I don't have pictures from today yet...mainly because the team is out there and things have just gotten started. Their week of set-up and training has paid off though. I talked to Shannon, the team leader, just a few minutes ago and she said things are going really great. They have had no security problems, and everything is very orderly. I do have a few pictures from Saturday when they went out and did a final check on things. The first one is the IDADEE orphanage and it's coming along really well. The second one is a view from the orphanage toward the 7 tents (one huge one and 6 smaller ones). The last one is when they had the training session going. God has worked some real miracles with this whole situation.
I will, at this point, ask for a few prayers. First, top of the list, please pray for the team this week as the Kids Fest progresses and pray for hearts to be open and touched by the Lord. The main focus is to bring these young people to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Second on the list, please pray for Abbie. We are registering her this week for her new school. Pray for her to be comfortable and willing to go there. Also, pray for her ear...she has a pretty bad infection and is on meds for it, but we'd like to see that healed. And last, please pray for me. I have a pinched nerve (or nerves) in the neck and it's gotten pretty bad. My right arm is almost useless. Just got word from the doctor last night that he is only allowing me one trip to the airport a week now, as he feels that is aggravating the situation. He has also given me a whole list of dos and don'ts.... My one praise here is that I have had no problems being on here and can continue to do the work I need to do as far as the computer goes. Not a lot else, but at least I can do SOMETHING!! VERY frustrating for me right now. I'm not to drive at all, since shifting causes quite a bit of pain, so I'm pretty much useless at this point. Pray for my attitude in all of this as I am pretty low and upset. The pain is one thing, but not being able to do my work is the hard part.
Don made some big deliveries this morning and more tomorrow. The team helped him clean out the containers and depot yesterday and got it ready for the container. What a HUGE blessing for us. We have asked them to hold off the container until next Monday (IF we have clearance by then). Computers are down at customs so we have to wait on that. But waiting for next Monday, the team can help unload and also our regular unloaders will be free from working at Kids Fest. We praise God the inspection of the container is done, anyway.
Had a great service and message at English Church yesterday. The team played a huge part in that. We had some glitches, but we are in Haiti, and did fine. This team is REALLY a HUGE blessing in so many ways for us. We praise God for sending the right group of people on it.
Okay, for now...have a super great, God blessed, Jesus following day!!!
We have been busy...but that is life no matter where you are, right? On Tuesday we had a team arrive. This has been, and will continue to be, a great time. They will be doing "Kids Fest" (similar to VBS), with 500 children at the IDADEE compound. Yes, it's a HUGE undertaking, but they are doing great with the set up already. And yes, there are some minor problems, but with the Lord's help, it will all go great. The two following pictures are of the team getting name tags on the 500 plus shirts for the Kids Fest. And then there is one of the tents being put up...which blew down last night, so they are working on getting it (which is a borrowed tent), and the 6 smaller ones (which the team brought) up today.
We finally inspected our next container. The team wanted to help with that, and they did a super job. I think it was a bit more than they realized...with the temps inside the containers will over 100 degrees and the sun and humidity and upper 90's outside was a bit intense. It was accomplished in record time and now the wait starts. As soon as we hear from our broker, we'll get a price. Pray with us that it will be lower than the last one.
We do have a huge prayer request. Vero has been having some major problems at Culligan with the workers there. This has gone on for quite a while and she has been praying God would change hearts there. But we now believe she needs to change jobs. So, please pray with us that the Lord will open a door for her to find another job. I guess we'd like to be specific in those prayers. Pray that a job will be found close to home, with the pay near or even above what she now gets, and that she would have at least one, if not more Christians to work with.
As of this week, Abbie will no longer be going to school at the EBAC orphanage. We have arranged for her to attend the Cowman school, right here by our house. (It's the OMS English school). We had prayed about this and we all felt it was what the Lord was directing. We needed a place that had more security for her. She knows many of the children there and will fit in fine. But we do ask for prayers for this transition in her life.
I am starting this week to work on some paperwork for us, concerning MFI. I need a list of all the mission we serve here in Cap. Since MFI is adding missions every month, we have gotten out of touch with who actually is on the list. It's vital we have this information when giving out mail and cargo...so nothing gets into the wrong hands. I'm afraid it's going to take me days to accomplish this, but it will work out.
