Merry Christmas!!

It was a great party! Last Sunday we enjoyed a program put on by our young people. About 100 visitors came to the HOH to enjoy the program and party with us, and it we had a very nice time, remembering our Savior, the ultimate gift, who's birth we celebrate at this time of the year. For many of the kids it was their first time, and you can see by their faces they were very excited.

Little Siliana is doing great, thank you for your prayers for her. She is now drinking on her own, and putting on weight. She also loves to sleep all day, and keep us up all night! We were sad to find out that her mother passed away on Tuesday, and she is now an orphan, but we are thankful we were able to get her in time to give her a chance to live.

Our school kids are enjoying a break these days, and I am enjoying a visit with my family in Texas. Please keep Linda in your prayers, as she is holding down the fort. Her family experienced a loss this past week with the sudden death of a beloved cousin in Miami. His funeral is Saturday, so please keep them in your prayers. We'd appreciate your prayers for our friends in Port-au-Prince, as security continues to be a big concern for them all.

We extend our wishes to you all for a very Merry Christmas!

"The Least of These"

We had seen her several times before, lying on her mom's hospital bed. Her mother was diagnosed with AIDS, and is extremely ill. Whether due to the AIDS or Post Partum Depression, her mom had mentally lost it when she was born, and had refused to accept her as her child. Her mom was better now, and accepted her presence there on the hospital bed, but still refused to take care of her. In fact, no one was taking care of her, everyone was preoccupied with her mom, and her sad state of health. But no one did anything about her needs. In fact, she didn't even have a name yet. She is 2 weeks old, and since being born, had not been fed anything of substance, her diet mostly consisted of sugar water the nurses gave her whenever they came by, perhaps once or twice a day. Sunday after church we stopped by to see her, and our hearts went out to her seeing this tiny 3 pound bundle lying there so helplessly. All that was going through my mind was, she, if anyone fit the description "the least of these" that Jesus had talked about in Mathew 25. She had been forgotten, and would soon die unless someone did something.

So we did. We brought her to the HOH. Cleaned her up, and starting putting regular amounts of formula into her little stomach through a feeding tube. We did tests for her at the hospital, and started her on medications. We have been taking care of her needs day and night. We even gave her a name: Siliana. Her mom's name is Silianie, so it's something her mom might have named her if she had been in her right mind. It hasn't taken long for Siliana to start getting better, she has already started to change color from a sickly yellow to a much healthier light brown. She is waking up more often, and has even given us a smile or two. Last night she was cooing in her bed, it was so cute, and we once again feel blessed to be able to take care of another precious treasure! And talk about a perfect time to receive such a treasure! The time of year when we are celebrating the coming of Jesus to earth as a little baby. When we brought her to the HOH the other kids here said, "Great! Now we have our Baby Jesus!".

We are busy getting things ready for our Christmas celebration on Sunday, it will be a busy but very fun day. We will be preparing in the morning, have the program in the afternoon, and receive the gifts in the evening. Excitement is in the air!

We appreciate your prayers and support very much. Junior is still about the same, but he isn't worse so we are thankful for that. Wendjina is doing much better, but when her dad came to see her this morning we sent her home with him to finish her treatment from home. She really misses her family a lot, and we think this is the best course of action for her.

Thank you for your part in this ministry. God bless,

Continued Prayer Needed

Thank you so much for your prayers for Wendjina. She is doing much better the past two days. Please keep praying that she'd continue to respond to the treatments we are giving her. Now we need your prayers for another young child named Junior. This is his second time to be at the HOH. He was here several years ago with TB, but this time has returned severely malnourished. His symptoms are very confusing for the doctors here, and we are trying to change his diet to see if that helps. Please pray for wisdom for us all to know how to help this sweet little boy.

The boat arrived this week! So that means at least some of our Christmas presents are here. I don't think they all made it in time, but at least some did, and we have already received a good number here at the HOH. The kids were all very excited yesterday as they saw the boxes coming in. Now they just have to wait! Thank you to all who sent gifts, we are looking forward to seeing the kids faces when they open their Christmas sacks this year.

The Our Hope young people are busy preparing the Christmas program for this year. They are being quite secretive about it, and have been going to the campground that is attached to our property to practice every night, so we don't see it before hand. We are happy they can now do this on their own, and we are looking forward to seeing the program on the 17th. That is when they will all receive their gifts as well.

We are enjoying having a young man from Vancouver, WA here with us for a couple of weeks. Mason Young is the newest human jungle gym here at the HOH! The younger children in particular have enjoyed having Mason here to play with them, and he is fitting in and helping out a lot. He has a kind heart and doesn't mind holding the little babies, and they sure are loving it!

Once again, thank you for your prayers and your support.

Pray for Wendjina

Good morning, thank you for praying for Jean Daniel, he has recovered well from his surgery, and is almost back to his normal self. Now we need to ask you to pray for Wendjina, who is very sick. She is 2 years old and has been here at the HOH since September. She really was doing well, responding to her TB treatment, and starting to get healthy, and then during the past month she has started to really go down hill. The doctor doesn't know what do to for her anymore, and we are just trying everything we can to save her. Her parents think that someone has put a curse on her, and so have lost all hope that she will live. We keep telling them that is for God to decide, and that if He chooses, He can spare her life. Our prayer is that her family would come to know the Lord through this difficult time, and also that Wendjina would get better. Please pray for Wendjina, for her parents, and for us as we take care of her. Thank you.

I meant to write this before today, but didn't get a chance. This morning one of our oldest boys, Jean Daniel will be going through surgery to have his tonsils removed. We'd appreciate your prayers for Jean Daniel, and for the surgeon, Dr. Mozart, as this operation takes place. Thank you so much. God bless, and have a great day!

