Celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ

I hope as we approach the Christmas holidays that you are celebrating the birth of our Savior.  I guess I am not into the “politically correct” version of this holiday (or Holy Day).  I AM celebrating the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and proud of it.  

I’ve been trying to download some photos I have to share, but can't get those that I took to load.  But I can download the ones our son sent.  He was sharing what we are missing in Wisconsin this time of year.  It's beautiful....but I don't think we miss the cold that much.  The beauty, yes, the cold, nope!  But we are glad Dale has shared some of the gorgeous scenery with us.  He likes to take pictures and we like to see them.   

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner at Radio 4VEH (where our English church meets).  There were somewhere near or over 50 people.  We never really took a count.  I had a picture to share, but... it didn't download.  We had LOTS of great food and even had some Haitian dishes with it.  A great meal and a great message by one of our missionaries.  

Many, many years ago, one of our pilots wives sent down a children's Fisher Price manger set.  This year, she added more pieces to it.   Originally it was for Abbie.  Now Savanah loves to play with it.  (Along with Abbie).  She lines up all the people in the set, and then the animals behind them.  Then takes one at a time, moves them up to Jesus in the manger and tells them, "That is baby Jesus, see Him?"  Then that one is moved to the back of the line, and the next one is taken up to see Him.  She plays with it for a long time.  And at least once a day goes through the same thing.  She thought she should be able to play with ALL our manger scenes... I told her nope, the one on the shelf I made in 1978 and it's breakable.  So, she has decided the only one she can play with is on her table.  

We have pretty much come to the conclusion that she will not be home in Canada for Christmas.  But we are hoping it won't be too long after that when she will be.  She talks about Mommy, Daddy, Ruby, Lexi and Natalia (who she simply calls her baby), all the time.  We have photos printed out for her that she carries around and shows everyone who comes through the door.

We are doing small Christmas bags for English church again this year.  Lots of little things in it that have Jesus on them.  Bracelets (one really nice one, and one of the plastic ones), necklaces, pencils, tiny tablets of paper, well lots of things, and of course candy... with the story of Jesus included.  Vero helped me finish bagging everything yesterday...we did 48 bags this year.  We also use these as a challenge for those receiving them to share...we try to put 2 of several things, one to keep and one to share and also share the love of Jesus with people.  We had some awesome testimonies last year from it.  

We are praising the Lord for all He is doing and all He has done for us this whole year.  Through each and every struggle, through each and every victory, God has been at the center and has guided and walked with us.  Isn't He an AWESOME GOD?  I often wonder how we got through things before we knew Him.  And looking back...we had a really hard time making it.  And we had no joy, no victory just surviving.  That has changed so dramatically since the Lord came into out lives and we have turned things over to Him.  So, praising HIM is at the top of our daily list of things to do.  And keeping Him close is a daily thing now.  I hope and pray that you are at that place where you can walk and talk with Him as you do with a friend.  If not, know that He is waiting for you to reach out and take His hand and become a close friend and closer family.  

So, I'll close with a very heartfelt  MERRY CHRISTMAS and may He be the center of your celebrations!!

IN Everything Give Thanks

Greetings are late yet again!

