Happily Ever After

In less than two weeks my friend of 13 years will be married. Many of you who have visited Mission of Hope in Haiti have met Angelise and have been the recipient of her wonderful hospitality. Lex will be performing the ceremony at the missionary compound. We are decorating the choukoun (large gazebo in front of the ocean) and trying to get the lawn to fill in…although it’s not likely to happen in time. Angelise has been cooking for us for years and now I get to cook for her and her guests. I’m really excited about this big event and I’m excited for her “happily ever after” finally arriving. Angelise changed her wedding date so that Alexis could be for it. Apparently it’s critical that Alexis be here to do her makeup. I’m just kidding, that’s just an added benefit.

Preparing for as long as you both shall live.

Amy Long quickly worked her way into the hearts of many of our students. As she prepared to leave on Thursday, preschoolers broke into a loud chant, “AMY! AMY! AMY!”

Multi-tasking? Always.

Nurse Ruth did everything but kiss the booboo.

Dr. Lavaud, Dr. Manoucheka (Dr. Lavaud’s wife) and Nurse Ruth have been taking care of lots of sick people this week. I burned myself this week while making breakfast for a team and Nurse Ruth fell over herself trying to take care of bandaging my burns. No worries, the burns were minor, I just needed to bandage them up so I could work with my fingers. We’ve been seeing a lot of little ones in the clinic. I’m so grateful for donors who provide food, clothing and medicine for many of our patients.

Prayer, vitals and gifts of food and baby clothing are part of the medical ministry at MOHI.

We had a special treat this morning at church. While Lex was with our St Etienne, we in Thozin were blessed with a very relevant message from our missionary friend, Sean Moore (serving at the Hands and Feet Project). It was the first time he has preached at the church, but certainly not the last. He prayed for several groups of people during the message and brought forth some powerful truths about the importance of beginnings. The one scripture he shared that really struck me was from Titus 2:14, speaking of Jesus Christ, “who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.” He stressed that Jesus gave Himself for us to redeem us (meaning that we NEED redeeming!). The last part of the verse spoke to me – we are to be a purified people who are EAGER to do good. I want to be eager to do good! I want to be someone who looks for opportunities to do good!

We were joined this morning by teams from the Hands and Feet Project and Be Like Brit. Renord was happy to accommodate the Hands and Feet Project’s team when they requested a tour of our facility. Since the kids at the Hands and Feet Project all come to school and church at MOHI, we are very much an extension of the project’s ministry to these kids. We love partnering with them, too!