Christmas is Here!!

This past week Christmas arrived at the HOH. We love to start early, as everyone here loves the lights and the decorations. For some of the children, this will be the first Christmas they've ever celebrated, and for some the only one they ever will. The new ones have never seen lights and decorations before, it is so fun to watch their faces light up with each decoration that is put in place. We are looking forward to being able to enjoy this time of the year with our children and young people, and to share the Good News of Jesus with those who don't yet know Him.

Speaking of those who don't know Him yet, we can cross Djimmy off that list! Remember a couple of weeks ago I asked you to pray for him. Well last week he accepted Jesus as his Savior, here in the office with Linda and I. It was so wonderful, and at that moment I pictured the angels in Heaven celebrating this newborn member of the family. Thank you for your prayers for him.

It has been a difficult week for us, as one of the young people who has been here 5 years decided she wanted to return home to her father's house. We had been trying to discourage this, as her father is extremely poor, and has no way to take care of her, but she insisted, so we had to let her go, even though it was very difficult for us. In the end she wanted more freedom to do as she pleases, and she knew she wouldn't get it here. That is a very difficult for some of our young people, especially as they have friends whose parents let them do what they want. Please pray for our young people, that they'd be able to stand up to the peer pressure around them, and continue to learn and grow in their walk with Christ so that they are a positive influence to their friends and schoolmates.

We are looking forward to some visitors this next week. A young man from Seattle named Mason Young is coming to spend several weeks helping us out here at the HOH, and a group of men from Oklahoma are coming for a quick visit as well. I have been spending quite a bit of time planning for the work teams that will start to come here in January and continue through to April. Please pray for me as I work out all the logistics of having these teams here. Pray also for security in Haiti so they can come and help us do some much needed repairs at the HOH and the hospital as well.

This week has been rainy and stormy, we actually pulled out the winter clothes yesterday evening for the young children! We have a number of needs here at the moment, and would appreciate your prayers for God's provision for all of our needs. Pray also for a number of very sick children we have here right now. Those include: Gamaniel, Wendjina, Edmaya, and Ashley.

We want to say Happy Thanksgiving to all of our US friends. Hope you have a lovely day.

Fun on Holidays!

Fun on Holidays!
Originally uploaded by House of Hope.

Greetings once again from the HOH. Last week our students had 3 days of vacation from school, having just completed their mid term exams. Not wanting to let this opportunity to have some fun pass them by, our older young people put their heads together and organized 3 days of fun and games. They opened it up to some of the children in our local community, and did a superb job of organizing and pulling off the fun days. It was such a joy for Linda and myself to see our young people take the initiative to do this, and then to organize it and pull it off! The one young man who really put his all into this project was St. Germain. Which won't be a surprise to any of you who know him. He just really shined forth his God-given talents of leadership and administration. It was really exciting to watch and participate in, although by the end of the week we were all exhausted! In this picture you can see a group of both our kids and the community kids playing Bingo together.



Having a group of young people come in from the community did open our eyes to the sad moral state that some of these young people are in. We hear stories from the community every now and then, but seeing it and experiencing it with our own eyes was another story. It made me realize how much peer pressure our kids are under when they are in school with these other young people, and it reminded me of the great need we have to pray for our kids to be a light and a witness for Jesus Christ in their schools and the local community. Please keep them in your prayers.



We were surprised when we looked at the news online on Monday to find that Haiti was named the world's most corrupt country. What a mark of distinction! And another reason to get on our knees and pray for Haiti, for the leaders of this country and for all the believers here trying to make a difference for Christ in such a corrupt setting. I was reading in Phil 2:13-15 this morning, and it struck me that this is what we are trying to do here in Haiti. Here's what it says: "...for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe." So pray that we would do our work here without complaining or arguing, so we may shine like stars in this struggling country.



Please continue to pray that God would supply all of our needs. We appreciate your prayer support very much, and know that this is God's work, we are all just partners together in it--He will supply what we need. Thank you for lifting us up before the Father. God bless, and have a great week...

Hello!

Hello!
Originally uploaded by House of Hope.

It's been a couple of weeks since we've last written. In the past two weeks, I went to Port-au-Prince for a few days, we've had Dr. Boucher visit for a few days, the school kids have all been writing exams, we've been dealing with discipline problems, we received a bunch of boxes off the boat, we admitted 8 very sick and malnourished children, had 2 young children pass away, and we've been getting over the virus that went through. So you can imagine how busy things have been.



But today we are feeling fine, the kids are almost done their exams (most will finish tomorrow), and the really sick kids are starting to get better. Among them are 12 year old Djimmy. He came here very sick and malnourished, but is already feeling better and starting to enjoy life at the HOH. Please pray that he would be receptive of the Good news of Jesus during his time here.



Tomorrow I need to return to PAP, just for the day, I'll fly down in the morning and Lord willing back in the afternoon. I have to take care of some government paperwork, so I'd appreciate your prayers for safety.



Wednesday and Thursday of this week are a holiday here in Haiti, so the kids won't have school. They are already preparing for two big recreation days, filled with fun and games. It's neat to see them using their creative minds to come up with fun things to do, and we are looking to some fun times together.



Please keep some of our young teenagers who are going through some very difficult times. We all know those teenage years are tough, so please pray for these girls in particular: Roselor, Guirlene, Verline and Pierla.



Our Bible studies are going good, and we know God is working in the lives of our kids. While it gets discouraging sometimes when we see our young people make bad choices, we find our encouragement in God and in His Word. This morning I was encouraged with Phil. 1:6...that confidence that God would continue His work in the lives of His people...we are clinging to that same confidence these days as our young people grow, stumble, fall, get up and keep going. Thank you for your prayers on our behalf. Please continue to pray as well for God to provide financially what we need to keep the HOH going.



