do or die...



A 2 hour walk up a mountain to meet
her family!

Marlen Simeon is my friend, my adopted god mother and mom-inspiration. Marlen is a mother of 5 and we had our first bonding moment (with NO language) at the hospital holding her baby girl down on a table to be treated by other "white" people. Sheeze had gotten a 3rd degree burn on her leg and needed more care than I was able to do. I was Sheeze's first "white" person (and maybe Marlen's too) so needless to say, she was terrified. Amazingly that didn't keep her from me which had to be God.

Marlen works hard, sacrifices much and loves deeply. If you have visited or heard me talk about Haiti you would know her as "Faulto's Mama". Her 6 year old was my first friend in the community and...wait, before I write a book, I am not writing a

 blog to tell you about Marlen, but to glorify my God for her life!



Pierre, her husband is a mason by trade and an amazing husband and father by grace. They have been together for over 18 years, 5 kids and many hard times. Pierre got a job in the Dominican Republic which is very common but it kept him there for 10 years off and on... more on! Well Marlen, at some point, learned to depend on God for all things.

 

This past week Fritznel was at the feeding program and they were testifying about how God provides. Marlen shared a bit of her testimony....

"I was in a room with my children when it started to rain. The floor was flooding so I put ALL our belongings and my children on the 1 bed that we had in our 1 room apartment. I just kept praying that God would help us and in walk a man from the neighborhood. He says to me 'I have $50 and I'll give it to you in exchange for sex'... I said 'no' because I knew God would provide a way to live.  I cried myself to sleep but sang in worship first. The next day, not even 24 hours later someone had brought me $250 that my husband had made at work. God had provided! We began to build a home!"

She cried as she shared this story with the women and my husband. Some of you are in shock...sad, confused, in dis-belief. In Haiti, its do or die. Be committed or not. Trusting in God, staring fear in the face and your life being a walking testimony brings Glory to the name of Jesus. Men propositioning you for services is a way you could get by, but when your heart is fixed on the Lord you don't depend on any one by Him!

Pierre loving on his wife of 18 years!

In January 2012 I had the humbling privilege of leading Marlen back to the Lord and watching her re-commit her life to Him. I don't know what happened in the middle of these times but I know that now He is her Friend, Father and Hope again! Pierre, Marlen and their children have opened their home to EHM and are our ministry site for all the things the Lord has us doing. Our feeding program is growing, our chickens are safe in their Pierre-made coupe, and our classroom is over flowing with families! We meet there and share God's love with the whole community from their front porch. They ask for NOTHING in return! They serve faithfully and make me my favorite food when they can just because they love to be a  blessing! They sleep 7 people in 2 rooms, on 3 "beds", have no electric, water access, or a toilet but they have more joy than anyone I know in their circumstances!

 

What is it that God wants you to remember about your life that can GLORIFY His name? Testify to HIS faithfulness today, tomorrow and always!

 

PLEASE pray for this family that they will continue to be a light in the darkness and always proclaiming God's LOVE for His children!

 
 
 
 

Welcome to....

"Welcome to Haiti" is one of my favorite sayings when people come to visit us. I prep them on their way to the house from the airport. Cold water, minimul electric, animals everywhere and crazy drivers are a few of the things that you will have to adjust to when you come to Empowering Haitian Moms. Now... all I keep thinking is "Welcome to America". I have to admit that when I was in the airport in Haiti, I was so nervous to come back. There were a lot of mixed emotions since I was leaving Fritznel and all the moms that have become my family. I really didn't know what to expect on this trip to the place I no longer consider "home". I had an interesting first week of reminders.

I arrived in North Carolina around 3 am after delays and having to drive with Sara to their home in Fayeteville, so needless to say the 7 am wake up was difficult! Riding in the car that late was very different but one of my first "Welcome to America" moments was the scalding hot shower and the fact that I didn't have to wash my clothes in there with me"! When I see little things on the floor I instantly want to scream and think it is a bug! Eating at an "all you can eat" buffets and not waiting to hitch hike on tap taps was an adjustment too! Oh and wearing a fleece sweat shirt and to stop from shivering in the air conditioning took some work!

