Easter and Rains

Greetings, and we pray your Easter was a fantastic time of remembering not only what the Lord Jesus Christ did for YOU, but what He has given to us, through His suffering, death and resurrection!!!  He has passed on to us the power over satan and the right to claim victory is all of our circumstances.  That does not mean we will not have problems or trials.  It means we have the Lord standing with us through each and every one of them and He will help and guide us if we only ask Him. 

We had a great Sunrise (SONrise) service.  I had spent a couple of days really not doing well, and I prayed the Lord would touch me so I could go to the service, for a couple of reasons.  I enjoy those services, but I was also supposed to LEAD the service this year.  And, an added blessing, we were to have the mime presented.  But let me back up here a moment.

Our American doctor here feels I have a pinched nerve in the lower back.  (This added to the pinched nerves in C2 and C5).  The fun never ceases.  But again, the Lord is in control.  The C2 and C5 problem was taken care of by a physical therapist who had been here.  He gave me exercises to alleviate the problem when it erupts, and they work wonderful.  Then this problem arose and I have been given some advice from the doc on helping that.  God sent the right people at the right time.  Well, almost.  I had not called the doc here when I felt so bad.  I hated to call when he is so ultra busy with some real situations here.  But the Lord worked it out first.... I felt better by Saturday evening, and by Sunday morning at 5 AM, I felt I could go.  

Don had to take all the benches we have plus a lot of the chairs over to the school next door.  He did that, with a little help.  We were finally set up and ready to go.  I do have to back up once again.  On Saturday, our good friend, Belle, came to visit.  She stepped in and was willing to take my place leading if I couldn't make it.  But she also came and was willing to make the food I had planned to prepare.  We have a breakfast right after service, and everyone is to bring a dish to share.  Those of us on the committee for English Bible Fellowship (EBF) always end up making a lot of things, since some of the Haitians who come don't have the ability to bring anything.  Belle was a real blessing to us with her willingness to step in and help out.

I didn't use most of the traditional Easter songs, but used some of the contemporary ones.  And we had two soloists who also helped out.  Now on to the mime.... One of our former puppeteers (Daniel) had decided to revive the mime they had done.  He recruited 5 young adults from the orphanage to do it.  They had come here to the house to do it for us the week before.  We were very impressed.  And they asked us to help them get it right and work with them on it.  Well, they did it Easter morning for EBF.  They did an awesome job and many were impressed.  (I had 2 people come and tell me they had tears by the time it was finished).  That was such a blessing for us to see it again.  Once service was over, I realized I had expended much more energy than I thought.  I had a glass of juice, then looked for Don to head home.  Doc came over after the breakfast and gave me some pointers on how to overcome that pain.  See, the Lord puts those we need right where we need them, doesn't He??  

I am now up and back to work...well, going a little slower, but still getting things done. I really praise the Lord for being what I need, when I need it.  

Again, I want to back up and fill in some gaps I left.  The day I got sick, Don had to stop working on Vero's house to watch Savanah.  Then he discovered a huge puddle in the yard... and knew we had a water problem.  Come to find out, our water line had broken between our house and the dorm. (A huge tree root was the culprit).  Two of the fellows Don used to hire to work for him came seeing if he could help them with some food.  So (again the Lord sent help) Don hired them to help fix that problem.  It not only saved Don all the work, it saved the pride of those men, since they could work and provide for their families.  

Since Sunday, Don has started working on Vero's place again.  He now has all the electrical outlets and switches in, and once Cequer (one of our helpers) finishes the cupboards, they can do the tile and Vero and Abbie will be able to move into their home.  Yesterday I helped Don get the last of the screening up on the windows out there.  Abbie is so excited to be able to see the progress.  She wants to move in NOW.  Vero doesn't say much but when she found out the screens were all up and the electric about done, she was happy.  It's been a long time coming.  

We have had a lot of rain lately.  We praise God it has overcome the drought we had.  Things are looking so nice and green.  Now we are praying it levels out and doesn't over do.  Like I mentioned before, it's either feast or famine.  But we are very happy with the rains, as the wells all over are now back to normal.  