Have a great week, Jenny and the HOH

Building away!

Building away!
Originally uploaded by House of Hope.

Greetings from the House of Hope! We have a virus going through the HOH, and people seem to be dropping one after the other! Every day we wake up to several more cases of fever and flu like symptoms. We appreciate your prayers for all those who are sick, and for those who haven't fallen sick yet as they try to pick up the slack of those who are sick.



The boys along with some local workers have worked hard to rebuild our burned out building. Thanks to a generous gift we were able to get a large amount of work done on the building, as you can see in the above picture. We are excited, and are again praying for God's provision to allow us to continue, and one day finish this project.



Please keep 1 year old Stevenson in your prayers, he got really sick this past week, we gave him a blood transfusion, and then the Doctor decided to transfer him to the hospital. He is still there, but is doing better. Thank you so much for your prayers on our behalf. God bless you and give you a great week!

The Boucher Family

The Boucher Family
Originally uploaded by House of Hope.

We got back from Port-au-Prince last night. Thank you so much for your prayers for our safety and for Benitha. God, as usual, worked everything out just fine. We were referred to an ear doctor who turned out to be Dr. Boucher's cousin. She was very quick at diagnosing Benitha's problem, and her treatment worked almost immediately. Within a few days it was apparent that Benitha didn't need surgery, her problem was corrected with medication only, for that we are very thankful.



We thank God so much for our relationship with the Boucher family in PAP (pictured here with their new baby boy). They are always so quick to help us when we are in need, and this time was no different. They helped us get all the testing done we needed to, and took very good care of us. Please continue to pray for this special family as they continue to live through very difficult times in PAP. Our young man, Carl Evens, who is in PAP lives with them. It was good to connect with him this past week. He will start writing exams to try and get into university tomorrow. He has exams on Friday, Saturday, and then next Tuesday through Thursday, so please pray for him. He has studied hard this past year, with Dr. Boucher's help, and so we pray that he'll succeed in being admitted to university and begin his studies this coming year.



All of the "Our Hope" young people and kids started school this week, and it's nice to see things getting back to a more "normal" schedule. Pray that they all would use their time wisely, and learn as much as they can during this coming year.

Pray for Benitha

Greetings! Linda came back Tuesday afternoon. Everything went well, and it was so good for her to have been with her family during this difficult time. Thankyou for your prayers for her safety, and for the funeral. The Gospel was clearly presented at the funeral, so we continue to pray that it will bear fruit amongst those who attended.

As soon as Linda returned we found out that one of our older girls, Benitha, needed to go to Port-au-Prince to see a Ear Specialist. She has a very advanced and complicated ear infection, and the doctors here are worried she may lose hearing in her ear. Please pray for this to heal, and pray for us as we head to PAP today. I'll be taking her down, and traveling with Stephanie as well. Pray for safety, and for the doctor there to have wisdom to know how to deal with this problem. We appreciate your support in this way. Have a great week!

Jackson

Jackson
Originally uploaded by House of Hope.

Last night Jackson passed away, after battling Leukemia for almost a year. Thank you so much to those of you who prayed faithfully for him this past year. We never were able to get any kind of treatment for him other than blood transfusions every couple of weeks. This past week has been rough and the doctor told the family they needed to take him home, as there was nothing else they could do for him. It has been extremely tough on his family as they've watch him suffer without being able to help.



Linda will travel to Cap Haitian on Thursday along with Phania (pictured here), so they can help participate in his funeral. Please keep them in prayer as they travel, and also as they do a lot of the planning for the funeral. Pray for the family as well, most of them are not believers. We are thankful that Jackson did believe in Jesus, and we know he is no longer suffering. Pray that during this time with their family, Linda and Phania will be able to share Jesus with them. Pray for receptive hearts, and that God would be glorified in all that goes on there these coming days.



School begins for our students this coming week, pray for us as we get all the preparations finished. We will also begin our Bible studies with the children and young people here. So things should soon start to be on a more regular schedule. We've had several young children be able to return to their homes this week, specifically Sandley, Djeffry, Jamesley, and Jamesen. We've also had 3 new children come, please pray for them, their names are, Withcy, Nayson, Guerry. Please pray specifically for Guerry, he is very sick and swollen with malnutrition.



We appreciate your prayers for us. God bless and have a great week!

Kensly is Happy!

Kensly is Happy!
Originally uploaded by House of Hope.

Thank you for praying for Kensly, he is doing just great! He has adjusted to life back at the House of Hope, and as you can see in the picture of him in our garden, is very happy. We appreciate your holding him up before the Father.



My trip to PAP went well, we got the interns off fine, thank you for your prayers for safety. I was also able to touch base with our friends the Boucher family, and see their precious newborn baby boy.



These past few weeks, things have been extremely difficult here at the HOH, we've had many things happen to discourage us, things we've never faced before, and it's been very tough. We still are working through some things, and would appreciate your prayers for wisdom for Linda and I as we work through them. Please continue to pray for the spiritual growth of our children and young people, as well as Linda and I. Pray also that God would be glorified in all that goes on here at the HOH, and that we would be lights in our community.



Things have settled down somewhat in PAP, so we are thankful for that, especially for all our friends and colleagues who live and work there.



We continue to have a house full of visiting friends from England, so that keeps us busy on top of all that's going on. On Sunday we enjoyed having Jeb Bland and his team here for the day. I have been spending quite a bit of time making up new Bible studies for the Our Hope young people in the coming months. Please pray that God would use them in the lives of our young people to bring them into a deeper knowledge of Him, and a closer walk with Him.



