Feeding

Today was a very exciting day! It was the official start of our lunch program at Les Bours School of Hope! I have never seen our children smile bigger than they did today as they ran back to their classrooms with a bowl full of rice, beans, and vegetables! Some of our children are only finding food every 2 days. This meal means everything to them! Not a grain of rice went to waste! We are so thankful that we are able to provide these hungry children with a meal each day for the rest of the school year. We are praying that faithful sponsors will come forward to provide this essential funding for next year! For only $6 per month you can feed a child with a nutritious meal every school day. Think about it.....if you are out to eat and you and your date choose to drink water instead of purchase a drink, you could feed a child for a MONTH! Or if you skip a Starbucks coffee or two. Or pack a lunch. You can feed a hungry child for an entire month!

For the past few days another kind of feeding has also been happening at our school. A spiritual feeding for pastors in the Les Bours neighborhood. Pastor Mike and Travis have been teaching and equipping Haitian pastors to better lead their church. We have been celebrating the great response they are having from the pastors this week! In the past there has been a great deal of arguing and competition among them, but something in their hearts has changed. They are breaking into song, joking with one another, and really soaking in the Word. Can I get an AMEN? Tomorrow morning we are having our first ever crusade at the school. Please pray for God to move in the hearts of those living in Les Bours! We are all His children!

Construction back at HOPE House continues to slowly progress. The tile in the orphanage should be completed next week. Today the plumbers hooked up the water. We have working sinks, toilets, and showers!

I have a new friend I am so excited to tell you about. Her name is MarieClaude. But she deserves her own blog post! You will just have to wait until next time...

Construction, Clinic, and Growing HOPE House!

This past week has been a crazy blur of construction, clinic, and growing HOPE House!

We have continued to make progress with our construction by hiring some additional Haitians to help us paint and put in the plumbing. HOPE House is completely painted in the inside. The bright yellow, blue, and pink make for a very cheery house! The kids enjoyed helping! They ask everyday when they can sleep in their new rooms! They are so excited to be sharing their bedroom with their friends. Naika and Sophonie keep asking me to find them more friends their age so they can share their room with more princesses! We are so blessed with our amazing children and the hearts they have!

We have an awesome team of doctors and nurses here this week. They have seen every single one of our Les Bours students and charted full physical evaluations on all 208 kids! They have also seen over 2,000 patients already this week! Glory to God! They treated over 900 patients in the tent city alone on one day! People have been so blessed by the energy and knowledge of this team! They have had several severe cases this week. One little 17 month old boy was brought in from the tent city in desperate need of hydration. He was lethargic and so dehydrated from diarrhea and vomiting. Thankfully the team was able to put in an IV and before they left, he had come around and was responsive and happy. Without fluids, that sweet little boy could have died. Thank you Lord for your perfect timing and ability to provide all of our needs!

We also brought home two little boys this week! Benly is officially back at HOPE House! We are thrilled to have him back in our care and blessed to love him until he is adopted to a forever family in the states! On Thursday, as I was leaving Les Bours School, an elderly woman walked up to me with a little boy bundled up in a blanket. She lives in a tent city on the side of a mountain just down from our school. The baby is her grandson, and both of his parents are dead. His mom was only 18 and his dad only 25. She is not physically able to care for him, the the other children her daughter left behind, and her own children. On Friday we brought home little Ricardo to HOPE House. He will also be living with us until he finds a forever family. He is 7 1/2 months old and only weighs 9 lbs 14 oz. Our little 2 month old Love Kelly weighs more than him! He is alert and strong, and I am confident he will catch up quickly! He has stolen my hearts, and the hearts all everyone here! He is such a happy little guy. Ricardo and Benly both need sponsors for their care at HOPE House! (Sponsorship is $30 per month, email information@haitipoverty.org for more information) We are up to 13 children now! It's time to move!

Today the team held a clinic day for our kids and our staff's families. It was so much fun to hear so many children playing and laughing together. Our kids were excited to have visitors! They were running laps around our "track", swinging on the playground (many for the first time in their lives), coloring with chalk, and drinking lots of kool-aid! A beautiful way to spend a Sunday afternoon!

Our medical team has another full day of clinic tomorrow. They will most likely see another 1,000 patients before they leave on Tuesday. Our pastoral ministry team arrives on Tuesday afternoon. We are looking forward to an exciting week of evangelism, training, crusades, and baptisms! God is on the move!

Construction Update

As promised, I have uploaded pictures of some of this week's progress here at HOPE House! We have made great strides this week thanks to our many helping hands! We were so grateful to have the roofs on and windows sealed before the rains began! It has been raining every night for the past 5 nights and will most likely continue to do so for a while.