So, I close with some prayer requests.  First and foremost on our list is Savanah's adoption.  Pastor Cebien is working so hard to get it done.  Pray for him as he puts his time and energy into getting it all accomplished.  And pray for his ministry as well.  He has over 200 churches now, and he helps them all in any way the Lord provides.  He is not a preacher only, he works with the men when they build buildings and schools.  He does not hold with the feelings, that many Haitian pastors have, that once you are a preacher, you don't do any physical work.  He works as hard, and sometimes harder, then the men laying cement and blocks.  

Next pray for the country of Haiti, that the Lord will move mightily in a very obvious way to bring unbelievers to Him.  Pray that he opens the minds and hearts of some of the "pastors" who are only in it for the money.  Pray that His word will go out and lives will be changed.  I guess we need to pray the same way for America.  When we pray with pastor Cebien, he ALWAYS prays for America and the pastors there, along with Haiti.  

Pray for Don and I to accomplish what the Lord sets before us.  Pray that we will have open hearts and minds to do what He wills.  

We will be praying for all of you, too.  We pray the Lord will walk before you and guide and direct you in ways you don't expect.  We pray He will be all that you need in every situation.  We pray God's abundant blessings on you as you walk with Him and do His work.  

We have missed spring

Greetings again from Haiti!

I think we have missed spring and gone totally into summer.  We have lots of HEAT and HUMIDITY right now.  But we are also into praising God for the rains He has sent. We are excited that the heavy drought has ended and things are now growing again!

I decided to send out some pictures again, since the Lord has arranged for our internet to work.  I was shocked when I tried, once again, to get on with my laptop... and it worked!!!!  I have not gotten on the internet with this computer since last September.  God is working wonders and it's all in answer to prayers!  Thank you so much for those prayers!

So, as the photos come up, I'll describe them to you all!!  First of all, one of our former puppet team members was married this last weekend.  Our good friend, Carolyn, from Florida, came and did the flowers.  We had a great week with her.  She also brought along some dresses which were donated from a gal in West Palm Beach.  Savanah received one of them and it was so pretty.  Abbie was the flower girl and got to dress up and be a "princess" for a day.

 

 This is Belfort after the wedding, along with the Maren (Godmother), his new wife, and Stan, the Paren (Godfather).  Loved the very vivid colors!!

 The cake was also awesome... made by another orphan from the same orphanage Belfort had been in.  She did such a great job and is so talented!!!

Belfort was the director of the church choir.  They sang at the wedding and he directed them.  Then he grabbed his saxophone and joined the band he is in (who play for funerals and other events).  We were amazed at the fantastic music they created.  The whole wedding was really wonderful, and we so enjoyed it.


Savanah decided to help grandpa do some work.  He had an extra set of glasses to help with close work.  She simply put them on, so she would work with him.

 Don has been working on Vero's house, hauling sand a gravel, and working at the airport, so he has been extra busy these last weeks.  

I've been busy keeping track of this very, very active 2 year old.  Each day she seems to find more and more things to get into.  She is doing so many things our twins did when they were her size... not a fun time for me!!  I'm using a lot of Greased Lightening now, to get rid of all the pen drawings she has created all over the house.  Including my good chair, the walls, books and her belly!!  Maybe she'll be an artist?  Who knows.  An added note... please keep praying for the adoption process to be finalized.  Pastor Cebien said he had to have 4 meetings, and has already completed 3 of those.  Need some heavy prayers to get this completed.

I have also started working with another group from the orphanage who are resurrecting the mime our former puppet team did.  It is awesome and has touched so many people.  Now we pray these young adults will have the same impact when they do it for others.  

I will close for now and try to get some work done while I have internet.  We have so much to be thankful for and we continue to praise the Lord for all He is doing.  We also pray you are walking with Him and doing what He directs you to do.  May your walk with Him be fulfilling and fantastic!!  And may you always keep your hand in His in all things you do!