I had a few appointments in Suffolk, VA so 5 days later I took a train for the 1st time....did you know the first steam engine train dates back to Jan 1804 and I am here to tell you that this was my most amazing "Welcome to America" moment.
On my train ride I had a cafe, a bathroom, air conditioning, electrical outlets and free wifi all in and within maybe 30 steps from my seat. I will have you know that in Haiti there are NO cafe's anywhere, rarely a bathroom (especially with flushing toilets and a sink to wash my hands in), hardly anyone has full time electric and wifi is like GOLD! It hit me that a 4 hour ride on a vehicle that dates back 200+ years ago, I experienced more amenities that I have access to in the country I now call home. It is so amazing how God changed my heart and with all that I don't have... I miss home. I miss my rooster who thinks he should crow every 30 minutes, my water tank leaking, the electric being too weak to charge my phone and my freezing cold showers. I miss the simplicity of life and being content with my life in Haiti.

Dont get me wrong... I am loving America and all its "Good stuff". I am loving Starbucks, wal mart and chick fil a. Driving my car around and being able to relax on the road without constant fear of wrecking nor do I have to hitch hike! I have realised that I need to be in prayer more for "home". That the people don't need to be "American-ised" at all but they can live better than they do now, free from poverty with a little help. I am realising more and more that God MADE me an American and with that comes blessings too. I am able to travel, say, believe, and be free anytime, place and anywhere! I can work (or not and still survive) in America and be better off more than anyone in the families in our ministry.

I realise more and more that I need to pray for America to be truly the land of the Free. Free from "stuff", free from "things" and free to live. It is so easy to get back into the "American" life style where you go go go and you're in a hurry to wait! You need more, want more and have more. I want everything fast and easy and it hasn't been my lifestyle for 7 months! I need to be free from America!

I encourage you to come to Haiti, shed a few things, sacrifice for a week and see what God does in your life. See how you can become "free" and then go home and say "Welcome to America" with a changed heart.

Praying for God's will to be done.

The train bathroom!

"Yes" and "Amen"

 

Fritznel teaching moms about God's promises!

For every one of God's promises are "Yes" in him; therefore also through him the "Amen" is spoken, to the glory we give to God. 2 Corinthians 1:20

We have been teaching an 8 week series on "Identity, who are you in Christ" and this week was "Righteous". God inspired the Word in 1 John 3:7 that says "Little children, let no one deceive you. The one who practices righteousness is righteous , just as Jesus is righteous.
We taught the story of Noah and how God looked all through the Earth and found only Noah as "a godly man; he was blameless among his contemporaries." Genesis 6:9. In the world we live in it is impossible to live without sin but because of the blood of Jesus we are able to be called "righteous". So, with the help of the Holy Spirit and the gift of repentance we can be like Noah. Ashley brought a craft that the moms and the children got to do which was building the arch with the animals and the rainbow. It is amazing that still to this day God has kept His promise of not flooding the Earth and that every promise in the Bible can not be broken. If you have ever been in Haiti during raining season you would know that some days it feels like that promise is on the brink of being broken.

The children putting the arch together

Knowing that Jesus' Word is truth and it CAN NOT be broken is important in the life of anyone, especially a Haitian. Here, it is crucial to trust and depend on the One Living God for everything you need. 80% of Haitians live under the poverty line and 54% live in abject poverty. The average per capita income in Haiti is $480 a year, compared to $33,550 in the United States.

 

A and C helping Clifford

Encouraging these moms (and you) to stay in the Word, hear, listen & obey is a vital part of life.

The gift of faith is evident in life here and being confident in who God is. When you struggle to feed your family every day, be healed from sickness and need your baby to live through the night all you can do is pray and trust that God's word will not return void. I have witnessed these mothers go from homeless to having a place to lay their heads, jobless on their way to self sufficiency and sick children being healed of MANY sicknesses.

