Haiti Foundation Against Poverty

Surgery Success!

2012-02-09T14:26:00.001-08:00

(The pictures above were taken just before Guerlens went in for surgery. His head will look so much different once the wrap is off the and the swelling goes down.)

The surgery was a success! The surgeons were very pleased and found nothing unexpected. They were very interested to see how pointed the back of his skull was. They were able to split the bone and reshape his skull without any complications. The surgery was over shortly after 5:00pm yesterday evening. It was difficult to see him after surgery, but I am so thankful that he was not in pain. The nurses have been wonderful and Guerlens has been so comfortable. He opened his eyes for the first time after surgery at about 11:40 last night. I was sitting with him and he heard my voice and jumped awake and even gave me a little wave. At this point, he is far more scared than he is in pain. I am thankful that even though I can't hold him, I can wrap my arm around him and sing him to sleep. He has been doing a lot of resting which is so good for him.

This morning the swelling had already noticeably gone down. By about 10:30am he had his catheter and his hand IV taken out. I got to feed him a little lunch, but he was not able to keep it down. He is drinking clear fluids well. Please pray that he will be able to keep food down soon. He has such an appetite and he wants to eat so badly. For now, the pedialyte is holding him over.

It is amazing to think the journey this little guy has been on. Less than a year ago he was sleeping on the streets of Port-au-Prince with little food, little protection, and little hope. Because of our amazing supporters, we were able to provide Guerlens with a loving home when he was only 6 weeks old. Our staff fell head over heals for him despite the shape of his head. For the first 6 months of his life he showed little progress and little personality. I spent months wondering what I could do for this boy and how he would ever find help. Then something miraculous happened. This great adventure leading up to his surgery began in late October when he was officially diagnosed with craniosynostosis. It is hard to believe all that has happen in the last few months. Our God is so great! Countless people have given generously of their time and money to help Guerlens have a better life. From the bottom of my heart, I cannot thank them enough!

The hardest part is behind us now! Guerlens has a beautiful head that will hopefully be unveiled tomorrow! Please pray that a bed opens up in the pediatric wing so we can be with him more. Please pray for him to be pain free and feel safe and comfortable. Pray that he will be able to keep solid foods down so he can fill up that little man belly of his!

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you for playing a significant role in Sweet Guerlens' life!

Surgery Tomorrow

2012-02-07T13:43:00.001-08:00

Guerlens and I are loving New York! We have been able to see so many things and meet so many amazing people! I cannot believe how friendly and kind the people in New York are! What a wonderful place to be. Every person we have met or run into has been so welcoming and generous. From directions in the subway, to "goodmornings" as we walk down the street. From the gentlemen who carry Guerlens and his stroller down the stairs, to the amazing staff and volunteers at the hospital. From the people who offer to take our picture, to the kind hosts and waitresses at restaurants. This place is nothing short of amazing! I have never been surrounded by so many helpful, friendly, kind people in my life! We love New York!

We have had the opportunity to meet with Guerlens surgeons and all of the people involved to make this happen...and there sure are a lot of them! The Posada Foundation is covering all of Guerlens' hospital expenses. The two surgeons, Dr. Staffenberg and Dr. Weiner are donating their time. Together, they are financially making this happen. The National Foundation for Facial Reconstruction has provided us with housing and connected us with all of the right doctors, papers, and other appointments to get ready for the big day. NYU Medical Center has cooperated with all of organizations involved! All for one very special little guy! How GREAT is our God?

Our latest appointments with the two surgeons have put me at such ease. Guerlens is in wonderful hands here at NYU. We were unable to have the surgery performed in Haiti, due to loss of blood. The survival rate would have been less than 50%. He was more likely to die than live. This morning, while meeting with Dr. Weiner I asked what the risk of life is for this surgery here in the United States. Less than 1%. Amazing. There is also less than a 1% chance that he would suffer any brain or long term damage. There is a 10% chance that he would need a future operation to continue to reshape his head. Both surgeons are extremely confident in the surgery and the outcome for our sweet boy. They said we will be amazed at his beautiful round head when they remove the head wrap! I just can't wait! They will reshape the whole back of his head and make it wider. The only thing they will not reshape is his forehead, but overtime they expect it to flatten and reshape with the rest of his skull.

Guerlens is scheduled to go in for surgery at 1:00pm tomorrow. I will be able to hold him in my arms while the anesthetic kicks in. Once he is fast asleep I can lay him on the operating table and he won't know anything happened until hours after surgery when we are standing by his bedside. It is such a blessing that he is still so young and has no idea what lies ahead. He has nothing to dread or worry about.

Please pray for a smooth, successful surgery. Pray for Guerlens tomorrow morning as he will be very hungry! He cannot eat after midnight tonight....and the boy LOVES to eat! Pray that his stitches will not get infected and that he will not need a blood transfusion. These are the two most common risks of this surgery. Pray for comfort and no pain. Pray he feels safe and can rest well in his hospital bed. And pray he only has to spend one night in the PICU! (After that we can be with him and he can be out of his bed in the regular pediatric wing.) And pray that this is the only operation he will ever need!

Our God is so good! I know your prayers will be heard and answered! I will leave an update here on the blog tomorrow night. We hope he is out of surgery around 5:00-6:00pm.

The Container Arrived!

2012-02-02T08:59:00.000-08:00

It's old news by now, but nevertheless it's still exciting and a huge answer to prayer! The container finally arrived! After 4 months of sitting in customs, Papa Frentz took matters into his own hands! I could hardly believe my eyes or contain my excitement as the bright yellow sea container backed down our street and into our gate! What a glorious day! With the help of Joseph's men it was unloaded in a matter of minutes. And with the help of my wonderful mother, the supplies were somewhat organized and in storage rooms in a matter of days. Just in time for my departure to New York City to be with Guerlens during his surgery.

The very first delivery we made were the preschool chairs to Les Bours! Our poor kids have been standing, sitting on the table, or sitting 3 to a chair. We have 60 preschoolers and there were a grand total of 9 chairs left. The kids' faces lit up as we handed each one their very own brightly colored plastic chair. All of the kindergarteners began chanting, "Mesi! Mesi! Mesi!" The teachers were equally as excited with their little desks and chairs. We delivered a truck load of school supplies! Everything from chalkboards and backpacks to markers and paper. Our school nurse, Linda, was excited with her new desk for the clinic! She had previously been using a preschool table. It was a very happy morning!

The next morning we went down to Cite Jeremie to set up our new clinic. We had previously been hosting our clinics in a large canvas tent. Our Haitian nurse, Marilane, has rented a house, and we were able to rent two rooms as a permanent clinic. Marilane has been seeing and treating patients everyday for months with very little medications or supplies. We unloaded a desk, folding table, patient table, a cot, folding chairs, a filing cabinet and more! The filing cabinet and several other boxes were full of medications for the beloved peopled in Cite Jeremie and Cite Okay.

I am writing this post in an apartment in Manhattan with little Guerlens. We have this weekend to check out the sights, but starting Monday morning he is going to be a busy little guy with several appointments a day leading up to his big surgery on the 8th. I will be receiving more details Monday or Tuesday about the exact time of surgery, but right now they believe he will go in at 8:30am. The surgery should last 3-4 hours. Please pray for wisdom for Dr. Saffenberg as he and his team perform the surgery. Pray for Guerlens to feel no pain and to recover quickly. We are so thankful to have received such blessing for Guerlens' life! Everyone we have met here with the Posada Foundation, NFFR, and NYU Hospital has been so gracious and kind. Everywhere we go people fall in love with our sweet boy. He certainly is a charmer!

I also ask that you would lift Jouvenika up in your prayers. She has been in our care at HOPE House for about 4 months now because of a wound on her leg. Everytime is scabs over and we think she is ready to go home, it opens back up again. Her body does not want to kick the infection. We have started her on a new antibiotic. We are praying her body will respond to this new medication quickly. Otherwise, we will have to take her in to have her bone and blood tested for infection.

I have been feeling sick ever since my first night in NYC. I'm not sure whether it's allergies or a flu bug, but I just feel plain miserable. Guerlens just went down for his nap, and I think I will join him! A nice rest and a warm cup of tea is all I have on my schedule this afternoon!

As I learn more about surgery times I will post them here so you can be specifically praying for Guerlens. Thank you in advance! Our God is a great, loving God! The ultimate healer and redeemer!

A Fine Line

2012-01-19T04:52:00.000-08:00

Frustration. Joy. Sadness. Grief. Hope. Love. On any given day in Haiti, it is easy to experience all of these emotions. For example, just yesterday I felt frustrated over our lack of control and outrageous amount of time and money it takes to ship life saving supplies to our loved ones in Haiti. I felt joy as I saw the beds nearly empty as Sisters of Charity because so many birth moms and American visitors were there holding the children. I felt a deep sadness passing by the site of a terrible semi-truck accident that killed and wounded almost 90 people two days ago. I felt grief as we traveled around downtown on streets filled with filthy tent cities and starving children. I felt hope as we made great progress towards getting our adoptive children home to their forever families. And I felt such strong love as I came home at the end of the day to a group of cheering children with their arms stretched open. I often fight through my days, trying not to break down and become emotional, but also trying not to grow callous to the pain and desperation. Sometimes it's a fine line.

I used to pray often for my heart to break for the things that break the heart of God. I have received just a small glimpse of that pain. I daily need His compassion to hurt for those who are hurting, and His strength to continue being a useful vessel for Him. Oh what would I do without my Savior?

Thankfully, He has given me much strength throughout these last two weeks. Most days I have been out traveling with the adoptive children working on papers for their dossiers. My goal is to have every adoptive child's dossier complete and in the hands of the agency by the end of the month! For the first two weeks of February I will be in New York with Guerlens while he has his surgery. The last two weeks of February we will be in full swing with our orphanage construction, and I will be interviewing and training new employees. March will be a huge month for us, as both Frentz and I, and the kids move into our new, permanent houses AND we can double the amount of children we are caring for!

Excitement! Anticipation! Stress! ......and on it goes. Good thing our all-knowing God is in control!

Please continue to pray for the release of our container. We have heard possibly Friday or Monday. We are praying for Friday! We can accomplish so much over the weekend before I leave for New York next week! (Also another reason I needed to hurry up and get the dossiers done so I could unload and distribute the container! Thankfully I have three wonderful ladies arriving this afternoon to help me with this HUGE task! And none more lovely than my amazing mother!!) Keep in prayer until I update the blog again rejoicing that your prayers were answered!

Tomorrow

2012-01-15T17:21:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow is not a guarantee. We do not know the minute or hour of our death, but dying is certain. This past week I have spent a lot of time reflecting on the dreadful day that happened two years ago. Nobody who lost their lives on January 12th, 2010, woke up that day thinking it would be their last. The old nor the young. And yet, for over 300,000, it was.

I am not trying to be depressed or morbid. I am learning to be grateful for every day and every minute that I have. To make the most of my relationships, and to live obediently. I recently saw a post on someone's facebook saying something to the effect of, "When I die, God will not ask me why I didn't take more time for myself. More time to kick back, relax, focus on ME." There is so much more work to be done. So many lives that are still lost. And we are not guaranteed tomorrow.

There is a phrase that Haitians use when making future plans. If I were to say to someone, "See you tomorrow." They would reply, "If God wills." Or when I tell the kids that we can watch a movie tomorrow. They reply. "If God wills." At first I was a bit annoyed to always have to say, "If God wills" at the end of every sentence regarding something that would happen in the future. More and more I appreciate its power and meaning. It is true. I will only see you tomorrow, if God wills.

What would you have done differently today if you knew it was your last? Do you know where you are going? Is your hope in the Lord? Jesus shed his blood, so that he could prepare a place for us, with him in heaven. To receive this great, undeserved gift, we must choose to surrender our lives to him. A life surrendered to Christ is not a life without pain, but it IS a life with hope!

I have been thinking about my family and close friends, and their relationships with God this week. I am so blessed and thankful to have so many of them living for Christ. Even though I will miss them terribly when they leave this earth, it will also be a time of rejoicing (and even a little jealousy) that they are walking in heaven with the Father! Do you know where your loved ones are going? Have you shared how gracious God has been to you? His grace knows NO bounds!

I think of the lives that were lost on January 12, 2010. Little Migvee is wrapped safely in the arms of Jesus. Alongside thousands of other innocent children. And our sweet Little Jeeves. As loved ones pass on, I look more and more forward to the day that I will see them again! Oh what a glorious day it will be when I see Jesus face to face! .....if you beat me there, I will celebrate your passing. And if I beat you, I'll be waiting!

Our God is good and mighty to save.

Two Years Ago Today

2012-01-12T06:26:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe that the earthquake that killed over 300,000 people, and changed Port-au-Prince, forever was two years ago today. It seems like decades ago that I was pacing my apartment, nauseous after hearing the words "earthquake" and "Port-au-Prince" in the same sentence and answering my cell phone, to Frentz screaming on the other end, asking if I was okay. And yet, it seems like just weeks ago that I sat with Myslene and Gyslee in thier home with their three children, celebrating Mika's baptism. Now there are only two. And one has a scar that reminds us of that dreadful day on a daily basis. Many of you probably recall that Myslene lost her daughter while giving her a bath in the courtyard of their apartment complex. The wall surrounding the perimeter of the property came crashing down on her tiny 18 month old body. Myslene reached down to pull her out of the bathtub and only pulled out her arm from the shoulder down.

As I hold Kelencia in my arms, it's hard to believe that two years ago she was sitting in the dirt, on a street filled with rubble, going days without food and water, until we found her. Praise be to GOD that she did not have a single scratch on her body.

The devastation, the tragedy, and the trauma doesn't just disappear. Not a day goes by that we do not think about what was lost on January 12, 2010. The tent cities, rubble, and scars serve as daily reminders.

But we have HOPE! Both in PAP and within HFAP God is on the move and lives are being restored! As Frentz and I returned to Haiti last week we were shocked by the amount of new houses we saw built around the outskirts of town to remove people from the tent cities. On our drive home we noticed that the tent cities around the airport only had half of the amount of tents that had been previously been there for the past 2 years. We have seen more rebuilding and cleaning of PAP in the past few months than we have seen in the past 2 years combined!

Here at HOPE House we are thrilled to be moving forward! We are finally at the place that we were before the earthquake. We are preparing to move into our official orphanage building! Within the coming months the roof will be fastened on, the walls will be painted, ceramic tiles will be laid, and the children's beds will be assembled! That was the plan for March 2010. Now it is the plan for March 2012. We are so thankful and excited to me back at this point! The point of safe, secure housing, and a full orphanage of children to love!

As you go through your day, please remember to pray for Haiti. Pray for the people who lost their loved ones. Pray for their hearts to find healing in the arms of our Father. Pray for the city to be rebuilt, both spiritually and physically. Pray for President Martelly to have wisdom in his decisions for his country. Pray for the strongholds that the devil has on this country to be broken by the power of our Mighty God!

And pray as Haitians hold their breath and pray to God at 4:53 this afternoon, that the earth would be still, and their hearts would be filled with His peace and presence.

Update on Guerlens

2012-01-09T08:01:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! The new year has already brought us great joy! We have received a surgery date for Guerlens! His operation will take place in New York on February 8th. We will be leaving for New York on January 25th. That week, he will have an evaluation and some testing done. His return date to Michigan will most likely be February 28th. That will leave him a few months to recover and receive a post-opertation exam before returning to us in Haiti!

Guerlens has been loving his time in Michigan! I don't think he could be any happier. He has received so much love and so many prayers from our wonderful supporters. Every need he had has been provided for! From food to diapers, winter jackets to a swing and high chair. THANK YOU! I stand amazed by our God who loves us so much and cares for us through each other. Thank you for responding in obedience and loving this sweet little boy! He is pretty easy to love!

He has become quite vocal these days. He is saying a few words in English and a few in Creole including, "dog" "papa" and "ba'm" (give me). He is an absolute monster for food! He becomes quite dramatic in a restaurant setting. Last week Dad and Joseph and I were out to breakfast with Guerlens at a local restaurant. I had ordered blueberry pancakes. Before the waitress could set them down, there was a handful of pancake missing! Guess whose mouth was full? Dad shared his scrambled egg with Guerlens...or should I say Guerlens ate all of Dad's scrambled eggs. He was yelling, "Mum mum mum ba'm ba'm ba'm!" Everyone in the restaurant was laughing. Finally one lady yelled out, "How many days has it been since you fed him?" ....He had eated his breakfast about an hour earlier. Ah, the life of a growing boy!

In preparation for his big surgery Papa Frentz gave Guerlens his first haircut last week! He was such a big boy. We were sad to see his braids go, but he is certainly cute with a shaved head too!

Please continue to lift our GuerBear up in prayer as we get closer to his surgery date. The surgery could last 8-12 hours. We are praying for wisdom for his doctors, comfort for Guerlens, and a speedy recovery! Thank you for your continued prayers and support!

Emotions

2011-11-30T11:22:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure where the last week went, but I am writing this blog from snowy Michigan with Guerlens sleeping on my lap. What a blessing to have such a snuggly piece of Haiti here with me! We do not have a definite surgery date for him yet, but we anticipate it will be within the next month.

It has been good to take a few days to reflect on various events that have taken place in the last few weeks. Both exciting, and heartbreaking. The highs are high, and the lows are low. Life in Haiti is a constant battle of emotions.

Last week while we were on our way home from the embassy we were rejoicing over Guerlens' medical visa! So much work and prayer had been done to get us to that point....in less than a month! God had moved mountains! We were overjoyed. On the way home, as we traveled up Delmas 75 to our house, we were stopped by a large funeral procession. Young people, sobbing, wearing their finest clothing, filled the street. A young boy, who Frentz worked out at the gym with, had been shot. He was riding on the back of a moto taxi when an officer got into a shooting fight with another man. This young teenage boy was caught in the middle of it. He quickly jumped off the bike to lay on the ground, but was accidentally shot and killed. His innocent body passed us in a casket traveling down our dirt road.

The next day, as we were leaving our house for the airport our spirits were back up. Guerlens was wearing his airplane shirt and we were on our way to Michigan! We could not contain our excitement! Laughter and joy filled our truck, until we passed Hope Hospital. A body, lifelessly wrapped in a white sheet was being loaded into a truck. Most likely a cholera victim. Our truck went silent and was filled with prayers the rest of the way to the airport.

So much joy. So much devastation.

The news no longer continues to cover the devastation in Haiti, but that is certainly not because it no longer exists. Cholera, disease, violence, and hunger are daily battles.

Please continue to pray for our container to be released from customs! We have many needed supplies that have been sitting at the docks for 7 weeks now.

We have several exciting things in the works! I can't spill any information just yet, but check back to the blog soon! God is on the move! He reigns through the ups and downs. Our Rock. Our Fortress. Our Provider. We can do nothing separate from Him.

Visa Appointment

2011-11-21T07:10:00.000-08:00

Praise God from whom all blessing flow!

Guerlens was granted a medical visa! Your prayers were heard! Our God answered! He is so good.

We were in line by 6:00am this morning and we were walking out of the embassy by 8:30am!

We have one more step before Guerlens can travel to Michigan. Tomorrow morning at 7:00am we will pick up his visa and take it to social services. There Marie Guerda will sign giving permission to me to travel with Guerlens. Typically this paperwork take 2-3 days, but we will need it done tomorrow in order to leave on Wednesday morning!

Keep praying. We are so close! I will post again to let you know how tomorrow goes. Take some time today to thank God for all of his miracles and tell Him how much you love Him! He is so good!

Pray TOMORROW at 7:00am

2011-11-20T11:54:00.000-08:00

I have been wanting to update the blog all week but our internet cable was somehow damaged. We aren't sure whether the dogs got to it or a mouse, but somehow, something frayed the wires connecting to our satellite and we were without internet for the last 5 days. We have an internet card for backup that we can plug directly into our laptops, but it charges us per megabyte used and we have to go out and by cards to make it work. (Much like the cell phone system here in Haiti.) BUT thankfully the internet company came yesterday to repair it! (Only because Frentz went to the business to pick them up and then dropped them back off again.)

We have been making so much progress on Guerlens' visa. We have everything in place, and TOMORROW morning at 7:00am we have an appointment at the US Embassy. We may not be seen until 10:00am-11:00am or ever later, but Guerlens, Marie Guerda, and myself will be standing in line on the street outside the embassy by 6:00am! Please be in prayer tonight and tomorrow that the consulate would grant Guerlens this very important medical visa. We still have not received an important letter that we need from the hospital doing the surgery. It is something the embassy requires, but we have no choice but to show up for our appointment. We are praying for a miracle! Praying that whoever interviews us will take the time to realize all that has been put into place and how important this surgery is. Please also pray for Marie Guerda to answer their questions correctly. She sometimes struggles with responding to direct questions. She is spending the night here with us so we won't be late! I will be a nervous wreck in the morning! I know God has this all under control. Whatever happens it is His plan. So much has been done for Guerlens already. God has moved mountains for this 10 month old boy. What's one more? Bondye Kapab!

Several people have been asking if we are still in need of donations. We have been extremely blessed by so many of you! We are set with most of the "big" things we needed! Thank you Jesus! Right now, we most need help with his day to day care items. You can send monetary donations to: 1301 Timber Dr. Midland, MI 48642. Please mark that it is for Guerlens. Monetary donations will be used to get him to the states and purchase the necessary supplies he will need while he is in New York for surgery and recovery. Or you may drop off the following items to Kim Chapin or Marci Thurlow: Size 3 diapers, wipes, baby cereal, 2nd foods fruits and veggies, formula, lotion, baby soap. (information@haitipoverty.org)

All the rest of our HOPE House kids are doing well! Marise-Love has had an on and off fever the past few days. Please be praying for her to get over whatever it is that her little body is fighting. Jouvenika's wound has completely closed up! I will be calling Gerlande tomorrow to let her know. We may keep watch over it for a little bit longer to be sure it won't open up again. Vanessa is gaining so much weight! She is so healthy and beautiful! Kimberlie is one of the big kids now! So hard to believe. She has been using her voice, walking with only the help of a finger, and eating all of the big kid food! She greets everyone who walks into HOPE House with a, "Hi!" and a silly smile showing off her two teeth. Pierreline and Caleb are doing very well in preschool. Every Friday they bring home all of their school work to show me. They are coloring very beautiful pictures of the founding fathers of Haiti. The biggest excitement of the week was learning how to jump with both feet! Sophonie and Naika have been helping me a lot in the kitchen. They are experts at pizza, M&M cookies, and angel food cake!

Outside of our gates things haven't been so friendly. This week there was a terrible incident near Cite Soleil. A mother was upset about a boy her daughter was dating. When he came over to the house to see his girlfriend the mother went after him with a machete. She cut his neck and head and didn't stop until he was in pieces. Frentz and I watched the interview of the woman on Haitian TV last night. .......Teenagers, if you think your parents give you a rough time, go hug them right now! (And be thankful they don't have a machete.) I just can't imagine living with that much hate. It is my hearts cry for all of Haiti to know the love, peace, and joy of Christ!

Pray for Christ's love, joy, and peace to abound in Haiti! Pray for the hearts of those who are searching. Pray for strength and protection for those here living and teaching the Good News. We can do nothing separated from Christ! He is our all in all!

Internet permitting, I will post an update as soon as we return from the embassy tomorrow. I rest assured knowing God is in control and that your prayers will be heard and answered!

How is Haiti?

2011-11-11T17:22:00.000-08:00

Wow! You guys are awesome! We at HFAP have been blown away by your response to Guerlens' story. Thank you for responding in obedience and with such generous hearts! Just a little update, we are about $1,000 shy of completing his paperwork and cost of his plane tickets. All we have left on our needs list for his care are his everyday items. (size 3 diapers, baby food, baby cereal, wipes, size 9-12 months warm clothing) Most of these items are needed for his 6 week stay in New York while he is having surgery. Please contact Marci Thurlow (989) 205-9418 or send donations to 1301 Timber Dr. Midland, MI 48642.

My mind has been completely occupied by Guerlens and all of the visa paperwork, however MUCH more has been happening in Haiti! Last week we had a fabulous time of training with the pastors and their wives in Les Bours. A great deal of wisdom and direction for the future of this ministry was given to us. We are so excited to partner with a small number of pastors and raise them up to teach the entirety of His Word!

Lucienne and Grap's wedding was AMAZING. What a time of celebration! The yard was beautiful thanks to the help of our team! The children were dressed in all white, and Lucienne was absolutely stunning! Lucienne and Grap were thrilled with the entire celebration. They shared with Frentz and I after the wedding that they both thought their lives were over. Before the earthquake they were in the midst of a bad time in their lives. Feeling as though they would suffer forever. They are so thankful to work for HFAP and so excited to have a new beginning! And we are equally as excited and blessed to have them! They are such wonderful people, growing closer to their Lord every day!

Haiti is a place where there always seems to be good and bad happening at the same time. I find the most difficult question to answer is, "How is Haiti? Are things getting better?" It's really hard to say. Great things are happening. But awful things happen too. Like the news I received a week and a half ago about Magalie's youngest daughter, one of our preschool students. (Pierreline's step sister) She has recently been rapped by a seventeen year old boy in the neighborhood. She is only three years old. Such a beautiful little girl. The boy is in jail, but Magalie and her daughter still have such pain in their lives. Pain that will last for a very long time. Please pray for Magalie and her sweet little girl. Pray for healing that only our Father can provide. Pray against disease and infection in her sweet little body. Pray for forgiveness for the young man. Pray for healing and salvation for him. For the past year, Magalie has asked me to pray that her spiritual walk with the Lord would be strengthened. Pray that this would bring her closer to Him and not push her further away.

