tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32847907004662219442024-03-06T02:00:16.342-05:00Busting out of IndianaReneehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14159300460660001496noreply@blogger.comBlogger186125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3284790700466221944.post-80634410986282339012015-11-02T09:05:00.000-05:002015-11-02T09:05:34.277-05:00MOVIE MONDAY - Week 6: English Class<div style="text-align: left;">
For the past 18 months, Renee has taught two classes each week of the advanced level at Destiny English Academy. This is an English school that was started by a local Haitian. He approached Renee when we first moved and asked if she would consider teaching. She works with advanced students on pronunciation, speaking and listening skills. Most students in these classes are adults, or teenagers. There are many teachers, some local officials, lawyers, and other local Haitians who are trying their best to learn English. </div>
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With the other responsibilities that Renee has taken on with other schools, just this month, Renee has started holding two day seminars once a month instead of weekly classes. When teams visit, we also hold "talk nights" at a local restaurant/cafe so that the students can practice their English and the teams can learn more about Haitian culture and develop relationships with the locals.</div>
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Reneehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14159300460660001496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3284790700466221944.post-48955239782475827952015-10-21T13:01:00.001-04:002015-10-21T13:01:41.105-04:00Puppies!!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
We'd like to introduce you to our new puppies!!!</div>
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From left to right, we have Arya (are-ee-u), Axl, Duke and Layla</div>
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But...Sesame Street's famous song..."one of these things is not like the other..." comes to mind when looking at this picture!</div>
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Here's the story:</div>
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We knew Tessa was pregnant and going to have puppies any day. Well, last Tuesday, the kids and I got a call while we were at school saying that Tessa had two puppies! So we quickly packed up our stuff and came home. The puppies were so tiny and they were out in the backyard and Tessa was not being a good mom. She was in the house and not taking any interest in the puppies. We had to make her lay down so the puppies could nurse and we had to watch her to make sure she wasn't too rough with them. Well, one of the puppies was very sick and he died that night. We had to leave to go to Port au Prince for a couple days and feared that Tessa wouldn't take care of the puppy while we were gone. Well, when we returned, the puppy was still alive and seemed to be in good health, so Tessa managed on her own. </div>
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Fast forward to this past Saturday, just 4 days later. We were getting ready to head out for the evening and Morgan noticed that Tessa was in labor! I've never heard of dogs having puppies four days apart! (because they don't!) Well, that night, Tessa had 4 puppies...two boys and two girls. One of the girls was a stillborn and after trying to get her to breathe for about 20 minutes, we gave up. Needless to say, these new puppies were twice the size of the 4 day old puppy that we'd been taking care of! So, we decided to look at our security footage and realized that a mom and son snuck into the yard Tuesday morning and put these two puppies in our yard! So Tessa was caring for two orphan puppies! We weren't sure how the other puppies and Tessa would treat Layla, but thankfully, since she had a 4 day head start, she seems to be doing well and she has been accepted by the puppies and Tessa.</div>
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Here are Duke and Layla. Duke is a BEAST. Layla is our little orphan pup..and apparently she's a bit shy in this picture :)</div>
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Arya</div>
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Arya & Axl</div>
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You can definitely see the size difference...and Layla is the oldest!</div>
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Layla's eyes are starting to open!</div>
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Oh...and just so you don't worry...Tessa has been a GREAT mama...after giving birth to her REAL puppies!</div>
<br />Reneehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14159300460660001496noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3284790700466221944.post-29198842651015694082015-10-19T08:29:00.000-04:002015-10-19T08:29:17.282-04:00MOVIE MONDAY - Week 4: The "Airport"This week we're taking you to our little "airport" on the island! It's really just a little dirt runway right on the coast. Some days we have 3 or 4 planes come and others we might not have any. Some planes come to take sick or injured people to the hospital in Port au Prince, some bring money to the banks, but most are transporting visitors to and from the island. This is also one way that we sometimes travel to Port au Prince for our monthly grocery shopping trip. It is a much quicker way to get to Port au Prince...only about 25 minutes from take off to landing! Definitely beats the 1.5 hour boat ride followed by another 1.5 hour truck ride into Port. Let us know your questions! We'd love to answer them!!<br />
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Reneehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14159300460660001496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3284790700466221944.post-83293939136569025552015-10-16T09:15:00.002-04:002015-10-16T09:15:32.235-04:00Let's Celebrate!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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WOW! In just one month, we've been able to raise 43% of what we need for next year!<br />
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Your support, encouragement and trust in what we are doing here is overwhelming. We are so thankful for all who have decided to partner financially with us on this journey.<br />
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But...we still need more help. If you have been thinking about signing up, let us know if you have any questions or concerns. We would love to share with you more personally what God is doing in Haiti.<br />
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We have a goal to hit 50% in the next week! Can you help us?!<br />
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Please click on the link below to submit your one time gift or monthly pledge. Payments are not necessary until January 2016, but we NEED the pledges as soon as possible so that we know how to better plan.<br />
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THANK YOU!!!!<br />
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<a href="http://tinyurl.com/janofskipledges">http://tinyurl.com/janofskipledges</a>Reneehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14159300460660001496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3284790700466221944.post-49273231620785206102015-10-12T08:27:00.001-04:002015-10-12T08:27:09.648-04:00Movie Monday - Week 3: The MarketThis week, we're taking you to the local market!! This market is open every day of the week from sun up to sun down. You can find different things at different times of year. There are different parts of the market...fruits, vegetables, meat/fish, clothing, shoes, school supplies, etc. Our family basically uses the market to purchase fresh fruit and vegetables or random things like a padlock, or some rope. We purchase our flour and eggs at different "house stores" along the street. Then, about once a month, we do our main grocery shopping in Port au Prince. I hope this makes you appreciate your next trip to Walmart!!<br />
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Reneehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14159300460660001496noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3284790700466221944.post-35458614770663567102015-10-07T08:47:00.000-04:002015-10-07T16:26:07.082-04:00Two years...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Two years. It's been two years ago today since we landed in Haiti after we decided to move. These past two years have changed us all in more ways than we can say. These two years have been full of growth, joy, sadness, and many challenges...but we wouldn't trade it for anything. </div>
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We have SO many pictures of our life here over the past two years. I tried to quickly go through this morning (before school!) to try to do a little review. There is no way to show you how much we've learned over these past two years in one blog post, but I thought it would be fun to look back. </div>
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Here we are...everything we own, all loaded up on a boat to take over to the island. I remember thinking...this is the smallest amount of "stuff" we've ever owned. Then,we got to the island and started trucking everything to our house and I was almost embarrassed driving down the street. Even though we had so little, we still had SO much in comparison to those we were passing.</div>
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Some of the first guys who introduced themselves to us...neighbors from our old house. We spent a lot of time with these guys and they were very helpful in our first months of learning Creole.</div>
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When we first arrived, the kids were put through the ringer. The Haitians were pretty used to seeing "blans" or white people, but they did not see many ti-blans...little white people. The kids were constantly being pinched, petted, examined and called to. They handled it with grace, even though it got to be pretty overwhelming. Here Jaron is at church...getting checked out :)</div>
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The kids adjusted very well, pretty quickly. I always say that God called their little hearts to Haiti way before he called Craig and mine. I am so thankful that He is in control!</div>
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November 2013</div>
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Relationships is one of the huge needs in my life. We have been blessed with amazing relationships back home and I knew it would be one of the most important things here in Haiti as well. I'm thankful that we get to share in fun life stages with our friends here in Haiti! This is when Baby Brucinda was just born!</div>
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We also get to interact with so many teams who visit! This is one of our favorites from Canada. They visit every year (the group is a little different each time) and we always look forward to them coming! That's also the hard part of living here too. We are quick to love on people and open our hearts and lives to them. The kids too. Then, a week later, after you've just made a great new friend, they have to leave. Our lives are full of hellos and goodbyes...and many times tears from the kids.</div>
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Jaron's buddy at the orphanage.</div>
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Taking some of the girls back to the village after Morgan's 8th birthday party (Feb 2014)</div>
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How many can we fit on the quad?? Haitian's would say..."One more!"</div>
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Small plane adventures! Not many people have to charter a plane to get groceries!</div>
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Rooftop picnics with friends! Ann, the lady on the right, was Morgan's kindergarten teacher back in the States. She first visited in May 2012 when we were here for 8 weeks. We are so thankful that she has a heart for Haiti and is helping with the Education Task Force of Okipe.</div>
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When you teach an English class and don't get paid....just a forewarning....you may end up being gifted a goat. Yup, that's what happened here! We ended up having our neighbors help us kill, clean and cook it. Then we had a big party :)</div>
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This is one of my all time favorite pictures of the kids at the village. This non-religious, work team came from Canada and as they were leaving, the kids from the village asked if they could pray over them. This is the ONLY time I've ever seen this happen on their own initiative. I love how the Holy Spirit spoke to their hearts and how they were obedient. The team was moved to tears and I know it's a moment that they will never forget.</div>
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One of my roles! Teaching the kiddos...this was Oct. 2014...just after moving into our new house.</div>
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We got to meet some UN soldiers who came over to help with "crowd control" during the elections.</div>
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Our little monkey! See Jaron way up there??</div>
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This past January 2015, we helped another local couple here start a church. We now do two services, one in Creole and one in English. Craig and I lead worship for the English service each week. We're still working on the building :)</div>