Pray for strength and endurance through this really hot and humid time here. We have seen many days over 100 degrees. This, combined with the ultra high humidity has nerves and tempers on edge all over the place. Mid August through the end of September is our hottest time of year but this year it seems so much more intense. The Haitians have commented that the last couple of years it has gotten worse and worse, and we feel they are right. We've had rains often, which keeps the humidity in the upper 90's, so you can see why everyone walks around wet. We are praying for our winter temps that are normally in the upper 70's. The temperature range here isn't huge...mid 70's a low and upper 90's as a high, year round. And yes, 70 degrees here is getting cold for everyone.
Okay, it's back to work...I'll try to post more photos in the next few days. Have a REALLY God blessed day. And keep your hand in HIS!!!
Our newsletter is going out this week...finally. Here it is, for those of you on line...
DAVIS' IN HAITI!
We are back home and catching up on things. After two months of not being here, there is a lot of "catch-up" to do. But we are slowly getting there. Don's been out delivering water to some much needed areas. The small amount of food stuffs he had kept are now gone to families in need. We are waiting on our next container to come. It shipped out of the US in June...and here it is August. You would think we would be used to these delays, but when you see so many in need, it's hard to be understanding. But we are working on that.
We came back to about the same amount of people needing help, and even more who we had not seen before. The situation has not by any means, decreased. Because of the way things are going in Port, more people are heading our way. Land owners are wanting their property back, and thus, the "tent cities" are beginning to be shut down. There are so many who have no where to go, no family to help them, and are simply becoming "street people". If there were jobs available there would at least be some hope. Put yourself in their situation, what would YOU do? I have no idea what I would do or where I would go. But my heart goes out to them. And we come back to the place where the Lord showed Don that he can only deal with the grains of sand that are in his hand from the Lord... not the whole long, wide beach of grains of sand. It is hard, but we need to follow where the Lord leads.
Our trip out was really good. Got to spend a little more time with a few of our kids than we normally do, which was good. (Ever play Frisbee golf? Try it!) and we were able to spend some quality time with some good friends in Indiana, Washington state, and Pennsylvania. then again in Florida with friends and family. God is so good to put so many wonderful people in our path. Was the time restful and relaxing...well, not really since we drove all over the countryside (at least the eastern half of it.) I think a highlight of our trip was stopping in Charlotte (Concord), North Carolina. We wanted to simply stop and say thank you to the people at Hendricks Motor Sports for their help and support after the earthquake in January. (Hendricks has 4 of the NASCAR top drivers). They were such a blessing to MFI and to Haiti. We felt that someone from Haiti should express their thanks to them personally. Dick Snook, MFI's president, asked us to let him know when we would be there. So, he along with his wife, Linda, and Roger and Judy Sands, flew up to be there when we arrived. They presented David Dudley (the head of Hendricks Aviation leg) with a great photo commemorating their service and help to both MFI and Haiti through the time following the earthquake. You can check it all out at MFI's web site. We were treated like royalty there and met some fantastic Christian people in the process. That company is awesome. It's based on Christian principles.
But it was good to return home, too. Vero had put some effort into beautifying our front porch. It looked great when we got home. And then there was Abbie. She is something else. She decided we were not to leave again without her. Not long after we arrived home, Vero left for Port au Prince. She was attending Remy's wedding. (He is the president and founder of the IDADEE orphanage).
With rising costs, we will be doing more updates through our email and through the blog we have. Please let us know if you would prefer that to our newsletters. We are sending this one to all on our list, but if you would like to simply be put on the newsletter via email, let us know.
Time passes so quickly...we came to Haiti when our baby was 11...I can't believe she will be 39 this year. And we have 14 grand children and 3 GREAT grandsons. Come November we will have been here in Haiti 27 years. It does not seem like that long. But in God's eyes, it's but a few seconds. Waiting for Jesus to return and take His own home is something we are looking forward to. Are YOU ready for that to occur? Are you ready to meet the Lord and ascend to glory? We pray you are. If not, let us know and we will help you find that path to eternity with the Lord. It's as easy as accepting the gift if His Son.
