We just had 12 days in freezing cold Pennsylvania. Not something we were prepared for, the temperatures that is. Imagine jumping right from August to January. Wow, I think we forgot how cold winter in PA is. We also forgot how nice warm, clean water to wash in can be. We also forgot how nice it is to drive on smooth roads, with lines, and turning lanes. Some nice amenities to our trip. Some others were our parents keeping up their Christmas trees for us so we could celebrate together, great time with some missed friends, and a ton of support within our church and community. We were blown away by the support shown to AWAKENHAITI and us with our gathering on the 16th. God is truly working both here in Haiti and in many lives in the US. We can't express to you how awesome it is for us to see this vision becoming reality. After two years of seeking God's plan and vision for this awesome ministry HE has ALLOWED us to take part in, we are now seeing it all unfold before us. We are so thankful for family and friends who have walked with us this far, who have supported us in a variety of ways, and have done a ton of work to get this ministry off the ground. Now we continue to seek God's plan, wisdom, direction, and provision as we move forward into our first year of AWAKENHAITI in Haiti!
Transitioning into a different culture no matter what it is, is difficult. We obviously experienced it moving here, but we also experienced it going back to PA. We now find ourselves struggling to get into the swing of things here. It takes a few days. We know we are where we are supposed to be, no one ever said it would be easy. We are hopeful though that our paperwork which will allow us to be here longer than the 3 months our passports allow will come through in February so we don't have to keep uprooting ourselves. As much as we would like to see our family and friends, the back and forth is difficult.
Since getting back, we again see how God has brought Jacques into our lives and ministry. I have mentioned him before, but we are so blessed to have him working with us here. He has helped us learn language, culture, and he has done a ton of work; painting, cleaning, laying pavers, chopping tree trunks, building furniture, and much more. We are thankful that the help goes both ways. Jacques was without work when we arrived in October and he is so willing to work, he just couldn't get the opportunity. He has so much drive to do well and provide for himself, but without opportunity, which is so common here, it is hard to make it. Jacques still lives in a tent, one year later. He owns land and has used every penny he can to begin to build a house, but it may take him several years before he can afford to pay for the house to be finished. In Haiti, there are no mortgages. No banks to loan money. How many Americans would be in his situation without help from a bank? Just to get started? This just doesn't sit right with me or with Jeff. This man who has done so much for our family and ministry still lives in a tent. Just something God has layed on both of our hearts. I know when God weighs things on our hearts and we begin to REALLY pray for specific things, HE WILL provide! Please join us in prayer for Jacques.
Vivianne is another blessing to us. I wrote about her a few weeks ago. Come to find out she is expecting a baby, which is in one sense exciting, in another, I wonder how she will do it. How she will get enough protein and iron aside from vitamins to keep herself and the baby healthy. How she and her husband will pay the doctor and hospital bills, and more food for the family. Especially if she can't work. Upon our return here, we found out she had been to the doctor and he found no heartbeat so he ordered a sonogram. We are still waiting to hear if things are ok. Please pray for Vivianne too. I know God has a plan for her too.
Life is just hard here. Hard for so many people. The needs are so great. My prayer is that we can find ways of helping those HE brings in our path. That's why we are here.
thank you for praying for our friends!
~Deb
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Monday, January 17, 2011
THANK YOU!
We had a great night of sharing last night @ CBIC! Thank you to all who helped put this night together!
Thank you to all who came to support and celebrate AWAKENHaiti and all God has done over the past year in and through this ministry!
We are once again humbled by the opportunity to serve with you!
~Deb and Jeff
Thank you to all who came to support and celebrate AWAKENHaiti and all God has done over the past year in and through this ministry!
We are once again humbled by the opportunity to serve with you!
~Deb and Jeff
Friday, January 14, 2011
"One Year Later"
AWAKENHAITI informational meeting
Sunday January 16, 2011 6:30pm
Carlisle Brethren In Christ Church
1155 Walnut Bottom Rd
Jeff and Deb will be giving an update on what God has been accomplishing in Haiti through the AWAKENHAITI ministry, particularly since the earthquake 1 year ago. There will also be information regarding future short term trip opportunities.