So many things going on and at times you wonder if there is a "normal" in your life.  That is where I've been at for a while.  There is so much to do, and I don't seem to be able to accomplish much.  Then I realized why.  I was looking at ALL the things I needed to do.  Then I'd do a bit here, a bit there and never accomplish any of it.  So, as I've done before, I had to stop.  You have all heard the phrase, "Stop, Look, and Listen" (SLL).  Well that is exactly what I needed to do.  STOP what I was doing (or not doing), LOOK up to the Lord, and LISTEN for His voice and His direction.  And in that time, I came to understand so many things.  I decided to start with ONE thing, accomplish that, then move on to the next.  And when looking to the Lord, I was reminded of one of my life verses....I Thess. 5: 16-18.  16 Be joyful always; 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."   Then taking one step at a time, and focusing on ONE thing at a time, I was moving forward.  But I still didn't have that elusive peace of accomplishment, since there was so much to do. And then I realized, "Be joyful always"...I wasn't.  So, I started singing praise songs to the Lord.  (I am the reason He wrote "make a joyful NOISE unto the Lord.") Once I started with the praise songs, I realized I needed to also pray...for any number of things.  And then I started giving thanks, without realizing I was doing this according to the scripture I loved.  Then, ALL OF A SUDDEN I realized I had accomplish a LOT in that time of singing, praising and praying.  God walked me though it.  But I had to come to the realization that I, myself, CANNOT do it alone.  With the Lord with me, I was doing things I hadn't been able to do before.  And then I also realized my second life verse was a part of it all.... Isaiah 40: 31.  "But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; the will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."  I never, until that moment realized that those two segments of scripture could get me through anything.

Okay, all of that to let you know, God IS working in me, in a mighty way.  While starting to accomplish things, my mind kept going back to things I have learned over the years about God and how He has shown us how to live in victory over all situations.  No, He didn't say He'd take us out of them, but how we can be victorious IN them.  Just as the scripture above says, "IN all things give thanks".  All right then on to the next step.  And here is where you'll all understand where I've been in this.  I have been praying for Savanah's adoption, as so many, many of you have been doing. And yes, I was believing God was going to answer those prayers in His time.  Then I'd sit back and ask God why it wasn't His time yet.  I wasn't truly believing He would answer.  In my mind, His time was way out there somewhere....elusive.  And it dawned on me... I have been taught better than this.  I read the end of the book, I KNOW we win, I KNOW we have the victory.... oops. I didn't have victory.  Yes, I knew we'd win in the end... but victory was another elusive thing.  Ahhh... Psalm 60: 12 was the answer.  "With God we WILL gain the victory, and he will trample down our enemies."  And then:
Matthew 19: 26,  "...With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."
Mark 9: 23, "...everything is possible for him who believes."
Mark 10: 27, "...With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God."

I could go on and on with verses, but you get the idea.  We can have the victory over it all, THROUGH the Lord Jesus Christ.  

Okay, I got it...now to put it to work, right?  Believing it and walking it may end up being two different things.  But I was starting to really believe it enough to want the victory.  We'll go to the one item where I was having problems believing we had the victory.... SAVANAH'S ADOPTION.  Well, that tells you I didn't start with little things, I went right to the top of HARD things.  But that is where I started exercising my faith and my belief that we HAVE the VICTORY.  So, I started praying with victory.  I shared with anyone who asked how things were...I'm believing we HAVE the victory in this adoption.  Yup, it's been weeks, but my faith in it kept getting stronger and stronger.  

I got a note from Guerline (adoptive mom)...that she was writing the lawyer.  It was a good letter, not nasty or accusing...simply asking questions.  Then I thought I should also write a letter...but didn't get it done right away.  So, today was the day...I was going to write him to see where things stood.  Brought up email, and there was one from Guerline... it read, "Well praise God. I just realized that the adoption agency wrote to me at 2:27.  Mr. Gassant had contacted them to tell them that IBESR has approved the adoption. He is trying to set a court date for our case....."   WOW... victory in the works. We had been told long ago, once IBESR (social services here) approved the adoption, it would be a short time to completion. Nope we are not there yet... BUT the victory is OURS.  Savanah will be going home to her family in the near future.  

So, now, all of this to ask YOU to pray with us.  Pray in VICTORY with us over the finalization of the adoption.  God has already moved one mountain, He can move more for us!!  At this time, Savanah is 4 years 1½ months old.  We have had her for 4 years and 1 month.  And now we are claiming the victory for her, her new family and for the Lord to get all the glory in it!!!

