Tim and Debbie Vanderbeek

Le Phare / The Beacon

2010-07-17T10:07:00.010-05:00

Le Phare Children (above) Sawyer Water Filters in use at Le Phare - Yea! Clean Water!

The Le Phare Oprhanage has also been referred to as the La Plaine Orphanage and Terre Noire. Terre Noire is the neighborhood, La Plaine is the general area. Le Phare means the Beacon. DieuGrande had named the orphanage "Fonds de'Aide aux Enfants Defavorises de la Plaine du Cul-de-Sac (FAEDPCS). We all agreed to change the name to something more "manageable"... Something a little easier for folks to remember. DieuGrande immediately came up with "Le Phare". We hope that this place will continue to be and fully develop into a beacon for this area. We are all committed to working towards this end.

God is definitely at work in leading us. I will be partnering with some folks to begin a new non-profit so that we can be effective in what we plan to do with The Beacon and various other projects in Haiti.

We are still looking for a place to live after August 31. We've looked at several places, but most are still in some state of being unfinished pieces of work! We have considered renting a large house and operating it as a guest house. So much to consider!

I will be in Houston on July 27th for a benefit concert put on by NewWorldSon!!! This is for the purpose of raising funds and awareness for the Beacon. As you may recall the orphanage, church and school were all destroyed in the earthquake. While we have been able to get funding to finish (almost) the school classrooms (that were in process of being built at the time of the EQ ) we still need to rebuild a permanent home for the children. They have just been able in the last few weeks to begin sleeping in the classrooms at night. They have to take everything out the next morning in order for school to operate. At least they are out of the rain and wind at night.

We still need some funding to do the finishing on the classrooms and also to get the toilets operational. Toilets being plumbed (above) This is a small unfinished house that sits on a piece of land

inside the orphanage compound. The owner wants $195,000 for it!

Classrooms almost finished Let us know if you'd like to come visit and see the orphanage and meet this precious group of children and the awesome couple who direct it (DieuGrande and wife). We are excited to see how God is opening this next chapter of our lives! We were missing a kid in the above shot, but I like the way the puppy got in

the frame and posed so nicely

I tried to delete these doubles, but could not - so look again!

Tim's Time

2010-07-15T08:37:00.009-05:00

It is hard to believe that it has now been six months since this country and people were "shaken". It seems like six weeks. The needs and suffering have been multiplied, but Haiti presses on.

The past couple of weeks I have been blessed in serving with Curt King (the Master's driller) as he searched for good water, which is "living water". I have seen that "water for the poor is really water for the rich in faith". The Lord has been proclaimed and praised!

God is beginning to open doors for me involving water ministries and others. We've been asking God to reveal His plan for us - a lot! But I need to seek and grasp MORE of how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, which surpasses all knowledge. He is able and faithful!

We're Back On the Blog

2010-07-03T05:24:00.003-05:00

We are so way past due for an update on this blog! So much has happened since the last post we made on January 17. Unbelievably, it has been almost 6 months since the catastrophic earthquake hit Haiti, followed by numerous aftershocks. Sometimes it all seems like a dream, but we keep waking up each day to the reality of it all. So much has changed in so many lives. So much has changed for us. For several months I (Debbie) had been praying about the situation with HFHC and asking God's direction. I knew what He was telling me, but it was such a difficult decision to have to make. I love these kids so much! I couldn't imagine not being with them and Jean Baptiste, Sonia & Jean. But God allowed several incidences to occur that really confirmed to me that I needed to heed His leading. So in early May I resigned from HFHC. I just completed my time with HFHC on June 30. Wednesday was a bitter-sweet final day with them. But as soon as I had made the decision to resign I had the peace I had been seeking over the decision. This does not mean that it has been an emotionally easy think to walk through - on the contrary! The enemy is at work - and I have to constantly remember that our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual forces of evil and powers of darkness. But God is greater and He is making His paths for us a little clearer each day. We have been blessed in so many ways - with loyal friends and neighbors and new friends. God has sent encouragement and confirmation in so many unique ways. He never ceases to amaze! It is hard to know where to start in updating....we'll have to add a little at a time so as not to bore and tire our readers! More later....

Worship

2010-01-17T13:08:00.002-05:00

How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord;my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. Even the sparrow has found a home and the swallow a place for herself, where she may have her young- a place near Your altar, O Lord Almighty, my King, and my God. Blessed are those who dwell in Your house; they are ver praising You. Blessed are those whose strength is in You, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs; the autunm rains also cover it with pools. They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion. Hear my prayer, o Lord God Almighty; listen to me O God of jacob. Look upon our shield, O God; look with favor on Your anointed one. Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked. Foor the Lord God is a sun and a shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does He withhold from those whose walk is blameless. O Lord Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in You. Psalm 84 Amen

Bijou

2010-01-10T13:20:00.003-05:00

Bijou Christmas 2009

What Bijou does when we are gone (or when she thinks we're gone)

Bijou Christmas 2008

There are a significant enough number of our "blog-followers" to justify this post!

Bijou returned with us to her hometown for Christmas. It was quite an adventure - one I don't think she cares to repeat. She was depressed most of the time, unless we were out walking, and it was too cold to do that too many times a day! We did get in at least one good walk a day.

And then, all the attention that was given to the new baby! Well, that just added to the depression! Bijou was so happy to get back home! She ran all over the yard, getting reaquainted with all the rocks, toys, holes, sand pile, etc. She wants to stay home when we go back in February for the coming of the second grandbaby.

Happy New Year!

2010-01-10T12:29:00.003-05:00

At about 1:00 AM on New Year's Day, my phone rang. It was Sonia and all the kids at the orphanage calling to sing Happy Birthday and say Happy New Year! What a way to start a new year! New Year's Day is a huge holiday here in Haiti, as it is not only the start of a new year, but also the Haitian Independence Day, so even the youngest of the young stay up to usher the day in.

A day or two later I stopped in to visit at the orphanage. They presented me with a birthday gift! It is a handpainted, special made giant mug with a lid. They also enclosed a packet of chocolate drink mix with it. Gotta love it!

Update on Mezo's House

2010-01-10T12:02:00.005-05:00

Around the middle of December, Mezo and his family moved into their new house (see earlier post)! We were in the States for the birth of our first grandchild (Jayda Nicole), so we missed the move into the new home. When we called from Charlotte to ask Mezo how things were going, we were so surprised to hear that they had already moved in! This house was built in a short span of time.

We got back to Haiti on December 28 and Steve came for a quick trip to do some planning on the school building. While he was here we went to see the house. Mezo says that people who walk by and see the new house all comment about his beautiful new house! The family is so grateful and so happy to be in their new home! Everyone is praising God, to whom all glory and honor is due.

