Sunday, June 21, 2009

Summertime!!

Hello Everyone!! Well I have been back in Haiti for about a week and a half and it has everything but boring!! It has been so great to once again be with my 28 girls and the rest of my mission family. Although school is out now, we have still had a lot going n. We have had two groups in over the last two weeks and both worked very hard while they were here and were a huge blessing to the mission. Along with loving on and playing with our children, one group helped out hugely by bringing new colors into our boys home. They painted a couple bedrooms at our boys home along with some railings and windows. It looks great!! The second of the 2 groups was a dental team. Over the time that they were here, they saw over 140 patients and pulled over 60 teeth. It was awesome to have both teams here ready and willing to serve. Within this next week we have two sets of parents coming as well as a group from my home church. It will be great to see some familiar faces from home here in Haiti.

As far as prayer requests go, we could really use your help in praying for funds to come in for the building of our new Creche and Girls home. The land for the home is ours now but it needs to be paid off and we need to have the home finished and our kids moved in by the time our lease is up in the old home in August.

Thank you all for your prayers and as always...


This is my heart, for Him!!




Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

My Time Stateside

Wow it has been way to long since I have sent out an update... I apologize!! I guess that means I have a lot to say so I'll get started with it. As many of you know I have been stateside since the 23rd of April visiting family and friends, and trying to get some support raised for myself and for the mission. I would like to thank you all for the support that you have been to me throughout my time so far in Haiti. Through prayer and finances, you all have been a blessing! Along with the prayer and support that you have so graciously provided I have also appreciated the emails and the support that you have given my family through this time. This has been a great adjustment for all of us so once again I thank you.
As much as I have enjoyed my time home, I will also be excited to return to Haiti (my second home). I will be returning June 10th and am so excited to once again see my 28 beautiful girls! I know that they will all have grown and changed and I can't wait to see what God has done in each of their lives since I have been gone.
Please continue to pray for my family (the American one and the Haitian one), both are in constant need of it. Some special requests include the construction and fundraising for the new Creche as well as In the Father's Arms Girls Home. We are about halfway to the amount of money it will take to purchase the land. If you feel like this is something God is calling you to help with, please feel free to contact me.
Once again thank you all for your prayers...
This is my heart... for Him...
God bless!!
Audrey

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Prayer Request

Hello Everyone!
I wanted to let you know that I will be posting another update soon but for now I have a prayer request that I would ask that you all help me out with. Hanna Cherry (a.k.a "Aunt Hanna") has been very ill for over a month. She just got back from States a couple weeks ago where she had been visiting family and friends, speaking at churches for the mission, and even spending time in a hospital trying to get better. We found out today that she has to return to the States immediately for medical care. Please be praying for her as she will once again be leaving her husband five children and all her boys at the mission. Please pray that she has safe travels and that she recovers quickly so she can come back home. Thank you all! Even through this sickness and with so many other things going on here in Haiti we know that all is still... In the Father's Hands!
God Bless...
Audrey!

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Nothing short of a miracle... Nothing but the Hand of God

Hello Everyone!! Many of you may remember the story I told in my last update about beautiful Karah Esther. If you've heard me speak about Haiti a lot, you've probably heard about Karah and how much of a role she played in my decision to come here. If not, let me quickly remind you. Karah was the baby girl that the group I came in with last December brought to the mission from Port-au-Prince. The moment Pastor Andy handed her to me I understood what it was like to see Jesus in someone. She was a miracle! Anyway, about a month and a half ago, Karah was playing on the balcony of the Creche and her finger got shut in an iron door leading out onto the porch cutting the tip of her finger off and leaving quite a bit of bone exposed. To make a long story short, when she was brought to our house she didn't cry. She slept through the entire cleaning procedure at the hospital without the help of any medication. The next day she was smiling and playing! She handled everything better than I did!! The doctors said our biggest worry was infection and that she would never again have a full finger- her finger would stop at the top knuckle. That night as we got home from the hospital with Karah asleep in my arms I was praising God for the fact that she was able to sleep so peacefully after all that she had been through. At the same time however, I was upset. I was so frustrated and could not for the life of me figure out why God let this happen to her of all people! So I began to pray. I began to pray for a miracle. The next day as I held Karah and as Daniel and I watched mom (Cindy) change her bandages, there was a peace that came over me. As Daniel and I were talking, it was almost like we both knew that everything was going to be even better than just ok. We jokingly said that one day we would take of the bandage to clean her finger and the whole thing would be there... nail and all! I laughed, but deep down it was my prayer. I knew that the God who made blind people see, the God who made the lame walk, the God who raised Lazarus from the dead, and the God who conquered death, was the same God that could heal Karah's finger! So the days went by and Karah's finger showed no signs of infection. The wound was healing nicely and tissue and skin began to cover the bone that was once exposed. One day as Cindy was changing her bandages she said, "Look at that. Huh, that almost looks like a nail bed. Wouldn't that be a miracle. Her nail bed was taken with the rest of her finger. We'll have to keep an eye on that." My stomach churned, could it really be? As the days passed it became very clear... her finger was regrowing!! A couple weeks later as Cindy was once again cleaning her finger and applying new bandages she said, "There is some discolored tissue on the front of her finger. It's kinda hard" Surely not infection, I thought, she's been doing so well. As I walked over to see Cindy exclaimed "It's nail! She's going to have a fingernail!" It was amazing! I can't really say I couldn't believe it, because I knew it could happen, but I had never seen the hand of God so powerful! Fingers don't just "regrow." Father was working a miracle through this little girl and once again using her to greatly impact my life! Below are the pictures of Karah finger. The first is her finger right after the incident happened. The second picture was taken only a couple of days ago... almost totally healed! The third is a picture of her and I! Let me tell you something... never let anyone tell you that there is no such thing as miracles! NEVER let anyone tell you that there isn't a God or that He doesn't care about you. I can assure you, there is a God- and he cares about you and loves you more than you could ever ask or imagine. You may not understand everything that happens in your life, but if you are being obedient to Father, He will guide you and you WILL see His glory. I see Him everyday! When I walk out of my room every morning I am greeted by precious children yelling "Audrey, Audrey!" I spend every day here with 26 beautiful little girls who now I can't imagine ever living without. I have an amazing family in the States who I love sooo much and praise God for everyday! And Karah... :-D I have seen the Healing Hand of God! Look at your life, is God a part of it? If so... just look... you'll see it too! If not, you are seriously missing out on the wonderful blessings that each day has to bring! God bless you all and thank you for your continued support as I continue to follow God's will for my life here in Haiti!