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Celebrating the 4th of July on our roof with sparklers and singing patriotic songs for the whole neighborhood to hear :)</div>
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President Martelly visited the island! That was a neat surprise to get to "meet" the President of Haiti.</div>
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This summer, the aquaponics greenhouse went up! This month, we will start planting and adding fish!!</div>
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Jaron...all boy and dirt...what more can I say?</div>
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These kids and teachers make me proud. They have come so far and made so much progress over the past two years!</div>
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Hammock sleeping on the porch during the HOT summer months. It's much cooler out there!</div>
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Can't forget Fiona!</div>
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These got a little out of order, but here, we're celebrating Mme. Soliette's 40th birthday!!!</div>
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One of the many creatures that we find trying to make a home in our house...sorry, you come in, you DIE! ;)</div>
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An adventure on the mainland up the mountain. Haiti is such a beautiful country!!</div>
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Mme. Florence braiding Morgan's hair with "Haitian" hair.</div>
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Just this week...the kids finally both got their school uniforms and to say they are excited is an understatement! They love being a part of the new school where there are other Haitian kids. Even though we have our own classroom and hours, they enjoy being in an environment with other students. It has made it easier to focus and get our minds in "school mode."</div>
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Well, I'm supposed to be heading out the door for school! I hope you enjoyed this random spattering of photos from our last two years! God only knows what is next for us. We're praying and trusting that His plan is perfect. Thank you for following along and encouraging us over these past two years. It's definitely not an easy place to be...it can feel lonely so far away from friends and family. Sometimes you feel like you're literally on an island in the middle of the Caribbean...oh wait...we are ;) So make sure to drop us a line when you're thinking about us! It really helps to keep connected!!<br />
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Love and blessings to you all!!Reneehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14159300460660001496noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3284790700466221944.post-91534749238102342602015-10-05T11:05:00.001-04:002015-10-05T11:05:40.842-04:00Movie Monday - Week 2: Our Water<span style="color: white; font-family: inherit;">I hope you had a great weekend and that your Monday is off to a good start. We know that Mondays can be a little "blah," so we decided to give you something to look forward to on Mondays! We're calling it, "Movie Monday!" </span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br />We want to show all of our friends, family and followers back home a little more about our life and what we do in Haiti. So each week, we'll make a short video showing something new. Last week, we showed everyone our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsAFZ9Ac7wI" target="_blank">"Drive to School."</a> This week, we want to show you a little about our water.</span><br />
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<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/V1ISEJLs22k/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/V1ISEJLs22k?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<br />Reneehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14159300460660001496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3284790700466221944.post-27738002579113637332015-09-30T08:20:00.003-04:002015-09-30T12:04:34.772-04:00Just What Do You Do??As we've been reaching out to churches and people to ask them to partner with our family, we've been asked some questions that I think might be beneficial for us to share with all of you!!<br />
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We love to share about what it is that we do here. This is our passion. We forget that our day to day life, even though it seems normal to us now, is still rather interesting to the rest of you!<br />
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Just the other day, my mother-in-law posted something on our facebook that rang true to me...<br />
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"Working hard for something we don't care about is called stress; </div>
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working hard for something we love is called passion."</div>
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Haiti, this is our passion.<br />
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So what do we do?? We sleep in until noon, on our beautiful little slice of paradise...and then cruise around joyfully on our moto all day...with a stop or two at a couple beautiful beaches!!<br />
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Right??! Just kidding :) Even though we do tend to visit the beach and share photos of many of the blessings of living in a beautiful tropical country, we want to give you an idea of what else we do around here. </div>
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<b><u>Description of Ministry</u></b><br />
Located on a remote island in the Caribbean, La Gonave is home to close to 200,000 people who live in extreme poverty. Our primary work is done in the city of Anse-a-Galets equipping and empowering a local Haitian woman to care for over 80 orphans. In addition, we have helped to plant a church, lead weekly worship, teach English and are working to start new business endeavors to help the local economy.<br />
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<b><u>What is the primary <i>vision and mission</i> for your ministry?</u></b><br />
To equip and empower the people of La Gonave to live sustainable, God honoring lives. We do this by creating relationships with the people of La Gonave so that we can know and understand their needs and gifts/abilities. After that, we connect people worldwide to help us train, teach, and disciple to meet real needs of real people.<br />
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<b><u>What needs is this ministry trying to address?</u></b><br />
Orphan care, spiritual growth, economic development/vocational training<br />
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<b><u>Key Results of last 12 months?</u></b><br />
Hosted many teams, connecting them to the needs and ministries in Haiti<br />
Raised remaining monthly operational financial need for the Children's Village<br />
Increased donor retention from 23% to 65%<br />
Planted a new church with 30-75 in attendance<br />
Weekly advanced English classes<br />
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Developed new key partnerships including a new commercial aquaponics system for agriculture at the children's village<br />
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<b><u>How many people did you serve during this past year?</u></b><br />
It's hard to put a number on this question. We have served hundreds in many different ways. There are over 100 staff and children at the Children's Village. There are close to 100 who attend the church that we planted. Renee has about 20 in her English class with up to 50 attending talk nights. In addition, we have people show up at our house daily with some sort of need. Sometimes, just a drink of water. We have built relationships with mayors, local business owners, pastors, other missionaries, visiting team members, etc. We interact with and help serve about 300 people annually who visit the island on short term mission trips.<br />
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<b><u>What discouragement/frustrations did you face last year?</u></b><br />
Where do we begin?! ;) The continuous clash of cultures is something that leads to frustration. Things that seem very simple and common sense to us most likely are "foreign" concepts to the people here. Training takes A LONG TIME. We get discouraged when we feel like we were making good progress and then suddenly things fall apart. Classic two steps forward, one step back. Illness is a huge source of discouragement. When our bodies are physically ill, we tend to become emotionally and spiritually drained right along with it. We have frustrations with visitors who come with sometimes the wrong posture and motives. The process of discerning the next steps for our family has been difficult.<br />
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<b><u>Do you have any prayer needs?</u></b><br />
-The next steps for our family as we step out in faith that God will provide for our financial needs as we continue full time here in Haiti. We have been blessed to have been able to have our first two years covered financially through a work contract. Starting January 1, that contract will be over and we will be relying on the financial support of our partners.<br />
-There are so many needs and so many demands. We need wisdom to know where to invest our time and energy. When to give and when not to give. When to say yes and when to say no.<br />
-We desire to create local businesses to help us become more self sustainable. We hope to be able to cover a large majority of our own expenses by the end of 2016.<br />
-Unity and vision with all who we work with.<br />
-People finding freedom in Christ and not being bound by the chains of religion. That people would experience the power of the Holy Spirit and see that God is more powerful than Voodoo.<br />
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-New Primary School building project at the children's village: wisdom, vision, plan, finances, execution<br />
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<b><u>What are your planned objectives for the coming year?</u></b><br />
<u style="font-weight: bold;">Continued:</u> Okipe Chairman & Liaison for the Children's Village, language learning, relationship building, teaching English, hosting teams<br />
<u style="font-weight: bold;">New:</u> Making Okipe an official 501c3, Vocational training for children aging out of the village, business start ups, primary school building<br />
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<b><u>Describe your ministry's greatest need(s) in meeting your planned objectives.</u></b><br />
Even though we have a good grasp on the language, becoming more fluent will allow our relationships to deepen. Also, if we do not have enough finances, we will not be able to stay in Haiti full time which would greatly impact our ability to meet our objectives.<br />
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<b><u>Are you setup for short-term teams? If yes, how many teams have you had since 2012?</u></b><br />
YES! We interact with teams on a weekly basis. We have personally planned and hosted over 16 teams, helping their time to be meaningful, intentional and beneficial both to the team members and the people here in Haiti. Okipe has had over 30 teams since 2012.<br />
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<b><u>What is your ministry or mission organization's current statement of faith?</u></b><br />
We were both born and raised in the Nazarene denomination and have been active members of a church our entire lives. Our sending church is Exit 59, a Christian Missionary Alliance church. We stand behind their statement of faith which can be found <a href="http://www.cmalliance.org/about/beliefs/doctrine" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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<b><u>How do you prefer to keep in touch?</u></b><br />
We currently communicate frequently and have many people who follow our daily happenings via <a href="https://www.facebook.com/crjfamily" target="_blank">facebook</a>. We also have a personal blog that will be updated monthly. A few people have requested email updates, and we can do that as well if that is what you prefer. We also enjoy being able to Skype since we feel this is the most personal form of communication.<br />
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WOW! Thanks for taking time to read this all the way to the end! We'd love to answer any more questions that you may have! We love sharing our story and lives here in Haiti with anyone interested.<br />
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We are currently 22% funded for next year! Wooohoooo! We are still looking for people to give a pledge to partner with our family for 2016! If you're ready to get on board with us for this next year, please click <a href="http://tinyurl.com/janofskipledges" target="_blank">here</a> to let us know!! Thanks!<br />
<br />Reneehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14159300460660001496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3284790700466221944.post-2522901421181947252015-09-17T15:58:00.000-04:002015-09-19T08:37:10.587-04:00Should we Stay or Should we go??<div class="MsoNormal">
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The beginning of October will mark our 2 years in Haiti.
We’ve always had it in the back of our minds that we would head back to the
States after our two years were over. About 6 months ago, we made a trip back
to the States to try to get some things planned and figured out for our return.