It is so exciting to be in this stage of construction, because every night when we go to bed it looks completely different than the day before! The rooms have all been partitioned off, the bedroom and bathroom doors are all in, and the kitchen cabinets are being hung! By the end of tomorrow all of the painting will be finished except for the kids playroom/kitchen, and the outside of HOPE House. Our next steps are plumbing and electrical!

Today was a BIG day! For more than the reasons listed above. As of today, HOPE House has 24/7 electricity. All day, all night! I can hardly wrap my mind around it! Our batteries and inverter system are all hooked up! We have enough charge to last us 2-3 days of no electricity or generator usage! Can I get an AMEN!?! That means no more bucket showers! We will always have running water!

We are going to celebrate the week's progress with Frentz's famous fresh fruit smoothies tonight! I am so thankful for everyone who has played a part in making this all possible! I stand absolutely amazed at our marvelous God. Our provider and help in time of need! Amazing!

Worth a Thousand Words

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Some say a picture is worth a thousand words. With so much happening down here at Les Bours School of Hope I thought it would be best to share some new pictures! In short, the trees are growing, the children are eating(Bingo is still alive), the teachers have new cabinets, and the cooks came for an interview and will start cooking lunch next week! Everyone involved in our school is so excited about the new improvements! The children are full of joy, as always.

Also, I just had to throw in a picture of little baby Julia! (Jean and Nana's new daughter) She is absolutely perfect! God answered our prayers for a safe delivery, and a healthy mom and baby! She looks like another little Mini Jean!

I will post pictures of HOPE House construction updates soon. The guys are working so hard, and doing a beautiful job! We hope to be painting the nursery and children's bedrooms all day Saturday! Things are coming together so nicely. I am beyond thankful for all of our amazing help! Everyday we are a little bit closer to moving in to our permanent HOPE House!

Progress and Pain

Oh what a day! A day of PROGRESS! For months it felt like we were working everyday, yet our construction project was in a standstill. Today we started making up for lost time! The orphanage roof is ON! It looks amazing! It keeps the inside so nice and cool! (Yes! Cool, even in Haiti!) We even got to start painting real colors in our house this afternoon! The tiles for both our house and the orphanage were delivered, and the orphanage windows are being installed as I type this blog entry. Great progress for one day! Especially in Haiti where things tend to move at a much slower pace.

A team from Frontline Church made it in last night. I am thankful for all of their hands! We still have three guys down here working on the construction, and a visiting adopting family who is able to help with our plumbing needs! We are so blessed that God continues to provide us with His faithful servants, knowing just the skills we need!

On another exciting note, our driver, Jean and his wife Nana, had a baby girl this morning! About 5:00am Jean was outside our bedroom window whispering, "Frentz! Frentz! Can I take the truck? I have to get Nana to the hospital." He ran from his house to our house to get our truck, pick up his wife, and get her to a hospital. She nearly lost her life during the delivery of her first child. This pregnancy has been closely monitored and considered high risk. I spent the early morning hours praying that God would not allow another child to be born without a mother, or husband to lose his wife. At 7:35am Jean called and said it was a GIRL! She and Nana were both doing well. Around 9:30am he came running up to our house with a big smile on his face. He was gleaming with pride for becoming a father for the second time, and gave me the honor of naming his new baby girl. And so, today, we welcome sweet little Julia Duprene to the world! Julia and Nana are both still in the hospital. I am eager to hug them both, and meet little Julia for the first time! What a celebration of life!

Unfortunately, one of our other staff members did not have such an exciting night. One of our night guards, MesiDieu, called about the time he was supposed to arrive at work last night with terrible news. His three year old son had been run over by a motorcycle in the tent city where they live. He had already left for work, and his wife saw the whole thing. While she was crying in agony for her child, the man got off from his bike and came over and began beating her, punching her in the face. MesiDieu returned home immediately and had to take his son to the hospital. We are still uncertain of his actual injuries, but we know he is "broken" in three places. He was not in good condition when he was admitted last night. We are hoping to receive an update this evening. Please keep MesiDieu, his wife, and his son in your prayers. They also have other children who are still in the tent city and very afraid. God can heal all wounds! Please Lord, touch this sweet boy's life. Heal him of his pain. Give the doctors wisdom, and supply all of the things he needs to receive proper care. You are our ultimate provider and healer. May your glory shine through this terrible tragedy.

Thank You Lord for Elda.

