And it was Christmas...

We have been busy, busy, busy.  It seems time flies when you would really like it to slow down a bit.  But we did get things done and have accomplished all we wanted to in the last week or so.

I really thought I had posted last week, but looks like I didn't.  Don has been working hard to get all the needed cement, sand and gravel out to the church in Milot.  Well, the soon to be church, I guess.  It's been fun for him to have John, a long ago friend, and also a watchman for a while, with him.  And John has been a tremendous help in a lot of areas for him.  Of course, Pastor Marius has also been in the truck with them, so it was quite a fun time for all of them.  Don is out again today hauling more sand.  I guess Marius way under estimated what was needed, so they are working frantically to get things ready before the team comes in a week or so.  The only problem being the bad roads, and the flat tires...I think he is up to 6 or 7 by now. 

And then there is Abbie.  With Mama leaving for the states, we allowed mama and Abbie to each open ONE present before she left.  I think we created a monster.  We got her a mike, with buttons for music accompaniment, and applause.  She loves it. Abbie loves to sing...which she does with any and all music, plus she'll make up her own if I don't have a CD in.  Her favorite is Christian music.  But, here is a picture of her first present....and MAN, did she make use of it.  Our only problem from that point on was that Abbie REALLY, REALLY missed her mama being here for Christmas.  But she got to talk to Uncle Agneau and her mama on Christmas Eve.  Our phones have been really bad, and the call got cut off not long into the conversation.  But she did get to talk to mama.  Three different people called, and the calls were cut off.  I hope they didn't think we cut them off, because we sure didn't.

 

 

 And it was Savanah's first Christmas.  A good friend in Pennsylvania sent her some gifts and she had them on for both Christmas eve and Christmas day.  I don't think she had a clue what was going on, but that's okay, she's only 9 weeks old.

We took Abbie to a restaurant in town for a treat for Christmas.  It was a new place for us.  It was nice, but we still prefer going to our old one, "la Kay".  The new one was real windy (on the ocean front and upstairs), and they have TV's with LOUD music videos...some real wild ones.  But it was still a fun time out with the "girls".  Savanah was really good and slept through the whole thing.

 Christmas eve I read the Christmas story from Luke, chapter 2.  Then Abbie wanted to "tell" the story in her own way.  She did great, adding things that were not in the Luke account, but in other places.  We had watched Mark Lowery on YouTube, singing, "Mary Did You Know".  Don loves the part where he sings, "Mary did you know when you kissed your baby, you kissed the face of God?"  He mentioned that, and Abbie sat and thought about it for a long time.  Finally she asked, "When I kiss Savanah, am I kissing the face of God?"  So, we had to explain what the song meant.  But she loves Savanah a lot and really enjoys making her laugh and talk.  

Christmas day, we had Pastor Paul Romeus and Belle over for dinner.  Had a great time of fellowship (and food).  What a joy they are for us.  On New Year's Day we are going to their home for the celebration.  It's Christmas, New Year's, and Independence day for Haiti, all in one.  (I'm hoping we have pumpkin soup...it's traditional and we really like it).

Abbie has not felt good for the last two days.  Had a "headache"...when I finally found out where it hurt, I checked it out.  She had a BIG sore on the back of her head and it was draining.  So, her hair was all matted and a mess.  With hair as thick as hers it was a real challenge getting it all out.  Now we have to prepare for her to be in a wedding tomorrow.  Time simply does NOT stand still here.
 

We pray your Christmas was really CHRIST centered and wonderful.  And we pray God will bless you in the coming New Year.  Keep your focus on Him and all He is and all He does, in and through you!!!   It's in Him we have our being!!

Her Christmas Program

It's been a week...and then some.  Trying to keep Abbie toned down.  She was SO excited about the program.  I have to admit, it was a really neat one.  They did it as if there was a TV station there.  They really did an excellent job with it.  Some great actors in that school for sure.  They even put in commercials....one was for a special "camel wash solution".  Of course they had to use whatever "props" they had.  But for the limited things available here, it was pulled off really well.  And they did sing in Spanish and then in French, too.  We enjoyed the whole thing.  Here are just a couple of pictures.

 

Don has been trying to be good about how much he uses his hand.  When I changed the bandage, I thought it was looking really good.  Of course it hurts...I'm sure it will for a while.  He didn't do very good at the airport on Tuesday, but Thursday went pretty good.  Just that both days were really long.  

Vero got her visa.  It's for a year.  She'll be going out on Tuesday for 2 weeks.  She is SUPPOSED to spend most of that time with her brother, whom she hasn't seen in over 15 years.  We'll see how it goes.  The sad thing is that Abbie will miss her mom being here for Christmas.  

Savanah is doing good.  She is gaining weight so quickly.  Sort of cut her back on how much she is eating.  She is the happiest kiddo.  Normally only cries when she is wet, dirty, or hungry.  And when she is ready for bed.  She has a  very short crying time, then just like turning off a light switch, she's asleep.  She really loves Abbie!!  As soon as she sees her, she is all smiles.