We have three new children who are quite sick, their names are: Lubiana, Samenta, and Louvensky, please keep them in your prayers. Also praise God together with us for a couple of very generous donations that have been an encouragement to us, and are enabling us to do some much needed work around the HOH. The boys and some local workers have finished pouring the cement roof for the first floor of the building we are working on since it burned down. This coming week they'll work on making the stairs to the second floor, and also on starting to put up the walls.



We appreciate you and your prayers on our behalf!

Pray for Safety

Just a quick note to let you know that I have to travel to Port au Prince tomorrow to take the two interns to the airport to fly back to the States. I'd appreciate your prayers as we travel there. I will be spending the night with the Boucher family, and will get to see their new baby boy! Then I'll be back on Friday.

Also pray for our visitors coming from England some arriving here tomorrow, and some on Saturday. We appreciate your prayers as we travel around, especially during our time in PAP as things are not as calm there as we'd like it to be. It also looks like Tropical Storm Chris is heading our way over the next few days, so pray we can all arrive back here safely.

Keep Linda and the kids in prayer as well, the boys are working with some local masons on the burned out building, they should be ready to pour the roof sometime early next week. And pray for Kensly as well, a new 3 year old boy who is sad and sick, pray for him to adjust well here, and to start to feel better. Thanks!

Smiling faces

Smiling faces
Originally uploaded by House of Hope.

The smiling happy faces that greet me every morning (like Lala here), make me feel so happy to be back among them. We are well into summer vacation here the House of Hope, and as you can imagine there is much activity going on all the time. Some of the older boys has begun running several miles every morning, and playing as much basketball as they possibly can. Some of the older girls are starting to make uniforms for the coming school year, as well is helping us with the numerous visitors, we have during the months of July and August. All of the younger kids are making the most of every day just playing as many games as they can in a day. Our two short-term ladies have been spending a lot of time with different groups of kids loving them, and sharing Christ's love with them through their actions. They've also been helping to decorate the HOH by painting on the walls. Linda and I are just trying to keep it all together, we've got up on most of the work that didn't get done while I was gone, and are now pressing on with the new things.



We've enjoyed having various members of Linda's family from the US come to spend time with us during the month of July. Presently, we have her three nephews here, as well as her sister, brother-in-law and their daughter. It has been very good for Linda to catch up with family members she has not seen for a long time. So her days lately have been filled with taking care of their needs and enjoying their company.



I've been working on a new prayer letter and also on Bible studies for the coming school year. I've also been serving as the local taxi service for missionaries and visitors alike, as Ronel, our oldest boy and helping chauffeur, is not here right now.



We feel very blessed to be experiencing calm and peace in our area of Haiti, but that is not the case in other areas, especially in certain places in Port-au-Prince. We would ask you to please pray for all of our missionary and Haitian colleagues who live and work in Port-au-Prince. It is a very stressful environment of the moment, and they could really use your prayers. We have been hearing reports, however, that in the midst of very difficult times there, the Gospel is being preached and lived out daily, and people are coming to know the Lord. So please keep praying for this very needy country, that God would be glorified and many would come to know him.



Please continue to pray as well, for God's provision for our daily needs. As always, when there's trouble in the country. It becomes difficult getting supplies into the outlying areas, and the already escalated prices continue to rise. We appreciate you all, have a great day!

Back in Haiti!

Back in Haiti!
Originally uploaded by House of Hope.

Greetings once again from Haiti! Sorry I did not get a chance to update the blog while I was traveling. It was a very busy, 10 weeks. I enjoyed visiting with everyone that I had a chance to see, which turned out to be quite a lot of people. I thoroughly enjoyed the chance to travel with my sister, we had a great time together, and it made the miles pass by quickly as we drove across the country. We ended up putting on 5,400 miles onto our rental car in just four weeks!



Needless to say I'm thrilled to be back in Haiti. It was so good to see everybody again. Linda and the kids fared quite well during my absence, although it was a busy and difficult time for them all. Everyone is finally finished with their exams, some just finished last week. They are now getting full swing into summer vacation, starting with a basketball tournament this afternoon. Several of the "Our Hope" kids have gone to their homes to visit their families, please pray for safety as they travel, and also that they would have the chance to be a witness for the Lord during their time at home.



It was great to travel back into Haiti with two young ladies who are here to spend several weeks with us. Heather and McKenzie (in the picture) come from Oklahoma and Texas and are here to help out at the House of Hope. Today they have enjoyed getting to know some of the kids and spending time playing with them. Please pray for them as they are here, pray for health and safety, patience and endurance as they share God's love with the House of Hope family.



We appreciate your prayers and support of the HOH, and hope to be able to get back to our regular updates.

Please pray for John Widly, and Oldina two recent arrivals of the House of Hope, as they are on the road to recovery. Please pray also for the many visitors that we have coming during the next couple of weeks. Pray for safety, and Linda and I as we work out the final details.



We are excited to have reliable cell phone service in our area now. If you ever need to get in touch with us write us an e-mail and find out our numbers. Have a great week!

Pray for Magdalène

Pray for Magdalène
Originally uploaded by House of Hope.

Greetings friends! Sorry for the lack of communication!



I have been in the process of arriving in the US for my 11 weeks of travel. I appreciate your prayers for me, Linda and the HOH during these past few weeks. I have had regular contact with Linda over the weeks, and am so thankful for the ability to be in communication with them.



I am presently in Texas at my sister's house, we will be leaving here to go to Manitoba to our parents' place early next week. We have spent the past couple of days getting some of the needed school supplies for this coming school year, and plan on spending the next day or so packing and shipping these supplies to Haiti.