When we first came to Haiti, I hung a sign in our living room which read, "God's will won't take you where God's grace can't keep you." Our walk with the Lord has been by faith and God has NEVER failed us. He has been there to meet our every need. And we praise Him for His faithfulness to us. We pray you will find that same love and peace we have found in Him.
In His Name and Love,
Don and Karen Davis
Yes, that is Frisbee golf...through the trees and into that little basket...9 holes of it.
An evening out with the past team members from Camano Island!.jpg)
The group at Hendricks...Dick, Linda, Roger, Judy, Karen and Don.
Finally got to see an Orca whale (cold, but fun)! His dorsal fin was 6'3" high...he was HUGE! And you are only seeing less than half of him.
Remy & Ginette File-Aime. The president of IDADEE orphanage.
Mail:
Don and Karen Davis
Unit 1019 ~ WOMI
3170 Airmans Drive
Ft. Pierce, FL 34946
Support:
1. Online donations for our account..."www.WorldOutreach.org" (click on "Donate" and follow the simple directions)
2. Or mail checks to:
World Outreach Ministries
P.O. Box B
Marietta, GA 30061
(designate for Don & Karen Davis #10 account)
We are finally home. We had a great trip, saw some of the people we had hoped to see and are back in Haiti. Funny, but after about an hour, it felt like we hadn't even left. The problems and the situations are still here, and we are now gearing up to meet a lot of needs. We had plans to do some needed items right at the start, but you know the best laid plans of mice and men...... well, we haven't even been able to start with anything yet. There are the things that need immediate attention, of course. things that quit working, or have problems, need to be attended to first. So, Don is working on some of those things now.
We knew we would need to get our new desk top set up and going before we could do anything on the internet...but then our sat system had shut us down. The fellow here who works on it for us came yesterday and got us up and running again, PTL!! Now the work for me starts in earnest. I have to retype all our email list (since I can't remember how to transfer it from the other computer). And even if I could, we don't have a monitor to use to work on that one now.
One of our neat surprises was the way the house looked when we got here. I had asked Vero to have Phignole put a planter on the wall on the front porch. He did a GREAT job. And so much more. He put flowers not only in the planter, but down on the ground, too. He redid our front porch and we are so pleased.
While we were in the US, Don decided it would be nice to get a small fish tank for Abbie. We know that watching fish is relaxing and thought maybe it would help calm her down a bit. She loves her fish...has named them...but the only one I remember is Sally...that's her angle fish. We lost a few in transporting, but still have enough to make it look good.
We will be contacting the pastors to find out where the most help is needed at this point. There are still so many needs in this area. Helping get people settled both here in Cap and in Port is an on going job. Jobs are needed and there just aren't any to be had. There are so many willing to work. Pray with us that we will be able to direct people to the places they need to be.
We have a container on the way. One should be docking either today or tomorrow, but that one is for others. Our container should be just a few days behind that one. Pray with us that it will be a quick turn around and that there will be minor charges on it. The items on it are SO needed, with so many hurting people in this area.
We do have some prayer requests... one is for my sister-in-law. She has undergone a heart operation and is recovering, but can still use prayers, as this has been a very difficult time for them. The next is for our good friend Carolyn, who is starting radiation treatment this coming week. They feel they did get all the cancer, but do not want to take any chances, thus the radiation. Then we need some major prayers for our very good friends Bill and Lauri on the west coast. Bill had been cleared of cancer, but now is facing a recurrence, and it seems worse this time. Through all of this we know satan is hitting hardest in our weakest spots. Pray for all three of these that the enemy will NOT be victorious, but that God will reign in each situation. We KNOW that God can heal, and that He DOES heal. But we also know that His timing and His ways are not our ways. Pray for God's healing touch, but also pray for God's will to be done. Pray for peace and comfort in each of these situations.
When we see our friends and family hurting, we want to storm the gates of heaven and demand action. But that isn't how God works. We can storm the gates of heaven with our prayers, but then we need to step back and let God work things out His way. Pray with us that the Lord will grant peace to all those involved in these troubled times. Driving down the streets here in Haiti is heartbreaking, too. We see the hopelessness on so many faces. No jobs, no food, no money, no place to lay their heads....and so little help coming their way. Pray with us that the Lord will direct us in where and how to help the best way possible. We know without a doubt that the Lord has directed us to use the national pastors to work with these people. Pray for the people to see the true light of a loving and caring God in all these deplorable circumstances. We do know God is in control, even when we can't see it. We just want to be a part of His Light to the world.
