March Newsletter

The following is our newsletter that we sent out today, March 28th.  The photos I had put in there are ones that have been on here at different times.  Other than that...here it is:
 
Greetings!!
 

It has been a bit since I’ve written, so thought I’d do a bit of catching up.  I try to do posting on our blog, but that too has been a bit.  But there may be things there you all haven’t seen/heard, so if you get a chance check it out.

I think I need to back way up and fill you all in on some of our times here.  Back in November we had a family come in to help with our bucket ministry.  Well, we thought it would take them a while to get through the ones they wanted to do.  Wrong!  In just a couple of days they had finish a whole lot of buckets to help the poor.  And they were able to help in other areas and see other things, as well as our rains. (Traveling in the back of the dump truck in the rain is an “experience”!)  We were so thankful for all their work and all their help in many areas.  Thanks Schanz family for ALL you have done!!!

No teams in December but English Bible Fellowship took up a lot of my time.  Planning and getting ready for Christmas was a bit time consuming.  We were also still having the effects of the aftermath of the hurricane.  And so many, many people needed help.  

Then January came around.  THAT was a busy month.  First our team from our home church.  The day they came in, we received word our son-in-law had passed away that morning.  I, Karen, left 2 days later to be with our daughter.  Don stayed with the team.  I am totally amazed at how much they did.  Two of the team came to do buckets.  The rest came to do a pastors conference and a VBS at the orphanage, plus a bit more.  We thought the buckets would take all week.  Two days...yes TWO days and they were done.  So, they also completed a whole lot of work around here that was SO VERY much appreciated!!

I was with our daughter for a week and a half.  It was a hard time, but also a time to be together.  Three of our other children were able to come, also, two with spouses.  So, it was a reunion of sorts, too.  The pastor did a GREAT job on the service.

When I returned, I was met at the airport with some of our friends (who had also come while I was gone) leaving.  Bud and his daughter were leaving, while Jane stayed another few days.  And while they were here, the leaders for our next team came and stayed at the dorm also.  The day Jane left, the team came in.  So it was busy here while I was gone and after I got back.

Then we were into February.  Our grandson, Gregory had made plans a long time ago to come and help us.  Just a week or so before he was to leave, his dad (our son, Dale) was able to make the plans to come along.  They stayed almost 2 weeks and they also accomplish a whole lot of things.  I don’t have space to put it all down here.  But we sure were happy they were here.

A couple of weeks after they left and into March, Dr. Bibiana and her doctor friend from Argentina came to stay.  Bibiana is Savanah’s new grandma. They came to work, but also spend time with Savanah.  And again, what a blessing to have them.

Well, on to Savanah.  Please keep the prayers coming.  Her adoption is finished, but her one paper for her citizenship in Canada has gone missing.  She is ready to go home, but until that paper is found…. Here she is.  She talks constantly about “going home to Canada” to her family.  

And with all of this, Don has been working (when it’s not raining) on Vero’s extension to her house.  A blessing beyond measure is the finances to finish it.  Praise God it’s there, but working around the rains has been a situation.  And he has been delivering food (the BUCKET MINISTRY) out to the very needy.  Plus a lot around the house, too.

I’m still working at the airport and was able to put on one more worker to help us out.  With the time crunch with American Airlines coming in, we have to work fast to get things accomplish quickly.  This one more worker is a blessing for us!  Keep MFI in your prayers, too.  The new (to MFI) DC-3 will prayerfully be leaving Africa soon, to come to the US for the finishing work.  Then we’ll have another plane to help the mission community in many countries.

As we look to the future, we have a team coming this month.  And our plans for making a trip to the US are starting to work out. This year we will be driving and hoping to see many of you on the trip. Tentatively, at this time, we plan to head along the eastern coast and up to Pennsylvania, then over to Wisconsin.  We have not set dates for places yet, as we are waiting to talk to some people first.   If anyone would like us to stop, let us know.  We would love to see everyone, but know it’s not possible. 

 

Our date for leaving Haiti is May 25^th, and we are just starting to make plans now. Please pray also that Savanah will be with her new family in Canada by this time.  We have been saying this for almost the whole 5½ years we’ve had her, but it IS SO close now!!

