This was found on the Heart of Compassion Xanga site, and I wanted to post it on Elizabeth’s site for you to read – she will get me for this I am sure!!   Please remember to pray for her as she travels back on the 18th with a work team that had come down to the IFM campus for 10 days.

Every Child School

Well there are quite a few changes at the little school on the mountain.
Let me first start with Miss Elizabeth Hershberger…

We (the board) would like to give our many, many thanks to this special young lady with a huge heart. Elizabeth left the many comforts that we all know daily to make her home in the mountains of Soliette. Now just how many of us would be willing to give up our running water, electricity, family, friends, American food and live among strangers??? We may not even
realize what a sacrifice she made to be of service, but we want to thank her!
Elizabeth you did a great work and helped the school so much…..we will miss you.
Elizabeth will be leaving Haiti on March 18^th to return to home back in S. Carolina,
so please keep her in your prayers as she adjusts to life back in the States.
God bless you our dear friend!!!

 

“I will never leave your nor forsake you….”
(a double rainbow in Soliette)

Vladimi translating Pat’s message at Church Feb /15

(L) Downs girl from Soliette area  
(R) Kesnel the “head teacher” at the Every Child School.

          

Pat playing with the children after church.

(Back to front) Toussiant, Charlot, Vladimi coming down from where I live

A family in the Soliette area that was blessed with a gift of food in Feb.

The one day I went visiting and found that the brother and sister on the right
had pasted all their Bible School pictures up in their Moms house.

 

The newly elected “parent committee” for the “Every Child School”

We did a puppet show at the projects Feb / 19

“Camp Week” Feb / 20 – 25 / 2009

Each year over “carnival time” the Haiti Churhes take their
youth on a “camping trip” this year the Church at IFM
went to O-Cap and I was blessed with enough funds
to be able to go with them.

Here we all are singing and having a good time at the
Church before we left at 3 AM Friday Feb / 20.

Loading up. We had a total of 94 people, plus food and everyones suff
they needed for the week in one school bus and 2 vehicles!!!!!!!

Things we saw along the way…………….Towns……..rice fields….

 

…………Flood damage from last fall………. 

…………more flood damage……………

   

………The bus on top of the mountion (notice the 2 goats on the top)………

…….a part fell off Wismiths vehicle…..a group of people working on flood damage clean up….

   

………..A UN vehicle being pulled out of the mud…………a church on the top of a hill……..

 

………The “Citadel” from a far off…………

And then we finally made it to our “camp” destination!!!!!!
We left at 3 AM and did not get there till after 1 PM.
Only thing is when we got there the guys had to help take this
scaffolding down so the bus could get through the front gate.

 

Steph showing a group a “trick” the one afternoon.

The cooks making our WONDERFUL meals!!!!

Talk about a ton of dishes!!!!!!!!! 
(L) the dirty stack!!!!!! (R) now they are all clean!!!

 

Sat we had a “Bible Quiz” and this is my team.

Talking over a question before answering.

Steph with some of the girls that went. Stephanie Martin is from PA and she is a new staff 
member at IFM that went on “camp week too. Her and I were the only “whites” that went. 

(L) Jean Claude and Monica – Monica and I worked at IFM together and
now here and her husband live in O-Cap and I got to see them on Sunday. 
(R) Me and Asyia one of the girls Jean Claudes have adopted.

      

(L) the building where we ate and had our meetings
(R) the girls dorm. We had bunk beds to sleep on.

 

We had a time of “sports” on Sat morning. We had it in a soccor
field where they keep cows and goats. HA HA HA

Loading up Monday to go to the “Citadel”

(L) the Palace (R) the Citadel

 

If you will notice above on the right picture this is how the path up to the Citadel is!!!
It is a 6 – 7 mile hike per the guy that told me how far we walked.

“WElCOME TO THE CITIDEL”

 

                           

 

 

Some pictures I got of a few of  the group members.