Young girls are victims of rape all too often. How painful it must be for our Father to sit on His throne and see such horrifying violence. We, as His children, must do something about it. We can start by praying protection over the women and girls in Les Bours. The women and girls in the tent cities. The women and girls in Haiti. Women and girls all over the world. If we are afraid to talk about rape and shed light into something so dark, how will things ever change?

I know that I can type this all out and click "publish post" and know that hundreds of prayers are going up for Magalie and her daughter, and for Guerlens, and all of Haiti. Thanks for being part of our HFAP Family!

Update on Guerlens

2011-11-08T15:30:00.000-08:00

What a mighty work God is doing in and for Guerlens! I stand amazed at the great God we serve! How awesome and powerful is He! He knows all and sees all. He loves us beyond anything we can imagine! Oh how He loves us!

Guerlens will grow up to tell a miraculous story one day....his own story! God had it planned long ago....Born to a woman who was possessed by demons and cast out of her community. A woman who was sleeping on the streets with 5 young boys even before Guerlens was born. Born with a misshapen head and twelve fingers. Both reasons for others to shun him and abandon him. But His Father had a great plan! He would call strange, white people to his neighborhood. They would meet his mother 3 years before he was born. They would pray for her, and when the time came, they would assist her in caring for a child that she did not have the heart to abandon. Then, after months of prayers and medical testing, a diagnosis would be made. One that would take him to the United States. Sagittal Craniosynosis. Many people would hear about his story and cover him in prayers. God would hear their cries and call on His children to respond. He would ask his daughter, Gail, to carry the burden of his sweet son and to seek out every avenue possible to find treatment. He would prompt the hearts of New York Yankees catcher Jorge Posada and his wife, to hear this story and respond. He would make sure the surgery was paid for in full! He would allow every necessary paper to happen in His perfect timing. He would even prepare a forever family for him. A family who has been to Haiti and understands his culture. A family that has such great love for Him and desires to raise Guerlens to know and love his one and only Savior. A family whom He loves so dearly, He desired to give them a son, to replace the one He already called home. And He would do all of this to show His children how good He is, that they would respond and say, "What a Great and Mighty God we serve! A God who is alive and working miracles for His children! A God who cares, and hears, and heals! Oh how He loves us!" People's faith would be strengthened because of the testimony of one little boy, born to an outcast, on the streets of Haiti.

But his story isn't over yet! There is so much more to tell! Would be part of this story? Would you join us in prayer that we will receive a visa for as long as necessary when we go to the embassy? Pray for his mother to obtain the documents necessary for her to sign and allow her son to travel for surgery. Pray for things to happen quickly so we can return to the states and schedule his operation as soon as possible!

Would you consider donating financially to make all of the papers and airfare possible? We are looking at over $2,000 worth of costs not including the surgery or airfare that the Posadas are providing.

Also, we are in need of a few things to help us care for Guerlens while he is in New York for surgery, and Michigan for recovery. It is a little bit colder up there than he is used to! Poor guy has nothing but shorts, T-shirts, and sandals! (and 1 pair of pants)

Here are some things we need within the next 2 weeks:
Warm winter clothing - size 9 months (9-12 months if it runs small)
Snow suit
Warm jacket
Mittens
Warm shoes/boots
Socks
Size 3 diapers
A baby swing (The boy LOVES to swing! Preferably one where he can sit up straight and has a tray table)
High chair
Stroller to push through the snow or backpack to carry him in (We will be walking in New York from where we stay, to the hospital)
Pack-N-Play

We will be bringing him from Detroit to Midland, so it would be ideal to have things sent to Midland before November 20th. (We are praying to arrive home the week of Thanksgiving!) You can call Marci to arrange a drop off time (989) 205-9418, or mail donations to 1301 Timber Dr., Midland, MI 48642.

THANK YOU! I KNOW you will be praying! We feel your prayers and see God's answers! Your cries are heard! We are so thankful for you! You are a critical part of our ministry!

God is God. God is good.

2011-10-30T15:53:00.000-07:00

God is good. All the time.

Yesterday morning I had an appointment with Rosemane, a woman in our Gift of Hope program. We were meeting her near Cite Soleil to take a picture of her with her children for her journals. For the past week my allergies have been making me miserable. Sore throat, congestion, coughing, headaches, the whole nine yards. I decided it was best for me to drink and rest, and sent Charly and Jean to take Rosemane's picture.

Upon meeting Rosemane and her children out on a main road, Charly took several pictures of them trying to get all of the children looking at one time. ...Always a difficult task! Especially when there are ten of them! Charly and Jean made their way back to the truck and got in. As they were turning the truck around, three men with machine guns came up to their windows. They yelled that if either of them made a move, they would shoot. They made Jean park the truck and all three climbed in our backseat. With guns to Jean and Charly's heads, they ordered them to drive down a small corridor so no one could see. Once they were out of sight of the other traffic, they told Jean to park the truck. They pulled Jean and Charly into the street. With two guns to his head, Charly's pockets were searched. They took everything he had on him. His wallet, money, and phone. They only gave him back his ID card.

Jean was standing on the other side of the truck with a gun to his head. The leader was yelling for all of his money. He said, "If we do not find any money on you, we will shoot you." He emptied his pockets and the truck. They took his money, phones, necklace, and my camera. Once our truck was emptied and the boys had nothing left they yelled, "Go, go go!"

Jean and Charly jumped in the truck and got out of there as fast as they could. Neither one of them thought they would be alive to get back inside the truck again. They couldn't call us because their phones were stolen, but they came racing back to HOPE House, still in shock.

I cannot even begin to say how thankful I am that God spared their lives yesterday. We nearly lost our driver and translator, but God intervened. They work for Him.

This morning in church, I stood, worshiping, holding Nata, Jean's daughter, tightly in my arms. Jean has another child on the way. Both of them need their Daddy. Thank you Lord for keeping watch over us. Jean praised our Father this morning with hands lifted high! Together we sang unto the Lord,

"Our God is greater, Our God is stronger, God you are higher than any other
Our God is healer, Awesome in power, Our God, Our God
And if our God if for us, then who could ever stop us?
And if our God is with us, then what could stand against?
Then what could stand against?"

Maybe God gave me allergies for a reason. I'm sure having a "blanc" in the truck would have only made matters worse. I think I will stop complaining about being sick. Truly, our trials are blessings. I am rejoicing that I was sick!

I am beyond thankful for the way things turned out yesterday. We have no one to thank but God. So many "what ifs" can fill our minds with situations like this....but there are no "what ifs." God had the situation happen exactly as He intended. If it was His will to call Jean and Charly home, He would have done so. And He would still be God. And He would still be good. And even if I had been along in the truck. God would still be God. And He would still be good.

As the former pastor of our church here in Haiti likes to say, "The safest place for you to be is in the center of God's will. For Daniel, that was in the lion's den. For Stephen, that was in the pit where he was stoned. For Jesus, that was on the cross."

We can pray for safety and protection. Those are good things to pray for. But the best thing to pray for, is God's will. Above all else, God's will.

Haiti may or may not be "safe". But if it is where God calls you to live, or visit, you are in the best place in the whole world!

Wherever you are today, are you living God's will for your life?

Hydrocephalus

2011-10-28T17:40:00.001-07:00

As I mentioned in the last post, it was a long day at the hospital yesterday. We stood/sat for 7 hours just to see a surgeon for less than a minute and a half. It was absolutely worth it to find out what is going on with little Guerlens, but frustrating none the less. I am beyond thankful for the doctors and hospitals who assisted Guerlens for his CAT scan and evaluation. I think the day seemed even longer because we were surrounded by such sad sights.

We were left in a small room with 60-70 babies and children suffering from hydrocephalus. Hydrocephalus is a birth defect resulting in spinal fluid in the brain. These children's heads grow larger, and larger, filling with fluid. I cannot imagine the amount of pressure and pain they must feel. Many of the babies were under a year of age and already had heads larger than a basketball. Some of the children's heads were too large to carry. They were strapped to car seats and wheelchairs with headrests.

Even with surgery, their heads will remain about the same size. The brain damage has already been done. Most of them will have to have repeated surgeries throughout their lives to replace the shunts that are put in to drain the fluid.

These babies did not ask for this. These mothers did not ask for this.

For the first several hours I sat on a bench next to a little boy named Samuel. Samuel is only three months old, but he might not live to see his fourth month. He was unable to suck out of a bottle. He had a tube in his nose so he could eat. His mother poured formula into a syringe and pushed it up the tube into his left nostril. It is a miracle he has lived this long. Over the past few weeks he has lost so much weight. His mother showed be picture of how he used to look. Now, he laid, cradled in a blanket, weighing less than 5 lbs, and fighting for his life.

I praise God for the people he sent to Haiti to perform surgeries on these little souls. Every last one of them was made in His image. He loves little Samuel as much as He loves me. As much as He loves you.

While I will never be a brain surgeon, and I will probably never operate on a child at all, I CAN do something to help these precious babies suffering from hydrocephalus. I can love them as if they were Christ, and I can give these women some folic acid to prevent having another hydro-cephalic baby in the future! Hydrocephalus is a birth defect due to a lack of folic acid. If these mothers had access to prenatal vitamins, it is highly unlikely that they would still be in the same situation. I recently purchased a year supply of folic acid for $4.00 at WalMart. You could supply a woman in Haiti with this extremely important vitamin for only $4.00 per year!! OR you could supply 12 women a year with folic acid for only $4.00 a month!!

Be honest, do you know anyone who couldn't afford to give up $4.00 a month? Look at the pictures above and ask yourself, can I give up $4.00 to help stop this painful birth defect? It is all too prevalent in Haiti. Let's stand together to help stop hydrocephalus in Haiti!

Guerlens' Test Results

2011-10-27T14:48:00.000-07:00

It was a long, exhausting day at the hospital with Guerlens. I will go into more detail later when my brain is functioning, but I at least wanted to post the results since so many of you have been praying for him.

The good news is Guerlens does not have hydrocephalus or a tumor! His brain is perfect and completely unharmed! Praise the Lord!

The bad news is, he does have a condition called Sagittal Craniosynostis. Basically his skull bones along the top of his head have fused together. As he continues to grow, but head will only be able to grow from front to back, making his head resemble a football, or a hammer. The shape of his head will not impact his brain, but it will look different.

Typically children in the states undergo cosmetic surgery to restructure the bones so the child can live a normal life. Without this surgery Guerlens will still be the same Guerlens, but it will most likely be made fun of for a lot of his life. Regardless whether he grows up in Haiti, or in the states, kids are mean! Already, as we have taken him out in public over the last few weeks, adults have come up to him, calling him names and making fun of him.

I strongly believe that God has placed each of our children with us and has trusted us to care for them. I know that if Guerlens were my own child I would absolutely want the surgery so my child could have a better quality of life! I want that for Guerlens too!

Right now, we have two options. The surgery cannot be done in Haiti. The risk for blood loss is too high. For Guerlens to receive this care, he must be able to obtain a visa to the states. This means we would have to have a neurosurgeon or a plastic/cosmetic surgeon willing to take on Guerlens' case. They recommend this surgery takes place before the child is 1 year old. (Guerlens will be a 1 year old in January.) However, the surgery can still be performed when the child is 3, 4, or 5 years old, but the success rate will decrease. Our second option is to find an adoptive family for Guerlens who will be willing to walk with him through this operation.

We are placing Guerlens totally in our Father's hands and asking that His will is done! Will you please pray with us for God's will in Guerlens' life?

The Cross

2011-10-26T07:27:00.000-07:00

These last few days my mind has overflowing with so many thoughts it is hard to come up with words to express them. I think it will take the next few blog posts to digest all God has been teaching me. Today I am sad and thankful. Let me explain why:

Yesterday afternoon I took our small group from Cornerstone University down to Delmas 31 to visit the Sisters of Charity. I typically visit a couple times a week so it is nothing new, but the haunting faces and desperate cries never get old. I spent my afternoon in one of the upstairs rooms filled with about 25 infants and toddlers struggling to survive due to malnutrition. It was feeding time, and as the room moms poured bowls of steaming hot vegetable soup, the cries in the room got louder. While their food was cooling, I walked over to the first row of cribs and bent down to pick up one of the babies laying in the second bed. He reached up his tiny arms, no bigger round than my pinky fingers, and pleaded with me, using his great big eyelashes, to pick him up. I reached under his arms to scoop him up, but I couldn't, for fear of breaking his bones. I felt no flesh. Only bones. I tried to scoop one hand under his bottom and the other under his head to lift him up praying his bones wouldn't break as I lifted him. He wrapped his arms around my neck and laid his head on my chest. He was so hot with fever I felt like his head was burning my skin. The top of his bald head was covered with scars from IVs and a fungus that was taking over the top of his scalp. As I held my hand tightly on his back I could feel every single rib bone. The skin on his thighs hung wrinkled off from his bones. He did not make a single sound as he was in my arms. He was completely content just to be held. Over the next half an hour I squeezed as much love into him as I possibly could.

When the soup was cool enough to begin feeding, my little friend was scooped out of my arms and replaced with a bowl of food for a child in row number two, crib one. He was sharing a crib with another child who seemed to be about his same age. He quietly waited his turn while I fed the first child. Within minutes they had both slurped down their soup and I was on to the next crib. While feeding my third child a young mother walked in with her dying child cradled in her arms. Several of the sisters came in behind her with tubing and an IV bag. The mother laid her child in the crib and began shaking her head and crying out, "Cholera, cholera, cholera."

After all of the babies had been fed, I went downstairs to try and find the little girl I loved on last week. She was equally as thin and fragile as the boy I was holding earlier. Her faces was full of scars and sores. She has a terrible cough and continued the entire time I was with her. I was afraid to go downstairs, something in me knew I wouldn't find her. Her crib was filled with a larger child, bloated from malnutrition and hooked up to an IV bag. I searched every bed in every room of the orphanage, but she was no longer there. Moments like, with tears swelling in my eyes, I am so thankful for the cross. What would we do without our Savior Jesus? This sweet little girl is whole, and healed, because of the Father's love for us.

Today marks another reason I am thankful for the cross. Two years ago today a very special child was born. Though he did not live on earth as long as we would have liked, but he touched the hearts of all he met, and his memory and love lives on. Today is Little Jeeves' 2nd birthday. A rock marks the place where we laid his ashes here at HOPE House. I see it and smile. I can still hear his sweet voice in my ears. When I close my eyes, I see his smile and his hand bobbing up and down, waving bye-bye. Whole and healed and loved by our Father.

How deep the Father's love for us
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure

Have you thanked him for the cross today? Have you told him that you love him? There isn't anything you can do today that isn't more important than that.

NEGATIVE

2011-10-21T14:18:00.000-07:00

We said goodbye to our mission team from Crosspointe Church this morning. I stood amazed as they drove out the gate at all that was accomplised with their help! The school is now a fabulous shade of green! The doors were painted for the first time, and so was the kitchen! We are one step closer to feeding our students every day. On Wednesday we went down to Les Bours to finish painting, and to feed 500 children vitamin enriched peanut butter sandwhiches. It is always a highlight of their day! They cheered for "pen ak mamba" (bread and peanut butter) as they waited in line.

Yesterday we had the privilege of installing water filters in homes of some of our staff members, a school, a church, and the home of a pastor. We split up into two teams and set out to provide people with the luxury of clean water. Clean water should be a human right, not a luxury. But unfortunately, few people in Haiti have it, or can afford it. The team was amazed by the gratitude and joy the people had over their filters. How fortunate you are to live in a country where you can turn on a water faucet and drink what comes out of it! That is a true blessing.

My water filter team headed down Delmas to the doctor office with me to pick ot Vanessa's bloodwork. I have opened up envelopes in the past only to find a big red POSITIVE stamped on the results inside. It took me a few minutes to have the courage to open it up, but much to my relief, little Vanessa Hope is NEGATIVE for HIV. Thank you Jesus! Vanessa is doing great! She is eating like a champ! It is amazing how quickly our prayers are answered. I love that everytime I post a blog update asking for prayer, I know I can expect results! What a great and mighty God we serve!

It's been a quiet day at HOPE House today. This morning a representative from an adoption agency we work with came to visit us for the first time. She was extremely impressed by the quality of care we are providing and the health of our children. She asked, "What are you feeding them?" and commented how rare it is to find Haitian babies so healthy. "People pay good money to get this kind of care in the states." We are so thankful to all of our staff and supporters who make HOPE House possible! We can feed our kids so well because we have such wonderful sponsors!

"If you help the poor, you are lending to the Lord-and He will repay you!" - Proverbs 19:17 NLT

Vanessa Hope Sistanis

2011-10-18T16:33:00.000-07:00

Today was a day to be remembered! My morning started with 5 lb 5 oz of joy waiting for me in the courtyard. Yesterday, a former employee of ours came and asked Frentz and I if we had possibility to help a newborn baby. A friend of hers had a baby just 2 days ago and was so devastated from the loss of her husband in a recent car accident that she could not mentally care for the baby. She had abandoned the baby on the streets. Our former employee asked her if she would allow her to take the baby to an orphanage that would care for her child and find a forever family for her. She agreed, and this morning she dropped off a sweet baby girl to us, instead of the leaving her in the trash. We named her Vanessa Hope.

Just moments after taking Vanessa in I had to leave to take the dogs to the vet. They are getting big and it is getting more and more difficult to take them for their immunizations. Grap was going to have them ride in the bed of the truck, but me being the protective mother that I am, put a tarp down on the back seat of the truck and crawled in to ride with them. Chuck rode on my lap the whole way there. .....He's just slightly too big to be a lap dog! They survived the immunizations and check-up just fine. On the way out as we were waiting in the office for our bill, Chuck decided to use the restroom. He stunk up the whole place....I won't go into details. After cleaning up his mess we piled in the back seat of the truck again. Heading back down Delmas road Chuck leaned over the seat and threw all over the floor. Thankful I put the tarp down, but seriously Chuck! Both ends!? Special dog. It was a pleasant ride home. Can't wait for the next vet appointment!

After returning home I headed over to Gift of Hope with the team. I introduced them to our ladies and they got busy cutting papers as Keyti and I took Vanessa and Jouvenika to the doctor. Vanessa received her first check up (she was born at home) and we had her infected umbilical cord all cleaned up. Jouvenika had her wound examined and we tested her for sickle-cell anemia. We will find out the blood test results on Monday.

This afternoon I took our team down to Sisters of Charity. The new children who had been admitted into Sisters this week were much sicker than they were last week. I spent my afternoon with a little girl who is extremely ill. I felt like I was going to break her bones just by picking her up. Her head was less stable than Vanessa's even though she is 8 months old. She couldn't have weighed even 7 lbs. Skin dangled from her legs as I held her. Her head was shaved and scared from IVs. She ate about three bites of oatmeal before throwing it up. Her face was scared with skin infections and the back of her ears were cut open and bleeding from a fungus. She had a terrible cough that continued the entire time I help her. I love going to Sisters and holding the babies, but it is so depressing and frustrating to see such agony over a lack of food. So much food around the world is wasted. What they would give for a few more bites each day. I have yet to visit the Sisters without crying, and shame on me if I do. Starvation and malnutrition is not something to grow accustomed to. We must fight against it! What would you do if it your child was starving to death? Or rather, what wouldn't you do?

Oh Lord, help us to open our eyes to see the needs of others. Help us to turn from our selfish ways so that all of your children might find food each day. Let us not shield our eyes, or turn our backs. Guide us to make changes in our lives that YOUR will would be carried out.

Tomorrow we are going to Les Bours to make 500 peanut butter sandwiches for our students and children in the area. We will head back to Sisters in the afternoon.

Pray or Vanessa's appetite to increase. She is not drinking much. We are waking her up every hour for feeding. Pray for God to bring us the family He has prepared for Vanessa. Pray for Jouvenika and her infection to be healed. Pray for people's hearts to be touched to help end hunger in Haiti. (Heck, pray for hunger to end around the world! Why not?) Our God is a big God. A great God. A loving God.

Paint and a Baby!

2011-10-15T18:17:00.000-07:00

We have been showered with blessings upon blessings these last few days. To begin, prayers were answered as Guerlens was able to have another CT scan! The day after I posted asking for prayer for Guerlens, Frentz met a man at the gym who worked at a hospital with a CT scan machine. He talked with the director of surgeries for us and she gave us her personal phone number. I walked right up to the gate of the hospital where she met us and we were in and out in less than an hour. (This is absolutely nothing short of God's hand. If you have been to a hospital in PAP you would know when you go, you plan to spend all day!) The man doing the scan was very helpful and also gave us his contact information to call him if we ever need anything in the future. They gave us an appointment for 8:00am on October 27th where we will meet with doctors flying in from Miami to go over the results. If he needs an operation that they are able to do, they will schedule him in during that week. If not, at least we will know what we are dealing with!

On Friday afternoon we picked up a team from Crosspointe Church. We spent all morning at Les Bours School of Hope painting the courtyard. Between the new stairs, the cement, and the paint it is looking quite fabulous! We went with a deeper shade of green to match the new uniforms. (Go Green, Go White!)

While we were painting, Gerlande came over with Jouvenika. This sweet little girl, born in April, has stolen my heart from the first day I met her. She reminds me so much of Jivenson...her eyes, her tongue, her snuggles. Today Gerlande brought her over to show me a large sore on her leg. She had been to several hospitals, but nothing she was given seemed to he helpful. The sore is deep and nasty. She seems to tolerate the pain, except while we were cleaning it out. Please pray for her health and healing. I am thankful to get to snuggle her over the next few weeks, but I wish it was under better circumstances!

The kids are all looking forward to going to church tomorrow! After church Guerlik and Mika are coming over for Guerlik's birthday party! He will be turning 5! We'll be celebrating in the pool with cake and music! Wish you all could be here.

Please pray for continued safety, especially as we travel to Les Bours (Monday and Wednesday). The situaiton along Route Neuf is becoming more dangerous. We are only able to be in the area during the morning hours. On Monday we will be finishing our painting and on Wednesday we will be making 500 peanut butter sandwiches for our school kids and children in the area. Pray for all of our kids and their families to keep from harm.

I cannot thank you enough for your continued support! It takes all parts of the body to complete Christ's work. YOU are a very important part! Lives are being changed because of your prayers and donations! God Bless You!

Enoseline

2011-10-11T13:28:00.000-07:00

This afternoon we brought home a new little one to HOPE House! Enoseline is 16 months old. She is actually Kelencia's aunt. Enoseline and Christela(Kelencia's mom) are sisters. They are from the inner parts of Boston in Cite Soleil. To say it is a rough neighborhood would be an understatement. It is the worst of the worst.

I have visited their house before, making my way through the corridors, straddling a river of trash and urine, as flies swarmed up my skirt. The place they live is very dark. Both literally and spiritually. It is extremely dirty. Full of trash, sewage, germs, bacteria, cholera, and more.

Enoseline has an infection that results in open sores on her body. She has a pretty good sized open sore on the back of her head right now that is at great risk of infection. She is also significantly malnourished. Her mother, Rosemane, has joined Gift of Hope amd plans to take Enoseline home when she is healthy enough to go back to Cite Soleil.

Would you consider sponsoring Enoseline while she lives with us at HOPE House? The cost to you is only $30 per month. Please email information@haitipoverty.org if you are willing to make a difference in this sweet girl's life.

She just ate a great dinner and has found a good friend in Sophonie. Sophonie held her all afternoon and the two of them are inseperable. Please be praying for her have a good night's sleep. She had never seen white faces before today so she is a bit overwhelmed! Pray for her infection to be healed.

Thanks for loving Enoseline along with us!

Sweet Guerlens

2011-10-09T11:54:00.000-07:00

I am writing this entry with a heavy heart for our sweet Guerlens. Guerlens has been living with us since he was only six weeks old. We knew when we first saw him that something was wrong with the shape of his head. In the front it is wide and flat, but in the back is looked like a football. It was so pointed during the first several months of his life that he was unable to lay on his back. His head was constantly tilted down and towards the right. Based on several other factors, like his low, tilted ears, and lack of baby reflexs, we knew that Guerlens had some type of genetic disorder. We are still unsure of exactly what he has, but despite all odds he is truly a happy boy!

This summer we took Guerlens in to a hospital in Port-au-Prince for a head scan. (Several actually until we could find a working machine!) There are not many places to go for this. Unfortunately the pictures are not extremely clear, but the doctors who have looked at his photos say they are concerned about fluid in the brain or a brain tumor. We are so sad, because either way, there is little help available in Haiti. It will be a difficult road for Guerlens.

I am taking him to the hospital early tomorrow morning for another scan. We are hoping this picture will be clearer so we can come up with a definite prognosis. Depending on what we find, we may or may not be able to help him in Haiti. Guerlens (and his brother Caleb) are at HOPE House waiting for an adoptive family. Being adopted to the states may be Guerlens' saving grace!

Please pray for Guerlens. Pray for his health, and his head. Pray for a clear and accurate scan tomorrow. Pray for his future. We love him so, so much. He just found his voice and has been cracking us up all week. His eyes light up when he sees someone he knows. Just by looking at him, you can put a big goofy smile across his face. He is nothing short of precious. And he was created nothing short of perfect.

Thank you for praying for sweet Guerlens!

