Greetings in the New Year!!
I'm so sorry it has taken me so long to get back on here and update. Quite a few things have been going on and I'll try to cover most of them. First, of course, was Christmas and then the Disney trip with my daughter's family. Then I returned with a team...and pneumonia. The team was great and tried to help me relax and rest, but that is so hard for me to do when I am supposed to be taking care of things for the team. But they did get the blocks laid for a pastors new home. He was so happy to have so much done in such a short time. The day that team left, another came in. This one had our daughter-in-law on it, her father, and three other fellows. They are working with a Haitian pastor doing many things. Our daughter-in-law flew to Port au Prince to bring her son back to spend some time with us (maybe a month), while they TRY to get the paperwork moving on the adoption. The neat thing about this all is that mom, new son, and both grandpa's are here together.
I am going to put some pics in here and share some of the fun we've had. Abbie was a real trip with Christmas presents. Even those for others made her so happy. There weren't many, but she enjoyed each and every one, for her and for others, with total joy.
These few are from Disney. I especially love the one with the three boys holding hands. The other two do take care of Donny..jpg)
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Donny fell in love with Minnie Mouse. At each park, Minnie paid special attention to him and he soaked it up, BIG time.
And then the one of Abbie at the airport with a stuffed horse that a family who was leaving was taking out. She thought that horse was so neat. It was BIG, SOFT, and it MOVED.
And of course, our new grandson and his new grandpa's.
So, you see, it's been a busy time here. I'm still recuperating and prayerfully getting better. This sure is hanging on, even after two rounds of antibiotics. So, keep praying, for me, for the teams, for the completion of the adoption of our new grandson, and for the salvation of the lost. Keep our whole ministry in prayer. We have a full schedule of teams for the next several months. And we are STILL waiting on our containers. This is a real challenge for us, this lesson in patience.
Till next time, God bless and keep Jesus at the center of your life!!
Just wanted to get a quick update on the container situation before I leave for the US tomorrow. We talked to our broker while Stan was here. He said the ship with our container on it is now scheduled IN to Haiti on the 23rd. That means they MAY clear it between Christmas and New Year's. Which then means we won't get it until January sometime. Pray with us that it will come in God's time and the price will be more reasonable than it has been. Again, the Christmas Bags won't be given out in time for Christmas. Such a disappointment. But they will be given when we get them. And the kids will be just as happy whenever they do arrive.
Our team left yesterday. They were great. We enjoyed our time with them. They didn't really get to do what they came for, delivering Christmas Bags, but they did a lot of other things and saw a lot of missions. They adjusted well to the changes and we were thankful for that.
We are going to have Christmas with Vero and Abbie tonight. It's been hard for Abbie to see presents under the tree and not be able to open them, so she will get to do that tonight. I'll try to get some photos, and prayerfully be able to post a few.
Everyone here is battling bad colds and coughs. We have decided maybe it's something in the house, but don't know. Guess we'll find out in time. Don is starting to clear up and Abbie sounds better, so maybe we are on the way to getting over this. It's been raining and cold (for us anyway), so maybe that had a lot to do with it.
I want to follow our daughter-in-laws lead and put a thankful list each time. We really DO have so much to be thankful for. God has brought us great teams. Through some very wonderful people God has supplied finances and food to distribute. We are very thankful that we have been able to help so many in need. We are especially thankful at this time of year to remember that the Lord loved us so much He sent His Son to stand in our place. We pray more and more people will come to the realization that God's sacrifice is our salvation. We praise and thank Him for His Love, Grace and for His Son!!!
May you be blessed beyond measure as you celebrate the most precious gift of all, JESUS!!
Hello again,
Sorry it's been a while since I have been on. We've been so busy. Add into that, putting up Christmas decorations. The day before Thanksgiving, Vero said, "in two days we can put up the tree and decorations, right?" I had told her we had to wait until after Thanksgiving. So, that is what we did. Not as many as I have done in the past, but things are still "Christmasy". Abbie walks around saying Merry Christmas to everyone. We don't have to deal with "political correctness" here. We can keep Christ in Christmas. And He is. Abbie has her own manger scene, and talks about how Mary and Joseph had to find somewhere to stay so baby Jesus would have a nice place to be born. This set is so neat, and she is so happy, thanks to Wendy and Joe Karabensh. They gave her the set last Christmas. But anyway, here are a couple of pictures of our decorations. Abbie loves to watch the tree and play with some of the Christmas decorations.
