Archive for October, 2010

Since our earliest days of visiting Haiti we have enjoyed the friendship of a young man named Jean Penez.  An intelligent young man eager to work and desiring to rise above his situation.  We couldn’t help but have a parental love for this young man.  Although he was too old to adopt legally we had adopted him in our heart as our son and one day asked if he would like to call us mom and dad.  He seemed to be so happy with this idea.  He even changed his name to Matthew, after our organizations scripture for The Least of These in Matthew 25:40, but then everything went wrong.

All of a sudden, our hard working obedient “son” became unwilling to work and adamant that we take him to America.  No matter what we said to him; no matter how we invested in him we could not get him to listen to us.  After a long struggle we had to release him and tell him he couldn’t call us mom and dad anymore.  We told him, “If you do not listen to us we are not your parents.”  It was a difficult couple of years as we missed him so much.  We could no longer help him, send him resources; he could no longer help us, it was terribly sad.

Then Matthew decided to change his life.  He missed us so much and wanted to see me when I came to Haiti.  He asked if he could be our son again and chose that he would listen to Tyler and me and our instructions.  So I set Matthew to a test right away to see if he truly meant what he said.

While we were in Haiti we drove by a group of young people who worked everyday cleaning the streets in the Tabarre area.  So I challenged Matthew to go and talk to them and get hired doing their job.  Matthew did as I had asked and got a job cleaning the streets while wearing the yellow shirt.

We were so proud of Matthew.  At first he was really weak and it took a while to build up his strength.  Then there was the snickering from people who told him he was too good for that job, but Matthew continued.  We encouraged him everyday telling him how proud we were of him.  We told him that he had truly become a son because he had chosen to obey and that soon he would understand why we asked him to get this job.

A few weeks after, the job ended.  Matthew wrote me stating that he didn’t want to miss a day of work, so I encouraged him to go out looking the very next day for another job.  To our dismay he soon wrote us to say he had found a new job and now he is wearing a blue shirt.  His new job is with World Vision.   This was the extra credit on the test.  We are so proud of Matthew that we cannot give words for it.

Hind sight is always 20/20.  As we have talked to Matthew we have learned that he was being provoked by those around him.  He was being told that we didn’t really “adopt” him unless we take him to America, they also told him he shouldn’t have to work if he was really our son.  Matthew needed to decide who would be the voice he would obey.

This week we asked Matthew to be on our Board of Directors.  He was so excited that I thought he was going to jump through the computer.  It seems that the Lord has been blessing him everyday since he has chosen to be our son (his words).

Matthew is looking to take his SAT’s at a cost of about $360.00 so that he can apply to college.  He would like to come to college in America.  We are praying that the Lord will provide for these needs and continue to bless Matthew as he walks forward.  We are very proud of him and thrilled that he is once again a vital part of our team.  We thank the Lord for this.

On our recent trip to Haiti, we had the awesome privilege of delivering beautifully made aprons to the nannies at Maison des Enfants de Dieu (Maison), an orphange that we source through another sourcing organization called For His Glory.  For His Glory carries all the responsibility for the needs of Maison.  The President, Kim Harmon had asked if we could help with this project.

The aprons were a true gift of love and hard work.  First, the fabric was donated by Edith from Kansas, then the pattern was cut by Darlene in Rhode Island, and finally the 40 aprons were sewn together by Deborah in Illinois.

My sister Debbie and I visited with the nannies and when we showed them the aprons they were delighted.  We assisted them in putting them on and gave each room their own color.  Though the fabric pattern was the same, we had been given it in many colors which allowed for some choices for the ladies.

Here are some pictures of the event.

Our apron project continues as the number of nannies at Maison continues to grow.  Darlene is presently working on a sample that we are considering for our next design.  The number of aprons needed this time is in the 60′s.  If you are interested in being part of the apron project please feel free to contact Darlene Hurst.  She is the sewing coordinator for Homebound Missions and serves on our Board of Directors.