November Food Distribution

2009-11-28T12:58:00.003-05:00

This week we began a food distribution for the HFHC schools. We are able to make these distributions thanks to our donors who generously contribute the the Children's Food Fund. The children and their families are very happy to recieve these food staples.

Each child sponsored in the education program recieves about 10 pounds of rice, 3 pounds of beans, a bottle of oil and tomato paste. In the grand scheme of things it really isn't very much, but to the family who does not know where their next meal will come from, it is a blessing!

I am thankful for each person who contributes any amount, great or small to help these children have a few meals!

This week we distributed food to Brajirois, Robert, Pageste, Dubuisson and Mirebalais. The photos are from the distribution for Mirebalais and Pageste.

Thanksgiving 2009

2009-11-28T12:45:00.004-05:00

This Thanksgiving was different from any Thanksgiving we have ever celebrated. For the very first time we were not with our children for the holiday. It was hard for all of us, but we all know how very blessed we are. That's what made it passable! And knowing that we will all be together for Christmas (with the first granddaughter who will be with us by then! And then the first grandson follows in February!).

Actually we had an enjoyable time as we were invited to the Buxmans' home to celebrate with about 70 other Americans and Haitians. We met some very nice people and had good conversation. We truly are blessed people!

We met Larry at the Buxman's home. He was so impressive that I had my picture taken with him in order to share with all of you.

Puppy Rescue

2009-11-28T12:17:00.005-05:00

When I was back in the States for the HFHC annual board meeting, Bijou and Tim finally bonded! And it was in a truly amazing way.

Each time Tim & I spoke on the phone he kept talking about "Bijou and I did this" or Bijou and I did that". Truthfully I was getting a little jealous. One night when we were talking he told me about his and Bijou's big adventure for the day. It was really beyond belief, if you know how Tim was always hating on my puppy! Here's how the tale went in the words of Tim:

Typically, our (Tim & Bijou) walk would start going towards the ravine, with Bijou leading the way (note from Debbie: Tim NEVER took my puppy on a walk until this week I was away. So the walk itself is miraculous). This day as we approached the edge of the ravine, Bijou stopped and began to growl. Up atop the far side of the ravine we could see some goats. Bijou continued growling at them and we noticed something very tiny up on the ridge by the goats. The killer goats were butting a small, small animal, over and over again. AS we crossed the ravine to see what it was, we saw thta it was a very tiny puppy, crying for help. Bijou scaredt he killer goats away, and the little puppy came running to us.

Apparently the puppy had been out in the "wilderness" for quite some time with no food or water. It didn't even look old enough to be away from its mother.After playing with her for a few minutes we were going to continue on our walk, but we didn't see any other puppies or the mother any where near by. The puppy was determined to go along with us. At this point I realized I could not just leave the puppy out there all alone. She would not survive, so I decided to take her back to the house to give her food and water. She scarfed down Bijou's food and water like there was no tomorrow! Bijou & I went back out to "sniff out the trail" to see if we could find the mother dog or someone to whom the puppy might belong, but found no dogs, no people, nothing - a cold trail."

Okay, to make a long story short - Tim kept this puppy and took care of it with Bijou's help, while I was gone. When I got home this little (fleabag) puppy was crying all night long and no one was getting any sleep - except Bijou, who after the first night or two had decided whe wasn't going to be a part of that insanity. We decided this just wasn't the best time for us to take in a new puppy and Mezo said his family wanted her. We had to take Bijou to the vet to update her health certificate so she can travel with us in December, so we took little fleabag along and had her vaccinations done and some flea treatment. That night she went to her new home and all mezo's children were happy and so were we when we had a quiet, peaceful night's rest!

2009-11-28T11:31:00.004-05:00

Everytime it storms here I lay in bed wondering how Mezo and his family are faring through the storm. The winds just whip off the mountains and are so strong. It seems that a house like his family lives in just couldn't withstand the force. But each time, the next morning when we call the family to see how they are, the house has stood. Of course everything and everyone inside are soaked and mud-coated.

Tim & I felt like we needed to do something about this situation. It's just not "right" that they have to live this way. We can't help everyone, but at least we can start helping the ones God leads us to help! Our friend, Steve, wanted to help too (and is really footing the majority of the work - thank you Steve!) so we began work this past week. Mezo and his family - did I mention there are 10 of them living in the house? - are helping in every way they can.

Mezo put in $1000 Haitian towards materials, his wife and older daughters are cooking a meal each day for the workers, Mezo is doing some of the labor himself and the little kids go to the market area to bring back water to mix cement.

When we told Mezo that we, along with a friend, wanted to help him build a house, we asked him to bring us a plan along with an estimate of what it would cost. We were kind of "scared" of what he might bring back, that it might be more than we could help with. What a surprise! He came with a plan for a 16x20 foot house for 10 people! They are so excited about this grand new house they will have. And all for about $3000! But otherwise beyond their reach.

God is good - we have funds in place and the work is well under way. We will keep you posted on the progress.

2009-11-15T07:36:00.004-05:00

I can't seem to find the time to keep up with a blog very well. How do others do it??

Well, I guess this week I have some time on my hands - I'm stuck in Charlotte, NC for a few days to recuperate from some nasty viral attack on the immune system. The doc says I can't travel for a while so I'm hanging out on Myrlene's couch. I'm sure she is ready for mom to flee the country!

So, while I have a few minutes here are some photos of the yard. We took a lawnmower with us when we moved to Haiti. When we arrived we looked at each other and said, "What were we thinking?? We will never be able to use a lawnmower here." We were planning how we could get it back tot he States. But in the past month Tim & Mezo have actually been mowing the grass with the mower! It is amazing the way the grass is filling in. These photos aren't the greatest because at the time they were taken it was pretty dry.

When we lived in Haiti in the mid-90's, we did not have a "haven". It was like living at "ground-zero" 24/7. This compund is a haven and a real home. It is good to have a place of retreat and rest! God has truly blessed us!

2009-10-19T18:32:00.011-05:00

For several years Jean Toussaint has not been able to go to church. He has wanted to go, but it was just too difficult. Jean & Sonia Toussaint are the houseparents at the Cazeau Orphanage.

About ten years or so ago Jean was shot in the back in a random shooting. A bullet fragment is still lodged in his spine, partially paralyzing him. He can use a walker and wheelchair to get around. The walker is difficult with the terrain at the orphanage and surrounding neighborhood, where Jean & Sonia lived before coming to work with HFHC. The wheelchair is equally difficult to navigate.

