The team in Haiti right now is doing great! They visited Leogane Orphanage on Sunday and reported the kids are doing ok. They have a large tent set up for church. Our second team will visit them again this coming Sunday. We'll take some fun things...soccer balls, jump ropes, coloring. Hopefully we'll get to worship with them also, it is a beautiful experience with the 100 kids and their energetic pastor/father who live by faith every day.
The team is getting lots of work done at the guest house and boys orphanage. They expect to have full electricity running at the guest house by the time the second team arrives on Thursday evening (if there is such a thing in Haiti).
Rick's first trip to Haiti included getting some sort of new hairstyle done at Good Samaritan Orphanage. Depending on which one of the girls was doing the styling, I feel for him...can be painful:) I'm not sure if there have been any pedicures done yet, but pictures will tell!
The second team will be packing tonight and leaving 3:00am Thursday morning. It will be a very long day of traveling. There will also be 3 team members from the first team leaving Haiti on Thursday. Please be in prayer for safety, rest, and emotions. Coming and leaving bring a lot of unexpected emotions for some people.
We are very excited to be part of the ministry God has allowed us to take part in this week. No word on the container yet. Please also be in prayer for the release of the container this week.
One more request is to lift up our families we leave back here. Please pray for patience and understanding for those taking care of our children. There are several of us leaving young children behind which can be difficult on both ends. Thank you to those of you caring for them!
Thank you for experiencing Haiti with us. We're looking forward to sharing with you things we see God doing there! And thank you for your continued prayer!
Deb
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Saturday, July 24, 2010
We're still learning
A event filled week and more to come. God continues to teach us lessons of being self-less, trust in Him, and why we are here.
Jeff and 7 others flew into Haiti Friday. They had a very long trip as it always is. Travel to the airport, checking in, layover, uncertainty of timing at baggage claim in Haiti, and travel from the airport to the house all in all is about 13 hours and no solid sleep.
This team includes 4 who have not been to Haiti before. Please pray for all of them, but especially those experiencing it for the first time. Those of us who return again and again learn something new each time, but that first time can be overwhelming.
The team will be working on getting all of the water and electric systems at the guest house/girls orphanage/our house and the boys orphanage running well [at least as well as can be for Haiti:)]. They'll also be doing some yard work, paint prep, and general maintenance at both places. So far they are having a great trip! Hopefully, they will be sharing some details with us all soon as to what they have experienced so far. We do know they had a great Saturday working at the guest house, Vanessa is teaching a man how to run wire or something of that sort:), and they are enjoying the wind and cooler nights as result of the tropical storm.
Events that preceeded this trip...
*We received an email earlier in the week saying our container is in customs and is being processed! The down side is that even if it is cleared, it could sit for a week or two because of the back log they are experiencing. If this is the case it could be released after both teams have left. We continue to ask God to intervene on this process and that the container would be delivered while we have so much help there. It would mean so much to us to have that help!
*We found out that Haiti is not issuing any visas which might sound really bad, but actually the process we will take instead to be in the country long term turns out to be easier and probably less expensive. With so many ministry details still to take care of before we leave, this is a relief to us!
*We signed a contract on our house on Thursday night. Settlement date will come when the other family has tennants to rent their house in Shippensburg. Please be in prayer for that process and the timinig of things. It is definitely bittersweet, but we know ultimately God is and has been part of this process and we continue to learn that we need to trust. Many times, I want to be in control of this and at times I don't want to give up the comfort and normalcy we have here. As I was listening to "What do I know of holy" by Addison Road last night, I realized again why I am here on this earth. It is not for myself. It is not for my comfort or what is easy. I am here to bring honor and praise to the God who created me and all things and to share his love with others. The sacrifice He made for me far outweighs any sacrifice I could ever make for the sake of his kingdom. So yet again, I lay it all down at his feet.
Jeff and 7 others flew into Haiti Friday. They had a very long trip as it always is. Travel to the airport, checking in, layover, uncertainty of timing at baggage claim in Haiti, and travel from the airport to the house all in all is about 13 hours and no solid sleep.
