June Update!

Happy Birthday David (#7)!

Summer time play!

Gramothe kindergarten students pose for a picture.

Hello everyone, sorry it has been a while since we've updated. There is certainly much to tell about!

Today we are finishing up as we pack to leave for the states on Monday. God is good & we're ready for a rest! We are blessed to be spending the first 5 days of our trip with family friends at Disney World in Orlando, FL, thanks guys for make that possible!

We have a busy schedule this summer, but are hoping to see as many of you as possible while we are out. I'll write more about that (our schedule) at another time. For now, let's back-track & see what's been going on....

For our MTM student sponsors you should have gotten your May/June correspondence, or should recieve them within the next week at the very least. If you did not recieve one, please email us. For everyone else, our annual newsletter will go out while we are stateside this summer.

It was a busy time getting pictures together with names and grades from both schools of nearly 800 students! Whew, I'm glad that is done for another year! I love seeing their faces & matching them with their sponsors as I prepare them to mail. Some of our students were absent when pictures were taken & some have left the school. Those notes were enclosed too. Any questions, please let us know.

Stephen & David have had a great start to their summer. Recently, they've found a clear water pool in the river bed. Unseasonal rains & natural springs are to thank for that! Again today they have hiked down with friends to partake in the refreshing play. (See 2nd & 3rd pictures)

Casey is at summer camp with the National Guard. He'll be finished about the time that we arrive in Terre Haute. He continues to live the busy life of work, Guard & college.

June 6th was not only David's birthay, but also the last day of school. We shared goodies at school with his classmates & a classmate who shares David's birth date. Also, their first grade teacher was ending her 20 year missionary career in Haiti. (See 1st picture)

It can't be summer without puppies! We have 7 rotty puppies that are just as cute as they can be. It's fun watching to boys get attached & be detirmined to keep all of them (um, plus the 5 already within our yard!).

As we prepare to leave Haiti for a short time, please keep our family in prayer. Our number 1 request is that we are able to kick back, rest & enjoy ourselves together at Disney before we set off on our busy schedule once arriving in Terre Haute. We are blessed to be in 5 new churches this summer presenting our work & delivering a word of encouragement. Please pray that ears would be opened & that the Holy Spirit would use us to challenge & bless those around us. Please pray for traveling mercies, continued good health & again, rest both physically & spiritually.

While traveling & speaking we'll be sharing more about the future surgical & dental centre that is under construction in Gramothe, additions at the Dumay school, the building of our family home & how God is blessing the church in Gramothe. Accompanying us this trip is Miss Micka Hyppolite, a native of Haiti that calls the village of Gramothe home. Micka, as many of you know, works with us in the medical clinic, at the orphanage 2 days each week & she also leads praise & worship in the church. Her eyes are big thinking about coming to the United States for the first time, but I imagine they'll get even bigger as she climbs the steps to board that big jet plane!

Ok, that's it for now, time to go do some more packing :) We're looking forward to seeing everyone & of course, the boys are ready for a "McDonald's"!

Blessings to all!
Willem, Beth, Stephen & David

Happy Mother's Day!

A big happy mother's day to all those special moms out there. I especially remember those who've been a "surrogate" mom to Casey through the years. Thank you.
To warm your heart on this mother's day, check out this online story about some close friends of ours http://www.theindychannel.com/news/13300966/detail.html.
God bless all of our mothers!

Praise the Lord!

Just to let you all know that we are giving praises to God as Stephen has just completed a full week of school headache free! This is the first since early November and this was a stressful week as his class participated in a week long standardized testing. God is definatley great and greatly to be praised! We are greatful for your prayers as you have stood with us during this time.

It's a beautiful day in Haiti as the sun is shining brightly. May God bless you abundantly!

Sincerely,
Willem & Beth

A Little Update

Happy 11th birthday Stephen!

Greetings Everyone!
We have our tickets in hand & our travel dates for the summer are 6/18-8/8. That will enclude a 5 day "blessing trip" to Orlando, FL Disney World for our family and a drive to B.C., Canada, both of which we are very excited about!