Last month, thanks to the generosity of one of my very best friends (and good friend of HFHC), a dream was realized! We were able to pave a path from the houseparent quarters (on the orphanage compound), put a door in the wall between the orphanage and church properties, pave a walkway from the wall to the church building so that Jean can go to church! He and Sonia are so thankful and happy!

Along with this walkway some other work was done that we've been wanting to get done. The walkway between the girls' dorm and dining hall was paved. This area held water every time it rained and bred mosquitoes. So this helps the health issues and laundry issues.

Right: Picking Grapes

Dorm & Dining Hall

Walkway

Sonia has an incredible green-thumb! She has transformed the orphange compound from a drab, rocky desert to a lush oasis! Her grapevine stretches from one side of the compound all the way to the middle of the compound. It not only produces lots of grapes that the children love to eat, but also good shade for a respite from the sun.

This is Woody. When he first came to the orphanage he was terrified of me - the first white person he had ever seen up close and personal. James used to carry Woody, kicking, screaming and crying to say hello to me. It got to where he would run and hide when he heard me come in. Now he runs to greet me with a kiss and smile and will even pose for pictures!

And you haven't seen little Bijou in a while. She has been busy digging tunnels lately and eating whole plantain and mango trees. Always something to do!

2009-10-14T19:47:00.002-05:00

The two little guys - Gabriel and Ovens are our newest members of the Cazeau family. They came to live at the orphanage in mid and late September. They have both adjusted very well. Are they cute or what?? Ovens was a little overwhelmed when I took his picture. He had only been at the orphanage about a day and just didn't know what to think. When I saw him a couple days later her had warmed up and remembered the names of his roomies. Gabriel - he had only been there a day also when I took his photo, but had warmed up to every one and was all smiles. Jacob and Fritz both turned 18 this summer and as per policy went back to family members to live. This freed up two spaces in the boys dorms for Ovens and Gabriel. Fritz and Jacob are still in our education sponsorship program and are doing well in school and life!

2009-10-14T15:15:00.005-05:00

Moving Gregory

On October 1, we officially closed the transition house.

The week before we spent most of the week helping the kids move their belongings to their homes. Each of them either found family members to go live with or went in with one or two others to rent a room. One of them, Natacha, even moved to the Dominican Republic to continue with the small business she had begun, buying and selling used clothing, toiletries and gift items.

Musset has been blessed with the opportunity to go to a local university and study general engineering and architecture. His step-mother offered for him to come live with her and her two children.

Franqueline has 2 years left to finish in a vocational program (sewing). When she finished she will be able to make a living sewing for people. School uniforms are a big business here! She is also starting a small business selling miscellaneous items.

Louslande has one year to finish school and is selling cookies and candies to earn a living in the meantime.

Silionor graduated in June and he and brother Fito are sharing a room they rented. Fito has two years left and Fales has one left to finish high school. Fales bought a small used motorcycle, hired a driver and now has a moto-taxi service.

Gregory is living with his brother Clifford. Clifford is paying for Gregory to finish school. Gregory is observing in his new neighborhood to determine the best small business to get involved with.

Samuel and Shirley still had a good bit of school left. Samuel is living with one of his older brothers and Shirley moved in with a woman in the church.

Even though it was a hard decision to make in closing the house, it in the long term will be what is best for each of these young people. They all have been given a firm foundation on which to stand. Please keep them in your prayers, that they will walk in the ways they have learned.

2009-10-14T14:55:00.002-05:00

After a long wait for customs to tell us how much they wanted in taxes, we got the 2 vehicles that had been ordered back in December 2008. One of the vehicles is for Pacius. Pacius works with the Haiti Christian Developement Project and helps us an awful lot with HFHC projects. His truck came into the port the first week of April. The vehicle for HFHC came in the first week of July.

A little over a week ago we were able to get both of the vehicles' plates and "assurance" and drive them away! Pacius had to wait another ten days to finally see and drive his truck. He and his wife had left the day before for a visit in the US.

We are really blessed to have good, reliable transportation. I know the person who made it all possible wouldn't want to be named, but God knows and will bless according to His good will.

2009-10-10T19:15:00.006-05:00

Jouvens, Finder, Love-Myrtha

Tim & I are really getting to know the neighbors now that they know we are not going to eat them. There are 3 little children along the drive from the main road in Thomazeau to our house. They were always out on the road waiting for us to come by (wanting cookies!) even during school hours.

After checking with our other neighbor Souvenir, who is also the principal of the closest school, we found out that their parents are either deceased or MIA. They live with an aunt who has no employment. She is taking care of these three children and their older sister (14 years old), who also has a baby who is almost a year old. So we decided to put them in school. I went last week and enrolled them at Souvenir's school. Then I went to Croix des Bouquet to purchase the fabric for the uniforms. Souvenir's friend is a tailor and agreed to give me the "Haitian" price for sewing the uniforms. Even if it wasn't the "Haitian" price, I think it was good - he charged me $30 to sew 6 uniforms and he did it in 2 and a half days. We've gotten about half of the books they need.

In Haiti, children are sent home if they come to school without their uniform, the right color of shoes, belt, socks and hair bows. They have to buy their own uniform and all their own books. Plus they have to pay registration and other fees and tuition. This all costs what we would not consider to be all that much, but for a family who has NO income, it is beyond their hopes and dreams to be able to send their children to school. Last week I sent an email to 3 of the HFHC staff (Jennifer, Jenny & Lori) for shoes, belts, socks, etc because I knew they had younger children and Mike (one of our board members) was coming in a few days. Well, they came through for Love-Myrtha, Jouvens and Finder (pronounced Fender)! Their kids sent shoes that they had not yet even had a chance to wear, hair stuff, some socks, etc. Mike bought 3 little book bags and brought them along. The shoes sent by the Fridge and Anthony families were perfect fits!

When Tim was in Charlotte for the annual men's retreat, a brother at Providence Road church (Juan) gave Tim some cash to use "as needed". We still need to get a few more books and some other misellaneous items, but all in all, we have been able to put these 3 children in school for the entire school year for $300! And that is thanks to all these mentioned who also participated.

The kids are so excited to be able to go to school and they are very happy that on Monday they will be able to wear their new uniforms. The day after we went to the tailor and had them measured for their uniforms we heard singing voices coming up the driveway. Jouvens, Love-Myrtha and Finder were bringing gifts and singing songs of thanksgiving. They brought little trees they had dug up and put in old tin cans for us to plant in our yard. It was all very sweet.

