WOW...Where to even begin...So many things have happened with outreach in the past month & a half ~ Weekly Therapy Outreach 1-3PM each day
~ Outreach Homevisits
~Outreach Waiting List
~Nutrition Initiatives
~Outreach Blessing Fund Ministry
~Microloan start up businesses
AND MORE....
WEEKLY THERAPY OUTREACH
Mon-Fri 1-3PM we have 45 families that come each week on their specific day to receive therapy services, encouragement (they are grouped with other children who are at their level physically), some receive nutritional supplements for their kids, other refill their children's seizure medications & we all end in a time of scripture reading & prayer together. Below are some fun pictures from outreach....
OUTREACH HOMEVISITS
Tuesday afternoons + outreach homevisits = one of my favorite times of the week...
Why?... well it is the time of the week where I get to adventure out in the community...visit the families homes...grow in relationship with them...learn more about their families & living situations...pour into them spiritually and love on them in their home environments. Below are some pictures & stories from the last few months of home visits.
Rosemeldrine
Mosline's Mom was excited for our visit. Mosline's mom pulled out her photo album from outreach & was so excited to show Leah & Allyson pictures of her daughter. Many neighbor kids gathered as we fellowshipped together. We ended our time together reading scripture & praying.
Travel to the outreach home visits is usually always an adventure in itself...you never know where you might be hiking, how many people will be in the back of a tap-tap with you or if their will be a moto ride involved.
Rishma Lubin just recently started coming to the outreach program. He was and still is very sick & we have been seeking medical answers for him from multiple doctors. When we arrived Mom was holding him & comforting him. Next to her was a rocking crib with a mosquito net for him under a shaded tree area. She informed us that he has diahrea, fever & vomiting. Presidue called the doctor to check if we could get them in now as Rishma was not looking too good. While we waited many of us took a turn loving on him while his mother got herself & him ready to go. It was a reminder of how hard it is to get medical care. They then had to wait 15+ minutes for a public tap-tap to off-road 30+ minutes with 30+ other people just to get to the doctor. We all circled up & prayed for this mother and for Rishma. Please keep This family is your prayers!
Estelle's mother greeted us with a BIG smile by the road & walked us to her house. She then got us all chairs to sit down in. I got a chance to love on Estelle for a few minutes while I asked a few questions to learn more about her family. I learned that she has 7 kids and Estelle is the youngest, Estelle was born 3 months prematurely, & Estelle's father has been in prison for 2 years for something he did not do and her mom used to be a teacher. I then passed Estelle off to Carlos and Melissa who played with her & did therapy with her while I poured into mom. I loved hearing Estelle talking & laughing while working with them and looks over to see her brother and sisters playing with her as well. She is sure surrounded by a loving family. I shared a scripture lesson on John 9:1-12 on God's love through suffering and his perfect plan even in disability. She pulled out her well used bible and followed along. I was then able to bless her family with a solar power Christian radio with the New Testament in Creole on it. She was so thankful & excited.
At the end I asked how I could be praying for her. Her prayer requests were
1. She was leaving for Gonaives after we left to visit her husband in prison. That she could be an encouragement to him, that he would stay strong in his faith and safe travels
2. For Estelle to gain more strength and skills for controlling her head, sitting, walking and that she could go to school some day.
3. For her church that they would be a light in their community and be witness to those around them.
Please keep this family on your prayers!!!
Meet Dodorah...When we arrived Dodorah was lying. Content on a blanket outside. She just became apart of the program a little over a month ago. She is super small for her age (2 years) but has a huge sassy personality to make up for it she is not a huge fan of "Blancs" so as soon as she saw me she started crying. I crawled on the floor and sat her on my lap & after a few minutes of crying she did cuddle up against me. She is the best snuggler! As long as she could not see me she was ok. BUT once she saw carols is was all over she said "PaPa" and reach out for him. Carlos spent the rest of the session balancing doing therapy with her and just loving/comforting her. So wonderful to watch him interact with her. While he was playing I had a chance to share a scripture lesson of encouragement from John 9:1-12 on God's love through suffering and his perfect plan even in disability. I was then able to bless her family with a solar power Christian radio with the New Testament in Creole on it. Her mother showed little emotion throughout our entire visit until she picked up her daughter for a picture and they both started smiling! Dodorah is the youngest of 5. When I asked how I could be praying for them she said pray for Dodorah to gain more strength and standing, walking, talking and that she could go to school some day. At the end I asked how she was doing with her walker and mom said that she uses it every day and it is good! Please keep this family in your prayers!
