April update

Greeting to all in Jesus precious name! 

     It  has  just  been  way  to  long  since  an  update  has  been  sent  out!  I  had  all  good  intentions  of sending  one  while  we  were  in  the  states  for  7  weeks.  But  guess  good  intentions  never  got anything done if you don't just do it! We learned  the  middle  of  Jan.  after  an  ultrasound  that  our  baby  was  in  a  breech  position. After  trying  different  things  to  try  and  unsuccessfully  getting  it  to  turn,  we  decided  it  was  best  to f ly  back  to  the  states  to  deliver  our  baby.    We  were  amazed  at  how  well  everything  fell  into place  so  we  could  go  back.  It  just  seemed  Gods  hand  was  in  it,  which  gave  us  a  great  peace that  it  was  the  right  thing  to  do.  So  on  the  24th  of  Feb.  we  flew  back  to  WI.  Our  baby  was  due the  17th  of  March.  So  we  “thought”  we  had  some  time  to  get  things  lined  up  with  our  midwife and  all.  But  baby  had  other  plans.  Mayika  Faith  made  her  appearance  into  the  world  on  March 5th,  just  a  week  after  we  arrived  back  in  the  states!  She  was  born  breech,  but  thanks  to  God and  a  midwife  that  was  very  experienced  in  breech  births,  everything  went  well,  and  she  was born at home without to many complication! While  home  we  filled  our  time  with  just  simply  spending  a  lot  of  time  with  family,  friends  and catching  up  from  the  busy  schedule  we  had  the  last  several  months  here  in  Haiti.  I  (Donavon) spent  some  time  working  in  the  shop  and  updating  my  dads  website  for  his  business.  Thea spent most her time taking care of 2 little girlies!   After  getting  all  the  paperwork  done  for  Mayika’s  passport  and  getting  it  back  we  decided  to come  back  here  to  Haiti  on  the  14th.  So  now  we  find  ourselves  settling  into  a  new  normal  again here  in  Haiti.  There  have  been  several  staff  changes  while  we  were  gone.  Plus  we  brought  a new  little  one  back  with  us.  So  even  though  its  mostly  the  same,  its  still  quite  different!  We  are very  thankful  for  Janell,  as  she  is  a  huge  help  in  making  meals  and  things  that  greatly  helps lighten Thea’s load, giving her more time to take care of the girls. Thanks  to  everyone  that  prayed  for  us  during  the  last  couple  months!  We  definitely  felt  them and  are  very  grateful  for  all  the  support  we  feel  from  you  our  friends  and  prayer  supporters! Below is a picture of Mayika, and also a new Family Picture.

Still Alive!

Wow were does time go! Seems like we have been here along time, yet at the same time it seems like it was yesterday! But the reality is that it has only been 3 months! 3 months of stretching, learning,giving,fun times, not so fun times, and just plain busy times! But through everything that has came our way so far, God has been right there! Seeing us through every bit of it. So much that when it is over you think, well that wasn't so bad! But before hand you thought there's no way I can do that.  But when we just grin and do it anyway, God gives the strength we need.

I am not going to make a big update out of this, but will stick a couple pictures in of some highlights.

Time for the dead trees to come down! 

This man is Joe. He spent the last several months of his life in our clinic. He had a major infection on his back. We tried to get him to a bigger hospital to fix his problem, but to no avail. So we just kept him as comfortable as we could till he died. He always had a smile on his face, even though his body often stank. He is much better off now though, then the way he was!

Here we are on the way to town with Joe on one of our attempts to have a surgery done for him.

Church service

A truck I saw in Port one day, and yes it was driving!

Makayla enjoyed her day at the ocean!

Haiti does have some VERY beautiful beaches!

Sometimes the trail is just plain muddy!

From the top of the mountain up above Port Au Prince. You can see the airport in the center of the picture.

A funeral procession I drove through on the way back form Port.

A little cutie we had on our Porch the other day. :)  

We were very grateful to have Andrew and Marianna Hershberger visit us for 2 weeks!  

Makayla LOVES to wear sandals that are a little to big!

Some fresh veggies from OUR garden!  We aren't getting much from our garden yet, but we enjoy everything we get! 

Hopefully it doesn't go so long next time!!

Donavon

Update!

Well Here is an update finally. I am trying to put it here as an attachment so hope it works!

 August Newletter

We made it!

Just a quick update to let everyone know we made it safely to the mountains! After a short delay in Miami, and having to many airplanes for the number of gates at the Port au Prince airport, we finally made it out to Steve who was waiting to take us back  to the mountains. We hit rain shortly after we hit the trail and it rained most the way back, for which we are thankful for, because we are quite dry here right now! We arrived back here at the mission at around 9:30 unloaded our stuff, had a bite to eat and hit the sack!  Today we spent unpacking, and finding a home for our stuff. 

Thanks to all who prayed that we would have a good trip. Every thing went very well, and Makayla slept most of both flights. 

A few things you can pray for:

-Good health, especially as the chikungunya fever (which is transferred by Mosquitos) is hitting a lot of people quite hard lately.

-That language learning would come quick and that our vocabulary would grow.  

-Safety as we have several trips to make to town in the next week.  

God bless you all in your corner of the world!

A few pictures!

Here's a pic of where we have been staying the last 2 weeks. 

Here is our semi trailer where we have all our personal belongings stored for the next couple years. 

A shot of the inside. 

We head out around midnight tonight, and get into Port au Prince at 3:10 tomorrow afternoon. Most likely heading up the mountain yet tomorrow night. It will be so nice to finally be settled in our house down there!

Count down is on!

Well it's hard to beleive we only have 4 more days here in the states, and off to Haiti we go! Things are coming together nicely. Most of our bags are packed and waiting, basically we just need to pack our carry ons, and a few last minute things, and we are ready to go! 

Tonight we are enjoying s'mores and some Carmely chocolate mountain pie things. Got to get our fill before we leave! :). 

Spring!

Spring has finally arrived in these parts! So we took the opportunity of an open evening to do some spring cleanup!  

Little girly liked playing in the cart behind the three wheeler