2009-09-16T20:01:00.002-05:00

It was the weirdest thing yesterday - I have never heard of this in all the years I have been working in Haiti. I was taking Bijou for a walk and some ladies were coming down the path from up on the mountain, carrying their goods to market in Thomazeau. I had Bijou on a leash and was holding her close to me. As soon as they saw me and Bijou they started yelling "Um we! Um we!", which means "help me, help me!" and "M paka kouri, m paka kouri!" That means I can't run! I called to them that I was holding Bijou and she would not do anything to them, that they could pass this way with no problem. They screamed all the more and were trying to run as fast as they could with their loads. I told Mezo (our guard) about it and he said they think white people will eat them, They thought I would use Bijou to catch them and then we would eat them. Wow! I told him I'm a vegetarian, I don't eat meat, so they only have to worry about Tim. Anyway, it was an interesting little first time experience!

2009-09-16T19:15:00.004-05:00

Have you ever seen a complete rainbow? I mean, the whole arch and both ends? The other day we saw this for the first time in our lives! It was truly awesome. For anyone wondering - there was no pot of gold at either end. But the splendor of God seen through His awesome creation is worth so much more!

2009-09-11T16:13:00.007-05:00

Life is difficult for everyone in Haiti. Even if you have all of your basic needs, and more, met, life is still difficult! The youth in our education program who live in the mountain villages of Brajirois and Robert have an added difficulty. In the villages where they live with their families, there are no secondary schools for them to attend. They have three options for school: 1) Walk the 3 hours down the mountain each morning and 3 hours back up in the afternoon 2) Move to the village at the foot of the mountain and live with relatives or friends. The walk to school is still from 45 minutes to 1 ½ hours each way. 3) Drop out of school After several of the youth in these two villages asked me for bicycles to get to and from school, and as I talked with them more and understood the difficulty they faced to get to and from school each day, it was time to take action. Many of our sponsors give generously to our “Where Needed Most” fund. We were able to use some of these funds to purchase 22 bicycles the first of this week. On Wednesday we went to meet the kids and distribute the bikes. This distribution took quite a little while to accomplish. In Haiti, one has to register his/her bike with the police. So we had to find the serial numbers on all the bikes, fill in the paperwork and then have each youth sign the original and the copy. One young man, Jean-Jean Vertilus, (sponsored by Susan Lanier), was especially appreciative of this gesture towards them. He said he had been getting to school on foot and it would take at least 45 minutes each way. He said that now with the bike it will take him about 10 minutes each way! He was so happy. He said, “I thank God for the Americans who are helping us to develop, because without their help I would not even be able to write my name. I have no parents to send me to school, so if not for my sponsor, I would not have the hope of an education. I am praying for God to strengthen and encourage all of you, that you may continue helping others.” Thank you to all our supporters who help to bless the lives of these children and young people through your generosity and love.

2009-09-11T15:53:00.005-05:00

Bijou & I went for a walk the other day. We went over to the dried up river bed near the house. Bijou really wanted to walk in the river bed that day so we went along. She was being good that day so I had her off leash. It's usually difficult to get her back in the compound when she is off leash, but this day was a breeze. She was on the other side of the ravine and I had been calling her. Suddenly she took off lie a shot towards the house with "a puppy treasure" clenched firmly in her teeth. She did not stop until she was inside the gate. She went over to the cistern and stashed her treasure. It was a goat skull (I think that's what it was). She brought it in the house the next morning and chewed it up on the living room rug. Tim is rarely ever (actually never) happy with Bijou and this day was no exception!

There are many interesting things around the "ranch". Like this ugly bug that was waiting on the porch for me one morning. It was like a crawdad with wings, only bigger. Mezo says that if it bites you it will make your body water. I guess that means you'll get a big fever or maybe because this big, ugly thing is on your body you pee all over yourself - not sure - and don't want to find out.

2009-08-25T07:06:00.004-05:00

Bijou (because a blog is not complete without pictures of a cute puppy)Sunday we worshiped with the Delmas 28 congregation. Jeantyrard had called and told us our preacher friend, Edique Augustin, from Bas-Limbe was in PAP and wanted to see us. Edique preached the morning and evening services on Sunday. He had been in town for the week. Each August he brings a group from Bas_limbe to the Delmas 28 church for a weeklong prayer service. They start at 6 PM and go till 6 AM. It was good to catch up with Edique and his work in Bas-Limbe. We sat on the same bench with Jeff, one of HFHC's sponsored youth. Towards the end of class I noticed Jeff slapping his forehead. So when class was over I asked him if he had a headache, because I had noticed him hitting his head. He said no, he just had a bad thought cme into his head and he wanted to getrid of it. So he was literally knoocking it out of his mind. I brought up 2 Corinthian 10:3-5 and started quoting it to him. He finished the verse, "...and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ". Jeff said he wanted to live what the Word teaches. I was proud of him. He is hearing and putting into practice. I was proud - not of HFHC, but of God, and what He is doing in these kids' lives and that He allows us to be used in His work here.

Gregory came up to me after service. Gregory and I have had several conversations about him giving up and giving his life to Christ. He told me a few weeks ago he has been coming to church so he could learn more about Jesus and he was thinking of being baptized. Well, after the service he came up and told me he had been baptized last week!!

What great news! So we know there was great rejoicing in heaven the previous Sunday!

We gave Jeff, Gregory and Jacob a ride after services. I told Gregory I needed to take a picture because he is a new person (new creation) and I have a photo of the old Gregory, but needed a pic of the new Gregory. He was all smiles for his photo. Then I took a picture of Jacob and told him I'd need a new one when he became a new creation too. He has been coming to church recently too. We talked about not waiting to long to heed the call of Christ on his life, how each time you hear Jesus call you and each time you ignore Him, your heart becomes a little harder. I had asked one of the other kids recently why he doesn't obey Jesus. His response was that Jesus has not yet called him. I told Jacob that anyone who has heard the Good News has been called! (Jacob - Above Photo)

Of course I had to get a shot of Jeff too - he said ,"Because I'm just Jeff!" Iasked each of them if I could share their pictures and our conversations with our supporters and they all agreed. I told Jacob that we would all be praying for him to obey the call that he has heard for his life.

2009-08-14T10:23:00.003-05:00

On Saturday, August 8, we had a busy day. Jeantyrard made arrangements for 5 of our kids from Brajirois to get some much needed dental care. The kids traveled from the mountain into PAP and spent the day getting extractions, fillings, etc. We also had two children in need of hernia surgeries. Both of these kids are from the Cite Soleil area. James is 16 and Ismalande will be 9 in October. We were at the hospital most of the day, waiting for them to be prepped, have the surgeries and then come out of recovery. Both surgeries were successful. James went home late that afternoon. Ismalande had some vomiting so they kept her overnight. She was able to go home the next morning. It felt good to be able to get some of the medical and dental needs taken care of. And it is possible due to our generous supporters and donors! Thanks to each of you!