 

 

    

On our way down I was given a few bights of corn flakes and milk from a friend. HA HA HA
A picture of Stephanie and I together half way back down the mountion.

 

The back of the “Palace”

I thought these to paintings were pretty and I was not going to
spend the money for them so I took pictures of them.

  

A “Ra-Ra”group we saw on the way back from the Citadel.

The last night we had a big program. Not only did we have the 94 from our group we had 78 more from another camp group that was using the same property. It was really a wonderful evening. We had singing and skits and stores and jokes and lots of laughing. We made lots of memories.

   

    

         

Our hard working cooks being honored on the last night.

Cleaning and Packing up to leave Wed morning.
We were going to leave at 6 AM but do to rain we did not get gone till 9AM.

This is as close as I got to getting a group shot.
Everyone having prayer before we left to drive back.

   

Back over the “washed out bridge”

O NO!!!!!!!!!  Moise’s vehicle had the fuel pump go out on it!!!!!
The guys got it “rigged” some how so we could get to the next town.

Hey Steph Thanks for helping them get it all fixed!!  HA HA HA

We were there for 3 – 4 hours and I decided to use some of my time to have “Bible class”
with the children who were hanging out around the area we were stopped.

 

This little girl totally stolled my heart.

 

Please keep praying for the Every Child School Mission board.
(L to R) Dwight and Jen, Vladimi and Ashly, Pat and Cheryl.
(I do not have a picture of Charlot, Toussiant or Mryon and Mary handy sorry)

               

Thanks so much to each of you for all your Prayer support.
I ask that all of you please pray for me a lot in the next few weeks. I am sick and I will be on meds for the next 2 weeks. My iron is low and I have an infection but I praise God I got sick when I was still down out of the mountion so that I could go to the clinic and get tested and get on meds.
I plan on going back up to Soliette on Sunday sometime.

 

Jan / 6 I went back up to my house in Soliette, Haiti. I was honored to
have company go up with me! Sheila and her sister Michelle went up with me.
As you can see we went up “in style”

 

Sheila was here with me for 2 weeks this past summer. Madam Boulie was so happy
when she saw her that morning. – I had not told them that she was coming. We missed
the best picture, none of us had our cameras ready but the 3 of us will never
forget the reaction we saw that morning. 

Madam made Haitian Coffee for them to drink. Sheila was so
happy that Madam remembered that she loves the stuff.  
It is kinda the joke of the Soliette people that I do not like coffee.
- They always tell me I have not “grown up yet”. HA HA !!!!!!

 

They had brought some things to give out and we had fun visiting.

 

Can you tell that everyone was so happy to see Sheila again????

On the left you will see a quilt that a child’s sponsor made for her. She even sewed
the students name on in the one corner. On the left is a plate of Haitian food.
White rice, bean sauce, and a meat sauce with potatoes in it. Any one hungery??

 

That afternoon Matt from IFM came up to get the girls. He also brought a group of people with him that wanted to see where I live and the work that I am doing. I ended up going back down with them. I had not have a chance to see the board members in Haiti before I went up. School had been put off for a few days, so I took the chance to go down and see them. I had a really good time with them. Ashly and I do not get to do a lot of stuff together with me being in Soliette all the time, so I was glad for the time with her.

Here is Vladimy with the little girl that he and Ashly are taking care of.
She loves him to death!! She goes nuts when she sees him. HA HA HA!!

School started again on Jan / 12. Charlot fixed a few benches that morning.
Can you tell by the way the teachers are holding on to the cord for the flag that it is REALLY REALLY cold in Soliette? I know you are laughing and saying “ya right” — cold in Haiti.
Well just keep looking on down the post and you will see proof that I am not
the only “white” that got cold in the past 6 weeks.

 

We passed out report cards one Wed afternoon. Here are the parents that day.
We had 120 students passed their tests in Dec and 45 did not.

