Summer is Here!

 

Hi friend!

Thanks for stopping by to check on us! Through God’s strength and by God’s grace we are doing well.

Today, the warm tropical breezes rustled the leaves on the towering palm trees. They blew around the house and gently dried  the laundry on the line!  This evening I still hear them outside making their evening rounds. I am hoping that the breezes will decide to blow in some rain tonight. The clouds looked a little threatening today at times but all in vain. I would be in favor of having a down pour again. I love to hear it rain here in Haiti. It is a bit different from what we were used to “at home”. Most times when it rains .. it pours! I suppose you could say it rains lizards and frogs… I think there are more lizards and frogs then cats and dogs in Haiti!

I was enjoying a walk around “the yard” today.. looking at the bananas etc. We have a lot of “hangers” right now and one big blossom. I would like to share a picture with you of that banana blossom.

From the time a young banana plant is set in the ground, we have been told, It takes one year for it  to produce a hanger of bananas. After the harvest the old plant needs to be removed and new shoots around the base of the plant continue to grow,  getting ready for the next year’s harvest. Fresh, home grown bananas are hard to beat! We do not spray them with any kind of chemicals… or preservatives, making them a delicious and healthy snack! I love fresh bananas with homemade yogurt. :)

We had a good day with the little girls again and the bond that I have with them continues to strengthen. It is very common to have a little girl.. one on each side of me… holding my hand or hugging my waist while I try to walk! Sometimes I hear children calling “mommy Karole” from all sides of me! You moms out there know what I mean!

“Daddy Don” gets called all the time too!! In fact Don told me that the other day when he was driving home from school, with some of “our” girls in tow.. he heard some boys calling out, “Daddy Don”! They must have found out what his name was through our school girls.. perhaps. I thought that was really special! :)

I want to share a photo of Rose one of our little girls when she came last August and another one i took today!

Can you tell any difference? :) She has blossomed since she came to the Leogane Girl’s Home! … just like the flowers she is holding…

This evening the girls had a “spaghetti party”. They enjoy spaghetti as you can tell! :)

Once again, Thank you for caring! Continue to pray for us…

May you feel God’s presence and love this evening..

Good night.. sleep tight.. don’t let the mosquitoes bite! (If there was an immunization against mosquitoes, I think I would invest in one!)

~Madam Don

A Happy Day!

 

Hi friends!

Tonight I feel tired! But don’t you think that you would feel tired too if you were called upon to care for 22 children? Yes, I am the “MOM” of 22 children!! And these children are not really all that… calm… and quiet…! They are full of life and energy…

I’ve heard that noisy children are happy children!! Must be the children are VERY happy sometimes! :)

I thought you all might enjoy some pictures of our day today. We had a happy day! Today was Ascension Day and the girls did not have school so we decided to load them all up and go to the beach! Don’s truck felt like it had a load with 28 people! ( I don’t know what we would do without Don’s truck… it has been such a blessing so many times!)

 

To make a beach party complete you need food! Aye? :)

Don and the boys went along but walked up the beach and around the corner to give us girls some privacy! :) Don took Karlee along with him… she loves water and was very happy and excited about going to the beach!

The water was beautiful today and so was the sun!

I wanted to share some pictures of our big bunch of bananas here in our yard….

Don does an excellent job with the children which really helps me out! He’s a busy “DAD”!

I know this is rather short but my bed is calling me… and I need to get up early in the morning! Pray for us and for the mission here! Thank you!

~Karole

Sharing God’s Love in Haiti

 

Because of God’s love for us, we are able to share the blessing of love with others. 2000 years ago, Christ Jesus was the perfect example of love and today, still continues to prove His love to us in many ways. He provides us with many physical blessings… on a daily basis… food, shelter, clothing, health, etc. He strengthens us to do the work He has for us..He extends forgiveness when we fail Him. He blesses us beyond compare in many ways!

Do you ever stop and really consider  the blessing of LOVE? What if there was no such thing as LOVE?  What if your father neglected  you? What if your mother abandoned you? If there was no such thing as love there would be no such thing as friends and family. This cold, dark world would be dark and cold indeed!

I am often reminded of a verse in the Bible that is talking about the “end times”. Matthew 24:12 ; And because iniquity shall abound,  the LOVE  of many shall wax COLD. Love is a feeling as well as a choice. We can choose to love someone who needs love or we can be a part of the COLD the Bible is talking about, and ignore the pain others may be feeling!  It is our desire to continue to share LOVE with the people and children of Haiti.

Our family has been in Haiti for over a year already and we continue to feel blessed to have the privilege of serving God here. The year gone by has not been an easy one. However, in spite of some difficulties along the way, God has been SO good to us. And in answer to a question someone asked me yesterday… “No, we do not regret our move to Haiti!” Furthermore, God lead us here and we, as His children, are happiest when we obey His call.

Sunday lunch… 

This past week one of the little girls had a birthday. Birthdays are special for the little girls! We usually have one birthday party  a month and that party is suppose to “cover” all the birthdays for that given month. On Friday one of the older girls was feeling in a “party” mood and asked if she could throw a party for the birthday girl. She collected play tea cups and plates and scrubbed them well. She also asked the “lady in charge of the kitchen” for some food items… cookies, drink mix, sugar, peanut butter etc. Well, the party was a success! And the girls had so much fun! I wanted to share some of these pictures with you! Enjoy the party!

 

Our family was very happy when some friends came to visit.. visitors are are huge blessing! They share their LOVE with us  and give us encouragement to continue on in the work God has called us to do. Our visitors came from April 26- May 5……………. Dee Peachey, Orpha Weaver (Don’s Mother), Cynthia Weaver

We spent some time in the mountains…

And we spent some time at the beach!

While there the “hat lady” came along and tried to sell us some hats! .. and she had several sales!

Brother Dylo, Don’s new interpreter went along with us.  He is a calm, quiet, soft spoken young man who does well with children. He is the oldest of a rather large Haitian family so he has experience with youngsters. Karlee likes “big brother” Dylo!

Brother Dylo had been praying for work. Work in Haiti is hard to find. He wishes to pay for his schooling  and has a desire to help support his family. His father is a full time Pastor in the mountains of Haiti. Dylo was very happy to be able to interpret for Don and felt like it was an answer to prayer.  And we feel very blessed to have him “on board”.

(Trish and Doudou have moved to the country and plan to work with Blue Ridge foster girls.)

Our family is still caring for little Karlee. Continue to pray for her and for her adoption. Her adoptive parents do not meet the Haitian requirements for adopting a child which could delay her adoption. Until then we are sharing our LOVE with her!

Thank you so much for your interest in our lives. Keep praying for us and for the work here in Leogane. Pray earnestly that God’s will might be done. We love the girls here very much and want what is best for them.

LOVE to you!

~ Madam Don