10/23-10/30

Hello from Haiti! We hope that you had a great week, but whether your week was at the top or the bottom of weeks for you, we hope above all that You felt the presence of God. We are definitely seeing His Hands at work here in this country!

First of all, we are so blessed this week to have Mrs. Peggy and Mrs. Marie visiting us from Church of the Cove in Tennessee. These beautiful, Christ-like women have put on their hardhats and walking boots and jumped right into the craziness of Haiti, loving and serving like it's going out of style. Their compassion and brokeness for these people has given us all a little bit of perspective and we are so thankful for them!

The UN has a very evident presence here in Haiti, but their employees are mainly here to keep physical peace and control the violence and crime... not for humanitarian work. However, we have been blessed to come across at least 2 officers who are going above and beyond their job descriptions. [Please pray for them!] Earlier this week we got a call from a UN officer who stepped out in boldness to speak up for a baby boy in desperate need of medical care. The boy, 2 years old, had been severely burned, spent a month in a hospital, and was now back in the tent camp. We went to check out the situation, and this is what we found:

His mother [who is 7 months pregnant with her 9th child] agreed to go to a hospital with us, so we took them both to Medishare. The baby is getting excellent care and will be staying at the hospital until he is ready to go home. His mother is hanging in there and we are doing our best to show them the love of Christ. We will keep you updated on the progress of this little guy!

After we got this child the care he needed, the same UN officer introduced us to another little boy who had a sort of staph infection on his back. We were able to meet his father and give him some antibiotics. When we checked back after a few days, he was already healing. We were able to bring some shoes and hygiene products, and the UN officer bought him some clean clothes. He and his father both were so thankful... their faces lit up the room. We are so thankful God chose to put us in their path.

Odini and his daddy!

From working with the UN and the people of this particular tent camp, God has brought to us the opportunity to possibly contribute to beginning a school for the more than 200 kids living in this camp who can't afford to go to school. We are praying and seeking God's direction as far as what our role should be in this task. This is a picture of a portion of the camp that these kids are living in:

Our final medical emergency care that we were able to provide this week was with Baby KenKen. He was taken to the hospital 2 days ago because he has taken a turn for the worse. This morning he stopped breathing but the doctors did CPR and brought him back. He currently has a feeding tube because he isn't eating, a fever, high blood sugar, and short rapid breaths. It seems that it won't be much longer until He steps from here to Heaven. Prayers for his sweet mom are so important.. that she may feel the comfort of our Heavenly Father!

On a higher note, the kids at Little Hands & Feet have started school and are loving it! We were finally able to get all their books, uniforms, shoes, belts, etc. etc. etc. We had no idea the extent of getting stuff for school in Haiti until we had to do it! It's a lot of stuff. They are also thoroughly enjoying their twice a week Bible Study with Kessy and Joshua. This week they learned 1.) God made me special, and that makes me BEAUTIFUL. and 2.)God made others, so when I hurt them I hurt God. After the lesson, they do an art project. Below you can see them coloring and painting.

This Saturday God brought about 25 kids and over 50 adults to learn English in Koriay, the tent camp. After an hour of English, some members of Chadasha were able to give their testimonies as a witness for Jesus and a complete explanation of why we are wanting to serve the people of Koriay. Next week our goal is to do an hour English class and then an hour of Bible Study. Prayers for direction, open doors, and open hearts are most appreciated!

Oh... and we have an extra special guest staying with us at the Guest House this week as well! Meet Rutherchy:

He is 8 years old and in need of heart surgery to fix his less-than-perfect heart. We are planning to take him to the Dominican Republic next week when we go to take 5 other Haitian children to have heart surgery, and beg that they do Rutherchy too. We know that if it is God's Will, it will be done. Right now we are all just taking this opportunity to love him to pieces! We'll let you know next week what ends up happening with this sweet boy.

God is moving in mighty ways here. As a family and ministry, we are meeting to pray daily that this ministry be about our God and not about us... not about the name Chadasha, but about making the name of Jesus FAMOUS here. Because thats what we're about. And we would love for you to join us :)

Until next Sunday... love & prayers from Haiti!

