Sight Restored

He was lead into our eye clinic by a daughter.  He was blind for almost 10 years.  It was quickly evident that he had very advanced cataracts.  I could not tell if there were other disease processes as well because the cataracts were too advanced to see past them.  We set him up to see an American group of surgeons that were coming to Haiti to do cataract surgeries just a few months later.  The patient had his surgery a week ago and came to the clinic for his post op check today.

It was so fun to hear him talk about how he could see everything for the first time in a decade.  He told me that the only problem is that people from all around his village keep coming to his house to see if it was true that he could really see.  With the help of Medical Ministry International we were able to make an immeasurable difference in a person's life.  What a great opportunity!

These experiences are what keep us going down here.  When it seems that the pressure is just overwhelming and the thoughts of a "normal" life in America and practicing optometry in an air conditioned office with people who can talk about sports and "the news" begin to tempt me to wonder what I am doing here, God sends one of those moments that helps to remind me of the special opportunity He has awarded to us.

UPDATE:
We have a container in customs that has 3 boats and motors that we will be using in the fishing ministry for the guys to be able to catch more fish.  I pray we can get it out tomorrow.

Michelet had his brain surgery for hydrocephaly.  He has had a few minor complications but is doing well now.  We are anxious to see how much he is able to develop now that the pressure on his brain has been relieved.  Keep him in your prayers as he is still susceptible to infection and other complications for some time to come.  

Our SUV has major electrical/mechanical problems and is broken down at a mission near Port Au Prince.  We will tow it back to Montrouis as soon as we get the truck fixed... a Ford diesel mechanic with a few days to spare should would be helpful!

We will be in the US for 3 weeks in December visiting family thanks to the generous donation of plane tickets for our entire family!  We are trying to get a visa for Justice and Jean Patrick but they have not come through yet.

Liberty Academy- our American school in St. Marc is going well.  We are starting to talk to teachers for next year if anyone is looking for such an opportunity.  Joy is loving the school and is doing an amazing  job of running  everything and teaching kindergarten.

The child sponsorship  program is still struggling to find sponsors for the kids in school but we have most of them in school anyway.  You can sponsor a child by visiting http://celebrationchildrenshome.ning.com/group/CKC

We are in the process of opening a boy's transition home for teenage boys that don't have anywhere to go.  It will be housed upstairs in the property we rented to store the boxes of food and supplies that we use in our feeding programs.

The school feeding program is going well with almost 1500 kids being fed daily and teachers being paid a salary through the same program.  We are also starting a separate feeding program for the school in the fish village.  The huge cooking pots are being made right now.  It is a cool process as they use old aluminum pieces from junked vehicles to make the pots.

The elderly feeding program is also going well with the ladies in our women's ministry preparing the food three days per week. 

The fishing is good right now and we are buying hundreds of pounds of fish per week to use in our programs and we start transporting to other ministries starting tomorrow.

The kids at the children's home are doing great.  We have them in a new school this year and they are loving it.  Several of our kids are going  to school for the first time in their lives and that has been a wonderful change for them. You should see Daniel and Sonson in their little uniforms!

Wesner's house is getting the roof put on and windows and doors are being built right now.  His wedding next month is going to be a big celebration for everyone and we have several people coming down from the US for the shindig.

All of our children including Logan who is here for a couple of months are doing great.  School in St. Marc has definitely made that better and an answer to prayers.

We have a group from Operation Hope coming down again next month to do surgeries and we have been very busy with teams for the last several months.  Our 8 interns leave this week for a Christmas break.  We will miss them as they have been such a huge help to us at the school and the mission.

Justice's adoption is still a mystery and frustration but is apparently moving along.  Our creche license is still sitting in the office of social services waiting on approval.

Anson, the 13 year old boy that was electrocuted in our yard a few weeks ago is doing much better.  We had started letting him come into the mission some to help around and play with the kids.  Some local adults had talked him into throwing a wire over the government electrical main where it comes into the transformer in our yard so they could steal the electricity.  As he did the government electricity was on and it almost killed him.  He spent a couple of weeks in the hospital and will have scars for life.  Had he died, I would have been charged even though I was not there at the time.  We thank God for His continual protection.  Anson is now in our school sponsorship program and will live in the boy's home.  He said that a lot of the local people are mad at him because he won't steal anything for them from our home.  What a shame for a 13 year old to be put into that kind of position but it is a great chance for us to minister to him and rescue him from a delinquent life.

The small business program we set up for the earthquake refugees is going well.  We still need a few more business ideas to put a couple of the women into but overall it is going great.

Pastor Cesar and the other pastors are doing well.  I preached at Buas Nerf for their big harvest service yesterday and everyone was there.  We had a good 4 hour service and they gave me a pineapple and a gallon of fresh cow's milk.

I think that is a wrap of what's going on right now.  Thanks to everyone that has come to visit and sent support the last couple of months.  It has been a tough last couple of months but we are looking forward to seeing friends and family next month.  Pray we can get those visas for our two Haitian kids so Joy will be able to actually relax a little while in the states.  If Justice is stuck here I don't think Joy will have the same experience as she would have if Justice gets to go.  The Lord is in charge!