Prayers

It's becoming much more difficult to come up with a title for these things... especially when I do a catch up post from a whole week. (Sorry!)

I've been fairly busy recently as my dad arrived in Haiti on Thursday. Therefore, I've been hanging out with him and also enjoying some of the movies he brought me from my mom. :) Sorry I've neglected the blog!

Life is as it usually is in Haiti - VIM teams to plan for, various documents to create, and kids to send to school.

As school begins on October 4th, our office has been handing out a TON of scholarships. I was so thankful when my dad arrived with a $1400 donation that I was able to add to our mission fund. Otherwise, we would be VERY low on funds to give to the various families that come to our door. Thank you if you contributed to that fund. Thank you if you're praying for those who receive assistance from that fund. You will probably never know how much you just impacted a life - but please take my word for it when I say your support is a significant blessing. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Of course, there was one scholarship that we handed out that made me smile more than any other. Thanks to people giving money specifically to send Robenson and Peter to school... we were able to pay their entire way. Seeing his mothers face when she realized that she wouldn't have to pay a dime for schooling... that she wouldn't have to worry at all about that expense was... amazing. I was thinking about that today and recognizing that if we had not stepped in to help, Robenson's mother would be in a pretty desperate situation. Three kids (one a baby), no income, no leads, a limited education, and a leaky tent. I do not know what she would have done (although some likely responses may have been prostitution, putting up some (or all) of her children for adoption, or putting Robenson into the restavek system) but I do know that it would not have been good. How awesome is it that because God has blessed us financially we are able to bless others in such a significant way?

Which reminds me to ask for a prayer request. Since Robenson got sick, I've been spending a lot of time laying awake at night worrying about what might happen to that family when I leave. I never EVER want Robenson, Peter, little Amanda, or their mother (Lomene) to get that sick again and not be able to pay for proper medical care. I also never want that family to get a point where they have to stop sending a child to school because they cannot afford it. Therefore, I am in the process of trying to get Peter and Robenson into a child sponsorship program. I have a contact and he is working on gathering information for me, but it is still unknown if sponsorship is even going to be a possibility or not. Please pray about this. Pray that this family gets the consistent support they need - if not through child sponsorship, through some other means.

Also, as of right now, I plan to sponsor Robenson myself, but I would love it if one of you would be willing to sponsor Peter if they get into a sponsorship program. Or, if a church or youth group wanted to sponsor Peter - that would also be really, really cool. Pray about it, and if you're interested - please let me know.

Lastly, as some of you already know, it is possible that I will be extending my time in Haiti AGAIN because I may be getting a full-time (big girl) job. I will probably know for sure about this mid-late October. Please also pray for guidance for me as I discern further what I am called to do. It would be a big step and I don't want to do it if it's not what God wants me to do, too.

I know I had more to say - including all the neat stuff I've done with my dad. (We went to the look-out and the beach!) However, I am absolutely exhausted and in great need of a shower. Therefore, I'm signing off. I hope you're all well, though. Please send me an update on your life if you have time. I'd love to hear from all of you!

<3 Beth