FRIDAY APRIL 25, 2008

After dad talked to Marlaine (the director of the orphanage, Faith & Love in Action) on Wednesday, he decided that we really needed to get to the orphanage as soon as we could since she said they were almost out of food. We left at 7:30am to travel 2 hours South over the mountains to Jacmel. Jacmel is a city on the south side of the island and it is so beautiful, right on the water. This time I took motion sickness medicine, Bonine, which helped tremendously. It can be found at Wal-Mart & am a walking billboard for this medicine! When we got to the orphanage we were greeted with smiles and hugs. Most of the 65 children were in school but a few of the older ones had exam week so they were home by the time we arrived. There was a drum set that had been donated and few other instruments setting near. Dad picked up the guitar and another boy started on the drums and Henry picked up the clarinet. It was awesome that though dad couldn’t communicate with the boy, they could play the same song. We got to walk through the orphanage that was under construction while we were here in Oct. and they have made much progress. The floors were beautiful shinny, pink, grey and white tile and many of their rooms were coming together nicely. We also saw the girl’s house behind the boys and it too was coming together. It’s very obvious that there have been some great construction teams & churches donating time and funds for these projects. The most impressive project that I saw was a huge wall right behind both buildings. As you may remember, when we were here in Oct, a tropical storm hit Haiti pretty bad and erosion was a huge problem for the land the orphanage is on. They decided to prevent this in the future and it looks as though it will work. I also took photos of all of this so you can see what I am talking about. Before we left to get the food Mom & Dad where going to purchase, Mom sat down with Marlaine to calculate how many of each item they would be able to purchase with the money that was donated by many of you. As Marlaine continued to name items needed she kept saying “the money is multiplying”. This was our prayer before we even left the states. We also asked many of you to pray this same prayer and you did. God heard our plea and He multiplied the money donated. Tears filled my eyes and I had to leave the room with emotion. It’s amazing how these people including the children are so faithful in their prayers. Marlaine mentioned that all of the children are allowed to walk through the food depot at anytime, as they notice the food decreasing, their prayers continue strong. They continue to thank God for His many blessings, and ask that He continue to provide. She said, as a mother, she wishes that they didn’t have to have the stress of wondering if they will continue to have the food that they need to survive. Yet on the other hand, she also said it was awesome for the children to witness their prayers being answered right before their eyes. I look back on my childhood and as an adult I am thankful that my parents protected me from the stress of knowing we were down to our last $5.00 or that short time we utilized food stamps so my mom could raise us instead of a day care. She said that had she put us in day care, her whole paycheck would have gone to pay for the day care, & she wanted to be home with us instead of paying someone else to raise us. She told me that daddy worked so hard, but sometimes things broke or things happened that we needed a little help to get though some hard times. Mom said this was God’s way of humbling her. My prayer is that these children never stress over how much food is in their depot. I pray that people continue to see the importance of their donations and continue to protect these children. Next, we went to the Dr. Phillip’s clinic. Dr. Phillip was the Doctor that stapled Doug’s knee in Oct. While we were there we asked him what he needed for his clinic so we could help him the next time we came. He remembered us right away and he was very pleased with all the supplies that we were able to bring to him. We thanked him again got the opportunity to pray over him and his clinic. Next we went to buy pinto beans, black beans, rice, cooking oil, spaghetti, sauce, laundry soap, propane, flour, corn meal, sugar, children’s milk, formula, canned herring, & goats. We took one trip to get half the items and then mom & I got out so they would have more room for the second trip to the store. As we came inside the children still weren’t home from school. I think this was the day that our traveling caught up to me. I laid down on a few chairs side by side and took a snooze. As I heard the children start to come in, mom woke me. They all gathered and thanked us through song. They sang songs in Creole and in English. I truly felt, as tears filled my eyes again, that they knew exactly what the words meant that they were singing in English. They sang, “Give thanks with a grateful heart, give thanks to the Holy One, give thanks because of what the Lord has done for us. Give thanks with a grateful heart, give thanks to the Holy One, and give thanks for giving Jesus Christ, His Son. And now, let the weak say I am strong, let the poor say I am rich, because of what the Lord has done for us, Give thanks.” If you really look at these words, it really says it all. We give thanks to God because of his Ultimate gift, the sacrifice of His Son… and that through him all things are possible. The weak can be strong, the poor can be rich in Him, and only though Him. After observing this orphanage Doug and I were completely convinced that because of the way that Marlaine, Henry and the other adults raise these children God continues to care for them. The children are taught on a daily basis by example. They teach them how to be faithful, how to pray, how to trust that God will provide, how to be servants, & how to love one another. These children have the structure and discipline and their instruction book is the Bible. Many of them can play drums, guitar, clarinet, tambourine and other instruments as well. They are getting a well rounded education and skills that they will need in the future. God has blessed this orphanage and I pray that you continue to help support this cause.