Today did not start out great. And it didn't really get any better. Wonderful and exciting things are happening here at HOPE House with our construction progress, but my jobs for the day did not include them. Have you ever had those days where no matter what, you just feel frustrated? One thing after another. All little things. All frustrating. Well, I was sitting down to take a little break from dealing with the day's drama and decided to read some of the sponsor letters our school kids wrote. After the first letter, I decided to have an attitude change. Here's why:

Hello Sponsor,
How are you? Everything's good for me by God's grace, I write you this letter to ask you how are you, and I pray for you so God can give strength in everything you are doing and bless you so you can keep helping me. I don't know what I can give you to thank you, but I know that God will give it to you, and everything you deserve. He will guide you in everything you are doing because there's nothing He can't do. Soon I will pass the government test, so I am asking you to keep me in your prayers so I will succeed and I will do my best. God can do everything, so please keep me in your prayers, so the Almighty God can break the chains that hold me, I know He will break them all before the exam. I accept Jesus as my personal Savior, but I have a problem that keeps me from going to church. I know God will help me find money to provide the stuff that I need. Thank you for sponsoring me.

In the name of the Almighty.

I love you

Elda Mertilien

Wow. Where do I begin? Everything is good for her? She eats only once a day and lives in a tent city in an extremely dangerous part of town where several people have been shot and killed this week. But she has God's grace. She knows His love. Everything is good for her. She doesn't have anything to give to thank her sponsor? I'm pretty sure this letter, and her prayers are the most powerful and best gift she could give! Notice that she says she will pass the test, and then to pray for her to pass. She believes she can do it, she believes God can help her. How many times do I doubt, Oh God? "The Almighty can break the chains that hold me." Can I get an AMEN? She has accepted the Lord as her personal Savior! Hallelujah! But she has a problem going to church. How many other people don't have a "problem," that stops them from going, they just don't go.

I could go on and on about Elda's heart and the huge role her sponsor has played in her life, but I think her letter just did all of the explaining. AND I have a glorious day to go and enjoy.

Lord Almighty, break the chains of my frustrations. Where would I be without your grace? Keep me focused on YOUR goodness and peace.

My Dad

On typical morning I wake up begging for 10 more minutes...and then 10 more. I have never been one to jump out of bed and embrace the day. What can I say? I love sleep! Often times I'll roll over and grab my little devotional book and start reading. I find it if the perfect time of day to spend with God because I don't have to physically get out of bed! Though I must admit, there are several (okay many) mornings I end up dozing back off in the middle of my morning prayers.

NOT this morning! This morning I followed the orders my mother used to wake me up with everyday, "Rise and Shine!" I'm pretty sure she knew just how much I loved mornings and got a kick out of being extra happy. Or maybe her coffee had something to do with it. (Love you Mom!) Either way, today I woke up, rolled over, and began clapping my hands and shouting praises! Why? My Dad is coming to Haiti today!

I am so overwhelmed with joy this morning, I wanted to publicly thank God for the AMAZING Dad He gave me! Truly, the world's #1 Dad!

Back when this whole "Haiti thing" began in my life, my dad thought I was a little nuts. He didn't come right out and say it, but he was sure I would be running home to my curling iron by day 3. I think he was a bit surprised that I fell in love with Haiti. When I begged and pleaded and convinced him to come down, I think he was even more surprised that he fell in love too! Even though he initially came to hold babies for a week, God had big plans! Our marvelous God who sees the future knew exactly what He was doing.

Dad was right there with me when I wanted to open a nonprofit organization to help Haiti. I could not have done the paperwork or understood the nonprofit world without him. Between my dad's knowledge, wisdom, and connections, we got it done!

When the Lord placed a call on my life to move to Haiti and open an orphanage, He called my dad to be a huge part in that. My dad obediently responded and began traveling to Haiti to help me search for the perfect home for our future children.

When the earthquake happened he left on a jet plane with me. (literally.) He left work and all of his obligations to go and find our hurting friends. We experienced and witnessed things that are hard to describe. Things that most other people in our lives could never fully comprehend. I am so thankful God gave me a dad who loved Haiti, his daughter, and His God.

After several weeks in Haiti, he returned back home to begin researching construction of earthquake proof housing. He has been organizing shipments and construction teams for over 2 years now! Despite all of the frustrations, corruption, and setbacks we face, he is persistent and he continues to find ways to make the best of every situation. Without fail, God gives him the wisdom to solve every difficult situation. God knew exactly whose daughter I needed to be.

Today, he is boarding a plane and heading down here to Port-au-Prince. Which is a pretty big deal because he was supposed to be on vacation. A much needed vacation I might add! He and my mom and sister were supposed to be spending the week in Melbourne, FL. Instead, Dad drove Mom and Brooke to Florida, left them at the beach while he spent his day at Home Depot trying to find the materials we need to attach our roofing panels, drove to Miami, will board a plane to Haiti, work his butt off trying to assemble our roof, fly back to Miami, pick up Mom and Brooke in Melbourne, and drive them home to Michigan.