Linda has had several children leave the HOH and return home in the past couple of weeks, for those of you who remember him, Ti Papi was among those who went home. He was such a cutie, we will miss him! There have also been a couple of new children admitted as well. One specifically needs your prayers, his name is Ritchy, he is very young and extremely malnourished. His mother is just a teenager, but she is staying at the HOH to try and help take care of him. Another of our children, 12 year old Magdalène really needs your prayers as well. The doctors have struggled to figure out what exactly she has. They thought it was TB in her glands, but now are wondering if it isn't cancer. They have asked us to send her to Port-au-Prince to have some blood tests done so we can know for sure. Please pray for her during this coming week as her mother takes her there.



There seems to be a number of the children/young people at the HOH who are not feeling well these days, and Linda is among them, please pray for them all, for health and strength. The students are in their final semester of school. All those who will be writing government exams are studying hard to pass. Please continue to pray for them as well as Carl-Evens in Port-au-Prince as he continues to prepare for University entrance exams this coming summer as well.



I would appreciate your prayers for health and safety as I start my travels. Please feel free to contact me at the numbers that I gave out in our latest prayer letter, if you so desire. God bless, and thank you for your support.

Just this morning

Just this morning
Originally uploaded by House of Hope.

Sonley passed away this morning about 7 am. As you can imagine his family is devastated, they really loved this little boy. Please keep them in prayer this morning, and through the next couple of weeks, as they mourn their loss. Their whole existence has been based around him for so long, and trying to find a cure for him, it's going to be very difficult for them. Keep them in your prayers.

Celebrating Easter!

Celebrating Easter!
Originally uploaded by House of Hope.

What a great time we had at our Easter service this past Sunday, reflecting on and rejoicing over what the resurrection means to us as believers. Isaak and his family worked hard to make it a unique and special service. The special Good Friday supper St. Germain and the other young people prepared for Linda and I was a real treat. We had communion together before supper, and had a great time of fun and fellowship together in the meal afterwards. The picture shown here is of Linda, Jenny and Lala (Dieula) at the supper. The school students got an extra week of vacation this week due to the elections scheduled on Friday. They certainly don't mind the extra vacation time, and we aren't minding having them around, they can really be a huge help around the house.



Jenny leaves on Monday, so as you can imagine, we are so busy trying to tie down a number of projects. Not only are we preparing materials for her to use on her whirlwind tour through the US/Canada, we are also trying to get as much in order around the HOH as possible so the task of running things here will be easier for Linda. Please pray that the methods of communication (mainly via Internet) would hold up so that we can remain in contact during the coming months.



We've already received 4 new children in this week, all of whom have severe malnutrition. Their names are: Ludencia, Jamesly, Wildine and Wesnerlande; they could really use your prayers. Sonley continues to struggle, and we haven't yet received the results of his biopsy. He and his parents are really starting to become discouraged, so please hold them up in prayer. We seem to have a virus or something going through the house, and a number of the babies and kids have caught it. You can pray specifically for Landie, Magdalene, Lucvens, Evelte and Donald.



God really surprised us with a very generous financial gift to the HOH this month. What a blessing that was, and how encouraging to see our faithful God providing for our every need. Please help us Praise Him for His faithfulness, and also continue to pray for Him to continue to provide for what we need. We also got news that the boat is now in, so any of you who have sent things in the past couple of weeks/months, we should be getting them this week.



Thank you to each of you for the way you support us and hold us up in pray. We wish you a great rest of the week. We aren't sure when Jenny will get the chance to update things again, but hopefully it will be soon. Til then, God bless, and keep reflecting Jesus to those around you.

Remember Kendly?

Remember Kendly?
Originally uploaded by House of Hope.

My deepest apologies for not updating the blog in such a long time. Things have been very busy around here as you can imagine. Things are coming together for my upcoming trip. It is going to be hard on all of us to be separated for 11 whole weeks, but we are thankful for the internet and hope to be able to communicate regularly.



We've had a tough couple of weeks with the children here at the HOH. Daphny Love ran away 3 times since we last updated, and we finally just told her parents to take her home, she refused to cooperate with us any longer, and despite the improvement we were making on her mouth, she just didn't want to stay here. We were sad to see her go like that, knowing that she will not have the continued treatment on her mouth, but she was a young girl used to getting her way, and nothing we did could satisfy her and make her want to stay and continue treatment.



We also lost a little boy who had been brought to us with extreme malnutrition and multiple handicaps. He passed away this week in spite of our efforts to help him. We know we serve a sovereign God, and that we can trust Him to do what is best for these little children, but it is always hard to have one die in our care.



Our students are all finished with exams, and have been enjoying a this week off of school. The house has been a very busy place, with over 90 of them scurrying about doing their different activities. The older boys finally finished off the changes they've been making to our yard. They poured a concrete pad to play basketball, and finished painting the lines on it yesterday. They are proud of their accomplishment, and happy for a place to play ball. Most of them begin school in the middle of next week, after the Easter weekend.



Which brings me to the fact that it is indeed Easter. We look forward to worshiping and remembering our Lord's death and resurrection this coming Sunday. He is risen indeed! Isaak (pictured here holding Kendly) is planning a very nice Easter service for our church here at the HOH, he is very gifted in that area. The kids have invited Linda and I to a special supper they are preparing for us this evening--very nice of them.



Not sure if you remember Kendly or not, I wrote about him back in November asking you to pray for him. Well you certainly must have prayed, and God certainly has been gracious. He is doing incredibly well, as you can see from his face in this picture. Thank you so much for your prayers. Also for your prayers for Sabrina. She's doing really well as well.



Please continue to pray for Sonley, and Magdalene, they are both really sick. Magdalene had to be sent to the hospital so she could be watched more closely this past week. It makes things easier for us, just a bit more expensive as we have to cover her costs, but hopefully they'll be able to figure out what's wrong with her very soon.



