B&K in Haiti

Two Saturday's ago we had the awesome privilege of having our new friends Ben and Katie stay with us. Ben and Katie moved to Haiti to teach at Quisqueya Christian School just a few weeks before the earthquake. A few days after the quake, I was blog-hopping, and came upon their blog. Turns out, Katie went to Baylor, and we had met once through a mutual friend. My heart was drawn so much to them because I know what it is like moving to another country....the adjustment, the highs, the lows, missing family and friends, adaptation...and then on top of all that, a MAJOR earthquake??? I can't even imagine. So, I sent them an e-mail and told them if they were ever in Santo Domingo, or needed to get away, they were welcome to stay with us. They took us up on it!!! Their school had a week break for Canival, and they were headed to a beach just outside of Santo Domingo, and needed a place to stay the night before they checked in. We had SUCH a great time with them...they are such an amazing couple. It was such an encouragement to see their faith in ACTION, on the front lines. God is truly filling them each day, so that they can make it to the next. They are excellent writers and update their blog often. Check it out! It will help you see what is going on in Haiti, and give you names and faces to put everything together. They wrote about our time together here.

God really used their time here to give me a grateful heart. It is so easy for me to compare everything to the states, and start to feel sorry for myself....we don't have Target, it's hot and we can only use our AC at night, constant noise, it takes forever to get the simplest thing done, terrible driving and traffic...on and on and on. Through hearing what they have been through, learning what Haiti was like even before the quake, and seeing how big their eyes were in Jumbo (a Wal-Mart-like store), God was saying, "Be grateful!! You have SO much. I have provided you with so much...and even if you didn't have these things, you would be fine."

What a blessing they were to us! Come back soon Ben and Katie, and in the meantime, you are in our prayers.

(My camera is semi-broken, so unfortunately we didn't get any pictures together)

Eight

Avery is eight months old!!

She has such a fun little personality and a great sense of humor. She is always laughing at something...if I move a certain way, make a funny face, up on dad's shoulders, jumping in her jumper, dancing with dad, chasing people with Pops...she giggles and giggles. I love it! She loves to give wet slobbery kisses and even says "mmmmwa" (kinda- more of mom and dad's interpretation that actually knowing what she is doing). She is a really really good eater and eats most everything I give here. For some reason the DR only sells fruit baby food- no veggies. And the fruit they do sell has sugar as the second ingredient listed. So, I have resorted to making my own baby food, which has actually been quite fun. She loves auyama (a Dominican squash), broccoli, green beans, peaches, apples, and pears. But, her absolute favorite thing to eat is Cheerios- I never leave the house without them. She can even pick them up and feed them to herself. She is still a pro-sleeper at night, and now takes 2 naps a day (sometimes three). She sleeps with her little frog-blanket that Elliott has affectionaly named Maco (frog in spanish). She's still not crawling yet, but getting really close- although she can cover some serious ground by scooting backwards on her belly. Her hair is starting to come in more- I finally have something to wash when I give her a bath.

We love you so much Avery and can't wait to see how you grow and change this month.

So proud that she can stand up in her crib.

Dania's Quince

On Saturday night we celebrated our sweet friend Dania's 15th birthday. In there DR (and most Latin countries), turning 15 is the BIG birthday. It is the coming of age, going from a little girl to a woman.

We hosted the Quinceañera at our house, and they invited about thirty of their family and friends. The party was "supposed to" start at 6:30. One of their friends has a minivan and offered to bring everyone from Cielo. The first group arrived at about 7:20, and then he had to turn around and go back for the second gruop. The second group got here around 8, and then we were ready to begin the celebration. Dania was upstairs getting ready, and stayed hidden from the guests. We gathered everyone around the stairs, which were lit with christmas lights and decorated with white confetti. Elliott announced her....Ana Dania Martinez Ortega...and she gracefully came down the stairs, curtseying her way down! Everyone applauded and shouted as she came down. Her little brother Gregory was waiting at the bottom of the stairs to receive her. He then escorted her around to greet each guest.

Then it was picture time!! Dania posed for some individual shots, and then took a photo with just about every combination of people possible.

Gregory, Ana (mom), Dania, and Altagracia (grandmother)

Avery stayed up for the whole party...oops. She was in her PJs and all ready for bed when the doorbell rang...once she found out there were people here, there was no getting her down.

After the big photo shoot, came the food. Not a crumb was left!

Then it was time to sing Happy Birthday and cut the cake.

We had an awesome time. We were so honored to be able to celebrate Dania and her family in this way. Her mom told me that it was a dream come true for them all!

Earthquake in Haiti

Friends, thankfully we as a family are fine, yet we mourn for the destruction in our neighboring country Haiti.  We also mourn for our Haitian friends and neighbors living here, the majority as refugees, in Santo Domingo.  Most have family and friends living in Haiti, and of course a great percentage of them hail from Port au Prince.

As Mission Emanuel, we are striving to be a conduit through which food, water and medicine can be delivered quickly and efficiently to both Port au Prince and to the current and future refugees living in our small community of Bayona here in Santo Domingo.  If you feel led to give financially toward these efforts you may contact Mission Emanuel's US office at (877)422-9200.

Several of our Mission Emanuel teammates plan to drive three truckloads of goods (boxes of nonperishable food, water bottles from Mission Emanuel's water purification plant, and first aid supplies and antibiotics) on Saturday or Sunday, depending on when we can access the medicines and the accessibility of the Jimaní border crossing.  Personally, we will probably not be traveling on this first trip to Haiti, however we do want to be conduits for the love and provision of God in our community.  Please pray for us to know our role here in Santo Domingo in making the love, compassion and sovereignty of God known to a scared and mourning Haitian community.

Of course, please continue to pray for all Haitian people, especially those living (and dying) in and around Port au Prince.  May the God of all grace, who calls us to his eternal glory in Christ, heal, restore and redeem this situation and these loved people.

We Made It

Barely. I came down with dengue fever on Wednesday (from a mosquito bite), and was in bed  until we left early Monday morning. I had a really high fever, headache, and bad pain behind my eyes. El was super dad and took care of Avery, ran errands, and packed for us. But, now we are home, I'm finally feeling better, and we are loving being back in the good 'ole US of A. 

Avery opening her first ever Christmas gift; a pretty red Christmas dress from Hap!

Glad to be in the US for the first time!