Twenty-two years ago, I despised Mother’s day. I absolutely hated it – with good reason. Kettlie was born and died on January 16th, 1990. Amber was born on January 15th, 1992 and also died on January 16th. While both experiences plunged me into a depth of dark emotions I never would have thought possible, it was the second that sent my life into a tailspin. It resulted in my losing almost everything and everyone I’d ever loved. Mother’s Day stood out as a horrible reminder of my inability to realize my dream of actively being a mother.
Alexis with her aunt the first time she came to Haiti, at 6 months old.
A. Jay (3 yrs)
Seventeen years ago, I decided Mother’s Day was okay, because I was holding my 8 month old precious little Alexis in my arms. The next year, I liked it even more, as A. Jay was almost 5 months old. After all I had been through and after straying so far from the way I knew to be right, God had graced me with a truly wonderful family and had shown me the way home to Him.
Our life’s experiences, good and bad, so often are used to make up the very foundations of our lives. Today, for me, Mother’s Day has become a day of reflection. I still mourn for the children I never got to know, but mostly I rejoice in God’s grace toward me. While I was yet a sinner, Christ died for me! He redeemed my life from destruction! Today I have a husband that I am madly in love with and two of the most incredible children. We are truly a family. Oh, how good the Lord has been to me!
I also play somewhat of a matriarchal role here at the mission in Haiti. There are soooo many babies, kids, youth and young adults that I have fallen in love with. Honestly, some of the older folks seem to think I’m their mom, too. I’ve discovered that there’s always enough love for each one! I used to quote this verse from Psalm 113:9 in hope, quite often when I first came to Haiti back in 1988-1989: “He maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the Lord.” That hope has been fulfilled. I am no longer barren and I am joyful – I even keep house!
Some of the moms at MOHI
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Now, would you like to know what’s been happening this week?
Well, we enjoyed having Micah, Ben and Hannah Groder (aka, Pastor Kevin and Tammy’s children) join us for a little while. The guys joined in with the worship team Sunday evening, which was great.
Sunday night English Service rocked!
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Micah and Ben Groder worked over our sound system wiring during the week and today we had the best sound ever!!!
Getting the carpet installed
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Ted Bronson and Rick Scott (or Gov. Scott, as Leah affectionately referred to him all week!) installed the carpeting in the library and computer lab. How awesome is that?!!! It’s looking quite inviting. They were also able to get the baseboard installed in the lab and they helped our workers complete another project…
Getting rid of the old office made room for more people at church.
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My old office has been demolished, along with the roof over the sitting area. A new roof has been erected and an enlarged sitting area is the result. It was pretty cool to use this area for the overflow seating during church this morning.
Pastor Edon
Pastor Edon preached this morning in Thozin. He talked about it being better to repent than to come to church to show off your pretty clothes. It was a very powerful message that had people pensive one moment and shouting in agreement the next.
At one point Pastor Edon shared some MOHI history that I hadn’t heard him speak of before. He said that he met Pastor Lex on March 17th, 2000. He remembers him talking about building a 2500 seat auditorium. But Pastor Lex didn’t have any money and we were barely able to build a thatch building and it took time before we could even put a tin roof on it. Nevertheless, Pastor Lex continues to this day to put his faith in God to supply for every need and now we see that 2500 seat auditorium approaching. Pastor Lex never lost hope. He walks in faith. He is a great example to me.
Church in Thozin
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Pastor Kevin has been having a blast with his group of young men. He has been teaching them Kempo techniques.
Kempo Class
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Our high school soccer team played its first game. We lost 4-1 against Petit-Goave, but we worked hard and looked sharp! (Thank you to the Covenant Day School for outfitting us for the game!)
MOHI High School Boy’s Soccer Team
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Leah continues to work hard in the clinic, with lots of help from Tammy. She’s now dedicating at least one day per week to the St Etienne campus, where she works out of the mobile clinic.
MOHI Clinic
Leah’s favorite part of every day in Haiti
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And here are some odds and ends for you to enjoy…
Can you tell what’s under all those onions? It’s fish and it’s hard to find fish anywhere that tastes as good as this!
It soooo much prettier in person. We can see both the sunrise and the sunset from the missionary compound.
Our cabinet maker seems to do a pretty good job of making a conference table, too!
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Thank you so much for your continued prayers and financial support. Step by step we are making progress. We work hard, but without you, it just wouldn’t work, so again, thank you.