Before we leave Haiti there is still much work to be done.
Beth continues to plug away at scheduling for the summer, student correspondence for June, being mom & wife.
Willem continues overseeing the roof line that is being constructed on the new mission house(see some great pics @ www.gohardcore.blogsite.com ) as the workers wait for the ground to be dry enough to work on the clinic expansion site in Gramothe. Also in the works is continued work in Dumay as we plan & prepare for 3 new classrooms to be built in August!
Let's not forget one of our last big teams of the season in May, along with 3 smaller individual groups that will "float" in during next month as well.

Stephen was well satisfied with his birthday (4/21) celebration as he treated his classmates to a noon meal of pizza, root beer & birthday cake on Friday. We spent Saturday at his school campus as all of his friends gathered there for the schools' family picnic day. It was alot of good "play" time for all.

David was the happiest boy at school last week as his mommy was the substitute teacher all week long! We had fun learning our memory verses, working in the school garden & yes, that sub was a real drill sergeant ensuring that all the work the teacher left behind got done!

Casey continues to school, work, & work some more in Charleston, IL. He is just 2 semesters away from finishing his degree. We are looking forward to spending time with him this summer. Early in February we were very proud to learn that Casey had recieved his promotion of sergeant with the IL National Guard.

Our dear friend & new family member, Paul DenHaan, is off to the Congo. As some of you know he's been using MTM as a "home base" while he travels & works with a few other missions here in Haiti. We are dearly greatful for Paul being here & being such a huge help to us in many areas of our lives & in ministry. We are blessed to know him & to refer you to his blogsite (address above) to see what he's been doing here in Haiti.

The rainy season is appearing to catch up to us here on the mountain. It is a beautiful time of year to see everything turning green & beginning to flower.

We desperately need your prayers for a worker/liason for Beth to help with the student correspondence. This is a very important role that not just anyone can fill. Please pray spacifically for an energetic, reliable person who can read, write & speak Creole, English & French that is also willing to work at both of our schools. Both schools are off the main road & are not always easy to get to.
Thank you in advance for standing in prayer with us for this request.

May God bless each of you & make his face to shine upon you!
Willem & Beth

Here he is!

I promised some pictures of baby Christian so here they are! The first is when he was just minutes old, the second he is snug in his mother's home at just one day old. Praise the Lord!

He Has Risen!

Praise be to God for he is good! He is great & greatly to be praised; glory, glory to his name!

The week is nearly finished for the medical/dental team from Terre Haute, Indiana that has been here since April 2nd.

The most memorable "clinic moment" this week hands down was the birth of 6lb. 5 oz. "Christian", born at the close of clinic on Friday night! What excitement! Christain is the first baby born at the facility in it's 7 year history. An in home check up visit yesterday revealed that both mom & baby are doing very well, & are very happy.

Today's picture is of the "kid crew" that we've been enjoying this week. They've been great fun around the house when not "assisting" their parents & fellow team members in the clinic. From left to right they are: David Charles, Geoff Webb, Jilian Webb, Caitlin Favali & Stephen Charles (oh yes, & that's Rocko & Flash in the picture too).

Blessings for a wonderful day of rest in the Lord!

Until we meet here again, Willem & Beth

Well, here we go!

This is a new venture for us, so everyone will need to bare with us until we get this blogging thing down. We are excited about the ability to keep you all better informed about happenings here in Haiti.

Right now, the house is all transformed & ready to recieve 16 guests from the Terre Haute, IN area that will be conducting a 4 day medical/dental clinic in Gramothe starting tomorrow. Laura Gesin (New Jersey), Megan Collins (Ft. Wayne, IN) & Paul Denhann (BC, Canada) are already here, so we'll have a housefull!

For those who've been praying for Stephen, thank you! He's doing fine but continues to have frequent migraines. We just keep praying him thru each day of school & by God's grace he'll finish this last quarter of 4th grade!

It's a beautiful afternoon in Haiti! I will leave you now with a little something to feast your eyes on. This is a picture of the Christmas party we had in Gramothe for all of the students. They were overwhelmed with the experience of the jumping castle. They also enjoyed a sno cone, popcorn & a hot dog each. Most of the children had never had neither a snocone or katsup! It was great fun for all!

God bless you!

Sincerely,

Willem & Beth