September - opportunities to pray & minister

It's hard to believe that SEPTEMBER is here already. Wow. The summer was pretty busy, but now it seems like it went by at warp speed!!

Here is this month's ministry team update:

PRAISE

• Rebecca's short term contract is going great. She LOVES the hospital, has been very welcomed there & has enjoyed refreshing her hands on maternity skills. BONUS:Kreyol speaking co-workers!

• We are ALSO extremely grateful to the Keyser family for hosting her in their home. 

• A few weeks ago, we were able to get an affordable car that seats NINE people (without squishing!) so everyone will be able to get to our various work sites at the same time. No one has to stay behind anymore! It also is supposed to get the same gas mileage as our CRV & it uses diesel, which is much cheaper here.

• We weathered Isaac well. Very little damage & no flooding to either our home or the guest house. All of the staff is fine. A HUGE blessing.

• More helpers!! Sandrea & Callie our new school teacher & WO intern, both arrived safely & are settling in.

PRAYER

• Continue to pray for Rebecca as she travels back & forth to FL every other week. 

• Preparations for a Together 4 Adoption conference for our Haitian partners as well as Safe Birth training for 60 women across our 12 communities are underway. They are both scheduled for late October.

• Sandrea is beginning school with Emma this month. 

• Emma to be diligent in her FINAL year!!

• Callie as she brings insight and creativity and seeks God's guidance to unfold the details of her work here.

• Ted needs some extra prayer for rest!! He has been going at a strong pace all summer-long.

• Ask for God's provision of a new affordable & "just right" home for us here. We love our current little house, but need to be closer to the guest house, have more room for parking behind the wall & a small patch of yard for Cosi. We know that He has the perfect place waiting for us nearby!

• Lift us up regularly for God's constant guidance in our work here. There are many facets, many opportunities & many obstacles that we face from day to day.

Resources

• We are at 100% funding through Dec 2012 - thanks to our current supporters, recent special gifts and God's additional provision via Rebecca's contract. The new (to us) car & needed repairs, as well as our annual rent will be covered by the time it is due in November!!! 

• 2013 - monthly support pledges are roughly at 85%. 

• We would also like to begin the adoption process in 2013. Begin to pray now about partnering with us to give a couple of little ones a forever home. While living here does reduce a few costs, with the new adoption laws going into affect this month, we will be required to use a US agency, which raises them significantly above our initial anticipation.

August Prayer requests

Prayer:

• Rebecca - took a travel RN contract in FL for the next few months

Pray that it will be a good skills refresher & that the commute won't be too hard on her.

• Language Study & Acquisition

Ongoing need...we are (slowly) improving though!!

• Coping with Isolation

As well as a steady stream of "hello's" & "goodbyes"

• Ties with Family & Friends

Ana, Ishai & Oliver are coming to US next month

• Upcoming Teams

next up: Daybreak church from So. CA

• LakePointe Church Adoption & Foster Conference

Ted & Rebecca will attend & staff a WO table at this event. 

• Fall T4A Conference - Haiti

Rebecca will be putting on 3 days of women's health conference afterwards.

• Projected Growth

We anticipate adding 2 more Haitian church partners in the next month and possibly 2-3 more by the end of the year! Pray for these new relationships as they develop.

• We are aplying for our Permis ( a resident card) 

This will allow us to do things like put a vehicle in our name, begin the local adoption process, and not have to worry about renewing our exit visa EVER again!!

Finances:

God continues to provide!!

The RN contract will make up the support that has dropped off through the summer. If you would like to support us monthly though, it will prevent Rebecca from having to go off the field so much! She will be burning the candle at both ends as she works and begins the first phase of research this fall for a potential maternity care program in each of our church communities.

Monthly or one-time donations can be made through:

Thank you so much for your prayers and encouragement throughout the year, we could not do anything here without your support!

Summer 2012 Update

Prayer:

• Language Study & Acquisition
• Coping with Isolation
• Ties with Family & Friends
• Summer Intern Projects 
• Upcoming Teams
• Fall Conference
• Projected Growth

Finances:

God has been more than gracious in always providing for us. He seems to bring just what we need, right when we need it most! That said, we seem to regularly run just below 100% on our budgeted income needs. The nature of support is that it is always changing month to month. We have been able to meet our daily living expense needs fine, so far. Areas like emergency travel expenses & a small savings fund were depleted with our unexpected time in the states.

If we can return to 100% consistently each month then we will be able to replenish those. We need to apply for our "permis" (permanent residency) before the end of the year, which requires some additional fees. We also would like to be able to come for a stateside visit in May 2013 for the twins' to celebrate their high school graduation together!

Monthly or one-time donations can be made through:

Other Useful Items:

• Rosetta Stone - French (levels 1-5)
• O2 Cool - rechargeable battery operated fans (4)
• Contigo Autospout insulated water bottles (4) - seen @ Costco
• Microfiber bath towels (8) - anything similar to this 

If you have or happen to find a good deal on any of these items & would like to help us get them to an upcoming team to bring down, drop us an email: tenmilliontoes@gmail.com or ted@worldorphans.org

Love & Blessings for the countless ways that you minister to us, as we endeavor to serve the Lord daily, here in Haiti!