Till next time, remember the verses above and claim your victory over what comes against you.  Praise God with us that things are moving.  Praise God with us that He is in this and will complete it.  Praise God with us, that THROUGH HIM WE HAVE THE VICTORY in all areas of our lives.        

 

A letter sent...

I just sent out another email.  And I will post it here, but needed to add something first.  I didn't realize it had been so long since I had posted (YET AGAIN), but life has thrown us a few curves these last six months and we are dealing, but sometimes doing it slowly.  So please, have patience with us (ME specifically) as we try to keep you updated on things here.  I will do my best to try and post more frequently.
In Him and through Him,
Karen

Here is the letter sent out....

 I really was surprised when I looked at the calendar.  So much has happened in the last six weeks and I didn't realize it had been that long since I had sent out any type of update.  Not sure just where to start, but I'll simply type as things come to mind.  So please bear with me on all of this, okay?

In the last email I don't know if I had mentioned that I had gone to Florida to be with Bev, Bob and Dawn.  It was a good time, but also a hard time.  To see my active, in charge, never slow down brother Bob laying in a hospital bed, staring at the ceiling was heart wrenching.  But we prayed and put him in the Lord's Hands, and waited....and waited.  After two weeks I came back home to help and relieve Don from taking care of Savanah, so he could return to his ministry.  Then got a message from Bev.  They had decided to honor Bob's health care directive, that had been filled out way prior to the accident.  This decision had been taken out of everyone's hands at the accident when an airway was installed.  So, on October 8th, I flew out to be with Bev and the family when "life support" was removed.  YES, it was a hard decision for everyone...but the Lord was a part of it.  I'm not going into details, but at one point, Bob was lucid enough to let everyone know HIS wishes.  This released the burden so he could go home to be with this Lord. On October 11th, a celebration of life was held in Bob's hospital room with family and friends. (I think 16 people there, plus others on internet).  He seemed aware of everyone.  And we each were able to sit on his bed, hold his hand, and share our happiest memories with him.  It really was a day of rejoicing of a life well lived.  Early on the morning of October 15th (exactly 2 months after his 83rd birthday) my brother walked into the arms of Jesus!  A time of rejoicing for him, and yet sad for us.  We know, without a doubt, that we will see him again in heaven. But he left a vacant spot in the family.  Thankfully it will be filled with a lot of memories. 

I stayed an extra week and a half to help where possible with Bev.  I don't think I did much, but I think I needed to be there, for me.  Bev has never been a sister-in-law....she has always been a SISTER in the true sense of the word.  I was able to walk with her though some of the things needing to be accomplished.  Bev has some great neighbors and her church family is awesome, too. 

I returned on October 27th.  Since I had missed Savanah's 4th birthday on the 16th, we went yesterday, the 31st, and had a party...first swimming at a local hotel, then home for cake, ice cream and presents.  She had four friends with her and everyone had a great time.  Wore Savanah out, totally. 

I will ask you to keep praying for Don.  The pulled muscle in his lower stomach is SO slow healing.  But that may be the fact he keeps doing things that sort of irritate it.  And of course, he won't stop working, either.  I think his frustration with not being able to do some things is hard on him. 

With this "catch-up" about done, I'd better close.  Remember that no matter what we face, no matter what the situation is, no matter how hard things are, the Lord is there for us, if we only turn to Him and hang on to His Hand!!
Blessings beyond measure to all!

As life goes on....

Hello again from hot and humid Haiti!  Well, it seems it's been that way for a while anyway.  It's been a couple of "interesting" weeks in several ways.  

