Greetings,

We only left Haiti just 2 weeks ago today.  Wow, and a world of things have happened since that time.  I thought I should start with that now, since it’s quite a lot.

We left on May 26^th.  We had an awesome, quick flight back.  Came direct from Cap Haitian to Fort Pierce.  Had supper with a missionary couple (Paul and Belle) who flew with us and a couple from Missionary Flights (MFI) (Dan and Heather), who not only met us, but loaned us the use of their van for our short stay in Florida.

The next day was the farewell luncheon for Harold Martin who is leaving MFI to head up another mission.  We knew Harold had a very hard time making the decision, but he knew he was following the Lord in it.  It was a great but sad time.  A lot of people will miss having Harold being there.  But no one would even think to argue with the Lord on the decision.  There were many who shared accolades and a couple who sort of “roasted” Harold.  We were simply blessed to be a part of it all.

Then we spent a couple of days with Bev, my sister (in-law).  It was so good to spend time with her too.  And then a day or so with Paul, Belle, Dan and Heather again.  The added blessing there was that Paul and Belle’s son and family were there, too.  Great time of fellowship with all of them.

The next day (Tuesday) came our flight to Wisconsin.  Of course the airline mixed up our seat reservations and had us in the far back of the plane (our reservation was row 16…our seats were next to last…34).  Thankfully both flights were not that long.  And we were at our daughter Christine’s that night. 

Wednesday we went out to the house some good friends are letting us stay in.  They also served us a great meal when we got there!!! 

Now on to our real challenge….and please don’t call me totally stupid or dumb…my concern was for Don and that is where my mind was.  But I HAVE learned through all of this, to be sure.

The next morning Don was having pains on and off and I was concerned.  Then got the call from IRS...(supposedly).  My first clue, IF I HAD BEEN THINKING, was the accent of the guy.  But I kept thinking of Don's pain.  Long story short, I was duped…and not thinking at all.  I sent them money.  NOW Don is in extreme pain and wanting to either to go to the doc NOW, or the ER.  I went to our daughter's work.  She wasn't there, she was at a meeting for her son Donny.  BUT her co-worker who is a real sweetheart...said give me that card (that we had paid with)...  She spent 2½ HOURS on the phone contacting people and finally DID get the card stopped. (In between all of this, took Don to the ER). Then they said we needed to go back to Walgreens (where we got the card) and get our money back.  Really long story short on this one, Walgreen couldn't refund it... had to go through the company.  BUT the manager of Walgreens contacted a lot of people and found out HOW to do that and who to talk to.  He took 45 minutes on the phone to get this info for me.  Before we had gone back to Walgreens we had gone to the police station.  Had a GREAT policeman come and talk to us.  Those guys had even used the police non-emergency number when they called me back...and the police were NOT happy about that.  But there is nothing they can do...no way to catch the guys.  But an incident report was filed.  So I copied all the papers I needed and sent them off to the gal the Walgreens guy had given us.  It can take 2 months to get the money back, but we will get it we were told. 

Now on to Don...got to the ER and they took him right in.  GREAT people there and so caring.  The doctor was a woman (Dr. Gillette).  She is a missionary doctor who wants to talk to us again!!  They were ready to take him into surgery right then.  But after giving him valium the hernia went down some.  So the surgeon came in.  He was the one who took out Don's gall-bladder 2 years ago.  Since Don was stabilized he said go to the doc appt. the next morning and then the hospital for the surgery.   So, Friday afternoon they operated.  Don has had almost NO pain from the surgery.  He said he's sore, but no real pain.  He took one pain pill at home to see if it would ease him enough to go to the bathroom.  That was his main problem.  At first just dribbles, but I think it's a lot better now.  He is still just worn out and tired.  He'd been up every 15 to 20 minutes for 2 days just to use the bathroom.  But doc said we should not go out the farm house we were going to stay in, he wanted him close in case something came up.  So, will be here at Christine's for a bit yet. 

