A GREAT week... AND an Eventful Day!

It has been a week since I last posted... I can't believe how quickly time flies by!

Things are going really well here!  (Today was an adventure though...  I will get to that in a bit!)

We have been here for 28 days now and it feels more like home with each passing day...

We have experienced a variety of church services...

The first picture was taken in the church in Vaudreuil (Dr. Lucner's church) and the second in Flaville (Bellony's church)...

We've had a WONDERFUL time getting to know the visiting professors who have come to teach here...

This is our kids with Bob and Launa, originally from Ohio, but now living in San Antonio.  Bob is teaching Pastoral Theology here at the seminary.  They are staying with us until this coming Saturday.  We will miss having company in the house... and they have been such a huge help with laundry, dishes, cleaning... and the kids have REALLY enjoyed playing games with them...

And Junior joined us one night too... it was lots of fun!

With having guests here, I have done quite a bit of cooking and baking (pretty much entirely from scratch.. which is all new for me!)...

Homemade pizza is an extra special treat... and the Cokes are even more extra special-er... I'm pretty sure that's not a word, but I'm still using it!!  Coke bottles are HUGE here (as you can see!) and really cheap (around a quarter a piece!)

We are continuing to lead worship in chapel every Friday, receive tutoring three days a week, and the kids are just about to finish their third week of school!  We have been sweating A LOT, have seen a few tarantulas, lots of lizards and frogs- inside and outside of our house!- and we've killed bugs and rats that are WAY bigger than they should be...

And the cool thing is...
Life here is beginning to feel pretty normal!

BUT TODAY... well today was definitely THE MOST eventful day that we have had here as of yet... and one I'm perfectly OK with NOT repeating!

A couple of days ago, Haylie started complaining about a pain in her toe... and yesterday, it got much worse. After 3 different people, and one dog, stepped on that same toe, the pain (needless-to-say) got more intense!

Yesterday, at our weekly prayer meeting in Vaudreuil, Haylie expressed her pain and discomfort to Elida Walton, our new friend and fellow OMS missionary working as a nurse at the Bethesda Clinic.  Elida called Dr. Rodney (a wonderful Haitian doctor who runs the clinic, loves the Lord and is active in the local church right there next to the clinic) and TODAY we had an appointment to have him check it out!

After a sleepless night and some ibuprofen that didn't seem to touch her pain, we drove Haylie over for him to take a look this morning!

WELL...  we went into the clinic and took a seat to wait for the doctor to prep the room for us...

(Today was baby check-up day.. so there were LOTS of adorable little babies there!)

(Haylie looks calm here, but she was VERY nervous... and rightfully so!  She was getting a surgical procedure... in HAITI!!!)

At first... Haylie wanted to watch as Dr. Rodney started working...

 But very shortly after, she changed her mind  (as you can see the book in her face!!!)

Once the anesthesia kicked in, she was able to relax a bit... and after quite a bit of work, and a few stitches...

She is well on her way to recovery (...the happy face above proves that the anesthesia was working well!)  Praise God for the Bethesda Clinic and for the doctors and nurses who took such good care of Haylie!  Please pray that Haylie will have a full recovery and NO MORE infection!  

As I was reflecting on this morning's activities this afternoon, and thinking about the times of prayer we had individually and together this morning before we left and before we went into the room at the clinic (THANK YOU Bob and Launa and Deb VanAbele for joining us in prayer times for her.. they were very special!)...  I was reminded of Paul's words in 2 Corinthians...

In chapter 1 verses 3 and 4 he writes this:

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in ALL our afflictions, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God..."

I love how there are NO limitations to God's comfort for us!  No matter how BIG or small our situation, struggle, or difficulty may be, God wants to be our comfort in and through that time.  Isn't that awesome!?!?  

That's how active God is in our lives... That's how much He LOVES us!

Haylie felt God's presence with her this morning... and so did we!  The peace that overwhelmed our hearts, the prayers of God's people that surrounded us today, the physician who, while caring for our little girl (she will always be my little girl!), sang hymns of praise to Jesus, and the beautiful card from the sweetest little 4 year old girl we know (Lily Ayars)!...

God showed up and comforted us today, in so many ways!  He is such a GOOD God... worthy of praise and thanks...

My heart is full today!!

2 Haiti 4 Him