The moms loved the activity too

Provision, Protection, Healer, Rock, Savior, Father and Friend.

Psalm 18:30 "The one true God acts in a faithful manner; the Lord's promise is reliable he is a shield to all who take shelter in him."

$28 a month



This isn't going to be the best-written blog but I am asking for your prayers, need you to read through and then stop to ask God for His provision and THANK Him for his protection over a friend of mine.

 

Psalm 107:28 "They cried out to the Lord in their distress; he delivered them from their troubles."

 

Our dear friend Erik needs your prayers tonight and through out the week. Erik is the father of  3 boys, our newest baby girl Erika and a great husband to our mom Jetride. The average taxi driver can make $7 a week which is how this family makes due. That is $28 a month! Well, today Erik was driving approximately 60 mph and hit a woman on the street. No matter the reason, it is automatically his fault.



Erik did not have the chance to swerve or stop when this woman stepped out without looking and she is in serious condition. The woman was denied hospital care at 3 hospitals because they said that they couldn't give her the best medical attention so his brother Pierre took her 2 hours away to Port Au Prince. Part of the deal here is that a family member of the driver SHOULD go with the victum to insure she gets proper care and do all they can to make sure she...doesn't die. Punishment for this is very severe. Right now Erik has to pay for every single thing that she needs and the family will put a lot of pressure on him to take care of it. If they need to spend equivalent to $.17 (yes cents) he has to pay it. IF she dies, Erik will have to pay half of the bills. Medical and Funeral. If he does not pay the family can retaliate, put him in prison or practice voodoo against him. This is a critial time for this family.

We are crying out for prayer.



In Haiti, there is one hospital bed for every 10,000 inhabitants. There are only about eight doctors and 10 nurses for every 100,000 inhabitants.

 



You can see all the people waiting too

When we heard of the accident, we all prayed and then the entire community rallied together. They jumped on tap tap's and moto's (yes more motos) and went to see him at the nearest hospital while we (the missionaries) called our friend with a truck and waited 30 minutes for him to arrive since Fritznel and I knew it would take over an hour to drive and 30 minutes walking to get to the main hospital that Erik NEEDED to go to. As we approached the 1st hospital we saw Erik being carried out because they couldn't give him proper attention either. Fast forward hours later, after many cold water bags acting as compresses to get the swelling down and we finally got the medical attention that they needed. Erik has a broken wrist, a concussion and a lot of road rash while his brother has a swollen eye and many open road rash as well. Ashley, Cierra and I were able to stay with the men since we were actually being "nurses" to them so we had plenty of time to pray! The hospital situation here is just like the statistics say. Too many patients and not nearly enough personal! It took 30 minutes before they even realized that these men were there. Every person is in the same room with a couple dividers to block off "rooms". 

 

Setting Erik's broken wrist in a cast

2 people died in the very room we were in while we were there. They changed the sheets and moved the next person in 20 minutes later. 

 

 The swelling in Erik's eye went down some, they set his arm in a cast and cleaned both the men's wounds. The doctor's hooked him to an IV because he was "weak" and wanted to do an x-ray of his wrist for $7.14 so he is on his way to recovery but still hurting pretty bad. His sisters wanted to lay him down and let him sleep but we protested and Erik had to stay awake! Having the concussion, I knew he could NOT sleep even though he kept telling me he was tired. There are many different cultural differences but because I am an aggressive woman, (and his child's god mother) ~~ I get my way! ha. 

 

James 1:2-3 "Consider it nothing but joy when you fall into all sorts of trials because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance."

We need your prayers tonight and the rest of the week as the people involved need some healing, comfort, peace and God's love. Please pray for the woman who was injured and her family. This is definitely un-timely for Erik as his baby girl turned 1 week old today and his oldest boy is graduating kindergarten this Sunday. Erik can not work because of his wrist and is going to need a lot of TLC. Please remember this family as we walk through this time together and pull together as a community. Erik and his family are Christians and believe that God knows all and is in control of all things! 

 

Thank you for praying for our friends and we will continue with updates!