Sunday, February 27, 2011

Really AWESOME Sunday

Just had to add another post today.  On top of it being a great SUNSHINE day, it was a great SONSHINE day!!  At English Bible Fellowship, our good, long time friend Wilburt shared in church.  Last October, he was kidnapped.  The guys who took him were set on killing him.  He kept praying and praying.  After a LONG ordeal of driving for hours on end, and he didn't know where he was...he escaped.  He gave ALL credit to the Lord for taking care of him.  Then after long hours of walking... he found help and was taken home by the UN.  He story is awesome.  Awesome how the Lord guided and protected him.  Awesome in how he never lost his faith.  Awesome how the Lord did wrap him in His loving care and took care of him.  But even that was not the end of the story.  As Paul Harvey would say, "And now the rest of the story!"  Wilburt and Meg (his wife) left Haiti for two months after this experience, not knowing who his kidnappers were.  Then through circumstances that were God ordained, one of the kidnappers were taken into custody.  He in turn, told who the others were, and they were also taken into custody.  Turns out, the man who headed this all up was Wilburt's neighbor.  The year before this, that man had been kidnapped.  I'm not sure if it was a real kidnapping, or if it was a set up.  I didn't hear that part, as I was holding Jauncie during the service.  But...when that man had been kidnapped, his family had come to Wilburt and asked for help with the money.  Wilburt helped them with what he had.  The tables turned and now this man and his associates are in prison.  But the whole thing that Wilburt shared with us was that, "GOD IS REAL".  No matter your situation, God IS there.  He can help you, and be with you through whatever you are facing.  God may not take you out of the situation, but He will be there with you THROUGH the situation.  

After I heard his whole story, my mind turned to the song "My God Is An Awesome God"!  If you don't know the words, they are:
My God is an awesome God,
He reigns in heaven above,
With wisdom, power and love,
My God is an awesome God!!

Yes, the words really are "OUR" God...but you can personalize that and realize that HE IS AWESOME!!  And He is YOUR God, who cares for you, loves you and wants to walk with you through all you face in life.  The good, the bad and the ordinary.  We've seen the Lord work in many, many ways here in Haiti.  There is no way we would deny how much we depend on Him for all things.  Every missionary can give you details of ways the Lord has guided, protected and watched over them.  But you know what?   It isn't only missionaries that He does these things for.  It is ALL people.  All you need to do is turn your heart in his direction, believe and trust in Him, and He will walk with you through the storms in life and through the wonderful sunshine.  Just ask him into your heart and let Him do the work in you.  You will know peace in tribulation, love in heartache and power in unbelievable circumstances.  I have to go back to those DVD's we watched with Louie Giglio... let God's light shine through you and let His glory shine in all circumstances.   

Have a God blessed day.  We love you!  

Sunshine on Sunday

We're doing a quick "Praise" note.

~ Sunshine is great today.
~ Rains have "trickled" off.
~ Rotten cold improving, a lot!
~ Computer room cleaned up (PTL).
~ Getting closer to having our residency papers finished (again).
~ Having a month where we can get some work done (unless we make the quick trip to the states with Vero).
~ Small gate up on the driveway (ANOTHER PTL)!
~ New batteries on inverter working.
~ New battery in pick-up working great.
~ New tires on big truck and they are wonderful.

They may seem like small things, but to us they are huge.  And each thing shows us God is with us in ALL things.

You can see our puppy and the birds are happy with the weather we are having now!!
 Prayer requests:

~ We can make the trip to Port and get the residency papers finished. (Then the wait for them to print it all).
~ That Vero can get her visa.  We are not trying for Abbie's at this point.  Praying that once Vero has hers, we can work on Abbie's.
~ That Don can deliver all the supplies that have had to wait with the rains.
~ Getting catch-up work done on both vehicles.
~ For the IDADEE orphanage, they now have 2 children, and are making plans for the dedication services.
~ For Haiti, it's leaders, the election and the outcome.


Thanks for praying with us, and for rejoicing with us that small and big things have been accomplished.  With God all things are possible....and we can see it every day in all we do.  HE has been walking with us, before us, and behind us, guiding, protecting and loving us!!

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

A Wake Up Call

This will be short, but I wanted to share just a bit of something with you all.  Some very good friends of ours sent us a DVD series.  Note: he is in the midst of a huge battle with cancer.  But they sent these DVD's to encourage US.  