A Great Day For Our Kids Was A Sad Day For FloreMichelle

2011-10-04T12:05:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the first day of the school year in Haiti! It was a much anticipated day for our children! Pierreline and Caleb talked about it all summer! I dropped them off at school helping them with their backpacks, which are about the same size they are, and found their classroom. I was sitting outside the room when I heard Caleb telling Pierreline where she could put her backpack and to sit down. The teacher asked him, "What is your name." "Pierre Caleb," He replied. Im not sure if he was trying to be like Pierreline of Pierre Frentz.....his name is just Caleb. At 1:00 I walked back to school to pick them up and Caleb couldn't even wait until we were out of the gate to tell me about his girlfriend Magalie. I have to admit, she is a cutie! Pierreline seemed far more concerned about snack time and nap time than boys. Sophonie started at a new school this year for kindergarten and was very happy that she made two new friends! Naika started 2nd grade. She was most excited about the school snacks she bought with her birthday money at Eagle Market. It is such a blessing to have all of them in schools that we can walk to! Not more scary moto rides!

After we got the kids off to school, Frentz, Pam, Doug, and myself went out to Les Bours to fit the children in their new uniforms. We were greeted by lots of cheers and lots of hugs as we entered the courtyard....which is now cement! It looks AMAZING! It was so nice not to have dust blowing around everywhere and it made the school much cleaner! What a blessing! One by one we called in all 208 children and dressed them in their uniforms. By the end of the day nearly everyone was dressed in green with a smile on their face!

This morning I met with the ladies at Gift of Hope. It was check-in day for the old class. Everyone made it except for Gerlande who is at the hospital with Jouvenika. She was born with a red birth mark on her leg and Jiniole said it has turned into a sore and is infected. Please pray for Jouvenika and Gerlande. FloreMichelle also had some sad news to report. She was selling ice, drinks, and black school shoes in Petion-ville and doing very well with her business. Ever since her graduation in March she has been very successful. Unfortunately her business was alongside the street and the Mayor of Petion-ville decided to clean the streets and broke down all of the street vendor businesses. They stole her cooler and wheelburrow which she needed for transporting all of her items. They stole all of her merchandise. She tried to resist them and started a fight. They locked her up and stole her money. She was released on Monday. She is devastated to have lost the only thing that was supporting her family. The people who stole her belongings said if she pays money she can get them back, but she knows that she will never see them again. Please pray for FloreMichelle and her two girls. She was able to receive some help today at program, but this is a huge loss for her.

Tomorrow we are taking four of our kids to the doctor for blood tests. They need some routine testing for adoption, and tests for anemia. Caleb, Pierreline, Guerlens, and Marise-Love are all waiting for adoptive families. (Haiti's requirements are 10 years of marriage, between the ages of 34-50, and 3 or less biological children.) Please pray for God's will for the lives of these children. We know He has a perfect plan for each one of them! Until then, we are blessed to have them at HOPE House!

Pray and Encourage

2011-09-30T16:17:00.000-07:00

What a joy it is to be back in Haiti! I cannot tell you how thankful I am for the beautiful people I get to work with! I had missed them so much. Despite the mosquito bites up my legs, worms sqimming in my shower water, and sweat dripping from my forehead to my toes, I don't think there is anywhere in the world where I could be happier!

Kimberlie said her first word tonight! And it was Ma-la-li! All of the kids were jumping up and down chanting my name waiting for me to start a movie for them. Kim was sitting down by my feet and looked up at me, "Ma-la-li" she said very confidently. The room went silent and Mamoun and I just looked at Kim as if we would see the words leaving her mouth. Amazing! Such a special moment! It was a day of firsts for her! She had her first big girl food today for dinner! Rice, bean sauce, and chicken!

Recently the Lord has been pressing two words on my heart, prayer and encouragement. I believe God is calling me to pray over each person that enters our gates. As my mind continues to be bogged down by the multitude of poverty in Haiti and around the world, God spoke to me saying, "Pray for those I send to you. I have everything in my loving care. I see all, I hear all, I love all." Inside the walls of HOPE House I feel his joy and peace abounding. What a privilege I have to tangibly touch His children, pray over them, and give Him praise. The fact that people come knocking on the gate everyday so we can sit together and talk to our God is absolutely amazing. Beyond Amazing. That's my God.

The more I reflected on the awesomeness of prayer, the more I heard the word "encourage". I don't know fully what this means yet, but last night Frentz and I sat up writing notes of encouragement to all of our staff. We named very spcefic reasons that we are thankful for them and what a great job they do helping us at HOPE House. I also want to encourage them in their faith and devotion to God. In this area, I feel I have much to learn from them too! Starting this coming week we will be having regular prayer and worship services at HOPE House. Would you join us? (in spirit of course, but you are more than welcome to come in person! We'd love to have ya!)

Here are some specific things you can be praying and praising for this week:
1.) Thank you Jesus for all of our faithful school sponsors! School is starting on Monday and the kids are so excited and ready for the school year! Education = Life!
2.) We praise our Lord for our property, housing, food, and safety!
3.) Pierreline, Caleb, and Marise go in for blood tests on Monday. (All three kids are showing signs of anemia and are receiving routine bloodwork for adoptions)
4.) Our current class of women graduate from Gift of Hope on Thursday! Pray for the success of their new businesses!
5.) Above all, praise our Savior for His sacrifice that we might spend eternity with Him!

As Pastor Caleb would say at the close of his daily morning services here in the play room of HOPE House, "Hallelujah! Thank you Lord! Glory to God! Hallelujah!"

Hello Haiti!

2011-09-27T16:53:00.000-07:00

What a time we had getting back to Haiti! We arrived in Miami smoothly but things went downhill from there. Our flight from Miami to Haiti took off over an hour late. We took off over the Caribbean and then the plane started making circles. Pretty soon the pilot told us that the wing flaps were not lifting and we could not climb above 7,000 ft. We needed to circle to burn off some fuel before we could land and it looked like we would return to Miami for an emergency landing. We flew around in tiny circles for a while and then the pilot spoke with us again. He said that there was a chance that the breaks would get very hot as we landed and the emergency crew and fire trucks would be lined up down the runway. He asked everyone to remain calm and told us that he had done this type of landing before in training. Great! We all heald our breath as the breaks brought the plane to a roaring hault. Since I am here writing this blog, you know that it all went well! We had to sit and wait for another plane to arrive to take us to Haiti. We ended up over 4 hours late, but alive!

I could hardly believe my eyes last night when I walked in to HOPE House! Guerlens is crawling! Kimberlie is standing up! And Marise-Love looks like a whole new baby! She is absolutely beautiful with big dimples on both cheeks!

I bounced out of bed this morning so excited to be back in Haiti! The kids got all of their backpacks and school supplies before they even had breakfast! After breakfast Frentz and I worked on training and dogs and then went to visit the journal program. It was so good to see all of the ladies again! Christela got to see new pictures of Kelencia! I don't think I have ever seen her smile so big! I am sure she had fun showing the pictures of her daughter off all afternoon. She is very proud that she speaks English. Jiniole was waiting for us with Benley and her new baby, Juna. Juna was born August 19th, 2 months early. She is doing remarkably well! Thank you to all who have been praying for them! Jiniole is extremely hungry and we had a long conversation.....long enough that it will have to be in the next blog post!

The interet is not working great but I at least wanted to let you know we are here! I had a fun afternoon coloring princess pictures and watching a princess movie! Now I'm off to kiss the kids goonight!

Heading Home Soon!

2011-09-21T14:15:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe there are only 3 more days left in our visit to Michigan! It has been a wonderful visit....but our bags are packed and we are ready to return home to Haiti! We have so many exciting things happening once we return!

For starters, we have many belated birthdays to celebreate! Naika's birthday is tomorrow! She asked Myslene earlier, "When Papa Frentz calls today can I speak with him?" When Frentz called, Myslene put Naika on the phone. She wanted to remind him that tomorrow was her birthday and she would like to go out for ice cream! Sophonie was quick to ask to speak with Papa Frentz next and ask that she accompany her friend! Pierreline could be heard in the background saying, "Papa? Ice cream? Papa?" We can't wait to get back to our kids!

We are really looking forward to our final fundraiser before heading back. Tomorrow night is our Authentic Haitian Dinner. Frentz has been in the kitchen and I have been at the grocery all day! We are serving over 50 people white rice, bean sauce, our favorite Haitin chicken, salad, and apple patays! If you are missing out on this delicious meal you can order "Myslene's Haitian Cuisine" and find all of the recipies inside!

To order a copy of Myslene's new cookbook, please email information@haitipoverty.org. Cookbooks are $20. ($24 with shipping) We also have hand carved pestle and morters for sale, $20 each, which you will need to cook almost all of her recipies! Our friend John who has a little shop at HOPE House carved all of them and they are absolutely beautiful! We also have the spice, Maggi, available which we brought back from Haiti and is an ingredient most of the recipies. (And Haitian vanilla and coffee too!) We are working on getting a page for all of our Haitian made items on our website, but for now if you email us we will get you what you need!

It's hard to believe that our second class of journal ladies will be graduating in a few short weeks. I am so excited to see their progress spiritually, emotionally, and vocationally when I return! They are all such precious, beautiful women!

We are looking forward to the hugs, laughter, and friends that await us outside the airport gates. The next time you hear from me I'll be back in Haiti! Thanks to everyone who made this visit so great! We have been blessed beyond measure by our friends and HFAP family!

Pray and Eat

2011-09-08T11:11:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Frentz was able to call Myslene during Gift of Hope to hear an update on our ladies. Magalie shared some news with us that we would like prayer for. One of the ladies from our first journal class, Jiniole, just gave birth to her second child, a baby girl, two months early. She is the mother of Benley, who many of our mission teams grew to love last year. Magalie said Jiniole and her baby are both not doing well and that Benley is very sick. Apparently Jiniole has not been able to go out and sell her hygiene items and they are all very hungry. Jiniole and Benley were doing very well after her graduation from Gift of Hope, but because of her pregnancy they have fallen into a difficult time. Please pray for all of them to be brought back to full health so Jiniole can start her business back up again. I know our supporters are faithful in prayer, and God is faithful to answer! I pray that they will all be well by the time I return in 2 weeks!

Also, we have an upcoming event for your favorite Haitin children that you WON'T want to miss! On September 22 from 5:30-7:30, Frentz and I will be hosting a Haitian dinner at the Midland Free Methodist Church. We will be serving authentic Haitian food from Myslene's cookbook with will also be available for purchase along with everything else you need to cook this delicious Haitian food in your own home! We will also have Haitian music, a cultural lesson, a live phone call to Myslene herself, and an update on all of HFAP's programs! Whether you live near of far, you will want to be part of this night! Tickets are $15 per person and need to be purchased in advance. Your ticket will provide you with an amazing dinner, and feed a Haitian child for a week! Call Marci at (989) 205-9418 or email information@haitipoverty.org to order your tickets today! See you there!

Our Greatest Material Needs

2011-09-01T13:53:00.000-07:00

I have had several people ask me lately what our greatest needs are. As Fall rolls around and school, classes, Bible studies, small groups, etc. are all beginning to meet again, people are looking for a way to help. I have put together a small list of our most current needs. Please take a look and see what your groups, churches, classes, or family might want to get involved in this year! Every dollar TRULY makes a difference!

HOPE HOUSE
- Help Feed Kids at HOPE House
- $1 per meal +3 meals per day = $3 per day
For example, $200 would feed Pierreline for 66 days. This would be a great fundraiser for children! Individual children, groups, or classes could choose a child from HOPE House that they would like to raise money for. We will provide you with pictures of each child and a little story about their life so your children can learn about children in Haiti and specifically pray for them. Or, you could have a class or children's church see how many total meals they can feed the children at HOPE House. These are very nutritious meals! (The same meals we feed our American mission teams.)

- Help Ship a Playground to HOPE House
- $1,000 from Grand Rapids, MI to Port-au-Prince, Haiti
Again, this might be a great fundraiser for younger or older children. At your church or school you could post a large map tracing the route our container will make on its way to Haiti. As the money comes in, the container can keep moving down the map until it reaches Port-au-Prince! We will be happy to provide you with picture of the container, and the playground once it reaches Haiti!

- Host a Diaper Drive
- Disposable and cloth diapers (all sizes), wipes, shampoo, lotion, and powder
- HOPE House goes through a lot of diapers! Within the next year we hope to increase our capacity from 8 infants and toddlers to 20 infants and toddlers! Each child typically goes through 5-6 diapers per day! .....You do the math! We use both cloth and disposable. We love to use cloth with rubber pants on a day to day basis, but the disposables are nice for traveling and for smaller babies who can't keep the cloth diapers on very well. (Some of our babies come to us between 3-5lbs.) We need all sizes of diapers, but we use sizes 1, 2, and 3 the most!

GIFT OF HOPE
- Help Us Sell Our Haitian Made Products!
- We can only employee as many women as we can sell products for! This is a crucial part of the program. Journals and jewelry are available for sale; summer skirts and purses coming soon! Consider having a Gift of HOPE party in your home! We will supply you with product, pictures and information on the ladies who made the items, and a cultural lesson on Haiti.

- Donate Supplies
- There are some supplies the ladies at Gift of Hope use that are not easily purchased in Haiti. We are always in need of the following items: Composition notebooks, Mod Podge glue, standard sized colored cardstock, decorative scrapbook paper and embellishments, and Elmer's glue.

LES BOURS SCHOOL OF HOPE
- Help Finish the Kitchen
- After the earthquake crumbled the walls of our kitchen, we are in need of funding to get our kitchen in working order! We currently have $2,000 raised for the kitchen and we are in need of $4,000 more. Here is the breakdown of our needs:
- $1,600 - 2 ovens
- $1,400 - bowls, spoons, cooking pots, pans, knives, cups, etc. (for over 200 students)
- $1,000 - counter top and table for preparing foods and a sink for washing dishes

CLINIC OF HOPE
- Pay a Year's Rent For Our New Clinic
- $500 - We have a new clinic located between the two tent cities we have adopted since the earthquake. It is a two room house shared with one of our Haitian nurses. It is very accessible to the community, safe for our medical teams to travel to and volunteer in. At this location, over 100 are receiving Depo-Provera birth control and patients from the tent cities are seen on a daily basis.

- Medications Needed
- Our medical mission teams are in constant need of medications to bring with them on their trips. Our most crucial needs right now are: vitamins with iron (children's and adults), chest rub for congestion, and feminine wash. We also need: children's pain reliever/fever reducer, ant-acids, children's cough and cold, anti-fungal cream, triple antibiotic cream, hydrocortisone, tylenol, and ibuprofen.

Please take time to pray over this list and listen to hear if God is calling you to help in any of the above ways. People in Haiti are desperate and have so many needs. Each of these needs listed above will help create a healthier, happier, and more independent Haiti! You could be the reason for a smile on a child's face! You could be the reason they go to bed with their bellies full! You could be the answer to their prayers!

All donations are tax-deductible and should be sent to: Haiti Foundation Against Poverty, PO Box 120105, Grand Rapids, MI 49528.

For more information about our organization or any of these programs please visit our website: www.haitipoverty.org or contact us at information@haitipoverty.org.

"Religion that Father God accepts as pure and faultless is this; to look after orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." - James 1:27

Happy Birthday Sophonie!

2011-08-30T06:56:00.000-07:00

Today is a special day at HOPE House! It's Sophonie's birthday! She is turning 5 years old today! Jean will be taking her along with her best buddy Naika to get ice cream cones at Epi'Dor! We have loved having this sweet girl a part of HOPE House over the last year and we look forward to keeping her in our arms for another year.

Things are going well down at HOPE House. The puppies are over 20 lbs each now! I'm sure the kids preferred them when they were 3 lbs, but they are adjusting well!

The government has decided to hold off the opening of school until the the first week of October. That means Frentz and I will be back to take "first day of school" pictures! Caleb, Pierreline, and David are all starting preschool, Sophonie will be in kindergarten, and Naika in second grade.

I am anxious to get down to Les Bours School of Hope and see all of the changes that are being made! Thanks to the Chrisman girls and their 5k run in Grand Rapids last Spring we have been able to make some very important improvements on the school! We have cemented in the courtyard, replaced the scary cement stair without railings with a spiral staircase WITH railings, and we are nearing completion on the kitchen!

We are hoping and praying to have the kitchen ready to start cooking lunches on the first day of school! To make that happen, we need $1,000 more to purchase ALL of the pots, pans, spoons, bowls, cups, knives, etc. We need to stock our shelves for over 200 children to eat lunch everyday! Please join us in prayer that God will make this happen! Our children need this food so desperately!

Myslene called from HOPE House yesterday and brought another need to my attention. Apparently our babies are being fed very well, because we are about out of formula! Formula is very expensive to purchase in Haiti so we prefer collecting it here and having our mission teams bring it down in their suitcases. Our mission teams will start back up October 14th and we hope to fill their suitcases with lots of formula! If you are able to help feed our babies and you live in Grand Rapids please drop off formula to Frontline Church (4411 Plainfield Ave NE). If you live in Midland you can bring it to 1301 Timber Dr. OR contact information@haitipoverty.org for other locations.

Hope you are enjoying your summer to the very last day! (If it starts to get too cold you are welcome to join us down in Haiti!)

Some Days.

2011-08-28T00:39:00.000-07:00

Some days I am in total denial the Jivenson ever died.

When I close my eyes I can still feel the weight of carrying him in my arms. I can still feel his tummy on my hand and hear his laughter as he gives his greatest attempt at a high-five.

Yesterday as I was packing for the container with some of our devoted supporters, I found an orange and white stripped outfit, identical to one he frequently wore in Haiti. Today at WalMart I walked past a bright red Thomas the Train T-shirt similar to one of his favorite outfits. Little reminders of Little Jeeves pop up everywhere.

I don't really know where I am going with this...I was just crying in bed and I couldn't fall asleep. It's happened before and I don't usually write a blog post about it, but for some reason, tonight I was compelled to write.

I miss him even more when I'm not in Haiti. Maybe it's because I miss all of the other kids too, but then I remember that I won't be going back and finding him waiting for me at HOPE House. Or maybe it's because this is where I sat when I found out he had sickle-cell anemia.

"The sharp knife of a short life."

I know he's happy. I know he's with Jesus. I know he was with us for just the amount of days, hours, minutes, and seconds he was supposed to be. But I'll still miss him for a really long time.

Maybe I shouldn't be allowed to update the blog after midnight. For what it's worth, this is me, and this is honest. Love you Jeeves.

Where Has Summer Gone?

2011-08-18T13:04:00.001-07:00

Thank you for all of your prayers during the last tropical storm. God certainly heard and answered our cries! The storm blew directly West across the Dominican Republic, stopped, blew North over Haiti, and then continued West again. Amazing! I could hardly believe by eyes as I watched the radar. (I should have believed the while time since that's exactly what we were praying for!) What a mighty God we serve!

Things are going well down in Haiti. Jean is reporting that the puppies are HUGE! Joseph called laughing the other day because both dogs were standing in the doorway of the large storage room barking at him and they absolutely refused to move and let him in. Papa Jean had to come over and tell them it was okay. Sounds like they will be great guard dogs! The other day Jean was out buying something at the market and the dogs went into the kitchen. Myslene and the nannies kept yelling at them to go outside and Riggins and Chuck both continued to roll over on their backs with all four legs in the air in complete defiance. As soon as Jean came home they went running outside.....little stinkers!

The kids are getting ready to go back to school! Uniforms are being sewn, tuitition is being paid, and books are being purchased. If you haven't already signed up to sponsor a child for school NOW is the time! We still have many children waiting for sponsors so they can begin the 2011-2012 school year! Sponsoring a child for $30 a month truly changes their life forever.

The school has been undergoing many improvements this summer! We have a new, safer, spiral staircase leading up to the 5th grade classroom! The courtyard was cemented last week, and the counter tops and cupboards have been installed in the new kitchen! We hope to complete the kitchen and repaint with our October short term mission teams!

We have been busy here in Michigan packing for our next shipment. We hope to have a container on its way to Haiti by the end of the month. We are still missing one very important piece in this proces....a truck driver! Please join us in praying for a driver and for the shipment to be packed, sent, and out of customs while Frentz and I are in Haiti this fall! (And it would take a miracle. Getting down on your knees, pleading and begging, and tearing of clothes may be necessary in this case!) The container will be filled with the new playground equipment for HOPE House, new pre-school chairs for the school, school supplies, food, toys, shoes, hygiene kits, and more. Thank you to all of you who have contributed to this container of donations! I can't wait to open it up in Haiti! That will be a glorious day!

Hope you are enjoying your summer! Thanks for being part of the HFAP family and loving Haiti!

TS Emily

2011-08-03T06:28:00.000-07:00

Please keep Haiti in your prayers over the next 48 hours as Tropical Storm Emily passes through. In June we had a slow moving storm that killed 28 people in our area, flooded our property, and destroyed many of our supplies. Our HOPE House children spent two days living on top of the water tank due to the damage and cholera infested water. Ever since that dreadful night, the children have been terrified of rain. With the storm coming they are all afraid of what might happen. Please pray that they will have a peace wash over them that could only come from our Father. Pray that the rain will not cause any damage to our property and housing. Pray that all of our employees and their families will be safe. Pray that cholera will stop spreading. Pray for all of our families living down at sea-level in Les Bours. They are often flooded during storms like this. Pray for all of the families still living in tent cities. It is so awful to live in fear and continually lose what little you have. Pray protection and peace over all of Haiti.

I will keep you updated as we hear more. The storm is expected to start around noon and get worse into the evening.

Where Have These Last Two Weeks Gone?

2011-07-16T12:49:00.000-07:00

Time is absolutely FLYING by! I cannot believe it has been nearly 2 weeks since my last blog post. We have been SO busy! Kim, Deb, Marcie, and I spent several days updating sponsorship pictures and delivering sponsor gifts to children. We spent a day in LaPlaine meeting with the very first children we ever enrolled in our sponsor program. Most of them are graduating or will soon be graduating from primary school. It was so fun to share hugs and smiles with all of them. We did receive some very sad news about a couple of our sponsored girls, Denise and Patricia Bazile. They were unable to make it to our sponsorship meeting because they were at a funeral in the mountains for 7 of their relatives - including their mother, sister, and cousins. There was a terrible bus accident along a busy road and only 3 people in the entire bus lived. None of them were their family members. These girls, and their 4 other siblings, have a long road ahead of them. They are now orphaned. Their extended relatives are too poor to care for them...those I have spoken with do not feel they can carry the burden of raising these children. Denise is also very ill. We do not know what she is sick with, but it does not sound good. Please pray for her health and that God would provide for these precious children.
Last week we had an AMAZING time at clinic! The medical team saw over 2,200 patients in just 6 days! We are completely out of medications down here! What was left after clinic was distributed to our wonderful Haitian nurses to use in the coming weeks. Medical clinics are such an important part of our ministry! Each of our programs relies on Captain Gail and her awesome medical teams to keep our children and families healthy!...and they do a great job! If you would like to donate to our medical clinics we are in desperate need of the "three V's". 1.) Vitamins (children's and adult's) 2.) Vick's vapor rub 3.) Vaginal wash! Lots of malnutrition, chest infections, and itchy vaginas! (I'm sorry if you feel this is inappropriate but the truth must be told!) For those of you who may feel called to do even more, we are looking for people willing to help sponsor our Haitian nurses! They are receiving exceptional training from Gail, treating people on a daily basis, and most importantly witnessing for Christ to the lost in their communities. If you are interested in donating medications OR sponsoring a nurse please contact our medical director, Gail McGee. (gmcgee51@yahoo.com)
Last night we received some terrible news that one of Frentz's friends had been shot and killed. He was on his way home from work when two men on motor bikes pulled up in front of him. They shot him in the neck and peed on him. He was almost home, and was killed on the same street that the old guest house was located on. Please pray for his family as they deal with such a great loss. He had a good business selling tennis shoes on the street and was able to support his family. Please pray for the men who shot him. That they will have a change of heart and stop killing people.
All of the children at HOPE House are doing well! They are all growing up so fast! Caleb and Pierreline will start pre-school in September! Naika and Sophonie both passed their grades and will be moving on to 2nd grade and kindergarten. David adjusted quickly to life at HOPE House. His favorite time of day is right after dinner when the sun is finally going down and cooling things off so he can run laps in the grassy area between my house and their's. He is actually a very fast runner! Pierreline usually comes in second.....and Caleb is always last. But he THINKS he's fast and that's all that matters! The three babies, Kimberlie, Guerlens, and Marise-Love seem to get bigger every day! We have THE greatest group of kids here at HOPE House! If you don't believe me, come visit!
Sorry there is no picture with this post...between one broken camera, one dead battery, and a very slow internet connection it just wasn't possible! Next time, I promise!

Meet Marise-Love and David

2011-07-03T11:35:00.002-07:00

It has been a week of very slow internet and very little electricity! I feel like so much has happened I don't even know where to begin!

The new flooring has been completed in all three containers and it looks BEAUTIFUL! Thank you DeKuiper team for hauling all of that heavy tile down and working so hard to get it down! The team left on Wednesday, but not before completing everything they had planned to do! It was a great week! We are all excited about the gardens that were planted! Naika and Sophonie check them everyday to see if anything is sprouting up.

