Rays of Light

Homesickness... it is the only way I know how to describe what I feel. A longing that reaches down to my very soul. A longing to just be there. To hold on to each one. To play kids games, to be taught by a little girl. To simply laugh and love with all the Gad has given me. To do the Lord's work. To dance. To get peed on. hear your name called over and over just so you will turn around. Some days I just don't know what to do with myself. I go through my day and do what I am supposed to but deep inside I feel like part of me is gone. My heart is not fully complete because a piece of it is not here with me. It belongs to the children of Haiti.

Psalms 37:4 Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.

This verse right now is the verse I think of often. God is so good and I know that his will is going to fullfilled but it is so hard to wait. He gives me so much.

He gives rays of sunshine.

He provides me with pictures of home, they are on my wll so I can see them when I wake up in the morning.

He has provided me with a job that in turn gives me money to fund my trips. Right now Feb.22 seems so far away, though I cannot wait to be back.

He gives me scriptures and he is there to hold me when I want to just cry and cry and cry.

Looking back and forward all at the same time

First of all I hope everyone had a good Christ-mas and New Year.

Wow looking back at 2007 is crazy. So many things happened this year.
Here is a small look into how my life changed.

We added the 7th member, Nicot Issac, to our family.

I went to visit "my home" a.k.a Haiti three more times. In Febuary, August, and October. Each time reaffriming the the call God has placed in my life to be a missionary.

My best Friend April got married.

Life changed but it really just got better. I am so excited for what the next year holds. I know Gos is preparing me for change and I am ready for it. I am ready for my family to be together and I am ready for Haiti. I can't wait until Febuary, until Iget to see the kids again.

I make one goal for the next year simply to draw closer to God. I want to become closer and gain more understanding. I want to follow were he leads and be content with where he has me now.

I hope you can make the same goal as I did!

Hi. This post is from Bethany's mom.

Troy and I received one of our best Christmas presents on Friday.

We received Christmas cards from Manthania and Nicot in the mail!!!!!

There were new pictures of both of them and handprints and footprints.

It really touched our hearts. If we couldn't spend Christmas with them-the cards were GREAT!!

I realize that Manthania and Nicot didn't address the envelope and take the cards to the post office and they weren't even mailed from Haiti-BUT IT SURE FELT THAT WAY.

Thank you, thank you, thank you whoever had a hand in this!!!!

As Troy and I have been shopping for our other three children, I have to admit I have been a little sad thinking about the fact that I won't be able to spend the holiday with all of my children. I have been praying about it. I don't want to be even a little sad on Jesus' birthday. I want to be filled with the Joy and Hope that His birth brought to this world!!!

The cards from Manthania and Nicot are going to help me do that!

Thank you Lord for your birth and what it means in our lives. Thank you, also, for such thoughtful friends!!!

Love you all and Merry Christmas!!!!

The Story goes on!

I can't believe it. One year ago this week I was seeing Haiti for the first time. I was holding the children that I now love more than I can ever put into words for the first time! It doesn't seem like a year has gone by but it has. Yesterday the 11th was my birthday and I had intended to post this then but I got sidetracked and so now it is after midnight, o well. I just can't believe it has been a year since I shared magic popcorn, hehe, that You-You made, with some of the children that hold my heart. Most days I miss the children like crazy. I miss the feel of them in my arms, their laughter in my ears, and I just mis being with them. I miss Haiti like crazy, I miss everything about it and would pack up and leave tomorrow to go if I could. But today God reminded me that a year can fly by. Even though the day may be hard to get through the time will go quickly. Soon it will be my time to go, it will be my turn to help the children everday, to pray with, play with them, laugh with them and love with them. Until then I will remember that God has a plan bigger than mine and he knows and will help me each to see that the time will go by quickly until I can go home to Haiti. Thanks God for one more year, One more amazing year, a year in which I grew closes to you in more ways than I ever imagined!