We appreciate your prayers for my upcoming trip, and for Linda and the kids staying here. Pray for wisdom in handling the many things we have on our plate right now. Pray also for upcoming elections in Haiti for the other government elected positions. Your support in this way is greatly appreciated! God bless...

One year ago

One year ago
Originally uploaded by House of Hope.

It's almost impossible to believe that one year ago this week we were brought a 4 pound 10 day old little girl that was so sick we wondered if she'd live. After many sleepless nights, numerous visits with the doctor, various treatments, and many cans of baby formula Dieula (or Lala as we call her) turned 1 years old on the weekend. She has been a blessing to us from day one, and it has been a joy to have her here with us at the HOH. After being treated for her initial illnesses, Dieula has really done well, and has turned out to be a very intelligent, funny and enjoyable little girl. Her mother died when she was 7 days old, her father tried to do his best for 3 days before he brought her to us, sick, starving and desperately in need of medical attention. Now a year later she is walking, almost talking (her favorite word to try and say is "Spot" our 5 month old puppy whom she loves dearly. Spot just seems to enjoy licking her face and knocking her off her feet whenever he is nearby-I can't quite figure out why she loves him so much!), and has learned to communicate using sign language (please, thankyou, goodbye, bravo, sorry), thanks to some advice from various friends to try and teach her. We are so used to having extremely sick and malnourished children and toddlers here, that it has been fun to have one who was ready to teach things like that.



We enjoyed our last group of visitors, and have no others coming in the immediate future. We are busy getting ready for my (Jenny's) departure for the US/Canada the end of April. We are working on materials for me to take along, and also working on getting Linda and one of our boys (St. Germain) more comfortable on the computers so we can keep in touch while I am gone. Please pray for us as we essentially have only 4 weeks to pull everything together. All of our students are busy writing exams this week. and would appreciate your prayers as well.



We admitted a 4 year old boy this past week named Sonley. He is extremely ill, we hope with TB in his lymph glands, but we suspect it is worse than that (possibly cancer). We are keeping his mom here with him since he is not doing too good. He has showed some improvement during his stay here, so we continue to pray and ask you to pray as well that he would continue to heal. They have taken a biopsy of his glands to send to PAP, so until we get that back we won't know exactly what he has. If it isn't TB, there's nothing that can be done for him in Haiti, so please pray that we'd get the results soon, and that he would continue to get better. We also admitted a young girl named Magdalene, who has TB in her lymph glands as well. Please pray for her continued recovery. All the other children we admitted last week seem to be doing ok.



Daphny Love's mouth is getting better and better each day. She can now fit in 10 tongue depressors lying on top of each other which is just great improvement from what she could do when she came here (getting one in was a tough job). She is talking more and able to eat with her teeth now. She's had a tough adjustment period here, she didn't want to be here, but seems to be coming out of that stage now and is making friends with the other girls her age. Thank you for your prayers for her.



We continue to thank God for all of you who read this and pray for us regularly. We appreciate you support in this way very much.

Hope for Daphny Love

Hope for Daphny Love
Originally uploaded by House of Hope.

What a busy and yet very good week we had with the dental team here. We were able to help a lot of people in the dental clinic, and were so thankful for the team that came. The team was made up of some dentists and some other helpers from Seattle, and then there were also a number of students from the University of Nevada Las Vegas who are studying Dental Medicine. They were all a blessing to us, as we saw how they really came down here to serve as many people as they could. They worked hard, and many people benefited from their service.



We were able to admit a beautiful 14 year old girl named Daphny Love this past week at the HOH. She had originally came to the hospital clinic, and then was sent up to see the dentists. We aren't sure exactly how her problems started, but when she got here, she hadn't opened her mouth at all in 15 months. She had major infections going on in her mouth, and the dentists ended up pulling 7 of her teeth. Since she came she's been on antibiotics, and we are slowly starting to work on getting her to open her mouth up a bit more each day. We have already worked up to getting 5 tongue depressors in at one time. That may not sound like much, but it is progress! Please pray for Daphny Love, that her mouth would get better, and that she'd have a good attitude while being here. She did not want to stay here, but accepted it in the end so we could help her. She comes from a very good and strong Christian family, so it was hard for her to stay. Pray that she would have a good time here, make friends and grow in her walk with the Lord during her time here.



We admitted quite a few small children very sick with malnutrition this past week as well. One of these little ones, three year old Daphna passed away yesterday. We spent the entire morning doing all we could to save her. We were just in the process of getting blood to give her, and she passed away. Please pray for the others that we had come in, that they would respond well to the treatment here, and get back on a healthy track. Their names are: Lucvens, Jamesly, Youdna, and Guerda.



We are looking forward to having Jeb and Gail Bland visit us this week. They are coming from PA. They will be her for a couple of days, helping with various projects. They are the last team we have scheduled this spring. I will soon begin all the preparations I have to make for my trip to the States and Canada this coming May/June. We'd really appreciate your prayers for wisdom in decisions we need to make. For health and strength to do the many things we have to do before I leave.



Thank you all for your prayers on our behalf. Please continue to pray for God's provision of our needs, for spiritual growth on all our part, and for the students as they continue to study and prepare for upcoming exams.

It's a zoo!

It's a zoo!
Originally uploaded by House of Hope.

Hello to Everyone! It has been quite the week, and we are busy preparing for another one just like it. The kids were all home from school this past week, making the house seem like quite a zoo. They just always seem to find ways of keeping us on our toes, and usually laughing, like when some of the girls dressed 11 month old Dieula up in long fake hair they tied to her head. She was so proud, she walked around the whole HOH stopping in every room that had people in it and stomped her foot on the ground to get everyone's attention, demanding they admire her new look. We are always so grateful all of the young people here take such good care of the children and babies, making them feel special.



