Yes, LIFE... why is it that things seem to fly by when you don't want them to, but go ultra slow when you wish they'd speed up? These last couple of weeks have been speeding by and I can't even tell where we've been or what we've done. Well, in many ways, anyway!
Carnival (Mardi Gras) is over. We are pleased that there were NO major incidents at all. This is so unusual and so very, very good. No we didn't participate, but the police said there were no major problems anywhere. Some people had reported losing wallets or personal items, but other than that, no fights or incidents that required police intervention. And our "kiddo" Daniel who is now a policeman, said that many of the "lost" items (thought to have been stolen) have been turned into the police by people who found them. THAT is a miracle for sure. Made a lot of people happy, too.
A real surprise is that they continue to work on the roads and they are still improving things. That is such an uplift for everyone. Yes, there is a drawback to good roads... big trucks and the buses that travel from Port to Cap go way too fast and cause accidents. But we are praying people will take extra precautions and take care. The airport is moving along really well, too. Since I only go once a week now, it seems they are moving by leaps and bounds. It is really great to see things improve here, instead of decline like they normally do.
Our "sickness" here seems to want to hang around. Praise God, Savanah is over hers. She really didn't understand why she was sick, but is back in full swing now. Yup, into everything and enjoying life to the fullest. We have a child proof safety gate in the hall, so she doesn't get into things at this end of the house. You figured it out, right? She can open it. It has a lock on it and we are tying to keep her from seeing how that operates. She doesn't like to talk... words, that is. She can get what she wants with grunts and pointing. I've been working on WORDS with her and she is finally catching on. Please and thank you are the big ones. They are sort of phonetic right now, and not the clearest, but you can understand her. She really likes food...big time. Not meats, except hot dogs. And not a lot of cakes. But anything else she inhales.
Noufie, the gal who stayed with us until her baby was born Christmas eve, stopped by today with little Christny. He has really grown and is doing very well. I thought I'd include a picture of him and his mama for you. Mama is taking good care of him, which is obvious.
Well, that was LIFE and REJOICING... now on to adoption. We have been really concerned about these new laws put into place here. And actually we still are. So many children could go to good homes, but that may be in jeopardy now. So, prayers need to go up for all these children who could have good homes. I do understand that they are working toward stopping the black market "sale" of children, and I am all for that. But when a home is proved to be good and strong, these children should be able to have a decent life.
Okay, on to Savanah and little Sammy's adoption situations. God may be opening doors for both of them. We don't know exactly what the Lord will do, or how He will do it, but we have a peace and confidence that it is going to take place. Little Sammy (I call him Chunky Charlie now... he has grown SO much.) is supposed to go to a good Christian Haitian couple in Pennsylvania. They have already fallen in love with him. And our little imp, Savanah, is supposed to go to her biological aunt and family. They have been to see her twice already. Through situations that only the Lord could have managed, there may be an open door for them. While praying with Pastor Cebien, Bud and Jane (Sammy's care givers), the Lord brought to mind Matthew 17: 20b. "I tell you the truth, if you have faith as a small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, move from here to there and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." I really, really felt the Lord tell us to not only have faith, but to BELIEVE in that verse. So, we have already told this mountain (paperwork, laws, people's minds) to MOVE and we BELIEVE they will be moved. We are standing on this verse and we do believe these things will be taken care of. God is already working on a way to accomplish this and get it done. We just wait daily for the next miracle to happen, and they are happening.
What we are asking of YOU is that you pray and stand with us, believing God IS working on this and will accomplish it quickly. We serve an AWESOME GOD, and we have no doubt about that at all.
In the near future I hope to have a picture of Savanah and Chunky Charlie to share with you. They are an amazement to watch. Savanah takes him toys and wants to kiss him constantly. But he is ALL BOY... loves the toys, but back off on the kissing. AND when the adoptions go through, they won't live far from each other, either! Isn't that awesome, too?
I'd better close and get some work done here. I just really wanted to let you all know that you can rejoice with us and also pray with us. We SO appreciate everyone who stands with us in prayer and support. God has sent some really wonderful people into our lives and we are very, very thankful for all of you!! Blessings beyond measure go out to you all!!!