One more year behind but so many more still to come. I can'tt wait till next year, maybe then You-You we can share some more birthday popcorn!

17 Letters

Ok it is now 12:14, by the time I post it will be later than that. Michelle I hope the volume on your computer is turned off, hehe. Well anyway I have been sitting here in my living room looking up at the Happy Thanksgiving sign my brother made earlier and hung up for tomorrow. It simply says happy thanks giving and then above each letter is a name.

Pop=our grandpa

Meme= our grandmother

Terryl=our great uncle

Troy

Cathy

Kristina

Todd

Bethany

Alyssa

Jessica

Kaleb

Megan

Lillie

Manthania

Jonas

Nicot

Ellie

They exact number of people that we have thanksgiving with each year is the same number of letters in the words Thanksgiving. And that is only 17 reasons why I am thankful. Looking at this simple sign has made me realize that I have more to be thankful for the number of people that will sit in my church on Christmas play sunday.

I do want to say that I am very thankful that Jesus is my best friend. He is amazing. He has placed a desire in my heart for a counrty and for children that a little over a year and a half ago I knew nothing about. He took a little girl who asked God to please call me to be anything but a missionary and turned her into a girl that could think of nothing else. Thank you Jesus for your compassion and never ending love. And thank you for playing more than 17 letters in my life. Thank you for the children like Daniel that hold mt heart. Thank you for holding me when I cry and giving me scripture to read. Thank you for dying so I could live, Live for you.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone, I hope that you all can find as many things to be thankful for as I have.

Love always in Christ.

The Entrance!?!?!

We finally made it!!!

We are now in IBESR. We have been for a few days and I haven't got to post about it yet. God has moved on behalf of us and our files and finally put us in IBESR. We don't know how but God does.

So my new favorite numbers are now 15923 and 15924.

With each passing day we are closer to the day Matu and Nicot will come home and our family will be together.

Thanks to everyone who has been praying for us over the past year and four months. Please do not stop praying! We love you all.

The month in recap!

Since I can remember my best friends name was April. Our mothers were friends and so it was destined that we too would be best friends. We have been there for each other through the tough times but also through the fun times. We have been friends for so long and are families are so close you might as well consider as sisters. That is what she is to me, my sister, the person I share everything with. For everything we have in common, there is one thing that has always made us closer and that is our faith in God. God blessed April with finding a wonderful guy named Brooks. Well in July Brooks proposed, so for the last three months we have been planning and putting together the wedding of a lifetime. Last friday night on October 26, 2007 at seven o'clock my best friend got married. I am so so so happy for her. I do have to tell you that it was a very strange thing signing the marriage license, knowing that my best friend has a new best friend, her husband. But as I had realized before hand I didn't loose my best friend, I gained a new friend. Brooks is a good guy and is always fun to have around. April, I am so glad that God provided you with a great guy, a guy who not only loves you but loves God. I pray that God provides me with a guy that loves me as much as Brooks loves you and who also loves God. Congrats again and I love you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



And now back to everything that happened before the wedding. I went to Haiti, my forth trip. And as with every trip I loved every single minute of it. I got to see Steven and Belle see their Mom again. I got to see my Mom with her children for the first time. I got to love on the children who hold most of my heart. I also got to experience Mother Theresa's hospital and orphanage. God opened my eyes that day for sure. Everytime I am there I fall more in love. In love with the Country, the orphanage, the nannies, the workers, the boys at St. Joe, with God. My everyday is filled ith thought of how and when I can go back "home", to the place that is my life. I have only been away from there for a few weeks but it seems so much longer. I long to be back, I long for the children to yell Bet-tany. I long for them to want to sit on my lap, I long for them to fill the emptiness when I hold out my arms. I long for thier kisses and thier smiles. I long for hearing them sing. I long to talk to Angela again, I long to try and talk to the nannies. I long for Haiti.

There you go Megan I have finally posted. I am so glad you all haven't given up on me. I promise I will post some more pictures from my trip soon!