Just wanted to update you all that last night was our first night sleeping in our tent in Chambrun...and Fedlaine is officially unofficially ours to care for. The kids at the Children's Home cried last night when Pierre explained that we were her new family. It was so sad... but Fedlaine seems very content. She slept great last night next to her big sister in their tent room. Today we are working on getting a routine going. Jay got up early to do a quick workout in the container gym. I barely got Fedlaine's hair done in time for her to go to school and had to send her in play clothes because I couldn't find her uniform. Bad mom.

Anna is missing her friends this morning and mosquitoes love her.
Jeremiah is picking up on Creole in an amazing way, but is missing home.
Jacob is so happy to have Fedlaine with us, but mosquitoes are eating him up.

I have to get back to doing math with Jacob, but had a few moments to pop into the office to update you all. Love you all!

 I was up early this morning (SO unlike me!) and enjoyed a wonderful devotion time. God spoke to me through Isaiah 41 and reminded me that He is with us in Haiti.

I said, ‘You are my servant’;
   I have chosen you and have not rejected you.
10 So do not fear, for I am with you;
   do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
   I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. 

Jay and I had been talking about planting seeds and landscaping to bring beauty to the campus and this morning I read in Isaiah 41:

17 “The poor and needy search for water,
   but there is none;
   their tongues are parched with thirst.
But I the LORD will answer them;
   I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
18 I will make rivers flow on barren heights,
   and springs within the valleys.
I will turn the desert into pools of water,
   and the parched ground into springs.
19 I will put in the desert
   the cedar and the acacia, the myrtle and the olive.
I will set junipers in the wasteland,
   the fir and the cypress together,
20 so that people may see and know,
   may consider and understand,
that the hand of the LORD has done this,
   that the Holy One of Israel has created it.

We awoke this morning not only to roosters, but to kids with itchy ankles… the mosquitoes got Anna and Jacob. They are going through my anti-itch cream like crazy. We loaded up the rest of our baggage and made it to Chambrun mid-morning and went right away to pick up Fedlaine from the Children’s Home. She came running to meet us – so happy that we actually came back like we said.

We spent the day continuing to work on organizing our tent. Jay had some meetings with team members about NVM and I made some tentative plans with Pierre to begin putting together a curriculum for teaching English lessons. Please pray for this – I’ve never taught ESL, but I am excited to try.  Jay also begins work on Monday…

Our goal is to move to our tent after worship tomorrow and to have Fedlaine sleep there with us.  Campus is going to be hopping tomorrow – they are celebrating the two year anniversary of the church. Esperandieu’s father is bringing 50 people from his church.

I am currently sitting at Pierres next to Jay while 30 team members watch the Colts game.

A few moments to remember:

I noticed that one of the big tent cities that we pass on the way to Chambrun has been cleaned up and they are building little homes with sheet metal siding. There are workers on the side of the road cleaning up. The roads seem clearer…

Anna and Jeremiah made a pact to see how many days they could ride in the back of a truck and not get in a truck cab at all. (Ha. I had decided ahead of time that I didn’t think it was safe and I wasn’t going to let them. They rode from the airport to Pierres in the back of the truck….)

Fedlaine tried on one of Anna’s dress-up outfits and was quite pleased with herself. She also began trying on all of Anna’s jewelry…Anna’s going to have to watch that Fedlaine doesn’t claim it all for herself!

Jacob spent time riding bikes with kids and playing with all of the toys he had packed on the container. He was very upset we had to take Fedlaine back to the Children’s Home again tonight.  Jacob has discovered Ramen noodles…I forbid him to eat more than one a day.

Jeremiah was the master electrician of our tent today. He strung extension cords all around so that each of our tents could have a light and a fan. He loved the spaghetti dinner tonight!

Today we had a great day in Chambrun.  We headed straight for the Children’s Home and picked up Fedlaine.  We had some gifts for all the kids in the home and some items for the ladies who work there.  Fedlaine spent the day with us and helped us get set up.

The team from Genesis Church in Noblesville, IN (under Aaron Elliott’s direction) got our tent house set up for us before we got there.  (Very cool that a friend from an old small group was here and helped set up our tent for us... thanks, Todd!) They moved all our things into  our tent and set up the small tent inside the big tent.  They even had the air conditioning blowing away (not that it makes a big dent in tWe spent the day moving beds into the tents and sorting through our things.

We wrapped up our day in Chambrun around 8:30pm and headed back to Esperandieu’s house.  We left Fedlaine at the Children’s home and let her know we’d back in the morning to get her. We tried to explain it to her that we’d be back in the morning.  I think she understood because she didn’t cry like she had in the past when we’d drop her off.   We’re hoping to move out there permanently by Sunday.  When we move in there we will have Fedlaine move in with us.  So that is good motivation for us to get out there. 