I'll start with an update on Bev (sister-in-law) and Bob (brother).  Bev is slowly recovering, but still has to deal with the broken bones and pain from them.  I am so thankful for phones that work and that I CAN call her once in a while to check on how they are doing.  Bob?  Well, that has been a roller coaster ride.  He has gone from breathing on his own pretty much to being put back on the ventilator.  Responses?  Very limited and not sure if he hears at times.  But our nephew made a comment that Bev took to the doctor.  Bob was on so much pain meds, there was no way, if he COULD respond, that he would....he was drugged out.  Thankfully the doc took that into consideration and cut back on the medicine.  He does respond, sort of...not sure how much.  He is in a new hospital now.  It's one where they are working on trying to get him off the ventilator and the trac tube, and getting him to breathe on his own.  It may take a while if they can do it.  Talked to Bev and my niece, Dawn, this morning.  I was glad to hear Dawn had flown down to be with Bev, even if only for the weekend.  They were able to spend time with Bob and he also had some friends who had come to visit.  They had the TV on to the sports channel and a Packer game was on.  Even if he lives in Florida, he's still a Packer fan.  They are doing all these little things to help to get his mind working on things.  So, I think things are looking up.  We'll see as time goes on, but sure would appreciate the prayers to continue.

Don has been busy, too.  With the situation with no rain for so long, people were really in need of water.  So, it was back to putting the tank on the truck and delivering water.  And he is working on a security door for Vero's house.  He has one done, but needs to get the other one done, also.  And then when I have to be at the airport, or airport meetings, he has to be here to get Savanah from school at 11, and then be here for Abbie when she gets out, if we aren't back yet.  So, he is being kept pretty busy all the time.

And speaking of the airport, MFI sent down our "official" sign to be put up.  When we got there last Tuesday, the airport had mounted it and we are now "official".  Like we haven't been for over 40 years?   But it's nice to see the beautiful sign up now.  And I thought I'd share it with you here. 

 

 Since we are not at the airport every day, we will be sharing our desk and space with MAF.  We also have a new airport director.  Had our first "airport meeting" with officials from here and Port au Prince this last Friday.  I think the Lord has blessed us with another good director.  

Yesterday we were also blessed... Savanah's grandma, Dr. Bibiana, came to visit.  We'll get to see her again today before she has to head back to Canada.  I hope to get a picture today so we can share that with you.  When we hoped she would be at English Church, Savanah kept saying, "I want to see Grandma Bibiana".  Then added in, "And Ruby and Lexi, too!"  She didn't realize that her new sisters would not be with grandma.  But she did get to see some pictures of them, anyway.

Yesterday at English Bible Fellowship, we had a Haitian pastor (Wilbur Merzilus) speak.  He had such a good message and one that we sure do need on a daily basis.  He used the passage from Mark 4: verses 35 to 41.  This is where Jesus was in the boat with the disciples and the storm came up, while He slept.  Does this sound like us?  When the storms come (problems, illness, money, whatever) what do we do?  Like most, we worry, and fuss and wonder and try to fix things our way.  When it all fails, THEN we turn to the ONE who can calm the storms.  And then when Jesus does calm the storm, we are in awe, like the disciples, and say, "...Even the wind and the waves obey Him."  I think this is a message we need to re-read each morning, so that when problems come our way, and they DO, we can turn to the STORM CALMER and release it all to Him.  Yes, many times we do need to put feet to our prayers, but our FIRST response should be to Jesus, then follow where He leads.

Well, I will leave you with that thought.  I have to remind myself to keep my eyes focused on Jesus and not on the problems of the world.  We need to remind each other to do that.  And praying you are in that place where the Lord can richly bless you in ways you never imagined.

School starts

Greetings and praying your weather is a bit cooler than ours here in Haiti.  Yesterday at the airport was a scorcher.  But we managed to get through it okay.  We really are praying for some rain to quench the ground and help some of the surviving crops.

Today we got both our girls off to school.  Abbie is in 5th grade this year and Savanah is in kindergarten.  We were a bit concerned she would have a problem, but she did fine.  Both girls like school this year (yup, that is the first day comment from both).  So thought I'd share some pictures for you.

 

 

It's obvious which one is Abbie and which one is Savanah.  Abbie just got her new glasses yesterday.  We are praying this resolves her headache problems.  

