Visiting the community of Grande Savane

On Tuesday Kyrk had an opportunity to go out and visit a community that has been badly affected from the earthquake.  He predicted that at least 75% of the homes in the community are destroyed.  Most people are living in tents or in huts that they built from the salvaged tin from the roof of thier damaged home.
It is always humbling to visit people like this. They have so little and are so grateful to have people come and talk with them and listen to them.  As Kyrk was visiting one lady, she gave him some bananas as a gift.  The people in this community have very little, yet she was so grateful that he came and visited her and that we are going to try and build her a new house.  She shared what she could as a thank you.
Some of these people, who Kyrk visited, are not saved and we are praying that as we are able to share Christ's love with them in hopefully building them a new home, seeds of the gospel will also be planted and hopefully some will come to know Christ personally.

Things are much better today

Wow, God is at work and things have been very peaceful for the past 4 days.  Yesterday we were able to send a driver into Port-au-Prince to buy some supplies.  We are so thankful that they were able to find some needed things.  We are trying to stock up, in case things get bad again.
On Sunday and Monday we received a lot of rain.  This is making it difficult to send the rest of the food to the schools.  We were going to try today, but we are not sure we can make it to the schools now.

As of yesterday we had 10 patients in our cholera clinic.  Sadly one young child died yesterday in the clinic.  Pray for the family of this child.  The parents are very upset.  Since their child died of cholera they are unable to take the body.  This is very hard on the family.  Pray that God would comfort this family and draw them closer to Him through this difficult time.

Kyrk and Anna seem to be doing better.   Kyrk had a lot more range of movement in his arm yesterday and I was able to move Anna's foot without her crying.  So they are on the mend.

Thank you so much for your prayers.  We know that God is answering them and it is a huge encouragement to us to know that so many people are joining us in prayer.

Praising God for another peaceful day

Today has been another very peaceful day.  Church was full this morning and I'm sure it was an encouragement to the people to be able to gather together for worship following the events of this past week.
Pastor Baker had a very successful trip yesterday and when he returned he said that if you didn't see the black ashes and wires from all the burnt tires, you wouldn't know that anything had happened.  People were back out selling things on the street and the streets were full of people walking from place to place.

We are so grateful for these couple days of peace.  We are praying that this continues.  It is really unknown what this coming week will be like.  We continue to pray for peace and for God's will to be done.

Kyrk's arm is still very painful.  The deep cut on his elbow seems to be healing well, so we are very grateful for that.  Yesterday afternoon I discovered that Anna wasn't moving her right leg very much.  It looks like she may have injured her ankle, since when I touch it she cries.  We are probably going to have it x-rayed if it is still painful tomorrow. 
Thank you for your prayers for both Kyrk and Anna as they heal from this fall.

Much more peaceful today

From the reports that we are hearing, things are a little better today.  People are saying that they are taking a break from the protesting for today and tomorrow and then they will start back up on Monday.

Pastor Baker (Kyrk's Dad) left this morning to go visit one of our churches on the other side of Port-au-Prince.  He has not returned yet, so we are assuming that all is well and that he is able to make the trip.

The Master's class finshed well with the students that were staying here.  Since it is calmer today they are able to travel home.  We are praying that those who had to miss Wednesday through Friday's classes will be able to get up to the mission on Monday and Tuesday to make up those classes.

Yesterday there are also some school coordinators that were able to come to the mission, so the Education department was able to do some training with those who came.

This morning we were able to send out some building materials to some of the sites that we are building houses.  We are so thankful that we can once again travel around a little bit and deliver supplies like this so that the rebuilding of people's homes can continue.

In other news...... Kyrk fell on the steps in front of our house last night and he has a deep cut on his elbow.  He was carrying Anna at the time and thankfully she seems to be okay.  Kyrk is in a lot of pain today and is not able to move his arm much.  Pray that this would heal quickly.

Friday and things are looking a little better

We are hearing reports that a few stores are starting to open once again.  We sent one of our drivers out this morning to see if they could find places open to get some needed supplies, but they returned empty handed.  They couldn't find any place open.
We have also not been able to send food out to schools.  Hopefully things will clear up a little more next week, so we can get this food out.

Thankfully we are not hearing any protests or seeing burning tires around this area today.   We are very thankful for this.

We currently have a couple here who was supposed to fly home today.  The airport has been closed since Wednesday and they are definitely closed until Sunday and on Monday they will reevaluate to see if they will open.   Pray that the airport would open once again and that they would be able to get home.

