flown up to Pignon, so we don't see them very often).  But the guys at the airport used to call Jim, Goliath.  Jim is a big teddy bear.  Looking gruff with a heart as soft as a teddy bear and a love for all he came in contact with.   Jim loved his iced coffee and the hottest pima (hot) sauce there was.  And he was a hard, hard worker.  

Our hearts are broken right now.  It is so hard to think that Jim won't be there with a phone call or a cryptic email.  He loved to tease, too.  He will be missed an awful lot.  By a whole lot of people here in Haiti, as well as in the US.  

So, we are asking for prayers...for all who knew and loved Jim.  He may be in a fantastic place, but he's left a huge whole in our lives.  

And now another prayer request.  Vero and Shannon went to Port to work on the permi de sejour papers (residency papers).  I had told them this was not the time to go, but they felt they should.  They are now stuck in Port, with road blocks all over the place there.  I have a feeling we won't see them until sometime next week.  We were told the problems would start here either today or tomorrow. And this will go through the election.  And it could last beyond.  Depending on who gets in.  I wish they had made it home before all of this.  But we are praying that the Lord will put His protection around them and keep them safe.  That is our second request, pray for their safety.

The last request is for the situation here in Cap.  Pray for common sense to take over and for peace to reign.  Pray for protection for all those who are here serving the Lord.  We won't be leaving the house from this point on until things calm down, but there are others who may not be able to do that.  

 Sorry for the long prayer requests, but I know many of you will pray with us on all of these things.  God is willing and able, and answers prayers. 

Sunday evening Nov.21sst

It was a quiet, rainy day today.  For this we thank the Lord.  There are rumors that tomorrow the situation will erupt again, but we are praying it  won't.  

I have to share a bit here about last Sunday...no, I'm not going way into Ray and Bonnie's problem, but do want to refer to it.  Last Sunday at English church, Dr. Bill Cooper shared.  We ALWAYS enjoy hearing him, he is such a gifted teacher.  To make it short, he spoke on what do we do when we are in bad situations.  Do we pray and ask God to PLEASE get us out of it?  Or do we pray and ask God to be with us and teach us through the situation.  His message really hit everyone.  It was fantastic. (And this was before the problems arose on the streets).   Well, then Ray and Bonnie left for home and got into their "situation".  Ray said the first thing he thought of was Dr. Bill's message.  He said, now he couldn't pray to get OUT of that situation, but to ask God to be with them IN it."   I shared that at church today since I was leading service.  And again, Dr. Bill shared with us.  

This message went right along with last weeks.  He used three examples from the old testament.  The first was in Exodus 14: 10-15...where the Israelites were facing the Red Sea with the Pharaoh's army behind them.  Moses responded to their fears with:  "Do not be afraid.  Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today..."  

Then he shared about the three men who were in the furnace (actually 4 were there).   And what their response was.  Then on to Daniel in the lion's den.   When he finished, I calmly said, "I hope this isn't another case of God speaking to you and telling us how to respond this week."  But if that IS the case, we know how to respond, even if it is tough.


The really NEAT thing in this was that Dr. Bill had prepared these messages TWO MONTHS ago.  And they were delivered right when we needed them.  AGAIN...our God is an AWESOME God, isn't HE????  He walks before us, beside us and behind us.  He is our guide and protector.  And we thank Him and Praise Him for who He is and what He does.  The song, "Our God is an Awesome God" really fits.  


I hope you are walking hand in hand with Him, and letting Him lead and direct you.

 

Saturday PM...Nov. 20th

Well, we arrived home safely.  The ride in was an eye opener.  Black soot everywhere from burning tires and trees that had been chopped down to block the roads were moved over.  There was one container they had blocked the road with.  Evidently whoever was removing the blocks...pushed it around and then pushed it to the side and turned it completely over.  Wheels sticking up.  I had the camera but was looking and not thinking of taking photos.  So, figured on the way home I'd get the shots.  Well, the container was right side up and hooked up to a truck by then.  Sorry nothing good in the photo department there.

There was a LOT of traffic, both vehicles and on foot today.  We were hoping it would continue all day and give us a chance to get home.  

We got the the airport, checked in the passengers and as we finished the first plane arrived.  They were both scheduled at the same time, which we DID NOT want.  But we got the first one unloaded and the engines started when the second one landed.  That was great.  I don't know if you can imagine almost 11,000 pounds of cargo...but it was a LOT of stuff.  We were short two workers, so Vero and I worked cargo too.  This was a hard day as far as lifting.  But we made it.  Customs was pretty good.  They seemed to get things through pretty quickly.  Once everyone had their boxes, we had ours cleared and left.  Traffic was pretty heavy, but it did move, which was a blessing.  What surprised us is that we were headed home by a little after 1 PM.  