Thank you so much for your help and your prayers. Without you, we could not be here. We are praying for you, too. Let the light and love of the Lord shine from you to those around you, too. At this point, that is YOUR mission field...so spread the love of Jesus to those you come in contact with. Until next time....God Bless and Keep you!!!
We had another great day today. We drove to Hendricks Motor Sports terminal. We met Dick Snook (MFI's president), his wife, Linda, and Roger and Judy (MFI staff), who flew in to be with us on this great day. Dick presented Hendricks with a really wonderful photo, framed beautifully, with a scripture verse. It was a thank you gift for all the help they gave to MFI and Haiti after the earthquake.
Got a tour there (FANTASTIC place). Had lunch with the crew who work there...great guys and gals. Then we were given a personal tour of the Hendricks Motorsports Compound. We really enjoyed meeting and sharing with so many great Christians. We got to see the making of the race cars and even were given a really unusual momento. Don got a spark plug from Jimmy Johnson's car that he drove (and WON) last week. We were all given a spark plug from various cars. Now, to many of you, this isn't exciting. But to those of us who enjoying following the races (via MFI pilots taping them for us), this was a double thrill. Thanking them, and then touring the facilities.
We are taking an extra day to simply relax and not do much moving. Then we head back to Florida and do some final things before returning to Haiti on the 13th. I'm not sure if I'll get another chance to do any catch up on here, so, if not before, we'll catch you on the 14th.
We are praying all of you have a REALLY AWESOME 4th of July. Remember, the Lord was a very important part of the founding of this nation. We need to keep Him at the front of all we do and say. And we need to pray that our nation will wake up to the fact that this country was FOUNDED on the Lord and all He stands for. So, don't just celebrate the Independence of the USA, but THE ONE who it was all based on!!
So much has gone on, and we've seen so many people. It's been great. And we are finally getting to a point where we are relaxing. It's taken a long time, but, Praise God, we ARE relaxing. I guess we were wound up like a tight spring, and now we can take a deep breath and relax. We are in Pennsylvania, and guess what....there was an earthquake here yesterday. Yes, we were here in the path of it, but I guess we didn't realize it was a quake. Gee...are these things following us around? I don't think so. I truly believe that what is happening is right there in the Bible. It's exciting to be a part of things set forth in the Word of God, isn't it? Yes, in a way, I guess it's a bit scary, but it's so much more. We are walking through some of the things that were set forth so many, many years ago. I pray you are walking with the Lord and can rejoice with us in this. The Lord is the only way to have peace in all that is happening now, and all that is to come.
Okay, I'll back up and share some of our joys and trips with you. We will only be able to see 3 of our 5 kids, but we are happy we were able to see them. We also were able to spend some time with some very special friends. This couple prayed us into the Kingdom. God used more than just them, but their prayers were so important, then the witness of another great couple sharing their faith through their walk with the Lord, and finally, a fantastic pastor who opened the door and we walked through...God used many to lead us to Him, and we are so thankful. We were able to spend some time with Duane and Carolyn, (who's walk showed us the Lord loud and clear). What a blessing to be able to praise God with those who had such an important part in leading us to the Lord. Thank you, Duane and Carolyn, for walking in a way to show us the true love of God.
When we visited our son in Green Bay, he and some of his family went with us to a really wonderful church, to worship with Karen and Gary, who prayed us into the Kingdom. (Karen and I have been friends since 7th grade). The service was such a wonderful uplift and joy for us. And a gal sang a song she wrote that was so evidently God inspired. Wish we could share it with you. The people in that church were gracious and loving. We are so thankful to have been there. And then we were able to spend some very special time with Karen and Gary the next morning. It is AWESOME (yes, there is that word again)...to see God working in and through those who had such an important part in our lives. God is SO good!!!! (Yes, this is Karen and Gary, and we are in awe of what God is doing through them!)
These are our kids (well, some of them)....Christine and her boys are always so willing to put up with us. We keep praying they will keep growing into what the Lord wants them to be. And it's a blessing for us to be with them.