2009-08-14T10:22:00.001-05:00

Visit from Rachel & Marshall

2009-08-14T09:29:00.004-05:00

The day I dropped the youth conference team off at the airport, I also picked up Rachel (our middle daughter) and Marshall (son-in-law) from the airport. They were with us for a week and we enjoyed every minute of their visit. Rachel was just under 3 months in her pregnancy, so because of nausea, we chose not to travel around much. Rachel translated most of the letters from the secondary school students to their sponsors while she was here. What a tremendous help that was! We went to Kaliko beach for a day and enjoyed just relaxing, talking and catching some rays. The weather was perfect and the surroundings were beautiful. We also visited the Cazeau Orphanage one day so that Rachel & Marshall could meet the little guy they have been sponsoring for over a year in HFHC's orphan care program. They were all very happy to meet each other and I believe if they could have, they would have taken Lorvens home with them. While they were visiting, Tim played with the kids and Sonia and I went over the list of repairs needed at the orphange. There's always something that needs fixing with 48 kids! Mezo (our righthand man) took Tim & Marshall down to Lake Azuei. It is about a 20 -30 minute drive towards the DR from us. They took almost all of Mezo's kids with them so they could get "sweet water" from the big spring near the lake. The kids swam a little and filled jugs and buckets with water to bring back home. There is a hotel on the lake that was built only about 2 years ago. The photo here shows how the lake is swallowing it up. Lake Azuei is spilling over its banks, largely due to erosion. Marshall helped Tim around the house a lot. They were able to get the pressure pump for the water working again. The first 2 or 3 days that R & M were here, Tim and Marshall carried buckets of water to the roof to fill the tank on the roof so we could shower and flush the toilets. We're thankful to just have water, but it was great to get that pump going again! The following Saturday (Aug 1), was a sad day - the day we had to take Rachel & Marshall back to the airport for their trip home. But God blessed us greatly by making the way for them to come.

2009-08-12T06:54:00.004-05:00

Things have been "popping" around here since our last post.

I got back from Charlotte on July 16 and on July 18th, twenty-one people from various states arrived to help with our HFHC Annual Youth Conference. That day was spent picking up folks at the airport and everyone getting settled in at the hotel. On Sunday we worshiped at the Delmas 28 congregation, then spent the afternoon getting conference materials put together and separating donations of school supplies.

On Monday morning we headed out for the Global Outreach conference center at Titiyan, about a 45 minute drive. Some of the youth had already arrived by the time we got there. For the next two and a half days we had Bible sessions centered around the book of First Peter and the calling of God on each of our lives, fun activites, lots of soccer, good rest, good food, good felowship and more. The kids look forward to this 3 day conference all year long. For many of them thi is the only time of the year that they sleep in a bed by themselves, eat 3 good meals a day, and have access to toilets and showers.

One of our youth, Christiana was baptized into Christ and also one of our translators. Seeds were planted in many hearts and we will water and wait for God to produce the crop.

On Tuesday afternoon and evening in our free time, the US team separated out sacks of rice and beans into smaller sacks for each youth to take some food staples home with them. This was part of HFHC's food relief efforts, supported by our generous donors contributions to the "Children's Food Fund". This is an ongoing effort, because there is always a shortage of food here in Haiti, and/or the lack of means to purchase food.

Thursday we held a half day VBS at the Cazeau orphanage. Upon our arrival, Sonia, our house-mom, had all the children arranged on the steps coming down from the dormitoriy rooms singing a song of welcome to us. It was great. Sonia always amazes us with all that she does wth these children. We are blessed to have her on our team. Mark & Beverly headed up the VBS with help from the US team and volunteers from the crowd. Sonia and several of the older girls prepared lunch for everyone. I always tell her to keep it simple, but she really lays out a spread! Everyone enjoyed the fellowship with the kids and the food.

After lunch, we were treated to a concert by the children. They sang songs in French, Creole and English and performed praise dances to Christian music. It is always a special treat to visit the Cazeau orphanage!

Friday was spent visiting Cite Soleil School and distributing food to the kids. Many of the kids also received small gifts from their sponsors. This always makes them feel special and blessed.

After the visit to Cite Soleil, we brought the group out to Thomazeau to see the property and the house. Many had been on the trip last July and had seen the property with nothing on it. So this time they didn't have to stand around in the hot sun. They had a place to sit down and relax for a while with a cool drink and some snacks. Then it was back to the hotel to prepare for their tip home on Saturday morning.

All in all it was a great trip, with a great team of people who loved on our kids for a week.

Latrines for Thomazeau

2009-07-17T11:36:00.003-05:00

An organization in Thomazeau, which is the closest community to us, approached me a few months ago to help them find funding for community latrine project. This is a local organization of young men and women who want to help improve the living conditions of the population of this area. The name of the group is "The Organization of Devoted Youth for the Development of Thomazeau". They have proposed putting in ten community latrines. Each of these latrines will be 3-4 seaters. The community will provide the labor for digging the pits and will donate $5000 Haitian dollars to the materials cost. With labor and materials, each latrine will cost just about $1000 US. On "my status" on Facebook a couple weeks or so ago, I wrote, "I wonder how many people out in Facebook world would be interested in donating to putting in a latrine in Haiti". I immediately got responses. So I am putting it out there! What if families went in together to raise $1000 for a latrine that would provide a good many people with a more hygienic place to use the restroom? This would help to improve community health. Just think, a latrine in Haiti could be named in honor of your family! How many people can boast of that? So many of us in America have so much more than we need and we take for granted the things we have. What if 10 family units, Life Groups, clubs, youth groups - whoever - got together and put their funds together to build a latrine. Families could give potty dollars instead of Christmas gifts to each other! If you want more details of the breakdown of labor and materials, feel free to contact me. I have a detailed document from the group making this request. Contact me for more info or how to donate! Pass this info along to your family and friends and let's see how many toilets we can provide for Thomazeau!

2009-07-08T20:08:00.009-05:00

Right after the medical trip to the north I left to go to Charlotte. Myrlene had surgery on the 8th, to remove a softball-size cyst from her ovary. She is also almost 5 months prgenant, so we were concerned for both her and the baby. She has a large incision and is recovering at home now. She was in the hospital for 4 days. The baby (Jayda will be her name) has a strong, regular heartbeat. The picture below is of a miracle taking place: Myrlene does not eat fruit, and has ALWAYS refused to eat citrus of any kind. In this photo she is eating an orange, which I did not have to try to coax her to eat. It is a real miracle! Those of you who know Myrlene know this is true!