Aside from getting into the Christmas spirit, we have a team here. They came to distribute Christmas Bags for Haiti. The glitch there is that the container didn't come. So, they have been finding other things to do. But some bags were brought in by MFI, and they have gotten bags taken out to one orphanage and to one church. But they are seeing and doing a lot of things, too.
My exciting news is that after the team leaves on Tuesday, on Thursday I leave. Our daughter and her boys are getting to spend Christmas at Disney. And I am getting to go with them. "Every Child Has A Dream" foundation is sending Donny and his family there. Donny has Cerebral Palsy and was chosen for this trip. Another bonus to this is that I have to be there a few days before they arrive, so I am going to spend those couple of days with my brother and his wife. (A prayer request here is for Bob, my brother. He is heading into chemo treatment for colon cancer.) I won't be here for Christmas, but I will return on the 30, with a team, and will be here for New Year's, which is the biggest celebration in Haiti. They celebrate Christmas, New Year's and their Independence Day all together. So, we'll have a celebration then.
Don has been so excited about being able to help so many people. He is heading out this afternoon to deliver food to yet another area. Supplies are running low, but we are depending on the Lord to provide what is needed. The homes he has been working on are coming along great. The families are so happy. For those we have been able to help, this will be a time of rejoicing. Pray with us that the Lord will continue to help us bless many more. God has used so many wonderful people to bring these things to reality. We are so thankful for all the help and all the prayers, too.
For now, I am going to wish all of you a VERY BLESSED CHRISTMAS, and pray you are keeping Jesus at the center of all the celebrations. Remember, He IS the reason for the season.
Praise and Glory to God!!!
We are a bit late with Thanksgiving greetings, but want to combine them with our Christmas greetings. We have so much to be thankful for this last year. Yes, there have been the "downs" and "hard times", but don't we all face those every year? And hasn't God brought us through to rejoice another day? We've had hurricanes, floods, and other disasters, we've had medical problems, emotional problems, but we can still rejoice in the fact that God is God, and He is above all. In 1 Thess. 5: 18, it says, "give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." It does NOT say, FOR all things... it says IN all things. So, in circumstances like the hurricanes, we pray, "God, make something come of this where YOU receive the glory." And we can rejoice, because so many people have come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, THROUGH THE HURRICANES. What satan meant for evil, God allowed for GOOD. Our faith was lifted so much by the response to the request for help for those who suffered. Just ONE of the stories where help was given is in the picture attached here. This is Cequer and his mom, after they got the walls up.
Their house was standing after the hurricanes...until someone touched the wall, and it fell in. It was a stick and mud house and this man and woman had taken in their grand kids and then lost everything. We were able to help one of seven of their children (Cequer) rebuild them a home, of cement blocks. All because of the caring hearts of so many of you. A smile is worth a thousand words...it brought tears to my eyes to see her and her son after he started working on the house. She has a home and can care for her grandchildren. These two photos are from just before the final walls fell down, to where they are now. They have a roof to put on and doors and windows to put in. The right half is the one being built. The one on the left is the family that took them in. The roof is part of what we helped with.
Praise God for the help sent to them. And this story is repeated several times. Add to that, the amount of people we were able to help with food. Wow, the praises that went up when a family could feed their kids. These are just a few of the many, many praises we have had.
Now we add to that, those of you who have realized that the situation for the people here is going to take a long time before they are anywhere near self-sufficient again. We praise God for your continued help to help those in need. Our God is great, but the people He has used are also high up on that list for us. The needs continue, and God supplies, through you...and we are humbled by it all.