Some pictures from yesterday

Yesterday we sent a camera with a man who lives right by the mission.  He walked down the road to take pictures of what was happening.

Just down the road.

Blocking the road with rocks

Blocking the road with tree branches

Protests have begun again

It is now noon and the rain has mostly stopped.  The people are back out on the streets protesting and rioting.  Just a few minutes ago they were burning tires just below the lower gate of the mission. 
We did send a few guys out to try and find some needed supplies, but they could not find any store open and once the rains slowed down they found some road blocks, so decided to come back.  When they were almost to the mission, they had to turn around and go back down the mountain since the road was blocked by burning tires.  Thankfully they were able to come up the back rough mountain road and have arrived safely back at the mission.

We are still all fine here at the mission and enjoying our days at home.  These days have been quieter and many people have been able to catch up on needed work since many people are not able to come to the mission.

Thanks for your continued prayers.

Another day

As I lay in bed this morning and listened to the rain fall I was truly amazed.  We have not had rain in over 3 weeks and we are currently in dry season.  Typically in dry season we may get the random evening rain, but to have rain during the day is very rare.
I truly think that this is a miracle, that it is raining this morning.
God is answering prayers and sending rain to stop the violence.  When it is raining, road blocks don't burn and people don't like to be outside. 
We are continuing to pray that today is a little more peaceful.

Yesterday almost 1/2 of the Master's students were unable to attend the class and some of our medical staff and other workers were unable to get here. 
Kyrk is hoping to be able to send some food out to schools today if the road up the mountain is cleared and may try to send people out to purchase some much needed plumbing supplies for our conference center.  We have people here right now who are wanting to help put the plumbing and electrical in, but we need the supplies for them to do their job. 
Pray that as we try to send these men out, that they would remain safe and that things would be more peaceful today.
We know that God is in control and we thank Him for things like the rain this morning.  It really is an encouragement.
Let's keep praying that the leaders of this country would have wisdom to know how to handle this situation and that God's will would be done.

Riots and Protests as a result of the election results

This morning we woke up to see black smoke from burning tires.  Many people are upset with the election results and they have taken to the streets protesting.
We here at the mission are all safe and enjoying a relatively "normal" day.  The kids and I have had fun exploring outside and doing our typical Wednesday school.
Because of the riots and protests, we were unable to send any trucks out to deliver food.  All school are closed today and most roads are blocked, even the ones up the mountain.
We would really like to get this food out to the schools in the next couple of days since the schools have been without food for awhile.
Thank you for your continued prayers for peace and that God's will would be done in terms of the elections.

Election results

The results of last Sunday's election were given tonight.  They are a little bit of a surprise and as a result it is expected that tomorrow will be a challenging day as the supporters of various candiates protest.
Continue to keep Haiti in your prayers.

Cholera, Bible Curriculum and Conference Center

Cholera Update:
This morning as we were walking to Sunday School we saw people carrying a young girl, around the age of 10, down to the cholera clinic.  She looked very weak and it was a reminder of how imporant a treatment center in this area is for the mountain people.
Pray that God would heal this young girl and the others that are in the clinic now.  We are praising God that there have only been about 5 people in the clinic at a time.  The numbers are slowly increasing, but it is still very small.

Bible Curriculum:
This past week we had 2 Bible curriculum meetings and things are slowly progressing, but it seems like poeple are getting discouraged with this project.  Please continue to pray that all those involved in this huge project would have the strength and encouragement that they need to keep working and that with God's strength and wisdom we would create the very best curriculum for the schools.

Conference Center:
We have been blessed to have had a great team here for the past couple of weeks.  They were able to get the roof on the newly rebuilt conference center and they also started to put the electrical wiring in.  This was a huge help and we are so thankful that people are willing to come down and help out in ways like this.  We are praying that we are able to have the conference center finished by March so that we can have sufficient accommodations for all the pastors and preachers that we will coming for National Conference. 

I thought I would include a few fun pictures of our kids.

Jonathan and Naomi really enjoy their little sister.

Anna is "playing" with her daddy's Snickers.

Rebekah really enjoys playing with Jabez.

And yet another "Robert holding Anna" picture.  He just loves to hold his little sister and have his picture taken.

2 more Cholera patients

As of tonight there are 2 more patients in our cholera clinic.  These people are both from the community just up the road from us, so it is looking like it is spreading up the mountain. 
We are continuing to pray that is does not get real bad here.