We've had some pretty heavy and constant rains lately.  We are praying it will ease off soon and let things dry up a bit.  And the rains brought down the temps, too.  Been pretty chilly here for us.  But it won't be long and we'll be complaining about the heat, right?  

Well, it's back to work...we are blessed that Pastor Paul and Belle will be coming for Christmas dinner with us.  Really good friends.  And a blessing in so many ways.

I hope your Christmas is totally CHRIST centered and wonderful.  We need to remember and share the REAL reason for this season...Jesus Christ coming to this earth to take our place before the Father.  We serve an awesome God!!!

Sorry...about the address...

I'm not sure of I posted the wrong address or not.  I hope you can see this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=OExXItDyWEY&vq=medium

A Christmas thought

I just received an email and went to the "youtube" site.  It is awesome.  I wanted to share with you what was sent to me.  It IS very thought provoking.  And it makes us think about what we are teaching our children.  Here in Haiti we don't have the hard push for "Santa" that there is in the US, but still, we need to bring the TRUE meaning of Christmas to our children as well as adults.  I hope you read this through and watch the video.  It is really neat.
Blessings!!

"Where's the Line to See Jesus"

About the song;
While at the mall a couple of years ago, my then four year old nephew, Spencer, saw kids lined up to see Santa Claus.  Having been taught as a toddler that Christmas is the holiday that Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus, he asked his mom, "where's the line to see Jesus?"

My sister mentioned this to my dad, who immediately became inspired and jotted words down to a song in just a few minutes.  After putting music to the words, and doing a quick recording at home, he received a great response from friends.  he sent the song off to Nashville without much response, except for a Christian song writer who suggested adding a bridge at the end of the first chorus.  My dad then asked if I wanted to record the song to see what we could do with it.  I listened to the song, made a few changes to the words to make it flow better, and we headed to Shock City Studios.  It was at the studio where Chris, owner and producer, rewrote the 2nd verse and part of the chorus...with goose bumps and emotions high, we were all hopeful and felt like we had something special.  The demo was recorded in just under 2 hours and sent off again to Nashville...still no response.  Then 2 weeks before Christmas last year, my cousins Greg and Robbie decided to do a video to see what we could accomplish on YouTube.  The first day we had 3000 hits and it soared from there.  We received e-mails, phone calls, Facebook messages from people all over asking for the music, CD's, iTunes, anything...we had nothing.  After a couple of meetings with Chris following the amazing response, we got serious.  We headed back into the studio this past spring...this time with guitars, drums, bass, pianos, choirs...the real deal...and here we are today.  Getting iTunes set up, a website put together, and loving that thousands upon thousands of Christians have come together...remembering the true meaning of Christmas.  Out of the mouths of babes come profound truths that many adults cannot understand.  Hopefully Spencer's observation will cause people all over to reflect on the love of Jesus, and that one day we will all stand in line to see Him.
We are most thankful to our Heavenly Father to have this chance to share our music with you.  Merry Christmas everyone.

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=OExXltDyWEY&vg=medium

  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.  Have a super blessed, Christ centered Christmas!

Christmas is coming...

We have been very busy, and involved and going through an "interesting" time.  First, Don and Pastor Marius have been hauling sand for Pastor's new church in Milot.  They have been working for days getting enough there for a team to come and build the church in January.  Praise God they now have enough.  But between that truck and the pickup we have right now, 6 flat tires...Don is a bit frustrated by that.  I've put a few pictures here of where he goes to get the sand.  It's at a place called Gran Rivere.  For those of you who knew us a long time ago, you may recognize the one fellow in the pictures of the guys.  It is John. (He is on the far right.)  He worked with us when we were in Milot, then he was our watchman for a while here in Cap.  He went with Pastor and Don for all the loads they hauled.  

 Then there are Abbie and Savanah.  They are both a trip and a half.  Abbie loves to sit with the baby on the bed and "teach" her.  She does math and reading.  She tells me Savanah is doing really well.  Okay....the baby was 8 weeks old yesterday, so I'm SURE she is doing well in both subjects!!☺

And our other "news" is Don's trip....well, that sound exciting, but it's not.  He had changed something on the TV and backed up to use the remote...and tripped over a box.  We really have NO idea what he hit or how he did it, but he did do damage, to himself.  When I first saw the blood and his hand, I thought he had torn off a finger.  After cleaning it up, we realized he only ripped part of the finger off...but not totally.  I put ointment and what dressings I could find on it.  It was late evening.  Then spent a LONG time cleaning up the blood all over the living room and kitchen.  The next morning our good friend, Belle, came with a doctor who sewed Don up.  He should be fine now, even with those stitches and a sprained wrist and thumb.  The loss of blood had made him a bit weak...but then, he's a man, and all that blood alone would have made him fuzzy.  Stitches come out next weekend and he'll be fine.  But for now, no driving for a couple of days.  

And it's only 14 days till Christmas.  Abbie is SO excited.  She is also excited about the school play and her part in that.  She can tell you the story of Jesus' birth in DETAIL...with all the expression of the shepherds shocked faces to the love on Mary's face.  So, our Christmas is going to be reading the whole story in Luke (Abbie wants to read it herself) to having birthday cake for Jesus.  