10/16-10/23

October is quickly speeding by us here in Haiti... although the temperature hasn't dropped any and there are no leaves changing colors and falling to the ground. When the seasons don't change, the best indication that time is passing is watching the children grow. And our kids are definitely doing that!

This week the 10 oldest children at Chadasha's Little Hands & Feet started school. They are all so excited to be getting out of the house, making new friends, and learning new things. They started school on Tuesday, and we have spent most of the week driving around Port au Prince searching for books, belts, socks, shoes, ribbon, backpacks, and uniforms for all 10 kids. We have been filled with joy watching their faces light up as we bring in the new things they will need for school.

There have been other reasons for the children to smile this week, namely the start of a Bible School program that began this Tuesday. From now on, every Tuesday and Thursday there will be an interactive Bible story and an art project to facilitate the kids learning about Jesus while developing listening and fine motor skills by using scissors, crayons, glue, etc. A couple of our translators tell the stories and then present the art projects. Each week we will hang their artwork for them to show off to visitors, and then it will go in a folder to save for when they have adoptive parents. We realize that when God brings their parents to them, it will seem as though they have missed a number of years of their lives. By saving the artwork, it will give adoptive parents a small glimpse of how their child has grown and matured, even before they knew them.

This week we were also able to meet with an organization here in Haiti that is really doing some good for the Haitian people. It's called Rebuild Globally and you can learn more about it by clicking here. Their mission is to provide ways for people in impoverished communities to make a living by using innovative ways that use the resources they have around them. In Haiti, they teach people how to make flipflops out of old car tires. It is a fascinating organization that we are excited about having connected with.

 Another thing that we are so excited about getting started here in Port au Prince is English classes in a large tent camp called Corail. We did our first class this past Saturday and ended up having over 40 students who came to learn! We will have a 2 hour English class each Saturday from now on that will hopefully open the door to do some Bible study classes as well once the people get to know us. Please continue to pray for this ministry!

Also this week we were blessed by the presence of 3 house guests in our Guest House. This sweet couple stayed a few nights with us while their newborn baby boy was in the hospital after a complicated delivery. We were so happy to see the baby finally get to come home and the family was able to return to their home in Batey 41. Prayers for Baby Emmanuel and his family are precious!

Finally, we know many of you are wondering about Baby KenKen. We visited him twice this week and we are saddened to report that unless the Lord intervenes in a mighty way [which of course we believe He can if He wills], Baby KenKen will likely journey on to the next life in the near future. The doctor has confirmed that he has full blown AIDS and tuberculosis, as well as malnutrition and a fever. He is only being treated with Tylenol. Prayers for us, his parents, his tent community, and all others who love this tiny baby boy. We know that God has KenKen right where He wants him!

"I have set the Lord continually before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved." Psalm 16:8

10/9-10-16

This week in Haiti...
The first thing we would like to report is that we saw a man come to Christ this week. This is what we are working every day for. Not just to make sure people get fed, or kids get to school, or babies don't die, or girls don't get abused, or orphans don't get forgotten... but we work every day to see the name of Jesus be made famous in this country. And that happened for one man this week.

On Monday we took KenKen and his parents to the AIDS hospital to get their HIV test results. His dad got his paper first: HIV negative. Then KenKen's retest: HIV positive. At this point we began thinking [and hoping] that maybe KenKen got it from a blood transfusion he received in the hospital. Then KenKen's moms results: HIV positive. When they showed us [Michelle, Kessy, and I], our immediate conclusion was that this man was not and could not be the father of KenKen. We prepared for an outburst when he realized it. But we looked to him to see his reaction, and he was smiling with tears in his eyes. He simply stated, "It's a miracle, and by the Grace of God, I have been spared." We just stood there, flabbergasted. The very next thing out of his mouth was this: "I want to accept Jesus as my Savior." Whaaaaattt?? We hadn't even personally mentioned Jesus to this man yet [although he was aware that we are a Christian organization]. We dropped everything [except KenKen of course] and circled up in prayer right there in the middle of the hospital, and KenKen's dad declared Jesus as Lord of his life.