As I was downloading the pictures, I had gone back and checked email.  I received the following letter from a friend here in Haiti (Belle).  Our world is in a sad shape when things like this happen.  But we can do as asked and pray, and pray strongly.  Here is that letter:

Date: Aug 26, 2015 11:14 AM

Subject: Joint Heirs Prayer Request from Dan and Marilyn Wilson

Missionaries who are in the areas that are being attacked by ISIS are asking to be showered in prayer. ISIS has taken over the town they are in today. He said ISIS is systematically going house to house to all the Christians and asking them ​to denounce Jesus.  He said so far not one child has. and so far all have consequently been killed.  But not the parents.  The UN has withdrawn and the missionaries are on their own.  They are determined to stick it out for the sake of the families even if it means their own deaths.  They are very afraid, have no idea how to even begin ministering to these families who have had seen their children martyred.  Yet he says he knows God has called them for some reason to be His voice and hands at this place at this time.  Even so, they are begging for prayers for courage to live out their vocation in such dire circumstances.  And like the children, accept martyrdom if they are called to do so. 

These brave parents instilled such a fervent faith in their children that they chose  martyrdom.  Please surround them in their loss with your prayers for hope and perseverance.  One missionary was able to talk to her brother briefly by phone.  She didn't say it, but I believe she believes it will be their last conversation.  Pray for her, too.  She said he just kept asking her to help him know what to do and do it.  She told him to tell the families we ARE praying for them and they are not alone or forgotten -- no matter what.  Please keep them all in your prayers. This came this morning...Just a few minutes ago I received the following text message on my phone from Sean Malone who leads Crisis Relief International (CRI).  We then spoke briefly on the phone and I assured him that we would share this urgent prayer need with all of our contacts.  "We lost the city of Queragosh (Qaraqosh). It fell to ISIS and they are beheading children systematically.  This is the city we have been smuggling food to.  ISIS has pushed back Peshmerga (Kurdish forces) and is within 10 minutes of where our CRI team is working.  Thousands more fled into the city of Erbil last night.  The UN evacuated its staff in Erbil. 

Our team is unmoved and will stay.  Prayer cover needed!" Please pray sincerely for the deliverance of the people of Northern Iraq from the terrible advancement of ISIS and its extreme Islamic goals for mass conversion or death for Christians across this region.  May I plead with you not to ignore this email.  Do not forward it before you have prayed through it.  Then send it to as many people as possible.  Send it to friends and Christians you may know.  Send it to your prayer group.  Send it to your pastor and phone him to pray on Sunday during the service - making a special time of prayer for this.  We need to stand in the gap for our fellow Christians.  Thank you for all your prayers !!!!

Dr. Becky Peters - Professor of Education

Director of Lutheran Teaching Programs, Colloquy, & Lutheran Placement

Concordia University - Irvine, California

   
We can praise God for being in a place where this isn't happening, but we can and should pray for these missionaries and for the Christian families who are going through this.  And pray for the Lord to intercede and remove this threat.

For now, keep your eyes focused on Jesus and keep praying, and praying, and praying.   

A very late update

 I have been going in circles trying to catch up on things here.  I finally did get an email out, so decided to simply post it here, to save time, and prayerfully be able to stay on line long enough to get it posted.  Have you ever, in daily life felt like you've been swimming up stream against a very strong current?  Yup, that is where I'm at right now.  But I have my hands on the Life Preserver Who can keep me afloat and going in the right direction!!!  I really do praise the Lord for being here for me all the time.  He is the best Life Preserver there is and I'm so glad I have Him in my life!!  I pray you have that Special One in your life, too!!

And now, here is the email I had sent out... please keep praying!

I really, really didn't realize it has been so long since I have been on.  It has been another one of those hard months, but I'm believing the Lord will continue to be beside us and walk with us through this valley.