The other night there was a huge fire in a nearby village. We have not yet heard what burned. We're hoping someone was just burning off a field.

A blog is not complete without a shot of the cutest puppy in the world!

June 29 - July 6, I went with the Medical Mission Team from Providence Road Church of Christ (our home congregation) to Northern Haiti for a week of moblie medical clinics. It is always good to get back up norht nad visit our "family" there. The trip was a success. I think we consulted with and treated between 800 and 900 people during the 5 clinic days. It was a blessing to be able to spend the week with the folks from Charlotte and meet some new people who were a part of the team.

Translators for medical clinics

Medical Mission Team "Oh Lord, my God, you are very great; You are clothed with splendor and majesty. He wraps Himself in light, as with a garment; He stretched out the heavens like a tent and lays the beams of His upper chambers on their waters. He makes the clouds His chariot and rides on the wings of the wind. He makes winds His messengers, flames of fire His servants. He set the earth on its foundations; it can never be moved." (Ps.104:1-5)

The Cite Soleil Christian School held kindergarten graduation exercises on June 28, 2009. Tim, Jeantyrard, a couple preachers from the Thomazeu area, Bwa and I all attended. THey go all out, no holds barred for kindergarten graduations! This was almost exactly like the high school graduation we attended a couple weeks prior. There were 20 graduates in the class and they were dressed to kill! They were really cute. It was amazing how these kids belted out songs and speeches!

These are the HFHC sponsored grads (above)

The processional

This is Carline and her baby. Carline used to be in te HFHC education

program. Her younger brother was one of the kindergarten graduates. It was good to see her and find out how

she is doing.

Bijou on the standing watch in the guard house

During a recent visit, Steve arm-wrestled the boys, but could only win with the girls James and Steve came for a weekend to do a lot of re-wiring on the house and well pump. Thanks to James' expertise we can now pump water from the well to the cistern and the invertor holds a charge for longer than a couple hours. It was fun having them for a couple days.

Bijou Helped by moving rocks

2009-06-27T07:36:00.001-05:00

June 6 -10, 2009 One of HFHC’s board members came for a visit during this time. His visit was two-fold. On the 8th, we had a meeting with a local organization to discuss the possibilities of working with them on training some of our HFHC youth in micro-enterprises. This is something we have thought about for a while. Jobs are scarce and one really must be able to created some type of business for themselves for the most part. The meeting went well and we continue working towards putting some sort of program together. On June 9th, we attended the Delmas Christian High School graduation ceremony. Fifteen students graduated. This was the largest graduating class in the young history of the school. Six of these fifteen were youth being sponsored in HFHC’s education program. The ceremony lasted about 2 ½ hours and was quite different from our typical high school graduations. The graduates had much more participation in the program than our grads in the US. They sang several songs. There was a “passing of the torch” from the Philo (graduating class) class to the Rheto (12th grade) class. One of the professors spoke briefly about each grad. There were a couple of cute little skits by students in the primary school, a speech by Ken, who was the “parenn”, a speech by Jeantyrard, some soloists sang and several of the grads spoke. Natacha sang a final, good-bye song and I think most of the girls and at least one of the guys were in tears. There were lots of photos taken during and after the ceremony. We then moved on to the reception site, just down the road from the school. We enjoyed rice & peas, rice & beans, plantain, a pasta dish, salad, grilled & creole chicken legs and sodas. After the reception, Ken, Jean Baptiste, Anthony & I went to visit Jambon at his home. He had complicated hernia surgery on Friday and could not make it to the graduation. We had a nice visit with him and his wife and prayed for him. (Jambon works with HFHC in several capacities) All in all, it was a great day – a really great day for the Delmas school. ** Parenn & marenn are a man and woman chosen by the class to be kind of like their “godfather and godmother, kind of a sponsor. Ken was parenn and I found out on Wednesday when I arrived home from Charlotte, that I was to be marenn. Luckily they didn’t ask the marenn to speak

2009-05-09T14:55:00.000-05:00

So, the other night I woke up to scratching and knocking noises. I shined the flashlight around the room, as Tim & Bijou both continued blissfully sleeping. Nothing. I went back to sleep, only to waken again to the same sounds. I shined the flashlight around again. This time Tim roused a little. Then I heard "water noises" in the hallway/bathroom area. I said, "oh great, I think water is overflowing somewhere!" I made Tim get up this time to go investigate. I heard him say something - I'm not sure what it was. He came back in the room and said there was a rat swimming in the mop bucket I had left in the hallway. Apparently, the rat ran out of our room when I shined the flashlight. Obviously he wasn't watching carefully where he was going. Tim made him stay in the bucket all night long, figuring he would drown and we could throw him out. Well the little sucker was treading water when I got up the next morning. Tim sat the bucket out on the balcony for him to die. A few hours later he was still treading water. He'd just float there with only his nose above water. It was not nice. I told Tim to put an end to it - just throw him out the gate! But Tim said, "Do you want him to come back?" Well, of course I didn't want that so I said, "just get rid of it."

So, my mild-mannered, loving husband got the cholorx and poured some in the bucket. Then he took a stick and held the litttle rat by the throat and held his little rodent head under water until he died. I felt sick. But at the same time happy that this rat would not be back. We'll probably be haunted by it now.

Things are beginning to progress on the house. Here are our carpenters - Boss Riko and Boss Adan.

2009-05-04T10:51:00.000-05:00

April 25 Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you”, declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Job 42:2 “I know that You can do all things; no plan of Yours can be thwarted.” From our limited vantage point, our lives are marked by an endless series of contingencies. We frequently find ourselves, instead of acting as we planned, reacting to an unexpected turn of events. We make plans, but are often forced to change these plans. But there are no contingencies with God our unexpected, forced change of plans is a part of His plan. God is never surprised; never caught off guard; never frustrated by unexpected developments. God does what He pleases and that which He pleases Him is always for His glory and our good. Our lives are also cluttered with a lot of “if onlys”. “If only I’d done this”, or “If only that had not happened”. But again, God has no “If onlys”. God never makes a mistake; God has no regrets. “As for God, His way is perfect” (Ps. 18:30). We can trust God. He is trustworthy. From “Trusting God Even When Life Hurts”, by Jerry Bridges

April 28 Bijou and I finally moved out to the house today. Things are still not finished, but we’ve had it with hotel life – especially Bijou. She actually bit me when I tried to put her in the crate yesterday when I needed to go out for a while. She’s been a little trooper, but it’s time for some freedom. The water was not functioning so I had a truckload of water brought out to put in the cistern so that we can bathe and clean. Bobby is still working on the pump to try and make it work properly. There is electricity, so that is nice. I found that since so many people are still in and out, there is little sense in doing a lot of cleaning. I can’t really put a lot of stuff away because I don’t have cabinets. Also no shelves or clothing rods in the closets. April 29 So we passed our first night very well. It was really nice to be in my own bed again. The sunrise here is spectacular. I even had real coffee this morning! It was great! April 30 Things continue in the same general vein as they’ve been going. Some improvements, some set backs. Today – no power. There is still some sort of problem between the generator/invertor/ house wiring. The only water in the shower is the hot water. We have a solar powered water heater on the roof. That water gets boiling hot! So I can’t take a shower – not cold water to temper the hot water. But the cistern is full!