We were doubly blessed by the fact we were able to greet and visit with a very good friend who we see only once every few years.  Pere Bruno was a great friend many, many years ago.  He, his wife and children were a blessing to us for many of our first years here in Haiti.  He now lives in the Dominican, but still has a ministry here in the north of Haiti.  They are one of the first Haitian families who we were friends with.  And they are one very strong Christian family who we respect greatly.

Don was able to go and get some of the iron for the smaller gate when we got home.  It will be a bit before he can get the needed iron for the main gate...but now he can start working on it.  The down part in all of this is that our friend Bill and his daughter Jenny were not able to come down.  He was going to help Don with the gate.  But with circumstances like they are, we just didn't feel right letting them come into this horrible situation.  But we miss them a lot.  I, personally, looked forward to the fellowship.  But God knows what we need and He will take care of it all.  Our close friends, Ray, Bonnie and Belle, have all gone stateside, so we are feeling a bit depressed right now.  We will really miss the fellowship with them while they are gone.  

I'll close for now.  I am going to check out the photos I did take and see if there is anything worth sharing on here.  Till then, God bless and please keep praying for Haiti and it's people.  And pray with us that the unrest will not resume.  We are praying it is over, even though we hear it will start again on Monday.  We serve a miracle working God and He can change things if it is His will.  We are definitely praising and thanking HIM for how today went.  He kept His hands on us.  PTL!!!  

Saturday AM...the 20th

It's early, but wanted to get a quick note out and ask for some prayers.  It's drizzling out, which is good...any problems usually don't occur when there is rain.  Not sure if the rumors are true or not, but some say problems will start today again.  That's why we need the prayers.  With 10,000 pounds of cargo coming in, we need to be there, distribute it and get out of there before anything comes up.  PTL, MFI got a really early start and we should be home relatively early, depending on customs, of course.

I'll post this evening and let you know how things are going.  Keep praying!!  God hears and answers our prayers.

Friday has arrived and is almost over

Today was busy..in many ways.  Vero, being a work-a-holic, washed windows (the ones she didn't finish yesterday).  That is a major job here since windows and screens don't fit right and you have to take them apart, wash them, put them together, then TAPE them to keep the bugs out.  She finished that then went to Bible study for a while.

We did have a plane today, but not cargo.  MFI flew in to take some people out.  Had a full load there.  Took a lot of arranging to get it worked out on this end, but we finally succeeded in doing it.  I didn't go to the airport today, since I have to be there tomorrow. 

The road were cleared by this morning.  But we have heard that it will a short respite.  Rumors say that the people doing the road blocks were paid off to open them.  We have heard they will be blocked again, not sure if tomorrow or the next day.  Pray with us that we will be able to get our cargo in and distributed tomorrow, from the 2 DC-3's coming.  We are talking about over 10,000 pounds of things.  That's a HUGE amount for a LOT of missions.  And much of it is for the cholera situation.  But please keep tomorrow in prayer, BIG TIME.  

Right now the people here are living in fear...fear of the rocks and bottles being thrown, fear that they will be on some "hit list", fear that the UN will shoot them (yes, they fear that even though it has not happened yet, that we know of), fear of Cholera, fear that "someone" is poisoning the rivers, the fears go on and on.  Reasoning does not clear up any of the fears.  Thus the people panic and follow whatever the rebels  do.  Pray for a resolution to this madness and that people will start to use reasoning and common sense when listening to others.  

Pray for our safety as we travel to and from the airport tomorrow.  We don't have real fear, but know that we have to be cautious and vigilant in where we go and what we do.  God gave us common sense and we plan to use what He has given us.  But with 2 plane loads of cargo, we have to go.  God knows this, too, and we are sure He will be going with us and keeping us safe.  

We have again realized that in the 27 years we've been here we have not seen things this bad.  We've been through a lot, but this is different.  We covet your prayers for us, for our friends here and for the Haitians who have no part of this rebellion, but are the ones who are suffering.  

Ray took his group to the airport today to fly out (and Belle went out also).  He said the soot from all the burning tires was pretty bad.  He said everyone on the streets has a black coating on them.  How sad for a country already in misery to have to go through something like that. 

