Hurricane Irma

Greetings,

I wanted to get a note out here to let everyone know how blessed we were.  I know so many, many prayers went out to keep Hurricane Irma off our coast line.  And those prayers were answered.

I have to share that my main concern was not for our home, although we knew our roof would be the first thing to give in to the winds and rain.  All that kept coming to my mind was the homes on the mountain side just inside the city gates of Cap Haitian.  There was no way those homes could survive the winds and rains a strong hurricane like Irma was threatening us with.  My heart was reaching out to the people in those homes.  Where would they go?  Inside their homes...and in all probability, be washed down off the mountain.  Loss of life would have been astronomical. So we kept praying that the Lord would move it north enough so these people would have a chance.  

Yes, I do know of the destruction caused on the many islands and areas before it even got to the island of Hispaniola.  I have not heard of what has happened in the Dominican, but I do know that here in Haiti, damage was very minimal.  SO VERY MUCH less than it could have been.  

We were prepared, as best as we could be here.  And I have to laugh when one of the missionaries made a truthful statement.  He said, in America, before a storm hits, be it a ice storm, snow storm, or a hurricane, Americans are out emptying out the stores for supplies. And that is true, but it's called being prepared.  Here in Haiti?  No one has the funds to go and buy things or to even make their home weather proof.  There is no mad rush to empty shelves in stores of supplies.  There IS a lot of prayers taking place.  

I remember back in the early 1990's (not sure of the exact year or date) a hurricane was headed our way, along the northern coast of the island.  US military was here at the time.  One of the fellows in charge of those military in tents at the airport, came and asked us where he could put his troops to wait out the hurricane.  We had no idea where several hundred men and women could be housed.  But I had asked him if on the way to our home had he noticed the churches and that fact that the doors were open and they were full?  He wanted to know what that had to do with his people.  I said, those people in the churches have no way to prepare.  They are simply asking the Lord to help them.  Either to divert the storm or see them through it.  No comment from him.  BUT, after the emergency was over, he came out and said, "I have NEVER seen a hurricane make a 90 degree turn before."  That is what it did.  At the Dominican/Haitian border, it turned 90 degrees and all we got was some minor wind and rain.  I told him, "Well, you have never seen the Haitians pray, either, I guess."

But I can honestly say that is was not only the prayers of the Haitians that kept us from mass destruction.  It was the prayers of God's people everywhere.  God stepped in and answered those prayers!!!   I have no answer as to why others areas were hit so hard, but I DO know God was here with us and He had control over what we faced.

I just wanted to get a quick thank you out to all of you who have kept us, not only Don and I, but Haiti as a whole, in your prayers.  Those prayers were definitely answered!  
Blessings and Thank You Again for your prayers!


   Psalm 32: 7  "You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance."
  
 

A quick update from Haiti

Greetings,

Wanted to do a quick update to let you know what’s happening here in Haiti.  Obviously returning with the wrong mind set happened.  We thought since Savanah is finally home with her family (more on that later) in Canada, we’d have some free time…WRONG!  I think it’s something like having a bucket out in a heavy downpour…dump a bit out, thinking it will be a bit lighter…but before you can pick it up, it’s full again.  That IS what happened here.  First of all, Savanah was almost 6 when still here, so she was pretty free a lot of the time.  So when we returned and she wasn’t here anymore…things left undone took up that amount of time.  But it’s our hearts that still hold the empty feeling.

While we were out, we were blessed by a couple of families who gave us the opportunity to not only help people with the many problems here, but enough to get our next bucket project going. (Special thanks to Lou Ann and her family and to Terry and Diane for their generous help.) That is the main thing we wanted to share this time.  We have finally gathered all the food needed to start the first 25 buckets.  Now I want to let you know, when teams come and do buckets it’s a HUGE, HUGE blessing for us.  For Don and I to do this alone is REALLY time consuming.  We have to cut back on other things to get this done.  Vero helped me gather and bag the non-food items and believe me, that was a blessing!!  But Don and I had to do all the other bagging, and bottling.  It is so worth it to see those who get our buckets though.  We don’t do this for those who are constantly begging at the door.  We do this for the families or older people who are out in the country side and have no way to survive.  We try to get photos, but these people feel bad that they need help and we don’t want them to think we are using them when we take photos.  This has happened so often here in Haiti.  And our desire is to help not to embarrass them.  Many times we use our close kids here to deliver these, since they know the people and can do it quietly. 

All of that to let you know that these are going to be going out soon.  We filled the first bucket to make sure it would all fit in and then took a picture.  These are staples that all Haitians use and are thankful for.  The list?  Okay, here it is:  First of course is the 5 gallon bucket with a lid (reusable for water or storage when empty).  Rice, spaghetti, tomato paste, beans, flour, oil, oatmeal, cornmeal, and sugar.  Then we add laundry soap, toothbrushes (5 per family), toothpaste, soap, wash cloth, hand sanitizer, comb, pens, pencils, small carry bag, and MOST IMPORTANTLY, 2 booklets of John & Romans, and two scripture tracts explaining salvation. 

We have been asked why we put 2 of the scriptures and tracts.  Here in Haiti, having books or reading material is very treasured.  And even if they cannot read, they will find someone to read it to them.  (We have found out about this on many, many occasions). And the reason for 2?  Haitians really are a generous people and they will share the extra ones with someone else…thus the word of the Lord goes out beyond those we can reach.  We could write story after story of people who have shared with us that they had these scriptures from someone we had helped.  The blessing for us is that it is equipping the Haitians to share God’s word with others. 

Now on to Savanah.  YES, we do miss her.  Find ourselves saying, go get her, or see where she is, and then realizing she is at home in Canada.  She is happy.  She has her mom, dad, three sisters, and now, as of 3 days ago, she has a brand new baby brother added into it. Pray for that happy and excited family.  We still find a toy she loved, or something she cherished here and pause, but know she is so happy and her first words to us on the phone were, “Grandma, I’M IN CANADA!!”  Her hearts desire!

Here is Savanah's new baby brother, Andrew Alexander

 Our next steps?  Well, we hope to be able to do more buckets soon, but are also busy with regular things, like MFI (who are important to so many missions here) and the airport, working with other missions, with English Bible Fellowship, and just normal everyday life things. 

So, we ask you to please rejoice with us that we are completing our first 25 buckets since back, and that Savanah is home and happy with her new family, and that we are home and back in the swing of things here.  We were again asked, several times while in the US, when are we retiring…and our answer is still the same….”Christians don’t retire, they re-fire.” So we continue to look for ways to keep that fire burning for the Lord!!  And we are praying you’re doing the same!