Please bring friends and a dessert and share a fun evening with us!
Childcare provided.
Sunday January 16, 2011 6:30pm
Carlisle Brethren In Christ Church
1155 Walnut Bottom Rd
Jeff and Deb will be giving an update on what God has been accomplishing in Haiti through the AWAKENHAITI ministry, particularly since the earthquake 1 year ago. There will also be information regarding future short term trip opportunities.
Please bring friends and a dessert and share a fun evening with us!
Childcare provided.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
1 year anniversary
1/12/11
1 year later. I sat on the balcony steps this morning trying to imagine what some of our friends were experiencing at that moment and what they might encounter today as they remember this day so clearly, like it was yesterday. I thought of Gesner and Youdeline who lost several young friends that they sang in church with. I thought of the little girls at AFCA orphanage who lost their daddy. The sewing instructor for our Good Samaritan girls lost her 25 year old daughter. I thought of Nadej who I just spent time with a few weeks ago praying for her upon finding out she lost her 10 year old son. My heart sank into my feet as I tried to imagine what she has gone through over the past year and how she would deal with this day. It occurred to me that last time we were in Canaan as I walked from one house to another and looked at the expanse of acres full of tents/shelters/homes, that every person in that community had suffered some sort of loss on 1/12/10. Whether it was a job, a home, a family member, a child...these people had all suffered loss and now they are a community. I can only hope and pray that they lean on each other and look to God for their hope for tomorrow.
Schools were closed, stores were closed, markets were closed. Churches were open, people worshipped and prayed. This was a day to honor, respect, and hold one another up.
We went to visit the kids at Good Samaritan this afternoon found out Max and Margarette had a prayer time with the boys and girls. Leading them through worship and prayer for those who suffered loss. It was a special day for us to spend with kids that we hold so dear and are so thankful that despite the loss they suffered in their home a year ago, they are here and they have persevered.
We left the orphanages saying goodbye to the children as we prepare to leave for Carlisle tomorrow, but it was so much easier this time knowing we'd be back in just a little while. We will miss them very much, but we also look forward to time with family and friends!
Blessings,
Deb
1 year later. I sat on the balcony steps this morning trying to imagine what some of our friends were experiencing at that moment and what they might encounter today as they remember this day so clearly, like it was yesterday. I thought of Gesner and Youdeline who lost several young friends that they sang in church with. I thought of the little girls at AFCA orphanage who lost their daddy. The sewing instructor for our Good Samaritan girls lost her 25 year old daughter. I thought of Nadej who I just spent time with a few weeks ago praying for her upon finding out she lost her 10 year old son. My heart sank into my feet as I tried to imagine what she has gone through over the past year and how she would deal with this day. It occurred to me that last time we were in Canaan as I walked from one house to another and looked at the expanse of acres full of tents/shelters/homes, that every person in that community had suffered some sort of loss on 1/12/10. Whether it was a job, a home, a family member, a child...these people had all suffered loss and now they are a community. I can only hope and pray that they lean on each other and look to God for their hope for tomorrow.
Schools were closed, stores were closed, markets were closed. Churches were open, people worshipped and prayed. This was a day to honor, respect, and hold one another up.
We went to visit the kids at Good Samaritan this afternoon found out Max and Margarette had a prayer time with the boys and girls. Leading them through worship and prayer for those who suffered loss. It was a special day for us to spend with kids that we hold so dear and are so thankful that despite the loss they suffered in their home a year ago, they are here and they have persevered.
We left the orphanages saying goodbye to the children as we prepare to leave for Carlisle tomorrow, but it was so much easier this time knowing we'd be back in just a little while. We will miss them very much, but we also look forward to time with family and friends!
Blessings,
Deb
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Team December
Thank you Team December! We were so blessed to have you here as AWAKENHaiti's first team at the guest house! You guys did an amazing job reaching out to those in need, caring for the poor and displaced, loving children...truly being Christ's hands and feet in Haiti. The time you spent with our special Good Samaritan family was an encouragement to them and to us! The kids loved having you here and you helped them transition into their new home. Some of you left a piece of yourself here...Gamaelle has a piece, Resinette has a piece, Manoucheka, Floraine, Wilguens, Junior, Phaline, Kevencia, Sandra, and Lovely. Just to name a few of the kids I know you really spent time with and you made a lasting impact on their lives.
