This year was such a whirlwind so my blogs have been few and far between, but I have put together some photos to walk you through some highlights. There have been many ups and downs, but I have felt the presence of God so very near through them all. Thank you to all who have supported me with prayers, encouraging words and financial support.
First of all....everyday life :)
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| Mangos for sale |
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| Walking in the neighborhood visiting with friends |
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| What our kitchen table looks like most days as we help with homework |
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| My roommate Sharon during recreation....we are always surrounded by kids at school! |
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| Looking down my street |
January
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| With Richcarde (left) before we knew he was sick |
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| Kokoye Beach....all creation declares His glory :) |
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| Kokoye beach again.....reminds me of one of my favorite stories (here if you've never read it) about the boy throwing the starfish back into the ocean and saying "but it matters to this one". Something I have to be reminded of often when the needs are so great and it's impossible to help everyone. |
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| Valentine's Day - we got to show these guys how much we love them |
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| Valentine's Day spaghetti - and yes as a matter of fact, that is ketchup & mayo on top of that spaghetti...disgusting but the kids love it :) |
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| We got to go visit Sarah and she was doing great! |
March
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| Saturday reading program was full! |
Happy Birthday performed by Sonson :)
April
May
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| I spent all of April stateside so it meant lots of facetime calls with my friends |
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| Quality time with my sissy and little brother |
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| And seeing Terra off as she moved to Tahoe |
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| Lots of library time |
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| We go to soccer games at the stadium every chance we get. This is what it looks like when the game has to be decided by a shootout :) |
June, aka the hardest & craziest month of my life
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| Miracle after miracle occurred, God moved major mountains and Richcarde got his passport and Dominican visa in one day!! |
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| Hanging out with all his buddies on the last night before we headed to DR for surgery |
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| I got up the next morning after he got his passport and thought I had a day to prepare to go to DR, but God had other plans and we ended up on a plane that afternoon to the Dominican border |
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| On our way! |
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| The welcoming crew after we landed on a dirt and grass runway! We took motorcycles from here to cross the border and get on a bus. |
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| Right before surgery for mitral valve replacement |
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| A few days after being in step down ICU. I was on the 24 hour shift for several days and nights in a row |
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| Showing off his battle wounds |
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| Sweet reunion. After about a month in and out of the hospital we finally decided Richcarde would not get better without his momma. We found a way to get her there and the whole crew was very happy that momma had arrived!! |
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| June also brought the beginning of our microfinance program! We now have 15 clients that have loans and meet with us monthly to update us on their progress |
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| Summer school! |
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| Meg received the draft copy of the book, so we did a lot of editing! Book will be released January 13th! |
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| Richcarde returned home! |
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| I got the joy of celebrating "mama" Tati's 60th birthday with her and her daughter |
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| A much needed relaxing weekend was spent at The Rustic in Kenscoff....it was SO cold! |
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| And had amazing views and hiking! |
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| Spent time in Philly with Caila who had just had scoliosis surgery |
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| Made it to Oklahoma and had an awesome reunion with a group of friends that hadn't been all together in years |
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| Also got to be there for my sister's baby shower! |
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| I made an unexpected trip home to say "see you later" to my Grandpa. He had 95 wonderful years of life and someday we'll polka dance in heaven :) |
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| Universole came to Haiti to train girls to make leather sandals |
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| So I now spend 3 afternoons a week making sandals with these girls! |
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| School started October 1st and we have 500 students this year! |
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| I do library time every day at school |
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| I also coordinate all of our student sponsorship so I get the joy of passing out letters to students when their sponsors write them! |
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| The best joy of all arrived in October....my very first nephew!! Taison Jace Rapihana was born October 30th. |
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| Most of my time in November was spent stateside with this precious guy :) |
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| Caila returned to Haiti for a couple of months before she will go back to Philly for therapy |
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| Christmas was spent with great family and friends |
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| And with these characters :) |
And 2015........
Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
Lamentations 3:21-23
