the roller coaster ride slowing down

Greetings,

We have been on this roller coaster since coming to the states.  But I think we are finally on solid ground and not “rolling” anymore. 

 

A friend suggested we contact another surgeon to see if Don’s surgeries could be done sooner.  (The cost for the delay was way out of range for us).  So, I called and talked to the recommended one.  Not only were they willing to help us out, the doctor Don saw is a Christian.  And he also knows about Haiti, since their church has sent team(s) down.  And now, Don will have his surgeries this month.  And it will be in a hospital a LOT closer than the previous one.  He has both surgeries scheduled for the end of this month.  But we will need to wait 3 weeks for the healing process, then he will need to get glasses.  So, we HOPE to be headed back to Haiti the first part of July.  Unless the Lord has other plans, we will be leaving this area the first week of July and heading south.  

I do ask that you keep it all in prayer.  We have prayed and prayed about this, and feel the Lord has directed us to where we are now.  Please pray with us that He will continue to be with us and be a part of what is going on.  

I am 2/3’s of the way through with my tooth situation, and praise God for that.  And I praise God I have had no pain or problems with it.  God really is awesome and has kept His hands on both Don and I.  

This has been such a great time for us with family and friends.  We can’t thank the Lord enough for having this time with everyone.  It’s been refreshing and relaxing.  Although cold most of the time, we have adjusted. Now that we’ve adjusted, it’s warming up.  And we are SO thankful for that.

We have been blessed to be here in the lake house, and able to watch God’s wonders.  God is wonderful, but so are the people He has used.  Our praise also goes out to God for using people like Bud and Sharon, not only for us, but for all the others they have helped out and blessed!!  Keep them in prayer for the Lord to richly bless them for the ministry they have with this wonderful retreat we are staying in.

We are missing our “family” in Haiti right now.  Caring for a baby is hard, but also rewarding.  And of course, they steal a part of your heart.  But it’s not only Savanah and Abbie we are missing, we are missing Vero, Bud, Jane and all our friends.  We pray God will keep them safe and healthy, and that He will bless them abundantly.

Until next time, thank you for being there for us, for praying for and with us.  We know God has all things in His hands and He will guide and direct.  And we pray you are holding on to His hands and being guided by Him, too.  

Until next time, keep your eyes upon Jesus, and keep your hands in His.  Let Him guide and direct you in all your ways.  And do not forget to thank and praise Him for all He has done for you.  He really, really is AWESOME!!

The Roller Coaster Ride

Hello again from weather changing Wisconsin,

I don't ever remember the weather doing such weird things when we lived here years ago.  But it just may be that I didn't notice it as much back then, it may have been more the "normal" at that point.  We had a day or two of wonderful (for us) weather in the 80's, and now it's back to the 40's.  But, this seems to be the life here.

We finally were able to talk to the person scheduling surgeries.  And that was our first shock.  Don is now scheduled for his physical... the 15th of July.  Then his first surgery on the 22nd of July and the final surgery on the 29th of July.  This really set us back.  A friend suggested contacting other doctors in the area to see if we could get in sooner... so I tired (he even gave us the numbers to call).  This did not work out.  So our next decision was what to do.... should be go back to Haiti and then return, or sit it out.  Cost wise, it was about the same, so Don decided we should go back to Haiti as planned, and then return.  Don felt he needed to check on things and make some decisions there, and we prayed about it.  We do feel this is the way the Lord wants us to go, so that is the plan.  

We have been back and forth on this decision for several days, but now have peace about it.  We know the Lord knew all of this already, so He will guide and direct us on things.

Each morning (some MUCH earlier than others) Don has the TV on (cable).  He has had some really great teachings this way.  Some of the teachers on TV aren't the greatest, but God has led him to some really great ones.  We are so happy that we get daily input from the Bible through some wonderful scholars.  Many are sharing their thoughts and insights from the Bible on the end times.  Others have concentrated on putting God's word into our daily lives and living through Him in all we do.  Now don't mistake me, we sure are not into the "perfect" realm.  But it's great to have the guidance each day on putting the Lord first and trying to live the kind of life He would want.  The teachings have been eye opening in many ways.  We read the Bible and can read the same passage many times, then all of a sudden, that same passage opens up and reveals a new understanding of a topic.  When we first became Christians, we thought God would simply show us all we needed, right then.  But this daily walk is showing us God takes us that ONE STEP AT A TIME with Him.  God has been so faithful in so many ways, but the marvelous things is that He is THERE, each and every day to guide and direct, through His Word, through His children, through His voice in our being.  Here we go again... GOD IS SO AWESOME!!!  I am amazed at the different ways and means He uses to teach us all we need, just when we need it.

A special thing for us has been the great time we are able to spend with our children.  They really are a blessing from God and we are so thankful and proud of them.  Children ARE a blessing from the Lord.  I will treasure this time with them for a long time.  As parents we love them, unconditionally.  But this time has been special and means so much to us.  We praise God for our kids and grandkids.  And the GREAT grandkids, too.  Oh, we have three more greats on the way.  (a set of twins in there, too.  Got to see the sonogram.)  More blessing from the Lord.

We miss our kiddos in Haiti... Savanah, Abbie, and even Sammy.  And we miss Vero, and Bud and Jane, too.  And it's been so good to talk to them.  We keep praying God is going to care and watch over all of them and be with them in all they do.  Pray for them, and for us.  Pray we will make the right decisions and walk the way the Lord would want us to.  

Thank you for being a part of our ministry in Haiti, but also for being with us here as we go through the necessary things we need to do.  May the Lord walk with you, and bless you, and guide you in His ways, as He is doing for us.  Blessings!!!

 

Short update

Greetings to all,

Not a lot of news, yet lots going on... hard to explain.  First and foremost, we have been really blessed by the time we have had with our kids.  Drawing closer to them than ever and really happy to be with them.

Had my first dental appointment and in the process of getting that cared for.  But the biggest thing now is Don and his surgeries.  Had his first appointment with the surgeon.  We really, really like Dr. Tam.  Very good man.  He checked Don out and asked if he had had a detached retina before.  He hasn't had any problem with that.  Dr. told him he was in a dangerous area for that.  And with being in Haiti, he was concerned Don may end up with one, and getting help would be difficult.  So... he did some "welding" on Don's eyes.  He used a laser and put a "wall" around Don's corneas.  He did lots of these "welds" on both eyes. There were 614 on one eye and 551 on the other eye.  This should help Don to NOT have problems with detached retinas.  Now we are waiting on dates for his physical and the two surgeries.  The only problem we are facing with this is that the doctor said he does not want Don to return to Haiti until July.  We had arrangements for return on June 11th.  There is a lot of technicalities that we have to work out for this change.  Please keep it all in prayer.  It is really an urgent prayer request.  

Little Savanah is in excellent care right now, but two of the main 3 care givers (Bud and Jane....Sammy's care givers) are leaving Haiti for appointments on June 13th.  Having the two babies 24/7 will just be too much for Vero to deal with, so we are praying God will step in and help us find who He wants to help out with Savanah.  We sure do miss that little girl.  She has really taken a piece of our hearts.  

Thought I'd share a couple of pictures Don and our son, Dale, took yesterday.  Right here in our back yard and on the lake.  It's so neat for Don to be able to rest just a bit and enjoy God's creation.

 

 Canadian geese and ducks in our yard (and on the water it touches)... isn't that neat?  I hope you are enjoying your life with the Lord and also enjoying His creation.  All you have to do is to look around and you can see what the Lord has done.  God is not only GOOD, God is totally AWESOME!!!!

Until next time, blessings and keep your focus on Jesus and what He is doing in your life!!