Monday, February 20, 2012
Last week the HOPE House family grew a little bit larger. We welcomed a 6 week old baby girl into our care. Sweet little Love-Kelly was born on January 1st and is in remarkably good health. Yet like many children here in Haiti she has a story that starts off sad, but a future that is full of hope. Love-Kelly's mother, Nadine, lives in a very dangerous area in downtown Port-au-Prince. She does not have her own house or even her own tent. She is living with other people who told her that she needed to get rid of her baby if she wanted to continue to stay there. With no place else to live, she began searching for an orphanage. Love-Kelly is Nadine's second child. She had to send her first daughter out to the countryside to serve as a slave child because she could not afford to feed or educate her. Nadine is hoping to find a better fate for her new baby. After a lengthy discussion about Nadine's life, education, and ability to be a good mother, she firmly believed the only way to give her daughter life was to give her up for adotpion. We asked her questions like, "If you had a place to live with Love-Kelly, would you want her back?" "If you had a job and could provide for her, would you want to keep her?" With tears rolling down her face she said, "Yes, of course, but I would have no one to watch her. I have thought of everything and the best choice for me is to give her up so she can have a better life." We searched for ways to keep them together. I would always prefer to keep a breastfeeding mother with her infant baby! However, it came to a point where Nadine was so sure she would fail, that if she didn't leave Love-Kelly here, she would leave her somewhere else. And so we brought her home. She is absolutely beautiful from head to toe. I have no doubt that God will provide a loving family for Love-Kelly and that she will grow up surrounded by love and joy. But my heart breaks for Nadine and the emotions and heartache she is facing. She never intended to put her children through this pain. This is never how she envisioned her life. I cannot imagine how hard life must be to have to come to a point where you have to abandon your child, out of love, because that is the best thing for them. If you have children, can you even imagine that? To see your children sick and dying and having to choose which one to abandon? It is a difficult choice that too many mothers in Haiti are facing. I am thankful that we were able to make Nadine an appointment for our birth control program. Until she is able to provide and care for her children, she will not be having any more. She will be beginning Depopprovera this month. Nadine just arrived at our gate. She is going to help us with laundry over the next few months. Please keep Nadine and Love-Kelly in your prayers. Despite all of the heartache and trials, God is good, and there is great hope for both of them! I am excited and blessed to have the opportunity to know them and pour the love of Christ into their lives. I am looking forward to what God has in store for their futures!
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Thursday, February 16, 2012
We have been so blessed by an awesome work team this week! So much is getting accomplished, and we have no shortage of projects! Part of the team has been working on hooking up our water and electricity around the back side of the property and over to our storage rooms, staff bathroom, and Jean and Lucienne's house. It is always a challenge coming down to another country and doing work that you are used to doing with all of the materials available in the states! Flexibility and innovation are key! This group has both! The other half of the team has been helping me sort through and organize all of the boxes and bins full of donations from our last shipment. Just two days ago I couldn't even walk into the storage let alone find something! Now it is beautifully organized and labeled! I know exactly what we have and where it is! Praise God! That alone makes life so much easier!
The team took an afternoon to set up the new playground equipment! The kids are absolutely loving it! I think the slide is the biggest hit! It's hard imagine that these children are 4-9 years old and have never swung on a swing or slid down a slide. This is all new for them! My favorite part is the three person porch swing! Perfect for rocking our precious babies! ....and in about 10 years the mango and chadek trees should be large enough to provide shade! HA!
So far over 130 families have benefited food, clothing, and sheets from the shipment. Praise God! We are so thankful to blessed to spread God's love and hope to those in need. Thank you for donating to HFAP!
Also, thank you to everyone who has been praying for Guerlens. He is officially back in Michigan and the surgery behind him! Please continue to pray for his recovery, health, and appetite.
The team has been able to enjoy riding around in an air conditioned van this week! We were able to get our new full sized van out of customs and complete all of the paperwork for licensing literally 20 minutes before they arrived. I am so thankful for a vehicle that provides protection on all sides! God is good!
I have so much more to say....including the story of our new baby girl, Love-Kelly....stay tuned!
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Thursday, February 09, 2012
(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!
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Tuesday, February 07, 2012
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.
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Thursday, February 02, 2012
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!
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Thursday, January 19, 2012
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!
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Sunday, January 15, 2012
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.
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Thursday, January 12, 2012
  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. ,
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Monday, January 09, 2012
  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!
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Wednesday, November 30, 2011
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.
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Monday, November 21, 2011
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!
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Sunday, November 20, 2011
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!
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Friday, November 11, 2011
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!
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Tuesday, November 08, 2011
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!
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Sunday, October 30, 2011
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?
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Friday, October 28, 2011
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!
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Thursday, October 27, 2011
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?
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Wednesday, October 26, 2011
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.
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Friday, October 21, 2011
  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
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Tuesday, October 18, 2011
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.
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Saturday, October 15, 2011
  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!
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Tuesday, October 11, 2011
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!
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Sunday, October 09, 2011
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!
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Tuesday, October 04, 2011
 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!
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Friday, September 30, 2011
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!"
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