Elections, Cholera and Nicole

Yesterday was a mostly normal day around here.  There was less people in church due to the elections, but it was still a great service.
The elections took place, but based on the news reports that we are hearing, there is much controversy over how they took place and there are many people upset.  Voting took place at one of the BHM affiliated schools beside the mission campus and we were told that things were not very well organized in the morning and by late afternoon people were chanting "Don't vote" protesting the elections. 
Pray that things would remian peaceful here and that God's will would be done and the people that He wants, would be elected.  The results won't be announced for a least a week.

We are so thankful that the one patient that we had in the cholera clinic has been released and sent home.  There has not been any other patients admitted and only a few people have come needing rehydration.  This is an answer to prayer.  We are really praying that it doesn't affect this area badly.

Today Nicole left to return to the states.  She came shortly after the earthquake and served in the hospital as a nurse for many months.  When there wasn't a huge need for her nursing skills in the hospital she began serving where ever she could around the mission.  She really because a great friend to me and she will be greatly missed.

Nicole and I

First Cholera patient

Today we had our first confirmed cholera patient.  In the past few days there have been some suspected cases, and they were given oral rehydration and sent home.  The person that came today had to enter the special cholera clinic and be hospitalized.
We are so thankful that there is a great organization here who is helping to oversee the cholera clinic and they are doing everything they can to prevent the spread of cholera to others here.  Anyone who enters the cholera clinic area has their shoes sprayed with bleach water when they enter and leave and also they have to wash their hands when they enter and leave. 
Thank you for joining with us as we pray that the spread of cholera would be contained and that those who get it would be treated quickly and recover fully.
For more information on our cholera clinic check out the BHM BLOG.

Long overdue update

The past few days have been very eventful around here.
We are praising God that most of Haiti was spared severe damage from Hurricane Tomas.  God answered prayers and kept the storm from making landfall.
Cholera continues to spread and it has entered Port-au-Prince.  We are hearing reports of many sick in Port-au-Prince but thankfully it has not spread to our area.
During the past couple of weeks, in partnership with other organizations, we have set up a cholera clinic which is separate from the hospital.  It opened yesterday and thankfully they didn't have any one come who showed signs of cholera.
This clinic is set up in a closed off area of the mission campus and people are cleaned with bleach water as they enter and leave.  We are praising God that this diseace is not as bad as we had first thought.  It is very easily treated and with proper sanitation it is not spread super easy.
Pray that the parents of the preschool, which is located close to the cholera clinic would understand that their children are not in any danger from the clinic.  We had some parents upset this week, so we are praying that things stay peaceful.
This past week was a super special one for us.  My mom and 2 nieces came to visit.  Our children loved having thier cousins here and sharing Haiti with them.
Next Sunday is election day.  Pray for peaceful elections and that the people that God wants in leadership are elected.

Going for a ride to visit a home that was being built.

Kyrk checking out the almost finished house.

Talking with some of the men who were helping the team build the house.

Grandma and her grandchildren.

A Long Night

Kyrk wrote this sharing about his night last night.

Last night as I lay in bed I heard a strange sound.  It was water running, a sound that normally I wouldn’t hear.  It was 1: 48 in the morning and I decided I needed to go check what it was. I got up put on my shorts and T-shirt slipped on my crocs and went outside, down the steps into the pond area behind our house.  Stepping in a puddle, soaking my feet, I find the cause.  It’s a drain pipe from the yard above pouring into a  puddle creating the noise that rudely awoke me.  Seeing as it’s not raining I decide I needed to check out why there’s water running here. As I start back up the steps out of the pond, light rain begins to fall.  I decide I needed an umbrella and go back to the house.
     As I leave I take a quick check of the rain gauge, 1 1/2 inches.  As I make my way to the upper yard where the water was coming from, my feet getting wetter  with every step I take, the rain starts to fall harder.  After wading through what seemed to be knee-deep water, actually only a couple of inches, I realize there are no pipes broken and were not losing water out of a  cistern.  It’s just the water from the rain draining out of  the zoo yard that was keeping me awake.
     Safely back at my house I quickly grab a towel to dry off my feet and head back to bed. The rain continues to fall growing steadily harder by the minute.  As I lay there in bed I begin to think about all the people living in tents. My mind races back to early childhood memory camping.  I can remember having an annoying little drip that would make the corner of my sleeping bag a little damp. What an irritation that was. I can remember thinking boy I wish we were back in the house, I hate camping in the rain. I quickly confess for complaining about wet feet when I had a towel to dry them off with a warm bed to crawl back into.
     The rain seemed to be falling harder now like thousands of little fists pounding their way down to the ground.  Once there, they join together forming a little stream then a river and finally a torrent ripping down the mountain. I have seen these torrents pushing boulders larger than a bowling ball at rapid speeds down the mountain. I asked God to protect those in tent cities who have no shelter like I’m in now. The rain robs me of sleep.  It is now 3:40  a.m and I decided to check the rain gauge again. 2 1/4 inches.
    What have I done to deserve God’s grace? Why am I privileged to have a roof over my head and a warm dry place to sleep?  What about the millions of people living in  tents?  What did they do to deserve what they’re going through right now? I pray for God to have mercy on them and stop this rain.
    4:38 a.m. the rain is still falling it hasn’t eased up any.  I ask God again where’s your mercy?  Then God speaks to me.  My first question: what have I done to deserve God’s grace? Answer: Nothing, this sin sick shriveled up soul has done nothing deserving of God’s love.  My second question: why am I privileged? Answer: God’s amazing grace. God has shown me mercy and now asks that I do the same for others.  It’s a difficult lesson to learn.  Again I pray for God’s protection for those who are less fortunate than I am and that I would be obedient.