Bijou 's Big Day Today Bijou discovered the drain pipes in the base of the perimeter wall. She escaped to the big outdoors. She wiggled through the drain pipe and immediately took off barking after a colt just outside the wall. As I called to her to come back I noticed the mother horse coming over the small rise. She was in the protective mode. At first Bijou just kept after the colt, then as the mother horse kept coming at her she realized she’d better turn around. She would not come back so I just went back in the yard. I put rocks and cinder blocks in front of the pipes so there would be no more escaping in the future. When Bijou heard me at one of the pipes she came back in the yard to see what I was doing and so was recaptured. Later she had sun-fried frog legs (and the rest of the frog too) that she found in the yard. It is so disgusting what this little puppy eats! Up on the roof in the afternoon I found that Bijou had “marked her territory”.

I hope that one day very soon I will actually be doing what I was sent here to do! In the meantime I’m just trying to take it one day at a time.

May 4, 2009

It's been several days since I've been able to post anything because once I left the hotel I did not have internet. On Saturday, the owner of Haiti Satellite and his wife drove the techinician out themselves so that he could make sure that the internet would function properly this time. Apparently someone had touched the satellite and messed up the tuned in signal so it was not transmitting. It is now working well. It was a nice visit with the Trimbles and very good of them to come to visit.

Things are still kind of the same at the house. Not much getting done - but some baby steps! Today the mason finished fixing some repair type things to the plastering, etc in places like where the iron bars were installed on the patios. The painter is here painting the iron bars on the patios. The carpenters just now showed up (it's 11:15 AM). They are ther ones I really need to have finish up in order for me to be able to start unpacking boxes.

Anyway, one of these days I'll start talking about things on this blog about what we came here to do! But for now it is easier to post how things are going here on the blog rather than trying to respond to individual emails since I am so backed up after having not been on the internet for several days. I hope everyone will understand. once I catch up a bit I of course will respond to individual emails!

Jean Baptiste was just here and is trying to get things sped along. he says he thinks they can finish everything this week. Let's pray on that!

Tim comes home tomorrow afternoon after having spent 2 weeks in Charlotte, mainly helping Myrlene with some things. I'm posting some recent photos. If you read this blog - thanks for your interest and prayers. We'll get down to real stuff soon I hope!

Scenery along the road to Thomazeau The Road to Thomazeau Generator House An Afternoon Storm Brewing Master Bedroom Kitchen Cabinets in the Making

One of the Guest Rooms Same Kitchen Shot - I Can't Get Rid of It

Other View Of the Kitchen The Razor Wire is Up

Sorry about the photos acptions - I just can't figure out how to do this stuff right! I have them all centered and looking good, but then when I post the blog it's all screwed up! I'll keep trying.

Until next time - God bless~

2009-04-24T06:38:00.000-05:00

A lot has happened since our last post! We had internet problems and nasty computer viruses. I'm still not sure if we are done with all of them. But here's a chance to give a little update.

The house is STILL not ready! But yesterday, there was good news!! We finally had the container and truck released. It was an all day process! It's been an all day process for the past couple months! But finally about 3:30 the inspector released it after we had gone around to multiple offices for yet another piece of paperwork, or a correction or just to give someone else a little more money.

Anyway, if any of you guys who helped up load the U-Haul in Charlotte remember how big that U-Haul was and how tightly you packed it, you would be amazed at the size truck these guys loaded and how tightly it was packed. Of course you guys didn't break anything. The furniture and stuff doesn't look the same now as it did when we put it on the truck in Charlotte!

Tip of the day: If you ever move to Haiti, do not bring anything with you! We could have bought the truck and household furnishings here and even upgraded a little for the money that has been paid out! Not to mention all the headaches of dealing with customs.

But I have to say, we (Tim& Debbie) really did not deal with the customs officials. The guys who volunteer for HFHC here handled this from the beginning to the end. It pretty much consumed their lives! So we are greatly indebted to Pierre Andre and Jean Baptiste for all they have put into this! I hope they get their lives back soon!

But today, Friday, April 24, we are not done yet. We got all the stuff loaded on the truck and took it to the orphanage for the night. It was too late to go to Thomazeau with it by the time we got away from the port. Ths morning we still have to try to get the assurance (insurance) and plates for the truck before we are truly free.

Tim is back in the States for a couple of weeks, so he missed the joy of all this. He went back to help Myrlene get surgery scheduled. We found out that she can't have the surgery right now due to unforeseen issues. I was going to go back yesterday, but we decided I should stay in case the container was released.

Bijou is ready to be out of this hotel! Poor puppy. She was in her crate for 8 hours straight yesterday - a record for her. She has started having little spaz attacks from time to time. I think she is just absolutely stir-crazy!

I went to the orphanage on Tuesday to visit. Sonia was gone to the clinic with a couple of the kids when I arrived. They came back shortly thereafter and we had a nice visit. Two of the kids, Cesar and Betty have Typhoid. We are blessed in so many ways to have Sonia as our house mother at the orphanage. She is also a nurse,s o the clinic sent her back with an IV set up for Cesar, for rehydration. Sonia very obviously loves these kids and takes really good care of them both physically and spiritually. This is a huge job she has! Keep her in your prayers.

APRIL 25

Today is Tim's 51st birthday. Our kids are taking him out to breakfast back in Charlotte. We got the stuff moved out to the house yesterday and I now have transportation!The house is still not ready to live in - no water, appliances not hooked up, etc. But I will probably go ahead and move out there tomorrow. Gusman is going with me this morning to move things around. Bijou should have a good day of freedom. Hopefully she'll be in a better mood after that. She bit me this morning when I tried to get her out from under the bed (yes, she can still get under there by flattening herself out and wiggling under).

I took no pictures yesterday. It seems silly to stand around and take pictures of things sometimes. But I did take some a few days ago. There's some progress on the kitchen and we got the stove last week. Exciting, huh?

Hopefully I can get to doing the work I was sent here to do very soon!