I think what I need to do is start from today and then recap the month....as I know there have been many questions about how the storm effected us.  We did do a bit of "tying down" things here, but were not real concerned, since Erica had decreased to a tropical storm.  We were told winds could be up to 40 or 45 mph.  I don't think we had them that hard, except in maybe a few gusts.  But as for damage, we had none.  The storm went south of us and was centered more down near Port au Prince.  We needed the projected 2 to 3 inches of rain, but didn't get any. 

I did make the trip to Florida to be with my sister-in-law, Bev.  I stayed 2 weeks.  It was a very hard time.  When Dawn and Jeff went up to see Bob, they said he responded to them.  When Bev and I were here, there was almost no response. It was so discouraging.  Bev was only able to make the trip every other day.  It was hard for her to travel.  And she wore out so quickly.  Needless to say we all prayed together many times.  Bob has a medical directive and what his wishes are concerning this type of situation.  But unless you have been in this situation, you don't realize how very difficult this type of thing is.  Bob went up and down.  He was on a ventilator, had the brace on his neck.  (The bone in his neck is broken, but not completely through.  But with bone cancer, not sure if/or how long it will take to heal).  His legs were really bad, 50 plus stitches in one leg and 40 plus in the other one.  And he had scrapes and contusions all over.  I had been trying to keep in touch with family but then the internet went down at Bev's.  So really praised the Lord for the phone and being able to text (even though I sure don't like to). 

Bev and I marveled at how the Lord was there in so many, many instances for her.  A lot of the people she had to deal with (once Dawn had left for home and work) ended up being Christians.  I had postponed my return from a Tuesday flight, to Thursday, to get Bev to two doctor appointments.  I met the sheriff and detective who were on the case for the accident.  Both were so helpful and kind.  And the sheriff was a Christian.  Neat young man.... well, young in my eyes, anyway.  Then at the ambulance place, where we had to get some information, the gal there said they were praying for Bob, too.  And Bev's church family and the friends at their park (who hadn't gone north for the summer) have stepped in to help her out.  It was hard for me to come back to Haiti, but I am so thankful the Lord has placed others there for Bev. 

There is still a long, hard road ahead of them.  The family had finally decided to honor Bob's directive and remove the ventilator.  There was a meeting set up to discuss it with the doctor and social worker.  Bev walked into his ICU room and he was in his chair (where they put him every day).  His eyes were open and he had a pencil in his hand.  They questioned him and he would nod.  When asked if he wanted to be transferred to a hospital where they would help him breathe without he ventilator he nodded.  So, plans changed and possibly within a week he will be moved.  This will put more of a burden on Bev, since it's further away and the roads are not that good.  But it's a positive move, too.  Before I had left when we were praying, we had turned the whole situation over to the Lord for His will to be done, and we totally believe He is in charge now.  But please continue to pray for Bob and for Bev too, as this will be a rough road for both of them.

And then there is Savanah.  She was so glad to have me home again.  But each day I go to the airport, she asks if I will come home again.  And when I do she hugs and hugs me.  I guess she thinks I will leave every time I go there.  It's been difficult for her.  And now her adoption has been put on hold again.  The government here is trying to get the birth mother to keep her, which she won't do.  So, her adoptive mom (her biological aunt) asked us to put her in school here.  She will be going to the English school that Abbie attends.  Pray she does well and will enjoy it.

With all that is going on, I'm still behind on the "catch-up" things I need to do here.  So pray for me, also, that I will be able to accomplish things in a timely manner and get this work done.  Don is still fighting this pulled muscle in his stomach.  The doc in the US said it will take many months to heal and Don is very discouraged by it all.  He is so limited, but continues to do things he probably shouldn't do.  He wants to get back to "full time" in his part of the ministry.  But the pain limits him.  Pray for his healing and for him to have the wisdom to deal with it all.  He IS working on things, but doesn't feel he is doing enough. 

