A visit to the village of sheds...

  Haiti Relief Missions, is the mission that is in charge of building small sheds for quake victims and coordinating the work teams. The work teams are staying here in our yard, but we don't find much out of them, they do all their own cooking and pretty much take care of themselves. Makes for a full yard, but that is okay, the more the merrier...It has been great having them here.

 We had the privilege to go visit the "village of sheds", and there is such an opportunity to reach out. We had so much fun, talking to the children there. And are really hoping to find time to go back.

Each house is furnished w/ table set, chairs, mats, some hygiene products, cooking utensils, ect... Very nice!

Tonight's Supper

We've had a lot of nice doctors come through here with the Heart to Heart organization. But this group has been exceptional. They offered to make supper for us tonight. Well, technically, they insisted on making supper. And they said they're doing the dishes too!! The menu was spaghetti, salad, bread, mangos, leftover chocolate cake, and coke. 

Jesus Really Cares!

Sun. night about 1:00 am we had a fairly hard tremor that shook us up quite a  bit. Later on today we had another one. The questions come, why don’t they stop? why? what is going to happen yet? Then the fear that wants to settle inside of me. the anxiety that surfaces quickly. As I was thinking about all of this, and hearing that really deep in the earth things aren’t really settled yet… I was really struggling with trusting God, so I stopped for some quiet time with Jesus. And just begged Him to show me some promises. As I was reading in the Bible I came across this verse.

- The whole earth is at rest and is quiet: they break forth into
singing. Isaiah 14:7
  

And then was reading in Proverbs 3  I was simply amazed and I just had to smile how detailed God was with His promises. -

-My son(daughter), let them not escape from your sight, but keep sound and godly Wisdom and discretion,
And they will be life to your inner self, and a gracious ornament to your neck (your outer self)
Then you will walk in your way securely  and in confident trust, and you shall NOT dash your foot or stumble.
When you lie down, you shall not be afraid; yes, you shall lie down, and your sleep shall be sweet.
Be not afraid of sudden terror and panic, nor of the stormy blast or the storm and ruin of the wicked when it comes [for you shall be guiltless],
For the Lord shall be your confidence, firm and strong, and shall keep your foot from being caught [in a trap or some hidden danger].

Exactly the fears that I was facing, just what I needed to hear, isn’t Jesus amazing?!!

I am asking you  for your prayers, pray that we could feel peace and not have anxiety. And thank you so much for all the prayers that you have prayed for us here! We feel them!

~ Emily

Update

Here's an update of some of what's been happening here at Leogane since the last post...

Things have changed alot in the last 3 months... Thanks to the many people that have helped out here so willingly!! We have been very blessed by those that have passed through this place!

PAINTING-outside and inside

Ang's living room

the doily room
(when we work on all our doilies, the sun will shine :)

Ang's bathroom

Ang's bedroom

Em and Mandie's living room

Mandie's bedroom

Em and Mandie's bathroom

What we say about the bright colors... is that we live in Haiti...  ;)

SHOWER HOUSE the new  bathroom for the haitian girls
(still being worked on, in this photo, but is finished now)

THE SCHOOL for our 6 girls and teachers

THE WALL-here's a section of the wall that was rebuilt (same place as the previous picture)

Doctors from an organization called Heart to Heart are staying here during the  week. They normally eat 2 meals a day with us and spend their days out at few different clinics. Lately they've been saying they're mostly seeing un-related earthquake illnesses. It has been interesting to hear all their stories, and we have had the chance to meet many amazing people.

HRM - mission from Labaleine have work teams and are building small shed/barn/houses in Leogane here. They are staying in the upstairs of the main house, and using our main kitchen. It has been good having them here, they have been great to work with! keeps things lively, plus the wash machines running!

We still have 9 girls here right now. And our yard ladies are coming and going... School keeps them busy and a little more on a schedule. There is still lots of chores to do, and sometimes I think they could bout despair.. But they are doing a great job.

quake.

       So much has changed in the last 3 weeks. Including saying goodbye to most of our 31 girls, which I will put post about later.

 
Mandie was came down these stairs during the quake with this stuff falling on her head. She made it out safely, but was one of the last ones to make it into the yard.