Linda and my trip to Port-au-Prince went well. God was really watching out for us, as it wasn't until after we got there that we found out Linda's Doctor had closed his clinic for the week (after giving us an appointment for Monday morning--go figure). We searched several other places that did the type of test that she needed done, and finally found one who could do it. Amazingly enough, that Doctor wasn't really working that day either (it was Mardi Gras week, so there were Carnival festivities going on everywhere), but had left something at the office and had come by to pick it up. We got there at the same time, and she was more than willing to do the test for us. Praise God, because if she hadn't we'd have had to stay in PAP until Thursday, and we didn't want to have to do that. In the end Linda's tests all turned out normal, so she is finally off of our Surgeon's radar screen for an operation, for now at least. We are thankful for that. Please pray that she would continue to regain full health, as her foot still gives trouble from time to time.



When we arrived back on Tuesday, we found some of the young people in the midst of planning and pulling off 2 days of recreational activity at the HOH. They had all kinds of games, movies, programs planned, and worked very hard to give all of the children here a wonderful two days of fun and relaxation. It is so nice to see the older young people being able to completely plan and pull off something like that themselves. Linda and I were able to just sit back and enjoy the fact that everyone was having a great time.



We also arrived back to find that there had been some type of power surge at some point while we were gone, and both of our inverter systems have stopped working properly. It's kinda funny actually, the inverter system that works one half of the HOH (including my house) won't give any power while the generator is running, but as soon as they turn off the generator we have power. The other half that's on the other inverter (including Linda's house) only has power when the generator is running, the rest of the time there's no electricity...so, things take a bit of juggling to decide where to do things, which room will have electricity at what time, but hopefully we'll get it all sorted out soon. The one inverter in my house will have to go to PAP to get fixed. We are checking things on the other one to see what needs to be done. Please pray we can fix this problem relatively quickly as we do so much here that requires the use of these things that God has given us.



Today we have a group of 11 visitors coming in, most of them dentists coming from the Seattle area to do a dental clinic here at the HOH, and also at Passe Catabois, a small village about 30 miles west of here. It will be a busy week as we help them all get moved around to where they need to be, and also help them with running the clinic. You could pray for physical strength for Linda and I, and also that we would reflect our Lord in all that we do. Please continue to pray for our young people, some who are really struggling in certain areas, that they would be open to the transforming power of God at work in their lives, and wouldn't fight it. Pray that they would grow in wisdom and knowledge, and strive to glorify the Lord in all that they do.



We appreciate you all, our faithful prayer warriors. "The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face shine on you, and be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance on you, and give you peace!" (Numbers 6:24-26)

Learning to walk...again!

Learning to walk...again!
Originally uploaded by House of Hope.

Greetings from a much calmer Haiti! Thank you so much for your prayers on our behalf over these past few weeks. We ask for your continued prayers for this very troubled country. Our one group of visitors were not able to come last week as the flights into Haiti had been canceled, but we were able to receive the second team. They arrived on Saturday, and have been busy doing different projects around the HOH and the hospital as well. I know they would appreciate prayer that they would have good health while here, a number have been struggling in that area so far, and also that they would have a safe trip back home to PA on Saturday.



We were able to see a number of children return to their homes this past week. Our numbers are down a bit (we only have 87 now!), and somehow the house seems quiet without them. Most are doing really well, including these two cute little boys. Both Jamesley (left) and Daphno came here to the HOH with TB in their spines. While they had walked before coming to the HOH by the time they got here their TB was so advanced that they could no longer do so. It has taken several months of treatment, but slowly both these boys are starting to walk again. They get so excited when they get a chance to show off their new ability to walk. I had a hard time keeping them in one place to take a picture!



The Our Hope kids are back into school and also working hard helping with the work team here. The boys, and even some of the girls have been helping the masons put up the back wall at the HOH, it will be nice to have our yard completely enclosed. The girls have been busy making food for the visitors for the noon meal. We are so thankful for these kids and their very gracious servant spirits, so willing to help out.



The Psalms that the children and young people wrote on Sunday night were pretty good. One group actually wrote a Psalm that had music and could be sung, we were pretty impressed. Next week we'll begin to study Proverbs together.



Dr. Boucher is coming up again this week, so we are looking forward to having him here. Linda and I will be returning with him to Port-au-Prince on Sunday, so we can take Linda to the doctor to redo the tests she had done last September to make sure everything is ok with her Gall Bladder. So we would appreciate your prayers for a safe trip, and also for the HOH while we are gone. We will only be gone for a few days, we should be back, Lord willing, on Tuesday.

Prayer Needed!

Prayer Needed!
Originally uploaded by House of Hope.

Greetings to all of our friends who regularly read and pray about our needs.

A week ago a number of our young people over the age of 18 were able to vote for the first time in their lives. They were very happy for the chance to do so in spite of it turning out to be a very difficult thing for some of them to do. After standing in line a the polling place in our town for over an hour they found out they were not registered to vote there. So some of them had to walk 2 miles down the road to the next polling station to vote, while some of them succeeded in voting there others had to come all the way back because they weren't registered there either. In the end they were able to vote, but it took them most of the day to do so!

We had asked you to pray for 9 year old Enitel last week. Unfortunately he passed away on Saturday morning. We were sad we couldn't help him more, but were also glad that he was a believer, and is no longer suffering.

The kids were supposed to start school yesterday, but we've had two straight days of non-stop raining, so they've had an extra extension on their vacation days from the elections. We thought it was funny, some of our friends in the North East US were stuck at home for snow days, and we were stuck here with rain days! They've had a nice time catching up on work around the house, and even taking a few naps here and there, it's been good for them, sometimes life just gets too busy.