Kim and Deb arrived on Tuesday and Marcie came in on Thursday. We have been keeping ourselves busy with sponsorship updates and new student registration. In the past 3 days alone we are in need of over 70 new sponsors! (You can sponsor a child to receive education, food, and medical care for only $30 a month! For only $1 a day, you can change a child's life forever! Email us at haitipoverty@gmail.com)

Yesterday we took in a new baby and a new toddler! The baby, a little girl, is about six weeks old and weight 5 lb 5 oz. Her mother came to me when she was 7 months pregnant asking if I would take her child when it was born. For a while the baby was doing great and mom was breast feeding, which is what we always want! But as mom was trying to care for her other 5 children she felt overwhelmed and stopped giving little Marise-Love the time and care she needed. She was losing weight and her mother tried to drop her off and leave her. After further discussion with the mother she was enrolled in the business program and we took in her three year old boy as well. He is very malnourished and has a nasty eye infection and skin infections on his scalp. Once he is healthy he will be able to go back home to his mom after she is earning profits to care for him. He has already started is medication and fits right in here at HOPE House. Caleb was SO excited when we came home with a little boy his age. (They are actually only 8 days apart!) Caleb immediately began digging in the toy bin to get out all of his cars and balls to play with David. He took him by the hand and showed him his chair at the lunch table. He showed him how to wash his hands and where to put his dishes when he was finished eating. He introduced him to Papa Frentz when he came home and this morning when Micherlange came into work Caleb pointed to David and exclaimed, "Look! They gave me a gift! His name is David!" What a heart. We have the BEST kids here at HOPE House. They are such beautiful children inside and out!

This morning we said goodbye to our summer intern, Morgan. She was a tremendous help over the past 4 weeks! I am so thankful for her positive attitude and willingness to do anything! We are all missing her and praying she returns home safely!

Tomorrow we are going down to Les Bours to update sponsor pictures and meet with the teachers. There is a storm heading our direction and we pray it fades out before it hits us! Tuesday we get to pick up our new guard dogs! 4 week old puppies! Mom is doberman/Haitian dog mix and dad is a rottweiler. The puppies are too adorable for words! You will just have to drool over their picture!

Grace and peace to you this Sabbath day! His mercies are new every morning! Thank you Lord for YOU are faithful! Faithful to provide. Faithful to love. Faithful to save. I love you Father!

A Tremor Shakes Up Unwanted Memories

2011-06-24T12:26:00.000-07:00

This past week has flown by! We said goodbye to our five fabulous KCC ladies on Tuesday, and hello to our new team on Wednesday. We have a group of 10 staying with us now. They have many projects going on this week including; laying down new flooring in all three containers, hosting vacation Bible school in Les Bours, planting a garden, and teacher training seminars. The flooring is looking really nice! The guest house container is already complete and the orphanage is well on its way! Two days of vacation Bible school have left the children in Les Bours with food in their bellies and singing about Jesus! This morning part of the team planted a garden on our property with tomatoes, lettuce, pepper, mustard, beets, collard greens, and more! It is only day 2 and so much as been accomplished!

Frentz was able to pick up Jivenson's ashes on Wednesday, after a two week battle with the hospital and funeral parlor. It was bittersweet to bring "him" back to HOPE House. We are having a service on our property tomorrow to spread some of his ashes around the compound. Five of the team members who are here with us now knew Jivenson from their visit last summer. Our staff will all be present as we thank God for allowing us to be part of his short, but sweet, life.

Naika is not feeling well today. She has a terrible migraine and looks miserable. She has been hanging out on my couch, barely moving, since about 8:30 this morning. Please pray for her to start feeling better!

Construction has been coming along really well on the property! The drain field is blocked off and covered, the driveway is paved, and garden areas are enclosed, the patio has been extended, the water tank is complete, the plumbing system is up and running, and both the large and small stoage rooms are complete! Next on the agenda: reinforcing a few of the outside walls and then the base of the future orphanage building! Joseph and his crew are awesome!

This morning we had a tremor that shook our containers. It sent people all over Port-au-Prince screaming and running outside. The shake did not cause any damage, but spread fear and anxiety. All of the terrible, horrifying memories of January 12th came flooding back. Marie, one of our nannies, was very concerned for her son who was in school because when the children panic and run out of the building, some of the children get trampled over. Please continue to pray for the Haitian people.

The next few days we will be having a carnival here at HOPE House for our kids and the children of our staff, hosting one more day of vbs, distributing seed packets for gardening, and starting teacher training! I'm looking forward being part of God's work this week!

"I have decided to follow Jesus. No turning back. No turning back."

Never a Dull Moment

2011-06-17T12:30:00.000-07:00

l
These past few days have been a bit of a roller coaster. I will start by highlighting some of the high points:
- The team from Kentwood Community Church arrived with all of their luggage and great plans for a vacation Bible school in the tent city of Jeremie and a spa day for our staff and Gift of Hope women.
- The spa day was extremely appreciated! This class of Gift of Hope ladies had never been pampered on in such a way before. The team set up stations and allowed the women to move around the room treating the to manicures, pedicures, and facials. The facials were definitely the highlight! They loved laying on the bed with their heads relaxed on a pillow while getting their heads massaged and their faces cleaned. (Most of them sleep on cement floors or in the dirt.) About half of the women ended up falling asleep during their facial. They all thought it was hilarious to see each other with round cotton cloths over their eyes and face masks over their faces.
- Marie Guerda, Caleb and Guerlen's mother, was afraid to have her nails painted because her church would make her stand outside. I assured her that Jesus loved her anyway, and she decided to paint her toes and fingers bright red! Love that lady!
- The team also baked brownies for the ladies....there are two things that women love, feeling beautiful and eating chocolate! Both were accomplished! It was a good day!
- This morning we hosted our first ever tent city VBS. About 60 children joined us in a canvas tent for worship, a Bible story, snack, a craft, games, and more snacks! Today's focus was on the topic of heaven. One little girl sitting by me whispered, "I bet there won't be earthquakes there." It is amazing how life shattering those 45 seconds were on January 12th, 2010.
- One of the little boys who came today had a terrible infected burn on the palm of his hand. As I looked at his hand closer I could see that there were bugs crawling around in it. I could tell he was in pain because he was unable to focus on anything else but starring at his hand. The poor little guy was probably only 4 years old at the most. I called Mamoun, one of our wonderfully trained nurses from last week's medical seminar, and she rushed over and cleaned him all up! It was painful, but now it's clean. She wrapped his tiny hand up the best she could so it wouldn't get infected again.
- At the end of the VBS today I asked the kids if any of them wanted to come back again tomorrow. Clapping and cheering filled the tent! ...I took that as a yes!
- We had a thunderstorm yesterday and nothing leaked! YAY! This could be the start of a very good thing!

Unfortunately there have been several sad things that have happened this week as well:
- One of our second grade girls had cholera earlier this week. We asked for prayer for her and she was sent to a cholera clinic in Cite Soleil. I am thankful to say she is healed and came to school on Wednesday to show me where they poked her with an IV.
- Just as soon as one little girl got better, another one got sick. RoseCarline from LaPlaine is very ill. On Tuesday evening she was shaking and having difficulty breathing. Abner said that many people thought she had already died. He has taken her to a hospital and I am waiting to hear how she is doing. Please pray for her and her family.
- Several other people in Les Bours have been infected by cholera this week, including Cha-cha's husband's sister. (Cha-cha was our school assistant who died in child birth in December of last year.)
- Yesterday in Les Bours an 8 year old child was run over by a car and killed. They did not attend our school, but they were from our community and their family is devastated. Route Neuf is such a dangerous road to live on. The flying tap-taps and buses rarely slow down for people, animals, or other vehicles.
-One of our neighbors works for an electrical company and he has his crew moving large electrical poles from the main road into his property. Last night, during the transportation of one of the poles, it fell off from the machinery and crushed one of the worker's legs. His leg bones cracked from the weight. They were able to get him to a hospital and he is in surgery to have most of his leg amputated today. He is in a lot of pain, and life is about to get a lot harder for him. Please keep him and your family in your prayers.

We are excited about all we have planned in the next few days. Tomorrow we are hosting VBS in Cite Jeremie again. In the afternoon we are taking our older HOPE House kids (Naika, Sophonie, Caleb, and Pierreline) up to the Baptist Mission to see a few zoo animals and eat some ice cream! On Sunday and Monday the team will be busy here at HOPE House and at Gift of Hope cleaning out supplies, distributing hygiene kits, and organizing our storage. We also plan to take a trip on Monday to continue distributing water filters and purification solution to families in cholera infected areas.

Thank you for all of your continued prayers and support. We are so blessed to have you as part of our HFAP family!

Clinic Week

2011-06-13T08:06:00.000-07:00

I am so thankful for each of the amazing ladies God put on our medical team last week! It was a tough, stressful, emotional week but God's presence was evident as true relationships were formed, positive attitudes filled the team, and medical care was provided to over 1,500 patients!

The team divided their time between our clinic in Les Bours and the tent city of Jeremie. They were shocked at the amount of terrible, oozing, bleeding ear infections on young children. They have been sleeping in the wet mud for far too long. Gail had one little baby brought to her with a hat wrapped tightly around his head. When she removed the hat the baby's hair was growing with mold. After living in such wet and damp conditions the baby's head was literally covered in mold. Gail washed her hands all day and could still smell the stench of this poor baby's head on her fingers. A lot of antibiotics were passed out for all kinds of infections. We went through suitcase after suitcase of medicines and have very little left in our storage.

Words cannot express how thankful the Haitian people are for these clinics. Some of our patients walked for hours to see our team. Others lived in the countryside and took an all day bus ride into the city. As word of mouth spread we had hundreds of patients lined up outside the tent door. On Wednesday alone the team saw over 530 patients! Our next medical week will be the second week of July. Thank you Gail and team for an amazing week! I was so thankful for all of your help after the flood! You guys rock!

Since the team left, Morgan and I have been catching up on things back here at HOPE House. She is here for 3 more weeks and I have been so thankful to have her help! Yesterday we took a day of rest and played with the kids in a blow up swimming pool. It was quite an exciting event for all! Naika and Sophonie turned into little fishes splashing and rolling around in the water. Pierreline and Caleb kept pouring bowls of water over their heads pretending to take a bath. (This went on for about 3 1/2 hours.) Kimberlie even had her own little baby pool to splash around in. It was a great way to spend a hot afternoon in Haiti!

We are getting ready for our next team to come in tomorrow! A group of women from Kentwood Community Church is joining us for a week of Vacation Bible School in the tent city, pampering our staff and Gift of Hope ladies, and getting down and dirty with construction projects around the property. Should be a great week! I will keep you posted as the internet allows!

What A Week.

2011-06-09T07:25:00.000-07:00

Words cannot express what we have been through this week. We are thankful to all be alive and thankful God spared our precious children. You may or may not have heard about Monday night's horrific storm. It began raining, as usual, in the evening. It started coming down harder than normal. Frentz and I were in our container sitting in bed trying to yell at each other over the sound of raindrops hitting our roof. All of a sudden there was a knock at our door. Heather and Kelli, two team members, were standing outside, soaking wet, with children in their arms. "Everything is flooding! Water is rushing in. We are all under water!" Their voices were panicked as they threw the children into my arms and turned back to get more. I scanned my flashlight down to the lower part of the property and was horrified at what I saw. Muddy waters were swirling around the containers and rising above the doors. The team members were rushing children to safety and barely able to keep their feet on the ground as waters reached above their knees and pushed them backwards. Within minutes the water rose above the children's beds. Once the team members and children were safely in my container we began praying for our health, our property, our safety, and for the rain to stop. Frentz and the guards were trying to clear the debris in the drain system to allow as much water as possible to flow from our property. Up at the top of the drain, water blew through the hole like a waterfall. Our neighbor's property was holding too much water that rocks and cement started blowing through the base of the wall so that more water could travel through. Rushing water is a very powerful force!

At that point I went back to the team and we decided to make a plan to move to higher ground. We were afraid that the wall directly behind my container was going to blow out and all of the water would come crashing into us. The highest point on our property is the top of the water storage tank. There was a ladder leading up to it that was standing in the rushing waters. As we began to partner up and plan on how we would carry the children up the ladder and the water began flooding into my container. "We need to get out now!" We grabbed the children, umbrellas, a tarp, and all of the crackers, water, and dry sheets I had in my house and ran out the door. We sent two people up the ladder with the supplies first. I stood halfway up the ladder and began passing children to the top. One by one we all made it up and began sliding the children under the tarps and umbrellas. Several of the team members sat with the children to keep them calm and warm while the rest of us tried to gather a few supplies not knowing how long we would be spending on top of the room. Lucienne (a nanny who lives with us) came running over to the ladder with a tent in her arms. "You build me a house, now I am giving you a house!" she exclaimed and gave me a small tent to put the children in. "Thank you God for our houses!" She began singing as she danced in the rain. She was so excited that her little tent was the new "HOPE House". Megan, Heather, and I struggled to see in the dark and through the rain to put up a tent that none of us had ever assembled before. But through the grace of God we had it up in no time and began moving the children one by one inside. A few of the team members ventured back down the ladder to grab diapers, clean water, food, a first aid kit, and another tent. It was about 3:00am until we had the second tent set up and we were out of the rain. Thankfully the rain had lightened up and the water was starting to go down. Water had reached up to the top bunk of the bunk beds in the guest house. It was pouring out the kitchen windows, and covered all of the children's toys. I'm not sure if any of us actually fell asleep before the sun came up. I am so thankful that this team was here! I would have never known that the orphanage was flooding until the cribs were under water! Mamoun, our night nanny, could not have held all of the children at once to carry them to safety. Our team literally saved the lives of our sweet little babies!

The team spent all day Tuesday bleaching everything we could possible save. The water that had covered the containers was filled with sewage, cholera, and other bacteria. The flooring was ripped out of all three containers. The children's beds were bleached and we had to throw the pack n' plays away. Toys that couldn't be bleached were thrown away. The patio area was bleached over and over again. The children spent all day Tuesday and Tuesday night on top of the water tank. With all of the bacteria floating around we didn't want any of it going in their mouths. Gail started everyone on antibiotics as a precaution.

Tuesday afternoon Frentz picked up Kevin and Jessica Perberg at the airport. At 5:00 our staff and some of the team members joined us at the funeral home for a service in memory of Jivenson. His little body laid in a tiny open casket. He had the same small smile on his face as he did the moment he went to be with Jesus. It was a tearful service we the staff stood up one by one and told their favorite stories and memories with Jivenson. Jivenson had a special way of getting into people's hearts. Marie and Lucienne both described their deep love for him as if they had given birth to him. Myslene stood up to lead everyone in a song that ended up in yelling and crying out to the heavens. We all know that Jivenson is whole, happy, and with Jesus, but our hearts are broken and missing him here on earth. I am so thankful that Jesus saves.

Wednesday the team went to Les Bours to finish examining the school children and open our clinic up to the community. They ended up seeing over 200 patients yesterday. Many of them were very ill, and all of them received antibiotics to help fight all of the bacteria they are exposed to living in stagnant water. One of the little girls in our school had been beaten with wires by her godmother. She said she was beaten because her godmother has a boyfriend. She also complained of pain in her private area. Some of our precious kids live such painful lives. It is absolutely heart breaking. The nurses continued to see many ear infections in young children. Many of their ears were bleeding and oozing. One of the nurses pulled out a bug from the inside of a patient;s ear. Today and tomorrow the nurses are serving the people living in the tent city of Jeremie.

Jessica, Kevin, and I stayed back yesterday to continue cleaning HOPE House. At noon we were able to move the children down from the water tank and back into their container. They were so happy to be back....they were going crazy sitting up on the roof with nothing to do! In the afternoon Gerlade, her husband, and her husband's brother all came over to meet with Jessica and Kevin. We sat together and shared video, pictures, and stories of Little Jeeves. Gerlande had a very hard time looking at the picture of Jivenson when he became very ill. Overall they were so grateful for the care he was provided and how much he was loved. His uncle said, "Even though he didn't get to go to America yet, he lived like a child from the United States."

Later in the afternoon we took them home to Les Bours and brought along water purification sprayers with us. Jean and TiBray sprayed the school for cholera and walked up and down the streets of Les Bours treating every puddle and moldy pond they could find.

Pray for cholera to stop spreading. It is taking the lives of so many people! Pray for the sun to shine so that the water and mud can dry! Pray for the rain to stay away and stop spreading diseases and bacteria! Pray for HOPE House to remain safe and dry. Pray for the health of our teams, staff, and children. Pray for God to continue to give us His strength and wisdom to serve His people.

For those of you who met Jivenson, heard his story, or were touched by his life in some way, there will be a memorial for him at the Perberg's house in Grand Rapids this Saturday at 3:00pm. Because it is in their home, there is limited space they are inviting close friends and family. If you would like to make a donation in memory of his beautiful life, you can make your check out to HFAP and send it to: HFAP, 1275 E Wackerly Rd., Midland, MI 48642. (You can send it to the PO Box in GR too, but we will receive it sooner at the Midland address.) All donations will be spent to help cover the costs of his hospital stays, medications, and funeral. May the Lord be blessed and honored by our response to losing the life of this precious child.

We Love You Jivenson

2011-06-05T04:42:00.000-07:00

Pain. Sorrow. Grief. Relief. Saddness. Pain. This has been the cycle of my emotions the last 12 hours since sweet Jivenson went to be with Jesus.

He was diagnosed with sickle cell anemia just weeks ago. Between a virus, dehydration, and his sickle cell crisis his weak little body just couldn't fight it. We did absolutely everything we could including admitting him to multiple hospitals, receiving multiple blood tests, covering him in prayer, and dedicating an entire medical team to him. Medicine was no longer helpful. He had developed congestive heart failure and his liver and spleen had pooled with blood and his hands and feet were bloated with water.

Until yesterday afternoon he was peaceful. He did not have energy, but he was not miserable. Yesterday afternoon he took a turn for the worse. He laid limp in my arms barely able to keep his eyelids open. The nurses that had just arrived on the medical team were massaging him, giving him medications, and collecting lab test data. But Jesus loves him more.

About 6:00 he starting having trouble breathing. He received a breathing treatment which helped, but only for a short time. After his treatment I said goodnight to him. "Bye-bye Sonson, wave bye-bye." For the first time since he had gotten sick he responded back with a two finger waive.

Soon after he stopped breathing. The nurses began CPR and gave him a shot of epi. When there was nothing left to do they asked me to call it. Time of death was 7:10pm. (8:10 in Michigan.)

My dear sweet Jivenson, you will be greatly missed at HOPE House and here on this earth. I am so thankful you were with us for 16 wonderful months. You gave us so much joy and snuggle time! Your smile, waves, and contagious laugh will never be forgotten. It is hard to wake up this morning knowing you are not here. I LOVE YOU LITTLE JEEVES.

Jesus, please wrap your arms around our sweet little man. Thank you for making him whole again and taking away all of his pain. I picture him on your lap with all of his hair back waving to all of us below. I am sure he could not be happier. I sit here so thankful this morning that he can be reunited with Madame Kisnail who took such great care of him during her time at HOPE House. Madame Kisnail, Kimberlie's twin, and Little Jeeves are all together. We serve You, we love You, and we trust You have a plan for all of our hurting hearts.

We are planning his funeral for Wednesday. His wonderful adopting family will be flying in. They also plan to have a memorial service in Michigan for all of those who loved him and prayed for him. I will post more details about that when I get them.

Thank you for loving Jivenson and spending hours on your knees praying for him. He has been healed.

Rain, Rain Go Away

2011-06-03T13:02:00.000-07:00

It finally stopped raining late last night after over 30 hours of rain. Our property is a muddy mess! Life does not go on as normal in Haiti when it rains. Workers don't show up, tap-taps are harder to find, schools and businesses close, etc. We have so much to accomplish, we are all working double time today! Dad and Keith are only here for one more day working on construction. They are getting a lot accomplished but Dad thinks he might have to come back down for another four days and bring some parts for the generator. (Oh darn!)

Morgan and Kelli, our June interns, have been keeping busy getting ready for the medical team to arrive tomorrow! We are so excited to pick up Mama Gail and her team at the airport tomorrow afternoon! It just can't come soon enough! We have an awesome medical week planned! All of the Les Bours students will be receiving their physical exams, we have three days of tent city clinic, and each afternoon we are hosting a nurses training seminar. These nurses will be able to continue health care for their people even as our medical teams return home. Looking forward to a great week!

I just returned from Les Bours (which is also a muddy mess). Gerlande came over with her new baby, Joubenika. She is absolutely precious! Gerlande was so proud to show her off. Thank you to everyone who purchased one of Gerlande's journals! You have made such a difference for her family! Our last class of women will be coming in for their monthly check-up on Tuesday. I can't wait to see all of them! (And Baby Benley!) The new class of ladies has been busy while I was gone! I have over 120 journals ready to sell! They will arrive in Michigan on Sunday. Get your orders in or pick some up to take to your churches or friends to sell! (Email us at: haitipoverty.org)

Cholera is on the rise again. It never went away, but now, after all of these rains, it is getting worse. The death toll has been rising everyday. Please pray for the cholera victims and their families. Clean water is a human right! The solution to this problem is so simple...and yet so difficult. You can help cholera patients by donating $20 for a life saving IV, or by donating $50 to purchase a water filter for a family without access to clean water. (Send donations to: HFAP, PO Box 120105, Grand Rapids, MI 49528)

Please continue to pray for our sick children to feel better, Pierreline and Caleb are both doing much better today! Jivenson is hanging on for Mama Gail and the medical team to arrive!

Until next week....

We're Back!

2011-06-01T08:38:00.000-07:00

We arrived back to Port-au-Prince yesterday at approximately 12:55pm. We managed to find all of our luggage and greeted our favorite "red cap" airport helpers before finding Dad, Charly, and Joseph. When we arrived at HOPE House we were welcomed with cheering staff and children with arms wide open. We were home!

It was a joyous afternoon as we expressed our gratitude for our amazing staff. Myslene and the ladies made a delicious feast, and Joseph and his men gathered for a meal and gifts! Thanks to the Home Depot of Midland, MI these dedicated workers all received new hard hats! We also purchased each man a set of new work boots (which they want to wear as church shoes because they are so excited to have something brand new) and matching T-shirts. All of Joseph's crew(including Keith Veldheer) received a HOPE House T-shirt with "I work for Joseph" written on the back. Joseph received one that said, "I am Joseph." And Dad, of course, has one that says, "I am Joseph's brother." The men were doubled over laughing. We are truly thankful for these men and all of the sweat and labor they put into to making HOPE House a safe place for our children, staff, and guests.

After the work crew party was done Frentz and I got out our gifts for HOPE House staff and children. It was like Christmas! Naika was so upset when we left for MIchigan that we had to console her by telling her we would bring her a pink jacket and sunglasses when we returned. (Which she had been asking for for months!) There were jackets, sunglasses, and toys for everyone! I enjoyed the afternoon just hugging on the kids. Pierreline had her arms around my neck for hours. Mika is saying many new words! At dinner time she told me she needed to wash her hands. Caleb of course added, "Yes! Wash your hands!" The kid just cracks me up all the time.

Unfortunately we have a few sick kids. Pierreline work up this morning with an eye infection and Caleb is complaining about stomach pain and threw up after breakfast. Jivenson is still very sick. We are working to get him a medical visa so he can come to the states for testing. Please pray for his paperwork to happen quickly and easily, and for him to gain enough strength to be able to make the trip. His life is in God's hands. He loves him even more than we do....which at times is hard to believe!

This afternoon I have am going to the airport to pick up Morgan and Kelli, two girls that will be helping me out for the next 4 weeks. They will be assisting with our teams and HOPE House kids. It will be great to have some extra hands around here! We have a lot planned for the month of June including; major construction projects, clinic week, teacher training, two week of VBS (one in Les Bours and one in Cite Jeremie), garden planting, new Gift of Hope women, and more!

I'll be writing again soon!

Praying for Jeeves

2011-05-21T17:38:00.001-07:00

I am writing tonight to ask that you lift up little Jivenson in your prayers. He has been sick for several weeks now and is not getting much better. Please pray for him to be released from the pain he is in. Pray for him to be able to eat and gain some weight back. Pray for the wisdom of his doctors as they work to diagnose and treat him. He was the second child we took in at HOPE House and is near and dear to MANY who have traveled to Haiti. His smile and laughter lights up our lives at HOPE House. He is everyone's #1 snuggle buddy! We love him so much and hate that he is suffering right now. Please pray for a miraculous healing from our Heavenly Father!

I am so thankful for all of our supporters continued encouragement and prayers. It takes a lot of people to accomplish God's work in Haiti! We have asked for miracles before, and we have seen them happen! And I am confident it will happen again! Thank you for being part of the HFAP family!

Hope to see you this week!

2011-05-02T06:37:00.000-07:00

Frentz and I have thoroughly been enjoying our time back in the states. We have been able to see so many of our friends and family members and really spend time thinking and praying about our future goals and programs. And yet at the same time we are missing Haiti something fierce! We are in communication with our kids and staff almost everyday. Here are some of the updates we have been receiving:

1.) A few nights ago there was a terrible wind and rain storm in Port-au-Prince. Several places lost their tin roofs and it uprooted a large tree in our yard. (One of the only trees we had left from the Fall's tornado) Thankfully it did not hit any of our buildings as it came crashing to the ground!

2.) Madame Vinya, our cook for the Gift of Hope, was hit by a moto near the three hands statue. (Those who have been to Haiti know how chaotic this circle can be!) Our staff is telling us it was a near death experience for her but she only has broken feet. She is one of our oldest staff and it could take a long time she her to heal. She has been laying down at home since the accident. Please be praying for a quick healing!