I had heard of this speaker (preacher) before, and I have listened to some of his things.  He is good, to say the least.  But these DVD's gave us a whole new insight and perspective on the cross.  He enjoys science and the first and part of the second DVD deal with some of that (which I have seen before).  But from that point on....all I can say is WOW!!  I know that not everyone will see this as I have.  God gives us what we need when we need it.  But I saw this not only in reference to our friends who sent it, but to my own life and what God wants from ME and how He wants ME to respond to it.  I can honestly say that I see the CROSS in a whole new light.  

We have one more DVD to watch, but already, I want to see everyone see these and grasp what the Lord has for you.  I was touched, and I cried.  Not just for those he was sharing about, but for those I know who need to hear this.  I've been battling a very bad cold, which seemed to be heading into pneumonia...but that is so unimportant now.  And I do believe that the Lord is taking care of that, too.  But He is turning me to look at things and see things in a totally different way now.  

I could go on and on, and probably confuse everyone, but I'd rather you find and watch these DVD's.  I can't put into words what the Lord has shown me through these.  And, yes, maybe it won't effect you the same way.  But the truths here can't be denied.  SOOOO..... if you have a way, please watch Louie Giglio's DVD series  "The Heart Of Passion".  And I pray God will open in your heart some new understanding, like He has for me.  I didn't mean to preach, but this did touch me so much.

Pray for MFI.  We got word yesterday evening that the plane that left here was still in Turks and Cacaos last night.  We really weren't sure if there had been an accident or what.  I finally called Dick Snook and asked.  He had just landed the small MFI plane and gotten the details.  Our plane was just then getting ready to take off.  They landed, fueled up and then the airport keep holding them (and others I guess) from taking off.  A hole was found in the runway.  That really could have been a disaster if a wheel on any plane had hit it.  Praise God no one did, but they were fixing it.  The downside was that our passengers didn't even get to West Palm Beach until 12:30 in the morning.  They must have been exhausted.  And the pilots were probably REALLY worn out and ready for a day off.  They start their days at like between 3:30 and 4 AM.  So they were getting close to being up for 24 hours...  Pray for them.  We only have the one plane flying at this point.  Safety checks and repairs have two of them off line.  By next week there should be two in the air again.  We really praise God for His Hands on those planes and on the pilots and passengers.  There have been many comments (all positive) about our pilots praying with the passengers before each flight.  Again....GOD IS AWESOME!!!

For now...let the Lord lead and guide you in all you do.  Keep HIM with you wherever you go and let Him guide and direct you.  He really is "Indescribable"!

Sunday, February 20, 2011

We may need a boat...

Well, I was going to try and get some photos, but not going out in this mess.  West of us, one of the missionaries posted that they had 17 inches of rain from Monday to Thursday, and then more the next two days.  We are on the opposite side of the small mountain, but we have gotten a LOT of it too.  Don's rain gauge has dead batteries, so we don't know how much we actually had here.  But it's STILL raining...and looks like it will for a while yet. 

And our relatively new roof on the dorm, which is now covered by a HUGE tarp, is STILL leaking, and in the same spots.  Right in the middle of where the tarp is!!  Talk about frustrating!!!  And we had put new ceiling tiles in, too, so those are ruined.  Okay, so start praying for wisdom for us to figure out what is going on.

I'm in the midst of a really rotten head cold.  But I will survive.  Must be from all the rains and cold (for us) weather.

Abbie is being Abbie.  She never ceases to amaze us with her comments, her memory and her "grown up" look at things.  But then, she spends most of her time with adults, so that should not surprise us.  Sure wish we could get her into a gymnastics class, but here that is not an option.  She has some amazing abilities in that area.

Don was trying to get the tires on the dump truck changed yesterday.  Got part way .... taking tires off, taking them to a place down the road, then coming back, and putting them on to take the next ones.  In the midst of that...the pick-up wouldn't start.  Need a battery for that now.  So, we are machine-less at this point.  Life is SO interesting here.  If the rains would stop, he could put the old tires on and try to get a battery.  But can't simply put the old ones on, when there are different sized ones on the other side....hummm...interesting things always happen.  

We are starting to work out our stateside trip for this year.  We have two grandsons graduating and plan to be there for both of them.  We'll work other things around that.  But we have teams that want to come down, so are working around that also.  