Thank you for supporting AWAKENHaiti in our ministry efforts, for encouraging Jeff and I and our kids, and for pouring yourselves into the Haitian people!
We will pray for you all as you settle back into your lives and routines now with new awareness. We pray you truly seek out and hear what God has in store for you next.
Mesi Anpil e Bondye Beni Ou!
Nou pral we ou byento!
~ Deb, Jeff
Colton, Kylie, and Brooke
Thank you for supporting AWAKENHaiti in our ministry efforts, for encouraging Jeff and I and our kids, and for pouring yourselves into the Haitian people!
We will pray for you all as you settle back into your lives and routines now with new awareness. We pray you truly seek out and hear what God has in store for you next.
Mesi Anpil e Bondye Beni Ou!
Nou pral we ou byento!
~ Deb, Jeff
Colton, Kylie, and Brooke
Friday, December 31, 2010
Canaan
Team December loaded up the truck with paint and supplies Wed morning and set out for an amazing day! We had 6 houses to paint. All of the homes we were painting were families that are connected to Pastor Nathan's church there. We split into 3 groups and set off to paint 2 homes each. The plan wasn't just to paint homes, but to encourage, support, pray with, and work along side each family.
Each person serving that day has a different story to tell! Each one was moved by the things seen and done! I wish every team member could share their own experience in a book.
here's what I saw on Wednesday:
The first home my group painted was the home of a family I had spent time with each of our previous visits. I had not had a translator with me so they were times of very little conversation and just being together with my girls and their little girl. I was under the impression that she had a son Ricardo (about 10) and little Jenny (1). As we gathered inside Nadej's one room, well kept home on Wednesday to pray, we asked her about her previous home and some other questions and she told us she lost her 10 year old son in the quake. She had 4 children, now she has 3. She continued to tell us with a smile on her face, they like their new community. My heart got stuck on the loss of a child. I couldn't move from it as I held her hand and tried to hold back tears telling her God brought us there to help and encourage. Today, I mourn for a mother who lost her child. I pray for her to have strength. I thank God for the provision and protection He has given them and ask that God continue to be very real to this family. Nadej's husband has no work right now. No means of providing for his family. God however, does and continues to provide for them through family, friends, and neighbors. As we were almost finished painting, I looked around at all the tents and shelters and realized that Canaan is a place where everyone experienced loss on January 12, 2010. Loss of a family member, a home, a job...maybe a combination of all three. I'm amazed at the strength of these people. This community in the church has come together, they are making it, and they are helping each other deal with the loss they have experienced. The actual painting got done and amazingly enough, after Nadej's 3 year old nephew got done with the paintbrush, there was still some paint left. It was a lot of fun as many people gathered together to work. Nadej's brother, her son(who is actually 14), and several neighbors all pitched in. We got the job done and I left a piece of myself there.
We moved on to the next house where we are greeted by many willing helping children! Most were neighbors. This family has 4 children, 2 of which were injured in the quake. One with a broken foot, the other, broken arm and injuries on her chest. They are both doing really well now, but have scars that will remind them of that traumatic day for a long time to come. They are expecting their 5th baby in a few months. Fortunately for this family, he still has a job and is able to provide food and care for his wife's pregnancy. We began painting and I found myself without a job because there were so many helpers. I stood back watching for a few moments when Schneider (our translator) asked if I would like to go visit the home owner's mother who has cancer.