Here is a father and his 5 sons (4 of them are students at our school)

 

(L) The one day Ruben came up and visited for a few hours.
He wanted to see the school in action.
(R) One day these guys built a “mini house” out of bean stocks just
like the people here in Haiti make to live in.

 

FRIENDS FOR LIFE!!!!!

 

In loving memory of one of my 28 year old friend of mine.
She left a husband and a 6 month old baby.
Please pray for the family as they deal with the loss.

Guess what??????
They are fixing the road to Soliette.   

The one Sat I went 30 min up the mountain and visited a German
Baptist group that is working on building houses. (I went with IFM)

Feb / 4 – 8 this group was in Soliette hosting a “field clinic” and
also giving the good news of Jesus Christ to all who came for clinic.
It was a lot of work, but a lot of people were helped (around 400 in 3 days)

We also had services each night. The first night was outside.

The people waiting to see the Doctors……..

….Finally getting to see the Doctors………

All the meds in the pharmacy (where I worked)

This lady is a typical “mountain person” and so is this baby.

(L) this is a 3 generation picture – the Lady is the grandma the
man is her son and the 2 boys are her grandsons
(R) This family has some of our school girls in it
(Dorothy and Jesses do you see your girls??)

 

This  is a family picture of a few more of our school children. The boy in
the black shirt is one of the 3 that responded to the invitation Sat night after
we showed the Jesus film. We had 200 plus people show up to see it.
Pray for the ones who gave their lives to Jesus.

Church one night. ( do you think Jen is cold??!!)
SEE I am not the only “white” that got cold!!!  
We ALL were!!!  HA HA HA!!!!

Another night at church. This night Rick had on 2 or 3 shirts it was so cold!!!!!

Sunday morning Church service Feb / 8

The team was gone that afternoon before 12:30.

Tuesday – Feb / 10 I went to market 30 min up the mountain from where I live. I went to visit the German Baptist group again. While I was there I got to bathe twin boys.
They are the little brothers of a guy we stitched up Saturday night.
You can tell in the one picture that the one boy was “talking to me” 

 

Here they are together all nice and clean.    

Please keep praying for me!!
Thanks for all your Love and Support.

 

What did I do for Christmas day???
I had fun making lunch for Grandpa Hershberger’s family.      Mom had made arrangements for us to take
lunch in and had even invited her youngest sister and her daughter to join us. Mom ended up getting
up sick on Christmas morning so she sent a “kiss” to each person (note it on the plates)
We had a great time visiting and It was good to see everyone again.

 

Tuesday Dec / 30 Mom gave Tom his Christmas gift. Check out the look on his face when he saw it. 

Here he is with my gift that I gave him. We had a “pj” party the one night  
When he was done with his bath he wanted to “comb Mr Merle’s hair” He thought it was so funny. 

 

Miss Lee took Juanita and I out for lunch the one day for our Christmas gift. 

Tom loves going to “marble slab” for “Chocolate and marshmallows” as he calls it (L)
At 11:30 PM on Dec / 31 Mom Daddy and I went to Grandpas to bring in the new year with Daddy’s sisters.
Mom and Daddy left soon after midnight but Martha, Dorothy, and I ate a “snack”  It tasted so good.

 

Sunday Juanita came for lunch. After lunch we decided it would be a good idea to take pictures together.
I was glad I got to spend a little more time with her just before I took off again.

Please keep me in your prayers as I go up to Soliette, get things unpacked and clean my room today. Thanks!!

 

I had a really good time in the states the past 21 days, but now my
“vacation” is over and I am on my way to Haiti again.
I will, Lord willing, be in the country of Haiti by 12:30 PM January/5/2009.
It will be good to get back down there and see everyone again, get to
my little “house” in Soliette and get back to the work God has for me.
Yes I will miss the ones in the states so it is kind of ”bitter/sweet” if you know
what I mean. I know Soliette, Haiti is where God wants me to be
for now and I really enjoy my work there.

Thanks so much to each and every one of you that keep me in your prayers.
May God Bless and keep you all!!!