We had hoped to return after that trip with a very clear idea of what would
happen when we returned to the States. However, I think we came back to Haiti
more confused than before. Craig has been working with the same company for 12 years and they have made a way for us to be here in Haiti and for Craig to
continue working with them over the internet. This was an agreement for two
years only. In April, they extended that agreement to the end of the calendar
year. After that, we will either need to move back to the States to find jobs,
or else find a way to raise support to stay here in Haiti.</div>
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The more that we thought and prayed, we really didn’t have
clear direction either way. We didn’t feel like God was calling us back to the
States, but we knew that our original plan was two years. Even though we have
accomplished what we came to accomplish in these two years, we feel like our
impact is just beginning. We are just now able to make deeper connections and
relationships because of the time that we have spent here among the Haitians
and because we have been able to learn the language. It takes so long to adjust
to culture, learn a language and develop relationships. We feel that we are in
a great place to make some real progress in many areas.</div>
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We are committed to Okipe and the Children’s Village. We are so thankful and proud of all the things the staff and children have learned and are implementing daily. They are truly running the daily affairs of the village on their own. This is a HUGE success. However, just yesterday, Mme. Soliette said that she “has big dreams for the community of Turtle Bay.” She just doesn’t have the resources. We want to continue to dream with Mme. Soliette. We want to help her as the children age out of the orphanage. We want to create new jobs and train the older kids in business and trade skills.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We have sat down and created a list of over twenty small business ideas that we think would work here on La Gonave. In order for a business to be successful here on the island, a person only needs to be able to profit around $5/day!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Future plans for the orphanage also include building a primary school and eventually adding more housing pods to be able to care for more children. Currently, Mme. Soliette cares for 82 children and the future housing plans will allow her to care for up to 150. She also opens up the primary school at the children's village to allow children from the community to attend who cannot afford to attend school anywhere else. This year, they have just under 200 children enrolled at the primary school at the village. Continued teacher and staff training as well as managing teams who interact with the orphanage are also weekly tasks.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Craig has also made several relationships with local business owners and is beginning to look into their systems and is starting to help them run their businesses smarter so that they can be more profitable. This is right up his alley and is something that makes him excited!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Renee has been teaching English at a local school and has the opportunity to teach at another school. In addition to teaching English, this past March, we helped to start an English speaking church service. Every Sunday we lead the worship and help local Haitians and other expats to worship together in English.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Even though we are involved in so many different ways, the people here in Haiti have no money to give in return for any of these services. 100% of what we do here in Haiti is on a volunteer basis. That is why we need people to partner with us. We want to continue to have the ability to work alongside our Haitian friends, but once Craig’s contract with his company is over, our funding will be finished as well. So, in order for us to continue our ministry in here in Haiti, we would need your help.<o:p></o:p></div>
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If you are willing and able to financially partner with our family to support our efforts here on La Gonave, there are two ways that you can give.<o:p></o:p></div>
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You may give online here –<br />
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<a href="http://tinyurl.com/janofskihaiti" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoRFWRbtcH_RklrTtYOF1_O6djL5newsm-tt9LvIWnH8GtxxRmtg82_CCIDrKrd2nj7NtBN6bX3CHr2o81iV0ISjZlWZXo-rrTl_DO_BP-bqczzrvXBdSDiUWj2G1Z1_WUNb6-z1umCXo/s200/Donate-Button.png" width="200" /></a></div>
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Or you may write a check, <u>payable to: Craig Janofski.</u> </div>
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<b>You can send it to:</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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Craig Janofski</div>
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503 N Keal Ave.<br />
Marion, IN 46952<o:p></o:p></div>
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Also, if you would like to give, but are not ready to donate today, please send us a message so that we know that we can count on you and what amount you plan to give!!<br />
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We would love to talk more with you if you have any questions, so please feel free to send us an email at <a href="mailto:crjfamily@gmail.com" target="_blank">crjfamily@gmail.com</a>. Thank you so much for your prayerful consideration. This is a huge step of faith for us and we know that without all of you, this will not be possible. To stay up to date with our day to day activities, please follow us on <a href="http://facebook.com/crjfamily" target="_blank">Facebook</a>!</div>
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Sincerely,</div>
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<b>Craig & Renee Janofski</b></div>
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Reneehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14159300460660001496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3284790700466221944.post-60364546619584595062015-02-23T11:11:00.000-05:002015-02-23T11:11:18.324-05:00Mr. Bee's House Fund<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Any of you who have been following our story over the past few years know Mr. Bee. He has been such a huge support to our family during our time in Haiti. Mr. Bee has a heart of gold and giving heart. He is often driving to the village down the coast to deliver food to the elderly there, doing all he can to help teams to make a difference while they're here. For the past three years, Bee has been our interpreter and assistant and so much more. We trust him. He is like family.</div>
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Bee and his wife Juliana in July of 2012</div>
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In 2004, Mr. Bee was able to purchase some land with the intent of building a house for his family. Here on La Gonave, there are no mortgages, so you just save and build as you can. So, in 2008, Mr. Bee started the foundation of his new home. During this time, he was renting a two room house that was no bigger than my entire kitchen. Before they moved out, his family of 6 was living there.<br />
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Visiting with Juliana and baby Brucinda at their old house. (March 2014)</div>
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Morgan with Bilanda and Bianka, two of Mr. Bee's daughters (Dec. 2014)</div>
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It has taken Mr. Bee seven years to get the house to a place where he felt comfortable moving his family in. That meant - the house had walls and a roof. They have just recently moved into their new house, but there is still so much to be finished. This morning he came to get some water for us and told us that he is really praying that he can get enough money to finish the outdoor latrine. Currently, his family is walking about a half mile one way to use the outdoor latrine at their church. Bee has already hand dug the 30 foot hole for the latrine! Now he needs to buy cement and block and metal to build the building over and around the hole.<br />
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He also has many other projects that still need completed. I asked him to give me a list of what still needed to be done. I would <i>love</i> to be able to help out in any way we can. The list includes:<br />
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- Finish the water cistern - he has already dug the hole, (see photo below) but needs to line and cover with concrete and run the pipes. This will hold all the rain water that is caught from the roof.<br />
- Install 2 indoor toilets. They plan to be able to host teams who visit and want them to be able to have a toilet to use instead of an outdoor latrine.<br />
- Create an outdoor kitchen (lean-to with shelves, table to prepare food, propane tank and burner)<br />
- Install windows<br />
- Install solar panels, batteries and inverter and run electric<br />
- Build a fence around the house<br />
- Lay tile in the house (currently, there are dirt/rock floors...a team is planning to come in March to help lay cement in the house!)<br />
- Paint the inside and outside of the house.<br />
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Water cistern that will be used to catch rain water to be used for cooking, flushing toilets, bathing, cleaning, laundry, etc.</div>
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Bee's family's beautiful new house!</div>
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I realize that none of this list is a <i>need </i>and so does Bee. That is why he chose to move his family before those things were finished. But how many of these basic "wants" do we all live with? Bathrooms, kitchens, water, electricity, etc... If Bee and his family were to finish this list on their own, it would most likely take them another 7 years to complete.</div>
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If you know Mr. Bee and his family and have been impacted by his generous spirit and would like to give, please consider doing so with the donate button below. Almost the entire house was built by Haitians, so if we get money, Mr. Bee knows local people who can do the job. However, if you want to make a trip to help out, I'm sure he would welcome that as well! It would be amazing if we could even get the $200 to help him finish the outdoor latrine! If we get more, he'll be able to finish even more.</div>
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I don't always put out pleas for help, and there area definitely other needs here on the island. But, this is just one way that I can give back to a family who has given so much to us. </div>
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Reneehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14159300460660001496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3284790700466221944.post-34393132524214140582014-12-13T11:00:00.003-05:002014-12-13T11:00:49.406-05:00New View on International AdoptionSince moving here to Haiti, my mind has been stretched in SO many ways. One of those ways deals with International adoption. I never knew how to share my heart on such a passionate topic without coming across as heartless. Before we moved to Haiti, even though we never wanted to adopt internationally, we did feel that God had asked us to be obedient to take steps down that road. Now, I feel like God put those feelings in our hearts and had us take those steps so that we might be able to understand, somewhat, what others are feeling who are in the process of International adoption (on a very small scale) so that we could be empathetic with them. However, I am thankful that God closed that specific door for our family.<br />
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Before too many of you get offended, (because I worry (too much) about offending that I actually have blogs written from a year ago that I haven't shared...) I'll let you hear from someone who has been in the International Adoption trenches twice and has come out on the other side and who can share her heart MUCH better than I can.<br />
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For those of you who don't know of, or have never read anything by Jen Hatmaker, you're MISSING OUT! Please take a minute and read this. It is everything that I wish I could say, but don't feel like I can because I have never truly been in the situation of an International adoption.<br />
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<a href="http://www.todayschristianwoman.com/articles/2014/november/adoption-crisis.html?start=1" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-large;">The Adoption Crisis Part 1</span></a><br />
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I want to let this article speak for itself, but a couple of things that made my heart race and my body practically jump from my chair screaming "YES!"...<br />
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If you have made it this far and are still reading...thank you. Like I said, I really don't mean any harm by this blog, but I just pray that it will challenge you to think. For your eyes to be opened like mine were. I have so much more on my heart to say about this and would love to continue this conversation with anyone who wishes. And, please know that I understand that this is NOT true for all orphans, all adoptions, all cases. But we must be careful and be informed. <br />
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I LOVE these children who we are working with and definitely want what is BEST for them. Is that to be adopted into a life in a first world country with a new family? For most, I say no. There is a reason that Mme. Soliette has chosen not to get her license for her children to be adopted. I love that she is trying to reunite families, help them to get back on their feet and support them to take care of their own children. She makes very difficult decisions every day when another family comes to her door asking her to take their child because they can not feed or educate them. <br />
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Even if you have never felt like God is calling you to adopt, there is something you can do. You can pray. You can pray for the children who have been orphaned. Whether they are true orphans, or financial or abandoned orphans, they need your prayers. And you can pray for those who feel called to adopt. That calling is not light. It is not for everyone. It is heart wrenching. And sometimes God calls us to be obedient to agree to adopt and to listen to Him, but then we need to CONTINUE to listen to Him. Does God sometimes tell us that it's okay to step away from the process? Even though we clearly heard Him say to go down that road another time? Yes. He clearly opened the door and closed the door for us. Was it easy? No. Is it ever easy hearing God's voice and being obedient to what He says? Sometimes. But not always. Please pray for these families.<br />
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Jen continues her discussion with <a href="http://www.todayschristianwoman.com/articles/2014/november/adoption-crisis-part-2.html" target="_blank">The Adoption Crisis Part 2</a> and <a href="http://www.todayschristianwoman.com/articles/2014/november/adoption-crisis-part-3.html" target="_blank">Part 3</a>. Feel free to read for more information.<br />
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**After Craig read this blog, he said he didn't really feel like he knew what I was trying to say. So, if you feel the same way, my first question is...did you read Jen's article that I linked? (He said no..haha!) So, go back and read it if you didn't. And if you still have questions, please, leave me a comment or feel free to email me! crjfamily@gmail.com :)<br />