So off we went. Her daughter (about age 17) led us to her mother explaining to us that she is very sick with uterine cancer. She cannot walk or get up. We entered Suzette's home and greeted her. She explained that she has been sick for one year. I began asking questions and she was very willing to tell her story. God spoke to her and told her to boil a certain plant and drink the liquid to ease the pain. God spoke to her and told her not to worry, He would heal her. She spoke to me with such joy and faith. She winces and breaks into a sweat from the pain as she tells me her husband left her 20 years before. She raised their children on her own. Her two older daughters don't go to school anymore because they don't have money. Somehow, the younger daughter goes to school. They eat because others help them. She can no longer sell clothing as she used to. They lost their home on January 12, 2010. Life is very hard for them in Canaan. They don't have access to as many things there because it is further from town and market. The house leaks water every time it rains and they are afraid the house will not stand in the wind. It gets very windy there at the base of the mountain. Yet, she has joy. I swear that was an angel sitting there before me. I told Suzette that God was blessing her right now and asked if I could pray with her. When I finished praying, I looked up to see her crying. I had been so blessed to witness her angelic faith, but she also had been blessed by my visit and because of the time I took to her story. That is why I was there that day.
In the midst of loss and suffering God can be praised!
On Thursday, Team December led a VBS. They gave a fun bible story, sat with kids as our amazing sponsor daughter, Stephanie, led songs, they played games, colored, and held little sleeping cuties. They also passed out 120 hygiene kits, little toys, braclets, and candy. All in all, a fun, fun day for everyone! It was great to have the families from the previous day there celebrating together!
Friday we were back at Good Samaritan Girls Orphanage to lay stone through the yard, spread dirt and plant a garden. There was also some playing going on and a few Kreyol lessons.
Tonight the team celebrated New Year's eve at a Haitian church service where tradition is to begin praying just before midnight, then finish in the new year. Tomorrow we will celebrate with traditional squash soup! We are very grateful for this team and all the work they have done, but more importantly, all the love they have poured on so many children and families here. Bondye Beni ou!
Bon Ane!
~Deb
Each person serving that day has a different story to tell! Each one was moved by the things seen and done! I wish every team member could share their own experience in a book.
here's what I saw on Wednesday:
The first home my group painted was the home of a family I had spent time with each of our previous visits. I had not had a translator with me so they were times of very little conversation and just being together with my girls and their little girl. I was under the impression that she had a son Ricardo (about 10) and little Jenny (1). As we gathered inside Nadej's one room, well kept home on Wednesday to pray, we asked her about her previous home and some other questions and she told us she lost her 10 year old son in the quake. She had 4 children, now she has 3. She continued to tell us with a smile on her face, they like their new community. My heart got stuck on the loss of a child. I couldn't move from it as I held her hand and tried to hold back tears telling her God brought us there to help and encourage. Today, I mourn for a mother who lost her child. I pray for her to have strength. I thank God for the provision and protection He has given them and ask that God continue to be very real to this family. Nadej's husband has no work right now. No means of providing for his family. God however, does and continues to provide for them through family, friends, and neighbors. As we were almost finished painting, I looked around at all the tents and shelters and realized that Canaan is a place where everyone experienced loss on January 12, 2010. Loss of a family member, a home, a job...maybe a combination of all three. I'm amazed at the strength of these people. This community in the church has come together, they are making it, and they are helping each other deal with the loss they have experienced. The actual painting got done and amazingly enough, after Nadej's 3 year old nephew got done with the paintbrush, there was still some paint left. It was a lot of fun as many people gathered together to work. Nadej's brother, her son(who is actually 14), and several neighbors all pitched in. We got the job done and I left a piece of myself there.
We moved on to the next house where we are greeted by many willing helping children! Most were neighbors. This family has 4 children, 2 of which were injured in the quake. One with a broken foot, the other, broken arm and injuries on her chest. They are both doing really well now, but have scars that will remind them of that traumatic day for a long time to come. They are expecting their 5th baby in a few months. Fortunately for this family, he still has a job and is able to provide food and care for his wife's pregnancy. We began painting and I found myself without a job because there were so many helpers. I stood back watching for a few moments when Schneider (our translator) asked if I would like to go visit the home owner's mother who has cancer.
