Introducing….our new Kay Anj family members!

Congratulations it’s a boy and a girl and boys and girls!  8 of James’ brothers, sisters and cousins arrived safely from Port au Prince yesterday. You may remember that these are the children who lost their parents in the earthquake.   The two oldest siblings will stay in PaP to finish school for the year.  We will meet them at Kay Anj in June.  The kids were met by Nathanael (our friend who stayed in Haiti for a couple weeks), Pastor Eustache, Archibal and 25 new brothers and sisters!  They each got a kiss on the cheek from all of our Kay Anj kids.  They were given blow pops and coloring books and a tour of their new home.  Nathanael and Archibal said they looked happy, content.  They’ve been through so much in their short lives.  We can’t wait to meet them!  We’ll see them all in July.   Nathanael took lots of pictures but the internet is horrible and he can’t get them to me until he gets home.  I’ll post them when I get them. 

James is trying to figure out what he wants to do and where he wants to go.  He’s afraid to go back to Port au Prince.  He says “the earthquake will find me”.  He would love to come to the U.S. and go to college/university.  We’re looking into that for him.  He’s living with Pastor Eustache for the time being….keeping a close eye on his brothers and sisters.

Thank you all for prayers for this precious family.

James, Bill, Leila, Ashley and Nathanael

Ashley, me and the Kids!

Good Morning everyone,
We just wanted to give you a quick update on our whirlwind trip to Haiti last weekend.
We were apprehensive about what we’d find…skinny kids, their things “missing”, no shoes, no one going to school..
We were overjoyed to find the complete opposite! Bill, Leila and Lisa put Pastor Eustache in charge in January and he is running a wonderful, tight, happy ship!
Adeline, our new head manma from Calvary church, LOVES each of the kids and they love her! We walked in and found them happy (so happy!), healthy, clean and especially…not skinny. They even planted bean seeds and now have beans! Their uniforms had been cleaned and were drying on the railing. Their church shoes were lined up and not to be touched until Sunday. There was a list of chores written and taped to the wall. The food looked so good we thought we might join them…we didn’t!
They were so sad when they heard we were only there for a couple days. We kept telling them Juyet (july).
We met James at the Sacre Couer Hospital in Milot. He has 6 brothers and sisters from age 6 to 16. They lost their father 6 years ago and their mother in the earthquake. His cousin died next to him in the quake and left 4 children ages 6-12. Archibal and James are picking up all 10 children in Port au Prince on Sunday/Monday. Lori, 10, had to have his arm amputated from the quake. James is petrified to go back to PaP. He says “the earthquake will find me”. He also told us to thank everyone who has helped him and his family (all of you) and tell them that “they are of God”. He’s incredibly thankful, grateful that his family will be taken care of.
We talked to all of the manmas, children, Pastor Eustache about welcoming these children as God welcomes all children. told them that at Kay Anj were are all one big happy family and we take care of each other.
They understood.
We now have 35 kids. We were given 12 military cots from another orphanage. We left money to buy mattresses and sheets for the cots. eryone will have a bed!
Dr. Maklin, our Pediatrician, will examine each of the new kids. They will have an HIV test, TB test etc.
We are all very excited about going back in July. Our main focus is going to be on education and teaching the kids a trade so that when they leave Kay Anj they will be able to go out and find employment. We want to love and invest in the kids so that they invest in Haiti’s future.

Thank you all for blessing us so that we can go to Haiti and bless these special kids.

Debbie, Bill and HHA

In three days well be in Cap Haitien and do we have a long list of things to take care of!
The most important meeting on our list is meeting with James. James is the 18 year old boy with 5 siblings. The six of them have been orphaned by the earthquake. A couple of the kids are now amputees. James’ dream is to have his 5 younger siblings stay together at an orphanage that will provide food, love and SCHOOL.
Here is a quote from Natalie Connor. Natalie live in NC and adores James and his brothers and sisters. Natalie’s heart is breaking for James and his sibinglings.
From Natalie…”I will pray for you every day and my heart is bursting with the happiness of connecting real people, matching resources with needs, and in finding you. I love how God and the internet help us make a difference!”
Love!!!!!!!!!!!!
Natalie

Natalie, we promise to do all we can to give James peace. Peace in knowing that his 5 brothers and sisters are comforted, loved, fed, and educated. They will have a soft place to sleep and new “brothers and sisters” to walk to school with. They will have Pastor Eustache who will bring them to church. They will be well taken care of at Kay Anj….we promise James.

Please pray for a safe and successful trip for HHA.
Thank you to all of you who have already called, emailed, texted that you’re praying for us. We love you for it!! Debbie

This is an amazing chain of events….I call it Gods Perfect Timing.

I got an email from a woman, Natalie, from Charlotte, NC asking if I could help her find an orphanage for 7  children that were victims of the earthquake. She and her husband volunteer at a hospital in Milot, Haiti (approx. 12 miles from our orphanage).   Natalie told me that  the children were brought in by helicopter to the Milot hospital (Sacre Coeur) for medical treatment.  The children had been pulled from the rubble while their families lay lifeless beside them.  One 14 year old girl lost her leg from the knee down.  Another girl lost her arm, a young boy lost his foot, a young girl has cerebral palsey.  There is a sibling group of 4 where the oldest, James, speaks 4 languages, is not injured and wants to get back to Port au Prince to finish school.  Natalie told me that the two 14 year old girls have not spoken, they’re traumatized.  Imagine their pain.  Natalie was desperate to find these children a home.   She said that the children were to be on a bus any day to go back to Port au Prince (they need the room in the hospital).   Then Natalie said something I’ll never forget…”I love these kids and if they have to go back to Port au Prince, they have no one and the girls will be raped within days of getting off the bus”.   I was lost for words.  I told her that our Kay Anj orphanage is small but we could give her kids food, shelter and LOVE. 

After speaking with Bill and Pastor Eustache (our Kay Anj director) we began making phone calls to people of influence that we’d gotten to know in Cap Haitien.  Nic, the Mont Joli (hotel where we stay) said he’d “do what ever it takes” to get the kids from the hospital to Kay Anj.  We contacted our Haitian friend, Laurence.  Laurence is working with the hospital to confirm that the children are “true orphans”. 

 We were concerned that our orphanage has 3 floors and lots of steps.  Natalie assured me that the children had mastered the use of their crutches.  We wired money for 6 new plasticized mattresses, more food, clean clothes, and a visit by Dr. Maklin, our pediatrician.   

I didn’t know Natalie and she didn’t know me.  She googled “orphanage in Cap Haitien” and found us.  She knew Laurence and Nic and so do we.  Both helped her with the kids last week and will continue to help now to get them to us.  Gods perfect timing…