 That took us to Saturday.  We spent that day taking care of Don, but also getting ready for our grandson Donny's graduation on Sunday.  For those of you who don’t know, he has Cerebral Palsy.  It took him 18 years in school to complete it. I didn't get to go, someone had to be here with Don.  But it was neat.  The principle had him use his walker to get his diploma.  Wheel chair up the ramp to the stage, then the walker across the stage and back in the wheel chair.  There were about 95 kids (I think), and he was in the middle of the line.  They were told at the start to hold applause and cheers until everyone had gone through.  When Donny was handed his diploma, they started clapping, then a whole lot of people stood up till he was off stage.  THE ONLY ONE they applauded for.  Christine was sobbing.  We knew Donny knew a whole lot of people and you cannot not love him, he is so happy.  But this was something else.  When he got home, I asked him what was that (pointing to his diploma).... he said, "A book with a whole lot of words in it."

Have now spent a few days simply …. relaxing and chilling out…and YES we think it’s cold here.  Today it may hit 70 degrees, but not sure.  This is cold for us.  But I think the rains have stopped and sunshine is here.  Prayerfully it will warm up. 

All I keep thinking about is how the Lord has been with us, not only in the people He has placed around us (which we REALLY praise Him for), but in all the situations we have faced.  When it’s hardest to praise Him is the time we really need to do it.  God has definitely kept His hands on us in and through everything.  And we praise Him for that.  But we also praise Him for the wonderful, thoughtful, caring people He surrounded us with, too.  And we do pray He will richly bless each and every one of those people way beyond measure. 

Thank you for being there for us in prayer and in support of all kinds.  We praise God for YOU, as well as all those whom He has put in our path already!!  We pray God’s blessings and peace on all of you, and pray you are in that place where you, too, can lean on Him in all things.

Late again in mid May

Greetings from hot and VERY humid Haiti!

It seems I'm having a real hard time getting on here to post, but I really am trying.  First, I just completed our May newsletter and am not going to post it here.  If you would like to received it, please let me know at Davis2Haiti@gmail.com   And I will add you to that list.

We have been busy, but trying to pin down certain items is a bit hard.  It's mainly daily living and ministering.  But I am going to try and do a bit of catch up here.  

We have been having some really hard rains and in some areas of Haiti, people have died from it for various reasons.  The river we normally cross (over a bridge) to get to the airport has risen so high we cannot travel that way.  Water covered the road and even up onto the bridge at one point.  

It's spring, rather well into spring with summer on the way.  Our flowers are in bloom all over the yard, but decided to share only one of them.  We do have an awesome white one that looks like a HUGE spider, but didn't get a good picture of it.

 Along with spring came our resident woodpeckers.  We have 3 of them living right next to our house. 

 Back in February we celebrated Don's birthday and the girls decorated the house for him and had a special meal.  Then they wanted a picture with grandpa to keep.

 I've been striving to do spring house cleaning...so far, have gotten one corner of the computer room done.  This is also my "war room" area.  And there are just a couple of my eagles in the area, too.  One of my 2 life verses is Isaiah 40: 31... "they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint." (Karen translation).  Many times I need that strength, like an eagle.

 Many times I ask you all to pray for Missionary Flight, International (MFI).  I know some of you have flown with them and know what it's like.  But I also know many of you have NOT flown on our DC-3's.  So I decided to include a few pictures of what it's like to travel with them.  (And to know how an eagle feels when he's flying).  This first one is two of the planes loading passengers in Fort Pierce, getting ready to fly to Haiti.  They try to take off by 7 AM, and the sun rises are usually fantastic.

 Once they land in country, either in Cap Haitian (our city), or in Port au Prince (the capital), they can then fly into a couple of the inner country cities with supplies and passengers.  Here is a picture of them landing in Pignon (central plateau) on a grass runway.

 This is a picture I took a while ago just after leaving Fort Pierce.  Awesome sunrises are one of the blessings of flying with MFI.  Keep them in prayer as they have now been cleared to fly into Cuba to assist missions in that country as well. 

 I, Karen, was able to fly to Florida 2 weeks ago to help a missionary friend box up her belonging in the condo they were selling.  Belle and I flew out on Thursday and returned on Tuesday.  We did accomplish what we went to do and were both pretty exhausted when we returned.  But we praise God that a couple working with MFI stepped in to help move the boxed up things to storage in their church.  What a blessing that was for Belle.  