The pipe is the white pvc coming out of the wall at the top and the puddled is much smaller this morning then it was last night.

Storm and Cholera

STORM
As I sit to write this, it is very overcast and starting to rain.  We are preparing for the worst, but praying that God miraculously spares this country from further troubles.  Over the next 24 hours we are expecting a lot of rain and some wind.
All schools have been canceled for today and tomorrow as people prepare for the storm. 

CHOLERA
We are praising God that the cholera epidemic seems to be mostly contained.  We have not had any confirmed cases in this area and as people are being educated on the prevention and treatment of cholera there are very few deaths now. 
We are continuing to send out aid to the affected areas.  A truck load of supplies went out today.  We are praying that they are able to safely deliver the supplies.  Thankfully we were able to purchase these supplies and deliver them before the storm hits.

We know that God is in control and we pray that through all of these difficulties God would continue to draw people to Him.

Cholera relief supplies delivered successfully

We are praising God that the truck was able to deliver the relief supplies to the 4 areas affected by cholera.  They had no problems and the people were so thankful to receive the supplies. 
Thank you for your prayers.
If you want to see pictures you can check out the BHM BLOG at:baptisthaitimission.blogspot.com
or check them out on the Baptist Haiti Mission page on Facebook.

Kyrk is home and the truck is going out

Kyrk arrived home yesterday, very tired, but glad to be home.  He had a get weekend speaking at churches and sharing about what God is doing here.
He was also able to purchase some soap and bottled water on his way up from the airport.  This is an answer to prayer.  He was not able to find any bleach, so we continue to pray that we will be able to find some to send to our churches in the affected areas.

We are sending a truck today with soap, bottled water, and water purification kits.  Pray for safety as this truck goes out.  Traveling with greatly needed supplies into areas where people are desperate can have it's dangers, so pray for safety as they travel.   Check back in the next couple of days for pictures. Micheal and volunteer here is going along to help with the distribution and to teach the people how to use the purification kits to purify water.  He is hoping to get some pictures of your pastors and churches to share what they are doing to help people in their communities.

Rebekah checking out the soap and other supplies that went out this morning.

Loading the truck

Preparing to help affected churches

Wow, what a weekend it has been.  Kyrk left on Friday morning to travel to Chicago to speak at 2 different churches.  Things are always much more challenging when Kyrk is not around.  I will be so thankful for him to return tomorrow morning.
Through out the weekend we started to hear reports from our pastors in the affected area, of how cholera was affecting their communities. 
Today after meeting with a few pastors and medical staff we decided that we are going to be sending some water purification supplies, soap and bottled water to our churches in the affected areas.  There are 4 districts that are affected and some are pretty bad.
Kyrk is going to be purchasing some of these supplies tomorrow as he comes up from the airport.
Pray with us that he will be able to find all the supplies that we need and that we will be able to safely deliver these supplies to the aritbonite churches on Wednesday. 

Cholera outbreak

Many of you may have heard by now, but today it was announced today that there has been cholera outbreak here in Haiti.  According to one news report it is currently affecting the town of St. Marc which is about 3 hours north of Port-au-Prince.
We are currently not affected by it and we are praying that the spread of it is contained.  Pray especially that cholera does not reach the tent cities.  There is already poor sanitation in tent cities and areas like that, so cholera would spread quickly there.
Pray for wisdom and strength for those treating the sick and caring for them.  Pray also that people would be informed about how cholera is spread and be able to take the necessary precautions to prevent the spread. 

