Leavin' On a Jet Plane....

...Go ahead! Finish the song....

I'll be back to the post when I return from Haiti. Blessings to all of you!

Institution Mixte Chretienne de Petion-Ville ~ Three Angels’ Christian Academy

~~~~~ I posted this a while back. With the new school year fast-approaching, I wanted to try to reach out to any of my new, and old, readers. Please consider helping the children of Haiti!

The need for quality schools in Haiti is endless as over half of the adult population is illiterate. It is an amazing blessing to see Three Angels strive to decrease this statistic in Haiti. Along with the orphanage and medical clinic is the Three Angels’ Christian Academy; a one-room school for over 355 Haitian children grades preschool through high school. The school provides uniforms, textbooks and instruction for all the students. In addition, the children also receive a meal of bread and peanut butter, known as “mamba,” and fresh water each day they attend. For many of these Haitian children it is their only meal of the day.
Watching the school children enter the gates of Three Angels during my trips to Haiti is such a delight. The smiles on their faces and laughter in their voices brings such joy to me. So many of them come up to many of the missionaries to greet them with a sweet smile, loving “Bonjour,” a giant hug and soft kiss on the cheek. They share their love and they don’t even know us! However, they know because of missionary groups, they are able to go to school and even see a doctor if need be. They are so thankful for the help and outwardly display their gratitude. These children bring such happiness to me while I am in Haiti. It is because of these children, I long to return to Haiti time and time again. They are big reason why I truly understand the importance of helping Three Angels and supporting the organization any way I can!Currently, Three Angels is looking for sponsorships for each student attending IMCP/TACA. There is an endless budget for the needs of the children, faculty and school. Without the help of donations, the school could not and would not exist. A monthly support of $27 is all that is needed to directly benefit the life of a student. These continual donations give the children the opportunity for not only a quality education, but also a meal and clean drinking water each day. Most of the children currently attending TACA would not have the opportunity to attend a school without the Academy and sponsorship help. It is quite disheartening, but so very true!
Three Angels’ Christian Academy would not exist without the help of monthly sponsors. The fact that there are 340+ children in need of help to pay their monthly tuition is troubling to me. These children need our help!!! So, if any of you, my faithful blog readers, have any ideas how to pursue the help needed, please let me know! And, if YOU have found it in your heart to personally sponsor a student at the Academy for less than $1 a day, you can visit www.threeangelshaiti.org/sponsorship.htm to set up an account to begin making your monthly contribution.

This is such a worthy cause and these children need our help! I pray that my work will be successful and Three Angels Christian Academy will continue to be a success for all of the Haitian children and families!

"sis jounen"

In "six days" I will be back in Haiti. I am really looking forward to this particular trip for so many reasons...

I so loved spending a week with my entire family together in June. We had so much fun playing, made so many memories together, and spent lots of time bonding. This trip, however, I am travelling alone to work with the medical team. I am so excited to help out in the clinic where ever needed.

I am also going to be traveling with a dear friend of mine from Ohio. She and I have the same love for Haiti. It is going to be wonderful to see her again and experience our heart-felt passion together, serving our Lord and His people in Haiti.

Junior will be heading back to Haiti with the team, as well. My family had a wonderful time getting to know him last month. I am really looking forward to seeing him again and seeing first-hand how he is feeling and doing after a three-month stay in the USA.

And, certainly, the reason I am most excited about this particular trip is this....

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

+

HONK!

Tim and Megan were a part of the local theatre group's summer production of "Honk!" It was a comedy based on the story of The Ugly Duckling. Rehearsals began back in May and carried on all the way through last week. They had a blast learning about putting on a play and enjoyed getting to know many people in the cast and crew.

Mike, Kate and I attended all six shows and really enjoyed being in the audience of the week and an half. Not only was it fun to see Tim and Meg perform, but it was interesting being a part of a production for the first time ever. Not sure what the future holds for our two actors? They had a great time and will always remember their summer working with Ugly, Papa Bullfrog and the School of Fish....

Happy 9th Birthday, Megan!!!!!

What a Difference a Day ~ or a YEAR ~ Makes!

Jonathan after his arrival in July '07

Jonathan has been at the orpahage for a year now. He arrived during medical clinic last July. He was so sick, so weak and so sad. Malnutirtion was getting the best of his little body. If Three Angels had not taken him in, most certainly he would have died.

The Lord knew just what Jonathan needed that day. With the love and care Joanthan has recieved over the last 12 months at the orphanage, he is a healthy growing toddler. Thank you, God!

Jonathan - One Year Later....

Day Two

Introductions were crazy ~ to say the least. As everyone who has walked into Angel House after first arriving with a mission team knows, the kids get so excited. We did enter during snack time and the children were a bit quieter than usual, but it was still crazy!

My first thought as we entered the orphanage was *MY WORD! OUR KIDS ARE HUGE!* I turned to Mike and repeated my thought. “Our kids look so huge!” And, of course Mike has a worldly, highly intelligent and most thoughtful response, “What do ya expect?” The Angel House children seemed so teeny tiny next to my American, beef-eating brood! I figured as much before we arrived; it was just surprising to see first-hand.

Daniel came up to us right away. He remembered me and asked for “chocolate” when he saw me. In May, I brought down protein drinks and protein bars for him ~ “chocolate” as he called it. J Funny how they remember the food. Ha! Our kids were a bit shy and standoffish at first. They understood Daniel was not aware that we were adopting him. They were afraid they would spill the beans or something. Megan broke the ice, however, by immediately picking him up. She has longed to carry around a younger sibling and her wish had been fulfilled. After that, it seemed as if my kids threw off their shoes, made themselves at home and fit right in. It was a wonderful feeling for my heart and made me so at ease about the week-long visit that was underway.