Aside from prayers, we have praises, too.  Many of them.  Our grandson, Peter (Dale’s youngest) is in Bible school preparing for missions.  And besides praising God for his willingness to serve on the mission field (somewhere), we ask for prayers for wisdom and guidance in his decision as to where that will be.

We can praise God for all He does.  He has brought back some former missionaries to visit, with us and with others.  But being able to visit with them has blessed us a lot.  And we’ve met new friends as well.

We have been learning and using more corporate prayer lately.  We do need to pray together, if in person, or from far away.  Praying and reaching out together is so important.  We praise God for those who do pray with us, both here and in other areas!  So please, not only pray for us, but pray WITH us.

Yes, we do serve an AWESOME GOD!  It’s a joy to see and hear others say that now...God is SO VERY AWESOME!!!

We’ll be in touch soon, and if you’d like us to stop, let us know!!

In Him, Through Him and For Him,

Don and Karen

Support:

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Our Blog:  www.DavisInHaiti.blogspot.com

E-mail:  Davis2Haiti@gmail.com

On into spring...

Greetings to all,

We have been really busy this last month, but that is not an excuse for not sharing.  It's just been awesome watching how the Lord works in so many, many ways.

In looking back, I cannot pinpoint certain things we have accomplished, but I know we did a lot.  Of course, we are always busy with Savanah.  She is SO active and is always on the go.  But she can be so cute, too.  Over the last year and a half (thanks to our daughter Christine's smart move), Savanah has been into the "Doc MacStuffins" DVD's and toys.  At first I thought, oh cute, then I sat and listened to what actually went on in the movie.  There are SO MANY great things encouraging children in life.  Not a Christian movie, but a great children's guide.  Just emphasizing everyday things we try to teach children.  And we are so happy she is listening and following many of those things.

Of course the work at the airport continues.  We were able to hire another worker to help out.  He is a real blessing and a strong Christian.  Someone who had been on the plane said, "oh, so you only spend a hour or so a week helping MFI?"  Wow, they have no idea.  On plane days we are there long before the plane, and long after it is gone.  And on the day before planes, I try to get all the paperwork needed accomplished.  So, it's actually two full days and two partial days helping with MFI.  But it is so worth it.  I enjoy working with people, and especially with our pilots.  They put in such LONG days.  Each flight day is about 14 hours for them.  And all the preparation work for loading the planes is part of their work, too.  So, please keep them all in prayer...all those who work with MFI, not just the pilots.  They are ALL working to help the missionaries and to get the Lord's word out to the world.  And their motto "Standing in the Gap" is so very true for all of us on this end.  This is a picture of some of our workers.  There are two missing but I seldom get the chance to catch them all together, standing still.

 

 Someone asked me isn't it hard, not being with family and friends in the states?  I said yes, in many ways it is, but then I remember the joys and peace of being right where the Lord wants us.  I am constantly thanking God for internet, phones and letters.  Our lifeline to our family.  We are able to get pictures of most of them via emails and that is a huge blessing.  I found a picture on pinterest that says it all.

 I really liked this saying.  As long as we are able to connect with people (family especially), distance doesn't seem that great.

Okay, have had a LOT of questions on where Savanah's adoption stands.  Well, we have had her with us for 5 years and almost 5 months now.  Praise the Lord her adoption IS finished.  She does have a passport.  But the wait is for ONE paper, finishing her citizenship for Canada.  It is somewhere in the Canadian embassy... just waiting to be found.  She so wants to be with her new family.  All she talks about is mommy, daddy, and her three sisters.  She was blessed to have Grandma Bibiana come and spend a week at our dorm with her Argentina doctor friend.  I praise God that Bibiana is able to come and spend some time with her, because she is a positive link to Canada for Savanah.  So, again, we ask you to continue prayers that will move this young lady home to her new family in Canada.  