Don has been struggling with an inguinal hernia for several months.  Dealing with frustration on top of that because of being unable to do a lot of his normal work, has been really hard on him.  We will be leaving the end of May and heading to Wisconsin where he already has an appointment to get this taken care of.  Keep him in prayer.

And then there is Savanah...the adoption...well nothing yet.  We do know that all her papers were cleared through IBESR (Haitian social services), and we HAD been told that once that was complete, the next step was the final one in the courts.  But we have heard nothing else and the lawyer has not been communicating about any of it.  Pray that the Lord will step in and move in hearts and minds and get this completed.  It is really hard to tell an almost 5 year old that bureaucracy is holding up her getting to her new family.  Every trip I make to the airport, I hear, "Bring my mommy off the plane to come and get me."  She has no idea how MUCH her mommy wishes she could do that.  But if she came now, without the adoption being completed, it would really be a set back for her when mommy left, alone.  She has been with us well over 4½ years already and can't understand why she can't "go home" to mommy and daddy.  

I'd best close out for now before we lose internet again, which happens quite frequently.  Please remember to keep your eyes and heart on the Lord and remember to praise Him for all He has already done for you and for us here.  We really do serve an AWESOME God who answers prayers.  Blessing to you all, and please keep praying....that is why we are here, through your prayers and support!! 

Into April now

Greetings,

I thought it was time to do a bit of catch up.  We’ve been busy, and yet it doesn’t seem like we’ve done a lot.  I think most of you can relate to that.  

The adoption is…. Well, still in the wait and hold pattern.  If we were in a plane and in the holding pattern, we’d be very dizzy from this circle of “non-events”.  Yes, IBESR (Haitian social services) has approved the adoption (which we THOUGHT was what we were waiting on).  Then they sent a paper to the adoptive parents to sign a paper saying that they (adoptive family) approve of the approval.  My first thought was WHAT??? They have waited 4½ YEARS to get Savanah, and IBESR wants to know if they approve the adoption process?  So, now that the approval from the adoptive parents has been sent, we are again in the holding pattern.  Yes, we need prayers…not for us, we have learned that we will simply be “holding on” at this point.  But for those in charge to finally sign what needs to be signed and get this over with.  For the Lord to move on hearts and minds in the offices where this whole thing is sitting.  All Savanah talks about is going “home” to mommy and daddy and her sisters.  She keeps asking if mommy will be on the next plane to come and get her.  So, prayers would be greatly appreciated.

Since going to the airport for MFI and going to church are the only times I leave the house, I really look forward to those “out” times.  The last two weeks MFI had flights for 3 days each week.  For some it was a bit of a trial, but not for me.  I totally enjoyed being out and about.  And at both, the airport and church I am with some really great people.  We have had some awesome preaching, too.  Easter Sunday was an exceptional message.  God has blessed us so much with guest speakers and local talent in that area.  Both American and Haitian pastors.  And this last Sunday was a blessing for us.  We have a team staying at the dorm right now.  Have a pastor, his worship leader and some of the congregation for their church.  The worship leader and his group have recently cut an album.  So the whole service was turned over to them and it was so very special!!  

I really praise the Lord for MFI and all the work they do not only for us, personally, but for the whole mission community.  Their motto is “Standing In The Gap” for missions.  And they do that, but SO MUCH more for everyone.  Please keep them in prayer as they keep growing and serving more and more missions and missionaries.  It’s not a group mentality, it’s a personal thing.  They work toward serving individual people.  That is the huge difference in our eyes.  Because they care, we are blessed. 

The team we have here now leaves today and the next one arrives.  But this team of young adults has been a blessing to us.  We so appreciate the blessing and fellowship they bring.  They have real hearts for the people and love to serve the Lord in whatever way He directs.  Hearing their experiences is always eye opening.  We get to see Haiti from their perspective.  What a blessing.

As we walk in the path the Lord has set us on, we praise Him for being here for us and with us in all circumstances.  Each day is a new experience in what He is teaching us and where He is leading.  It is awesome to see how He steps in and answers prayers for us.  I treasure the time spent in prayer with others and the time alone with the Lord.  It is such a rejuvenation of spirit to simply lean on and depend on Him.  We serve an AWESOME and GREAT God who loves, comforts, upholds, cares, heals and sustains us.  My prayer is that you are in that place that you can and will know the Lord in that same way.  That when things occur, your main source of help is the Lord Jesus Christ. That your praises are heading up to the One and Only One who is there for you ALL THE TIME!!