I told Esperandieu I’d be ready to start work on Monday.  We also discussed starting our Bible Study small group.  Please keep us in your prayers as we prepare to start our jobs and our small group.

Amy:
Wow. Today was such an answer to prayer. The same kids who had so much anxiety on Wednesday were so happy today. Jacob said he liked Haiti better than America. Jeremiah got a pb sandwich for lunch and chicken and cresent rolls for dinner, which he delighted in. He said Haiti was great and much better than he thought.  Anna was in her element and saw lots of people she remembered from our July trip. All three are so happy with Fedlaine and can't wait to see her again in the morning. Fedlaine, for her part, took about 20 minutes to warm up to us. She spent the day setting up her tent room with Anna and arranging a few things in her drawers. She was quiet and a little sad when we took her back to the Children's Home, but we agreed with Pierre that it was best to make a slow transition -for her sake, our kids' sake, and the children in the Children's Home. She loves them and they love her.

I'll try to post more pictures on Facebook, but internet is slow... Love to you all!

Hebrews 11:8

Just had to share a devotion from two days ago from My Utmost For His Highest. I needed to hear it again this morning befo

Have you ever "gone out" in this way? If so, there is no logical answer possible when anyone asks you what you are doing. One of the most difficult questions to answer in Christian work is, "What do you expect to do?" You don't know what you are going to do. The only thing you know is that God knows what He is doing. Continually examine your attitude toward God to see if you are willing to "go out" in every area of your life, trusting in God entirely. Each morning as you wake, there is a new opportunity to "go out," building your confidence in God. "...do not worry about your life...nor about the body..." (Luke 12:22) In other words, don't worry about the things that concerned you before you did "go out."

Have you been asking God what He is going to do? He will never tell you. God does not tell you what He is going to do - He reveals to you who He is. Do you believe in a miracle-working God, and will you "go out" in complete surrender to Him until you are not surprised on iota by anything He does?

Believe God is always the God you know Him to be when you are nearest to Him. Then think how unnecessary and disrespectful worry is!

Well, can I just say that Sunday was a CRY-Fest! Harvest planned a special Concert of Prayer for all their missionaries, including us. They made a special album full of photos and notes and prayed over us. Then, Sunday night we had our Open House and I must admit shedding tears on and off through the evening.  My tears were a mix of sadness at leaving so many dear people and of joy at how blessed we are to be surrounded by love.

I have so many stories of how God has continued to provide for us, through so many people, and even for the smallest details...hopefully once we get settled I'll share them in the blog.

We got more packing help tonight by small group friends...and had people bring us suitcases...and take us out to lunch...and bring dinner for us... and make yummy popcorn for us...etc. etc.

The kids were really encouraged today when we found out that we will be able to choose a kitten from the Pierres new batch. It's been hard for the kids to say goodbye to our dog and cats.

Please pray for our final good-byes, good health, peace for the kids and Jay and I, and safe travel on Thursday.

If we don't get a chance to talk to you personally before we leave, please know that we love you all and once again thank you for your support and prayers.

Jay: As we prepare to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, I can’t help but think of the gift He gave for us.  He laid down His life willingly for us so we could have our sins washed away and reunited us with God.  I also can’t help but think of all the gifts Amy and I have received from all of those who have partnered with us.

This Sunday I will teach for the last time at Harvest.  We are starting a new series on the Minor Prophets.  I get to teach on Malachi chapter 3.  In this chapter, God challenges us to a giving contest.  He challenges us to try and out give Him.  He promises we will be blessed with abundance and have all that we need.  I have found this to be more than true as Amy and I have prepared for a year in Haiti.  God has blessed us with a broad base of financial support.  We have an even bigger base of prayer support.  We would not be able to function effectively without a lot of prayer.  We ask that you would continue to pray for us as we make final preparations.

We are making final preparations before departing for Haiti.  We are starting to pack our suitcases for our journey.  In less than two weeks we’ll be on our way.  We are both excited and saddened by the thought of leaving.  We just got back from Christmas in Michigan with Amy’s family.  It was good to see them all and celebrate Christmas with them.  Tomorrow we are supposed to be with my family, but some of us are recovering from colds and we may not be able to go.

We wish you and your family a Merry Christmas!

Amy: It's true that we're struck with illness this week. But more importantly God has struck me with first-hand knowledge of how He truly is Jehovah-Jireh, The God Who Provides. The blessing of being home-bound tonight, on Christmas Eve is the blessing of stillness. Stillness before the Lord. I pray that God will carve out some stillness for you all in this beautiful season.