Yahoo article about the Cholera outbreak

Bible Curriculum update

Praise that Lord that last week we had another Bible curriculum meeting and things are continuing to progress.  It really is amazing to see this project continuing and seeing it happen in God's timing.  It is so encouraging to see who God is bringing in our path to help make this curriculum the best that it can be.  Continue to pray with us, that in God's timing this curriculum will be completed. 
The schools located around the mission campus are going to be using the same curriculum that they used last year in grade 1 and we are trusting that within this school year we will be able to complete the revisions to the grade 1 curriculum and then distribute first grade to all of the BHM affiliated schools next year.
This is such a huge project and it is easy to get discouraged, but we are praying that God continues to lead us and provide the strength and wisdom we need to see this project come to a completion in His timing.

A gift of a pig

Sometimes there are things that happen here that just make you laugh.  Yesterday morning one of our men who oversees some of our construction crews came and said he had a gift for Jonathan.  When we went out to see what it was, we found a small pig. 
I don't think that there are too many kids who can say they were given a pig as a present.  All our kids had fun with the pig and helped to walk it down to it's new home, the pig pen.
So now the kids want to daily check on their new friend "chip."  Thankfully they are already talking about the good meat that they will eat when he is big enough, so they are not getting too attached.

Week full of Blessings

Atrel Update:
Last Weekend  Kyrk's dad, was able to travel to Atrel to preach at the church's annual thanksgiving service.  He was also able to be present at the baptism service which was held on Saturday.  Praise the Lord that there were 30 young people who were baptized.  It is such an encouragement to us to hear how God is working in that area.  People are being saved and the church is alive and sharing the good news with others.  Hearing this news also caused us to want to move up there even more.  Pray that in God's perfect timing we will be able to move to Atrel.

New homes:
Also during the past two week we had a group here from Florida that was affliated with Missionary Flights International.  They were a great team and really worked hard to complete 4 1/2 houses during the 2 weeks they were here.  Kyrk really enjoyed working with them and also being able to see 5 more families have a new home.  While he was out visiting one home, he began talking with the people who live next to them.  The family was living in a shack that they had put together with what was left of their house that fell during the earthqauke.  The family had 2 boys and the night before Kyrk visited, their third child was born in that home.  The family named the child "Dieubon" which means God is good.  Wow, here is this family who is living is very rough conditions and they are still able to say that God is good.  Their second son was badly injured in the quake and he has a broken spine and can no longer walk.  This makes the family sad, since he was doing very well in school but can no longer attend school, due to the fact that he can't get there. 
Pray for this family, that God would encourage them and also that we may possibly be able to help them with a new home. 

Baby Dieubon

The home Dieubon was born in.

One of the houses the second team from MFI built

The first MFI team along some other volunteers and some people from the community.

Crazy Storm

Yesterday afternoon it had started raining gently around 2:30 pm.  Around 3:30 the kids and I needed to go and put somethings away and talk to a few people so we ventured outside with umbrellas.  By the time we had walked for about 20 seconds the wind started to blow very strong.    We walked a few more steps and the wind really started to blow hard.  At this point I didn't know if we should turn around or keep going.  We made the quick decision to keep going, but as we were running, a large palm branch fell down in front of us.  My umbrella became useless as it blew back completely.  The kids were screaming, but thankfully Brianne was with me. 
We went to Patti's porch, but by this time that wind was super hard, so we went into her kitchen.  About 20 minutes later it was just gently raining again.
It was such a freak storm.  The MAF pilots said they clocked the wind at 60 mph. 
The news reports are saying that at least 5 people were killed from the storm in Port.  Many tents are damaged and life is even harder for those in the tent cities. 
We have a group of people here right now who are building houses and when the storm hit they had to seek safety along one of the walls they had just built since tin was flying from neighboring buildings.   Things were flying and they were thankful for the safety of a well built wall.  There was not a roof on the house yet, so they got wet but it really gave them an appreciation of what life is like for those with poor shelter right now.
Thankfully it is nice and sunny today and hopefully things dry out that I'm sure are soaked in many shelters.
Pray for those who have lost their temporary shelter and also for those who are living in very wet homes or shelters right now. 


If you want to check out a news report about the storm here is the link.
 http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5h90k2RxxtfWLiWNPKW43im9ChSDA

Update on Bible Curriculum and House Construction

BIBLE CURRICULUM
Thank you for your prayers regarding the Bible Curriculum.  We are still continuing to work on this but unfortunately our meeting was rescheduled.  Many people were unable to make it and therefore it has been postponed.  It has been so clear to us over the past few years that Satan really doesn't want us to complete this project.  Pray that we would be able to meet in the next week in order to keep this project moving forward. 