On a better note... our windows have been washed, our house having a "spring cleaning" for Christmas, and Don is getting some of the "little jobs" done.  Oh that he could buy the iron to finish the gate...but alas, no stores open to purchase it.  

Vero and Abbie are anxious to get the Christmas decorations up soon.  Don keeps insisting, AFTER Thanksgiving.  But they would love to do it now.  They really enjoy just sitting and looking at the decorations, and I don't have that many anymore.  

For now...keep your eyes on Jesus, even when it's hard.  Keep your hand in His and keep your mind on the things of God.  He is with us through whatever we face.  When the waters seem too deep, He is our life preserver...hang on to Him.  We pray you will always be in that place where the Lord can richly bless you!!!

Wednesday evening...

It's just after 9 PM and I'm sitting here so glad I don't hear gun fire or other loud happenings.  It may be because of the rain, but for whatever reason, I'll praise God!!

Things seem to be slowing down a bit...but we'll know for certain tomorrow afternoon.  Tomorrow is a holiday here in Haiti.  But even if that is the reason things quiet down, we'll still Praise God!!  People won't be real anxious to get back into protest mode, when they need to get food.  They'll let it go to get back to life again.  At least that is what we are praying for. 

The president has asked that all protests stop so that medical care can be gotten to those suffering with Cholera.  Pray with us that the people listen to his advice.  So much has gone on in these few days and it's so hard to realize that innocent people have died because of the desire of a few to "show their power".  And not only the ones who died, and leave family behind, but those who have suffered because they could not travel and get their produce to market, and buy needed food, and get medicine for illness.  Yes, those with cholera are suffering because meds can't get to them, but the whole realm of people are suffering as well.  

We are praying that this will stop, but we are also praying for the people who started it.  We pray God will step in and make Himself real to them.  Yes they have anger, but our God is a God of forgiveness and mercy.  There must be other ways to deal with what they are upset about.  Pray that God will show them how to do it in a way that doesn't cost lives or harm lives at all.

No real news at this point, but still need prayers to go heavenward for this poor country.  Pray for the leaders to be faced with the reality of the Lord, and that they will have to face Him and acknowledge Him!!  

Thanks for being with us through this rough time.  We know God has heard the prayers lifted on our behalf, and on behalf of the people here.

We are into Thursday...

This morning Vero and Shannon made it home safe and sound.  Still LOTS of road blocks everywhere, but Cequer went and got them on motorcycle.  So that is one huge relief. We have gotten so many different stories of what is happening everywhere.  Received one story that the roads on the airport side of town are all clear now.  Then a missionary who lives over there said, no, they are not...maybe a motorcycle can get through but nothing larger than that.  And this is daytime...give it a few hours and they will shut it up again.  And we got another one that the president is sending his "army" up here with tanks and guns to set things straight.  Haiti does not have an army.  And another radio message that things will now stop and roadblocks will be cleared.  Still nothing on that either.

So, we simply sit  here and wait to see what will happen next.  Tomorrow is another big holiday...where they block the roads for the celebration...so even if THESE roadblocks are cleared, the new ones will go up tonight for tomorrow.  We are waiting to see what tomorrow and tomorrow evening will bring us.  

We heard some shouting and hollering and whistling on the road here.  Vero calmly walked out there and came back to say they were watching a soccer match.  I think that is a good sign.  We still are not leaving the compound.  It is silly to take chances when tempers are still at fever pitch.  

Don has cleaned his garage...(much needed)...plus fixed a broken pipe and some other minor things that kept getting left undone.  So the time was not wasted.  Abbie's been home from school all week...no one could make it there.  THAT created some fun times here, trying to keep her busy.  She really does pretty well on her own, but she was missing mommy and her friends at school, and just simply wasn't happy with the way things were.  Now mommy's here and can take some of that off of me so I can get some work done.  I have not been on email hardly at all in the last week.  Too busy on the phone and running after Abbie.  

Phone has calmed down some today, which is a blessing.  It would be great to go back to normal one or two calls a day.   

During the day we don't have the gun shots or explosions (of who knows what).  So, it seems pretty quiet now.  We really are praying it will continue to be calm and quiet and that things could get back to the normal chaos here.  

God has given us a peace that no matter what happens we are in His hands and He has control of us.  For this we are really, really thankful.  Keep praying!!!

Quick update on the situation

Here it is Tuesday, a normal MFI day, and no planes.  The whole situation is escalating now.  We have no REAL idea why all of this is going on.  We have heard from different sources different reasons.  The word out now is that no white people should be on the streets at all.  No problem, we don't plan on going anywhere.  But Vero and Shannon are stuck half way to town at Vero's brother's house.  At least they are safe.  