He already had a ticket booked to come down to Haiti on the 17th. But he knows how important it is to me and our children to get our roofs on! He gave up his rare vacation time to come work in Haiti. How many dads would do that? Only the best! Thank you Dad!

Thank you Lord for giving me my earthly Daddy. I am so thankful you know the future. You saw a good thing in him. Thank you for giving my family the blessing of loving Haiti. At times it seems we need Haiti more than Haiti needs us. Thanking you for showing yourself to us over and over again. Thank you for giving my dad every skill and quality he would need to obediently carry out your work. Thank you for molding him into a humble man of God. Please give him the rest he needs, even though he lost his vacation time. Grant him your wisdom as he searches for a new way to attach our roof. Thank you Lord for the way he has blessed my life, and the other lives around him. I love you Father!

Our Containers Have Arrived!

I am overflowing with joy and thankfulness! Your prayers have been answered! Our containers arrived on Saturday morning! We have roofing, showers, toilets, sinks, windows, doors, cabinets, and more scattered all over the property. Grap was so excited to unload our new lawn mower! For a year and a half he has been cutting the grass on his hands and knees with a machete. He was like a kid in a candy store running around with the mower! He hasn't quite captured the techinique of walking back and forth....it made for some pretty hilarious entertainment for our team. He is all over the place making circles and darting from one place to the next, absolutely amazed at how easily it cuts the grass. He mowed last night until dark, and I woke up to the mower going again this morning. I have never seen someone so excited to cut grass before in my life!

We are going to have a very busy month getting the houses all put together! How exciting! We have been waiting over two years for this day! We had planned to purchase a building and move into an orphanage in March of 2010. But as we all well know, plans were intruppted. God's will prevails above it all! This is His ministry and these are His children! And they are about to have a beautiful, safe, secure shelter.

We had a wonderful week with some visitors from North Holland Reformed Church. We have been so thankful for the loving support of both their church and the individuals on the mission team. We had planned to put the roof on HOPE House last week, but ended up waiting for the containers to be delivered. There were many other tasks to keep busy! The men were able to make som beautiful cabinets for each classroom at our school. Our teachers have been asking for something to keep supplies in for about two years. We finally had the funding to do it and the man power and knowledge to get it done! I am excited to deliver them to the school later this week.

Our school director, Abner, called this morning with upsetting news. A well known man was shot in Cite Soleil this morning on the road that leads to our school. Rioting and other shootings started right away. Several gangs are upset and the road has become extremely dangerous. Please keep our children and their families in your prayers. Many of our kids live right along the road where the violence is occuring in Cite Soleil. Pray that the violence does not spread, and that God's peace will reign. Information about if the man was killed or not has not been released. If he dies, there could be even more trouble as people will be very angry.

Last week I had the blessing of seeing our sweet little Benley. He is not so little anymore! He enjoyed a peanut butter sandwich as we worked on a distribution of peanut butter 500. Please pray for both Benley and Jiniole. Jiniole is feeling overwhelmed and continues to make bad decisions. She would like to give Benley up for adoption. Frentz and I will be meeting with both of them tomorrow morning.

I am looking forward to thie upcoming week! We have a team from Cornerstone University here now. They are busy painting Frentz's house, varnishing cabinets, and preparing food for our kids in Les Bours. (We pray the violence settles so we can get out to the school on Thursday morning.) On Tuesday afternoon my 4 heroes arrive to put on our roof! We sent out an urgent request for help when we realized that the containers were arriving the day before our construction team left. God is good and he has provided us with a skilled team of 4 men. Keith Thurlow, Keith Veldeer, Jim Schut, and Pat Thompson are jumping on a plane tomorrow morning and heading for Haiti! Please pray for safe travels AND that God would lead them to bring the right materials that will be needed to attach the roof. Things are not going as planned, and a little experimenting will need to happen. The cement on the top of the walls is not hard enough to hold the tan cons and roof in place. We have been trying to think up solutions, but they will need to bring what they need with them....and we don't know exactly what they need. A bit of a problem. Praying for God's wisdom and direction! Only He knows!

I feel confident placing my trust in the Lord. For He is good! His love endures forever! How blessed are we to serve and love the creator of this beautiful universe? I am constantly reminded of God's goodness and creativity as I look to the breathtaking mountains, brilliant flowers, and the beautiful ocean. Despite man's sin and destruction, God's beauty prevails! He is all around us! What a God we serve!