HOUSE CONSTRUCTION
Since last Thursday we have had a team of 10 people here helping to build 2 houses.  They have been a wonderful team and have worked very diligently to complete 2 houses in the time that they have been here.  This team leaves on Thursday and another team comes on the same day.  Pray that as they teams come and help build that not only will people have a new home, but Christ's love will be shared through this also.
Having these teams here has kept Kyrk very busy, overseeing all the construction and logistics of them building.  He is currently out checking on the sites for the next 2 houses which will be built by the next team.

Building the walls of the new home.

Learning the art of plastering the inside of the walls from the national workers.

Baptist Haiti Mission Blog

If any one is interested in hearing more about what is happening at the Baptist Haiti Mission check out our BHM blog.

With the help of, Nicole a volunteer here, we are updating that blog on a very regular basis.

Here is the link:
Baptist Haiti Mission Blog

Or you can go to  www.bhm.org and click on the Field Journal icon on the left hand side.

Bible Curriculum Update

As some of you may know, a group of us here at BHM are working on writing a Bible curriculum for primary schools.  Currently there is no standardized curriculum for our schools, each school teaches what they want for Bible class.  Developing this curriculum has been a project which we have been working on for the past 4 years and it is so exciting to see what God is doing and how He is working. 
Last year we had the first grade material in a few local schools to test it and see what the teachers and students thought.  Based on that feedback we are making a few edits and trying to get the material prepared for the rest of the 350 BHM affiliated schools.  God has also brought a very talented person along who is willing to help write and edit our curriculm.  This is a huge answer to prayer!

We, the education committee, are meeting tomorrow to continue to work on this curriculum.  We thank you for your continued prayers for this project. 
Pray that:
God would give wisdom to those who are writing the lessons
there would be unity among the committee
the curriculum would be completed in God's timing
God would provide the funds needed to print the curriculum

It is very obvious to us that it is something that Satan doesn't want us to finish.  There have been many struggles over the past years and I'm sure there will be more, but through the power of prayer we are trusting that God will bring this project to completion and many boys and girls through out Haiti will hear the gospel as a result.

3 families will soon get a new home

Last Monday Kyrk traveled out to visit 3 families who lost their homes in the earthquake.  Once the request for a new home is submitted and approved by the association of churches, the family then has to show land papers, showing that they own the land.  Then Kyrk goes out and checks the building site etc.  This means that about once every 1 or 2 weeks he is going out to visit people.

This man is currently living in this house along with his wife and 6 children.

Inside their home.  Since the entire wall has fallen down this is what you see when you walk by the house.

This lady is 93 years old and has 14 children, 7 of which have died.  Her house was almost completely destroyed and she is so thankful that she will soon have a new home.

This plot of land is where a lady's house used to be.  It was completely destroyed and following the earthquake she allowed the local school to set up a temporary school on the property.  Now that the school is able to be used she is looking forward to having a new home on her property.

Children in the temporary school

The temporary school was built with whatever materials they could find.

School has begun

Yes, we have officially begun school once again. It has been a long 7 month break and we were all ready to get back into the routine of school. Having not done school since Jan. 12, Naomi and Jonathan were very excited to be able to start back once again.
I am praying that this excitement and enthusiasm for school continues for a long time.
Rebekah is also enjoying doing school related activities and Robert likes to join us, but so far he has spent most of the "school time" in bed. I have found this to be the best method to be able to teach Naomi and Jonathan and keep Robert out of trouble.
Home schooling our children is a challenge, but I'm praying that God will continue to give the patience and wisdom needed.

Dr. Bernard and Group of Carpenters journey

Thank you for your prayers.

Kyrk's cough seems to be going away and he is feeling much better.

Also, Dr. Bernard made it to the states on Thursday and has already received treatment. We are keeping the BHM blog updated with his progress, so check that out for more details. You can get to it through the BHM website, or by going to baptisthaitimission.blogspot.com

God has done some other great things this week. Early Wednesday morning Kyrk sent a well loaded truck up to the northwest along with our group of carpenters. They were going to put a roof on a school and build the school furniture. All of their supplies were loaded on the truck. Everything was going well for them until they got about 3/4 of the way there and the truck could not go any further. They have been receiving a lot of rain in the northwest recently and since the truck was so heavily loaded it was not going to make it any further. Around 6pm they called Kyrk and asked what they should do. It was decided that they should see if they could find another willing truck which they could hire to carry some of the supplies, lessening the load on our truck, so that everything could arrive at the school. Miraculously by midnight, they had everything safely at the school.
Continue to pray for our group of carpenters that are working at the school. Pray that they will be able to safely complete the work that needs to be done and that they can return safely when they are finished.