Time to get moving here.  I would like to get started on taxes before we head to church.  Taxes are NOT a fun item, but have to be done.  

And through all of this, we are still praising God for all He does for us, and has done for us and will do for us.  We are really learning to depend on Him for all things, big and small.  After all, HE is in control!!!  And  how VERY thankful we are for that.   Have a blessed day and keep Jesus at the front of all you do.  I keep thinking of the song we learned MANY years ago... "...put your hand in the Hand of the Man who stilled the waters...put your hand in the Hand of the Man who calmed the sea.  Take a look at yourself and you may look at others differently, by putting your hand in the Hand of the Man from Galilee."  Amen to that!!

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

The dental team has left

I'm sorry I haven't posted more, but it's been a bit busy here...and it's been a good busy for the most part.

I want to share some of the photos from the dental team.  They did an awesome job.  I don't know if anyone was counting patients, maybe Vero did, but they saw a lot out at the IDADEE compound.  Then had a day to do Cheron Hardy's children from her orphanage, and some of her workers, too.  God REALLY worked through this team and so much was accomplished.  And a couple of the fellows on the team did some "investigative" work on Maranga (spelling probably WAY off on this one) trees, too.  But let me back up and start with some photos.  I had put some of them on from the work at IDADEE in the last post, so these will be from Monday.  They were scheduled to go to Cheron's orphanage, set up and do the work there.  Well, RAINS interfered.  Not just rain, but a deluge of rain.  So, they set up here at the dorm.  Did that one other year, too.  They set up all the dentists and hygienists in the living room/dining room area.  Men's dorm was designated for equipment cleaning, and later, lunch room, and the girls dorm was a training center for making eye glasses.  All of this while Carolyn was cooking in the kitchen.  The WHOLE dorm was in use.

Cheron's kids and workers were amazing.  One very little girl didn't need any coaxing, she walked in holding a hand, but then quickly went to a chair and got in, with a smile on her face.  There were a couple apprehensive, but for the most part, no problems.  The team worked diligently and quickly and saw everyone here.  In the one photo of the two little girls, the one on the left is the one who couldn't wait to get in the chair...the other one... well, she wasn't too sure.  The rest show the work done, and the space they had to work in.  GREAT TEAM!!!

This gal is one of Cheron's cooks.  Although she doesn't look happy, she was so thankful.  Her whole mouth was frozen.  They had to pull 10 (YES TEN) teeth, but she was so thankful for them doing it.  Can you imagine?  Wow, that gal (and she is 47 years old) is so tiny but such a great gal.  Cheron said she has had a really hard life, so they were so glad they could help her.  I think they plan to help her get teeth, too.
 
 Now on the an exciting event.  Daniel and Majorie (two of our former puppeteers) had a baby Thursday night (I think).  We had little Jauncie for the night here.  In the photo below, you can see Jauncie looking at Gabrielle.  Now take another look.... Gabrielle is 12 HOURS old here, and Jauncie is 3½ MONTHS old.  She is about 9½ pounds and he is about 6 pounds.  I think her crying was entertaining Jauncie.   The next photo is of Majorie and Gabrielle.  Gabrielle is a chunk, and so cute.  Mama and papa are very proud.  
 
Well, Don is at the airport today...our team was to fly out yesterday, but ended up staying an extra night.  The plane they were to fly on, had to stay in the Dominican overnight, so they are flying out today.  They will prayerfully make their connecting flights this afternoon.  But we sure enjoyed the team while they were here.

For now, remember to keep Jesus with you in all you do.  Even the hardest of times can draw you closer to Him.  He is our strength and refuge.  And we cling to Him.  I hope you are doing the same!!  God bless, and keep praying!!

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

The Dental Team has arrived

Well, we are at it again.  We have a dental team here.  They came yesterday, went out to IDADEE and set up late yesterday afternoon, and today were at work.  I don't know how many they saw...that isn't important.  They (all 5 dentists and 2 hygienists, and other workers) worked hard all day long.  One of the dentists is a Haitian who lives here, and works with the team each year.  It was awesome to see the work being done.  People are SO grateful for the help.  God has been awesome in the way He uses His people to reach out.  There were Haitians who did the evangelism with those who came.  These same people will be the ones who do follow-up.  This whole week will be a huge success in enabling the Haitians to minister to the Haitians.  God is AWESOME, and we are so thankful for the people who hear His call and come in response.
 