And now on to some heavy prayer requests.  First and foremost, we have had horrible rains lately.  It just keeps coming and coming.  Although the streets had been cleaned up after the tsunami, we are getting back to how terrible they were then.  Mud, rocks and garbage are now, AGAIN, filling the streets of Cap Haitian.  People are suffering so much again.  And add into that, the exchange rate.  Now, for foreigners who have American money, the constant rise in the percentage rate is not a problem.  But with this rise, prices also increase.  The majority of Haitians do not have an increase in income and they were having a hard time BEFORE this increase.  A lot of prayer is needed.  The suffering is increasing.  PLEASE keep these two things in your daily prayers.  Pray for the rains to stop and for the economy to ease off.  

Something else I found on the internet is what I want to close with.  Blessings!!

"May God give you perspective on the things that frustrate you.  May your heart of compassion grow for those who suffer in unimaginable ways.  May you pray as passionately for them as you do for yourself.  My God protect you from a small, selfish mindset.  May He fill you up with thanksgiving and joy for the freedoms you enjoy!  May He renew your resolve to be a grateful, humble soul.  And may He use you tomorrow in ways that surprise and bless you!!!"

The end of a busy week.

Greetings,

A bit of frustration going on.... I wrote a LONG post and went to publish it, and it was gone.  Somewhere out there in cyberspace is my post.  If you find it hang on to it. (You can tell I am not very computer literate, right?)

A lot has been accomplished by our boys, but Gregory couldn't see it.  So we sat down and I wrote down everything they had done in the almost 2 weeks they were here.  I ended up with 2 pages... so YES, they did accomplish a LOT.  Their focus was to be the garage, helping dad/grandpa getting it cleaned up and straightened up.  Well, a lot did get accomplished out there, but there were a whole LOT of things that got done all over the house and compound, too!!  We are so pleased with all of it!!

On Wednesday, we were blessed to have a good friend (Patrick) who is the head of security at the airport come for supper.  He considers Dale his brother and they have a good time together.  Dale made the meal (turkey and mashed potatoes) and it turned out super great.  While here, Patrick talked Dale into coming to the airport with me the next day and "working".  (He actually wanted to share his work with Dale, I think.)  But Dale went along and he did work, unloading the plane.  And he spent time with Patrick.  Then the pilot asked Dale if he wanted to fly to Pignon with them since they were returning here.  He had a great time with that!!  

Then came today, and Gregory and Dale leaving on American Airlines.  We weren't real thrilled to take them to the airport, but we did.  And we had a very interesting time there, too.  While the boys waiting in line (a LONG line) to check in, Don and I moved to the other end of the area to get out of the way.  Someone said, "Miss Karen?"  I looked up and recognized the face, but couldn't remember who it was.  She smiled and said, "Choute?"  Well, I laughed and said, "Bang Bang!!"  She had to laugh then.  Choute was one of the children at the EBAC orphanage YEARS and YEARS ago.  When our friends and missionaries were here (Ed and Mary Brentham), Pastor Ed had given Choute a ride to Port several times.  He had a hard time remembering her name, so instead of calling her "shoot", he called her Bang Bang.  We had a good time talking to her.  She was leaving to attend her dad's funeral, so it was a sad time for her.

Then we moved over and sat on the luggage rollers with one of our police friends.  I asked him if he was going to celebrate Carnival (Mardi Gras).  He said, "NO!! I don't like that."   So we talked some more.  And he started singing "I'll fly away".  I joined in and we had a good time.  I think Don would have liked to move away, but he didn't.  Some of those around us glanced over and smiled, others laughed, but that was fine. 

And THEN, a fellow walked over and said, "You don't remember me, do you?"  I recognized the face, but like I said, I have a hard time with names.  He said, "I'm Willie.  I came and stayed at your place with Dick Snook YEARS ago."  We had a great time talking with him and then met his son.  They were here with a team and were just heading out.  He mentioned, just before heading back to the line, one of my life verses... 1 Thess. 5: 16-18.  "Pray without ceasing and In All things give thanks..." (shortened version)...   What a neat person and great reminder.

