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Greetings to you all! As many of you already know, things in Haiti have not been going well. For most of the month of September now, there has been constant riots, demonstrations, roadblocks and almost a complete shut down of activity. The reasons for people being upset and acting out in this way are many and complicated. The past few years have been exceedingly difficult for the people in Haiti. At times, things look desperate and hopeless, and at these times we remind each other of the unworldly hope and peace that we can have in Christ. And that stirs us on.
Through it all, our house has remained full of kids and God has been so faithful in supplying our needs with help through people like you, our partners. As you can see, the twins we introduced you to in the last blog update are doing really well. They went through their “we won’t sleep at night” phase, and during that time, we were thankful for the many hands of the older kids who could help with caring for them through the night! Now, they seem to have settled into the rhythms of our big family.
A regular way Linda and the kids deal with the long days of being locked down are by playing games. Bingo is a favorite! As well as some word and Bible knowledge games that Jenny puts together and sends down.
Everyone gets involved, including one of our staff ladies, Idonie. She spends time with the younger kids teaching them songs and stories.
Here are a few things that are happening and some items you can be in prayer about with us.
Our summer vacation ended up being stretched out as the start of school was cancelled until October. We are still unsure if they will actually be able to start next week, due to all the unrest. Unfortunately, all the school supplies and shoes that we bought for this year are stuck in Miami as the port that we usually ship to in Haiti has been shut down and the boat we use has been confiscated. This means we are forced to purchase everything we need, in Haiti – if we can find it, at extremely inflated rates. Linda and our older boys spend a lot of time scouting out things they can find and working around the blockades to be able to get them. Pray for them for wisdom, strength, and peace during this tough time.
The shut down at the wharf has added to the incredible discontent of people in our area of Haiti as supplies and food necessities are not getting into our area and things are running out. We used to get things from the North (Miami) and the South (the rest of Haiti), but now things are not moving in either direction. If a solution is not found soon, things will run out and we won’t even be able to buy what we need even if we had the funds. We really need prayers for a solution to these problems in Haiti, for the sake of the people who are suffering greatly.
Our boys living in Port-au-Prince and Gonaives have things worse off then at the HOH. They often face violence as they just try to find food, fuel and water. We have been able to keep in touch with them for the most part, but at times all communication ceases and all we can do is trust and pray. Please pray with us for safety, wisdom, courage and strength for these young men and also for those at the HOH. Pray that our faith would be strengthened and grow during this time and that we would not lose heart.
Finally, we wanted to let you know of a change coming up for me (Jenny). In December, I will be moving down to Hot Springs Village, Arkansas. I’ve been looking for a good opportunity for me to be more centrally located to all the places I need to visit for the HOH and also be better set up to spend more time in Haiti, once that is actually an option again. I will be living with my sister and brother-in-law, giving me more flexibility to be on the road and traveling as needed. If any of you have questions about this, please feel free to contact me. I will also be traveling in the Calgary, Banff & Lacombe, Alberta areas for 2 weeks coming up in October. If you are in those areas and would like to see me, please just let me know.
Thank you so much for your prayers for us, for others facing these tough times and for those involved in the leadership of Haiti and making the decisions there. As always, if you would like to receive more regular updates, just ask to be added to our Facebook group that receives updates weekly. If you do not have Facebook, we also send these out in an email.