Doudie Danaye
When we arrived her mom was working at her little store on her front porch. It is like a little grocery store that has some staple foods and drinks. She took us inside and got us all chairs. I sat on the bed next to Doudie then picked her up & loved on her a little bit while I talked to mom. Doudie just started our program 2 months ago so I don't know their family super well. I found out that Doudie is an only child & more about how her mother makes a living. I passed Doudie off to Carlos, Melissa and Anna so u could do Bible study with her mom. She was not having it though & was not calmed by toys, lollipop or cuddles until she was back in her mothers arms. Then she got a BIG smile and enjoyed her lollipop (her mom helped her self-feed it). I just loved seeing the special bond between these 2. I shared a scripture lesson on John 9:1-12 on God's love through suffering and his perfect plan even in disability and then I was then able to bless her family with a solar power Christian radio with the New Testament in Creole on it. I then asked how so could specifically be praying for her. For Doudie to gain more strength and skills for controlling her head, sitting, and walking. Please keep this family on your prayers.
Prisca has been in the outreach program for the past 2 years & has made great progress in therapy. In the past year she has gone from never weight-bearing through her legs to starting to lift them up for walking. The last 6 months though she has really been struggling with her health. After many rounds of test, a few close calls in the hospital and many prayers later...she has been diagnosed with TB of the liver. We are happy that she is now receiving the right treatment and is on the road to recovery back to her BIG smiles, laughter, and excitement for therapy. Please keep Prisca in your prayers as the treatment is 3 months long and until she is finished with her treatment she will not be able to return to outreach.
OUTREACH WAITING LIST....
over the last month we came to a place in the outreach program that in order to maintain provide quality care to those in our program we had to make a cut off number of how many outreach therapy kids we could have in the program. We made the decision about a month ago that we could take no more children into the outreach program at this time as 45 was already more than we felt fell into that "quality care" range. So we set up a waiting list...when families show up seeking help & to be apart of the outreach program they are no longer immediately emitted into the program. Instead their information is taken on the intake form, the child is evaluated to see what day he/she best fits in on, the family is educated on some therapy exercises they can be doing at home with their child, any immediate medical needs are taken care of, and they are assessed for therapy equiptment that they might benefit from. The waiting list already has 8-10 kids on it! With that said all the current outreach families have been talked to and informed that we will start enforcing the attendance policy of them coming 3 out 4 weeks a month and if they cannot come they need to call in. If they do not follow the attendance policy they will be suspended from the outreach program and placed on the waiting list so that someone from the waiting list can have a chance at outreach. Please keep all the families on waiting list in your prayers. Pray that they will not lose heart...that they find hope and encouragement in the time they had during their first visit knowing that we are here for them (even if they are not in the program yet)...pray that God would open their eyes to see the worth & value each of their children have...pray for patience and that they will not give up on waiting...pray for commitment to the program... Below are some of the families on the waiting list & their stories.
Meet Chaline- she is the newest member of outreach waiting list. Her family brought her to the mission today. She is 3 and unable to walk without 2 hands held. While she waits to be in the program we were able to provide her with a PVC pipe stander and educate her caregivers on exercises they can do at home. She is malnourished and her caretakers said they have a hard time finding food for her. We were able to transition her over to Magdala and the nutrition program to see about getting them help in that area. Please keep this family in your prayers as they wait for a spot in the program. Pray that she will gain strength in her legs and core and gain balance for walking.
Meet Machini...His mother passed away recently and was left orphaned. His neighbors brought him all the way from jean Ruebell about 5+ hours away yesterday to drop him off at the Miriam Center. They were unaware that we do not take children but empower them to keep and care for the children. I spent all morning into the afternoon pouring into this family. I made custom made hand braces, knee blocks, Haitian chair, PVC pipe stander and fit him for foot AFOs. Presidue spent an hour teaching them therapy brushing, lotion massage, stretching, and therapy ball and provided them with picture handouts of each, therapy ball, therapy brush, and lotion. I loved watchingNicholson Francois, Presidue, and Philogene Joseph Carlos all be apart of pouring into this family and empowering them that they can take care of this child and love him. Machini has quite the personality and such a cute smile. I so wish they lived closer and could come weekly. Please keep this family in your prayers as they love on and fight for this little boy! I pray that they left being empowered.