<br />Reneehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14159300460660001496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3284790700466221944.post-51263041270376208262014-12-06T09:03:00.000-05:002014-12-13T10:07:05.981-05:00Reality<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white; font-family: inherit;">I have always known that many Haitians practice Voodoo. Even those who go to church. Believe in Jesus. Out of fear, they make sure to cover their bases. In Kreole, God is called "Bon Dye" or "Good God." There are many different gods in the Voodoo religion. The Haitians want to make sure that they are pleasing all of the gods, so they make sure to pray to the "Good God" as well. My experience with Voodoo was non existent before moving to Haiti. I really didn't understand it, nor do I really understand it now, and had a naive perspective about what it even looked like. While there are stories of humans being changed into animals (I have an American friend who married a Haitian man who says she's personally witnessed this), sacrifices done to the gods and lots of curses being placed over people and families, I wasn't prepared for how Voodoo had really been incorporated into everyday life. I didn't even notice it. I was prepared for crazy ritualistic displays, but what I found was much "simpler."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">One day, while visiting with a neighbor, I noticed that one of the ladies had a piece of string tied around her toe. We asked her why and she said that it was because she had a stomach ache. This is a Voodoo practice. Another time, there was a little boy - maybe a year old - who had a string tied around his stomach like a belt. It was the only thing he was wearing. We asked why it was there and were told that it was to protect him from the curses of Voodoo. Many people, when sick, will visit a "witch doctor" and drink many different kids of concoctions given to them and perform other rituals before actually visiting the hospital. Then, as a last resort, pray to "Bondye," God. Often, by the time the person arrives at the hospital, they are more sick from waiting and from doing the rituals that sometimes they end up getting very sick and even dying from a simple sickness. We've heard stories of times when people would be thrashing around on the ground when different curses were put on them, but most of the time, the impacts of Voodoo here are so small and "normal" that they can go unnoticed.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">When I was sitting on the porch with my neighbor, I didn't even really think twice about the string tied to her toe until later. It seemed like such a small, harmless thing. I thought it was weird and silly and almost laughed it off, but these small things can open the door for evil to enter and rule their lives. 1 Peter 5:8 tells us to <i>"</i><span style="line-height: 20px; text-align: justify;"><i>Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour."</i> These people are opening the door the the enemy, and out of tradition and fear, giving him space to rule in their lives.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 20px; text-align: justify;">Last week, we were told about another tradition. We were sitting around our dinner table talking with friends when they told us to be very careful about what we were eating and allowing our children to eat outside of our home. They said for now that it was very important to not accept food from anyone and not to pick up any food or money, or anything else for that matter, off the ground. All year long, people have been making deals with the gods. For example, if they are given wealth, or health or protection for their families - in return, they will give a certain number of souls to that god. Well, their deal has to be met by the end of the year. So people are looking for souls to give. They do this in a number of ways - one would be by poisoning food. People will put poison on candy and crackers and then drop them on the ground for children to find and eat. Or, they'll tamper with motos and vehicles and hope to cause an accident. </span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 20px; text-align: justify;">I was not sure I believed that this really happened, so I asked a lot of my Haitian friends and they just confirmed it, telling us to be very careful because this was a dangerous time of year. We are by no means living in fear, but we want to be wise and aware of the reality that is around us. The other evening, I was reading a book and kept noticing things moving around out of the corner of my eye. I started feeling like there was a presence there. My spirit was alert. I walked through that area of the house and just rebuked the presence over and over in the name of Jesus. I had peace and no longer saw the movement. Last night, Morgan came into our room crying saying that she had a "really bad dream." She was very scared. I felt my defenses rising. My spirit was ready to fight. We talked about her dream and prayed and I couldn't help but think that the enemy is always roaming...looking for someone to devour. It's hard to explain to kids why God allows them to have bad dreams.</span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 20px; text-align: justify;">During this time especially, will you pray for us as we feel this very real spiritual warfare? We are so thankful for the body of Christ, who we know supports us in prayer while we are here. There are so many things that we are unaware of. Pray that God will keep us alert. That He will guard our hearts and minds. Every night, as we tuck the kids in for bed, we go through putting on the armor just like it tells us in Ephesians.</span></span><br />
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<i><span style="background-color: #444444; color: white; font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 21px;">"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.</span><span style="line-height: 14px;"><b> </b></span><span style="line-height: 21px;">Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. </span><span style="line-height: 21px;">Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, </span><span style="line-height: 21px;">and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.</span><span style="line-height: 14px;"><b> </b></span><span style="line-height: 21px;">In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.</span><span style="line-height: 14px;"><b> </b></span><span style="line-height: 21px;">Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.</span></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="background-color: #444444; color: white; font-family: inherit;">And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should."</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="background-color: #444444; color: white; font-family: inherit;"> Ephesians 6:11-20</span></i></div>
Reneehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14159300460660001496noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3284790700466221944.post-71544225077602196442014-10-01T15:52:00.000-04:002014-10-01T15:52:13.658-04:00A Visit to the StatesFor those of you who don't follow along on Facebook, I wanted to include a link to an album of pictures from our time in the states!<br />
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Just click on the link below...even if you don't have a Facebook page...you'll still be able to view them.<br />
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Thanks for your support!<br />
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https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.935976200646.1073741849.161502359&type=1&l=187adf95de<br />
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<br />Reneehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14159300460660001496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3284790700466221944.post-85849705281711816462014-08-08T11:43:00.000-04:002014-08-08T11:43:37.957-04:00Father, why did You choose to bless me with being born in the United States? We are so free from persecution for our faith. My heart breaks for the people in Iraq who are being killed and whose children are being beheaded for the Christian faith. What makes me almost as sick is that I would guess a majority of American Christians don't even know what is going on. And if they do, they're so far removed from it that it's not their reality...they choose to not dwell on the fact that it's happening. They'd rather just not think about or read about those awful things that are going on...just keep scrolling past those awful articles on Facebook...if I don't read it, it won't effect me.<br />
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<i>"Do not tremble, do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago? You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me? No. There is no other Rock; I know not one!"</i></div>
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<i>-Isaiah 44:8</i></div>
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I'll just go on with important things...making sure I remember to document the first day of school and figure out what I'm going to eat for lunch, who is going to take the kids to their play date, and when I'm going to find time to work out because for goodness sake, I'm going to look good when I put on that bathing suit or little black dress!<br />
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<i>"I am no longer anxious about anything, as I realize the Lord is able to carry out His will,</i><i> and His will is mine. It makes no matter where He places me, or how. That is rather for Him to consider than for me; for in the easiest positions He must give me His grace, </i><i>and in the most difficult, His grace is sufficient." </i></div>
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<i>-Hudson Taylor</i></div>
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But what if it were me? What if I had to leave my home and hide in the mountains with my family, fearful for our lives? Wondering where our food and water would come from. Or worse, witnessing my children being killed in front of me because I LOVE JESUS?! While I knew people in other places in the world took their religious freedoms for granted...who complained about the church because people didn't reach out to them or they just didn't "feel it."<br />
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<i>"I am not sure what heaven will be like, but I know that when we die and it comes time for </i><i>God to judge us, He will not ask, 'How many good things have you done in your life?' </i><i>Rather He will ask, 'How much love did you put into what you did?'"</i></div>
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<i>-Mother Theresa</i></div>
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I know there is a balance. We can't just ignore what is happening. And we can't completely drop everything that we're doing. But we can reflect on <i>what is important.</i> Is it important to work so many hours that we are spending maybe two awake hours with our children so that we can live in our dream house and drive two vehicles and put our kids in every extra curricular activity that they want and make sure that we are keeping up with everyone else? We only live this life once. If we truly believe that God is most important (not church, but God), our family is second and everyone/thing else after...do our lives reflect that?<br />
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<i>"Where does your security lie? Is God your refuge, your hiding place, your stronghold, </i><i>your shepherd, your counselor, your friend, your redeemer, your savior, your guide?</i><i> If He is, you don't need to search any further for security."</i></div>
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<i> -Elizabeth Elliott</i></div>
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We are called to LOVE. That is all. God is love. There is freedom in love. So what does love call us to do? What does love look like in action for you? Are you being LOVE?<br />
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<i>"Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children, and live a life of love, just as </i><i>Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God."</i></div>
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<i>-Ephesians 5:1-2</i></div>
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I love that evidence of Christ in me are the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Those things that we're always praying for and asking God for...<i>love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness </i>and<i> self control. </i>Father, less of me. More of You. The only way we will desire less of this world is if we get rid of our selfish desires and allow You to live through us.<br />
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<i>"Let me hear of your unfailing love each morning, for I am trusting you. </i><i>Show me where to walk, for I give myself to you."</i></div>
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<i>-Psalms 143:8</i></div>
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Reneehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14159300460660001496noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3284790700466221944.post-51112400203060180202014-07-05T13:38:00.000-04:002014-07-05T13:38:13.065-04:00Independence Day!When we first moved to Haiti, we so much wanted to be accepted. We wanted the locals to see us as one of them. We were excited when the started calling us, "Blan Haitian." (white Haitian) It showed that they knew that we were more than just a passing tourist or another team member spending a week in their home. So many people pass through that sometimes we wondered what the locals thought. We didn't want to associate ourselves with "The Americans" who came and thought they knew everything that the Haitian's needed and how to do it. To be honest, we had a bit of a chip on our shoulder about being Americans here in Haiti. As an American, much is expected of you. However, after being here for 9 months, we are realizing how blessed we are to be able to call ourselves Americans. There are hundreds of Haitians every day lining up to attempt to get their passport and visas to get into the US for a chance at a "better life." Somewhere where there are jobs, quality education, unlimited amounts of clean water and electricity and hope for the future of their family. Those times when we struggle with aching joints and high fevers and sweaty nights and upset tummies and frustrating cultural differences, we then remember that we have a US Passport in our back pocket and we can pick up and leave whenever we want, simply because God chose for us to be born in America. No other reason. And for that we're thankful. Even though this year, we did not celebrate the 4th of July with family and friends and cookouts and fireworks, (we did a few sparklers), I wanted to make sure to say that we're so thankful for the freedom that we have! Thank you to all who have made that possible for our country! Even though many argue and disagree over so many things about our crazy country, remember...we are blessed.<br />
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<br />Reneehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14159300460660001496noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3284790700466221944.post-7854709406457453892014-05-19T11:36:00.002-04:002014-05-19T11:38:02.190-04:00YOU PAID HOW MUCH FOR THAT COCA-COLA?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><br />Here in Haiti the current exchange compared to the US dollar is 45:1. This means that 45 Haitian Goudes equals 1 dollar. But does it really?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">If a person made 500 goudes PER DAY here, it would be considered a decent wage. That comes to $11.11 at today's exchange rate. That's it for the day!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Now lets compare that to someone who makes $10.00 per hour from Indiana. This means that they will make gross $80.00 per day. (yes, yes, before Uncle Sam.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">In Haiti you can buy a 500ml (16.9 oz) bottle of Coke for 25 goudes or rather $0.56 cents.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">That $0.56 cents divided over the average daily wage in Haiti is the equivalent of someone making $10 per hour, paying $4.00 for the same bottle of Coke in Indiana.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">...and that's only if you are one of the lucky 10-15% of the population who has a job. Next time you go to Culver's or McDonald's or Starbucks stop and be thankful for the MANY blessings in your life. Don't squander your blessings.</span></div>
Reneehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14159300460660001496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3284790700466221944.post-44890369301900952412014-05-15T12:04:00.001-04:002014-05-15T12:04:47.980-04:00Don't have the words.I know not all of you who read this blog follow us on facebook...which I would recommend if you'd like a more regular update on our life! It's just easier for me to post a picture here and there and a short blurb explaining it. It's hard to sit down and pour out my heart...which is more of what I think a blog is for.<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;">We are learning so many things living here in Haiti. I have so many blog posts running through my head, but for a number of reasons, fear of offending, thinking I can't get the words out right, etc, I just can't write them down. So many others hav</span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline; line-height: 20px;">e already blogged some of my same thoughts, so I'll just let you read it from them. Here's one...and before you read, I want to admit that we WERE THAT FAMILY. Every time someone would ask for money for something, I would roll my eyes and think, really? Again? But man, God has changed our families heart. We have woken up to how INCREDIBLY blessed we are and how much we have. Living here, with SO much less than what we had before, sometimes it's still awkward and embarrassing living among others who have SO much less.<br /></span></span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"Become wildly generous. Give your life away. It’s easy to give when we have a lot. But when we give and it costs us something–that is true generosity. I’ll say it again: There is nothing more gratifying than giving someone something they need instead of buying something we want."</span></span><br />
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Just something to think about...are you sleeping through your American dream life? Do you even realize that we are NOT the norm?<br />
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Please read <a href="http://wearethatfamily.com/2014/05/how-to-wake-up-from-the-american-dream-you-might-not-even-know-youre-sleeping-through/" target="_blank">this blog</a> from Kristen and try to keep an open heart.<br />
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And, on a lighter note...I've started a YouTube account to post little videos about our life here in Haiti...make sure to check it out once in a while...if you want ;) <br /><br /><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoyn7ywNF9Ko8eXCdQTT_2A" target="_blank">YouTube Channel</a>Reneehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14159300460660001496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3284790700466221944.post-12640260587766006912014-05-09T09:48:00.005-04:002014-05-09T09:48:51.007-04:00A Call to Encourage<div style="line-height: 19.559999465942383px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 0em;">
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Since this is my personal page, I'm going to be honest. Yesterday, I posted this (below) on the Okipe facebook page. Over 1400 people saw this. 4 people gave. I don't want to guilt you into giving. But it made me really think. I know $100 is a lot of money. I know $35 is a lot. But we are so blessed financially. That is one thing that I have seen over and over living in Haiti. Even those times when we think that things are tight, I encourage you to look around and see the things in your house that you could live without. Jesus calls us to a different life. Even living here in Haiti, our Western culture and habits are sneaking in. Our house is somehow mysteriously filling up with "stuff." It breaks my heart when I see people holding on to things so tightly and who are miserable. Then, I look around at my neighbors and friends here, who have next to nothing, and are just filled with joy, love and generosity for others. If there is <i>ever</i> a need, or even a want, they are there to give. The other day, Craig said, "I stink...I need a shower!" They instantly stood up and said you can shower here! Then they headed to get some water until Craig stopped them. That may not seem like a big deal, and it's just an example. But they don't just have water at their house. They have to walk to one of the public wells every day, sometimes multiple times a day, and then carry water back to do basic things like wash and cook.</div>
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Craig and I have always hated asking for money. But I have no guilt in campaigning for these children who have no hope otherwise. I challenge you to pray. If you feel like God is asking you to give, even though you don't know how you might get through the next week, do it. Our God is so much bigger than I tended to think when I lived in the States. He is just waiting to show us some of His blessings. We just have to give up some control and give Him the opportunity. The people living around me a lot of times are unable to control their circumstances and therefor MUST rely on God to provide for them. AND HE DOES. Not always in the ways that they might have wanted or thought originally. But God's ways are higher than ours. </div>
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And, if while you're praying and seeking God's will for your family, you feel that He is asking something more of you; something more long term, please email me. I will talk with you about how you can help give these kiddos food, education, medical care and so much more with just $10 a month. </div>
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<i style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 22px; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">"<a href="http://bibleversesforwomen.wordpress.com/2013/01/15/you-will-be-made-complete-with-all-the-fullness-of-life-and-power-that-comes-from-god-ephesians-319/" rel="bookmark" sl-processed="1" style="border: 0px; color: #0b0e18; font-family: inherit; font-size: 22px; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">You will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God." Ephesians 3:19</a></i></h1>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Guess What?! We have an opportunity to be a part of something BIG! Everyone has their own ways in which they are helping the children at the Jesus Home for Children of La Gonave.</span></div>
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<span class="full-image-block ssNonEditable" style="display: block;"><span style="background-color: white;"><img alt="" src="http://okipe.org/storage/doug.jpg?__SQUARESPACE_CACHEVERSION=1399641146445" style="border-bottom-left-radius: 5px; border-bottom-right-radius: 5px; border-top-left-radius: 5px; border-top-right-radius: 5px; border: 0px none; overflow: hidden;" /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Doug Barden, a New Director from California, decided a year ago that h<span class="text_exposed_show">e was going to participate in an IRONMAN to raise money for the children! Talk about HARD WORK! His goal is to get people to sponsor all 140 miles that he is biking, swimming and running!! Over the past year, he has trained and told the story, but guess what? He is discouraged. Not many people are responding to his plea for help. I LOVE when people dream big. Originally, Doug was asking people to sponsor a mile for $100. He would be able to raise $14,000 for the Children's Village!! After seeing the lack of response, he has cut his goal by more than half and lowered the donation to $35 per mile. I would LOVE to see people jump on board, if you're able, at his original goal! Let's blow Doug away with our generosity and get behind him as he trains for these next 7 weeks!!<br /><br />Please take a few minutes to click on the YouTube link below and watch the video that he made. He explains everything VERY simply and it's very well done. </span></span></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/SXokEPWZLAI" width="560"></iframe><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 19.559999465942383px;">Then, if you are able, go to his fundraising page and choose a mile to sponsor by clicking the green DONATE button at the top of the page! </span><a href="http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/teamokipe/ironman" rel="nofollow nofollow" style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 19.559999465942383px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/teamokipe/ironman</a></span></span><br />
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THANK YOU!Reneehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14159300460660001496noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3284790700466221944.post-71734099109902146012014-04-14T20:36:00.001-04:002014-04-15T09:16:39.770-04:00March in Review! (In pictures)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Hold on to your hats! This is one LONG post of pictures covering our month of February.</div>
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Miss Nancy is a Global Partner's missionary who is teaching adult English classes. On Saturday mornings, she comes to the Children's Village to teach three English classes to the older kids. Morgan decided to help one week.</div>
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We had a team from our hometown visit this month. Here they are doing a medical clinic for the staff (and some children) of the Children's Village. </div>
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Our crazy boy! It's funny how the kids find this one small patch of grass at the village to play on!</div>
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This month we tried our hand at making cinnamon rolls from scratch. I've got some great helpers!</div>
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Straight out of the oven! We added a little frosting to the top....YUM! They were SO good!</div>
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When teams come from our hometown, they usually come with gifts for the kids from grandparents, family and friends :)</div>
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Out on one of our Sunday afternoon snorkeling trips. If you can believe it, this day was actually a bit chilly! (Probably still in the mid to upper 80's but it still felt cold!)</div>
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Carnival is celebrated in Haiti. It is kind of like Mardis Gras. However, it is celebrated for about 5 days. All week, this party bus would drive around with LOUD music. People were just having fun, but when you're woken up at 12am, 1am and 2am from the loud music from the bus coming down your street...not so fun.</div>
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We had another team visit from our hometown! This team was partly made up of some nursing students from IWU. They did a CPR training with the house moms at the Children's Village.</div>
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Jaron...being his usual self...CLIMBING!</div>
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We invited the team over for brownies and some time to talk. It was nice seeing some familiar faces and meeting new people as well!</div>
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Before we left, we bought this chair at IKEA. We decided this month was as good as any to put it up for the kids. We knew we wanted to wait a little so that it would be something new and fun. The kids love it. They spin each other in it an I don't know how they don't get sick! They also like to read in it. They call it their nest.</div>
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February was a busy month with teams! This team came from Canada and spruced up the paint on some of the pods. They also did some crafts and songs with the kids in the afternoons.</div>
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Jaron is so sweet. One of the house moms had twins in November and he LOVES to hold them an play with them. This is the little boy.</div>
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If he's not climbing...he's usually upside down. :)</div>
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One of the kids' favorite things to do is catch animals. Chickens, goats, donkeys, lizards, etc. I love that they are not afraid at all.</div>
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Playing at the Children's Village. </div>
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This month, the kids found a tiny, little baby goat. It couldn't have been more than a couple days old. The neighbor kids convinced our kids that the mama had abandoned the baby goat and that it would die if we didn't take care of it. (I honestly don't know if the mom had abandoned it or not, but we did walk back over and look for the mom and she wasn't anywhere around.)</div>
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Morgan named her Cola.</div>
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At first, we fed her with this straw thingy. Then we bought a baby bottle at the market and she drank from that really well after she got the hang of it. Morgan and Jaron did a great job taking care of her. She would eat every couple hours around the clock and the kids would get up to feed her during the night.</div>
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Can you spot Craig's head? He was playing a game on his phone. The kids are all so fascinated with technology!</div>
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Sleepover! The kids invited their friends Ella and Rebecca to sleep over. You can see Cola in her little box bed at the end of the beds. Morgan put her stuffed animal horse in there so Cola would feel like she was sleeping with her mama.</div>
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Fresh veggies to make some salsa!</div>
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This month, a brand new gas station and super market opened up on the island. We were invited to attend the inauguration. The tickets said that it would start at 4. We knew not to come then, but we did arrive around 5:00. The actual ceremony didn't start until around 6. It was HOT sitting there waiting. However, we are very excited for this new establishment. So far, they only sell gas and some drinks, but they are working on getting more things for the supermarket! Maybe I will be able to get more groceries on the island now. We'll see!</div>
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The entire ceremony was in Creole and lasted about two hours. This about sums up how we all felt ;)</div>
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Well, despite our best efforts, we just weren't good enough for Cola. She was just too young and needed her mama. She ended up dying in the night. We had her for about a week. This was SO hard on Morgan. We had some good talks and decided that it would best that if we ever found another baby goat that we thought was abandoned, we should leave it for a while and make sure that the mama really doesn't come back. It was a fun week for the kids to take care of Cola and I'm sure something they'll remember for a long time. So, we had a little funeral and buried her with her little collar that Jaron made her and her bottle. (Thanks Caleb and Michelle for the box of goodies! It made the perfect "casket" for Cola!)</div>