 
The team also brought some blankets to distribute to small children.  They were sent by a group called  Wrap Them In Love.   What a blessing that is.  I was able to care for a small baby today, here at the house.  Ray and Bonnie Vanslyke have taken in a 3 1/2 month old baby (much younger than any of the kids in their orphanage).  Little Jauncie's mother died from cholera not long after he was born late last October.  (I do not know how to spell his name, so that is a guess).  He was so malnourished when Ray and Bonnie got him 2 1/2 weeks ago. He was so swollen up. His sister had been caring for him, but only had tea and coke to feed this infant.  The photo of him crying was not long after they got him.  You can see his little hands and arm are so swollen.  But the improvement has been a real God thing.  True, he is not up to his weight, but in only 2 1/2 weeks, he has improved SO drastically that it's awesome...(there's that word again).  You can see from the one photo how tiny he is...that is his hand in Don's.  (Guess I'll never give up the love of caring for an infant.  He was a real joy!!)

 I've been reading a chapter of a book to Abbie each night.  It's called, "Missionary Stories with the Millers" by Mildred A. Martin.  It is a fantastic book.  And really brings out what God has done and is doing through His people everywhere.  Abbie loves to hear the stories and loves to retell them to others.  

 Well, for now, I'd best close and get some other work done.  I just wanted to share a bit of what is happening here.  Just a quick glimpse into what God is doing.  God bless and keep you.  May you walk with Him and talk with Him, and let Him be your guide in all you do!!

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Have you ever?

Have you ever had one of those moments.... or one of those hours.... how about one of those days?   Well, it's been one of those weeks, plus more.  Any one of the things is probably insignificant, but add it all up and what a time I've had.

While the team was here, just before they left....the washer quit.  Okay, many would say, no problem, hire someone to do it.  Okay, that's an option, but we had a ton of wash, and the one person who could have helped has moved to the new orphanage.  What the girls did, was wash at the dorm, then lug the things here to dry them.  That's a LOT of lifting and carrying.  So, I did get two of the boys to come and move the washer from the dorm to the house.  It had a problem even over there, with water barely trickling in.  Don checked, found a very small filter on the water hose.  It was totally clogged.  I unhooked the busted washer.... water EVERYWHERE in the laundry room.  The valve on that faucet was broke, and we had to shut off the main water line to stop the water.  After getting that fixed (sort of), I had Don hook up the dorm washer.  Turned it on, after cleaning the filter, and it STILL barely dripped into the washer.  Vero just looked at me, and I said, okay, we'll use the hose to fill it.  Turned on the hose, and almost nothing there either.  The main valve WAS open, so I was frustrated.  Then I looked down...the valve that was not working right was turned off...it doesn't close, so some water comes out.  Turned that on and WHOOSH, we had LOTS of water in the washer.  By the way, to get the washer OUT of the laundry room at the dorm, we had to take the frame off the door.  So you can see some of the frustrations for a few days there.

My energy level is down to the lowest it's been in a long time.  I can't seem to get it back up and it's so hard to get anything done this way.  Two nights in bed REAL early and up late, but that hasn't helped much. 

Don's been working hard on that door for the gate.  But even when it's done (and it is about to that point), we can't use it.  Our watchman is really sick.  If he's not there to open it, we can't close it.  

But the Lord put a huge bright spot in our life, too.  Well, not ours personally, but something that we have been praying for, for a long time.  The IDADEE orphanage has taken in their first child.  It's a little girl.  She is so cute.  She was born June 7th, 2008.  Although she has parents, they are unable to care for her.  Her name is Emmanuella.  Keep her and IDADEE in prayer.  Their prayers and dreams are finally being realized and it's a huge undertaking for them.   I though you would like to see a photo of Emmanuella.  So here she is!
 With all that is going on, we still need to keep our focus on the Lord Jesus Christ.  HE knows what is happening and what is going on.  I have to believe He is allowing all of this for some reason.  I just hope I learn whatever it is so we can move on.  There are a lot of other minor "things", but none of it really all that important.  It's simply frustrating.  Now I will be concentrating on the song, "The Joy of the Lord IS MY STRENGTH"!  That is a REAL truth and one I am going to cling to with everything I have.  I pray He is your strength, too, and that you can walk with Him and talk with Him as a close friend.
Blessings to you all!!