After the boys were finished, we said our good byes and headed out.  We wanted to get home before any of the celebrations started.  While walking out, someone called my name.  Since we know almost everyone there, and we were in a hurry, I almost didn't answer.  But it sounded like an American, so I turned around.  And there was former missionary, Sharon Hardy.  What a joy to see her again.  We were able to spend a few minutes catching up with her.  I told her I remembered her folks and they come to mind off and on.  They had come to visit her while she was in Haiti.  Her dad is a great preacher (loved listening to him), and her mom was a quiet, calm, sweet woman, who glowed with the love of the Lord.  And Sharon inherited both their qualities.  She is as wonderful as her folks.

So on our day of sadness at seeing our boys leave, the Lord brought some great joy into our lives, too.  HE knew we needed to be uplifted and He did a great job of it!  We really do serve an AMAZING AND AWESOME God who walks before, beside and behind us and lifts us up!!!  

It is Mardi Gras time, so we'll be spending the next few days at home like many of our Haitian Christian friends are doing.  We'll be spending more quality time with the Lord.

Now it's on to a time of quiet with the Lord, here in my "War Room".  Savanah is with Vero, at church for Abbie's choir practice, so I can catch up and spend some real quality time with my Lord.  I pray that your war room at your place is a great place   with the Lord too.  Remember, reach out to Him, love Him, serve Him, in whatever way He directs.  But also PRAISE HIM and THANK HIM for who and what He is.  HE IS AWESOME!!!
Blessings. 

And the work goes on....

I decided to take a few minutes and update all the work being done here.  Some interesting things, too.  As I mentioned in the last post, they came to help clean out the garage.  Well, that is not all they have done... You'll see from the next few pictures that They have done a whole lot more already and it's only been a week!!  

These first two pictures are something that took a while.  We have wanted to get our water system hooked up to a 12 volt pump, so we'd have water all the time, even when the main generator was off.  But as with many things, it just never happened.  Well, Dale and Gregory got it piped in and it is now working.  What a relief.  

 

 And something Abbie was looking forward to... Dale coming and helping her with math.  She's a good student, but math is a hard subject for her.  Last time here, Dale helped her a lot with math, and this time, again, he helped her through a difficult time with things.  She sure is happy when he comes!!!

 On Saturday AND Sunday, Dale was kept busy teaching and preaching.  Saturday with Enoch (our piano player for English church).  He heads up a choir, and does Bible teaching with them on Saturday's.  Dale spent 2½ hours with the group of about 60.  Enoch told me Sunday that they all want him to come back and teach some more.  We've heard that from another church where he didn't go this time.  They asked if they could know ahead of time, next time, so he can teach at their church.  Then Sunday morning he taught at Pastor Codo's church.  His message was something that Pastor Codo said HE needed, and then a lot of people came up after church and said it spoke to their hearts, too. 

 Then Sunday afternoon he spoke at English church.  I heard from a lot of people on that message as well.  It was so well received and so many commented on it.  They asked when he'd be back to teach again.

 After church we took Carolyn (our friend from West Palm Beach) back out to the IDADEE orphanage where she has spent a couple weeks cooking for a team.  She came and played piano for English church and Enoch sure loved having her, giving him a break.  She is awesome.  So, Dale had to get some photos from up at Joshua house where she is staying on the IDADEE compound.  That picture is of a bay where Christopher Columbus originally was supposed to land in Haiti... but felt it wasn't protected enough and moved further east.  Great photo though.

 And on Saturday before we dropped Dale off at Enoch's, we took the girls for ice cream.  Savanah had a hard time getting it all down before it melted...this really does not show the whole mess she ended up being.

 And Gregory and Savanah were able to sit and watch the "pool" (as Savanah calls the ocean).  They were watching the boats come in.

Today the guys went to the tourist market and then came back and worked on Vero's house and got the trim up on her doors.  They took more pics but I didn't get them downloaded.  They have been working like busy bees and we sure have appreciated all they have accomplished.  Many, many things that had been put on the "back burner" here for a long time.

And I have been able to get a lot of catch up work done since Savanah has decided they needed her help.  They have done great with patience with her!!

Tomorrow it's back to the airport for me and back to work here for the guys.  

