John Murray is the way we would pronounce his name in the States (Jean Mary Eugene is his real name.) His Sponsor family sent us the $500 they felt led to send & I will say .....I HAD A FABULOUS DAY & was filled with LOVE & JOY overflowing when we went & paid his school tuition for the entire year in full!!!!!!!!! PRAISE JESUS!!! He was absolutely ALL smiles. He was given his uniform & then my sweet friend Christy from The House of Moses went with me, Edril, & Jean Mary to the local market after that. Edril took his book list & helped him get all of his school books, a few notebooks, pens, & pencils. We then found him a backpack, some new school shoes, a few undershirts, new underwear & socks, a new belt, some cologne, & a treat of Ice Cream from the guy with the Ice cream cart!! Sounds crazy ...right...well I had NO IDEA it was so good!! Check out the pictures!!
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| All the school books & supplies were in that wheel barrow thing!!! |
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| He was so proud to get those new shoes!! |
It was such a blessed & fun day!! I am so thankful to be a part of days like this . I also wanted to share something else that touched my heart. On Thursday night we were leaving to go to Community Bible Study at The House of Moses & when we stepped out of our gate Edril said, "hang on mom, I am waiting on Jean Mary." My heart melted.....he had asked him to come to bible study & when he arrived he was excited to go. He came back again last night (Thursday), this time we offered him dinner & he was so thankful for his bowl of rice & beans. We decided that every Thursday he should come to our house & eat at 5:30 & walk down to HOM with us. He was a happy young man & my heart once again overflowed.
LOVE - Thursdays
On Thursdays at 3:30 I was invited to my friend Susan Hammonds house for a ladies bible study. (you can read all about them at Hammonds in Haiti on the web or Facebook). There are about 12 of us from 3 different local missions & we have only been meeting 2 weeks but we are going through the book Prodigal God. I must say that I am loving it! So awesome to sit & pour your heart out with a group like this. Some have been here for 30 years, some 8 years, others 2 or 3 years & some just moved here this year like me. Also as I have mentioned the House of Moses community Praise & Worship/Bible study is on Thursday nights. It truly is amazing to worship together in English & Kryole with people from all over the community & other local Missions. When we first moved here almost 2 months ago we met in the house in a room. I remember Christy sharing with me about a vision she had that it would grow so much we would move to the court yard outside. WELL, a church in the US donated the awesome sound equipment that arrived just aver a week ago & we moved outside. Last night I counted over 70 people. Please be in prayer for the lost here.....this is a come as you are ...no one has to dress up kind of place & THEY ARE COMING!! You know......IF YOU BUILD IT...THEY WILL COME! (ok, I might have seen Field of Dreams a few to many times. :D) Anyway, I Love Thursdays!!
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| A quick pic I snapped at our first court yard service! |
We have been so blessed with the community God is building here in our area of Port-de-Paix (called Chalet). He has given us Amazing new friends. Last weekend we were invited to go to the beach with a lot of them. (about 30 in all) It was so much fun. Just letting all the kids play & talking with them about what is going on in their lives, how God called them here, where they are from, & some just catching up because we have been friends a few years. We loved every minute of it! Our kids swam for hours, played soccer on the beach, ate some local fish & just enjoyed the down time. (No French or Math that day :D)
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| The TapTap all the big kids road in on the way to the beach had a flat tire on the way....just a normal outing in Haiti! |
I can go on & on about how God has blessed us & poured out his LOVE. Last Sunday our family was invited to come to Sunday lunch with Mr & Mrs Alexander. They have been here 30 years & founded Sonlight Ministries. (where our kids go to school...see lots of older posts about Sonlight) - Mammy (Mrs.Norma) has the sweetest spirit. I think God knew we needed some special love .....& some American food! :D haha - because lunch at Mammy's is simply AMAZING!!! We talked for hours about Missions, the "old" days in Haiti, & she gave us helpful hints about where to get things we might need or things we did not know we could get here. Two of her daughters & their kids were also there, both of which have been in Haiti for years & raise their families here. We loved every minute of it! Mammy then pulled out the BIG GUNS......she served the kids ice cream with chocolate syrup & then she served us Cherry Pie & Ice Cream with coffee!!!! It was definitely a piece of Heaven!
FAMILY LOVE -
It has been so Awesome that almost every week Sherlande comes to visit. If you missed my earlier post she is my youngest 3 Haitian childrens biological sister that is 18 and lives with their aunt. This week she & their cousin came to visit with gifts for us. I wasn't sure what to say when they came....she brought a flat of eggs, 3 things of cheese, & a bunch of bananas. I knew to say THANK YOU, smile & take the gifts because they were heart felt & cost them more than I want to think about. I actually had to make my way to "do something in my room" so they would not see my tears! They are both such sweet girls & usually sit & sip some juice with us & play with the kids. This week when they came Edril was not here so there it was....complete silence :) They know NO English & our Kreyol is still AWFUL. Caroline & Meredith decided to paint their fingernails & toe nails so we all jumped down in the floor laughed & picked out colors. We offered them a snack, a coke & I helped them paint their toes & they thought that was Awesome! LOVE was all that was needed......No words necessary! <3 GREAT AFTERNOON!!
JUST PLAIN LOVE -
This past Tuesday the kids were leaving for school & I heard them yelling "MOM...Hey MOM" from the gate...so I peaked over the balcony & there was a gentlemen with a baby. Of course I immediately have to go ask Edril to get up so he can translate for us. Turns out the gentleman's wife died about a month ago & they had 3 kids. He told me he could not care for the baby. He said he has a 7 & a 5 year old at home & he can not go get work & leave the baby with the other children. I HAD NO IDEA WHAT TO SAY TO HIM.....at first I sat in silence, & then immediately I began to pray for guidance. I am a strong believer than family should stay together & I wanted desperately for him to keep his son. BUT after talking...I knew this was not happening! :( I then held this sweet baby in a pink onesie & navy torn up pants. My heart was breaking, the baby was dirty, ears with dried drainage & then as I held the baby tight I realized how hot he was. The dad told us his name ...LOVENSON.....he told us his birthdate is November 19th & that he was 10mo old. I told the dad I would keep him overnight & pray for guidance but I was not making any promises. We brought him upstairs & took his temp & it was 102. Gordon immediately started trimming the babies long nails & cleaning them. I ran to Mammy's house for some infant Tylenol & to the local store for Gatorade. With the help of my sweet Gabriella we cleaned & bathed this sweet baby boy. We loved him, fed him, prayed over him, & played with him some more. I was AMAZED by my girls....they fed him & took turns rocking him all afternoon. That night he woke up at 3 am & SarahBeth quickly grabbed him & got him back to sleep. At 5:30am he woke up hungry & crying & Caroline jumped up faster than I have ever seen grabbed him, fed him & played with him. His fever never returned after that night PRAISE JESUS. The father did return that morning with his birth certificate. I told him then that I just could not keep the sweet boy but I would take him to the Hope Vision Orphanage where he would be well cared for. He said "OK" & walked right out the gate.......with no emotion .........my Heart just Broke in half!!!! I knew I had no control over that situation & if I would not have taken Lovenson there is no telling where he might have ended up that day. Please remember to pray for this sweet boy. We took him later that afternoon to Hope Vision where they were excited to receive him. My kids hearts are still broken .....they could use a few prayers too!! I know this has been a long blog but so much is happening here. We are so Blessed & Thankful to be here doing what God wants us to., and excited to see the doors he is opening! Please keep our family in your prayers as we continue to pray for HIS WILL, & for Wisdom & discernment in all we do!!
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