Hello and Merry Christmas! We hope and pray that you have an enjoyable Christmas season and that you take time to reflect on the birth of Jesus, the hope of the world! We wanted to share information about our Christmas adventures with you so you can keep us in your prayers.
Denise has been dealing with a few different health issues for several months now. After consulting with some medical professionals about her symptoms and getting some tests done in Haiti, we were advised to have more tests done in the US to determine the cause of her symptoms. We arrived in Florida on Tuesday and have stayed very busy talking with doctors, nurses, family and friends trying to get into the specialists needed for additional tests. Our plans are to remain in Florida until Denise is healthy again. Thankfully, we are able to talk with our Haitian staff daily and coordinate activities and events from here. We’re also very thankful that a coworker has the flexibility to head to Haiti and help out on campus during our absence. We hope to return to Haiti by Christmas, but we’re finding difficulty in getting appointments in a timely manner.
Please keep Denise’s health in your prayers as we continue testing to determine what’s causing her symptoms.
Speaking of Christmas, finding Christmas gifts for our kids was quite an adventure this year! With all the protests and road closures this summer and fall, we weren’t able to either go to Port au Prince (PAP) for Christmas shopping, or send things in from the USA since we couldn’t get to PAP to pick them up! Amazingly, our coworker Michelle found many more things in Jacmel than we expected. Despite everything going on, a new store opened up a few miles down the road from us, and they carry a wide variety of merchandise, from toys to home furnishings and appliances. There were a variety of other vendors that had things on our list and were able to get more.
We’re also glad to have the teachers for our Wednesday night devotions going through the Christmas story each week in December as a reminder for the reason for Christmas. Sometimes we need reminders that Christmas is not just about receiving gifts and having parties!
Please continue to keep our kids and staff in your prayers as we all celebrate the true meaning of Christmas and continue to face the challenges of political unrest across Haiti.