Saturday, February 7, 2009

Little Girls!




Well hello everyone! I apologize that it has been so long since I have updated you all on what is going on in my crazy exciting life here in Haiti. Things have ben very busy but I wouldn't have things any other way. I have seen Father move over these past few weeks than ever before and am watching His perfect plan unfold right before my eyes! It is AMAZING!!! I would encourage you all as you go throughout your day to really try and look at things not through your own eyes but through the eyes of Jesus. You will be amazed at what you see.
As many of you may know I have recently started devoting most of my time here in Haiti with the 24 girls we have at the Creche. Jessica (another intern) and I go over to the Creche every morning at 6 am and help them get ready for school. After breakfast we walk them to school and I make sure to tell them each to have a good day and tell them that I love them the same way my mom did for me. We pick them up from school at one and spend the rest of the evening with them. Because many of them struggled in school before, homework is priority after nap time. I have been amazed to see the progress that many of them have made in such a short period of time. Aside from just helping take care of their basic needs, I am just loving. Right now, more than ever I kow that these girls are in great need of love. They need to be told how much they are loved and even more, how much they have a heavenly Father who loves them more than they could know. I may not have everything figured out but I am trusting in God to guide me and every night I thank Him for placing Eve, Marcilia, Ronise, Gueditte, Manise, Ishmeldine, Soumene, Vanillia, Jedina, Youseline, Chrissy, Olivia, Sophia, Chandeline, Wilmise, Jasmina, Lily, Jorana, Islande, Lydia, Fredline, Monese, Douthline, and Bella into my life. As always it is In the Father's Hands. Thank you all for supporting as I continue to follow God's will for my life here in Haiti! This is my heart for Him~ We're more than a mission... we're a family! God bless!

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Hello Everyone! Well for all of you who have been following my life :-) I have officially made my big move to Haiti! I have been here for two weeks now and with each moment that I am here I understand more and more that I am exactly where I am supposed to be. For so long I fought with whether or not to finish a four year college degree or if I should get some sort of "missions training" before I jumped into missions full-time. But now I know, all of the excuses I made up and road blocks that kept getting threw at me were Satan's attempts to make me step out of God's will! Praise God I didn't listen! Thank you all for your prayers!

Last Saturday and Sunday we had the Christmas parties for the boys home and then for the Creche and both went amazing! For the kids who have just recently come to the mission, these gifts were the first they have ever received! To see the smiles on those childrens faces is something that can never be replaced! Thanks again to those of you who played a part in making Christmas for these children so wonderful.

As I walked through the market place in a nearby town today with some other missionaries, I began looking in the faces of the children as I walked. We had been explaining to a visitor of them mission how some kids are only able to eat maybe two or three times a week. As I looked at the faces of all of these kids and thought aobut that fact I saw the face of one of the girls at the Creche. It looked to much like her that I had to take a second glance and hold myself back from running over to get her, pick her up, hold her, and love her. This has happened a couple times as I have been here. Walking through town I have seen the faces of some of our kids at our home. As I do my heart goes out for the children of Haiti. I want to love them and I find myself wanting to "give the world" to each one I see. However, most importantly they need Jesus. Please pray for me as I continue to seek God's will for my life here.

With each and every hug and each and every smile that I give and receive daily I am reminded of why I am here. I am not here to help "run a mission," or to help feed a bunch of kids until their adoptions are complete. I am here to show Father's love to His precious children here in Haiti and while I have left my family in the States to follow Him, please know that I have not left my comfort zone, I have found it!

God bless you all and thank you for your prayers!

This is my heart... for Him!!