Before the earthquake Heartline Ministries was an orphange with an adoption program, a birthcenter and a sewing school.  There was more that I am not mentioning.  After the earthquake the children went to be with their adopting parents and they became a hospital, a birthcenter and a sewing school.

When the earthquake occured Heartline itself experienced a shift in their paradigm.  The children were gone, but hundreds of hurting, maimed, sick, and frightened people needed medical care immediately.  John, Beth, Troy, Tara and many others gave everything they had to meet these new challenges, and even today they still have several patients living in their make shift hospital because they have no home to go to.

As if they were not doing enough, they also started raising money and working towards building homes for their homeless patients.  I overheard John joking that he could not get the people to go home so he decided to build them houses.

Now Heartline realizes that they cannot just stop being a hospital.  The Haitian people still need them in this capacity.  So, once again they are raising funds to meet this need.  If you watch the Livesay blog, which I encourage you to do often, you will even notice they spare no expense to make these fundraising events fun.

Join in the fun, get John his much needed hair cut, and build a hospital.  Be part of the Gwo Cheve Challenge.  You can make this happen!

BEFORE     AFTER

New Life * New Challenge * New Opportunities

Used with permission from The Livesay’s Blog

In the pre-natal program we fast track all teens in as quickly as possible. We always have a wait list but when a teen-mom shows up she goes to the top of the list.

This beautiful young woman named Adema joined us only 3 weeks ago; we haven’t known her long.  According to the dates she gave us we thought we had quite a while to work with her and get her ready to be a mom.  We thought we had time for prenatal care, spiritual guidance and time for her to grow and come to trust us.  Her dates were wrong.  Earlier this week she came to the door in labor at 6:30 AM; we prepared for a preemie.  We called Doctor Jen and an OB nurse to join us for the labor and delivery.  We brought out all the “big guns” at our disposal.  We were extremely relieved when the baby was small but not premature.
Mama and baby are both tiny.  Adema looks like she should be playing with dolls not raising a baby in a third world country.  Although both mom and baby were okay after the delivery we knew we could not send them home.  We added Adema and baby to the hospital population and started a mentoring program with our other teen moms,  including Djenie. (Many of you prayed for Djenie and her baby Kenny in the weeks after the earthquake. Thank you!)

Djenie explained that her baby, Kenny, had been small as well and now he is chubby, happy and developmentally on target.  Djenie has taken her job seriously and is full of advice, help and friendship.  She knows how it feels, she was there eight months ago.

This is exactly how our program was meant to work.  Women come and receive help, make positive changes in their lives and then help others.  They become examples in their own communities and make a difference.

Adema is now part of our hospital community.  Other moms are gently scolding her for not breast feeding long enough.  Others are watching out for her.  Doctor Jen is tending to the baby’s legs which are deformed.

While in Haiti, I had the opportunity to get a tour of the Heartline Birthcenter which is near and dear to my heart.  As many of you know, I witnessed a woman die in childbirth on one of my visits to Haiti, because (as I was told) no one had come in to pay.  I would have gladly paid, but unfortunately, I was too late.

You and I no longer have to worry about being too late, as  Homebound Missions has had the awesome occasion to source the Heartline Birthcenter, and we can move towards doing even more.

I could tell you all about the birthcenter and how it is so important to the women of Haiti, but I want you to get to know it more personally.  I want you to read the stories for yourself, so that you too will understand what the Heartline Birthcenter truly is.

I also want you to understand why it isn’t enough.  We need to offer more to do it right.  Heartline needs to move forward and build a 20 bed hospital.  This will provide for not only the women who are unable to complete their birth at the center due to complications, it will help many others.  It will create a continuity of care unheard of in Haiti.

I want you to learn more about Heartline Ministries in general.  Sign up to receive their newsletter, watch their blog, go to Livesay’s blog as they post frequently about the birthcenter, and occasionally Beth will guest blog.  Be a part of it in an intimate relational way.