Through all the messages this weekend, the Lord has worked in many hearts.  Getting our focus back on God's Word and on what He wants from each of us.  He is to be #1 in our lives, with all else coming after that.  Dale's message at English church was on 1 John.   Getting our lives in sync with the Lord, so others see HIM in us and search for that.  

Praying that the Lord is working in YOUR hearts as well as in ours and that He is the center and focus of your life and the ministry He has called YOU to!!!  Blessings, and be in touch soon.

Life in Haiti and it's fun times

Greetings again from Haiti, the land of "you never know what to expect"....

If you've been on a team, or lived here, or have heard some of our stories, you know the truth.  You can make plans and hope things go the way you intended.  Then reality hits... things NEVER seem to go as planned.  Over the years we have learned to live with the reality of "you can make plans, but be sure they will not work out the way you planned".  

After returning from the states, I am slowly finding out just how much two of the team from our home church accomplished.  Our son, Dale and our grandson, Gregory, had made plans to come for a 2 week visit.  Of course, Mom/Grandma had her "to do" list about ready.  Talking about the list with them when they got here, Dad/Grandpa said, "Oh, Garth and Karen did that for me." (From our home team).  Wow, I am amazed what all they DID accomplish for Don.  MY list was cut very short thanks to them.  But as things never fail, forget the list, no matter who writes it up. (Except the Lord, of course!!)

The first night here, power went off, as usual.... Don went to start the generator, and came out and held up the pull cord.  "Guess we don't have power tonight."  Dale and Gregory said, "No problem, we'll fix it."  And they did, in the dark with flashlights.  GREAT start to their trip.

 Now the main thing they were going to do was help clean out and straighten out the garage... well, ended up working on the batteries in the dorm first.  Had to replace and hook up different ones.

 

 Then Don was figuring what all parts he'd need from the store to get the plumbing in at Vero's addition.  Praise the Lord Dale knows Creole and can run to get parts.

 Got the trench dug to get the pipes put in...

 On Dale's trip to the store, he saw a motorcycle with 5 people on it and had to get a picture.  Amazing more people aren't killed the way they do these things.  Not safe at all!! 

 Finally into the garage and sorting and stacking...and they found a rat...well, the bones of it anyway!  I told Vero we had a dinosaur in our garage!

 On Valentine's day I wanted things to be special for them, so came home from the airport and got it all ready... and yes, Dale helped me with the meal, since I had been at the airport. 

 While I was in the states, Don was able to help so many people, thanks to a family from Oregon.  What a blessing...he was able to put all those he had previously helped in school back into school.  Several will now be able to complete their schooling.  And he was able to help a lot of others with so many needs.  God really blessed us with this wonderful family who had come to visit and saw the needs.  They are also the reason we have been able to get Vero's house going again, and prayerfully soon to be completed.

Our home church team was a blessing in many ways.  Not only the two who provided the buckets for families, (and did so much around our place) but the team who went and did a conference for Pastor Codo here.  And they were able to see other things as well.  I know the kids at IDADEE really enjoyed their visit and teaching.  It was such a diversified team, covering so many areas.  

Don just called me outside and said, picture time... so have to include a picture of Belfort, one of our kids, who is now a plumber, getting the plumbing in for Vero's new bathroom. 

Well, there you have a wrap up on what's happening in our life right now.  Add into it all working at the airport and you will see we are keeping busy.  No more word on Savanah's paper being finished at this point, but still praying for that.  Every day she talks about going home to mommy and daddy and her sisters in Canada.  She has no concept of what is holding that up.  

There is probably a lot of I have left out on what's happening, but as I remember, I'll include it in my next entry.  For now, please keep the prayers coming, they really, really are what keeps us on the field and doing what the Lord has called us to do.  

We have had some really good teachings both in church and on internet on following where, how and what the Lord is calling you to do.  And that is for ALL OF US.  God calls each of us into a specific area for a specific purpose.  Do you know where your area and purpose are?  We are slowly realizing that God's directions are where we are to follow, not mans.  We really do serve an AWESOME GOD!!!!!   
 
 

The bumps in the road...

I just sent out an email and thought I should update everyone on here also.  Lots of prayers needed.  I'm also including a picture or two for you all to see what is going on.