3.) Yesterday we received a phone call from one of our nannies the Jivenson is sick. He threw up yesterday morning and evening and had diarrhea throughout the day. They have him drinking lots of fluids and I am waiting to hear how he did through the night. Please pray for our Little Jeeves to feel better!

4.) Gerlande (Jivenson's mom) had her baby! We knew it would be due anytime! All we know is that she and the baby are both alive! Thank you JESUS! We are so excited! I am waiting to hear if it is a boy or a girl and what name she chose. Thank you to all of you who have been praying for this precious family!

Also, I have a few updates of my own! Frentz and I have been busy with his paperwork to be a resident in the United States. He is currently studying for his drivers test! We hope he will have his driver's license by the end of the week! (He already drives in Haiti, but our rules are slightly different! For example, in Haiti they use the horn, where in America we have a second pedal we like to call the brake!)

This week we have two fund raising events we would love for you to be part of!

On Thursday evening we are hosting a spaghetti dinner from 5:30-7:30 at the Midland Free Methodist Church. (5821 Eastman Ave) I will be speaking at 6:30 and giving a full update on our programs and sharing many pictures! Please being yourself, donations, and learn more about HFAP and the precious people we serve in Haiti.

On Friday evening we are having a formal dinner to benefit HOPE House at Church of the Servant in Grand Rapids, MI. There will be live music, delicious food, and a silent auction with some amazing items to bid on! I will be speaking during dinner and giving a full update on HOPE House. Tickets are $25 per person. (This includes food and drinks)

For more information on these dinners and other events please go to www.haitipovety.org and visit our "events" page.

Hope to see you this week!

From Sweat to Snow

2011-04-21T08:41:00.000-07:00

g

Our last week in Haiti the electricity never turned on. (Except for a few times in the middle of the night for 30 second intervals.) Our inverter, internet, and phones were all without charge. It was a busy week researching water filtration projects for Les Bours and preparing all of the children and staff for our visit to Michigan. Our construction boss, Joseph, and his men have nearly completed the water tank. This week they have been adding a new storage room on the other side of the staff bathroom, and they have already begun digging the storage that will be adjacent to the water tank. Joseph and his crew have been part of our HOPE House family for over a year, and we have enough projects for them to stay with us another year! We hope to break ground on the new orphanage building this summer!

The rainy season has begun. It rained every night last week. The carpet inside our containers was soaking wet. It is so humid during the day that it never gets a chance to dry out. All of the kids have wet bottoms from playing inside. At first I could not figure out how all of them wet their pants at the same time! Speaking of going potty, Caleb almost fully potty trained (minus a few accidents) and Pierreline is well on her way. Most of the time she remembers to tell the nanny just after she goes, but candy is a great incentive to spark her memory. She will do anything for candy or a snack. She went without food for so long, she must think she needs to make up for the last three years of minimal eating. During snack time she shoves her snack in her mouth and runs around to the other children trying to grab whatever snack they have left in their hands. This usually doesn't go over too well with Mika, who we have nicknamed Vacuum! Most times we can find Mika eating dirt, rocks, paper, crayons.....you name it, she eats it! We have to keep a close eye on that girl! (See picture of Mika eating real food above)

Jivenson is making great progress on his muscle strength! He loves eating at the big kid table and putting his food in his mouth all by himself. (See Jivenson eating above) When Myslene calls for the kids to wash their hands for dinner Jivenson immediately starts cooing and scooting himself over to the kitchen. The words "food" or "eat" ever get past him! Caleb and Guerlens are both doing really well! Guerlens is laughing and smiling when he is awake and is much more alert than every before. Caleb absolutely cracks us up everyday! On our last day in Haiti we drove up the mountain to a place where a lot of Haitian art is sold. (Really we went so Orion could propose to Faith overlooking the city of PAP, but that's a whole other story!) Caleb sat in the front seat on Frentz's lap on the way home. His flip flops kept falling off and he was very concerned about them. Frentz took his shoes off from him and said, "What are these?" referring to the bite marks on the front and backs of both shoes. Mika had been eating them a few days before and they looked like a rat had gnawed away for hours. Frentz rolled down the window and threw them outside. Caleb's eyes got so big and his mouth went silent. "I'll buy you a new pair. Those are terrible shoes." Conversation in the car continued for the next 10 minutes or so as we drove down the road. In a scared little voice I hear Caleb ask, "Mr. Frentz? Are you really going to buy me new shoes?" "Yes I will." "Before we get home?" Caleb continuously gets in trouble for not having his shoes on when he plays outside. He was very concerned to be going home with no shoes at all. Jean pulled the truck over on the side of the road and Frentz and Caleb hopped out to go shoe shopping. You should have seem the smile on Caleb's face as he bounced in the truck with new black and white striped sandals. He was so excited to show the nannies what Mr. Frentz bought him!

Kimberlie is growing up so fast! She is so strong, I'm sure she will be crawling by the time I get back! She is more and more beautiful everyday! Sophonie and Naika are both doing very well in school. Naika has been learning some English and Sophonie is an expert at coloring! They are the best of friends. I don't know what they would do without each other!

The students in Les Bours just finished their exam period last week. I am still waiting to hear how everyone did. We have so many projects to get started on at the school when I return in May! Very exciting things happening in Les Bours! Water treatment, a new kitchen, a railing on the stairs, new preschool chairs, new cabinets in the office, and more! Our students in Les Bours are so precious! I can't wait until they all have clean drinking water and are eating a meal each day! It will be an exciting summer!

Frentz and I are glad to be back in Michigan for the next month. .....however we are not thrilled about the snow and cold temperatures! We thought we waited long enough for all of that to be gone! Ugh, Michigan! We are really looking forward to speaking at several churches, hosting two dinner fund raisers, and catching up with friends and supporters. Hope to see you while we are here!

No electricity, but a lot of progress!

2011-04-09T12:54:00.000-07:00

Last week we lost electricity for 6 days! Conveniently, (not really) both of our generators were broken at the same time! We survived the week and still accomplished a lot, but it made communication very difficult! I will do the best I can to catch you on a weeks worth of events!

Monday our short term missions team enjoyed a morning at Les Bours School of Hope. They had an opportunity to meet their sponsored children and visit the classrooms. A small group of us also visited a school in LaPlaine and met with our sponsored children there. We have updated letters and pictures of most of our LaPlaine students! Only a few children did not show up, largely due to the announcement of the next president of Haiti. Monday evening the announcement was heard over the radio that Michelle Martelly, "Sweet Mickey," will be Haiti's next president. It was a preliminary result, but he is far ahead of his opponet, Mirlande Manigat. Shots rang out and shouts of joy could be heard all over the city. The majority of the people seem calm and happy about the results.

Monday and Tuesday our team helped us move all of our journal supplies and storage items into our new Gift of Hope location! We have a beautiful house just a few roads down from our property we were able to rent last weekend! It has been a huge answer to prayer! Our ladies have already begun their journal making at the new home! (See picture above) It has been a wonderful blessing to have extra storage space! HFAP's driver, Jean, along with his wife and daughter were also blessed that we had enough space for them to move in to protect and clean the house over the next year. We are so thankful to move our staff out of the tent cities one family at a time.

The men on the team last week had the task of covering our storm sewer! It was a hazard in the middle of the property with all of our little children running around. They put their heads together and did a wonderful job tastefully, yet safely enclosing it! (See above picture)

We also painted Lucienne's house, laid ceramic tile on the floor, and today she is moving in! Tomorrow we will begin breaking down her old house to clear the land for construction of the orphanage building! The staff bathroom was also completed this week! The shower was installed, the walls were painted, and the floor was tiled!

The team also had the opportunity to spend an afternoon at Sisters of Charity, and distribute rice, oil, and hygiene kits to 40 families Cite Jeremie. I am so thankful for their hard work and the passion that was sparked inside each one of them for the orphans in Haiti.

Yesterday and today I have been trying to catch up with an insane amount of paperwork so I can prepare to leave for Michigan next week! I know these next 6 days are going to fly by! We will be working on water filtration in Les Bours, preparing the Gift of Hope and HOPE House for my absence, and packing for Michigan! (Has the weather warmed up yet?!?)

Now that the electricity is back on, I am going to enjoy a nice cup of cold water before heading to the airport to stand in the sun waiting for a new arrival! Thanks Frontline team for leaving extra money to purchase a Culligan water dispenser! Now I don't have to spill the water all over the floor as I pour it into my bottle, AND it's cold! Double bonus!

Pray for efficiency this week! I need to cross EVERYTHING off from a nice long list I have going before I can leave. We have some very important loose ends to tie up! (Including renewing Frentz's passport that he realized last week expired in March! Oops! Paperwork in Haiti is always frustrating, complicated, and expensive!) Praying for safety and progress!

Healthy Kids, Healthy Heart

2011-03-30T08:35:00.000-07:00

If you are anything like me, and you don't look forward to bouncing out of bed each morning, I have a suggestion for you! Whether you are going through a hard time in life, you have a long, stressful day ahead of you, or you're just feeling worn down, wake up listening to "Love Has Come." by Mark Schultz. It has proven to be what I need each morning as I am getting ready for the day. If you don't find yourself overjoyed with tears, on your knees crying out to God, or spinning in circles around your room....listen to it again. Each morning when I wake up, I listen to the lyrics over and over again screaming thankfulness to our Jesus who is coming back! He is coming to take away all pain and sorrow. He is coming for all who have given their lives over to His love!
Check our these lyrics:

Well, I know this life is filled with sorrow
And there are days when the pain just lasts and lasts
But I know there will come a day
When all our tears are washed away with a break in the clouds
His glory coming down and in that moment

Every knee shall bow, every tongue confess
That God is love and love has come for us all
Every heart set free, every one will see
That God is love and love has come for us all

For anybody who has ever lost a loved one
And you feel like you had to let go too soon
I know it hurts to say goodbye
But don't you know it's just a matter of time till the tears are gonna end
You'll see them once again and in that moment

Every knee shall bow, every tongue confess
That God is love and love has come for us all
Every heart set free, every one will see
That God is love and love has come for us all

Oh, and on that day we will stand amazed
At our Savior, God and King
Just to see the face of amazing grace
As our hearts rise up and sing

Glory, glory, hallelujah
Thank You for the cross
Singing glory, glory, hallelujah
Christ has paid the cost

Glory, glory, hallelujah
Thank You for the cross
Singing glory, glory
Christ has paid the cost

And every knee shall bow, every tongue confess
That God is love and love has come for us all
Every heart set free, every one will see
That God is love and love has come for us all

Love has come for us all
Love has come for us all

And every knee shall bow, every tongue confess
God is love and love has come for us all
Every heart set free, every one will see
God is love and love has come for us all

Every knee shall bow, every tongue confess
God is love and love has come for us all
Every heart set free, every one will see
God is love and love has come for us all

The past few days Faith, Frentz, and I have been busy keeping our kids healthy! Yesterday morning Jivenson, Kimberlie, Guerlens, Caleb, and Pierreline all went up to Three Angels for immunizations! Kimberlie was the only one who didn't cry! Caleb and Pierreline were given huge piwilis (suckers) which made everything better! We returned home just in time for Gift of Hope. All of the ladies were here waiting for us. They made their very first journals yesterday and did a wonderful job! Christela is already a pro! She told me she went home and practiced after their class last Thursday. She is so excited to be good at something! Marie Guerda and Magalie already had their verse memorized and both asked for Creole Bibles! I am so thankful for the ways in which the Lord is moving! He is claiming the people of Les Bours for Himself!

This morning we took Jivenson and Kimberlie to the Haitian doctor for medical evaluations. Both of them were given a clean bill of health! Their blood work came back good, and they only need medication for their congestion. (It seems every kid in Haiti this time of year has stuffy noses!)

Mika is now part of HOPE House. Myslene, Gyslee, and Guerlik are all sleeping in a tent city on Delmas 31 with one of Myslene's sisters. (Gilonne, Peterson's mom) Mika is having a hard time adjusting to NOT being the queen! She is learning to nap when our kids nap, have snack when our kids have snack, play without hitting or kicking, etc. Prayers of patience are needed for our nannies! Between Pierreline and Mika they have their hands full! Both girls are the same size despite their two year age difference!

Please continue to pray for peace in Haiti. The announcement of the preliminary results has been postponed to Monday, April 4th. We had plans to go to Les Bours and LaPlaine schools that day, but it looks like we will be staying put at HOPE House!

Remember, "Every knee shall bow, every tongue confess, that God is love and love has come for us all, every heart set free, every one will see, that God is love and love has come for us all!"

New Gift of Hope Bios!

2011-03-27T16:41:00.000-07:00

I apologize that I do not have any pictures to post....my camera is broken! Despite that, it has been a week of beautiful blessings. Our team of pastors has been making great connections and forming impact-full relationships with the Haitian pastors in Les Bours. A lot of great questions have been asked, and a lot of honest answers have been given. At the beginning of the week the Haitian pastors were unsure if they could trust our American pastors. Frentz spoke up and said, "I have been hurt in the past by missionaries promising things that do not come true. If I bring these pastors to you it is because you can trust them. I am Haitian too. I know what it feels like to be lied to over and over again. These pastors will follow through with their word. I know them and we are friends." That settled all further discussion, and the rest of the week they have been diving into the Word together learning about grief, grace, forgiveness, and sin.
The showing of the Jesus film has continued to spark questions in the hearts of our children. Many questions continued to be asked about Judas and how he could betray Jesus like that. On Saturday we held two showings of the adult version for parents of our students. Several of them chose to say a prayer after the film to give their lives to Jesus. One lady in particular was completely transformed by the film and talked with the pastors afterwards saying she did not want to live in sin any longer. She wanted a new life and she wanted to live for Jesus! AMEN! Many of the adults were puzzled by the fact that Jesus died for all people...even people living today. To them, it made sense that Jesus died for people in the film, but it was a whole new concept that he died for them, and their children, and anyone who has ever or will ever live! Thank you Jesus!
Amidst all of the excitement in Les Bours, we also have had a great deal of excitement at HOPE House! Our new Gift of Hope class has begun! Three ladies started this week and more will be joining soon. On Thursday each of them shared pieces of their lives with us so we could create biographies for their journals. Here is a sneak peek:

My name is Marie Guerda Louis. I am 38 years old. Growing up, I lived in Les Bours with my five brothers and four sisters. I was only able to attend school until I was in the fifth grade because my mother could not afford to send me, and I needed to stay home and work. Now, I have six children; all boys. The oldest is eighteen years old and the youngest is two months. I try to sell gasoline and candles on the street to feed them, but I do not have money to invest in my business. When my mother died she left me a small piece of land, but I was told that if I build on it I will die. Because of the voodoo believers in my village, Satan and his demons own my land. Satan has tried to hurt me and my family many times. One time he made me very sick. For five months I could not see, I could not keep my tongue inside of my mouth, and I became very ill. One man told me that if I paid him $75 he will kick the demons out. I could never have that much money, so I will leave that up to God. After the earthquake someone gave me a small piece of land to sleep on and I tied sticks and sheets together to make a house. One night, a terrible bug bit my two year old son and now he might die. He has been to many hospitals but I could not find help for him. I prayed to God that he would save my son. Now my son lives at HOPE House and he is doing much better. I am still sleeping on the streets with my boys, but some nights I sleep inside the church I attend. I ask that you would pray for me to have a safe place to live with my sons. Thank you for buying my journal and helping my dream come true.

My name is Magalie Pierre Louis. I am 28 years old. I grew up in the the central plateau of Haiti with my parents. I have five sisters and three brothers. I was able to attend school until 11^th grade when I became pregnant. I am now the mother of two daughters, and the stepmother of a little girl named Pierreline. I have rescued Pierreline from a life of abuse and beatings from her father. Pierreline now lives at HOPE House where she is safe and loved. My two daughters both attend Haiti Foundation Against Poverty’s Les Bours School of Hope. I am a Christian and I attend the Church of God Prophesy. I believe that God is my Father and that Jesus is His son. I am thankful that I can talk to Jesus because he will talk to the Father for me. I am thankful to be in this program so I can make a better life for my daughters. I would like to build a small house where I can sleep at night to keep my daughters safe from rape and violence. I ask that you would pray for my family, my spiritual life, and that God would bring my children a father to look after them.

My name is Christela Dolis. I am 18 years old. I was raised by my mother in Cite Soleil. I have five sisters and four brothers. I was only able to attend school until the ninth grade. I had to stop because I was pregnant by age 14. My pregnancy was a huge humiliation. I did not believe in God, but I prayed that if there was a God, He would give my daughter, Kelencia, a home. Kelencia lived at HOPE House for a year, and now she has a wonderful family who loves Jesus. Because of this, I know there is a God, and that He hears me. I would like for God to change my life so that when a guy stops me and tries to use me, I can walk away. I do not want to be hurt anymore. I want to be a strong woman. It is a life saving opportunity for me to be in this journal program. My youngest daughter was born very premature and she weighed less than two pounds. She has many medical problems. I want to be able to afford her medications and give her a clean place to live. Thank you for buying my journal and helping to make this dream come true!

I will be bringing many journals home made by each of these precious women! Please be in prayer for them as they learn to provide for their families and grow in their walk with Jesus. It is my hope and prayer that over the next six months these ladies will see just how much Jesus loves them. Pain, poverty, and suffering. He has been through it all, and he gave himself up just because he loves them. He wants to be with them. Even when no one else does. He thinks they are precious and beautiful. He made them special. He gave them gifts and talents. Even if no one else sees them.

Last night we all woke up to gunfire outside our gate. Several shots rang out and our neighbor across the street responded with his gun. Someone was trying to break into his place. Our guards overheard people talking on the street but could not make out everything they were saying. Please pray for calm nights and safety at HOPE House. May our children, our guests, and our staff rest peacefully. Pray for the last day of pastor training to go well tomorrow afternoon. The rest of the week Faith and I will be taking children to the doctor for medical evaluations, to the Three Angels Clinic for immunizations, and our adoptive children will be having psychological evaluations! Many things to get done before our next team arrives on Friday! Please pray for a calm, productive week!

Lovin Jesus!

2011-03-23T14:23:00.001-07:00

The presidential elections on Sunday have come and gone with very little violence or protesting. Thank you for all of your prayers for Haiti during this time. We believe things will remain calm until the results are given. Dates of the final announcement have ranged from March 28, March 31, or April 16. We are unsure of the exact timing, but we ask that you would continue to pray for peace in Haiti.
Our pastoral team from the Grand Rapids area arrived safely yesterday. I feel so blessed to have them here! Today we spent the entire day in Les Bours. During school hours we showed the Jesus film to 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades. After each class viewed the film, we led a time of questions and discussion. Our students had some great questions for our pastors, mostly rooted from their knowledge of voodoo and poverty. Nadine asked, "Why did God give us cholera if there is no medication for it?" Marjorie wanted to know, "If you say people go to heaven if they believe in Jesus, then why do their bodies lay around until the devil uses them for voodoo?" Fedjine questioned, "If I love God and someone does something bad to me, can God make that person suffer?" (voodoo) Even our teachers raised great questions, our fifth grade teacher asked, "Who is more powerful in the trinity; Father, Son, or Holy Spirit?" Our third grade teacher wanted to know, "Why the cross? Why didn't they just shoot him or use a machete?" Of all the scenes in the film, two scenes raised the most questions. "Why would that woman wipe Jesus' feet with her hair?" Because, she was a very bad woman, she had done a lot of bad things in her life, but Jesus forgave her. He told her that if she only believed in him, she would be blameless in the eyes of the Father, and could live with Jesus forever in eternity. She was crying in thankfulness for his grace and forgiveness. Something that we ALL need. Something that we ALL are offered. No matter what we have done. No matter how bad we are. Jesus died for ALL people. The second puzzling scene was when Judas betrays Jesus. "Why did one of the twelve betray Jesus? How could He do that?" For money. Money does not solve all of our problems. Money and greed are very dangerous things. Judas saw an opportunity to make money on something he knew wasn't right. He felt so guilty for betraying Jesus, he ended up killing himself.
After school was dismissed the pastors began their first day of a training seminar for local church leaders. It was another time of great discussion and so many questions. Relationships between brothers were formed through prayer, communion, and reading God's perfect word. I am so excited to see what God has in store for this week in the hearts of His people!
Dinner is almost ready! It's lasagna tonight! YUM! I have to go wash a bunch of little fingers so we can fill a bunch of hungry tummies! All of the kids at HOPE House are doing great! Caleb is looking so much better! Please keep praying for him! It's working! Love you all!

You are my Mommy

2011-03-18T16:22:00.001-07:00

Today seemed to drag on forever. I don't know whether it was over anticipation of everyone's reaction to Aristide's return, that it was hotter than usual, or that I didn't feel very good, but something made today seem like it lasted for three of four days! Thankfully, thus far the country has remained calm, the sun has set and it is cooling down for the evening, and I am feeling a little bit better. Faith and I have been working on developing a Bible study curriculum for the Gift of Hope program. We have been seeking out memory verses, Bible stories, and discussion questions to encourage the women in their faith. We are so excited for the next class of ladies to begin!
This evening we spent some relaxed play time with the kids. Jivenson played basketball with Papa Frentz. He has been learning to army crawl the past few days, and is enjoying his new, blue play blanket! His favorite part of the blanket is the sunshine mirror. He loves to look at his adorable reflection and blow bubbles at himself. This afternoon I asked him where his shoes were and he army crawled across the blanket and handed them to me. Such a smart little guy!
A few minutes ago as I was sitting with Jivenson outside on the patio, Caleb came up behind me and put his arm around my neck. He leaned in and announced, "You are my mom." He stood back and pointed his finger at me and replied again, "You are my mommy," and gave me a hug. Moments like that touch my heart. Not because I want to replace anyone's mothers, Caleb has a mother who loves him very much and sacrificially gave him up so he could have a better life but because I know that he feels loved and safe here at HOPE House. That is what truly matters. No matter how chaotic the day, or how stressful life gets, our goal is to provide a safe, loving environment for malnourished children who otherwise might not be alive.
This afternoon I woke Naika and Sofonie up early from their naps and we snuck out to Eaglemarket for chocolate ice cream! We returned home with a tub of ice cream to share with all of the workers in celebration of completing the digging of the water tank. At about 2:00 this afternoon the workers broke out into song and dance in the bottom of the pit. They threw the shovels aside and had a little ho-down clapping, chanting, and screaming with thankfulness that after two long weeks of back breaking work, they were done shoveling rock and dirt! And I will be equally as thankful when the tank is finished and we have running water! For now, our bucket showers and bucket toilet flushes will continue!
Please keep Haiti in your prayers over the next few days as presidential elections take place. (Sunday) Pray for peace on the streets and in our hearts and lives. We know God loves Haiti and has a great plan for His children here. May you find time this weekend to reflect on how much God cares for you, and tell him how much you love Him back!

Doctors and Clinics

2011-03-15T10:41:00.000-07:00

Last weekend a quote on my calendar reminded me about the truth of the God that I serve and filled me with such peace and hope. "The task ahead of us is never as great as the Power behind us." I am so thankful to serve such a BIG God. He is far bigger than Haiti, stronger than earthquakes, more powerful than poverty. He is the maker of all things and He calls me His child. Thank you Lord! What a blessed opportunity it is to love Him and carry out His work everyday!

This morning Faith, Orion, Frentz, and I took the three new children up to Three Angels to see Dr. Jack. Little Guerlens is not developing as a healthy baby would. He is suffering from some type of congenital failure but we do not know specifics. We believe the best option for him will be adoption. There is not much we can do for him here in Haiti. We do not have access to tests to know exactly what is going on inside his little misshapen head. Please pray for his development and for a family to love him and bring this precious little baby into their home. Caleb was not happy when he realized we were at the doctor. He has spend enough time in hospitals and doctor offices to know that he was going to experience more pain. He definitely needs an operation to save his private parts and we are going to take him to a hospital here in PAP to get their opinion and see if this is something they can help him with. He is the absolute sweetest boy! He is by far the best listener of all of our children. He is loving life at HOPE House! He and his basketball are only separated at nap time! Yesterday afternoon he was driving a little car around pretending to be a tap-tap driver. He told me with a very serious face that he will be very careful not to cause any accidents because that's how people die. Even his little eyes have seen so much living along the busy road of Route Neuf. Pierreline was even less excited to be at the doctor, however she left with the biggest sucker so she decided life was going to be okay! We are taking care of her wounds and she received an antibiotic for her infections and medication for her worms. All three children were tested for HIV and all three tests came back negative! We all left the clinic with suckers and smiles!

Please continue to pray for Myslene and her family. We were able to pay for Gyslee to be released from jail and he was given a letter stating he must bring the man who sold him the land and appear before the judge later this month. Conveniently the man has disappeared and I am confident he does not plan to reappear anytime soon. The letter states that someone must pay for this "crime" and if Gyslee does not find the false owner who scammed him, he will be put in the prison downtown. Myslene has not been sleeping at night as she is filled with worry for her family's future. She is afraid her husband might be locked up in prison or the owner, or false owner, might send someone to kill her family. Right now Gyslee and Guerlik are staying with relatives in lower Delmas and Myslene and Mika are living with us. Please continue to pray for their safety, sanity, and a solution for their housing.