2009-04-16T09:54:00.000-05:00

Several folks have asked about updates to this blog. Well, we don't really have anything new to say and no new photos! We're still in the hotel, waiting. We did have some activity with the container. They gave us the amount we owe for taxes. We paid that yesterday morning (April 15 -how appropriate). Now we wait for more paperwork to be sent to other offices, etc, etc. We were at the house yesterday too, trying to prod the work along! It's still not ready, but a little closer. We let Bijou off-leash at the house yesterday and the previous day we were out there. She was in puppy heaven - to be able to run around with no one pulling her back. When we were ready to leave, she ran to hide. I had to chase her down and carry her into the car. She wanted to stay so badly and not go back to the hotel room prison! Tim is still looking for work to do. As my "personal volunteer" he has made some photocopies. His hardest job was screwing in some light bulbs out at the house. Thanks to all of you who are diligently praying for us and for the house/container to be ready! We appreciate you and your prayers!

2009-04-04T14:55:00.000-05:00

Friday morning we left for the villages to distribute food to all the kids in the program. We arrived in Brajirois around 9 AM. A big cloud had settled on the mountain and it was quite chilly! I know some of you would have enjoyed this, but I came to Haiti hoping to flee the cold! The sun did come out for a while and it warmed a little, but the cloud came back. Food Distribution at Brajirois Repairs being done to Brajirois building Food Distribution at Brajirois

School is out for Spring/Easter break. They kids finished testing for this quarter on Thursday. Most of the kids at Brajirois showed up for food. The ones who couldn't come will get their food later. It is being held for them.

We went up to Robert next. The food was distributed from Frantz Jean's home. His wife then fixed a feast for us. I think Tim was impressed with this family. Most people are!

Then we travelled on to Dubuisson and Mirebalais. The kids from Pageste crossed the river and met us at Mirebalais to receive their food. By the time we finished it was about 5 PM, but we decided to make it on to Hinche for the night.

Food Distribution at Brajirois My little buddy James at Dubuisson

Did I mention that Bijou went with us? Some of you who read this have been to the mountain might wonder how a not so little puppy did on such a trek?? She did great! Of course I made a bad wardrobe decision for the day - black skirt and black top. I looked like a dog too by the time we got to the first location. She decided that she needed to sit on me most of the way and then when we picked up another rider she had to sit on me. But she got to do something I think she has always wanted to do while riding in the car - stick her head out the window and feel the wind in her hair! She's learning not to bark at everything she sees. Now she only barks at 75% of what she sees. She was somewhat of a hit with the folks she met. For some reason they thought her name was hilarious.

Something in the room at the hotel in Hinche really freaked her out. I'm not sure what it was, but she was sure ready to leave that room!

The Maguana Hotel at Hinche Tim & Bijou at Visa Lodge

This morning we ended up going early to the market to buy the food for the Hinche kids. We had found out that the paperwork for the invertor batteries for our house was in the truck we were driving. The place closed at noon today, so we had to get back to PAP before noon to deliver the paperwork so the batteries could be installed today. We got the food and delivered it to the school. We were on the road to PAP at 9:00, but had to go back to Hinche for gas. In unbelief I called the internet installers and canceled the installation for Monday morning. It takes about 5 hours to get from Hinche to PAP. We made it into PAP at 12:00! They got the batteries before the store closed. I should have more faith!

Jeantyrard said we had some more setbacks on the house and the container. We have quit speculating as to when we will actually move in. It will be when it is.

Romans 8:25 ("For if we hope for what we don't yet have, we wait for it patiently"), has become our motto.

2009-03-31T16:10:00.000-05:00

We're into day 6 here at the hotel. Things are going pretty well. Bijou is being a good little puppy, with some isolated break-outs of barking. She has scared the crud out of almost every employee here at the hotel by coming around a corner and barking at them. She's really good in her crate in the room when the cleaning crew comes in - no barking at them.

We saw Barbara W. from our old days in Cap Haitien. Barbara facilitates adoptions of Haitian kids to US homes. She hasn't changed much. It was good to see her.

We went out to the house yesterday to check the progress. I'm posting photos at the end - I'm not even going to try formatting them this time! (Lazy & the internet is so slow). On our way out to Thomazeau, we listened to "Jive-Bunny and the Master Mixers". Some of you can appreciate this (Rick & Steve?). If you haven't heard this you should check it out. And imagine JT dancing to it.

Bobby went into the village while we were there and the truck was confiscated by the police. He called JT and JT went into town to the rescue. He came back with 3 police officers, including the chief inspector of police of Thomazeau. As JT put it, "They became our friends". They came out to see where we are located and JT wanted to make sure they know us. They were very nice and told us to come visit anytime and call if we need them. BTW, the truck was confiscated because Bobby forgot to pay the insurance on time. It expired the previous day. I guess there's no grace period. JT got the truck back since the police became our friends.

We are going to the villages to do food distribution on Friday and Saturday. We had more relief funds and we wanted to give it out in conjunction with the Easter holiday time. Things are still very rough for folks here in Haiti.

Our home congregation-Providence Road, gave us $600 to purchase Bibles in French. We went to the Haitienne Bible Society today and were able to purchase 152 French Bibles (OT & NT)! Thanks PR! These will be distributed during the April 6-11 preachers' conference here in PAP.

Tim contacted Clean Water for Haiti and they invited him out to visit/observe on a weekday. They concentrate heavily on bio-sand water filters. They commented that the need & demand is great in PAP for bio-sand water filters. Clean Water is within 1 hour's drive of us. As soon as we have transportation Tim will schedule a visit. They also gave him another contact in the PAP area for working towards clean water for the population. Bijou's first walk on the property Front/Side View of House

Note how much plastering & Painting since the 27th

East Side View of House

Tim & Bijou on front porch Upstairs Bathroom - progress! Kitchen Downstairs Bathroom Master Bedroom Window Installation

Living Area

Arrival in Haiti

2009-03-28T09:14:00.000-05:00

We arrived in Haiti on Thursday, March 26. We are happy to be here! Bijou made under the bed her "puppy cave"

We went out to the property to check on the progress of the house. It doesn't look like we'll be able to move on Tuesday, but they keep telling us it will be possible.

Right: This is the carpenter who is building all the doors. The front door is pretty fancy!

As you can see there is quite a bit left to be finished in order to move in. Please pray for the progress!

We don't have the container out of customs yet either. We got word yesterday that there was a fire at the customs office, so this will delay the progress with the container.

We are sure that God has some lessons for us in all of this, so we are trying to keep our eyes open and be quick learners!

I've never done a blog before, so maybe as I go along I'll learn to format this a little more nicely!