It's been a challenging couple of weeks. Don, Savanah and I came down with... guess it's the flu and a horrid cold. Put baby on antibiotics and she started improving, so now Don and I are on them too. We should be well on the way to feeling a whole lot better.
Even with feeling sort of rotten, life goes on, so we have to keep on keeping on. And we are so thankful for some really great friends here, too. Our friend, Pastor Cebien, has started coming on Wednesday evenings and praying with us. That is such a great uplift for us. A couple of times he has brought along a few other pastors to pray too. It's been such a treat for us to be involved in his ministry this way. He prays for us, but we get to pray for him and for those who come along. We have another missionary couple who will be joining us in this, too. And Pastor Cebien also shares scripture that God lays on his heart with us. And we've been able to do the same. God is so faithful to put those we need in our lives when we need them.
We have had some awesome teaching at English church lately. This last Sunday we had a guest speaker, Rob (from the US). He shared on Job, and what he went through. Afterwards I asked him if someone had shared with him that one of the missionaries have said we are living in Job's house. He said nope, but the Lord knows what's going on. He was great!!
He shared mainly on chapters one and two of Job. While everyone remembers the trials Job had, no one remembers some of the interaction not only between Job and God, but the interaction between satan and God. After presenting the main theme of Job, Rob went on to concentrate on what God said to satan ABOUT Job. And He said it twice to him. He said, "There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil." (Chapter one verse 8). Rob said, no Job was not perfect, and was not sinless. But he was striving to be the kind of man God wanted him to be. Then Rob asked us.... "Are you someone God can claim that about?" Wow... that was a jolt. Yes, Job suffered more than any of us probably will. But, he continued to praise and honor God through all of it. When you read Chapter one, verses 20 through 22... you see how we should be. "At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said; 'Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; May the name of the Lord be praised.' In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing." (NIV). No, we don't need to tear our clothing, or shave our heads, but we do need to praise God IN all situations. (I Thess. 5: 18). When we were saved, God didn't promise we could not go through trials. He promised He would be WITH us IN those trials. Rob's message contained much more than this, but in our situation lately, this was brought home BIG TIME! It's a lesson we needed to hear, for sure.
We have been blessed the last week, too. One of the missions here is housing their teams in the dorm. Why is this a blessing??? Well, in the evenings, when we have no power and have to use our small generator, we have no water. But with the team here, each evening they use the bigger generator for the dorm, and the pump house is on that, and WE HAVE WATER in the evenings. Not a huge big deal, but evenings is when I like to shower, so I've REALLY enjoyed it. And giving Savanah a bath at night helps her sleep better, so it's a double blessing.
Carnival (Mardi Gras) is upon us now. The city has been shut down for motorized traffic. Not sure just how they are handling that, but it's what was put into effect. They have decorations and booths all over. I haven't seen it, but Don and some of the other missionaries were in before they shut down the roads. This weekend is the culmination of the celebrations. And Tuesday is the official DAY of Mardi Gras. So, we are at home not planning on leaving the compound until at least Wednesday. Don did make a delivery this morning, but not far from here. This weekend is a "catch-up" time for work that needs to get done here. We can hear the celebrations at night, but are not a part of this.
Have gotten a couple of really good movies via Net Flix this last week. The one that stood out was "Last flight out", about a missionary in South America. Great movie. We are so thankful we can get and watch some good movies. We have our own copies of the Sherwood films (Facing the Giants, Courageous, etc...) and have shared them with others. There really still are good movies out there if you just look a bit.
I guess my time on here is up... I hear the baby calling. She really is good when she wakes up... she'll sit and play and talk in her crib for a while. But then she thinks we don't know she is up and she starts calling. Please pray for her situation with the adoption. I have a had a couple more leads into things that may help, but don't know if it will work or not. Only the Lord knows, but we'll keep moving until He shows us differently. Please pray that we will have the wisdom to LISTEN to what the Lord is saying and act on His guidance.
Until next time, please remember to keep Jesus in mind in all you do. Strive to respond like Job did.... Praising God and lifting Him up, no matter what happens. Blessings to you all, and we are praying God will guide you, along with us, in all we do!!