I hope you are keeping the REAL reason for this season at the front of all you do.  And Yes, please wish everyone a VERY Merry CHRISTmas!!!!  

A thankful day

It's the day AFTER Thanksgiving, but I'm still so thankful for so many things.  We had a huge turkey yesterday....thanks to a concern for not having turkey for our English Bible Fellowship dinner on Saturday.  One of the gals brought back, from the Dominican, a couple extras, in case they didn't show up on MFI.   But they did, so we purchased one of the "extras".  We had a small "family" dinner.  It was Vero, Abbie, Betty, Savanah, Don and I.  We got to the part where I said, "Okay, what are YOU thankful for?"  Abbie, bless her heart...said school, and anything and everything connected with school.  Then, Mom, Grandpa and Grandma got added in.  The rest of us put our "thankful" things in.  Then Vero said, "I'm just thankful for EVERYTHING!"  Betty asked, "Even the bad things?"  And Vero said, "Yes, because even then Jesus is with us."  What an honest way to thank God for all things, as it says in 1 Thess. 5: 16-18.  And we ARE thankful in all things.  

And yesterday we received our daily devotional from our friend Roy.  The thought he put forward in the first line really hits home.  It was: "Today, suppose, just suppose, that when you woke up this morning, the ONLY things you had are those things you thanked God for last night."  WOW... what a thought provoking thing that is.  I can honestly say Abbie would be blessed, she is so thankful for EVERYTHING, EVERY DAY!  But this also brought to mind the email that has been around a lot.  The one where the person went to heaven and was given a tour.  One area, angels were busily sorting and going through things.  These were the "requests" sent to God.  The next area the angels were busily sending the answers to the prayer requests.  The third area was one lone angel, sitting doing almost nothing.  This angel was handling the "Thank yous, sent back to God."  Where are WE with those things?  We do tend to send up a lot of "requests", but are we sending just as many "thank yous"???  I intend to start focusing on that more now.  And it's thanks to Roy.  He daily devotionals are always inspiring, but once in a while it really hits home.

Abbie is always a joy.  Her excitement about Thanksgiving was something else.  She had her turkey, with the thankful list on it's tail (hand prints).  I was reading it and said, "Abbie, you are thankful for your drums and guitar?  You don't HAVE either one."  She very calmly said, "No, but if I DID, I'd be thankful."  And the funny thing is, she doesn't even WANT either of them.  It's hard to comprehend the mind of a child.  

And then Savanah...she is growing by leaps and bounds.  She smiles a lot more and is "talking" now when you talk to her.  And she is eating a lot more.  But she is still such a good baby and is a joy to have around.

Abbie has been counting the days till Christmas.  She asked me to make a calendar, like I did last year, where she can mark the days off.  I said, "But I didn't do that until December, and it's November now."  Her response was, "But Grandma, I want to get started early this year."  So, she has the days counted off until Christmas.  And I marked on it when she has days off from school, when her program at school is, and anything else she is excited about.  She said she wants a "Jesus birthday cake again."  So, that is on the list of things to do.

Well, it's on to work and caring for baby.  I hope you think on those things concerning being thankful.  The Lord does walk with us daily and He is providing things we never even think about.  I know I'll be more "tuned into" those things from this point on.  And I do thank the Lord for YOU.  For your care and concern for us as we serve here in Haiti.  God bless and keep looking UP!!! 

Another quick update

Thought you might like to see a couple of photos of Savanah and Abbie.  Abbie REALLY has decided to "help" me with her.  Our good friends, Ray and Bonnie, sent over a car seat and a swing to use.  I'll only have them for one month, since they had already been promised to someone else, but it's a help for now.  Abbie sits by the swing and talks to the baby.  And she tells her stories.  Oh what stories she has.  

Had a bit of a time the first 24 hours... she did NOT want a bottle, NO WAY (she had been breast fed until now)...but I just kept talking and trying and eventually, with a frown, she ate.  She was probably REALLY hungry.  She really is a contented baby, though.  

 

 Vero ended up taking her brother to the Dominican for medical help.  Years ago he had been in an accident and had a pin put in his leg.  (They didn't do a good job).  Tuesday he fell somehow and really hurt it again.  The doctors here said they could not help him, they didn't have the right "equipment".  So, Vero took him to Santiago.  She called a while ago and is headed back tomorrow.  Had a hard time understanding her, bad connection.  So, all we got was that she will be here tomorrow.  Keep her and him  in your prayers.  I'm not positive on his name, or I'd put it here.

I hope your day is going great.  And I pray that God will bless you in a real way in the coming week!!  Keep Him in front of all you do!

A long, but VERY interesting day

Airport was interesting, to say the least.  Not a lot of cargo, but very unusually hot and humid.  Not sure what is going on with the temperatures here, but I think it's the same the world over right now.  

