Bonswa ( good evening ) from Haiti! I hope all is well for you and your families!

These past two weeks we had two awesome teams join us in Charrier. The first week was a medical clinic. The most common symptoms of the people here are dry eyes & coughing from dust, acid reflux, fevers and/or malaria like symptoms, high blood pressure, among other things…We were very blessed with more medication then was ever received for a medical team in the past. More than 650 people were seen in the four days of clinic and Mama Ruth was able to pray with each person or family that came through. I want to say a special thank you to each one of the team members last week (Cindy, Ruth, Dr. Quimby, Brady, JC, Olivia, Kelsey, Jesslyn, Lucy, Melissa) and all of our translators who put in long hours so we could treat as many people as possible. Many people in our zone do not have enough money to see a doctor just for the common cold let alone have money for the taptap to get there so our clinic is their chance. We praise you Jesus for the ability to reach out to the community in this way!

Medical Clinic !

This week we had the pleasure of hosting a team of close friends! They directed a Bible School for 3 days for the children. The bible stories included: Daniel and the Lions den, Jesus and the paralyzed man, and the Good Samaritan. Every night they did a craft with the kids which they just love, see pictures below! This week’s team had a little more downtime then we’re used to but it gave them the opportunity to spend quality time with the children & family and learn more about Haitian culture – including helping us hand wash our laundry !

Yesterday we were able to go to the prison and serve the 375 prisoners juice and bread as well as sing hymns and pray with them. We understand these are troubled men and women, but we hope with our visit it plants that seed that will one day blossom into a relationship with Christ. Please join us in prayer for them that they will repent of their sins and come to know the Lord. Again I would like to thank each one of this weeks team members ( Cindy, Ruth, Jodi, Ryan, Rachel, Jill, Lauren) – it was such a pleasure to have you here with us – Especially Rachel, 14 & Lauren, 12 who are the coolest teenagers I know and made this past week such a blast!

Both teams were able to feed the kids big plate of rice & beans with sauce and chicken – serving nearly 150 kids each week. Knowing all the kids are going home with a full bellies brings so much joy to my heart and I know to the team members as well.

My good friend Jill Zimmerman came down this past week and relayed the news to me that her church’s children (Also my former church – Alive Church Ephrata) had raised money for the children’s home. They had done this last year and raised a crazy awesome amount of over $4,000! This year Jill decided to ask our American director, Cindy Zimmerman for an idea of a specific need we had right now and she gave them the idea to raise money to buy a stove for the home which was estimated at $5,000. I was estastic and speechless when Jill told me the news that they not only surpassed the fundraising goal, but raised enough that we can purchase the next model up and get a double oven! God is so good people! It’s been so crazy to me to see how God has used so many children to help us raise funds for the home. From birthday money to lemonade stands to numerous vacation bible schools and more! Children from Hinkletown Mennonite School also donated supplies for the children’s home and sent them along with Rachel this week who is a student there! It touches my heart to know that maybe we are not only finding ways to bless children in Haiti but also helping our children in the states to grow in their faith & relationship with Christ as well! Thank you so much Jill and everyone at Alive Church Ephrata for your support of our mission!

Rachel delivering the supplies for the home donated by Hinkletown Mennonite students!

Lauren loving on the kids!

If you haven’t looked at the pictures of the children’s home yet – do it right now! The roof is up and the construction is complete! My eyes water every time I think about it! In the short 3 + months we’ve been here the 6 bedroom, 3 bathroom house was constructed almost completely by hand. From the beginning Zacharie’s goal of this trip was to finish construction with the roof complete… but not only is that done but the walls are being smoothed, steps are being constructed, doors and windows are going in, and the outdoor kitchen roof is about the be poured! I cannot believe my eyes every day that I stare at the job site and it continually reminds me that God is behind us and only by his hands is this possible! I also want to give a special shout out to my hubby Zacharie for all his hard work and dedication to the children’s home – your dream is coming alive and I am just so happy for you! And we are so thankful for the support of prayers and finances for this project from all our family, friends and even strangers! We just cannot wait to open the doors to the children!

The steps being made

The roof of the kitchen will be poured within the next week!

The children’s home roof being poured!

So now we have less than 2 weeks till we come home. I am extremely excited to see my family but am so torn because I am not ready to leave our family and friends here either! Time has flown! I have been struggling with our inability to stay as I just want to continue to move forward with the Children’s Home but I know that this is God’s timeline and not mine. We waited nearly 4 years before we began construction of the home and I know that was God preparing us to get to this point – Just as he will prepare us the next couple of months to open next year! Please pray for us as we are about to transition back to the US and that we do not get caught up in the busyness of our stateside life! We are so blessed as both of us are returning to our previous jobs when we get home! You all know how rare that is and we are just so grateful to God and our bosses back home.

Thank you everyone for your prayers and words of encouragement while we have been away! We love you all so much and are excited to see you soon! Please pray for safe travels for us along with Melissa who will be traveling home with us! God is so, so good and we can’t wait to see what the next step will be for New Life Mission and New Life Children’s Home!