This team includes 4 who have not been to Haiti before. Please pray for all of them, but especially those experiencing it for the first time. Those of us who return again and again learn something new each time, but that first time can be overwhelming.
The team will be working on getting all of the water and electric systems at the guest house/girls orphanage/our house and the boys orphanage running well [at least as well as can be for Haiti:)]. They'll also be doing some yard work, paint prep, and general maintenance at both places. So far they are having a great trip! Hopefully, they will be sharing some details with us all soon as to what they have experienced so far. We do know they had a great Saturday working at the guest house, Vanessa is teaching a man how to run wire or something of that sort:), and they are enjoying the wind and cooler nights as result of the tropical storm.
Events that preceeded this trip...
*We received an email earlier in the week saying our container is in customs and is being processed! The down side is that even if it is cleared, it could sit for a week or two because of the back log they are experiencing. If this is the case it could be released after both teams have left. We continue to ask God to intervene on this process and that the container would be delivered while we have so much help there. It would mean so much to us to have that help!
*We found out that Haiti is not issuing any visas which might sound really bad, but actually the process we will take instead to be in the country long term turns out to be easier and probably less expensive. With so many ministry details still to take care of before we leave, this is a relief to us!
*We signed a contract on our house on Thursday night. Settlement date will come when the other family has tennants to rent their house in Shippensburg. Please be in prayer for that process and the timinig of things. It is definitely bittersweet, but we know ultimately God is and has been part of this process and we continue to learn that we need to trust. Many times, I want to be in control of this and at times I don't want to give up the comfort and normalcy we have here. As I was listening to "What do I know of holy" by Addison Road last night, I realized again why I am here on this earth. It is not for myself. It is not for my comfort or what is easy. I am here to bring honor and praise to the God who created me and all things and to share his love with others. The sacrifice He made for me far outweighs any sacrifice I could ever make for the sake of his kingdom. So yet again, I lay it all down at his feet.
Learning together,
Deb
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Headed back!!!
We're getting ready to head to Haiti again. This time we will be taking two teams to Haiti to do a number of jobs at the Guesthouse and the boys and girls orphanages. I leave on the 23rd, Deb will be bringing the second team down on the 29th and we will both come back on the 4th of August. This will be the first time that we will be staying at the AWAKENHAITI guesthouse. We are both very excited to be able to stay there and equally excited to be able to share it with the people that are coming with us. We both continue to feel the overwelming support of so many.
AWAKENHAITI has also been very busy, continuing to get ready for our departure and getting the ministry off the ground. The web-site (awakenhaiti.org) is up and running and contains alot of information about the ministry and the upcoming trips that we will offer this coming fall. We are also going to start booking trips for 2011.
As Deb mentioned, two weeks ago, we had a wonderful evening sharing our vision and why we are moving to Haiti with the members of our church, friends and family. It was so encouraging to see and be able to share with so many people. We also realize that it was a difficult time of the year to have our presentation, so Deb and I are putting a packet of information together for those that wanted to come and were not able to. If you would like to copy of that information, just e-mail us with your address to jeffd@awakenhaiti.org and we'll get it to you asap. Thanks to all that have already commited to partnering with us as we serve in Haiti.
Please continue to pray for us and the team that will be heading to Haiti to serve at the end of this month. Some of them have not been to Haiti since the earthquake happened and for some it will be their first time in Haiti.
Bondye beni,
Jeff
Saturday, July 3, 2010
A Journey
Sunday we were able to share our journey with about 150 people. We were without words of gratitude at the support we felt as we shared our hearts, our experiences from the past few years, and our reasons for going to Haiti. The following is the video from our presentation on Sunday. It represents our own journey and then also the journey of those walking with us in the leadership of AWAKENHAITI and in child sponsorship. Thank you again from the bottom of our hearts for those who came Sunday and also to those who have chosen to support us through prayer and finances!
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