KenKen and his Daddy

It was an amazing thing to see how God works. This seemed like the most terrible situation from the beginning, mostly because we know that KenKen is most likely going to die, sooner rather than later. But in the Bible in Ecclesiastes 3:11 God promises, "He makes everything beautiful in its time." We now know this to be true. We watched God make something beautiful from what was dust before. Praise Him!

Also this week Chadasha was incredibly blessed by the presence of two families who are adopting from Little Hands & Feet. Many of you know the twins, Ruth & Naomi, that we have had for some time. They turned 1 in July, but they are still teeny tiny little girls. Their Daddy got to come and visit them for a few days this week while completing some paperwork for their adoption.

the girls and their daddy!

The other family that came to visit are adopting a son who is new to Chadasha's Little Hands & Feet. Meet Rowen and his beautiful parents, Payton and Heather.

Rowen's birth parents have both passed away [most likely from cholera] and he is now staying at Chadasha's Little Hands & Feet for the duration of his adoption process. He just turned a year old, and is absolutely precious.

In addition to Rowen, we gained another little girl at Little Hands & Feet this week. Her name is Carline and she came to us from a very dangerous and abusive tent. It took her a few days to warm up, and she is still a bit timid, but she is getting more comfortable at Little Hands & Feet. She has managed to find a best friend there:

Danisa & Carline!

The other exciting event this week actually happened today! The children old enough to go to school [which they start next week] went to church at Pernier for the first time! They were ecstatic to be getting out of the house and going to church. We took them with us under the impression that they would go to Sunday school and then Children's Church while we went to the main service. However, upon arrival at Pernier we learned that Children's Church starts NEXT Sunday... so 3 of our American Chadasha staff and 10 kids plus 2 babies piled into a pew where we attempted to keep them quiet and still for the 2 hour service. It really didn't go as horribly as you would think.... they are great kids!

all the kids waiting on church to start!

Along with these happenings, we celebrated a few Chadasha family birthdays this week as well. The weather has been still not as hot as it usually is, but the rain has slacked off a bit. We were only delayed 4 hours by it this week :) Haiti desperately needs some form of drainage system. We thank you for your continued prayers and support, and hope you'll check back next Sunday to read about what God does this week!

Prayers from Haiti!

10/2-10/9

It was a bit cooler this week in Port au Prince... temperatures in the mid 80s during the day and high 70s during the night. Enough to make the Haitians and some of our team members want to put on pants and sweatshirts! Crazy, we know!

This week God was so good to us in bringing us 5 beautiful women who are truly walking in the footsteps of Christ. Brenda, Dawn, and Liz from Church of the Cove in Tennessee as well as Tina and Jordyn from Murfreesboro arrived on October 2nd and we got busy! We spent a lot of time at Chadasha's Little Hands & Feet loving on the sweet kids. While we were there, we painted some joyful decorations on the walls just to brighten the place up a bit.

Mrs. Brenda painting!

Liz & her mom, Dawn, with 3 of the kids at Little Hands & Feet

We know that many of you are following the story of Baby KenKen who lives in a tent camp and has HIV. KenKen is one example of the emergency medical care provided by Chadasha in Haiti. We were supposed to pick up the test results for his parents on Monday, but were unable to so we will be going tomorrow [October 10] to pick them up. In the mean time, we visited KenKen and his mom! Over the last week, KenKen's mom has contracted shingles. This is a very contagious and dangerous virus for immunodeficient people [such as KenKen]. It was tough to leave KenKen in the tent camp knowing he may contract the virus, but as a team we decided that it is best for him to be with his mom and dad for the time he has left, even if that means he is exposed to shingles. [Quality of life over quantity of life, basically]. Extra prayers for this family as we find out the results of the HIV tests tomorrow.