We are so thankful for last week's clinic volunteers! We learned so much, and people in Les Bours, Cite Jeremie, and Cite Okay are thankful to be feeling better this week! Our next clinic dates will be coming up in June and July. We are in great need of over the counter medications to provide to our school children and tent city families. If you would like to help with collections or volunteer at our next clinic please contact us at haitipoverty@gmail.com. It is so easy to take for granted Excedrin, Tums, and Tylenol you have in your medicine cabinet. Everyday we serve children who do not have access to medicine to make them feel better. They learn to live in pain with symptoms that can be so easily treated. Some of our post pressing needs include: children and infant's fever medications, ant-acid medications, and pain medications.

HOPE House construction is still moving along. The workers have been busy digging the new water tank this past week. It is a massive hole! They need a ladder to climb in and out of it! The staff bathroom is almost complete and the kitchen has had it's finishing touches! (Picture of the finished kitchen is above.) We hope to start another storage room and line the storm sewer with fencing this next week.

Our days in Haiti are long and hot but filled with hope and joy! Even in the darkest times His light shines through in the faces of our children. "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." - John 16:33. Thank you Jesus! We love you!

Caleb, Guerlens, and Pierreline

2011-03-11T08:51:00.001-08:00

This past week has been an eventful one to say the least! Yesterday during clinic and food distribution in Les Bours we took in three new children. Well, one of them isn't new to us, but we are so thankful she is back home! Pierreline has been given for adoption which means she will never have to go back to her former pain filled life again! She has open wounds down her back and on her bottom. New scars mark her face, legs, hands, and arms. But she still has the same sweet smile and spunk! She was so happy to come home with us. She has been all smiles this morning! She has already taken control of the whole orphanage. She looked for Keke for a while but figured that Mika will have to do. She and Mika are the same height. Double Trouble!
We also brought home two new little brothers. Their mother lives in Les Bours and has 7 children. She has given us the youngest two and she will be joining the Gift of Hope Program this month. Little Guerlens is 2 months old. He was born with six fingers on each hand. The sixth finger was barely hanging on to the middle of his pinky fingers. Last night the medical team removed them and he went to bed with 10 perfect fingers. He has a very mishapen head and he is not very responsive. Until we can find further testing we do not know what complications he night have. His big brother, Caleb, just turned 3. He has open sores and an infection in his private area. His mother said there was a spider bite there and he went to the hospital for an operation. Either the hospital did not know what they were doing or someone has been cutting this boy. He is going to need further surgeries and medications and it is very possible he could lose his privates at such a young age. During his routine cleanings he is in so much pain. Laying on his back screaming, "On my God! Oh my God!." Please pray for sweet Caleb to heal and for us to find the best doctors possible for him. When he isn't peeing or being cleaned he is the sweetest, cutest little guy you could even meet. Absolutely everything makes him laugh. He has been running around on the patio all morning with a soccer ball screaming, "Malali, look! I have a ball! Malali look! I have a ball!" (This has been repeated approximately 223 times) He is absolutely precious!
As happy as we were to bring these sweet children home last night, we arrived to terrible news. Gyslee, Myslene's husband, is in jail. They were living on a piece of property that they thought they had purchased but apparently the man they purchased the land from didn't actually own it. Now they have spent their entire life savings and taken out loans to build a house that they don't even own. The police came to take him yesterday afternoon with the real owner of the land. He is supposed to go before a judge this afternoon. Prison is not a good place to be, especially in Haiti. Please pray for his health, safety, and protection. Please pray for Myslene and the children as they struggle through this emotionally. Last night they all slept here at HOPE House. Please pray for the Lord to grant them peace and provide a solution to this terrible problem.
The Cornerstone University team left this morning. I was sad to see them go! We were able to accomplish a lot over the past week! ...despite all odds! My good friends Faith and Orion arrived yesterday morning. Orion is here for a week and Faith will be staying with me for the next six weeks to help with teams, staff, the kids, and the journal program! I am so blessed to have her help!
I'm off to feed the kids some mac and cheese for lunch! Yum! Thank you for your continued prayers and support! If you are interested in sponsoring one of our new HOPE House children, please email: haitipoverty@gmail.com. Thank you!!

Bye Bye Benley, Bye Bye Pink House

2011-03-08T15:38:00.000-08:00

Today was a rough day. Actually the past few days have been extremely difficult emotionally, physically, and spiritually. My brain is not functioning well enough to go over all the details, but in short the following events took place:
- 3 flat tires
- Flood in the new kitchen
- Flood in the containers and on the property
- Tent crashed on guests and all of their clothing and personal items were in ankle deep dirty water
- Broken truck has been sitting in the repair shop for a week and has yet to be worked on
- Storage rooms flooded making all of our supplies a mosquito filled, stinky, wet mess
- Myslene's workers building her new home were taken to jail by the police for working on property that is owned by another person (The person who sold them the land didn't actually own it)
- Found a woman laying by the side of the road screaming and shaking in pain from burns as people on the street tried to help by throwing dirt on them. (Thankfully it was while I was on my way to pick up the team from clinic and the doctors were able to clean her blistering burns.)

AND today Little Benley went home to be with his mother! This was so bittersweet. We have been loving on him since August. His mother just graduated from the journal program and thanks to all of you who purchased Jiniole's journals, she was able to rent a place for them to live in Les Bours and this week she is opening her hygiene business! (Above is a picture of Jiniole taking Benley home.)

Also, this morning was our first Gift of Hope graduation. (See graduation picture above) The ladies received a certificate, a talking Bible, a solar lantern, and money to start their small businesses. Gerlande will be selling gasoline and diesel by the street, Jiniole is selling soaps and shampoos, FloreMichelle is selling black children's shoes for school, and Mideline is going back to school to finish high school and learn English. I will miss seeing these ladies twice a week, but I am so excited for their new opportunity to support their families! THANK YOU to all of you who have been purchasing journals! The lives of these women could not have been changed without you!

Today we finished moving out of the pink house. Everything is over on the new property and we are handing over the keys to the owner tomorrow. I could not have done it without the help of our amazing team from Cornerstone University! These college students have been such hard workers! I am so thankful for their service....and muscles! It felt so good to walk out of the house...we left it far cleaner than we found it!

The next two days we will be spending time in Les Bours for clinic, crafts, and food distributions!

This evening's rain is moving in! I better get covering things with tarps and closing windows! Until next time...

First Night at the New HOPE House

2011-03-04T15:24:00.001-08:00

r

Last night was the first night the kids slept in their new home! They were all smiles as they saw their new beds beautifully made with sheets of their favorite color and a new stuffed animal. Naika and Sophonie have their very own beds for the first time in their lives! Jivenson loved his big boy crib complete with jungle animal sheets! Our night nanny was very excited that we had electricity and could bathe the children with the light on instead of using a flashlight. (She still had to get a bucket of water and a cup, but running water will be coming soon!)
Last week I had a great time with my family and the Frontline team! (and Keith but he is practically family by now!) My dad and Keith were here for four short days but got a LOT of things accomplished! They worked sun up til sun down! It's so nice to have handy-men down here! The rest of the group had fun at the school for a day, visited Sisters of Charity, and helped move us into the new property! They worked so hard hauling and organizing everything into labeled bins! We had our first meal in our new kitchen on Wednesday night. It feels so good to finally have everyone on the new property! Earlier this week a tremor woke all of us up at about 4:30am. It is a relief to know that the children are now safe as they sleep at night.
Tomorrow a team from Cornerstone University and two medical professionals arrive for a busy week of clinic! We will be spending two days in Les Bours, and two days in each of our adopted tent cities. We will also be clearing out the rest of the old HOPE House and turning in the keys. I truly loved our pink house over the past year. Many good memories will be left there. But I am SO ready to turn over the key and begin our new life among the banana trees and corn fields! The kids love having land to run on!
Tuesday will be the graduation of our first class of journal students. FloreMichelle has already purchased long fake hair for the ceremony! The ladies are very excited. For most of them, this is the first thing they have ever graduated from. They are proud, and they should be! They have BEAUTIFUL journals coming your way!
Please pray for our safety over the next week as we hold clinic in several different locations. Please pray for safety on the roads. Two nights ago my truck was hit as I drove down 75 with people sitting in the back of it. A parked car with no one in it came rolling down the hill of a side street and slammed into the back of our truck. Thankfully we had put nice big bumpers on the front and back or we would have had some serious damage. Please also pray for the patients that will be seen next week. Pray that they will see Jesus through us and that their lives would be filled with hope in Him!
Until next week...

Happy Birthday HOPE House!

2011-02-23T07:54:00.000-08:00

Last week HOPE House celebrated its one year anniversary! All of the staff came over for a dinner party on Thursday evening. We had a Haitian feast! Mamoun (who is currently in cooking school) made the special birthday cake for us.....it was delicious! We joked that Myslene could lose her position to her younger sister. (Of course that would never happen, we are blessed to have BOTH of them!) We are so thankful for our staff and all of the hard work they put into to HOPE House everyday. They are the reason we have such a beautiful, safe, loving environment for our children.
These past few weeks Frentz and I have been busy researching and gathering paperwork for future adoptions of HOPE House children. This morning we had doctor appointments with our children. I have to admit that I was nervous sitting in the bottom floor of a four story building on main Delmas road. Most of the buildings around the clinic had been seriously damaged in the earthquake. Men were filling in large cracks with cement in the building across the street. They had already painted over some of them making it look like it was never damaged. There was a for sale sign out front. I can only hope the prospective buyers see through the painted on bandaids. It is an easy fix to a bigger problem.
Don't we do that all the time in our own lives though? The real problem is that we are all sinners. We have all fallen short and need God's grace. We need God to fix our broken pieces. And yet it is so much easier to make excuses. To live pretending to be someone you aren't. Pretending to be perfect. Pretending to have it all together. Pretending to love people when in reality you spend more time talking about them than loving them. Pretending to be honest when really you spend more time covering up lies than speaking truth. Pretending to love Jesus, when in reality you love yourself more. It's time to stop painting on bandaids and start letting the true Healer do His work! He won't just fill in your cracks, He makes you new. He gives you new life! All you have to do is accept it. Accept His love, accept His son, accept His forgiveness. Let's be honest YOU NEED IT! (And I do too!)
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you Jesus. I love you.

Rain and Raphney

2011-02-15T11:10:00.000-08:00

Last night we had our first spring rain. We have been waiting for a rain to see if our containers still leak. We held our breath as the rain drops began hitting the roof. It leaked. Thankfully it didn't rain long because water was running down every wall. Frentz and I quickly began pulling everything away from the walls and into the middle of the containers. We set out rubbermaid bins and buckets around the edges to try and catch as many drips as possible. The orphanage container was also leaking. The only container that didn't leak was the guest house container...which is also the only container that the roof panels fit correctly. So frustrating! Long after the rain stopped we fell asleep to the dripping of water. Even now as I am typing water is dripping above my door and the carpet in the entrance is soaked. We need to come up with a better solution before the real rain starts!

The countertop in the new kitchen has been poured and last night Gyslee (Myslene's husband) came over to measure it to begin laying ceramic tiles. TiJean will be coming over this weekend to paint! Everyone is excited for the opportunity to work! Kisnail has been a great help to Joseph and his men at the site. Joseph and the guys really like him and claim he is hilarious. Joseph said that if there is a day that Kisnail doesn't show up for work he will take tap-tap to his house to find him and bring him here! It has been good to see him laughing with the crew. His two precious girls have his same beautiful smile!

Yesterday I spent some time in the morning at the school. We have about 8 children missing since I left for the states in October. After a long talk with our principal I began to understand why we lose to many kids. He believes that many of our children are restaveks, a Haitian term for child slavery. They children come from very poor families in the countryside. Most families in the country have many more children than they can actually feed so they send them to work in the city for another family. Because our school is free, some restavek owners allow them to attend as long as they finish their chores in the afternoon and evenings. Sometimes parents call them home to the countryside or they get sold to another family and we lose them. This is also why we have children who stop attending because they don't have shoes. When a child is a restavek they are the last ones to receive food, clothing, shoes, or rewards of any kind. As an organization, we work to provide everything the child needs to be a student to place as little burden as possible on the family. It breaks my heart to imagine what our precious children are going through. No wonder they get so excited when we visit the school and shower our love upon them!

One of our teachers at school had twin babies while I was gone. They are now six weeks old. The girl is named Ritchnay and the boy is Ritchnie. As soon as little Ritchnie opened his eyes I knew that something was terribly wrong. His head is not too swollen yet, but it is evident he has hydrocephalus. Without placing a shunt in his head to drain the fluid, his head will continue to grow and he will lose much of his brain development. His mother was devastated as I broke the news to her. I am praying for the Lord to provide a place in Haiti who can operate on little Ritchnie as soon as possible! The longer we wait, the more damage he will have on his brain. It is so frustrating that the problems we face on a daily basis are things that should be so simple. Ritchnie's nother needed vitamins. Madame Kisnail needed blood. Shellsie needed food.

While the statistics for poverty in Haiti are staggering, if you take time to focus on an individual, you will realize that there problems are not rocket science. Something CAN be done to help them. To save them. We are determined to do just that. We can help. Jesus has saved.

I feel blessed beyond measure to live here and know these people. They are truly beautiful inside and out. I am so thankful for our supporters who see the big picture. I hope you know how life-changing your donations to HFAP are! You are making the difference!

Finding Pierreline!

2011-02-10T15:30:00.000-08:00

It was so good to hold Pierreline in my arms yesterday. I hugged her tightly in the corner of our school clinic as tears of joy streamed down my face. She didn't look good, but she was alive. Things turned for the worst when Chacha died. She didn't have anyone looking out for her. She has marks from beatings all over her back. Many were scared over but several were still oozing fluid and bleeding. She clung to me with her arms wrapped tightly around my neck. It took a peanut butter sandwich to pry her off...and she ended up eating three of them! One of her sponsors sent a little gift for her that we opened together. Nothing would make her smile, but she did chow down a couple of candy bracelets and her eyes widened as she opened a new Barbie doll. She definitely remembered Keke. Her eyes lit up and she began searching the room when I mentioned her name. Right now the father's ex-girlfriend is caring for her. When she goes out to sell things on the street he comes over and beats her. (Lately her beatings are punishments for pooping on other people's houses.) The child is naughty in every sense of the word, but no one deserves to be punished like this. We are hoping and praying to have the father sign Pierreline over for the girlfriend to be her guardian. This way we could move them, allow her to enter the journal program, and know that Pierreline is being loved and cared for.
Our team this week has been an awesome help! Frentz and I are sleeping at the new property in our very own container! The container for the orphanage is just about completed and the workers are putting the last layer of cement on the kitchen walls tomorrow. This morning a group from our team set out to various tent cities to install water filters. Today 1,000 people were given access to clean water through our new filtration system!
The ladies and I have successfully completed nanny training this week. We have such an amazing staff! I am so excited to be officially moved and officially open!
Many prayer requests are being answered! About health, safety, adoption connections, finding Pierreline and construction progress! Keep 'em coming! We are feeling so blessed down here!

New Team, New Progress

2011-02-06T11:20:00.000-08:00

Hello!
The new team has finally arrived after days of traveling and flight cancellations. From city to city, bus to plane, they were determined to get here....and boy are we thankful! They are WORKERS! We have gotten so much accomplished in the past day and a half! ALL of the bins are sorted, organized and ready to move, tote bags are filled with distribution items, hygiene kits were made and stored, the containers are cleaned out, blinds on the windows, and lights in the ceilings!
We all had a wonderful morning of worship at church. It was exactly what I needed today. Our pastor spoke about faith.....a faith that withstands the hard times. It's easy to have faith when everything is going well, harder when you are facing battles. It is easy to have faith when you are guiding someone else about their problems, harder when you are the one in trouble. The road of choosing to have faith is not always a popular road. Often times people don't understand your thoughts or actions....even Christian friends. But it is the road God calls us to take. We must choose faith not because it's easy....but because Jesus died for it. I will live my life for Him. As a people pleaser it is so easy to lose days running around trying to make everyone happy. My God, the God who sent his son to die for me, wants my attention..demands my attention. I want to hear the whispering of His voice. Amidst the chaos, amidst the drama, amidst the troubles of the world, I yearn to hear His voice. In the end, that's all that really matters. I have chosen the long, difficult road of blindly believing in the faithfulness of my God. And I think I'm in pretty good hands considering his past record!
Tomorrow the ladies on the team are going over to the school with me in the morning. We will be making 500 peanut butter sandwiches and holding a food distribution for 75 families. I am hoping to find Pierreline while we are there! Please be praying for her. Needless to say, the men will be working at the new property!
Not much new is going on at HOPE House.....besides our new pet pigs....or should I say hogs. Boy do they STINK! The are entering in through the drain behind the house. You can imagine my surprise as I went downstairs below the house to find Myslene and found three giant pigs! At first I just chucked, only in Haiti! ...then IN inhaled. The stench was awful. It was time for them to go! They continue to return each day and took down a huge tree in our backyard.....have I mentioned lately how excited I am to be moving?
This morning there was a small tremor that sent people panicking. It wasn't large enough to create any damage, but it sent people rushing from buildings and into the streets. After church we took the team to EpiDor and we couldn't figure out why it was so empty! We had been in the truck and hadn't even felt it. A friend of ours was outside with his two little boys. His wife died in the earthquake and they were working up the courage to go inside and pick up the food they ordered. Most of the Haitians around us were just shaking there heads wondering when, if ever, it will all be over.
I have attached a new pictures of the ladies in the journal program....just in case you didn't believe me when I stated in the last post about the friendships and laughter resulting from our time together. One more month until our first class graduates! New journals have arrived in Michigan!
I better get out of this chair and help the ladies clean! Thank you for your continued prayers and support!
Don't forget why you are here. Take you time and pray. Thank God for each day!

I'm Lovin it!

2011-02-01T10:45:00.000-08:00

Life is good! The progress being made each day at the HOPE House property is amazing. By tomorrow we should be able to flush a toilet! (by pouring a bucket of water in the back of it because the water tank is still 4th on the priority list.) The outlets in each container are being installed today and blocks are being laid for the new kitchen walls. I will post pictures of the progress with my next blog post!

I have had many requests for close up pictures of the kids. We are having a great time together! Yesterday after the older children came home from school (Sophonie, Guerlik, and Naika) we made fluffer-nutt sandwiches...the consensus was, "More marshmallow fluff please!" They LOVED it! We played basketball and soccer in the driveway, ate fun dip on the porch, and drank Capri suns to replenish our fluids. Kimberlie is so strong she is sitting up all on her own! She rarely ever cries. She is the easiest baby to make smile. You just have to look at her and she starts blowing bubbles and giggling. Benley has been telling me all kinds of stories the past few days. He found his voice and he has a lot to share! Jivenson is drinking out of a sippy cup now and he was picking up cereal puffs from a bowl and putting them in his mouth all by himself this morning. Mika helped the ladies in journal program this morning by providing them with decorative paper and buttons. She is always so helpful. (Pictures are Kimberlie 4 months old, Sophonie 4 years old, and Benley 7 months old)

We are looking forward to a new team arriving tomorrow. (Michigan weather permitting) We have nanny training, food and clothing distributions, and more construction on the itinerary! It's hard to believe the current blizzard warnings back home as I sit under a coconut tree starring up at a bright blue sky with temperature in the low 90s. .......Yep, I'm pretty content right here!

We picked 40 water filtration systems this week that will filter water for 100 people a day.....that's 4,000 people with clean water! Thank you to everyone who donated to make this happen! We will be training a group of guys to go with us to the tent cities and communities where our families live to begin installations this week! (Kisnail, Madame Kisnail's husband has joined our staff!)

Visiting the school this week without Chacha there was sad. The school seemed a bit quieter. I kept hoping it was all a bad nightmare and that she would come walking out of a classroom with a big smile on her face... The children were all doing well. The courtyard was as clean as I have ever seen it! There were lots of smiling faces as we passed out toys, candy, and sponsor gifts. (We still have 6 or 7 children in our school who need a sponsor, email haitipoverty@gmail.com for more information about how to sign up!) I looked for Pierreline but her tarp house was closed off and no one knew where she was. I dreamed about finding her last night over and over again. I'm praying she is safe and that we will find her next week while we are in Les Bours.

It is chadek season!!!!! Those of you who have been to Haiti know this makes me very happy! Jean brought me a great big bag of chadeks this morning and I can't wait to get home and drink some chadek juice! Wishing you were here to drink some with me! Stay safe...and warm!

Healthy Babies and Construction Progress!

2011-01-29T10:35:00.000-08:00

We are back in Haiti! This week has gone by so fast! We have several volunteers down here and they are making great progress on the new site! We even had the internet hooked up yesterday! Today the electricity is being installed, and the plumbing is well on its way! We have had very few setbacks (which is amazing for Haiti!)

The country has been very calm. We are cautious, but are able to travel about and do our daily business. This morning we held a distribution in Cite Jeremie for 80 families. They were so thankful to see we were back. The last shipment of supplies has been such a blessing to our friends!

The kids are doing AMAZING. I didn't even recognize Benley! I walked up to the porch and asked whose kid is that? He turned around to face me and I could hardly believe it was little baby Benley! He is sitting up all my himself! He is a little man now. Kimberlie (her new birth certificate spelling) is absolutely beautiful. She has little chubby rolls on her arms and legs. She is so healthy! Sophonie has completely adjusted to life at HOPE House. She and Naika have the BEST time playing together! She is going to preschool with Guerlik and says that she has more friends than anyone else! Jivenson is getting so big! He is a snuggly lump of cuteness. He is waving bye-bye and scooting around the house. Mika now owns the place. She follows the big girls around and tells them what to do. She helps us sort bins and fill bags for distributions. She ate an entire bowl of popcorn with me the other night. It is so strange to see our old babies being the big kids now! They grow up so fast! Guerlik colored lots of pretty pictures on the walls while we were gone....we have been scrubbing the walls the past few days! Naika is doing well in her school. She is a great helper taking care of all of the babies.

The containers are all sealed up and we started moving supplies into the bedrooms. We can hardly wait until the big moving day next month! It will be so nice to have everything set up! We are hoping to officially open in the beginning of March. This afternoon I am going home to interview new nannies. We are hiring three additional nannies to help care for the new children we will bring in next month. Next week a mission team is coming down to run a nanny training program! We are so excited about the progress and plans for the next few weeks.

I would love to write more, but I have to run to the market to buy spaghetti sauce and beef for spaghetti Saturday! Enjoy the updated pictures!

Water Goal and NEW T-shirts!

2011-01-22T07:28:00.000-08:00

I am excited to announce we reached our water purification goals! We have several different types of filtration systems that have been donated to us:

1.) Sawyer filters - These filters were donated by supporters who sent in $75 to sponsor a filter. Each filter provides clean water to 10 families. The filters are in Haiti and Frentz and I will go pick them up in Petionville this week. We raised enough support for 40 filters which will provide clean water to 400 families every day. These filters will be provided to our 25 Haitian staff members, Frentz's relatives, and other families in need.

2.) Clean Water for the World has donated three large filtration systems. These filters work using UV light. We will set up a filter in each adopted tent city off from Delmas 31 (Cite Okay and Cite Jeremie) and the third will be used at HOPE House for our children, staff, and teams. These water filters weight about 43 lb. and will travel in a large suitcase with our Feb 2-10 mission team.

3.) A supporter of HFAP arranged and donated 15 Hydraid biosand water filters to be picked up in Haiti. We will set up these filters at our clinic locations, and in homes of people who are not in a tent city. (Once the filter is set up it cannot be moved or shaken.) We already have locations for all 15 filters! We are excited to pick them up and begin training/installation.

4.) Koinonia Foundation out of Grand Rapids is partnering with us to treat our wells in Les Bours and cure cholera in our area. They have developed a water purification solution that kills the cholera bacteria. (among other bacterias) Once treated with their solution, the water passes USA testing for bottled water! We will be running a study in Les Bours and providing every family with clean water. The best part about this soltuion is that is also cleans the bucket/container the water is carried in. A major problem in third world countries is trying to KEEP clean water, clean. If we purify the water, and it is placed in a dirty container, it isn't clean anymore. This solution will take care of that problem!

Frentz and I are anxious to get back to Haiti! We are busy packing our bags! We leave for the airport tomorrow afternoon. We have missed our family and friends at HOPE House. They have been calling us this week begging us to come back. (They were scared with the recent political crisis that we might not return on time.) We have great plans to accomplish over the next several months! We have construction crews finishing HOPE House, nanny training, the moving of the orphanage, installation of water purification, the kitchen at Les Bours School of Hope, and so much more. Please continue to pray for safety and peace in Port-au-Prince.

JUST IN!! We have new T-shirts for HOPE House! They are a "Neptune Creation" featuring our orphanage logo and theme verse. All proceeds will be split between HOPE House and Gift of HOPE. The cost is $15 per shirt (an extra $3 for shipping). To order you can email www.haitipoverty@gmail.com. You can mail checks to: HFAP, PO Box 120105, Grand Rapids, MI 49528. Please include how many shirts and which sizes you would like. The shirts are currently in Midland if you would like to stop by and pick one up. (In the photo above I am wearing a small and Frentz is wearing a large.)

Thank you to EVERYONE who has supported us over the past several months. Frentz and I were blessed beyond measure by your generosity and thoughtfulness as we have been in Michigan. Our hearts are broken for Haiti and the injustices our loved ones face, but we know God has a great plan. We are walking in faith and trusting in His promises. Thank you for coming alongside us to spread love, peace, and hope to the Haitian people!