When we got home, we had a visitor.  A wonderful surprise.  The daughter of some of our good friends came from Canada, and she stopped to see us.  It's been a LONG time since we've seen Guerline and it was good to see her again.  A month ago, her sister had a baby, and she is unable to keep it.  Guerline came to set in motion the adoption of the child.  She actually came to see if we had any information on adoption, but since we have not been involved, and it's changed drastically, we had nothing to share with her.  She had little Savanah with her.  She never asked, but was concerned about where the baby is staying.  The home situation is not the best to say it mildly.  They were about ready to leave, and Don and I had come in the house.  We looked at each other, walked out and offered to care of the child while the adoption is being worked on.  So, as of tomorrow, we will be foster care givers again.  Abbie has offered her "services" to help me care for Savanah.  She's a really good baby.  Not fussy in the least.  And as you can see, cute as a button.  We are hoping this will bring Grandma and Grandpa (Sandy and Bibiana) down to see their new granddaughter.  We would love to see them again.

 So, you can see, my ministry stopped pretty much for a while, but now it will be back in full swing again.  This will limit my working at the airport, but I will still go and do some of the work, with Savanah going along.  Another change of pace in our life.  But not a bad change.  I'm just glad we can help out our good friends.  Pray with us that the adoption process will go quickly.  We've been told it has moved along pretty quickly now.  Not sure about that, but I guess we'll find out.  Adoption into Canada seems to go much quicker than the US.  

Just got to thinking, humm.... gave all our baby items away.  Guess we'll have to search and find some things again.  Already have the crib here and ready to set it up.  Vero gave them a ride home, and returned with the crib.  

Our friends Ray and Bonnie, sent over a bunch of books for Abbie.  Some are a little advanced, but last night she asked me to read one to her.  I sat on the bed, and said, well, why don't YOU try to read it to me.  It really surprised me when she read the whole book (a 2nd grade level) with only two words she got stuck on.  She LOVES to read.  And her comprehension level is great, too.  

Abbie is now in here telling me I have to help her get ready for Savanah.  When she first saw her, I thought she was a bit jealous.  She said no, I'm not jealous, I'm just really unhappy.  I asked why.  She said because we had to stop the Tom and Jerry DVD to see the baby.  Turned it on and she was happy again.  She said she is sure Savanah will like Tom and Jerry when she "gets a bit older".  

Okay, on to work.  Abbie is reading over my shoulder and telling me to hurry!!

We are praising God that He has opened the door to this little child.  We know the home situation and know the child would have a hard time surviving there.  Pray for her, pray for her new family and pray for us.  We know God is in this.  And we are walking in His ways.  I pray you are doing the same thing.  Again, GOD IS AWESOME!!

A short note

Well the weather is something else again....after the heat not letting up, the temps dropped WAY down.  Now, those of you in the northern US, and even some in the south...will think we are a bit goofy.  But the temps dropped down to the upper 60's, and everyone here was looking for heavy coats, blankets or some other way to "stay warm".   We RARELY get below 70 degrees.  For those here, that is like below freezing for those of you in the north.  Thank goodness it does warm up during the day, up to the low or mid 80's.  When you consider most people here, because of bad nutrition, have no resistance to colds and such, you can see why they get sick when the temps change so much.  Keep them all in prayer.  

I looked at the date and it surprised me.  It's  11/11/11.   THAT doesn't happen often, does it?  But then I remembered it's Veterans Day.   Thank you to all the veterans, and to those who are serving now, to defend our country.  Our prayers go out to all of them.  They put themselves in harms way to keep us safe and we appreciate their service.  Back when they started the "thing" about when you saw a service man or woman, to simply put your hand on your heart and then move it toward them, to show your thanks, I was able to do that.  I don't remember where we were, except it was in an airport...I saw a serviceman walking toward me.  When he looked up, I did that....no words, just a simple gesture.   He smiled and nodded.  It made ME feel good to have put that smile there.  Then I saw some others do the same thing.  He had been walking with his head down when he got off the plane, but with each person who made that small effort, he stood a bit straighter.  When he was about out of sight, he was walking straight up and smiling.  Remember to thank those who served for YOU!!

Well, with it being 11/11/11, it also brought to mind something else.  Tomorrow is 11/12/11....that is the 28th anniversary of our moving to Haiti.  We landed here in Cap Haitian around noon on Nov. 12th, 1983.  Don and I and our twins had been here on teams before that, but that was our "moving day" to Haiti.  And God has blessed us beyond measure for being here.  Oh, make no mistake, there have been days when we wondered what we were doing here.  But those were not the normal.  MY only drawback to all of these years here is missing our kids, grandkids and now GREAT grandkids.  But guess that is a mother's heart speaking.  I cherish our kids and their kids, etc...and miss them a LOT.  But I also know we are to be here.  So, we'll let the Lord handle it all.

I have a daily devotional book, with the entries by Max Lucado.  Today's was about our being clothed in robes of pure white when we get to heaven.  Then he said ' "Jesus is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and His name is the Word of God" (Rev. 19:13).  Why is Christ's robe not white?  Why is His cloak not spotless?  Why is His garment dipped in blood?....Paul says simply, "He changed places with us" (Gal. 3:13)...He wore our coat of sin to the cross."   WOW... I KNEW this, yet seeing it put like that really brings it home.  Have YOU thought about all that Jesus Christ did for YOU?  I hope you are in the place where you can say AMEN and Praise the Lord for all He has done for ME!!  We really do serve an AWESOME GOD!!