Fun Pictures, Kyrk's cough and Dr. Bernard

On Saturday Kyrk spent the day building a model airplane with Jonathan. He loved being able to spend the day with Dad and to learn how to build an airplane.



Anna is growing up so quickly. I was taking a picture of her on Sunday and Rebekah wanted to get in on the action also.


Over the past couple of days Kyrk has been struggling with a very bad cough. It is really making him miserable and he would like to be able to stop coughing. One of our workers gathered the leaves in the picture below and told Kyrk to make a tea with them to help his cold. The tea tasted really good and hopefully it helps his cough. Pray with us that God would heal Kyrk's cough.

We are not sure what the first 2 leaves are, but the third one is orange tree leaves and the fourth is coffee tree leaves.

Thank you for your prayers for Dr. Bernard. He is supposed to be coming home from the hospital today and it is looking promising that he is going to be able to go to the states soon to get the needed treatment. Praise God! I'm sure he and his family would appreciate your continued prayers.

Prayer needed for Dr. Bernard

A few days ago Dr. Bernard was admitted to a hospital in Port-au-Prince with chest pains. For those who don't know Dr. Bernard, he is the head doctor of our Hospital on the mission campus. He has served in the hospital for more then 30 years.

Dr. Bernard is a wonderful servant who has diligently helped so many people over the years. Now he is in need of help.

He is in need of advanced cardiac testing, which can not be done in Haiti. Doctors suspect that he needs stents, but they do not have the equipment here in Haiti to help him further.

He needs to go to the United States, or Canada for further medical help. Pray with us that God would make this happen. He has no medical insurance and no way to cover the medical expenses in the States or Canada alone. Pray with us that God would miraculously provide a willing doctor and hospital so that Dr. Bernard can get the medical attention that he needs.


Dr. Bernard, hard at work in his office

Praying for the flu bug to stop

Thank you so much for the prayers that you have offered in regards to the major flu bug that we are battling here. We are praising God that our family is finally over it completely. There are still a few people sick with the flu, but we are hoping that the worst of it is over. Chris and Kelli returned on Wednesday and some of thier children are now sick and we are praying that Chris and Kelli don't get it. Our 2 large groups leave tomorrow so your prayers for good travel would be appreciated. We are praying that they will all feel great and ready to travel by tomorrow morning. The Dutch group has 3 days of travel ahead of them.
Below is a picture we took Wednesday morning. We had 3 groups here for that day, which is the most people we have ever had here at one time.


These groups have been a huge help. The Dutch group has been rebuilding 3 classrooms at the Griffen school that were damaged in the earthquake. This is a picture of the school they are building.

The other groups were building houses. I should have pictures and stories of those families and thier new homes later this week.

Thank you again for joining us in prayer for healing and for this sickness to stop.

Saturday evening thoughts

There are so many things that I want to share as I sit here at the computer tonight. God is so faithful and good and He never gives us more then we can handle.
I truly have been amazed by the strength that God has blessed me with over the past few days. As you read in my last post we have been having some sick children. Well it ended up that both Kyrk and I also got the flu. I was in bed all day Thursday and Kyrk has spent the last 24 hours in bed. All of our children have gotten it (except for Anna). Everyone seems to have recovered except for Jonathan. He is still pretty sick tonight.
Continue to pray for healing.
This sickness has also spread to several others here at the mission including a few members of a team from Colorado. Pray for God's healing of their bodies and also that no one else gets this. We are praising God that so far none of the 24 Dutch people visiting have gotten it, so that is a blessing.
As I reflect on the challenges that this past week has brought, I am also amazed by the strength that God gave to face each challenge.
One big encouragement for me this week was to get to see God through a wonderful Christian lady who just started working here, helping out in the kitchen. She has been through some very terrible things in the past few months, but even through it all she is still praising God. It has been such a blessing to interact with her this week and to see Christ through all that she does. She is so grateful for the work that she has found and praising God for the ways that He is providing for her needs as well as her 2 daughters.
Thank you once again for joining us in prayer for our Haitian brothers and sisters. It truly is a blessing for us to be able to live and grow spiritually together along side of them.