ChaCha

2011-01-04T12:35:00.000-08:00

Last week another week filled with sad news from Haiti. Frentz received a phone call from his brother telling him that some of their relatives in Jeremie are sick with Cholera. An uncle has already passed away and a cousin is ill in the hospital. Frentz is very worried about his sister, Stevencia, who lives in Jeremie in the same area as these relatives. She has had a very difficult time since Hurricane Tomas. It is very nearly impossible to find food and afford clean water.

We also received a phone call from Abner last week. Our favorite employee at Les Bours School of Hope died unexpectedly due to complications with her pregnancy. Chacha was an assistant to our principal and all of the teachers. She was the only staff member who knew every child by name. She always helped visiting mission teams find their sponsored children. She was a safe place for the children to turn to when they needed help. She was Pierreline's saving grace. She rescued her each time she was being abused. Chacha's smile, heart, and love will be missed by all of us. Her presence at our school is not replaceable.

Chacha had a difficult time becoming pregnant. She loved children and she wanted to be a mother so desperately. We all rejoiced with her this fall as we learned she was with child! She beamed with joy and jumped up and down in my arms as she asked me to call our OB/GYN, Dree Stryker, and tell her the good news. While Dr. Stryker was visiting Haiti in October she was able to perform an ultrasound on Chacha that revealed some difficult news. While we could not be 100% positive, it looked like the baby was suffering from hydrocephalus, a condition where spinal fluid leaks into the brain. This is all too common among births in Haiti, especially this region. We were all praying for the best.

Chacha was seven months along when she and her baby died last week. We do not know why she had to leave us. She was a beautiful woman of God who offered so much hope for our children and community. As Myslene said over the death of her 18 month daughter earlier this year, "God just loved her so much, He had to take her home early." Chacha, you will certainly be missed back here on earth.

It's hard to believe that Frentz and I will be back in Haiti in less than three weeks! Our time in Michigan has flown by! It was wonderful to see so many of you over the past few months. Your support and encouragement means so much to us! Please don't give up on Haiti! I am trusting God can heal this land!

Election Results and Cholera Update

2010-12-08T11:03:00.000-08:00

Life is never fair....especially in Haiti.

Last night after the election results were made public riots broke out through the streets. The people of Haiti are tired of living with such injustice. All year they have been saving what little hope they had left for the elections. ....for the possibility that the future president could work with the foreign aid to help heal Haiti.

Riot leaders are burning schools, throwing rocks at people walking in the streets, and randomly shooting their fellow Haitians. How frustrating it must be to have to go to such extremes to have your voice heard. Right now the US is requesting a recount along with the Haitian people. Please be praying for peace on the streets of Haiti. Continue to pray for the elections, as they are not final. Most likely a run-off will happen in mid-January.

Our school is closed and the children have been asked to remain inside their homes. The orphanage is locked down and no one is leaving today. The journal program is canceled for the time being so our women are not among the next victims.

We have had some positive news coming from HOPE House. We have been on the phone with our nannies nearly everyday! Myslene says Jivenson is crawling all over the house! We were so excited with this news...he has been developing slowly and hates his exercises! It looks like they are paying off! Myslene also said that I will hardly recognize Kimberly because she is getting so big! She is a little over 2 months old now.

Yesterday Frentz was able to speak with Jean, our driver. His only child, a little girl born last October, has been very sick. (pictured above) She had terrible diarrhea and vomiting and became lethargic within a few hours. He believes she was dying of cholera. He drove her up to HOPE House and was able to find an IV in our medical supplies. She is doing much better now. He is so thankful that he was able to save her life before it was too late. Over 2,100 people are now dead from this disease.

We are currently raising money protect our loved ones from dying of cholera. For $25 you can provide a life saving IV for a cholera victim. For $75 you can buy a water filter that will provide 10 families with clean water! We are able to take these filters in our suitcases in January. Our goal is to take 100 filters to Haiti with us! (This will provide clean water to 1,000 families!) Would you consider helping us make this possible? Donations can be sent to: HFAP, PO Box 120105, Grand Rapids, MI 49528.

THANK YOU!

Cholera Near Les Bours

2010-11-14T11:40:00.000-08:00

Word is spreading that the cholera outbreak has reached Cite Soleil and the road that our elementary school is on. Over 14,000 people have been hospitalized with the disease and over 900 have died. Unfortunately last week's hurricane mixed the infected water and spread it around causing the cholera outbreak escalate. People are dying only 24 hours after becoming sick. There have been confirmed deaths near the area of our school but we do not know the water source they were drinking from. Please pray that our wells in Les Bours will not become contaminated. These wells provide water to all of our students and families in Les Bours. Keep our students and their families in your prayers.

On Friday Haiti had another earthquake. It was recorded as a 4.4 and it was shaking near downtown and Croix-de-Bouquets. We talked with HOPE House and we are so thankful that everyone is safe. Myslene said all of the children were inside but our house did not even shake. We have not heard from anyone in Les Bours yet. Our dear friends in Haiti are losing hope. What will happen next? They live in fear from day to day. This year has been one disaster after another with very little relief.

Frentz and I have been busy spreading the truth about Haiti's current situation around Michigan. Today we are speaking at the First United Methodist Church in Midland at 4:00pm and tomorrow morning I will appear on Julie Doan's show in Midland. We have several speaking engagements a week scheduled until we go back to Haiti after the holidays. W are currently trying to fundraise for the operational costs of running HOPE House for the next year. We will officially open as an infant care center/orphanage in early March. If you are interested in learning more about how to can be part of caring for precious, malnourished, and unwanted children please contact us! haitipoverty@gmail.com

Tomas and Kelencia

2010-11-09T16:35:00.000-08:00

First of all, THANK YOU to everyone who came out to the jewelry show on Saturday. We had so much fun seeing many of our friends all at one place! Frentz was overwhelmed with all of your support! THANK YOU! His family is alive! He finally heard from his sister this afternoon. She said she is okay but very hungry. Before the storm Frentz left money for her to buy rice. She kept it in someone's house and their home flooded. The rice is all moldy. Their home is completely gone. They are sleeping under a tarp. Stevencia (his 16 year old sister) went out to try to find something to rent today but the costs are outrageous because there is so little left. Please continue to pray for them....and all of Haiti!

We have been talking with Myslene (our nanny who is running HOPE House) nearly everyday. Mika now has 4 teeth....and she is walking! Naika is enjoying her school, Kimberly is gaining weight, and all of the other children are doing well. As of yesterday it was STILL RAINING. Thankfully our home did not flood. Myslene covered the windows with plastic and brought everything into the house They are not sleeping well because they have to sleep inside. They are very eager to get the tents back up so they do not have to fear another earthquake during the night. Myslene is still very shaken up from her daughter's precious 18 month old body being crushed.

Thursday night HOPE House is holding a fundraiser at Frontline Community Church from 7pm-9pm. Everyone is welcome! We hope to see MANY of you there! Frentz and I will be showing pictures and giving a full update on the HOPE House Project. Please come and bring some friends!

For those of you who have been following Kelencia's story this past year you will be happy to know she has a happy ending! Kelencia is moving in with her forever family this week! We are so happy for her and her new family. They are absolutely wonderful and perfect for her! Kelencia will have a big sister and a little brother. We are so thankful for all of the miracles God has worked in little Keke's life over the past year. We have loved her as our own. We have been so privileged to have her in our lives, and we are giving the Lord ALL of the praise for her little life saved! She might be leaving the care of HFAP.....but she will never leave the care of our Heavenly Father! Thank you JESUS!

We love you Keke Monster!

October Construction Team

2010-10-31T10:01:00.000-07:00

Earlier this month a team of 7 flew to Haiti on a moments notice! (Quite literally!) Their primary mission was to set up our housing container on the new property. As always, Haiti had it's way of throwing in some complications. The containers arrived 4 days later than scheduled leaving the team working from sun up until sun down to try and finish what they could. The semi trucks were supposed to be left on our property for 3 days so the guys could unload 1,500 lb pieces of housing.....but the truck drivers wanted unloaded immediately. After seeing all that was inside they realized they should come back the next day or they would be spending the night there watching the guys unload it. The guys experienced some heavy rains and flooding during the week which set them back even further. Dirt and rock that had been hauled in was washed away and the trucks delivering the new dirt got stuck in the mud on our property. Needless to say the men weren't bored! It was amazing to see all they accomplished in a week despite many setbacks!

Meanwhile, back at the house, two lovely ladies (mother and daughter Terri and Carrie) were helping organize the orphanage and care for the children. We were so thankful to have them there, especially since we had just taken in baby Kimberly. They loved on her and monitored her closely. She made great progress throughout the week. She is a fighter! By the time they left she was almost 5 lb.

Frentz and I have been enjoying out new little home in Midland. We took a few weeks to relax and get moved in. Now we are back, full speed ahead, trying to catch up on everything! We talk to our staff and friends in Haiti every couple of days. So far, our mission has not been affected by the cholera outbreak. Our HOPE House kids only drink bottled water. We are most concerned for Les Bours. We have 4 wells dug in the area and we are praying they will not be compromised. It is their only water source. It's easy to tell them to drink bottled water, put bleach in it, or boil it......but the reality is they don't have the resources to make it happen. They can't begin to afford bottled water, bleach, or charcoal. Their only option is to drink the water. Please pray for all of those suffering from the disease and that it would be quickly contained!

Clinic Week

2010-10-14T18:13:00.000-07:00

Frentz and I made it safely back to Michigan. We are still exhausted and trying to cope with all of the trauma and loss we have faced this year.

Despite the tragedy last week the medical clinic week went extremely well. The team was awesome and they worked for 6 straight days seeing hundreds of patients a day. The grand total was over 1,300 patients! Many of them had not received medical care since the earthquake! We spent a few days in Les Bours checking over the students and individuals in the community. We also spent several days in tent cities around Cite Jeremie and Cite Okay. The people were SO thankful for the care they received! Frentz went around with a mega-phone and people lined up by the hundreds! The communities are all asking when we will be back!

Our pediatric nurse saved the life of one little 11 month old girl. She had an oozing sore on her leg. Her mother was covered in blood and puss just from holding her. Gail, our nurse, squeezed out handfuls of puss from the little girl's leg. Within a few days she would have likely turned septic and died. Every patient that entered the clinic left with much needed medicine. EVERY child examined needed an antibiotic for either pneumonia or bronchitis. These sweet little children are sleeping on wet dirt floors in tent cities and their bodies can't fight off diseases. It was unbelievable how sick the patients were. I cannot figure out how these people are actually living in these tent communities. The conditions are absolutely horrific.

We are planning our next medical week for March. If you would like to help donate over the counter medications for our clinics we would greatly appreciate it! We are in need of tums, antacids, cough and cold, and fever/pain reliever.

Kimberly is hanging in there. She is more alert and moving her little hands around. I just got a weight on her today, and she is 4 lb 12 oz. She is gaining a little each day. Thank you for your continued prayers for her! Her father has decided he would like for her to be adopted. We will be loving on her at HOPE House for the next few years until she is with her forever family!

We have a construction team in Haiti now. Please keep them in your prayers! I will get an update out about their week shortly!

Madame Kisnail

2010-10-04T12:44:00.000-07:00

Today we are mourning the loss of one of our nannies. Madame Kisnail, who was 8 months pregnant with twin girls died this morning giving birth. Last night she gave birth to a beautiful baby girl at home. It took 2 hours to get to a hospital. The other baby was not coming out and died inside. Madame Kisnail had toxemia and died of blood loss and complications. Last night she was over getting a check up with Dr. Stryker. We knew things were going downhill, but not that quickly. She was going to have an appointment with her doctor today and schedule a time to have the babies this week. She was nervous for her babies because so many twins die that are born prematurely. Both of the babies looked extremely healthy in the womb. Frentz, Dr. Stryker and I got to the hospital early this morning. Dr. Stryker scrubbed in and I watched through the window and sat with the family. I was there with her sisters, husband, sister-in-laws and other relatives. Dree noticed that she was very cold and I began collecting sheets, towels, and extra clothing from family members. Next thing I new Dr. Stryker was just shaking her head. I went out to the family with tears streaming down my face. They were all crowding around me asking if she had died. I had no words. I just fell to the ground weeping. The family took off through the hospital hallways screaming to God, crying, and throwing themselves. Panic spread quickly. Her husband stood still in shock. I took the baby home and Myslene has been breastfeeding her this afternoon. (She is Myslene's niece, Mr. Kisnail is Myslene's brother)

Madame Kisnail was a wonderful mother to our children. She loved our HOPE House kids so much. Over the past few months our friendship has been developing. We were giving her all of the little matching outfits and blankets for her babies. We even had their baptismal dresses all picked out. She was so excited to be having twin girls. At first she thought I would fire her for being pregnant, but it ended up just drawing us closer. Last night we were joking around about the babies needing to be born before I left! I needed to meet them before they were 4 months old! The last thing I said to her before she got in the car to leave was, "I love you and those little babies!"

Madame Kisnail loved Jesus very much. She is with the father holding her precious angel baby, and we have the other one here with us at HOPE House.

Please pray for her family during this time of mourning. Our dear friends can't cope with anymore loss and pain. Pray especially for the father. He now has 2 daughters to care for and no job. He is still living in a tent city.

Her little baby doesn't have a name yet. She is a strong little 4lb 9oz baby. She is sucking well and just peed all over my hand. You can see her picture above. I took is in the hospital while she was laying on my lap waiting for news about Mama. She only got to meet her mother for a few brief moments.

Mr. Kisnail is coming over tonight to discuss funeral arrangments. If you would like to help Madame Kisnail's family we are looking at about $1,500-$2,000 in medical expenses and funeral costs. The Kisnails have $76 in savings.

Pierreline Returns

2010-09-30T09:07:00.001-07:00

We picked up Pierreline again yesterday. She has a nasty eye infection. Her eyes are oozing green liquid. They look cloudy and she is only opening them about half way. We started her on some medicated drops and we are already noticing a difference! She got right back into her bad habits while she was home. She is hitting and crying over everything. Poor girl lost a ton of weight...she is eating everything in sight. This morning she stole Mika and Jivenson's breakfasts right out of their hands! I am enjoying having her back. She is calling everyone by name and singing songs like the good old days.

The ladies are busy making journals right now. I got to take a break because they are taking an exam right now. Every lady has to make her journals today without assistance. I am testing them to see if the program can continue while I am in the states or if we will need to take a break. Myslene is running things and I am pretending to be invisible.

The medical team arrives tomorrow. Our night nanny is VERY pregnant with twins and looking forward to a check-up and a possible delivery right here at HOPE House! Pretty exciting!

We are still waiting to hear our storage fee and delivery date for our containers. Praying for something EARLY next week! Our building team is waiting and ready to purchase tickets. After the recent winds and storms we are even more eager to have our housing set up.

Tomorrow we are helping Lucienne move, cleaning the house for the team, and picking them up at the airport. Please pray for safe and on time flights!

Storm Pictures

2010-09-28T16:40:00.000-07:00

As promised I am posting pictures from last week's storm. One is of our yard with collapsed tents and a broken tree. The other is of a tent city where people were rebuilding their homes that were torn to pieces. We were able to distrbute dry sheets, towels, and rain gear to 70 families in this tent city near our old guest house.

We have been busy making journals, preparing for school to open on Monday, and for our medical team to arrive Friday. All of the kids are doing great! Naika is moving in with us this weekend. We are anxiously waiting to hear a delivery date for our containers! Praying for a date this week or next!

Tomorrow we are going to Les Bours to hang the new medicine cabinets, visit Pierreline, and stop by Gertrude's orphanage to see the kids. In the afternoon we will be measuring uniforms for the school kids and getting their "first day of school goodie bags" ready!

As long as the internet continues to work I will post again later this week! Blessings to you all!

Tornadic winds in PAP

2010-09-25T15:00:00.000-07:00

GoodMorning!

What a crazy afternoon we had yesterday! At about 3:30 Guerlik and I were out in the driveway counting raindrops as they fell on our heads. It was barely sprinkling. Within a blink of an eye winds picked up and nearly knocked us over! We didn't even see it coming! Rocks and dust were hitting our eyes as we bolted for the door. We quickly grabbed all the kids and put them in the entry way. Jess and Jackie and I grabbed our sunglasses to save our eyes from flying debris and ran outside to hold down the tents. At first we thought we could put cases of water inside each corner to hold it down. We were very wrong! I was inside my tent, with 3 cases of water, a queen sized air mattress, books, fans, and other items when it completely lifted off the ground. The wind was circling us and coming from every direction. Jess ran across the driveway and threw herself on my tent so I could get out. As we all sprinted towards the door the big tree in our front yard split in half and rubbermaid bins were flying at our heads. It was raining so hard it hurt. We couldn't see anything. The house was flooding upstairs and down. Everything sat in an inch or two of water. We have leaves and papers all over our house even though the door and windows were shut! By the time the storm passed our house and our yard were a mess. (see pictures of collapsed tents and broken tree)

Frentz was out trying to get his birth certificate when the storm hit. He was driving and he said he felt like the truck was going to get picked up by the wind. He was violently shaking back and forth. He watched a tin roof fly off a house into the air and come down and slice a guy's back open. As he passed the tent cities he said everyone's houses were in the air. Things were flying everywhere! People were screaming and crying in misery. They lost everything 8 months ago. Now many families lost what little they had all over again. 5 people have been counted dead, but many tent cities have not been counted yet. Downtown buildings that were almost collapsed from the earthquake fell over crushing more people. Teams have not been able to get into the downtown area to evaluate the damage because the people are so angry. Who could blame them? Tents and tarps are not a long term solution.

The storm has not been called a tornado yet, but my friend living in Croix-de-bouquets said she saw the funnel cloud coming She has spent time in the Michigan and is familiar with tornadoes. She said people were running and screaming in fear. The roof flew off from her house. Her mother's house was completely destroyed along with many of the other houses in her area.

Please pray for the people living in these tent cities. Last night they were cold and wet with no way to dry anything. Our nannies were crying and screaming as the storm damaged our property. Many of them live under tarp houses and they were so afraid for their families and the damage they would find. Many of them lost their houses. Jess, Jackie, and I are heading out to distribute sheets and clothing to wet families. I will try to post more pictures of what we find around PAP later. Thank you for praying.

Prayer Requests

2010-09-24T05:59:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday I explained to the ladies in the Gift of Hope program that I would like to be praying for them throughout the week. We talked about prayer requests and how we can pray for each other and celebrate together when God hears, and answers our prayers. Each lady had a request about a health issue. Jiniole has a problem with her heart, Gerlande has had stomach issues since Jivenson was born, FloreMichelle is losing weight no matter now much she finds to eat, and Mideline is praying for the Lord to cure her HIV. Yesterday I was able to share a praise that I received an email from an organization who has a heart doctor coming to Haiti this fall. They were wondering if I knew anyone with heart complications! Just 24 hours earlier we began praying for Jiniole!

Yesterday we took prayer requests again. I would like to share two of them with you. They broke my heart and gave me insight to how difficult life is for these precious girls. Gerlande shared that when she was born her mother did not want her.

Her mother was very young and she was more like a sister. She was raised by her grandmother. After her grandmother died she was sent to live with her mother but she never took care of her. She asked for prayers to keep her health so that her children could always have someone to care for them. Gerlande feels so alone because the only person that every cared for her died. She would like prayers to stay strong and love her children and live until they are all grown up.

Mideline would like prayer for God to show favor on her. Her mother died when she was 5, and her father died when she was 6. Both had AIDS and passed it down to her. She was sent to live at her aunt's house and she grew up without knowing what it felt like to be loved. She became pregnant at 19 and had a child who was also positive for HIV. She died before her first birthday. Mideline feels like her life is cursed. She has a disease that is killing her, killed her child, and keeps her from forming normal relationships. She is trying not to be angry, but feels like she has no life at all. She is praying for a miracle. For a cure. She deserves it. She only got about half way through her story before she broke down crying and couldn't go on.

We are preparing the house for our big move into the containers! We are hoping and praying for a delivery within the next 2 weeks! Our HOPE House children will be moving with us, but Mika and Guerlik will stay here until our rent is up. Then they will be moving to their new property. It was a joy to live with them this year....they are both full of personality and two of the very cutest kids that ever walked this earth! (See for yourself! Their photo is posted above) We are currently working on passports for Mika and Myslene....hoping for them to visit Michigan with us next year and host some fundraising dinners! Myslene is a FABULOUS cook!

Today Jess and Jackie are helping me take an inventory of the supplies we have left at HOPE House. We will be coming up with an updated list of needs for each program! We will keep you posted!

Found a Missing Student!

2010-09-22T11:39:00.000-07:00

I spent the morning cleaning the clinic in Les Bours. No exaggeration, I killed at least 70-80 spiders! Good thing I wore my spider stomping shoes! I brought Lucienne along because she is the all time best cleaner! We scrubbed away at the walls, doors, bins, filing cabinets, and floors. I can't say it's sparkling, but it looks remarkably better! We hired a guy to build some new cabinets which should be ready later this week. Next week we will try to sort the best we can before our big medical week Oct 1-8! The doctors hope to see between 1,000-1,500 patients in a week!

Some of you may remember me mentioning a little boy at our school, Lovenson, who was beginning to starve. Last month he weighted only 36 pounds and he is 9 years old. I got on his father about making sure he was getting enough food. He is no longer with Lovenson's mother and he has a new girlfriend who was beating Lovenson so he sent him to live at Grandma's, but apparently Grandma only cooks every 3 or 4 days. This morning he weighted 42 pounds! It's still not great for a 9 year old but it is 6 pounds better than 36! Pretty good for 1 month.

I have more good news! This morning one of our missing students showed up are school! Since the earthquake we have had 12 students still missing. Possibly they moved to the countryside without notifying anyone, or their bodies were never found, or their bodies were collected but never identified. I was so excited to see one of our kindergartners, Richnaider come into the courtyard this morning! His mother told me their house fell on top of him and his shoulder, neck, and head were injured. He had many broken bones and couldn't return to Les Bours until recently. Praise God he is alive and well!

The 5th grade classroom is almost complete! They men have been working on it everyday since the funding was collected. They will finish the roof next week and paint it over the weekend. School will start on Oct 4th. (See classroom pic above)

This morning Jess and Jackie helped with a food and clothing distribution for 50 families from our tent city. They were so thankful for everything! Especially the sheets and fancy children's clothing! Many of the mothers were commenting that they were excited to find clothes for their children to wear to church. Most churches in Haiti will not let you attend without proper attire.

Today is Naika's birthday! We are celebrating tonight with lasagna and confetti cake! Birthday girl's choice! Better go get that cake in the oven!

Containers!

2010-09-20T17:48:00.000-07:00

Great News! I just received email from our shipping company and the director has signed off on our containers!!!! They are working on cutting down storage fees and wondering if I will be here Oct 6th for delivery! Praise You Lord! Thank you for all of your continued prayers! He has heard our cry and answered! Praise His Great and Mighty name! Let's keep on praying for this to be true and to have an on time or EARLY delivery!

Jess and Jackie and I have been keeping ourselves busy. We cleaned out the clinic getting ready for our medical team to arrive on the 1st of October. We have been getting journal orders ready and cleaning up termite damage in the house!! They ate right through Frentz's birth certificate and many other important papers. (They literally ate half of the page of paper!) It is a waiting process to get another copy which we MUST have by the time we leave!

We have been laughing over some of the day to day dilemas/circumstances we face in Haiti. For example, Jean, our driver, has been having to walk or take tap-tap to work because he can't get his truck papers renewed. Why? Because he just has a new paint job done and the guy used a brownish red paint and before the truck was just red. So the registration office won't renew his papers because they don't know if it is the same truck because now it is brownish.

The man who was sewing 103 uniforms for our primary school came by to drop them off today. They look awesome! .....except he failed to label them. Meaning I have to go through all 100 children and try to match them upwith uniforms when specific measurements were already taken hoping that the last few uniforms left will fit the last few kids.

We had a discussion around the dinner table the other night about belly buttons. Apparently our entire staff thinks that children with umbilical hernias were left crying for too long when there were a baby and so their belly buton has air in it! Guerlik has a rather large umbilical hernia and Myslene was happy to know it wasn't because she neglected him!

Basically Haiti is funny, beautiful, random, chaos. In light of it all our children are doing very well! I posted a picture of Benley so you could see how much he has grown! He is getting to be a big boy! He just laughs and laughs whenever someone picks him up. His mother is very good to him and loves to hold him and feed him when she comes for journal time!

We are excited for journals tomorrow! We hired a new translator! (Frentz's cousin wh olearned English in the Dominican.) She is the same age as I am! I'm excited to have a new friend.

Keep ordering those journals and praying for Haiti! :o)

Journal Bios

2010-09-16T11:06:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday I explained the "rules" of Gift of Hope. I made sure to express the importance of being on time since Haiti is a very relaxed (late) culture. Jiniole for Gerlande were definitely listening! They both came at 8:30am this morning and the program doesn't start until 10:00am! I guess they are as excited as I am!

I have been receiving questions about how to order journals and their cost. The journals are selling for $15. You can order them by emailing us at haitipoverty@gmail.com. If you would like, you can request a specific woman or color. Our first shipment of journals will arrive to Michigan on October 9th. They will make great Christmas presents! We have some with fall paper, winter paper, and Christmas paper. We also have every color of the rainbow with very cool designs and some "manly" ones as well! I will be bringing them with me to various speaking engagements throughout Nov and Dec. If you are interested in taking some to your church or work to sell, please contact us! Every journal sold helps these ladies provide food for their families!