Roads are still blocked, and the fortifications seem to be increasing, so it won't be easy to tear them down.  Here at our place things are quiet.  We have a group of police sitting about 2 blocks from our place, trying to figure out what to do.  At least they are keeping things calm here.  But no way to go beyond our place at this time.  

MFI is trying to figure out how and when to come in...since it would be impossible for anyone to get to the airport.  They are on standby to come and take those out who want to leave, too.  MFI is always right there for us when we need them.  

I am trying to coordinate getting a couple of other groups out, with us and with Hendricks Motor sports.  But again, just waiting on the situation to clear up enough to get people to the airport and get the airport open.  

Like I shared before, life is never dull here.  Can't say I especially WANT this type of excitement, but God is here and walking with us through this, so we can depend on Him to help us cope.  It really is amazing to know that whatever comes our way, God will be here and help us with it all.  We don't have to do it on our own.

Pray for things to calm down.  Pray for God to make Himself real in this situation.
Till next time..... God bless!!

Urgent prayer need

Yesterday, after English church, our friends Ray and Bonnie and Belle, headed back to Limbe.  About half way there, they ended up in the middle of a road block...I do mean middle.  (That's a story Ray would have to share).  But there were some major problems.  They made it home safe after hours of being stuck and driving where the vehicle should NOT have gone.  But then today, Vero and Shannon headed to the airport (at about 6:45 AM) to go to Port au Prince.  They were to fly out at 8, but didn't make it in time.  There were road blocks all over and rocks and bottles being thrown.  The airline said they could fly at noon.  Well, the airport ended up being closed because of the problems.  They sat there all day until Vero's brother could come and get them on a motorcycle.  (Four on one bike...humm).   Went through some areas where it was hard traveling.  Then crossed the river in a boat.  They are now at his place and will spend the night there.  Hopefully home tomorrow morning.  When they called, they could hear guns being fired quite near. 

Now on to what we have HEARD as to the reason for all of this unrest.  The people have gotten to the point of "the straw that broke the camels back".  Haiti has gone through so much in the last 6 months and I guess they finally broke.  They are blaming the UN for bringing Cholera to Haiti.  If this is true or not, who knows.  But they have been attacking the UN vehicles, and want the UN out of Haiti.  The UN had fired back and we've heard they have killed several people.  This has caused even more unrest.  

In our area this morning, you could hear the yelling and the people shouting.  There were NO vehicles moving, since all the roads have been blocked.  By this afternoon, we heard some tap-taps and a lot of motorcycles.  Found out they couldn't travel far, but got people from one place to another way out here.  The city is shut down completely.  Roads and bridge are blocked completely.  

We had to call MFI and cancel the plane for tomorrow.  We felt it would be dangerous for people to travel yet tomorrow.  We are sincerely praying that tomorrow things will start to calm down.  We will make a decision on MFI having a flight on Wednesday or not after we see what is happening in town tomorrow.  

All of this to ask you to pray.  PRAY big time.  Pray for peace to return and people to calm down and realize that what is going on will not make the problems go away.  Pray for the Lord to intercede and touch hearts.  

We do appreciate all the prayers that have come our way in the last months and we sincerely need them yet again.  

One thing that is a positive note here....Don took the braces off the second pillar for our gate today.  It looks great.  Another BIG step to having the gate finished.  

God is in control and we are totally leaning on Him in these times of unrest.  We had a great sermon Sunday from a dear friend, Dr. Bill.  He said, during troubled times, are we praying, "God take the troubles away."?  We should be praying, " God walk through this time with us, and help us to learn from this experience."  It's hard, but we are learning to do it.  So, pray with us that God will walk with us (and the other Christians as well) and that He will show us His Grace and Mercy that we can share with others, even in this hard, hard time.  

Prayerfully, more to follow tomorrow...God bless!!!!!

Almost a week

I can't believe it's almost a week since I've posted.  A few really busy days and then a couple of feeling cruddy days, I guess that's where it all went. 

Don has the fellows here pouring the second column for the gate!  YEAH!!  Can't wait for it to be finished.  It will still take a while but we are hoping not REAL long!  Of course, when you are working hard and trying to get things done, something else comes up.  A water pipe broke...or in reality, someone broke it off.  Cequer (one of our "kids") simply put a plug in it until Don can get at it to fix it.  