February Stateside Update & Immediate needs

Praise:

-Olivia has miraculously had a full medical recovery.

-The blessing of friends in Haiti that stepped in with short notice to care for our house & our cat.

-The wonderful people of Calvary Chapel Sawgrass, who have provided support and a place to crash!

Pray for:

-God’s guidance as we continue to process and work through Olivia’s recent hospitalization.

-Our physical and emotional needs to be met while away from home.

-Adjustment to this unexpected change & the interruption of our acclimation/language acquisition.

-Olivia’s timely admission to a residential treatment program.

-Several World Orphans teams that will be working in Haiti throughout the month of March.

-The people, especially the orphans, of Haiti to continually receive His healing mercy & daily provision.

-Work that God is already preparing for us upon our return.

-That we will continue to walk in and be sensitive to the work of His Spirit in our lives.

Financial needs:

-We had about 35% of our initial support not carry through for this year.

-After reworking our budget based on actual costs in-country, we still have a deficit of $600/mo in 2012.

-Please consider a monthly or annual donation to help us be able to go back with full support.

IMMEDIATE NEEDS:

-Housing for another 6-8 weeks in the US

-A vehicle to drive if housing is not in FL.

-Airline miles and/or one time gifts to help cover unexpected travel.

Week 10 - prayer & praise

- HUGE Praise! We finally moved into our house on the 28th.

- Praise! We are very proud of our kids...they are doing a super job at aclimating and totally enjoyed a holiday without many personal gifts, visiting a local orphanage instead and were Rebecca's biggest supporters of going to the US to work 5 days in order to start our "adoption fund".

- Ana, our second to oldest, is due with baby #1 on Jan 25th, pray for a healthy end of her pregnancy, a smooth, safe, delivery and peaceful transition into the new role of parenthood. 

- Rebecca will be traveling again for an extended stay with Ana to help with her delivery and provide new mom recovery care. Pray for safe journeys as well as a blessed time with Ana & Ishai as they all welcome our new grandson!

- Keep everyone else in your prayers as they have to be far away for this special event. As much as we all ADORE babies it is a very difficult thing to be unable to attend our new family member's birth.

- Continue to lift us all up for resilience, ongoing transition, language acquisition, safety and joy in our new lifestyle here. 

- Pray for the teams arriving this month to have pure hearts, servants attitudes and to be the hands and feet of Jesus as they serve their local partner churches and the children. One is a large team of teens, so pray for a deep and life changing experience for each of them and for them to fully embrace their time in the Haitian culture. 

- As our roles expand, lift us up to always rely on God's strength rather than our own, to seek him in all that we do, to be humble, loving, and forgiving servants both within our own family and among those we minister with and to.

- We are preparing to add a young woman to our household to help the girls with their schoolwork. Pray for wisdom and guidance in developing that relationship and for the girls to thrive in their education.

- Tynan plans to return to FL on Jan16th, pray that God will provide good living arrangements, an awesome job and a reliable vehicle. He is also starting online courses next week. So, lift him up as he returns to both being away from home and hitting the books again. We'll sure miss him!

- HUGE Praise! We finally moved into our house on the 28th.

- Praise! We are very proud of our kids...they are doing a super job at aclimating and totally enjoyed a holiday without many personal gifts, visiting a local orphanage instead and were Rebecca's biggest supporters of going to the US to work 5 days in order to start our "adoption fund".

- Ana, our second to oldest, is due with baby #1 on Jan 25th, pray for a healthy end of her pregnancy, a smooth, safe, delivery and peaceful transition into the new role of parenthood. 

- Rebecca will be traveling again for an extended stay with Ana to help with her delivery and provide new mom recovery care. Pray for safe journeys as well as a blessed time with Ana & Ishai as they all welcome our new grandson!

- Keep everyone else in your prayers as they have to be far away for this special event. As much as we all ADORE babies it is a very difficult thing to be unable to attend our new family member's birth.

- Continue to lift us all up for resilience, ongoing transition, language acquisition, safety and joy in our new lifestyle here. 

- Pray for the teams arriving this month to have pure hearts, servants attitudes and to be the hands and feet of Jesus as they serve their local partner churches and the children. One is a large team of teens, so pray for a deep and life changing experience for each of them and for them to fully embrace their time in the Haitian culture. 

- As our roles expand, lift us up to always rely on God's strength rather than our own, to seek him in all that we do, to be humble, loving, and forgiving servants both within our own family and among those we minister with and to.

- We are preparing to add a young woman to our household to help the girls with their schoolwork. Pray for wisdom and guidance in developing that relationship and for the girls to thrive in their education.

- Tynan plans to return to FL on Jan16th, pray that God will provide good living arrangements, an awesome job and a reliable vehicle. He is also starting online courses next week. So, lift him up as he returns to both being away from home and hitting the books again. We'll sure miss him!