So off we went. Her daughter (about age 17) led us to her mother explaining to us that she is very sick with uterine cancer. She cannot walk or get up. We entered Suzette's home and greeted her. She explained that she has been sick for one year. I began asking questions and she was very willing to tell her story. God spoke to her and told her to boil a certain plant and drink the liquid to ease the pain. God spoke to her and told her not to worry, He would heal her. She spoke to me with such joy and faith. She winces and breaks into a sweat from the pain as she tells me her husband left her 20 years before. She raised their children on her own. Her two older daughters don't go to school anymore because they don't have money. Somehow, the younger daughter goes to school. They eat because others help them. She can no longer sell clothing as she used to. They lost their home on January 12, 2010. Life is very hard for them in Canaan. They don't have access to as many things there because it is further from town and market. The house leaks water every time it rains and they are afraid the house will not stand in the wind. It gets very windy there at the base of the mountain. Yet, she has joy. I swear that was an angel sitting there before me. I told Suzette that God was blessing her right now and asked if I could pray with her. When I finished praying, I looked up to see her crying. I had been so blessed to witness her angelic faith, but she also had been blessed by my visit and because of the time I took to her story. That is why I was there that day.
In the midst of loss and suffering God can be praised!
On Thursday, Team December led a VBS. They gave a fun bible story, sat with kids as our amazing sponsor daughter, Stephanie, led songs, they played games, colored, and held little sleeping cuties. They also passed out 120 hygiene kits, little toys, braclets, and candy. All in all, a fun, fun day for everyone! It was great to have the families from the previous day there celebrating together!
Friday we were back at Good Samaritan Girls Orphanage to lay stone through the yard, spread dirt and plant a garden. There was also some playing going on and a few Kreyol lessons.
Tonight the team celebrated New Year's eve at a Haitian church service where tradition is to begin praying just before midnight, then finish in the new year. Tomorrow we will celebrate with traditional squash soup! We are very grateful for this team and all the work they have done, but more importantly, all the love they have poured on so many children and families here. Bondye Beni ou!
Bon Ane!
~Deb
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Team December
Team December is our official first team hosted in the AWAKENHaiti guest house! We are so excited to have this team here!
The last two days have been spent working at the Good Samaritan Girls Orphange. There was some painting on the outdoor bathroom/food/storage depot, shelving was put up, a roof was built over the outdoor cooking area, shelves and counter top for outdoor kitchen, ceiling fans were hung...etc. Along with this work...playing with some really cool kids, white girls getting their hair braided, and fun just hanging out with the Good Sam girls and boys.
Today we took a trip to Freedom House Bethesda Orphanage to deliver Christmas letters from their sponsors! The girls there are doing great. The second floor to their house is just about complete!
The newbies to Haiti got to see a bit more of the culture as we drove through some pretty busy areas. We ended our night with some of Margarette's awesome Haitian cooking...cabri (goat), rice and beans with sauce, vegetables, and Haitian coffee.
We are really looking forward to visiting Canaan tomorrow to paint wooden shelters and visit some wonderful people! We know we will see God in some of the people we will meet there.
Please pray for these team members who will be seeing some very difficult living conditions tomorrow. Pray for wisdom. Pray for God to reveal Himself!
Blessings!
~Deb
The last two days have been spent working at the Good Samaritan Girls Orphange. There was some painting on the outdoor bathroom/food/storage depot, shelving was put up, a roof was built over the outdoor cooking area, shelves and counter top for outdoor kitchen, ceiling fans were hung...etc. Along with this work...playing with some really cool kids, white girls getting their hair braided, and fun just hanging out with the Good Sam girls and boys.
Today we took a trip to Freedom House Bethesda Orphanage to deliver Christmas letters from their sponsors! The girls there are doing great. The second floor to their house is just about complete!
The newbies to Haiti got to see a bit more of the culture as we drove through some pretty busy areas. We ended our night with some of Margarette's awesome Haitian cooking...cabri (goat), rice and beans with sauce, vegetables, and Haitian coffee.
We are really looking forward to visiting Canaan tomorrow to paint wooden shelters and visit some wonderful people! We know we will see God in some of the people we will meet there.
Please pray for these team members who will be seeing some very difficult living conditions tomorrow. Pray for wisdom. Pray for God to reveal Himself!
Blessings!
~Deb
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