What a Blessed Week!

Mark and Jackie Ikerd arrived last Tuesday with bags full of goodies from our friends and family back home. It was everything from Cheeze-Its to Diet Sundrop! God is so good! Thank you everyone for spoiling us so much! The kids thought it was Christmas.

After such a good start we thought there was no way the week could get any better but it did. We have a well that has not worked since it was installed months before we ever got here. For over a year it has sat unused. The plan is for it to be used as a backup for our current well at the compound but also provide water for Pastor Andre's school once it is complete and the thing we were the most excited about is being able to provide water in the alley to the people of the community. Right now people pass our house everyday to go down to another hand pumped well to pay money to get water. Some have to travel over a mile and carry the water back in buckets. This new fountain in the side street will help many families and give us the chance to get to know them personally and share our faith with them.

God saw fit to help us get the pump working and get the fountain built. I plan to test it this evening and begin giving water tomorrow morning if everything works. God is SO good.

Here are some photos of that project we worked on this week. Mark turned out to be a master shovel pusher. I make a better observer!

We also were contacted on Tuesday and told of a baby in St. Ard which is where our other clinic is going to be located. The Haitian pediatrician there wanted us to come and look at a baby that showed up at the clinic and could not open his eyes. When we arrived we found out the baby was not at the clinic but at a house near by. After offroading for a while in the minibus we found the house where the baby was. He was lying on an old lounge chair under a bush. It turns out the baby was brought to the clinic and just dropped off. No one knows anything about him or his family. A girl from the clinic agreed to take him home and care for him.

When we arrived the baby had been on antibiotics for several days but still could not really even move. His eyes were horribly infected along with the surrounding tissues, he has a respiratory, GI, and genital infection as well. He is probably about a year old but can't sit up or anything because he is so sick. We got him started on other meds and will continue to monitor him over the next few days. He is being called Krislove so you can be praying for him.

Caring for the Widows and Orphans

We also had a chance to visit the orphanage next door this week. They have about 40 kids from 6 months to 16 years old. Jacy Klaire has fallen in love with the little 6 month old baby. She is a little doll named Molly and she loves for Jacy Klaire to hold her. We also have a little friend named Jonluke that is totally blind. He stayed right with Mark during the entire visit except when they pulled him away to go and change his clothes because they were embarrassed at his appearance when we took a picture of him with Mark. They were mad that he had on old clothes and did not change them before the "visitors" came.

Josie Kate loves the kids there too and tries to be mommy to all of the little ones.

I have been wanting to get to know some of the elderly and widows in the church across the street where we attend so I talked to Pastor Andre and one of the elders and lined up for me and Mark to be able to go and give them a care package of rice, beans, bouillon, and cooking oil. It was great. We got to visit 8 different widows and spend some time talking to them and hearing their stories. These were great women of faith that were living with absolutely nothing yet full of joy and fervor for the Lord. I was grateful to get to minister to them in a tangible way. Without a husband to provide they have to depend on others to help them have food. They were truly thankful and praised God for our visit and the food we brought them.

Jackie also spent one morning teaching the boys an art lesson. They loved it. They are still drawing butterflies. Our kids loved the time too. Mark and Jackie really ministered to our family this week as much as they ministered to the Haitian people. I am so grateful!