A Small Boy - Yet Such a Huge Impact - Part II

Great news. There was a patient that came into the clinic the other day from the same area as the boy who was hit by the passing vehicle. I questioned her....she told me the boy's name is Stanley and his mom's name is Alexandria. She also blessed me with the news that Stanley did not die and that he was in a hospital in Port-au-Prince. God is still in control and seated on the throne. Thank you Lord for "the rest of the story" or at least the next segment of Stanley's story. His life is important to God and his life has impacted mine. I pray God's glory throughout this whole situation.

Please continue to pray for Stanley and his mom, Alexandria. Thank you!

Mrs. Judy's Mom

Please keep David and Judy Heady (& family) in your prayers. They headed back to the U.S. yesterday after receiving a phone call that Mrs. Judy's mom had a heart attack and her kidneys were shutting down. They did not make it to the bedside of her mom before she passed away around noon but, they are now with family and preparing to make funeral arrangements. God bless.

A Small Boy - Yet Such a Huge Impact

....I answered the phone about the same time I noticed Kevin's brake lights at the right hand side of the road. I hit my brakes and slowed way down. I heard Kevin's voice on the phone say something like, "a little boy was just hit in front of us, do you want to do something?"

My first reaction is YES, but God gave me the courage to say, "we can not, we are not allowed to stop and help, we have to keep going." As I sit hear typing that, the tears just flow from my eyes. It hurt more than you can imagine. You see we don't live in the United States of America. Things are different here. Crowds get angry at the site of a hurt one on the side of a road and things become dangerous. Riots can break out and more people can be injured. So we kept going.

I told the group in my vehicle that we were unable to stop, but we could pray. So, Nickie led us in prayer for the boy and for the situation at hand.

As I looked over to the side of the road, I saw a little boy who looked to be about six. He was lying motionless on the side of the road. The crowd was gathering. No one was going near the small boy and many had began running down the side of the road to catch the car that hit the boy. I saw machetes in hand, I heard yelling, and up in front of us I saw the car had pulled over next to where the police sit. He had traveled to where the police were to pull over for his safety. I saw the police hold up their hands to keep the crowd from gathering too close to the vehicle. My heart continued to break...

As many mentioned, there was no 911 to call. There was no ambulance on the way. There was really no place to take the boy if he even had a breath of life left in him. It didn't appear that life was still with that little boy. I believe he was in the arms of our Creator the moment that vehicle hit him. My heart broke for the family and friends of that little one and my heart hurt for the one who hit him. My heart continues to ache for them all.

What has God shown me through this? Let me continue to process this and I will get back with you....

Enjoying the Beach

Monday was a "day out" for our New Work Fellowship (NWF) team. They chose to go to the beach and enjoy bonding with one another there. Town (Port-au-Prince) has been hectic, there has been rioting in the streets related to the presidential election, there has been allot of traffic, and you can buy souvenirs at the beach, so we chose to load up after the Gran Moun feeding program and clinic were over and head to the beach.

We got to the beach around 10:30 a.m., unloaded 23 people, and poured onto the beach. The waves were crashing, the sky was clear blue, and there was a nice breeze blowing. It didn't take long for the souvenir sellers to scope us out and bring their ware over to sell to the team. A few glanced at the items, but most headed to the water. It was a bit different this time when we arrived at the waters edge. Like I mentioned, the waves were crashing against the beach, it appeared to be high tide, the water was murky, and the water was a teensie bit chilly.

We entered the water. Once immersed in the grandness of the ocean, the water didn't seem so chilly. We played, we jumped to keep the waves from engulfing us, we laughed and joked. We enjoyed the time we had together. Lunch time rolled around and we headed up to the restaurant to eat. They had the food prepared and ready for us after our drink orders were taken and delivered (we had ordered when we arrived at the beach, so they could have it ready at 1 p.m.).  We enjoyed our meal and fellowship and headed back for the beach.

The waves seemed to be more fierce. I prayed for safety for everyone and watched with caution as some played in the water. I decided, for my own sanity, that I would watch by the waters edge. The waves were tossing them around like rag dolls and so I continued to pray. I saw some get slammed into the shore line, get up with confusion and then a grin, and head back out for more of a beating. It didn't make allot of sense to me, but I continued to pray silently in my head and watch.

While they played in the water, others were on the beach haggling with the merchandisers for the best bargain. We decided that the water was getting too rough and so we headed up to join the hagglers. I was thankful for that. Although it was enjoyable to watch them have fun playing in the water, I was glad they were done and had remained safe. Shopping time was about over, so we decided to get packed up to head home. That took a good 30 minutes or so and we all met out at the vehicle.

Packed into two vehicles like loose sardines, we headed down the road. In our vehicle, we enjoyed small talk. In the vehicle in front of me, I am told they were doing the same along with some singing. We talked about driving in Haiti, and we talked about the good time we had just had, and we talked about the fact that I must not have been paying close attention to Kevin and his vehicle because I didn't notice when we weren't behind him any more. I was thankful I knew the way home and that it wasn't that important that Kevin was further ahead of me.

Next thing I know, we were traveling through a small town called Source Matelas, and my phone rang....

