Few pictures from Kyrk's Atrel trip

 Kyrk's trip was very successful.  He was able to speak with several school directors and teachers as they visited several schools and assessed the greatest needs of the communities.

Some of the Boulanger school children in front of the school building that was built in 2008.

The old school building at Boulanger.  They really needed a new one :)

One of the classrooms at the Moulin Gouane school.

The same classroom from the outside.

A class in the Nan Flip school

 No matter where we go in this country we are always amazed at the hospitality and generosity of the people.  At one of the schools that Kyrk visited he was given a gift of a sack of millet.  Right now many of the farmers in the Northwest are harvesting millet.  This is one of the staple food for the people in that area.  The district pastor, Pastor Fritz, also gifted Kyrk with a sack of millet and also some beans.  I'm now experimenting with recipes that use millet or millet flour.  I would love to hear any suggests if anyone has some good recipes using millet flour or millet.

On the right is the millet still in the hulls.  On the left is what it looks like after they pounded it.

Removing the chaff from the ground millet.

Kyrk Currently in Atrel

Kyrk left on Monday to go to Atrel for a few days.  There are 2 people here from World Servants and they needed to check up on past World Servants projects in that area and also look at future projects.
When I spoke with Kyrk last night things were going very well.  It really is encouraging for us to visit churches and schools in the area of Atrel and see the needs as well as get to know more of the people.
Pray that as he visits more churches today and then travels home tomorrow that God would protect them as they travel and that God would bring the people into their paths that He desires for them to meet and talk with.
We are so thankful for Pastor Fritz, who is the overseeing pastor in the Atrel area.  He has been traveling around with them, showing them different places and he has also opened his home to them.
Thank you for your continued prayers for our move to Atrel.  We are trusting that in God's perfect timing we will move there.  Trips like this one, that Kyrk is on now, help to encourage us as we wait for our move to Atrel.
I'm hoping that Kyrk took some pictures on his trip so I can post some on here.

Recent donations

Every since the earthquake we have been receiving many donations of various clothes, food and other items.  Most of these items have been very helpful and many people have been blessed by the donations.
On Tuesday we got a truck load of shoes, and clothes.  Kyrk decided to model some of the contents of this truck load.  I think this is some of the craziest things we have received. :)

Yep, we got a lot of tuxedo jackets and vests

Crocodile Adventures

One of the ministries that we have here at Baptist Haiti Mission is to offer the community a safe place to come, relax, enjoy our yard, playground and zoo.  There are 2 main attractions in our zoo, a monkey and a crocodile.
Sadly in November our crocodile died.  Since so many people have enjoyed visiting the zoo and seeing a crocodile we knew we had to try to replace him.
Last week, we were blessed with a new crocodile and it came at the perfect time since Kyrk had finished having the cage repaired and repainted.
After doing some research we discovered that crocodiles do best when the water temperature is between 68F and 95F.  So we went to work trying to create a way to warm up the water in his cage since the water was in the low 60s.
Jonathan has loved working with his Dad helping with this project and as of lunch today the water should be getting warmer for the crocodile.

Bring the Crocodile into his new home.

Untying the ropes

Resting in his new home.

Working on their water heating system

Kyrk trying to convince Jonathan that he can stand on the island with the croc.

This one is for Grandma C!

David and Laura come to visit

We were recently blessed with having my brother David and his wife Laura come and visit us.  It is always such an encouragement to have family visit and it was hard to say goodbye to them on Friday

David helped build sink counters on the conference center.

Kyrk and David working on plumbing for the conference center.

Coloring with David.

David and Laura helped with many projects around the house. 

Rebekah being silly.

David wanted us to make cupcakes, so we had "Happy David Day."

One Year Ago Today

This is definitely a day filled with many memories.  It is hard to believe that it was a year ago already that so many things changed.

It has not been an easy year, yet through it all we have seen God's hand at work and doing amazing things.  Many people have come to know Christ through the tragedy and others have been challenged and deepened in their faith.

Philippians 4:6&7 "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

This verse is a great reminder that God doesn't want us to worry, but instead to rely on God and His peace.  Wow, a peace that surpasses all understanding, that is the type of peace that I want, peace that no one understands.
Today we are praying that as we seek God in prayer, His peace will guard our hearts and minds.  It isn't going to be an easy day for the people of Haiti and the staff of BHM, but we are praying that God will guard our hearts and minds as we seek Him in prayer today.
Thank you for joining us in prayer.

Great week

We are so thankful that we have been able to deliver most of the school food this week.  Schools reopened following the Christmas break and things have remained peaceful, making it possible for us to deliver the food. 
Progress is being made on the conference center also.  Electric and plumbing are going in and our group of carpenters are working hard to get the roof on.   We are praying that this facility is finished by mid march when we are planning on holding national church conference.  There will be over 300 church representatives here from most of the BHM affiliated churches and we will need the conference center to house and feed these people.  

This week we are looking forward to a couple of volunteers coming in along with a medical team at the end of the week. 
We are praying that things remain peaceful.  There are rumors that the election recount is to be announced sometime this week. 
Thank you so much for your prayers.

Wonderful holiday time

These past 2 weeks have been very relaxing and enjoyable.
On Christmas day we were able to visit the patients in the hospital and share God's love with them.  We were able to sing songs and pray in each of the wards and the kids handed out candy canes to everyone in the hospital.
We were then treated to a wonderful Christmas dinner.  We are blessed to have a French chef here who wanted to make Christmas dinner for us.  Wow, I have never had turkey that tasted so good.  Thank you Jean Claude for being such a blessing to us!
The week between Christmas and New Years was quiet and restful.  Kyrk gave many of the workers the week off so it was quiet here and we were able to enjoy some good family time which is always enjoyed.
Now we are back into our normal routines.  We started back to school today, which is always a reminder that vacation is over.
We are so grateful that things have remained peaceful in the country.  We are still unsure of what the next weeks will be like.  Sometime in the next couple weeks they are supposed to announce the results of the recount.  Thanks for your continued prayers.

Robert's birthday

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.