Heavy Rains have passed

Thank you so much for your prayers last night and today. Thankfully it seems that the storm system that was giving us very heavy rains has passed. We had some rain today but it was only for a couple of hours this afternoon. We have not heard any reports of severe flooding,so we are thankful for that.

Another prayer request is to pray for our sick children. Rebekah was sick with the flu yesterday and Robert has come down with it tonight. I pray that we can sleep well tonight and that Robert is able to get a good sleep also. Also pray that this doesn't spread to the many visitors that are here right now.
God's timing is always perfect and He never gives us more then we can handle, so I'm continually reminding myself of that and trusting God to provide the strength to handle this extra challenge right now.

Heavy Rains

I'm not sure how many people are reading this tonight, but there are many people in Haiti that could really use prayer right now.
Today we have had very heavy rains and they are still continuing. The National Hurricane Center says that there is a storm system developing which is causing all of our current rain. We have already received over 2 inches since noon today.
Pray for the people in tents. Pray that they will be safe from the heavy rains and be able to stay dry somehow. I can't even begin to imagine what tonight is going to be like for them. Pray for comfort, peace and protection.
Thank you for joining me in prayer!

World Servants group arrives

Thursday a group of 24 people from the Netherlands arrived safely at the mission. It is always fun having the World Servants group here.
Over the next 2 1/2 weeks the group is going to be rebuilding 3 classrooms at the Griffen school which were damaged by the earthquake.
Also during this past week we have had a group of 9 here from Alabama. They have been doing a VBS program at the Callebasse school, along with some painting around the mission and organizing relief supplies. It is great to have such willing workers here to help out.
Thanks for your prayers. These are busy weeks, but we are praising God for the strength that He is providing.
Monday another group comes to help rebuild houses. Continue to pray for safety for all these people and for strength and wisdom for Kyrk has he is overseeing all the building projects.
I will try and post pictures next week of what these groups are doing.

An encouraging Sunday

What a joy it was this morning to be able to worship together with our Haitian brothers and sisters. It was also a huge delight to hear the children's choir, which was made up of over 85 children singing praises to God. God is good!

I'm so thankful for this great start to the week. We know that the week ahead is going to be an especially busy one, so it was great to have a worshipful, restful day.

Back in Haiti

We arrived back in Haiti on Tuesday afternoon after a very restful time in the States and Canada. It was wonderful to be able to see all of our family and several friends.
I was truly humbled to hear from so many of you who regularly read this blog. I never knew so many people where interested in what is happening here. It was a huge encouragement to us and it reminded me of the importance of regular communication with people even if I think it might be boring things, people really want to know what is happening here.

As we were driving home from the airport we passed the Pettionville church. It was amazing to see the church looking even better then it did before the earthquake. The team of builders that repaired the church did an excellent job. I'm sure that the people of the Pettionville church are so thankful to have a church building to be able to worship in together in and to have a facility to use to help minister to the many hurting people in their community.
Thank you for partnering with us to be able to encourage the Pettionville church following the earthquake.

Here is the newly finished church.

Short update

As some of you may know we are currently out of Haiti. We left on May 13 to attend my brother' wedding on May 15. We are really enjoying our time in Canada and will be traveling in the states in a couple of weeks to spend time with friends and family also.
We are returning to Haiti on July 6.
During this time I will update if I hear of things happening in Haiti.
Even though I may not be updating frequently please know that God is working and those at the mission are continuing to help the people around us.
The team of national masons are continuing to build a house a week and other groups of people are also building houses. A few schools have been repaired already and repairs have started on several others.
We are praising God for the volunteers that are coming to help. In the past 2 weeks there have been 2 medical groups come. One did follow up care for some of the earthquake patients who had broken limbs. The other team went to rural villages and provided medical care there.
God is also continuing to do great things through the tent city ministry. Continue to pray for this ministry and that many people would come to faith in Christ.
Please join me in praying for the staff in Haiti. This is a very busy time and with some of the missionary staff gone on furlough it makes it much more challenging for those left in Haiti.
Also continue praying for wisdom and guidance as we continue to seek God's will as we serve the people of Haiti.


Here is an updated picture of our family.

Master's class resumes

This past week the Master's of Education program was able to resume. 29 of the 32 students were able to travel here to Fermathe for the one week class. This truly is an answer to prayer! God provided a professor who was willing to come (this class was supposed to be in February, so the original professor could not come for a May class.) and almost all the students were able to come.
It truly is amazing to see God at work and we are praising God that things like the Master's program are starting to get back to "normal."