For now, I’ll close and ask that you keep us, Savanah, her adoptive family, Vero, Abby and all of Haiti in your prayers.  Those prayers are what is keeping us moving and serving for Him.

Slowing Down?

I have come to a conclusion... there is NO way to slow down or to cut back on things.  Well, that MAY change when Savanah finally gets to go home to Canada, but that isn't happening yet.  

We had been told her adoption would be completed in January... then in January were told it had to go to two more places, now we wait, yet again.  I just sent another letter to the lawyer here asking for a progress report...but I think that is another "wait" item for us. 

When I left to go to my brother's memorial, we had a team here.  They were great.  The gals did a lot of work with the orphans at IDADEE.  Sharing the Love of the Lord with kids is so important.  And they evidently did a great job.  And the fellows worked at our compound laying blocks for the addition to Vero and Abbie's house.  They also did a fantastic job.  I know Vero and Abbie were so pleased to see this becoming a reality.  Now we need to pray the completion into existence.  

 When I returned to Haiti, Dr. Bibiana (Savanah's new grandma) and another gal were staying with us.  She found out that the 7th baby we had, Lucas, was coming with his parents to visit us.  I took Lucas to Argentina when he was six months old.  Tomorrow (Feb. 28, Don's birthday) Lucas will be 18.  So, it has been 17½ years since we have seen him.  I was able to be at the airport when they got off the plane.  What a blessing for us to see the whole family again.  Here I am with Lucas.

 This is Lucas with his mom, Nanci, and his dad, Marcelo.

 The day the the Peréz family left was sort of sad for us.  We do pray we will be able to see them again.  We are so proud of Lucas.  He is in university to become a physical education teacher.  He is also the drummer in their praise team at church.  He was able to meet his birth father and his sister while here.  His mother's sister was at the meeting also.  It was a joy for all of them to see Lucas.

 When we finally had a free day, and the girls were both home from school by noon, we took a trip into town with Vero, the girls, Don and I.  It was a trip in for several reasons.

 We went to the restaurant for hamburgers (we were celebrating Don's birthday).  But in the restaurant, was this "motorcycle".  This was made by a Haiti man.  It is about 18" high.  Fantastic workmanship.  And yes, you do see at least 4 people on motorcycles, many times more!

 Then we made a stop at the new ice cream shop.  Both Don and I agreed that it tasted more like frozen milk then ice cream, but the girls loved it just because it was ice cream.

One evening we watched the movie "War Room".  If you haven't seen it, find it and watch it. It moved me so much, and I now have a type of "war room" in my computer room.  The Lord had been moving me more and more toward the importance of prayer.  That was why we originally started our intercessory prayer group.  Then this movie showed me that it's essential to have that intense time of prayer with the Lord by myself, also.  And we've been seeing answers to prayers from the start.  God is SO VERY AWESOME, isn't He?  He's just waiting for us to come to Him, sincerely pouring out our praises and desires and letting Him take over for us.

English church has been such a blessing for us.  The messages have been so uplifting.  But one Sunday we found out our speaker, Pastor Jerome, had been called to the hospital because of his mother-in-law.  I was leading, and had been talking about prayer.  That day I shared a bit about the movie "War Room", and was encouraging others to step into that place of prayer. The Lord used that for the service without a pastor.  We had songs, group prayer, and then broke up into smaller groups for prayer.  That was really awesome.  So many really enjoyed it, since they were not hesitant about sharing with a smaller group.  And so many prayers were lifted up that day.  And we know the Lord heard and is answering.

Well, that is my catch-up for today.  Please keep praying for Savanah to be able to go home to her family in Canada.  And pray that the Lord will continue to use us in any way He chooses here in Haiti.  It's a little scary to know that He may lead us in yet another direction, but who knows, maybe not.  We may just keep on keeping on where He has us right now, with those He has sent to us.  Yet, we are open if He decides to use us in a different way, also.  I guess we'll just wait on Him and follow where He leads.  