I spent a couple of days "standing guard" again.  Sure cuts into my work time, but that's better than Don not being able to finish his work.  Oh yea, the other "thing" that went wrong...the cement mixer had a flat tire.  No problem right?  Wrong, it was tubeless and had to order tubes.  Got them and figured no problem, simply put the tube in.  Wrong again.  Someone had borrowed the mixer at one point, and they didn't wash it down.  The whole wheel was cement and Don couldn't get the lug nuts off.  He finally pulled the wheel off the axle.  Only to find out the bearings were shot.  He did the best he could to fix it and put it back together.  This was AFTER he found out the whole problem had been the valve stem.  So, for now the cement mixer is working.  It seems nothing here is ever easy.  

I've gotten pretty far behind on my emails, so have to spend some quality time doing that now.  Of course this all depends on if I'm needed outside again.  Never a dull moment here.

I totally forgot I hadn't posted on here about the new book that MFI published.  It's about the earthquake and many who helped here.  I have ordered mine and am really anxious to see it.  Go to the web site and take a look.  I saw some of it before it was done and it's really awesome.  The web site is:  www.shakinggroundunshakablefaith.com  I know  you'll enjoy it once you get a preview.  


Need a lot of prayers for the cholera situation here.  It's spreading and becoming a national crisis now.  I don't even know the current numbers of deaths and infections.  But it raises daily.  It  hits a lot closer to home when you know someone who didn't make it.  And some simply are not heeding the warnings or taking simple precautions.  I guess they are thinking it won't hit them.  How tragic is that?  The information is out, via radio, TV, teachers in classrooms and many other ways...but people have to LISTEN to what is said.  So, please keep praying and lifting this poor, torn country up to the Lord.  


One of our dogs had puppies yesterday.  Abbie, being Abbie, named them.  One is Michale and one is Peter.  She said they are named after our grandsons.  I guess since they were here, she wants to remember them.  And there were only two male puppies.


One other praise item.  I want to thank the physical therapist who was here.  I believe the exercises he gave me are starting to work!!!  It may still take a while to get all movement back, but it IS starting to work.  


Okay, that's our news for now.  Let us know how YOU are doing.  I may not be able to answer all emails, but we love to hear how  you are and how we can pray for you!!  Even in troubled times, our God is awesome and shows us a way through our problems.  Take hold of His hand and keep smiling!!

Sunday evening

It's now Sunday evening.  What a couple of days.  Yes, Tomas bypassed us, but his tail didn't.  Last night we had some pretty wild winds and some  heavy rain.  Not enough to cause us problem, but it sounded like there were gun shots while we were at the dorm.  It was branches breaking off the trees and falling on the roof.  Early this AM, quite a few of Don's beggars were here and picked up all those branches to use for firewood.  And there were a lot.  Both our full time watchman and our night watchman have bananas planted all over the place.  Well, they lost quite a few of them to the winds.  I'm not sure how strong the winds were.  Don has a gauge but I don't remember what he said.  They weren't anywhere near hurricane strength, that's for sure, but pretty good ones anyway.

This morning Don and I listened to a CD a church sends us.  Good sermon.  Then this afternoon Pastor Mark preached at English church.  It was a GREAT message, although there weren't a lot of people there.  Sure enjoyed it.  

Tonight it seems cool to me, the team thinks it's really nice.  But it's calm and no rain so it's great, however you look at it.

Hope your week goes great and that you let the Lord guide and direct all you do.  Just keep remembering.... GOD IS AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tomas has left us

About 1:00 PM our time we received word that Tomas has left our area.   We received less than an inch of rain here.  So, problems with flooding are non existent at this point.  We may still get some rains but nothing as to what people had predicted for our area.  

This is another example of God's answer to prayer.  Many, many people, Haitians and foreigners alike have prayed this storm away...and God heard and He answered.  We serve an AWESOME God.  That word keeps popping up where the Lord is concerned, but it's SO VERY true!!!  He is awesome and He does answer payers.  

Thanks to all who have prayed with us and gotten Haiti through the worst of Tomas.  You are the ones holding us up before the Lord and we praise Him for putting you in our path for that reason!!

We are praising and rejoicing in how the Lord keeps us safe!!

A thankful note

Wow, two posts within a short time...I'm doing good.  I just wanted to add a note here.  Don is on HAM radio with the hurricane net.  They asked him to come on so they can monitor what the weather is like here.  They have people all over the Caribbean on the net, checking on the storm.  

I'm thankful we have interent.  I'm thankful the storm seems to be missing us totally.  I'm thankful that Don has the HAM radio so we have communication even if we had gotten hit here.  