Visitors For Christmas

How many of you are having company over the Christmas season? How many of you are going to be company over the Christmas season? If you are going to be someones company or have company over, be thankful. God has placed people into our lives to minister to us and to allow us to minister to them. When I say "our" I mean you and me...

Who does the Lord want you to minister to this Christmas season? Today? Tomorrow? How does HE want you and me to minister to these individuals? Why does HE want us to minister to people? I may not know who to minister to ahead of time, I may not know how to minister to them ahead of time, but I do know why HE wants us to minister...because HE loves us and HE wants us to love others and show HIS love through us to others.

My mom, Lynn, and my nephews, James and Zachary, are coming to Haiti for Christmas. They will be flying in on December 22nd. Please pray for a safe flight and the peace of God to be upon them and upon this trip.

May you each enjoy the holiday season and you know, it doesn't have to end on January 3rd when most go back to work and school. Enjoy this upcoming year. May the Lord pour down His love upon each of you and may He bless you greatly. I pray that we will each grow in our relationship with Him and with one another. I pray that He will be glorified in our thoughts and actions and that He gives us clear direction in the path He chooses for us to take.

New Work Fellowship Team

We had a team arrive on December 15th from New Work Fellowship (NWF) in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. This church is our sending church to the mission field and Haiti. Needless to say, we were very excited to see them. The night before their arrival in Haiti, Global Outreach Haiti Team was called together for a meeting. We had gotten word that riots would begin again Monday, December 20th. The reason for the riots was going to be the announcement of the recount from the Presidential Election that was held on November 28th. The people believed that the count was corrupt, so they wanted a recount of the votes. Word on the street was that riots we going to start back up and that the airport may be closed down (again) for safety purposes.

We contacted NWF team leader to inform them of the possibility of their return flight to the U.S. being postponed if the airports we shut down. This could mean that they would not make it back home for CHRISTmas. We asked them if they still wanted to come. Needless to say, they came. PTL!

We have enjoyed working alongside them in ministering to the people of Haiti. They have 11 team members. They have been working on well-drilling and repair, working in the burn/wound clinic, and maintenance on the GO Haiti property. They also had the opportunity to show the Jesus Film two different nights in two different areas of Haiti. What a blessing.

Maintenance on the GO Haiti property has included: replacing the wood on the galleria (or sun porch as Willis calls it), cleaning out trailers that included dancing with roaches and mice stomping (yuck), fixing the Bruns' water heater, and putting lights on the Bruns' galleria.

We spent Saturday morning packing around 400 backpacks and other bags with toys, toiletries, and candy. These bags are going to be passed out at our Gran Moun (Old People) Feeding Program on Monday morning and at the morning and afternoon school in TiTanyen on Wednesday morning. I love seeing the faces on the people who receive gift bags. You know, it seems weird in America to give someone toothpaste and soap for a CHRISTmas gift, but here it is a joy and blessing to receive.

Saturday also included collecting large rocks from the property to aid in the construction of the addition to the clinic. Although we don't have the manpower or experience to pour the foundation to the clinic while the team is here (our men are on vacation for the next two weeks), I appreciate their willingness to help gather the supplies needed to begin again in January. Also, we had a group help in clearing the edge of part of our property. We have to plow a fire break along the edge of the property during dry season to help keep our property from catching fire. Wild fires, or controlled burnings gone wild, are one of our dry season hazards.

To say the least, this team has been willing to do whatever was asked of them and I thank them for their willingness to serve.

On a side note - never eat green eggs unless they are dyed that way on purpose.....for those that know Willis, ask him about this. Please keep NWF in your prayers, they are raising money for more wells in Haiti and the group travels back to the states on Wednesday - may HE give them a safe and smooth trip home.

Potable Drinking Water - What an AMAZING CHRISTmas Gift!

Happy Thanksgiving (Late)

It has been a blessed Thanksgiving.  Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!  I pray this finds you well.  As I reflect back over this past year....it makes me exhausted to just think about it.

We have so many things to be thankful for, I'd like to take this time to list some of those things...

1. Salvation through Jesus Christ.
2. Survived our first year in Haiti and adjusting pretty well.
3. Experienced a major earthquake.
4. Lived through an earthquake and able to minister to those around us in the process.
5. Prayed with many and for many throughout this past year.
6. Breath of life and good health.
7. Wonderful family and friends.
8. Roof over our heads, food to eat, and good water to drink.
9. Survived and healed wonderfully from gallbladder surgery.
10. Financing for surgery - it was neat to see God work it out.
11. Enjoyed furlough.
12. Jessica's confirmation of Salvation.
13. Learning Haitian Creole - slowly, but surely.
14. So many have been sick, God has healed many and continues to heal others.
15. So many have gone to be with HIM in heaven. We continue to pray for these family and friends.
16. The trials of life. Although they are not fun most of the time, they are allowed by the Lord.
17. Surviving homeschooling and I think the children are learning something.
18. Protection when needed.
19. Guidance from the Lord.
20. A relationship with Jesus Christ.

There are many more things to list, but I will just give you the first 20 that popped into my head. It is now a week after Thanksgiving and I am just now getting this posted.  God is good and perfect.  Love y'all.