Laurie was getting ready to make wraps (note: tortillas and cheese on the table) to take on our country trip.
  Abby and I were standing here looking for something in the freezer, when we heard the loud noise and then everything started shaking. We just looked at each other with wide eyes and I grabbed Abby’s arm and we ran! I guess we never shut the freezer, cause Dwayne found a blender and some other things in the freezer, as well as a lizard.
God had His hand over us! A few minutes earlier or later could have been devastating for some people in our yard. It was Tuesday which is hair combing day for our little girls, so  most of them were in the pavilion because of combing hair. One of the girls had a bar of soap and was heading for the shower. I am so glad they were running behind schedule, otherwise the girls would have been in the shower when it collapsed. 
It was hard to run, it was shaking so badly a couple of people fell and could hardly get on their feet again. I think we were all in the yard by the time the worst of it was over. As I looked around, it seemed like a dream. I remember thinking the wall is even down, and beyond that, across the street,  one of our pastor’s house was gone. A cloud of dust was rising all around our place. And then the screaming… all around us from every side, people yelling and shouting.  Our girls did fairly well, they were terrified and many questions were asked, we tried explaining the best we could, but what do you say to comfort them and promise them safety? So we claimed Jesus’ Blood and protection on our lives. Phara was a mess, we could not get her calmed down, after prayer for her she did calm down and a little bit later she told me: “Do you know why I was so scared and cried like that? Because I did not put my trust in God!” I love her! :)  We prayed and sang for about an hour an half. It also helped to keep the girls calm, us to! :)  But the tremors that kept coming were terrifying… the ground just kept shaking and it would rattle the tin on the roofs, a couple hard ones I was sure the big house was going to come down, but it stood.  It wasn’t a very good feeling when it started getting dark, guess it just feels better when you can see everything. Later on into the evening a vehicle from another mission drove in with about 7 people or so. They had been on their way home from Port. and decided to spend the night with us. It was a great comfort to have some extra people there. We got some mats and blankets from the girls’ houses and piled on where ever there was room with the girls. That night alot of us didn’t get more than 30 min. of sleep. It seemed to me that everytime I closed my eyes it shook again. Sometime during the night Abby asked Laurie what time it was, thinking that it was almost daylight and Laurie replied, “1:30”, disappointing... But we were soo glad when daylight came!

  
This picture was taken about 30 min. after the quake.

The sun is coming up! A very welcoming sight!

Our wall towards the road.

The girl’s bathroom
 
This is our “place of refuge” We have a big open space in the middle of our yard, and that is where we stayed.
Pastor Duval’s house and our wall and wash line.
  
This is the corner where the office is.
The  next day. so many people walking, you could see alot of them were carrying all they owned. And their faces… such sadness.

The girls found ways to entertain themselves for the most part…

We cooked over the fire for a couple days, before we felt safe enough to go into the houses. Heidi did a great job with it!

Our outdoor dining room

Laurie came up with an idea to occupy the girls for awhile, good exercise and it was fun too. :)

Isaiah 14:7 The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: they break forth into singing.  - a promise from God.

some of the girls

This post was written before the quake. We will update soon.
Thank you soo much for all your prayers and support.

 

This last year has flown by. I can not believe that 2010 is now what I am writing on all the receipts here. As I look back over this year, alot of things cross my mind. It was not an easy year, and I often wonder how things could have been different. But I have learned to know God in a deeper way and am excited what He has yet to show me. -

 

Linda A. the young lady that is growing up fast.  She appears as though she has everything all together and knows what she wants and thinks she knows it all and doesn’t like to be told or corrected. And yes, she is also at the stage where she is almost embarrassed to associate with us “whites” kinda like when at a certain age you are embarrassed with your mom. Linda is a young lady, and deep down in she loves the attention and love that she gets.  and I pray that as she continues to grow, that she would allow God to guide her through life. 

Linda A. and Phara

Love this shot of Fleunese, so ornery and full of life. She has grown up and changed so much in these 2 years that she has been here. I was reminded of how much that she has grown up, when someone mentioned to me that  a year ago she would not have done it to sit still for a little while,  as she now does.

Janise. such a darling girl! she is so crazy. full of imagination and more an more becoming a clown :) this ball is supposed to be a head, with the handkerchief and a tuff of “red” hair. wish you could have heard her giggle.

Jedidiah and Amber. Love this picture Amber always on the lookout for her brother, ever protective. They have livened up our house with their giggles and chatter :) And they love playing with their “haiti sisters”.

Esterline. it is hard to capture her on camera, I love this shot, thanks to Mandie. Quiet and often in the background but she is coming out more, slowly, and still doesn’t have a whole lot to say, but is more free to give her opinion on things. I hope she comes to realize the love that God has for her.

 

Magdaline

 
Me and Magdaline

Janise Sammy Magdalene

“The Joy of the Lord is my Strength”. – so often I tend to focus on my circumstances for my Joy, but that is the wrong place and my joy always gets dashed to pieces. But if I focus on Jesus my Saviour for my Joy, it is never  ending.

 
Soinette

 

Yvena. Pray that God would continue to work in her heart and that she would be willing to give God first place in her heart!

Swings. We have 2 of these in the yard for our 28 little ladies, and they get used quite a bit. Most often when there is someone on them they are going full force. They love standing up and pumping themselves, till it appears that they are bought ready to flip over the top, then they plop down on the seat and finish their ride with ease.   

God is with us!!

A short note to let everyone know that we are okay. The group of men that came down were such an answer to prayer!!! they just picked up where was needed, started cleaning up right away! They have done SO much and are thankful for each one that came!!! Our girls went home to their families, it was very hard to see them go, but felt that it was best for now. I will hopefully have more to post soon.