HAM radio operators are a blessing beyond measure.  They monitor and respond to any and all situations.  If something would happen, they have the connections to get help to those in need.  

So, we simply are praising God for all He is and all He does for us!!  Pray!! Praise!!  Rejoice!!

The rains have come

Good morning.  Well, the rains have started but we are amazed that we still have satellite service.  The cloud cover is heavy and we normally lose service.  Just another item showing God is here with us.  We have gentle rains, which started last night.  No winds.  

We received an email from a fellow missionary this morning and I want to share part of it with you.  It really does say something important.

Please pray for the people of Haiti who have suffered so much.  Pray that the lost will hear the word and believe.  Most who pray and seek God do not do so according to the truth of His Word.  Religious but lost.  Pray for believers to be protected but above all that their light would shine to those in darkness in this difficult time.

Would you pray with with us?  Through all of these situations being encountered in this poor country, the people need to see the light of the Lord shine through and reach out to  Him for His love and the grace He offers through salvation. They may have nothing, but with the Lord, they would have all they need.

Thank you for your prayers.  As time and internet allow, we will keep you posted.  The gentle breeze of Jesus is surely with us!!! 

Tomas - up close and personal

Well, we can still get on the internet, so decided to get a note out quickly. We've been tracking and watching Tomas very close. It's been a trip in the unknown. It wiggles east then wiggles west, then back again. It's like it's on a zigzag path. But the predictions now put it closer to Jamaica and Cuba, than the main part of Haiti. The northwest corner of Haiti may get hit pretty hard, but our area is out of the wider path predicted. Yes, it could change, but we are confident that we will be safe and have no real problems here. Oh, we'll have rain, and maybe some winds, but we don't believe it will be anything devastating. So, for those of you praying, thank you, and please keep the prayers coming.

The team is working themselves out of work AGAIN. They did this last year, too. They came with a projection of doing 300 to 350 buckets. And we, with so little faith, thought maybe they would reach 300...MAYBE! Well, the first day they spent the morning washing and cleaning out buckets. And the afternoon bagging items and then filling buckets....they completed 115 buckets in one afternoon!!! So, we went out and purchased more food and items for the buckets so they can keep working.

This afternoon they delivered some of those buckets (wanted them to experience it...and had to do it before the rains and bad roads made it impossible, or impassible). They also were able to visit the IDADEE compound. It's such an impressive work and such beautiful land.

Don is still struggling with getting this gate finished. Even our watchman wants it up SOON. Pray with us that our friends from Washington will be able to come and help Don out with it. (It's a tremendous job for only one person!)

We enjoyed sunshine most of the day and are now into some clouds, but it's really nice weather. Cool breezes and bearable temperatures. God is SO good.

In reading the Word, I found something that we all need to cling to....it's in Romans 1: 11b, ".....that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each others faith." We love to hear of how YOU are doing, so please keep in touch. We are praying for you and asking the Lord to lift you up and bless you.

Keep praying, for Haiti, for the people here to cling to the Lord and His precious gift of salvation, and pray for us, too, to keep focused on the Lord and what He wants us to do.

Until next time....keep smiling....GOD LOVES YOU and is holding out His hands to you.

Hurricane Tomas....

I wanted to get a quick post out before this storm cuts off our internet. The clouds are moving in and that limits us. This crazy hurricane keeps changing. The projected path changes by the hour almost. It goes back and forth from going directly over us, to going west of us. So we really have no idea if we will get the full force or not. We are praying not, but we'll see.

Don is diligently working on the gate. The ones who really need his help have been very understanding and leave when he asks them to. The others...are very insolent, nasty and obscene, and there is no way they will leave. They even ignore our watchman. So, getting this gate up is priority. Pray for Don as he works on this. (Even in the storm and bad weather.) He has been welding on the porch, to avoid all the stopping for beggars. It's helped but still a frustration. Keep praying.We have a new team in. Well, not NEW as such, they come every year and assemble buckets for us for the bucket ministry. This is SUCH a blessing. The first year the four who came did 97 buckets. The second year, just over 200 and this year they are hoping to do well over 300. God is really using them to reach out and help so many people. God's word goes into each bucket, so people are receiving physical and spiritual food. Their ministry here with these buckets may not be visual to them now, but in heaven, there will be those who come up to them and thank them for their dedication and work.

As the clouds allow, I will try to keep you updated on what is happening here. Pray this storm away with us.

With God, ALL things are possible!!