Dale and his family are always a blessing as well. It's exciting to see how the Lord is working in the lives of our family. These young men are rising up to be such an inspiration to many.
Todd and his family...YES those are our GREAT grandsons. It as a joy to see how they are growing. We pray God keeps His hands on all of them.
We are so thankful that God is working in the lives of our children. As we walk with the Lord (and as our children are on their own path with Him) we have to praise God that He is there for all of our children, grandchildren and GREAT grandchildren.
I hope you enjoyed our short trip with our kids (those we were able to see, anyway). We miss our kids so much, but just keep praying they will all be with us for eternity, with the Lord.
As I have mentioned before, we get daily and weekly devotionals via email. They are such a blessing for us, in SO MANY ways. The problem is, that when we are on the road, we don't always have a way to read them each day. But I wanted to share with you a small part of just one of those devotionals. If you want to read the whole thing, go to: www.cathyconger.com. It is "On Pens and Needles". She shares more than just the e-devotional there, and it's an inspiration. But the part I wanted to share with you today is this:
10 Predictions for 2011
1. The Bible will still have all the answers.
2. Prayer will still be the most powerful thing on earth.
3. The Holy Spirit will still move.
4. God will still honor the praises of His people.
5. There will still be God-anointed preaching.
6. There will still be singing of praise to God.
7. God will still pour out blessings upon His people.
8. There will still be room at the cross.
9. Jesus will still love you.
10. Jesus will still save the lost when they come to Him.
Isn't God AWESOME? I pray you are walking with the Lord and holding onto His hands. Let Him be your guide today and always!!!
Hello,
We are back in Wisconsin, after our trip to Camano Island, Washington. And YES, I finally, after all these years, saw a whale. What an experience.
But first, let me recap our trip. The house we called home when we were there....isn't it beautiful?
And then....our good friends and hosts, Bill and Lauri, on our Island Adventure. They are an awesome couple...here I go again with that word!
And more of our good friends, Glen and Nancy...Glen had a birthday while we were there. Never miss a chance to celebrate someone else's birthday. And the sunset from their front patio.
This seal was a cute thing...he waited till we were close and then lifted his head and tail so I could get a photo.
And the Orca whales. It was SO neat...but alas, while taking photos, I got motion sickness and missed some of the trip. But it was FANTASTIC!!!! Look at these whales. The big one was named Mega. And yes, he WAS mega. His dorsal fin was 6 feet 3 inches tall. On the photo, you only see less than half of the whole whale.
We also saw an eagle, another highlight for me...he was trying for all he was worth to get his catch up in the air.
Well, the trip was great...got a lot of rest, which we needed, and saw some good friends and shared meals with some great people.
If you want to see some of the photos the people take who run the trip, go to: http://blog.island-adventures.com/ They have a day by day blog of what they saw and when. And they tell you a bit about the whales. Check The Whale Report, and go to Tuesday, June 8th, for the day we went.
Again, we were able to see and appreciate all of God's beauty and enjoy the wonder of all the fantastic things He has created. The power of the ocean, the majesty of the mountains, the glory of all His creation, it holds you in awe of what God really is. Yes, HE IS AWESOME.
I will, at this point, ask for a few prayers. First, top of the list, please pray for the team this week as the Kids Fest progresses and pray for hearts to be open and touched by the Lord. The main focus is to bring these young people to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Second on the list, please pray for Abbie. We are registering her this week for her new school. Pray for her to be comfortable and willing to go there. Also, pray for her ear...she has a pretty bad infection and is on meds for it, but we'd like to see that healed. And last, please pray for me. I have a pinched nerve (or nerves) in the neck and it's gotten pretty bad. My right arm is almost useless. Just got word from the doctor last night that he is only allowing me one trip to the airport a week now, as he feels that is aggravating the situation. He has also given me a whole list of dos and don'ts.... My one praise here is that I have had no problems being on here and can continue to do the work I need to do as far as the computer goes. Not a lot else, but at least I can do SOMETHING!! VERY frustrating for me right now. I'm not to drive at all, since shifting causes quite a bit of pain, so I'm pretty much useless at this point. Pray for my attitude in all of this as I am pretty low and upset. The pain is one thing, but not being able to do my work is the hard part.
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