Four of our older girls started using their Child Evangelism Training this past week. Phania, Vonette and Dada are teaching two clubs, one at our local church on Sunday afternoons, and one here at the HOH on Wednesday evenings. Stephanie is teaching Sunday School here at the HOH to the younger children on Sunday mornings. We are excited to see them using their talents and skills to present the Gospel to children.

We are continuing with our other Bible studies during the week. We are just starting to study Prayer on Tuesday nights with the older kids, as well as God's plan for the family on Saturday nights. Sunday evenings we are studying the book of Psalms with everyone. This coming Sunday each of the family groups will be writing their own Psalm to share or sing to the rest of us. It should be very interesting.

We would ask you all to pray fervently for this country, pray for peace and stability, and safety for our friends, students and colleagues in PAP at this time. We also want to assure you that we are doing fine where we are, but do appreciate your prayers for us as well, it is always hard on the kids when there is trouble around the country. We have two teams scheduled to come in to help us out with various projects this week. Please pray for wisdom and safety as we make decisions and seek the Lord's direction.

She's back!!!

She's back!!!
Originally uploaded by House of Hope.

Happy New Week to all of you! We are so thrilled that Linda is doing much better, her leg is healing, and she is once again able to come down to the HOH and be with us. After over a month pretty much having to stay in her bed, or at least in her house, she is also thrilled to be able to come down to the HOH and give of her love to the children, and a helping hand to the rest of us. Thank you so much for your prayers on her behalf. Continue to pray for her to be able to rebuild strength in her leg.

Due to the elections scheduled to be held tomorrow, the kids are all out of school for the week. They are busy with a lot of different things around the house, the boys are all working on preparing the foundation to finish off the last little bit of wall behind the HOH that hasn't been built yet. Due to insecurities around the country we've felt for a long time that we needed to do this, and finally are able to do so. In a couple of weeks a team from Pennsylvania will be coming to help us actually build the wall and the boys and some local builders are preparing the foundation in the meantime.

We'd appreciate your prayers for the country of Haiti this week with elections being held. Most everything is closed down, so we made sure we bought food and supplies ahead of time last week. We would appreciate your prayers for safety during these next few days. And pray also for the Haitian people as they vote for the next leader of this needy country.

Health wise the children are doing quite well this week. Only one, Enitel is still really struggling, and the doctors have decided that he needs to go to Port-au-Prince to see a specialist. His parents will take him there as soon as the elections are over, please pray for them that they would find a doctor who can help figure out exactly what Enitel has and can help him.

Jackson is still doing ok. He was quite sick last week, but bounced back after receiving another blood transfusion. We appreciate your prayers for him and his family.

We appreciate you our prayer warriors, we really ask for your prayers this coming week, we know our Heavenly Father knows exactly what will happen in this coming week, pray that we don't lose sight of Him and His perfect plan for us and for this country in the days ahead.

The mumps have arrived!

The mumps have arrived!
Originally uploaded by House of Hope.

How exciting it was to hear the cries of joy from the HOH children as the car drove up bringing me back from my vacation. It was even more exciting to see their bright smiling faces. There was just one problem. There were several that I didn't recognize, and since Linda had told me there hadn't been any new admissions since I'd been gone I found that very strange. "Who is that?" I finally asked one of the kids in the car with me. When they told me who it was I couldn't believe it. "How on earth did he gain that much weight in just three weeks?", I asked. They just started howling, "He has the mumps!" they replied to me. Yes it is true, we have once again been visited by the mumps and they are slowly making their way through our entire younger population! Sandley pictured here is one of the latest to catch them. I can't believe he's still smiling!



It is nice to be back again, although the pile of work awaiting me isn't too exciting! So sorry it's taken me so long to put an update on, things have been quite hectic to say the least. Linda's foot was beginning to do very well, and suddenly this weekend the infection has returned, and she is confined to her bed once again. Needless to say this is very discouraging for her, and frustrating for us all. Please pray for her leg, and for our patience as we wait for it to heal. Please pray for her not to be discouraged, and for us all to know how to help and encourage her, while trying to hold up the work load at the same time.



Unfortunately we haven't been able to find a place for Jackson in the US in spite of some people trying very hard to do so at St. Jude's. We know God has His perfect plan for Jackson, and we are pleased to tell you all that Jackson did accept Jesus as his Savior while Linda was visiting him over the holidays. We are so thankful for this, and continue to pray for God's perfect will to be done in this little boy's life.



We have Ken and Debbie Wills and a team from Seattle visiting us this week. They are all hard at work on different projects, we are thankful for their willingness to come and help us out. Please pray for their safety and health over the next week, and also for a safe trip home on the 29th.



We appreciate you all and your prayers on our behalf. The school children have all started school again, and would appreciate your prayers as they study, especially the ones with government exams to write this year. God bless and give you a great week.

Linda is doing better

Hi all, and thanks so much for your prayers. Linda is doing better, I talked to her today. She is finally off IV's and is able to take her medication orally now instead of getting shots. We appreciate your prayers on her behalf, and for all of us at this time.

Linda needs your prayers

Linda needs your prayers
Originally uploaded by House of Hope.

Hi Everyone, I know it's been a while since I've updated the blog. I've been busy and haven't had a chance to write. I've heard from Linda and the kids back in Haiti, and we really need your prayers. Linda got a bad case of malaria last week, and then fell and hit her leg. She now has a very bad infection in her left leg. She has been on several antibiotics that haven't worked so far, and they are now giving her shots and IV antibiotics to see if they can get it under control. She can't get out of bed because her leg is so swollen. As you can imagine this is a very difficult time for us all. I won't be back in Haiti until the 17th, so please pray for her and the kids. Pray for healing for her leg, for wisdom for the doctors, and for everyone's emotional needs at this time. Thank you so much, and I'll let you know as soon as I have more information.