We pray you are at that place also where you are open to where and how the Lord wants to use you for His kingdom.  You know YOUR mission field could be right outside your door, or at work, or even at church, or wherever you are.  Missionaries are not those who head to different countries....they are people who answer God's call wherever they are!!!  

Thank you for being there for us and with us on the mission the Lord sent us to.  Have a super great and awesome day with the Lord!!!

Remembering

Greetings from chilly, no, cold Florida.  I arrived in Florida a week ago to help to my sister-in-law (Bev) in any way possible get ready for my brother Bob’s memorial.  I had left Don behind with Savanah and a team.  Thank goodness Vero was there to help him with the team and also with Savanah.  He also had 2 former missionaries and their daughter come in the day the team left.  And that was a real blessing for us.  But I sure did miss getting to spend time with them.  Bud offered to help Don with our Toyota.  Don was having problems with the starter and with the frame rusting through.  From this point I don’t know what was all accomplished, but I do know that they were a huge blessing for Don.  The team had been another blessing, too.  They did a lot of work getting the walls up for the addition to Vero’s house and the women helped out at the IDADEE orphanage.  And they were great…and willing to do whatever was needed.

I am now spending the last two days with Bev before heading back to Haiti.  The memorial was awesome in so many ways.  Oh we worried about things before hand, but the Lord had it all in HIS hands and it went great.  Bev had gotten quite a few calls where people were not going to be able to attend.  We thought we’d have maybe 50 or so there.  We had made a lot of food, and some others offered things, also.  Sunday, after church, I had headed back to the house to get some things to the club house here at the SKP park where the lunch was being held.  I walked back into the church when the memorial service was to soon begin and was totally shocked.  The church was packed.  The service was really great and wonderfully done with the help of Bob’s children and grandchildren doing a major part in it.  Then we rushed to finish setting up at the club house.  I was really totally shocked when well over 100 people showed up to honor Bob.  His family had done an awesome job with the fellowship time and meal.  One granddaughter did a video presentation with songs Bob loved in the background.  Others sorted and helped display photos of Bob’s life.  And many memorial items were also on display.  

I think the part that really touched me deeply was when Bob’s grandson, Lance, asked if he could do the prayer before the meal….  He turned on his computer, and it was Bob saying the grace.  Lance had recorded him praying at a family gathering quite a while before.  I immediately started crying when I heard Bob’s voice.  But it was such a touching start to a really great time of remembrances of Bob and what he had done and what he was like.  After the meal they had a time of sharing.  Anyone who wanted to share their memories of Bob were welcome to come forward, use the mike and share.

Bob had worked as an air traffic controller and progressed higher in that job. He also taught and participated in many scuba diving events.  He and Bev (after retirement) became full time RV travelers, and then became permanent residents of the SKP park.  And he was a elder in his church.  He was involved in many organizations all over the country.  The people present were a sample of each of those things he was involved in. 

Here are a few photos of that afternoon.... the first two are of the display boards and just a bit of the memorabilia shared.  

These next two are some of the many people who were present....the second one shows many watching the continuous video being played.  And the one after it, was the screen it was being played on.

 This is Lance who was responsible for a lot of the "technical things".

 

 Here are two of his children, Jeff and Dawn...  I'm the last one on the right.

We were also blessed to see many we hadn’t seen in YEARS, and to meet and greet new friends that had loved and shared times with Bob.  It was so wonderful to hear people share things we hadn’t know about, things for all of the family to treasure.  Although Bob has been in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ for 3 months now, his life and those who’s lives he touched was a wonderful way for those present to rejoice with us in his life.  Bob is missed by so many, but his memory will hold a place in many, many hearts for a LONG time to come.  

We do rejoice that he is with the Lord and not in pain anymore.  He is not only walking on the streets of gold in heaven, he is dancing and praising the Lord he loved to share with others.

Thank you all so much for the last months of prayers and praises for the hard situation Bob and Bev went through.  We know the Lord heard and He answered those prayers the way He felt was best. 

May your life be filled with the Love and Joy the Lord has to offer, even in the hardest of times and the roughest of situations.  He IS there for you, as He was with us through this time.  God’s love and comfort never leave us, even if we don’t see or feel it for a time.