We have had some fantastic teams who have accomplished so much in so many areas, especially those who helped bag and fill so many buckets of food to deliver. I wish I could name them all, but we don't have the paper for that. Working in clinics, doing work in evangelism, working on churches, schools, homes, and the dorm, too!! The list goes on and on. And aside from the work they did, they uplifted our spirits a lot. We were blessed, very blessed, and so thankful.
We still have our prayer requests, I think everyone does. So we will share them. And we will ask you to rejoice with us as God answers them, too.
- For the help to continue for these hurting people and their situations here.
- For health and strength for both of us.
- For our son and daughter-in-law as they continue this long drawn out process of adoption. That God would intervene and let their new son come home to them.
- For all of our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, that the Lord would make Himself a constant presence in their lives.
- For Karen's brother as he undergoes chemo therapy for colon cancer.
- For the government of Haiti, that the Lord would put His Hand on it, and change hearts and lives for Him, from the president on down.
- For the president elect of the US, that God would be a guidance and a presence in all decisions made.
- For this coming year...that the world would start to see the mighty works of the Lord in new and miraculous ways.
And through it ALL, that God receives the glory and praise!!!
As we leave 2008 and enter 2009...we pray that the Lord will become a vital part of many things, not only in the US, or in Haiti, but in the world. Pray with us for revival to start and build mightily. Starting in hearts and progressing to governments. The time is short and we are praying for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit in an awesome way.
"May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word." 2 Thess. 2: 16,17.
Our special praise and thanks go to:
- Missionary Flights, Int'l. for their unending service and help to all missionaries in Haiti, the Dominican and the Caribbean.
- Stan & Gloria Curtis for their team leadership, containers, unending encouragement and love and all the work they do 24/7 for Haiti.
- Our families for allowing us to follow the Lord and do what He has called us to do.
God bless and have a wonderful Christ centered Christmas!!
Hello again,
Well, I'm back in Haiti. I'd send pictures, but it's hard to take them under water. I came in on Tuesday and from that time on we have had RAIN...BIG TIME. It stopped long enough yesterday (Thursday) for us to unload the plane and get things to the missionaries. God really does have good timing. All the water is simply standing on the ground. It has no where to drain. And this isn't light rains, it's been pretty heavy and constant. Oh, and that brings cold here. Maybe not like you experience it, but for us, it's COLD. In the mid to upper 60's is like below zero other places. The damp makes it so much worse for the Haitians. I'm concerned we will be facing a lot more medical bills coming our way from people who can't pay them. The cold and rains bring on a lot of sickness, especially for those who have a poor diet to begin with and have no resistance to things like a simple cold. The type of weather we are having will cause many deaths, too. So, please, not only pray for the rains to end, but for the people to be protected from the effects of it.
I went stateside for a week to get some work on my back. Doc did a great job and helped a lot. But old age seems to be taking over...well, I know I'm not THAT old, but it's creeping up fast. Now we are down to learning to live with some of the problems, and thankful that others problems can be helped. I just have to learn to adjust to doing things a bit differently.
We are STILL praying and praying for our son and daughter-in-law's adoption. It makes me frustrated and angry and at times even furious that they have to fight so hard and can't seem to make any progress in this mess. And that is just me...I can't imagine how they feel, waiting to bring their son home and hitting so many roadblocks. And our new grandson is only one of many, many who have to wait on the whim of someone in government to sign papers. There are so many who have homes waiting, and families who love them waiting, and here they sit, in orphanages that are overcrowded and understaffed, while some bureaucrat pompously takes his time to sign papers. Well, that is my frustration talking. I know the Lord knows all about it and we have to trust Him to make these things work out. But it's so hard not to say, WHY???? Will you pray with us? Not only for the adoption to move along and get to the point of completion, but for peace, and joy, for all involved. It's been a hard, hard time for everyone. We need the Lord to move in hearts in government, and bring peace to those who WAIT!