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This month, we also started a new worship service on Wednesday nights. This is the property where we are currently holding the service. We had some time to do a prayer walk and pray over the property.</div>
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Craig meets with two of our Haitian friends once a week to go over the passage that will be taught that week. This time has been very meaningful to all involved. We have learned a lot about the Haitian culture and are thankful that we have been accepted to be a part of this service. </div>
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Some of our friends who were here to oversee the hospital build left this month. Here we are at one of their favorite rooftop "restaurants." </div>
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Morgan, Jaron and some of the neighbor kids. I promise I did not make them do this. It looks like some sort of torture punishment! They thought it was pretty funny :)</div>
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We met a doctor from Korea. Some of our friends are working with him and we invited them over for dinner after church. I love that he got down on the floor and started tying balloons together with the kids to see how long of a chain they could make. I'm so thankful for all of the precious people we have encountered while we've been here. What a blessing!</div>
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Jaron climbing again...this time on the neighbor's wall.</div>
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At the "airport" saying goodbye to our friends. They have been in Haiti for 2 1/2 years and are now heading back home to England. </div>
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Goodbyes are never easy.</div>
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The kids had been planning and working all day to put on a party. It was all very secretive. Here Jaron is up on our roof getting ready for the party!</div>
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The rooftop party! The kids were so excited. They had decorated the roof with balloons.</div>
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They had water and snacks all ready :)</div>
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The neighbors came over!</div>
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Little Miss Deborah - love her!</div>
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What party is complete without a little music? So we pumped some tunes and started dancing!</div>
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And jumping rope! These girls are amazing...they make it look really easy!</div>
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These are four sisters who live across the street. They have three other sisters. </div>
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Ymma, Edna, Me, Rebeka, Tidodo</div>
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We drew quite a crowd...</div>
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We partied until the sun went down. The balloons were transformed from decorations to some crazy headpieces. </div>
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This month, one of our hens had chicks. Unfortunately, one died :(</div>
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On our way to our first church service!</div>
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Worship time</div>
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Back at the Children's Village. Jaron always seems to find the babies :)</div>
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Another team came and had a time of worship with the kids. </div>
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We are getting into the windy time of year. All of the kids are making kites. Here Jaron's upset because they won't let him fly it ;)</div>
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Goat catching!</div>
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Jaron has been SO creative. Every day, he makes multiple things. He's learned how to use a glue gun, multiple tools, including power tools, and a machete. Here, he made a cross and then he and Morgan wanted me to take a picture of them acting out Jesus being crucified and Morgan was kneeling.</div>
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Soccer buddies at the village.</div>
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Whew! My shoulders are sore from sitting here at the computer! Thanks for keeping up with our crazy journey! We're so thankful that we are able to be here. We are learning new things every day and growing individually and as a family. Thank you for your prayers! I never know who all reads and looks at this blog - but it always encourages me when someone tells me that they love to follow along! It makes us feel like we're not quite so far away.</div>
<br />Reneehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14159300460660001496noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3284790700466221944.post-66909953314088306042014-04-12T09:53:00.003-04:002014-04-12T09:53:54.121-04:00Our Crazy Awesome Immigration Adventure!<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">In order for anyone to stay in Haiti legally for longer than three months at a time, they need to apply for a Permis de Sejour (Haitian residency). When someone comes to Haiti, they are automatically given a three month visitor's visa. I've never actually heard of anyone having any problem staying longer than the date on their temporary visa, but to be legal, and to avoid any possible issues, we knew we should apply for our residency.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">So a few months ago, we started collecting all the documents and jumping through the required "hoops" that the government requires. The hard thing is that even on the Haitian US Embassy's website, they say that, </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.66666603088379px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>"The Embassy believes this information is accurate as of the date of printing, </i></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.66666603088379px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>but experience has shown that Haitian Immigration requirements and procedures are </i></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.66666603088379px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>often subject to variation and/or change without notice."</i></span></span></div>
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So, Tuesday, we woke up very early with all of our paperwork and headed to the public boat dock. The boat usually leaves somewhere between 6 and 7 depending on when the boat is filled up. So we got there early and found a spot on the top of the ferry. The wind was pretty strong and the waves even in the channel where the wharf is were pretty rough. We knew we were probably in for a rough ride. We were all settled in and ready to go when the captain came up to the top and made everyone go inside on the bottom of the ferry. It was going to be too windy and the waves were too big to allow people to sit on top. So they stuffed us all in the bottom and closed us in - shut all the windows - because the waves were too high and would come in, and closed the front and back stair doors. Then they handed all of us (I'm guessing about 200) a life preserver and made us put them on. We were all so hot. So we took off and within 10 minutes, babies were crying, women were screaming, men were preaching, all were dripping sweat and many were vomiting. This hour and a half trip seemed like an eternity!!!</div>
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But, we made it. I was so proud of the kids. We prayed and sang and kept our heads in our laps and none of the four of us actually ended up "getting sick." Then, we jumped in the truck with our friend Bena and drove into Port au Prince. It took us two hours to get to Haitian Immigration. Bena dropped us off while he went to find a place to park. We went in and it was a zoo. There were Haitians everywhere. There were no signs anywhere. It was HOT. All the chairs (if there were any...I really couldn't tell) were taken. People were standing in every open space. We literally held onto our kids and weaved through the sweaty mass of people. (who I guess were applying for a Haitian passport)</div>
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After searching for someone who could help us, we found someone who took us to a little stuffy booth of a room and sat us down. No one in this area spoke any English. We know enough Creole to tell them we're applying for our Permis de Sejour and handed them our documents. They looked over the documents and told us that we had a problem with two documents. (Of the 10ish) First, we did all of our paperwork and translating on our own instead of hiring a lawyer to save money and also because we've heard horror stories of how long it takes and how much it costs to use one. So, they wanted us to have a notary seal on our birth certificate translations. We had heard that some people had been required to do this, but it was not a requirement on the actual Haitian Immigration website, so we thought we'd try without to save some money. We'd also read that if we needed to, we could get a notary the same day but it was likely to cost $40 per document for the rush. The other document we needed was Mme. Soliette's certificate from the Haitian Social Services proving that she was legit. However, we already had a letter from her stating the reasons we were in country and she included her license number. I guess that wasn't enough...even though, you guessed it, the website never said we needed a copy of the certificate. </div>
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So, we called Bee, our trusted assistant back on the island and asked him to go to the Children's Village an take a picture of the certificate with his phone and email it to us. Meanwhile, we went out on the street to find a notary. At that point, we had found Bena and he was able to quickly find someone who knew of a notary. We jumped back in the car and drove about 5 minutes down the road (CRAZY CLOSE for Port au Prince) and stopped at what looked like a run down shady ghetto. We went into the building (clearly marked Notary) and upstairs. Everything was dark because electricity is limited. As soon as we opened the door to the office, it was this beautiful, air conditioned place. You never would have guessed that was what was behind those walls. The secretaries were very impressed with our children and that "ti blans" (little white people) could speak Creole. They took us to an office and we told the man what we needed. He talked to the kids a bit and was impressed as well. They were so happy that the kids could talk with them! It was cute. So he took our paper work and said that it cost 750 goudes per document. (just under $20) Craig was about to argue a bit to get a better price, but I reminded him that we were thinking it was going to be twice that amount and that I thought it was a good price. So we agreed and he took the papers to another office. Meanwhile, Bee had sent us the picture of the certificate via facebook message. So we needed to find a way to print it out. </div>
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Long story short(er), we went into yet another office, this time the Notary himself, and he notarized everything we needed, while talking to the kids ;), and then agreed to let Craig email him the photo and said he'd print a copy out for us. He didn't know how to get the photo from the email to an external drive, so he had Craig come around and USE HIS COMPUTER...who does that?! He must have really trusted us! The picture was pretty bad quality when it was blown up and you couldn't really make out any of the words unless you squinted and crossed your eyes a bit...hahah. But he said it was good...</div>
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So we head out, planning to go pay and they tell us that it's all covered and that we're free to go! They didn't charge us ANYTHING! This NEVER happens. Our experience has been that whenever "white people" are seen, they are charged for everything...because of course we have tons of money because our skin is white. The next day, we even got a personal email from the Notary asking how everything went and how our family was! </div>
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So we headed back to immigration. (oh yeah, we did get to see President Martelly's motorcade) We went right back to the office and handed over the documents. (By now it's about 1:00pm and none of us have eaten anything and the kids are exhausted, hot and hungry) They accepted the birth certificate translation and then said that the orphanage certificate wasn't good because it was too dark and needed to be lighter. So Bena took them and went and made a copy and brought back an even darker copy and then (as I was PRAYING the whole time) they decided to accept the first one. I couldn't believe it. </div>
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So, we were fingerprinted and filled out the actual application an went upstairs to another office to pay the fees for the actual document. So, only three hours after we first stepped in to immigration, we walked out with our receipt for our Permis!! First try! Unheard of! Woohooo!!! We had enough time to grab a bite to eat and head to the airport to pick up our good friends who were flying in to visit for the week!!</div>
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Whew. There it is. This may not seem like a big deal, but we know of people who have been trying to get their permis for over 3 years! </div>
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We can now come and go as we please without any fear of penalty! Thank you JESUS!!!</div>
Reneehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14159300460660001496noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3284790700466221944.post-64143512349514527872014-04-02T13:16:00.002-04:002014-04-02T13:16:48.845-04:00A Little Clarification...A few days ago, I posted this on facebook:<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">"I LOVE my children, don't get me wrong....but 6 months with them NON STOP...24/7 is </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">making me a little CRAZY! Isn't there a dance class...or karate class...or something I can send </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">them to for 60 minutes of quiet?? </span><i class="_4-k1 img sp_5l8dti sx_95f96e" style="background-color: white; background-image: url(https://fbstatic-a.akamaihd.net/rsrc.php/v2/yy/r/5buWW_6PBLx.png); background-position: -34px -94px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: auto; color: #37404e; display: inline-block; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; height: 16px; line-height: 18px; vertical-align: -3px; width: 16px;"></i>"</div>
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I just wanted to follow up with a few thoughts since then...</div>
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Many of you commented with suggestions on ways to have some "free time." I must admit that I may have exaggerated a tad when I said 24/7. The kids do play at the neighbor's house sometimes, and I do have my Sunday night ladies Bible study that I go to. </div>
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However, it has been a huge adjustment for our family to spend so much time together. I honestly don't ever recall a time when we have seen so much of each other. I LOVE it. And, it's sometimes hard. When the kids were first born and before they were in school, yes, I spent every hour with them. However, we did have date nights and occasional overnights were spent with grandmas and grandpas. And, Craig would leave every day and go to work and then come home in the evenings. </div>