I think I'd better close out and get this sent.  We have had internet problems yet again, so have to get things done while we can on here.  And remember, along with us, that God is there in ALL situations and He will guide and keep us where we are to be.  Keep your eyes focused on Jesus!!!!

Keep praying, please

I've just sent out another email, but wanted to post it here, with a few photos, too.  So, keep praying, okay?
************************************************
It seems we still are in need of prayer, for our family and for us.  So, I wanted to get a quick note out to let you all know what is going on.

I had asked you to keep our grandson, Donny in prayer.  Well, he needs more then we knew last week.  Our daughter (Christine) is now able to take the immobilizers off and bathe him.  Well, this weekend was the first time she could do that.  She found a huge sore, quite long, and deep.  There was flesh on the immobilizer, so it came from rubbing.  She is treating it and caring for it.  But prayers would be appreciated for not only his healing from the surgery, but from this added problem.

Then I had asked for prayer for my brother Bob and his wife, Bev.  I praise God Bev is doing better.  She is in a rehab hospital now and may be heading home even as I write this.  But she still needs prayer for healing and peace.  Bob is still in ICU.  I'm not real sure just where he is at, but with all of his physical problems before the accident, I have a feeling they are adding to his very slow response to recovery now.  Please keep him in prayer.  Pray for strength, healing and peace for Bob.  Also keep Dawn, our niece, in prayer, for strength and wisdom.  She has been a real blessing, I know, for the family. 

And now I am asking for prayer for me.  Missionary Flights has found a place for me to fly out on Thursday so I can be with Bob, Bev and Dawn.  It's hard to wait so long, but I am praising God I CAN get out to go and help where needed and to be with them.  I had checked into American Airlines, and a one way from Haiti to Miami was almost $500 (for an hour and a half flight).  I KNEW that was not wise use of God's money at all.  And I also knew if the Lord wanted to me to go, HE would find a way.  So, I am praying, but also praising God for MFI.  Now I need to ask for prayer for Don as he stays here and tries to keep things going.  We weren't quite back to "normal" yet from our trip, so this week will be rushing and hurrying to get things done.

In the praise department, I have to add some REAL blessings.  A few days before we left here to go stateside, our refrigerator quit.  Vero had to use the dorm fridge while we were gone.  God used a wonderful friend (the day before we left Wisconsin) to supply the funds for a new fridge.  We praise God we found a simple one (we don't need all the extra stuff) on sale.  So, we have it here and customs took pity on us and kept the cost for import very low.  God was really in all of that!!!!  AND, another blessing beyond measure... we had been having real problems with our generator(s).  Had 3 that just wouldn't keep going.  Again, God blessed us just before we left Wisconsin through another great friend.  We were able to get a generator the same as another missionary has had for many years, ON SALE, yet again.  And customs gave us a good price when we brought it in.  The Lord walked before us in both of those situations and we praise HIM totally for it.  And we are so thankful for the wonderful friends who listened to the voice of the Lord!!!!  

Here are a few of "catch-up" pictures.
Here is Savanah...she is growing up so fast!!! (Vero put the frog shirt on her).  There is a story behind the "frog" thing.  Vero does NOT like frogs.  So, our daughter and son keep sending her frog things....all sorts of things they find in stores.  She has gotten so she can simply laugh with them all, as long as they aren't REAL!! 

 

 And here is one the things our daughter found for Vero.  Frog earrings.  She even wore them to the airport the day she got them!!

 Not sure if you can see them, but Abbie got a pair of LOVE earrings and she has worn them.  They look so good on her.

 Here is Vero next to our new refrigerator.  She was happy we got it, too. 

 And Don with our generator.  This little box gives us a LOT of energy.  It's so much better than the ones we had before.  And yes, as with the refrigerator, it IS being used!!!!

Well, on that note, I'll close and again ask for your prayers for all of the above.  Blessings beyond measure to all of you!  Remember to keep your eyes on Jesus and keep hanging on to His Hand.