MIDELINE

(Mideline is in the white shirt holding her journal)

My name is Mideline. I am 22 years old. My parents died when I was very little and I grew up working for my aunt. When I was 20 years old I had a baby girl named Shellsie. Shellsie's father died before she was born. I struggled to care for her and she became very sick. Haiti Foudnation Against Poverty helped me care for Shellsie and kept her until she was healthy again. After the earthquake my life was very hard. Shellsie and I were both positive for HIV. In April 2010, just before her first birthday, Shellsie died. I have been very sad and depressed since April.

The Gift of Hope program is the first good thing that has happened to me. I have always wanted to be able to do something for myself and now I can! When I graduate from the program I would like to sell things on the street so I can continue to afford my medication, eat food, and have a place to live. I am thankful to God for this opportunity. He is my life.

FLOREMICHELLE

(Pictured with her two daughters)

My name is FloreMichelle and I am 29 years old. I have two daughters, Victoria and Alexandra. Victoria is 5 and Alexandra is 2. Last year when my mom died I thought my life was over. I had to sell everything we owned to pay for her funeral. We were living with her in a house she was renting, and the owner took it away from us even though we paid a whole year. I was living on the streets with my daughters. I asked the director of Haiti Foundaiton Against Poverty if she could keep my youngest daughter because I could not afford to feed both of them. Instead, she began helping me sell things so I could keep my daughters and find a place to live.

When the earthquake happened my irls and I were at my cousin's house. We made it out alive by my cousins died inside. I am thankful to God because he saved my life.

I am so excited to bein the Gift of Hope program. When I graduate from the program I would like to open a small shop selling slothes and shoes. I would like to see my children grow up like other children, having food to eat and a place to sleep.

JINIOLE

(Pictured holding her son, Benley)

My name is Jiniole Pierre and I am 20 years old. Since the earthquake on January 12, 2010 I have been living in a tent city with my son Benley. His father was killed in the earthquake, and he was the only person in our whole family who had a job. Benley and I lived in a house made of sticks, tarps, and saran wrap. I was very afraid that he might die in the tent city because there are many sicknesses where we lived, and other babies his age are dying.

Benley is living at HOPE House, Haiti Foundaiton Against Poverty's infant care center, until I can earn enough money to move out of the tent city and care for him. I would like to tell you how thankful I am for the Gift of Hope program because it has taught me how to do something to make my life better. When I graduate from the program I would like to open my own store selling hygiene items to other women. I am thankful to God for this new chance at life with my son. I love God very much.

GERLANDE

(Pictured in Tuesday's post with her children in front of their house)

My name is Gerlande and I am 35 years old. I have four children and a husband. My husband does not have work and we struggle to find enough food to feed our children. Sometimes we do not eat for 2 or 3 days.

I would like to tell you why I love God so much. My youngest son, Jivenson, was very sick. I took him to the hospital and they said they would not let dead people in. I sat outside the gate all day saying, "Lord, this is your business, not my business, your child, not my child." At 10:00pm the hospital opened the gate and let me in. I sat by his side with the nurses telling me he was going to die. We were sitting on the third floor of the hospital when the earth started shaking. They asked me to take Jivenson home to die because they needed his bed for trauma patients. I took Jivenson over to Haiti Foundation Against Poverty's clinic and they agreed to help. He has been living at HOPE House ever since. My family calls Jivenson "Lazar" which means Lazarus in English. I am so thankful that God gave my baby a second chance at life. Without God and Haiti Foundation Agaisnst Poverty he would be dead. Now all of my children go to church and thank God for all He has done for us.

I am so thankful to be part of the Gift of Hope program. When I graduate I would like to sell rice and beans in my neighborhood because we are all very hungry.

Now that you have met our amazing ladies send us an email and order away! :o)

Gift of Hope

2010-09-14T11:36:00.000-07:00

Gift of Hope officially opened today! We had our first journal making class this morning. Four ladies attended: Jiniol (Benley's mom), Gerlande (Jivenson's mom), FloreMichelle (a lady who has been selling donated shoes and clothing sent from our supporters), and Mideline (Shellsie's mom, a baby we cared for who died just before her first birthday in April). After months and months of preparation the day was finally here! I was so excited to see them all, I started crying before we even began!

The ladies did a great job on their first journals! Mideline's was nearly perfect! Gerlande struggled a little because she has trouble with her eyes. All in all, I think we are going to have some BEAUTIFUL journals coming your way! Get your orders in! They will make great Christmas presents!

We took pictures and wrote down each woman's story for their bio. (Gerlande's photo is posted here, she is holding Jivenson in front of her home with her other children.) Each journal will be complete with a bio of the woman who made it and a picture of them with their child or children.

After journals we spent time talking about the importance of memorizing scripture. As a group, we will be memorizing 2 verses a month. This week's verse is Roman's 14:8b "In life and in death we belong to the Lord!"

Myslene was busy in the kitchen all morning and at noon we all ate a delicious lunch together! White rice, bean sauce, and chicken!

The ladies are so excited and thankful for an opportunity to learn something and care for their children. As I asked each woman to tell me her story the first thing they all said was, "I would like to go back to school and learn something so I can care for myself and my children. I would like to tell people that I am so thankful for this program because I can do something for myself." The women described how difficult it is to find enough food to feed their children. I asked each lady to tell me what God has done for them. Jiniole said, "I love God very much. He is my life." Gerlande said, "I love God so much because he saved my life in the earthquake. I was on the third floor of a hospital with Jivenson and He saved us both."

We are all excited for Thursday! The ladies will be making their first journals that will be sold! (They got to keep the ones they made today.)

Jivenson had to go to the lab for blood testing this morning to see if we can find out any more information about his delayed development. He has pokes all over his fingers and arms. They couldn't get enough blood! Just as they were checking out, the nurse came back and said he needed poked again! Poor guy did NOT have a good morning!

Tomorrow we are going over to Les Bours to distribute clothing to the community. I will also be meeting with Pierreline and her family and enrolling her in school! I got to see her briefly this morning. When she saw the white truck pull up she started jumping up and down and crying with excitment! On Thursday she is going to come visit us at HOPE House just to play for the day! We are all missing her!

Jivenson

2010-09-13T11:51:00.000-07:00

This morning we took Jivenson up to Three Angels to visit Dr. Jack. He has had a weird skin infection for the past few days and since Saturday his right eye has been nearly swollen shut. He is on an antibiotic and allergy meds and is doing better. Jack's evaluation showed Jivenson being about 6 months developmentally even though he is 11 months old. We know he is slow but we don't have the right testing in Haiti to diagnose exactly what his conditions are. One of his eyes tends to cross in, he crosses his ankles when sitting, and his head often tilts to the side. His legs are very strong when he is in the walker, but other times they are floppy and fold up under him. Sometimes he can sit up by himself and other times he folds in half. Sometimes he can pick up toys, and other times he bats at things but can't make contact. He is a snuggler and he loves to laugh. He is a very happy little guy!

Right now he is set to go back home with his mom in January. By then she will have been in the journal program for 4 months and earning enough profit to feed and care for him. However, knowing what his future holds it might not be the best thing for him to return home. If he is not able to go to school and be a "productive" member of the family he will not be wanted. His mother already has 4 other children and is handicapped herself. Ideally Jivenson should be receiving therapy each day to help with his muscle and cognitive development, which is not available in Haiti. He would thrive if he were adopted into a loving family who could provide this kind of help that he needs.

We don't know what the future hold for our Little Jeeves but we have fallen in love with him here at HOPE House.....after seeing his picture I'm sure you will too!

Pierreline

2010-09-12T11:59:00.000-07:00

It was bittersweet taking Pierreline home a few weeks ago. I am so thankful we were able to help her in her time of need. It was wonderful to watch her recover during her time at HOPE House. She was known for her mischief and her smile! When we first brought her into our family she was hurting and angry. Her father was physically abusing her and her poor little body had the marks to prove it everywhere we looked. She had fresh scars, healing scars, infected scars, and old scars. Her back was raw from whippings. Her ankles were severly burned. Her head was open in several places with puss and blood leaking on whoever was holding her. Everything we did made her scream. She didn't want to be inside or ouside. She didn't want held or put down. She threw her plates of food on the floor or against the wall and refused to eat. We decided the best treatment was unconditional love. Overtime she began to love us in return. After a week she gave us her first smile. Over the 4 months that she lived at HOPE House she worked her way into each of our hearts. The above pictures show Pierreline during her first week at HOPE Hosue, and her last week at HOPE House. She was ridiculously naughty and unbelievably clumbsy! The poor child couldn't walk across the room without falling down! But she was loving to all who entered our gate. Each morning I would wake up to her chanting "a-ya-yi, a-ya-yi!" (The best she could pronounce Mallery) When the truck pulled in the driveway she sang, and clapped, and danced with excitement! It was hard to let her go. But it was time.

I have visited her 4 times in the past few weeks just to check on things at home and make sure she is doing well. So far I have not found any additional wounds or marks. Everytime I turn into Les Bours I look in the tarp house filled with alcohol and find her sitting on a wooden bench. Last week her father had left her there and when she saw me pull up in our white pick-up truck she could hardly believe her eyes! "A-ya-yi!!!!" she screamed and came racing towards the truck! I don't think her feet ever touched the ground! We are enrolling her into preschool at our school this year. We will be making that she is being cared for!

Thank you to everyone who has prayed for Pierreline, sponsored her, or showered her with love. You have made such an important impact in her life!

A week of distributions!

2010-09-10T10:38:00.000-07:00

The last week or so has been a whirlwind! ALL of the supplies from the Grand Rapids container have been distributed! Your contributions reached over 800 families in less than a week! Our interns, Jess and Jackie, arrived on Friday and have been a GREAT help sorting, counting, and organizing! We can't thank you enough for all of the donated items! The families were so happy to receive your gifts and know that people are still praying for them and thinking of them.

We went to several different tent cities in town, and one day we went down to Cite Okay and distributed 100 sets of sheets, towels, hygiene kits, and food. The next day we went back to help 100 more families and apparently the new sheets were the talk of the tent city! Everyone was so excited to have new sheets to sleep on! We also received bins full of brown and tan striped purses.....the ladies went CRAZY!!! All of our ladies on staff for to keep a bag for helping us unload the truck. On Sunday Myslene went down to visit her sister-in-law in a tent city for the afternoon. Her son, who used to live with us, Peterson, told Myslene his mom couldn't stop talking about her purse and that she wished she had one. It just to happened that Tuesday afternoon we held a distribution in her tent city!......she was first in line and SO excited when she received a purse, just like Myslene's, filled with goodies! Out of all the people in Port-au-Prince! It was so sweet. God is good.

The house is looking great! Jess, Jackie, and I have been going room to room and cleaning and reorganizing everything into labled bins! A happy house is a clean house!

Things are going well out on the property. The boss is coming in today to pick up locks for the gates and doors. All the doors and gates are up now and the property is secured! (see attached picture of Jess, Jackie, and I on the property)

Life has been hard the past few weeks. We have seen a lot of death. From the first accident in Les Bours, to the man hit on the moto, to the bus that ran over the tap-tap, and now this week a man was run over by a tap-tap and his head was open and bleeding from several places right outside a hospital that wouldn't take him in. And this morning we got word that a friend of ours, Germain, a driver from Providence and Gertrude's brother died last night from a brain tumor. He was diagnosed only weeks ago. I am still trying to figure out how to deal with all of this. How to see these things and go on with life as normal. Maybe I'm not supposed to. Life is so hard in Haiti. Nothing is easy. And I don't see things getting any easier. Jesus please come quickly.

Triple Trouble (Jess, Jackie, and myself) have been busy planning the journal program. Our first meeting with the women is Tuesday! We are planning our spiritual development portion this afternoon. Yesterday we translated verses into Creole and cut paper into the right measurements. I am so excited to get to know these ladies better and give them an opportunity to care for their children! Our first meeting with be Tuesday from 10am-2pm.

This morning Jivenson held his own bottle for the first time! ....after a few days of torture. We kept setting his bottle right next to him at feeding time but not feeding him and doing all the work. For days he screamed and cried....but today with help lifting it he kept it in his mouth on his own! Benley is still sleeping the days away. This morning he was singing and telling us some stories in between naps. Mika is moving around so fast no one can catch her! She is EVERYWHERE! She spends most of the afternoons sitting IN the toy bin, which we refer to as "jail" because she is trapped from finding stairs, cat food, and other things that distract her. Someone gave Guerlik a whistle. Bad idea. He has been inside the house for the past two days blowing the thing without ceasing! Waking up babies and giving of all headaches. I keep telling him to only blow outside. This morning I said, if you blow it inside the house one more time I am taking it away. So I turned around....and yep, you guessed it, he blew the whistle. So I took it away and he has been mad at me all morning. He says we aren't friends anymore but I think he'll get over it!

Well, I need to go look for something for lunch! We have a bin in the kitchen that is now labeled "lunch". I think I will start there! Hooray for an organized house!

Blessings,

Mallery

8/20/2010

2010-08-20T20:07:00.000-07:00

Hello,

I have been thinking for a full 24 hours now about how to write this email. I am sick to my stomach after an event that took place yesterday. I was so angry I couldn't write words without screaming them as I typed. Our team went to the school yesterday to have our second day of day camp. About half way through the day we had a knock at the gate from a neighbor in Les Bours There had been a car accident. A bad one. Two large trucks (carrying about 50 people each) hit head on sending truck parts and bodies everywhere. The accident happened on the main road right outside our school. Frentz, Abner, and myself rushed to the scene. There were dead bodies laying in pools of blood in the road. People were run over by the huge truck tires and crushed. Others were thrown from the top of the truck and laid in the ditches. People were all around bleeding and crying. We have a nurse on the team so we began searching for people with minor injuries we could help. We only found 2. Women sat in the middle of the road with their faces falling half off. The police arrived about an hour after the accident. They sat the severely injured in the back of their pick-up trucks for a long bumpy ride to Hospital General. The ride alone could have taken them another hour. I'm sure many were not alive by the time they arrived. Hospital General is not anything like you would imagine a hospital being. It is total chaos lacking supplies, medicines, and medical professionals. Currently, they don't have any pain medications....so these poor people were going to feel every part of them that hurt. Many had broken bones, others would require surgery. Probably, few will live. Unfortunately that's the reality in Haiti. The trucks were full of women coming into Port-au-Prince to sell their produce. Children were waiting up for them to come home with enough money to cook a small dinner. But they didn't show up. Children are growing up without a mother because two drivers wouldn't slow down. That's infuriating. They both honked, neither wanted to stop, so they crashed. Some things are worth stopping for. My heart aches for the families of those who lost loved ones yesterday....and for those laying in the hospital still suffering and in pain due to a lack of resources. It's not fair.

A kind gentleman from a city near to where our new property is located has been helping Frentz and I along with the paperwork. He is a notary in the area and he has been so sweet to make himself available when we are in the area. He even helped with Kelancia's paperwork since the notaries I used to use were killed in the earthquake. Frentz received a phone call 2 days ago that he died. He had diabetes and even though he had a job with income he couldn't afford medication. His death was not necessary. He left behind his wife and children. He was the only one in the family with a source of income. What will they do now? Because there wasn't enough insulin.

On a lighter note, the team is doing great. We finished our day camp today. The kids had a BLAST!!! We had a dance off and pulled EVERYONE in the courtyard in on it! It was so much fun to see these kids doubled over in laughter....something that doesn't happen very often. At one point Frentz and I traded clothes and I ran out dancing like a boy and he ran out shaking his hips all over the place! It was a riot....we looked like fools but I'm sure the kids will be laughing about it for years to come!

Tomorrow the team is painting the school and distributing food and hygiene kits to 40 more families! I am going to be catching up on paperwork which is covering the desks in the office, and Frentz is going to be purchasing more construction supplies for our new site! We are building storage rooms and a kitchen/dining room. It will be a great day of multi-tasking! There is a possibility that our containers could be released next week. We are one step closer!! Please pray it happens! We are so ready to move!

Thank you for caring. Thank you for praying.

Blessings,

Mallery

8/17/2010

2010-08-17T21:18:00.000-07:00

Hello All!

I am so thankful to be writing you today! We are celebrating HOPE House's 6 month birthday today! Six months ago we hired our staff and began our infant care center/orphanage/guest house we call HOPE House. We are so thankful for the many blessings the Lord has given to us since February. Today I am most thankful for our staff! They work so hard everyday! We could not do what we do without them! They are amazing with the children and they cook and clean better than anyone I have met in my entire life! (I think our teams would second that!) I am throwing a party for our staff today to thank them for all of their work and giving HOPE House a successful first 6 months! We have MANY changes ahead and so many things to look forward to! Thank you for YOUR support! You have helped provide these families with a job that pays to feed and educate their children! They are some of the most wonderful people I know, and they have become my very best friends!

Benley is adjusting well to life at HOPE House. He sleeps the days away and plays all night....everyone loves this except the night nanny! Poor girl is 7 months pregnant with twins and needs her rest! He is smiling whenever he is a wake! He has been a wonderful addition to HOPE House. Jivenson is doing well! We are working on a better sitting posture as he often folds over and gets stuck. He needs some intense therapy to help his muscle tone! He is as floppy as a ragdoll. Pierreline has had a great week! She is thinking about listening more often...the next step is doing it! She just had her hair braided and beaded and she looks adorable!

We have a team coming in this afternoon from Frontline Community Church in Grand Rapids. I am excited about all we have planned for the week! Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday we will be holding a day camp for the kids in Les Bours. We will be dancing, playing games, learning Bible stories, and serving a hot meal each day. This is the first time we have tried anything like this during summer vacation! We will also be repainting the school. The earthquake damage has been repaired but the courtyard and several of the new classroom walls need painted. The team has raised money for a food distribution and we will be feeding 100 families this week, as well as visiting an orphanage, and visiting our new property! We will definitely be keeping busy!

We sang a song in church on Sunday with some powerful lyrics I would like to share with you.
"Stir in me, a passion that the world cannot explain, I've come to worship you.
Stir in me, a passion hat my heart cannot contain, I've come to worship you.
Hold me, break me, mold me, and make me more and more like you. I've come to worship you.
To love you, fear you, draw ever near you as I worship you. I've come to worship you, Oh Lord."

As I meditated on those words I was praying for the Lord to increase my passion for Him. God is looking for people who will passionately love Him. ...Not just on Sundays...Not just when it's convenient....not just when we have nothing else to do. ALL THE TIME. To love Him with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. When we PASSIONATELY love God we are willing to do the hard things for Him. The hard things are the things that cost us something. The things that might be embarassing. The things that we say, "Not yet." or "Not me" to. It's easy to do the easy things! ....Not so easy to do the hard things. People are always asking what they can do to help Haiti. There are three very practical ways. Donate money, pray, and go help. For some people money is the easiest thing for them. For other people praying is the easiest thing. They don't have much money and it would take a lot of rescheduling to clear a week on their calendar so prayer is the easiest. For some going to Haiti is the easiest thing. They want to feel part of it, tell others about their experience, and see the difference they make. All of these things are SO WONDERFUL! And it takes a combination of ALL of them for us to be successful. But today, I would challenge you not to do the easy thing, but the hard thing. God is looking for people to do the hard things and trust that He is God and He is good! For me, it's easy to go help! I want to be here, love the people, see the change. It's HARD for me to pray. Sometimes it feels like I am talking to myself...or worse, the wall! It's hard for me to be still when I see so much around me that needs my attention. SO this week I am going to pray. Because it's not easy for me. Because I want the Lord to know how much I passionately love Him. I trust He will listen. I trust He will answer. What about you? What will you do this week?

Well, I'm off to go pick up the team! I don't want to be late to the airport! I'll be sending another update soon! Until then, may the Lord stir in you, a passion that the world cannot explain!

Blessings,

Mallery

08/11/10 Welcome New Baby!

2010-08-12T19:07:00.001-07:00

Hello!

We have a new baby at HOPE House! We just took him in this afternoon! He is a precious 2 month old little boy named Benley. He was born on June 5th in a tent city in Les Bours. He has been living there with his mother and grandmother since birth. His father died in the earthquake before he was born, and he was the only member of the family with any source of income. His mother, only 20 years old, is very malnourished and she is unable to produce enough milk for him to eat. Purchasing formula is not an option because she can barely afford to feed herself. She has been battling the rains and the sicknesses running rampant through the tent city. She was so afraid Benley would catch an illness that would kill him like so many other babies in their community. She made a tough but brave decision to give him up...temporarily. I explained our Women's Business Journal Program to her and she became overwhelmed with excitment at the thought of earning an income that would allow her to raise her child! I have never seen a smile so big! Benley will be in our care until his mom is earning enough income to leave the tent city and afford formula. We are so excited to love on him over the next 4-6 months!

Today was our team's last day. We had a great week! The families LOVED the hygiene packets the team made up ahead of time. They included shampoo, soap, wash cloths, toothbrush, toothpaste, bandaids, neosporin, deoderant, hand sanitizer, candies, gum, and a scripture for each family. As the families came up to accept the packets they were each read a scripture picked out just for their family to keep in their hearts. They were so touched and encouraged by the Lord's words to them! Several people came up afterwards to have their scripture read again so they could share their promise with their families.

The vacation Bible school and teacher training went so well! The kids had their last day of school for the year on Wednesday. They left with bubbles, balloons, tootsie rolls, and cross necklaces. Their laughter carried throughout Les Bours as they walked home from school! It was such a blessing!

We held the "peanut butter 500" 3 days this week....each day more and more street children would show up for sandwiches! The word spread quickly! The last day we ran out and the kids were still pouring in! Thankfully we had crackers left over from vbs and no one left hungry!

We visited the new property today. It is looking great! The gates and being made this week! Please keep praying for the containers to be released! We desperately need the supplies and housing!

GREAT NEWS! Three of the children from our school that we lost last summer reappeared! Their father was being chased by the police and they had already killed many of his friends. He quickly moved his wife and kids with him to the mountains and we never had a chance to say goodbye. My heart was broken because the oldest of the 3 siblings was extremely smart! I saw him going places and making a difference for his family! He was great at math and he was always lending a helping hand to other students. I knew his opportunity for education in the mountatins was very slim....THEN this week he showed up in an old ragged shirt for a peanut butter sandwich! I could hardly believe my eyes! He said his mother moved him and his siblings back so they could continue in school but the director said we had already filled their places....I quickly changed that! We now have 163 students enrolled for next year! Thank you Lord for beinging Josue, Lenerson, and Malaika Frisma back to us!

It is time for dinner...Myslene has white rice and vegetable sauce ready! It smells amazing and I don't even like vegetables!

Please pray for safety as the team travels home tomorrow. Pray for little Benley to adjust well to life at HOPE House and for his mother to stay strong and healthy.

Until next time....

Mallery

Back in Haiti! 8/9/10

2010-08-09T19:27:00.000-07:00

We are back in Haiti!
Our flights were smooth and went as planned and we arrived in Haiti at 3:15 on Friday. We stayed at the airport for an hour and waited for our team to arrive. We got back to the house about 5:15, just in time to eat a quick dinner and set up a tent before dark! When we pulled in the driveway the kids and staff were all out on the front porch cheering! They were all so excited to call me, Mrs. Neptune, and see the wedding pictures! It was so good to be back with our HOPE House family again!
Friday night Frentz was commenting on the drastic changes we encounter in just 24 hours. The night before last we were sleeping in a big, comfortable bed with sheets and pillows. We had walls around us and a roof over our head. We had running water and could even choose if we wanted it hot or cold! We had flushing toilets and a shower. We slept in air conditioning and we could even control the temperature in the room or turn on a fan. We had electricity to charge our phones and lights that worked. Last night we had to rush to set up a tent that smelled like mildew from the rain. We blew up an air mattress to sleep on in the driveway. There was no water pumped so we couldn’t shower or flush the toilets. It was dark 45 minutes after we got home and we had to set up the tent and get ready for bed by flashlights. As soon as we were about to fall asleep is started to rain so we had to run outside and try to throw tarps over our tent to keep it from leaking. With all of the windows in the tent zipped up it was stifling hot!! We slept in a pool of sweat. I don’t say all of this to complain about life in Haiti, because truly, I love it here! But we have OH SO much to be thankful for in America! SO MUCH!
Saturday morning I woke up to Pierreline chanting, “yallyaii” (Mallery). She was squealing with excitement and telling all the nannies that Papa and Yallyaii were back…..as if last night was only a dream. Jivenson is getting SO BIG! He has 4 teeth now! Two on the bottom and 2 on the top! His hair is getting so long! He has a great little fro going! Guerlik is so excited to have a team here! He has been on their laps and “helping” then with suitcases since the moment they arrived! Mika is looking more and more like her mom! She is so beautiful!
The team has a vacation Bible schooled planned for the Les Bours school this week and a teaching seminar each afternoon. We also have food distributions and hygiene kits for the tent city, and we plan to visit St. Joseph Orphanage and our new project site! It should be a great week!
Please join us in praying for our containers to be released soon! We have 3 containers sitting in customs. They have supplies and our housing units on them for the new site. Also, please be praying tomorrow afternoon as Pierreline sees her family for the first time since we took her in back in April. Her future will be discussed with her abusive father that nearly killed her.
Thank you for all of your love and encouragement while we were home. It was so wonderful to see many of you! May the Lord bless you and keep you safe!

In His Care,
Mallery