Abbie continues to be a joy for us. She is definitely 3 going on 13. Her memory, here skills and her actions far exceed her 3 years of age. She is smart, without a doubt, but she is also wise beyond her years. She knows just how to work into every one's heart and soul. She loves singing about the Lord and doing her memory verses. Her mommy is doing a great job of working with her when she is not working. She is continually curious about life in general. A simple statement like, I KNOW God made that orange, but how did YOU get it? Or, God even loves the bad men, doesn't He? I keep thinking of the verse in Matthew 18:3..."And he said; "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." When I see Abbie and her insights and love for everyone, I think of that verse. She is not torn by circumstance, by prejudice, by hurt...she is simply following Jesus' lead. Oh that we could all be that way. And let Isaiah 11:6b become a part of our thinking..."...and a little child will lead them." Wow...Abbie sure does lead many.
This was supposed to be just a short "catch-up" note, but it sure didn't stay short. Sorry for my ramblings. I think I need to adopt our daughter-in-laws way of including praise items in my blog. She really is an encouragement to me, too. So, I'll start by saying, I am so thankful for the woman our son married. Through her blog, she has helped me to praise God, even in difficult times. And I'm very thankful for the wonderful chiropractor who has kept me moving (in many ways) in the right direction. And for MFI for all they do for so many, not just us. And mostly for our Lord, who cared enough to give His all that we might live and breathe and have our being!!! (I also love Christians songs that teach us God's ways and His word).
Until next time, God bless and keep your eyes on Him!!
We have another great team working here. First they did a fantastic job of putting up a roof in a day and a half. Actually only 8 hours of work to complete it. Then they turned to working at the dorm. Believe me, we are really getting "up town" with the dorm now. Our watchman's room (which he only used for storage), is now holding our chest freezer, a washing machine and it has a light in it, too. It's become a great storage place for water bottles, pop bottles and all the cleaning supplies. They also put a ceiling in it. To top off that, they added hot water for showers...this is something a LOT of teams will enjoy. And the gals did some awesome work of arranging things there at the dorm, painting the closets, and a whole lot more. Some of the fellows and gals painted the last two outside walls of the dorm. They all did an afternoon of evangelizing. And there is so much more, but my mind in on hold right now. You get the idea...they are awesome. 
We've had two great weeks of people, for sure. And through all of this I wasn't a lot of help. I came down with something. Doc has me on meds, said it might be close to pneumonia. So, I'm laying low.This team leaves on Tuesday, and I'm going out with them to get some work done on these old bones. I should be back and going strong after a few adjustments. While I am in Florida, MFI is having their banquet. I'll get to go to that this year.
On Wednesday, November 12, we will be celebrating our 25th anniversary in Haiti. At times it doesn't seem we've been here that long, at others, it seems longer. But we are where the Lord put us and we will celebrate in His leading.
We ask that you keep our son and daughter-in-law in prayer. The adoption is STILL not moving. Not really sure what the hold up is, but we are praying that somehow, someway, something starts to work out right for this whole thing.
We've had a lot of rain again. More than we need. And it has kept Don from getting out to some of the more remote places he wants to take food. It's been a blessing to hear how the help we have given to those in Gonaives is progressing. All they needed was some encouragement and some way to get the work started. God has used SO MANY wonderful people to help these people. We simply can't say thank you enough for all the help given.
Well, it's Sunday, and we have to get ready to go to English church soon. We keep praying God's word will go out in force in this nation and that people will turn to Him for guidance and help. Reaching out to Jesus and letting Him become their source of life is what we are praying for.
Till next time...God bless and have a Christ centered week.
These few are from Disney. I especially love the one with the three boys holding hands. The other two do take care of Donny..jpg)
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Donny fell in love with Minnie Mouse. At each park, Minnie paid special attention to him and he soaked it up, BIG time.
And then the one of Abbie at the airport with a stuffed horse that a family who was leaving was taking out. She thought that horse was so neat. It was BIG, SOFT, and it MOVED.
And of course, our new grandson and his new grandpa's.
So, you see, it's been a busy time here. I'm still recuperating and prayerfully getting better. This sure is hanging on, even after two rounds of antibiotics. So, keep praying, for me, for the teams, for the completion of the adoption of our new grandson, and for the salvation of the lost. Keep our whole ministry in prayer. We have a full schedule of teams for the next several months. And we are STILL waiting on our containers. This is a real challenge for us, this lesson in patience.