One of our new precious children on the outreach waiting list. This 3 month old little girl does not have arms but small stumps with 1 finger on each. She is super alert and seems to developing normally otherwise please keep this family in your prayers as they wait for a spot to open up & that they would continue to pour love into this sweet little girl.
These 2 kiddos are now on the October surgery list...Please pray that they will get needed surgery to correct their foot deformities so they will be able to walk without any problems.
MICROLOAN'S & START-UP BUSINESSES
I had a wonderful visit with Paul Frantz family the other day. While Presidue poured into Paul Frantz mother I played with him on the IPAD. He was so EXCITED & loved every moment...he actually cried when we left ;( (but I think more so because mom came with us to walk us back to the main road). I absolutely love seeing this smiling face at outreach each Wednesday. All this progress has little to do with me but all to do with his loving committed mother who adores him. We would like to help Paul Frantz mom start a clothing business as a way to provide for her family. She really wants to provide for her family and for $125USD she can start a sustainable business. She did a trial run selling some clothes I had brought in for another project & made good $. In the pictures below you can see how excited she was to receive those clothes to sell. She knows she can sell the clothes... Email me if you would like to help. What a beautiful family! (THIS FINANCIAL NEED HAS BEEN MET! THANK YOU!)
Nerlande has been apart of outreach for a little over 2 years. Her mother has faithfully brought her to the program even though they live a 45 minute tap-tap ride away. We were able to bless this family with the opportunity to get Nerlande a needed surgery in October to increase her independence with walking. Mom took such good care of her & worked with her at home. Nerlande approached Presidue (head of outreach) about the fact that she needs work a few months ago. We did not have any work at the time. She has re approached us that if she does not find work soon she will have to move to PAP to find work & she could not take Nerlande with her. Nerlande would have to stay with family somewhere else & would no longer be able to come to outreach. She has 2 other little girls as well. Nerlande mom would love to start a restaurant selling spaghetti. The start up cost is $250 USD to buy pots, take out containers, charcoal, charcoal stove and food to start. Then for safety reasons and increased sanitation (which will increase sales) we will rent a store front room on mainstreet in PdP which will cost $500 for the year. Our hope with this store front is to help a few other outreach families start up small business with her...one selling Pate, one selling fresh juice, etc). I know this is a lot of $ but even if multiple people give $25 toward this we together will be able to give this family a boost to be independent & sustain her family. Email me for how you can donate.
OUTREACH BLESSING FUND
The outreach blessing fund was established to be able to help families in need of a boost. The past 2 months we were able to bless 2 of the outreach families who needed just that.
Meet Judeline's family. They have been going through a rough year they have 6 children. Dad was out of "paying" work most of the year then got really sick & was struggling health wise. He works at the church everyday but did not get paid for that work. He helped build all the benches in the church (below is a picture of some of the benches). He has great skill but rough year with work. Mom used to have a cracker/cookie stand in the market that brought in $ to help her family get by but this year Judeline has been having increased seizures and health problems as well. Her mother stopped working to be able to take care of Judeline. They were unable to pay rent 2 months ago and were kicked out of their home. They lived in the back of the church for a month prior to asking us for help. When we went there for a homevisit the other week we asked for prayer requests. Their #1 prayer request was that God would provide shelter and healing to their family. We were able to bless this family with a years worth of rent to give them time to get their feet back on the ground. They were so thankful! Your donations make it possible for us bless families like Judeline's.
Meet Ralph's & his family. He has 1 sister who adores him & enjoys playing with him. His mother was a seamstress until she got a heart condition where she was not able to sew anymore on a pedal sewing machine. Her health condition requires her to be on an expensive medicine every month & she has required many test that were very expensive. His dad is a carpenter who had shop broken into & all his tools stollen. Over the past year we have been able to bless this family in many ways from giving loans to receive medical care and they completed work projects for the Miriam Center that needed done...to last month blessing them with 1/2 years rent to help them get back on their feet. This family adores there son & would do anything to make sure Ralph has the best but a series of hardships the past year could have left them depressed...they could have given up...BUT they didn't they kept their eyes fixed on Christ and found their hope & Joy in Him! Thank you for helping us help them...We were able to to be the hands & feet of Jesus to this family :-)
PLEASE KEEP THE OUTREACH PROGRAMS IN YOUR PRAYERS!