Rains...

Well, the heat is slowly receding.  We have had some really heavy rains the last couple of days.  Wish I had taken a picture of our yard, but when I thought of it, too late.  Abbie stood on the porch and said, "Grandma...we have a beach!  Can I go swimming?"  Our whole big yard was water...and yes, it looked like a beach.  You could see very little grass or ground anywhere.  It came down in buckets for about 2 hours.  Many places needed the rains, but not sure if they needed it like it came!!

I did get a picture of one of our candles in the living room, between the door and window.  That shows you what the heat was like in our house.  And, our place is cooler than most, with insulation over the ceiling.  

Brings back memories of YEARS ago.  My folks were on vacation in the summer, and asked my sister and I to take turns checking their house out.  One day we both met at the house, opened the door and were hit with a blast furnace.  For some reason the furnace had kicked on, and never shut off.  A friend came and shut it down and then called the repair man.  But on the dining room table, mom had two candles with a centerpiece.  Both long candles were melted completely around the base, in a circle.  I think we took a picture of it, but don't remember.  Well, that's almost Haiti weather.  

We had some excitement last night.  I think I wrote that our guards were really pushing to get the gate finished.  And it's been done enough to close at night now.  About 2 weeks ago some guys broke into the OMS compound next to us.  Our guard said they tried to come through our drive, but couldn't get in.  So, they went to the other side of the OMS compound and climbed the fence.  Last night about 3:15 AM, our dogs went wild.  I got up and was checking out the windows.  Saw our watchman with a flashlight, but nothing else.  This kept on for over half an hour.  We got one strange phone call...no one answered me.  Then a while later, the man who is heading up their mission called (3:45 AM?) and asked us to have the guard open the gate for the police when they got there.  Guys again had scaled the walls to the other mission and broken in.  Our guards keep telling us  how happy they are with the gate.  We also have 3 stray dogs who have adopted us and stay here (we had tried to get them out, but no way would they leave).  But now...we don't complain, they sure do keep everyone out at night!!

It's back to work again.  I hope your days aren't quite as exciting as ours have been lately.  We sure are praising God that He is there with us and keeping His eyes on us.  Remember to keep your eyes on the the Lord and walk with Him!!

November has arrived

I can't believe it's November already.  Wow, time sure flies.  I also can't believe it's still so VERY hot here.  I can't remember how many people at the airport on Tuesday were complaining about the temperatures.  It's still in the 90's during the day.  Okay, it does cool off to mid 80's at night, but doesn't seem like its much cooler.  

Looking at things in perspective, the whole world is going through "unusual" times right now.  Look at Matthew 24: 4-8.  "Jesus answered: 'Watch out that no one deceives you.  For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many.  You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed.  Such things must happen but the end will come.  Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.  There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.  All these are the beginning of birth pains."

Does this sound like what is happening?  Does this mean the Lord will be coming soon?  I know "soon" is a relative term, and no one knows the time, but it is exciting.  All we have to be concerned with is if we are ready.  Are you ready?  I know I need to be better equipped, and need to start delving deeper into the Bible and what God has for me.  I don't have "fear" of what is to come.  I read the end of the Book, and we win!!!  Getting there may not be easy, but we have the Lord walking through it all with us.

With this in mind, we have to take each day and make the best of it for the Lord.  

I do have some prayer requests for you all to add to your list.  We have several good friends who are facing cancer.  Many find it hard to understand why the Lord allows this to happen to good, strong Christians.  I can't even begin to answer that, except to say that God knows more than I do.  I do know we are living in a world controlled by evil.  And yes, I do pray for healing for these wonderful people.  But we leave that part in the Lord's hands, once we lift them up to Him.  And then I wonder, if it were me in that situation would I be the kind of person they are?  I know two of these men are being a strong, positive witnesses for the Lord and all He stands for.  Would I be that kind of person?  I pray I would, but I don't know.  So, I'm praying that the Lord will work in my life to let others see what He has done for me in so many areas.  God IS my light and my salvation.  I want others to see that and be drawn to His light, too.

Another prayer request is for the IDADEE orphanage.  They are meeting some difficult times and have some hard decisions.  Please keep them lifted up and close to the Lord.  

Vero has been having a really hard time lately.  She is doing what the Lord called her to, plus she has been overburdened with work at the orphanage.  But she has almost no support and is really feeling the hard times now.  She is praying about finding a job to help out.  So please keep her lifted up in prayer.  If the Lord wants her to continue on this path He has set her on, she will need Him to show her how to do it.

One of our "kids" is planning a December wedding.  I thought I was out of this area, but I guess not.  I have a very short time to get things together for this day.  A dress, flowers, and all the added items need to be gotten.  Please pray for me to be able to accomplish this for her and her future husband.  

And then there is Abbie.  What a joy in a sometimes hard world.  Aside from her regular school work, she is taking Spanish and French daily.  And how she loves it.  She is doing really well in all areas of school, and she really enjoys school and learning.  She is such an extrovert and it shows when we pick her up from school.  Even the older kids make sure they come and tell her goodbye for the day.  She is also taking piano lessons now.  (Does anyone remember having their kids take music lessons?  Whew...ear plugs would be nice!)