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This in itself is something to adjust to. I love my family dearly. I've said before that one of my favorite things about living here in Haiti is that Craig can work from home and the kids and I have school together in the same room where he's working. We eat our meals together every day, sitting down at our dining room table. I love the time we have together. The memories that we're making. Sometimes, you just need a break. And when I do, I go in my room, shut my door, turn on my fan, and read a book, play a game on my computer, or sleep. :) Also, after the kids go to bed, one of my favorite "getaways" is to climb the ladder up onto our flat roof, lay out a towel and star gaze. I love talking and dreaming with Craig. I love feeling so small under the vast sky. I love catching a glimpse at how powerful our Creator is.</div>
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But, this adjustment isn't just with my family...</div>
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We're adjusting culturally too. Here on La Gonave, 80-90% of people don't have a job. Most people will just sit on their porch or in their yard or outside their gate and watch the day go by. They are relational. And I love that. I thought I was relational. And I am. But not to the extent of Haitians. If you see your neighbors (or practically anyone for that matter) and don't greet them every time (even if you've greeted them previously that day) they can be offended. If you don't let them know that you're leaving after a conversation, they're offended. If they get offended, it never lasts for long and is easily righted by a simple "I'm sorry." You learn quickly that these are the only people you have. Life can be miserable if you choose not to address conflict and forgive. If you close yourself in for the morning and don't show your face until the afternoon, most times you'll be greeted with, "M pa we ou!" I haven't seen you! I'm not used to interacting with my neighbors back home on a daily basis. I'm not even used to interacting with close friends and family back home on a daily basis. It is <i>exhausting.</i> I guarantee you, my neighbors have seen sides of me that not even some friends have seen. I'm not that pretty and nice sometimes :(</div>
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We also have a constant stream of people in and out of our house. We have learned that we need to latch our gate and have people knock, because we turn around and people would be on our porch (or IN our house) without an invitation or permission. At first, I was so afraid of offending, or not being accepting of their culture. But, Craig reminded me that we need to protect our family emotionally and socially too. And, he reminded me that I didn't have the neighborhood kids in my house back home every day, whenever they wanted to play. When Morgan or Jaron would want a friend to play, we would call and ask and schedule an afternoon for them to visit and play. Or, they would go play outside with the neighborhood kids. It's hard for me to tell people here that they can't come in "right now." Or to tell them, no, I can't do that for you right now. </div>
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When we leave our house, it feels like we're famous. Everywhere we go, someone calls out one of our names. We are constantly being watched. I feel like I'm constantly "on." I have to smile and wave because I don't want them to think I'm rude and ignoring them. At first, when they would call out "Blan" - white foreigner - I could ignore them, because it was a bit more rude of them to yell it out. But when they call you by name, whether I know them or not, I feel like I need to respond. When we're on our moto, it's a bit easier because we're going quicker and we can wave. But whenever we walk, there are always little Haitians following. Poking and picking at the kids' skin and hair. Giggling and laughing and saying things that even though we're learning the language, we're still not sure are good or bad. We live in a town of about 30,000 people. Close to the number of people in our hometown. But here, word travels fast. Everyone knows everyone. We're all pretty much squished into a 2 mile square area. It's not uncommon for 10 or more people to live in each house. So everyone is MUCH closer. You don't have solid windows and doors on your house - which means you don't really have any privacy. You hear what's going on next door, across the street and down the road...all day long. I hear babies crying, screaming sometimes...I wonder why. Is it pain, hunger, fear? I feel helpless. </div>
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I hope you don't feel that I'm complaining in any way here. It is truly a blessing for our family to have the opportunity to live here. I'm just trying to help some of you understand a little about life here for us. There are so many things we are learning. We love being here. The other day, Jaron thanked me again for "letting us live here." We are growing. We are making memories. We are loving life. This <i>simple</i> life is just <i>hard</i> sometimes. And I wouldn't trade it for anything.</div>
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Reneehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14159300460660001496noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3284790700466221944.post-65086869888789233162014-04-01T11:08:00.000-04:002014-04-01T11:08:37.758-04:00Hiking!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
As the sun is going down, we have about 2 hours of beautiful non intense sun weather before it's dark. We love to take the moto up the mountain a little ways and find places to hike. It's amazing how quiet it gets when you get even five minutes out of town. </div>
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Gassing up...definitely don't want to run out of gas up the mountain. Jaron is such the little helper!</div>
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The beautiful mountains of La Gonave.</div>
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Morgan and Jaron hiking on one of the trails we found.</div>
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We passed this spot with all of these piles of rocks. These are pulled out of the earth and then people will sit and smash them up into smaller rock and even fine powder. Then, it is sold by either the wheelbarrow or truck full. Sometimes it's used for roads, or yards and other times to make cement.</div>
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Hiking up the mountain with the town of Anse a Galets behind us. If you look hard, you can see the mainland about 14 miles across the sea.</div>
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Such a peaceful place. Only the occasional goat or donkey to interrupt :) No one yelling "blan" at you. (White person) Or "Ba mwen one dollar!" (Give me $1) I think we may need to picnic up here sometimes!!</div>
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Love her!</div>
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She found this fun spot on our hike back down. </div>
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Morgan and Jaron have a fascination with the animals here. They always want to try to pet or catch them. Cows, donkeys, goats, chickens...whatever it may be. So, they used their Creole and asked this boy if they could pet his cow. He looked at them like they were crazy, but said yes. So, they attempted....</div>
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...but the closer they got, the further the cow went...he just didn't know what these little white kids were doing! They never did get to pet him ;)</div>
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And after a quick drink, we all load up and head back home.</div>
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Until next time...</div>
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<br />Reneehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14159300460660001496noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3284790700466221944.post-69707782279342590232014-03-12T16:37:00.003-04:002014-03-12T19:50:23.677-04:00February HappeningsI realize it has been almost a MONTH since I have posted! I'm sorry to those of you who check back regularly. Although time here seems slower, the days are FLYING BY! I can't believe we're already half way through our sixth month living here in Haiti. I thought I would do another blog post in pictures to show you what we were up to in February. Pictures are worth a thousand words, right?<br />
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At the beginning of the month, Caleb and Michelle Chamberlain from Remember Media visited for a couple weeks to work on a new video documenting the orphanage. We were busy in meetings and helping to run them around on the quad and find anything they needed. We are excited to see the final product! We had a great time getting to know Caleb and Michelle and hope that they come visit us again :)<br />
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Here are a few kids from the preschool class. They are phonetically spelling words that the teacher tells them. One thing that I would LOVE to see is the lower elementary grades using printing. The kids are taught from the beginning to write in cursive. There are a lot of benefits to printing when they are younger. Crazy how in the States, they aren't teaching cursive in a lot of schools anymore, and in Haiti, that is all they use! I almost can't handle the cuteness...little Djounica with her hand on her hip!<br />
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Jaron and Morgan have adjusted so well. Better than I could have asked for. Jaron has a group of boys that he hangs out with at the orphanage and Morgan gravitates to a certain house of girls as well. They are doing very well learning the language and becoming more confident to use it. The boys always love to wear Jaron's (or anyone's for that matter) sunglasses and hat!<br />
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There are a lot of teams who visit the island regularly. They are not necessarily teams who are working with the orphanage, but we like to get in touch with them and see what they are up to :) This was a team from Michigan who came to deliver Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes. Morgan and I asked if we could travel with them and they agreed. We took a sailboat about 25 minutes down the coast to a remote little village. It would have taken 2-3 hours by truck (road) to get there.<br />
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It was all actually a bit overwhelming. I'm guessing that not all deliveries go like this, but it is probably more common than the fun videos of children laughing and excited. Since this village was further away from the "big" city, they don't see as many blan (white people). A lot of the younger children were crying and seemed afraid of what was going on. Then, the boxes were wrapped with packing tape, so the younger ones had a harder time opening it on their own, but they didn't want help for fear that someone would take their box from them. After they got the box open and saw that there were gifts inside, they were much happier. However, other moms of children under two were then asking for boxes for their babies (because they wanted what what inside). It was also not uncommon to see older kids and parents taking things from younger kids for themselves. I have heard that some kids will even get beat up by older kids if they want something that the younger child has. I don't say all of this to make you feel bad about giving, but it did make me see some of the reality and start questioning if this is really the best thing to do. One of our friends here on the island pointed out that in 2013 9.8 million shoeboxes were delivered to over 100 countries. (http://www.samaritanspurse.org/our-ministry/operation-christmas-child-fact-sheet/) Each box is filled with random gifts from families back in (usually) first world countries and then delivered to children around the world. Each family spends about $20 filling the box. What would happen if those families just sent the $20? That would be $196 million that would be going to support families in developing countries. The sad thing is that people are much quicker to give physical gifts before giving actual cash. They are worried about corrupt government, etc. and wonder if their $20 will actually make it where it's supposed to go. It is a tough issue...but I wonder what would happen if we were just obedient to give when God prompts us to give, and then trust Him to do with it whatever He wants. Okay...off soap box now. Just things I'm learning/seeing/thinking about...I know that these gifts all come from a lot of people with great hearts and pure motives, and I'm thankful for that.<br />
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February also included haircuts! Jaron had been begging for a mohawk and Morgan wanted shorter hair, so we did it. Jaron got his wish and we cut about 5 inches off of Morgan's hair. It is much more manageable now :)<br />
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Our assistant and good friend, Bee and his wife had their 4th baby! We felt so honored that they called and wanted our family to come to the hospital to meet the baby. We love Bee and his family. His children are beautiful, respectful children. He and Julianna have done a fantastic job!<br />
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Morgan showing some of the girls at the orphanage some games on the Chromebook. They love to learn new things!!<br />
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And while Morgan was playing, I found Jaron riding around with Mme. Soliette's biological son, Kerry. Some of the older boys are learning how to drive the moto. They use the soccer field to practice driving in circles. The boys take turns being the passenger after they have mastered driving the moto by themselves.<br />
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The BEAUTIFUL, wonderful, amazing, (I can't say enough good about her) Mme. Soliette!<br />
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Morgan celebrated her 8th birthday!! (See previous <a href="http://crjfamily.blogspot.com/2014/02/morgan-8.html" target="_blank">post</a> for a more in depth blog on this!)<br />
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We also experimented with some food coloring hair dye. Long story short...it didn't work.<br />
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Soccer is huge in Haiti! It's fun to go down to the big "stadium" once in a while to catch the excitement of a soccer (foutbol) game!<br />
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We tried the public ferry for the first time this month! It is much cheaper (and much crazier) than chartering a private boat. It was a long, yet rather uneventful ride.<br />
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We decided this month to get a hotel with a pool when we went in to Port au Prince for groceries. Our grocery trip took an unexpected turn when we got to the hotel and noticed that our cooler full of frozen food was no longer in the back of the truck. I was a bit upset at first because we had driven about 40 minutes to get to the hotel, and I didn't want to have to go back to the grocery store. Plus, I tipped those guys to make sure everything got into the truck! (my initial thoughts) Well, we got on the phone with the supermarket and after some security camera searching, they found and emailed us a still shot of our truck leaving the parking lot with the cooler in the back of the truck. Well, needless to say, someone lifted the cooler out of the back of the truck while we were driving to the hotel. That night at dinner, Craig was praying for our food and he also prayed that God would bless whoever had our cooler. Morgan and Jaron and I weren't as quick to forgive. Morgan and Jaron asked why Craig would pray that. Then, we learned a big lesson in God's provision and love. Craig reminded us that even though we lost, God has provided that we are able to buy another cooler, and refill it with more food. He showed us that the person who now had our cooler not only had some food, but had a cooler to use to possibly start his own business. Sometimes it's hard to not be upset in the moment when crappy things happen. But try to remember to see things in God's eyes, and be thankful. It's definitely taken away my anger and frustration and replaced it with peace and thankfulness!<br />