Tina & her daughter, Jordyn, with baby KenKen

Another thing we were able to do this week was take these lovely ladies up to the Chadasha Beach Property that will soon be transformed into an Orphanage Retreat Center. You can click here to learn more about this project. It was a great opportunity to plan and talk and dream about what God will do with the property, as well as a great time to get to know each other's hearts on a more personal level.

Our 5 guests at the beach property!

In addition to the activities already mentioned, we were able to visit an orphanage that Tina had heard about [special prayers for a boy there named John Wesley who is in the middle of the adoption process]. We were also able to go to Caanan [the largest tent city in Haiti where over 150,000 people live in tents or makeshift houses] and do door to door prayers as well as simple medical care [Tina is a fabulous nurse!]. God used these women in a mighty way in Haiti this week, and we at Chadasha are convinced that the Light of Christ shined through us a bit brighter because of their presence.

Check back next Sunday to be filled in on what you miss in Haiti this coming week [which will include some visits from parents of kids at Little Hands & Feet, HIV test results, and who knows what else!] Our prayer for you today is that you know that Jesus Christ loves you more than you can possibly imagine [no matter who you are or what you've done or where you've been]. He loves you so much that He died for you!

Until next time... Love from Haiti!

9/25-10/2

Hello from the beautiful city of Port au Prince! Chadasha had a busy week and this is where you can hear all about it. Some of you may have heard of the medical emergency work that we do, mostly for children. If a child is extremely ill and the parents feel they cannot adequately care for him or her, we agree to take the child and nurse him or her back to health and then return him or her to their parents. It is so amazing to see children get better, but so heartbreaking when we have to send them back knowing they most likely won't make it. This week we spent some time caring for and loving on baby KenKen.

KenKen lives in a tent city with his mom and dad. He is 9 months old and weighs 7 lbs. They did not know what was wrong with him, but knew he would die if they didn't get help. Reluctantly and heartbroken, but knowing it was the safest thing, they handed him over to us to take to the hospital to figure out what is going on. Sadly, baby KenKen's tests revealed pneumonia in both lungs, and he tested HIV+. He spent a few more nights with us and then we returned him to his parents. They were so happy to see him. His parents agreed to be tested for HIV, so we spent a day at the AIDS hospital with them this week. After paperwork and blood draws, they told us it would take 7 days for the results. We pick them up tomorrow, and their lives will most likely be changed forever. Prayers are so appreciated for this little family.

Also this week we were blessed by the presence of some incredible people. Jon, Glori, Shannon, Chad, and Leslie came in on Thursday and were with us until today. They are all such Christ-like, loving, and sweet people who were so encouraging to be around. On Friday morning we got into the Word together and really got to know each other's hearts. It was awesome! Jon & Glori are adopting 2 of our kids, James & John, from Little Hands & Feet [our Children's Home], and Chad & Shannon are hopefully adopting James & John's little brother, Jonathan. We also aquired the 3 brothers aunt, Denisea, who is 6 years old. She will be staying at Little Hands & Feet as well as of today. Below are some pictures from the weekend when all 4 kids stayed at our house:

Chad, Shannon, & Jonathan

Denisea

Jon, Glori, James, & John

Before this week we had 10 kids at Little Hands & Feet. We added Denisea & Jonathan, which makes 12. In addition, we also added 6 more children who are all brothers & sisters. Their pictures, names, & ages are below:

Samuel (6), Aaron (5), & Stephanie (10)

Esther (2)

Emmanuel (12)

Ruth (4)

Each time people go to Little Hands & Feet, every one of these children meet you at the door and want to hug your neck. They are the sweetest most well-behaved kids. Prayers for them as they continue to adjust to their new home!

We have a new team here this week consisting of 5 beautiful women from Church of the Cove in Tennessee. We know not what this week will hold, but our prayer is that it makes Jesus famous. Check back next Sunday to find out what went down in Port au Prince this week! And for more information about Chadasha, please visit us by clicking here.

Until next week! Love & Prayers from Haiti!