And our final prayer request is for us.  Please keep us lifted up before the Lord.  We seem to be on this roller coaster ride.  Some really great days and then the real downers.  But that is life, isn't it?  It just seems doubly hard here.  

We are thankful for so many things, though.  I still rejoice in the time we spent with our kids this summer.  And am SO VERY thankful for Bud and Sharon who shared their lives and home with us.  And each and every day we are completely in awe of the Lord and all He has done for us.  We praise Him and thank Him for being there for us and for keeping watch over us. 

We pray you are totally connected to Him, too.  Oh, yea, HE IS AWESOME, TOTALLY!

A sad day

Today is not the top of the list for good days.  Don worked on the gate...trying to get things done on it.  One thing after another went wrong, then to top it all off, his welder quit.  He was SO frustrated.  He'd worked most of the day in the sun and heat, and then couldn't finish what he started.  Maybe that's the norm for Haiti.  

Then he came in and our yard man came and told he to come look at Zoe, our dog.  She has been really sick since they (no one knows who) tried to poison her.  Didn't seem to get over it at all.  Today she finally gave up and passed away.  She was such a good dog.  And she loved Abbie.  And Abbie loved her.  This was really hard on Abbie.  She cried and cried, and said it was her fault.  We can't figure that one out, but finally convinced her it was NOT her fault.  When she came home from piano lessons, she was much better, but she still misses her friend.  Zoe let her do about anything. Here is a picture taken a while back, showing them together.

Oh yes, Abbie is learning piano.  She seems to like it a lot, so we are hoping she will continue and keep with it.  

By the end of this week, the IDADEE orphanage will have 19 children.  Keep them in prayer.  There are many things they need help with now with 19 very young kids.  I don't think any of the 19 are over 3 years old.

Our weather continues to be hot and humid.  It should be cooling off a little, but doesn't seem to headed that way.  


Don was able to deliver all of the food we had here to 2 different schools.  They were so happy to get it.  


In church on Sunday, I read Psalm 150.  We are trying to center on praise in worship.  And we had a good speaker, too.  He was a young fellow, whose dad is a pastor, but he did a great job.  


In reference to Psalm 150.... have YOU been praising God lately?  Either in private or in public?  The Lord does so much for each of us every day, we should be praising Him, loud and long!!  Stop and think about your day...can you see how the Lord worked in it today?  I know at first Don had a problem finding things to praise about, but he did.  He said he could not believe that VERY old generator had held up for so many, many years and not given a bit of trouble.  So, he was praising God for all the time he did use it and what a blessing it has been over the years.  And now he is praising God for a time of rest and relaxation.  I also keep going back to 1 Thess. 5: 16-18... one of my favorite verses.... "be joyful always, pray continually, give thanks in ALL circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." (NIV)  Reach out and take hold of God's Hand, He is there for you in ALL situations!!
Blessings!!!!

Remember when?

I've been working on cleaning up things, and this included my computer.  This thing isn't that old, but I had transferred most of my things from the old one here.  I tend to do that, instead of cleaning it up.  I was amazed at some of the things I have saved.  And thrilled when I found some things I thought were gone.  It's like looking in an old shoe box and finding treasures.  

Now that I've done this, I want to go through a big tub of pictures I've been meaning to clean out.  I wonder what I'll find in there...maybe I'll have to share some of that with you.

One of the things I did find on the computer was a video we took of Abbie.  She is about 15 months old on this one.  I hope I can download it here, we'll see.  The story behind this is funny.  I was working here in the computer room.  She came in, tried to get my attention, but I didn't listen to her.  She picked up a paper out of the trash and started "reading" it to me.  I was so engrossed in my work, I sent her to grandpa.  Pretty soon she was back, "reading" again.  So, I quit and went out in the living room to listen to her.  I sat down and she pulled up a metal dolls chair and the fun began.....

 She is and was a hoot.  She still amazes us with her antics.  She's in first grade now, but excelling above her grade level.  She sits at night and reads her Bible to her mommie.  She sounds out words, and when she doesn't know what they are, she stops and asks, then repeats the sentence.  All of this without prompting from anyone.  We had put a DVD in, and somehow it was on with the words displayed.  She started reading those to us.  Then she realized they were what the people were saying and she was thrilled.

We've had a busy week.  Went to the airport Tuesday and then waited and waited for the plane.  Finally called MFI and found out that our new plane, 500MF was sitting in the Bahamas with a problem.  They had to fly 200MF down, pick up passengers and cargo and bring them in.  We came home, since the plane wasn't due for HOURS....Don went back, and picked up the pilots, since they had to overnight, coming in so late.  Sure enjoyed having them here, though.  It used to be quite often that MFI would overnight, with plane problems, or for other reasons.  It's been a while since they have had to do that.  They are working out the "glitches" of a new plane and should be out of the frustration mode soon.  Then we won't have them here again for a long time.