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Out to dinner. Love our crazy boy! :)<br />
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Jaron relaxing at the boat dock while we unloaded all of the boxes.<br />
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Can I just say I am SO thankful for technology? I feel like I stay in touch with my family even better than when we lived closer! It is sad to have to miss family events, but thanks to Skype, we're even able to help sing Happy Birthday to Luke on his 3rd birthday!!<br />
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For those of you who don't follow us on facebook, click <a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=860473852956&set=vb.161502359&type=3&theater" target="_blank">here</a> for a video of this picture. The kids LOVE to sing and dance. Usually the neighbor kids are right in on the action. However, today, they just sat and watched our crazy kids.<br />
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I absolutely LOVE how creative Jaron has become since moving here. After hearing "I'm bored..." day after day, it has been such a blessing to see him to start playing more with the neighbors and creating things. However, he gets SO dirty! Here, they decided to try to build a little bench outside of the neighbor's gate. Pretty ingenious since night after night they stand or sit on the ground.<br />
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LOVE this picture of little Deborah! She is a little stinker who was terrified of us when we first moved here. Now she LOVES Craig. I don't know what it is about him, but she will sit with him and he can get her to fall asleep SO easily. (Yup, that's a pickaxe that she and Jaron are holding!)<br />
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It turned out to be quite the community ordeal...as everything tends to. People have a whole lot of nothing going on, so any bit of activity is always intriguing.<br />
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After the bench was finished, the sat all of the kids who live in the house down on it and wanted me to take a photo. :)<br />
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In the next few months, there will be a lot of change happening! We live about a mile from the Wesleyan Station where there is a guesthouse and hospital and many missionaries living there. This month, one of the families will be heading back home and then two more families are heading home in June. It will be sad to see these families go after building relationships with them! Us ladies decided to have a little day away before the busy month started so that we could enjoy each other's company one last time all together. We took the boat across to the mainland and then drove about 10 minutes up the road to a beautiful resort called Moulin Sur Mer.<br />
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You can purchase a day pass to use the facilities without needing to stay overnight. We had a fantastic day lounging, chatting, swimming and eating. I think I might need to take a weekend trip with the family!! It was SO relaxing and not too many people were there that day.<br />
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The beach was beautiful! Kind of like a best kept little secret paradise in Haiti!<br />
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The WONDERFUL ladies that I have had the priviledge to share life with. I met some of these ladies on my first trip to Haiti in 2010. Others, we met in 2012 when we stayed for a couple months during the summer, and a couple we just met in October when we moved, but all have a special place in my heart!<br />
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And of course our month wouldn't be complete without a couple trips on the sailboat out to the sandbar. The kids love this treat! Whenever there are visiting teams staying at the Wesleyan Station, they allow us to tag along on this Sunday afternoon outing!<br />
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Thanks to all of you who made it to the bottom of this crazy long monthly recap! Sorry I don't do better of updating more often. We are loving life here in Haiti. We still have our hard days every now and then, but we just give each other grace and space and usually the next day, things are back to normal. Thanks so much for the continued prayers!Reneehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14159300460660001496noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3284790700466221944.post-1739349015733476902014-02-19T10:32:00.000-05:002014-02-19T19:11:28.090-05:00Morgan - 8This past weekend we celebrated Morgan's 8th birthday. I can not believe it. EIGHT! I remember when I was 8. I can't have a child who is 8! That's WAY too close to 10.<br />
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But ready or not, it's here. Reality is that we have an 8 year old. These past 8 years seem to have flown by. On Saturday, Morgan and I looked back through so many pictures. It was fun to relive some of the memories. We both even had a few happy tears looking back.<br />
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If you're not a picture person, I apologize in advance as this will be a mostly picture post!<br />
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Here's our beautiful girl at 2, almost 4, 6 and 8 :)<br />
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So, our celebration started Saturday morning. A friend was SO gracious to bring in some fun birthday decorations and plates. Morgan was surprised and very excited that it was so special.<br />
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Morgan invited the 10 girls from Pod 4 (the girls mostly her age at the Children's Village) over along with a couple missionary friends and our neighbor.</div>
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When we arrived to pick up the girls, they were all dressed in their best outfits! It is a real treat for them to be able to attend something like this!<br />
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Knowing that most of our guests would be Haitian, I asked my friend Celine if she would mind coming to help with lunch. It was SO nice not to not be stuck in the kitchen during the party or to have to worry about food and clean up for 14 girls!</div>
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Morgan requested beef pate (a fried, breaded dough around a hamburger mixture) and papitas (thinly sliced fried plantains). And of course we had some pikliz (a spicy type of coleslaw) too since they are Craig's favorite! </div>
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Then we played Pin the Tail on the Donkey</div>
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The finished "board."</div>
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After that it was time for lunch! The girls were very quiet and polite at first. I thought they didn't like what we had served. But, after one girl asked for ketchup they ate everything and asked for seconds! </div>
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Our crazy acrobat!!</div>
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Opening presents! Asemidade gave a little speech before Morgan started opening her presents. She told her that the gifts were from all the children at the orphanage and that they were very happy that she was here in Haiti to help them and that they loved her. It was very sweet.</div>
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A bag that some of the children made for Morgan</div>
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A Haitian painting for her room</div>
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Time for cake!!</div>
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A photo with most of the guests.</div>
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Time to take the girls back to the Children's Village. We managed to fit 9 of us on the quad. Don't worry, I was careful!! :)</div>
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And Craig took the other three. I think I caught them before they were ready ;)</div>
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Then, Sunday morning (Morgan's actual birthday), she asked for pancakes for breakfast.</div>
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After church, we hid her presents and she had to hunt for them. </div>
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Jaron did a good job, but she eventually found them!</div>
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Another awesome team member brought Morgan's gifts for us when they visited!</div>
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Herd Your Horses game</div>
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Pick up Sticks! The kids LOVE this and I love that they love it. So many fun memories of playing this game when I was little.</div>
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And the traditional Spirograph set in a tin case. I guess I bought some of the things that I remember loving when I was about 8 years old. Any of you remember Spirograph?</div>
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And why not enjoy a birthday swim in February, right?! Here's Morgan with the starfish she found at the sandbar. </div>
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Morgan,<br />
<br />
I am so thankful that you are ours. Grandma Lash always told me that she hoped that I'd get a little girl just like me, and I sure did! :) You are full of love for others. You are smart, compassionate and always make sure that others feel special.<br />
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I love that you love to sing and dance. I don't think there are many minutes in the day when you are not singing something. You are so creative! You always amaze me with the things you come up with. I'm so thankful that we have this chance to live in Haiti so that I can see the imagination that God has given you! I love that you still call me mommy (sometimes) and still love hugs and snuggling. I love that you will talk to me about anything.<br />
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I love how you love your brother. He looks up to you so much. Even though you disagree sometimes and he annoys you like brothers do, you are always quick to forgive and love him. I pray that you will be close for life! There's nothing like having a sibling who is also one of your closest friends!<br />
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This year, you:<br />
-Finished first grade<br />
-Went to the State Fair<br />
-Went to your first Father Daughter dance<br />
-Visited Haiti on a short trip<br />
-Got a new cousin<br />
-Started 2nd Grade<br />
-Started homeschool<br />
-Went to hockey games<br />
-Visited the Children's Museum<br />
-Went on your first cruise<br />
-Helped lead worship at church<br />
-Made snow ice cream<br />
-Built an igloo<br />
-Rode a zip line<br />
-Fed buffalo<br />
-Rode horses<br />
-Moved to Haiti<br />
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I am looking forward to making even more memories with you! Daddy and Jaron and I love you so much!<br />
<br />
Love,<br />
Mommy<br />
<br />
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<br />Reneehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14159300460660001496noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3284790700466221944.post-81327403809119917572014-01-27T21:28:00.003-05:002014-01-27T21:28:58.466-05:00Child SponsorshipWhile I could load this post with many faces of sad, dirty children to pull on your heartstrings, I won't. The truth is, these children are happy. They love Jesus. But they do have needs. We live in a world of abundance. God is a God of abundance.<br />
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<span style="background-color: #fdfeff; color: #001320; font-family: Trebuchet, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; text-align: justify;"><i>"From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked." Luke 12:48</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fdfeff; color: #001320; font-family: Trebuchet, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #001320;"><span style="background-color: #fdfeff;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">I have the privilege to be a voice not only for these children, but for all whose lives are affected by the new Children's Village. We at Okipe have chosen not to do individual child sponsorship for a simple reason. What happens when 6 children in one pod are sponsored and the other 4 are not? Does this mean that 6 get to eat and go to school and get medical care while the other 4 do not? That 6 receive notes and gifts from their sponsor family while the others just watch? Our situation is a bit different. We are calling everyone to pray about something much bigger. </span></span></span></div>
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If you decide to Join the Village, you will not only be supporting one child, but your dollar will reach each child as well as over 20 employees of the Village and their families, which in turn stimulates the local economy! Also, we encourage you to visit! Come and see where your money is going. Meet Mme. Soliette and the children. If you and your family are not already sponsoring a child, would you consider Joining the Village today?? We are so close to meeting our monthly operational budget, but we're just not there. What does this mean? This means that the kids are only getting two meals a day. This means that employees are not paid on time. One of the employees had twins two months ago and is struggling to feed her babies. Mme. Soliette is not taking a salary. The cooks are cooking with charcoal instead of on their new propane gas stoves. Not to mention, as the children grow, they eat more, outgrow clothes quickly and go through endless amounts of toothpaste and shampoo. </div>
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Please know that 100% of <i>every</i> dollar given goes directly to the Children's Village operational expenses. Okipe is a co-op made up of volunteers. No money is taken for any transfer fees or "corporate expenses." </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivpbS1sOYJRIX9Adysl2WgmHE0sBw3Cc5rtlLzcWmBh1yBuRLFdSard-8tFn2kuZFQEgGyMw88TRgu9fT2IxZEVd3fmHf0s9RH7ugS4tgxUQts3zd24gM9WuIp8RHAun_meB76W6cjVYA/s1600/dollar+go.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivpbS1sOYJRIX9Adysl2WgmHE0sBw3Cc5rtlLzcWmBh1yBuRLFdSard-8tFn2kuZFQEgGyMw88TRgu9fT2IxZEVd3fmHf0s9RH7ugS4tgxUQts3zd24gM9WuIp8RHAun_meB76W6cjVYA/s1600/dollar+go.jpg" height="510" width="640" /></a></div>
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$5.00 a day? Isn't that a lot?! Well, when you think about how much you spent this morning at Starbucks...no, not really :) This literally covers <i>every </i>expense from education, food, medical needs and shelter to clothes, payroll for Haitian staff, transportation and government taxes and fees. So are you ready? Whatever you can give helps. If you can give $1 a day, FANTASTIC! If you can find it in your budget to give $10 a month, DO IT! Maybe you can even give more. Whatever amount fits your family, please consider signing up to JOIN THE VILLAGE today!!!</div>
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<a href="http://okipe.org/donate/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW_Dhi54tdVX6-cJnMckSe4QRQGqjEnoZVOcYTKw22m8LisBOyiNDtwgY1n7t-UuhSozPbs2bFYCqDh62tADDsuXzr4x3ZWJGMcZLoqP5FYt2oJ1XEOYFuUayhQo9gZ2Amc3pKliiDjUU/s1600/click+here+to+jtv.jpg" height="118" width="400" /></a></div>
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Reneehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14159300460660001496noreply@blogger.com0