…Last year, we told the kids we were considering adopting a little boy from Haiti and we wanted to know how the girls felt about having another brother. Megan’s only response was, “As long as he is small enough so I can carry him around, I am fine with a brother.” She really had no preference to a boy or a girl, how old they were or what their name would be. All she wanted to be able to do was hold her sibling and carry them around all over the place….

As we took some time saying hello to Daniel, many of the other children came over to get a hug. Tim and Kate loved all the attention from the get-go! Soon, introductions we underway and many of the boys were waiting to play with Tim. Reece and Jonas were right there ready for some action and Tim could not wait to get to know them. He had heard many stories, read several blog entries about them and was so thrilled to have finally met them. He introduced himself to Reece as “Chicago Tim” and it was the start to a wonderful friendship.
….When I first met Reece in November, he was going up to each team member asking where they live. More specifically, he was asking us, “Are you from Evansville,” the town where he would be living with his forever family. I told him I was from Chicago and that became my name for the rest of the week. So now, whenever I first see Reece, I give him a big hug and say, “Hello, Evansville,” and he replies with, “Hello, Chicago…”

While the kids were all getting to know each other, I noticed someone very special coming down the stairs with Mama Michelle. My first thought was how sweet and generous of Michelle to get Jonathan dressed and ready for our arrival! She has so many other things going on and two girls of her own to care for, and she took the time with our sweetie.
...This was the first time I was meeting Michelle. Even before we spoke, I knew what a wonderful, loving and kind person she was. ***Thank you, again, Michelle, for such a loving gesture and help with our family’s introduction!***

Michelle handed Jonathan over to me as we exchanged hellos. It felt so good to have my little boy in my arms again! Immediately, all three kids ran over to meet him, hold him and love on him. However, he was going to have no of it! If getting to know these people meant Mama was going to put him down, he did not care to know them. The kids were a bit disappointed at first that they could not share him; however, they got over it as all the others were around ready to be picked up at any time.

Soon it was onto St. Joseph’s Guest House. The team had already unloaded the Tap-Tap and were anxious to get grab dinner. So, we quickly said our goodbyes and headed back with Jonathan in tow. What a night this was going to be ~ four kids and a hungry husband in Haiti for the very first time….

There are so many smiles and hugs wating for the team as they arrive at Three Angels! Reaching up for hugs... The kids are so excited when teams arrive!

I Trust

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will amke your paths straight.
Proverbs 3:5-6

Day One

I haven’t posted too much about our trip to Haiti. It has been hard to find the time to sit down, collect my thoughts and write. Life’s been a whirlwind since we have returned. As I looked ahead at my calendar, I really don’t see an end in sight for the crazy schedules. Soon, we will take a mini vacation with the kids up to the Dells, PTO responsibilities start up again in two weeks, and then school begins. Summer went by way too fast for us! So, I am forcing myself to find the time to sit and write. I don’t want to forget about the life-changing experience we had together has a family before I get it down on paper….

We spent the night before the trip in Miami at the Hilton Hotel. It was very nice with wonderful accommodations. The kids were relaxed and comfortable in an environment they were pretty accustomed to ~ nice vacations are something they are very fortunate to go on quite frequently. We spent the evening hanging out in the lush hotel, relaxing by the pool and watching movies on the big screen television in our room.

The view from our hotel room in Miami.

As the evening wore on, anticipation of our travels to Haiti loomed over us. Well, at least loomed over Kate… ...We had to take our anti-Malaria medication that night. Kate HATES to take medicine and her grumpiness loomed over all of us the rest of the night after we forced it down her throat. If her reaction to dealing with the third world country was this awful already (even before arriving), what was it going to be like when she is forced to bathe from a bucket, eat Haitian food, sleep without air conditioning and spend days on end in the humidity with 35 children climbing all over her…? I had a feeling we were in for some “good times” ahead…

The kids woke early Saturday morning ready for the flight to Haiti. We headed to the airport to meet up with the team. The kids sat quietly in the chairs (and I mean quietly – even for my kids!) as they were anxious to meet their brothers, nervous around 16 people they did not know and scared to arrive in Haiti. We sat around playing cards and eating pizza while we waited for our delayed flight to board. Thankfully, the kids are veteran travelers and waiting around in airports does not faze them in the least.

During the flight to Haiti, the kids took turns looking out the windows to see the ocean, Cuba and other Caribbean islands. It really is a cool flight when you think about all you can see during the flight. As we approached the island of Hispanola, they were excited and awe-struck by the views. Tim noticed the magnificent mountain range right away and thought it was beautiful. The girls were surprised by all the “houses” they could see. Even with all we told them about Haiti, they still struggled with the idea that 8 million people living on this little piece of land.

Who could imagine so many homes, so close together in one place?

Time spent at the Port au Prince airport was not so bad. The kids are familiar with the craziness while searching for luggage. Once we stepped foot outside, life was not so quiet and became a little bit overwhelming from the crowds of people, the noises and the commotion. Tim and Meg stuck close by me while Kate held my hand until we got in the van. The ride to the orphanage was long, but a good one for them to see all we had talked about. Asking them over and over what they were thinking, if it was what they thought it would be and how they felt kept the conversation going. So surprised by their surroundings, they were speechless otherwise.

The kids were surprised by all the vendors and really liked the paintings!

As we pulled up to Angel House, I heard my most favorite noise. The children were singing and shouting inside as they learned the team had arrived. I was so anxious to see the children, but even more so for our kids to meet them all!

Latched!

See what I mean when I said Daniel was latched onto his sisters all week.

Certainly the boy is big enough and capable of standing on his own; however, Meg happily obliged when he asked to be carried around ALL week....

Meg figured out right away that holding the kids is the BEST part of the trip!