I shared at English church on Sunday.  What a hoot that was.  I had sat here, doing the whole thing, including the songs and everything, and timed it out to about 54 minutes...good, we have an hour.  I ended up finishing in 35 minutes....somehow I got it all wrong on timing.  While stateside, I had gotten a CD by Michael W. Smith, "A New Halleluiah".  I got it because it had "Amazing Grace" on it.  Even before we were Christians, I really liked that song.  But after accepting the Lord, it had new meaning for me.  Well, this version of the song has an added chorus.  This is it:
   My chains are gone
   I've been set free
   My God, my Savior
   Has ransomed me
   And like a flood,
   His mercy rains
   Unending love
   Amazing Grace
Since we have about 60% Haitians at English church, I wanted to do that song, but explain God's Amazing Grace before that. I had it all set up.... our friend, Ray, helped with it.  There was a lot that went into it, but the basics came down to me holding up individual signs that read, HATE, BITTERNESS, ANGER, GREED, UNFORGIVENESS...and a couple more.  I told everyone that once you accept Christ, these things can be dealt with, with Jesus help.  Then I read the chorus from the song.  I nodded and Ray came forward with chains wrapped around his body, and a lock on it.  I said, Jesus went to the cross for YOU, and for ME.  But between His death and when He rose again, what did He do?  I said, He reached down and took the keys away from the devil.  He took those keys to FREE you and me from all that holds us down.  I turned and unlocked the lock and took it off the chain.  Then I told them, He HAS set you free, but you need to turn to Him and release those things in your heart....I took the paper with HATE, held it up, crushed it in my hand and threw it away...and Ray dropped part of the chain.  I took another paper, held it up, said "Give it to the Lord", crushed it and threw it away, and Ray dropped more of the chain.  I did this through all those words.  And when done, the chain laid on the floor.  Then we sang "Amazing Grace" with the new chorus...When we got to "My Chains Are Gone", I held up the chain and threw it away.  I looked at my watch and  was shocked it was only 35 minutes.  I said, we have finished early, but you are free to go....so this week, go and share with someone how your chains are gone and you have been set free.  And share the Love of the Lord with them.  

What amazed me, was watching the Haitians.  Most come to church just to learn more English.  They sit and text, or talk quietly on the phone (a real frustration to everyone).  But that day not one person did any of that.  They all sat with mouths hanging open.  Enoch, our musician, asked if I had seen the faces of the people.  He was shocked with how quiet they were, and how they paid attention.  There was a Haitian pastor and his family there.  He knew English pretty well, but he wanted his family to learn more.  He told someone there that he was going to use that illustration in his church.  
Enoch told me I did a great job....I told him, nope, it wasn't me.  God put it all together and simply used me to do it.  And God did a great job of reaching some of those people.  I guess we are back to my favorite saying (that one of our sons used YEARS ago), "Isn't God AWESOME???"  

The days move on

Greetings,
 We have had some really weird weather here.  When we first moved to Haiti, almost 28 years ago, we had soft rains nightly (and no lightening) and sunshine daily.  These last few weeks, we have had HORRID rains and lightening every evening and sunshine during the day.   With these storms come some heavy winds, too.  This is something even the Haitians are commenting on.  The older folks say they have never seen weather like this before.  It's not quite 2 PM and already the thunder has started and it's getting dark.  Pray for the people in homes that have leaks and those living on lower ground.  We had thought that maybe the rains would take the temps down, but nope, it's simply hot and MORE humid than before.  September is our hottest month, but this is something beyond what we have seen before.

We've been working like mad on so many things here.  Biggest challenge was replacing the toilet in our home.  That took a few days.  But, praise God, it's in and working great.  Doing a lot of sorting/cleaning out/ and getting rid of things not needed.  Things sure do tend to pile up.  Of course, as soon as we toss something, we'll need it, but that's life.  

Don is still into his intense study of scripture.  At least three or four hours each morning.  I've been doing a search on "grace"....wow, it's something else.  I lead English church this coming month.  And with our speaker not coming for this first Sunday, I am going to find scriptures and songs dealing with GRACE.  I've found some neat things, and some interesting things.  Love getting into the scriptures, though.  

An "Abbie update"..... she is doing really well in school.  She is in first grade and aside from all her other "classes", she is learning French and Spanish.  Each night she wants to say grace at supper, and she does it both in French and in Spanish.  Her teacher says she is the one student (our of the school of 40+ kids), who loves to sit and listen and learn.  She also sits with mama at night and reads the Bible.  Some words she has to stop and ask what they mean, but I can't believe she is doing so great.  The words she doesn't know, she sounds out and then repeats, to make sure they are right.  The only thing she doesn't like about school is math.  She's good at it, but it takes more time than the other things, and she doesn't have a lot of patience.  She wants everything to move along at a quicker pace.  

Vero went to Ti-Gauve (south west of Port au Prince) yesterday.  She and her brother, Smith, went to pick up three more little boys for the IDADEE orphanage.  All right around 2 years old.  That will make 13 little ones, all under 2 1/2 years old.  Quite a challenge.