Here is the letter:
 

Greetings to all,

So much has gone on lately, but I will try to catch you all up on happenings here.  Well, not HERE, but in our lives.

After the New Year began, we were excited about the upcoming team from our home church.  Did the planning and tried it get things all done before they came.  THEN...

The morning the team was to arrive, I checked email before heading out to the airport.  There were two emails... one from our daughter Michelle and one from our son, Dale.  Michelle's husband had passed away at 1:00 AM that morning.  Well, we prayed first, and cried a while.  We felt her pain and knew we had to do something to help.  But with the team coming, it was a bit of a situation.  Needless to say, prayers again! 

As much as I wanted to be with Michelle, I also wanted to be with the team. The team started out great and was able to do so much...but they agreed that I needed to go to Michelle.  They arrived on Sunday, and I left on Tuesday.  My flight to be with Michelle was on Thursday.  Had a meeting at MFI on Wednesday to cover some needed items, then prepared to fly to Mobile. 
 

Had an interesting flight...almost missing my connection since I had to RUN the length of the Atlanta airport.  But I did make it and arrived here in good time. 

The arrangements for the memorial went along and we finished things quickly.  Then our son, Dale was to fly in.  His adventure was much more involved than mine, due to flight changes, snow delays and then FOG here in Mobile.  His plane was diverted to New Orleans and he ended up spending the night there.  Michelle and I had spent a few hours at the airport here waiting for him, and hoping he could make it.  But he did arrive on Friday morning and then in the afternoon, our son, Todd, his wife, our son, Tim and his wife arrived.  So we had most of the family here to be with Michelle.  There was no way our daughter Christine could get off of work to be here, but she was with us in spirit.

The memorial was really good.  I really like the pastor.  His message was great but also fun and he included very neatly the message of salvation.  Michelle didn't want sad memories shared, so Pastor Chris shared some great stories.  Met more of Wayne's family and their friends.  It was a good time.  We were all able to spend some good time with Michelle and had some good family times.  Sad reason for the gathering, but good to be together.  

Since everyone left, Michelle and I have had some good time together.  I stayed to help her through some of the hard things, but it's all taken care of.  Tomorrow (Friday), I fly back to Fort Pierce and then on Tuesday, into Haiti.

But this morning Don called with news that was a bit unsettling.  Yesterday, the Canadian embassy in Port au Prince (where Savanah's final paper is), was closed down.  They fired several people because of corruption.  (I honestly don't know yet what the whole story is and only have a small idea of what happened).  I immediately called Guerline (Savanah's new mama).  She didn't know of this either and is having the adoption agency there check things out.

So, at this point, I'm asking you to pray, for several things!  First, for Michelle and her boys as they are transitioning through without a husband and father.  Second, for the situation with Savanah's paper we need, no matter where it is or what is needed.  And lastly for my flights, both tomorrow and Tuesday, when I return to Haiti.  I know the next week or so is going to be really tough for Michelle, so ask for special prayers for her.  

We do have folks staying at the dorm now.  Pray for Don and Bud as they attempt to get our water back working.  OH, I didn't mention THAT problem.  Our water pump ended up with a major problem BEFORE I left.  Our team from our home church was on very restricted water since the pump didn't work well.  And at this point, it is still a problem.  Prayerfully they can put a new pump in tomorrow and get the water up and running again.  Just another prayer request going your way.

Through all of this, I know the Lord is here right beside us all the way.  I know He has His Hands on us and will be with us and keep us.  I really do not know what I'd do without His help and guidance and also peace.  The Lord promised to be with us through all of our struggles and He has certainly been doing that!!  I just keep leaning on Him in all things and in all ways.  

So, there is our catch-up and we are praying all things will continue to be guided and directed by Him.  In all things, Praise and Allow the Lord to lead.

So, now you know how to pray.   

Here are a couple of pictures of our family.... first one is me with four of our kids.  Next one is Dale, Tim, Amy, Todd, Debbie and Michelle.

 

 

 So, please pray and remember to keep the Lord Jesus at the front of all you do, and live your life for Him.   Blessings!!!