Well, I'd better get back to work and get some things done.  Didn't go to the airport today.  I'm only going on Tuesday's now.  But there is enough work here to catch up on.  And it's a good time to study when I'm here alone.  Since Abbie is doing so well in school, I think it's time for some "Abbie cooking" time.  She loves to help make things, so maybe something special for supper is in line.  I'll let her pick it out.  She is such a quick learner, it's fun to work and teach her.

I'll leave you with one of the scriptures I'm using on Sunday.... 2 Corinthians 12: 9...  "But He (the Lord) said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness'...."    God's grace is sufficient for ALL OF US!!
Blessings....and keep your eyes on Jesus!!

A hard time

Just a short note here, asking for prayers for Don and his family.  One of his older sisters passed away 2 days ago.  She had been in a nursing home for quite some time, but was looking forward to getting back home in the next few months.  We are so glad we were able to spend some time with her this summer.  As hard as this is, we do know we'll see her again.  She accepted the Lord many, many years ago in our home.  She is now pain free and having a great time.  It's those of us left here who grieve and hurt.  "Parting is such sweet sorrow" has real meaning to us now.  

When my sister passed away 2 years ago, we had that same feeling.  So, both of our sisters are now together and rejoicing with the Lord!!


We will not be able to go to the funeral, but our thoughts and prayers are with her children and grandchildren.  They were very close and this will be difficult for them.  Please, keep them in prayer.

In July, Barb was able to get to the yearly family picnic.  It was a great time for everyone.  It was the first time in a very long time that we were there for the picnic.  Such a blessing for us.

 

 These are her daughters with her at the picnic.  Her son was there, but I didn't get him in the picture.

 

Just before we left Wisconsin in August, Don was able to spend time with both his older sisters.  It was the first time in a LONG, LONG time the three of them had been together.  And I think the first time in a long time we saw Barb smile so big.  She was thrilled both Yvonne and Don came to see her together.  

 

 Thanks for sharing in our memories.  And please, keep the family in prayer. 

The Maiden Flight of N500MF

We had a busy day yesterday.  Not only busy, but with the temperature over 100, and out in the sun all day, it was HOT!!!  Two MFI planes came in, one of them being N500MF, our new turbine aircraft.  Before I share photos, I want to share just a short part of what MFI's president, Dick Snook, shared last Friday.  After explaining the almost 5 months of waiting on the US government to certify the aircraft, that certification came last Friday morning.  Here is just a short clip of what he wrote....

     "...On Tuesday, September 13th, N500MF will make her maiden voyage to Haiti and the Dominican Republic hauling a work team, mission cargo and mail.  I suppose you might guess who will be at the controls.  I do not pull rank very often at MFI but I did this time.  Pray for a great flight with the "new" (68 year old) DC-3 being flown by a 64 year old captain. (With a big smile on his face.)..."

Yes, he did have a big smile on his face when he arrived.  It was a great day for everyone.  A bit of a note Dick sent out today follows...

   "....This airplane carries more weight than our other aircraft and does it in style.  Going to Haiti, we cruised at 17,000 feet at an average of 240 mph.  On the flight home to Fort Pierce, we averaged 235 mph.  Today, with fuel costs so high, efficiency is very important for MFI.  We moved nearly 7,000 pounds of mission cargo to Haiti yesterday and brought 7 passengers home including a badly injured motorcycle accident victim.  A special thanks to everyone who has prayed and given to this aircraft project..."

You can see Dick, along with everyone else at MFI, is really pleased with the performance of this new aircraft.  A little side note here...all of our other DC-3's have a rest room, as does N500MF, but the new aircraft has a FLUSH toilet.  The others have a bucket below, with a normal seat on it.  (This is a real point of note for the passengers who fly regularly with us.)  It doesn't seem like a big deal to many, but it's an upgrade that many of the missionaries will enjoy.

Now, it's on to the pictures.  I hope you enjoy them.  Keep praying for MFI and for their aircraft to keep performing in the normal great way!!

 You will note that our pilots (yes, even the president of MFI) do the loading and unloading of the cargo, with the help of our Haitian workers. (A side note here, that is OUR aluminum they are unloading, to help stop the leaks in our dorm roof!)

 There are the two aircraft on the ground at Cap Haitian.  Between the two aircraft they hauled well over 10,000 pounds of cargo yesterday.  N500MF alone had almost 7,000 pounds, some of which was destined for Pignon.  N200MF had passengers and the remainder of the cargo, some of which went to the Dominican.

 Can you believe our pilots look so good after unloading all that cargo?  It's a lot of HARD work for our crew.

 I took this one when they took off....I loved the Citadel in the background.

 This last photo is an added bonus.  Having animals walking around at the "international airport" is a common site.  But the Haitians do not like getting very close to those horns.

 We hope your day today is special, like ours was yesterday.  But even if God's blessings are small, they are there every day for all of us to enjoy and grasp on to.  Look for YOUR special blessings from the Lord today.  It may be something as simply as a cool breeze on a very hot day, or something bigger, like our new aircraft finally making it's maiden flight to Haiti.  Either way, God bless you, and we'll see you soon, either here, there or in the air!!!