REFLECTIONS 2014

REALIZED I NEVER POSTED THIS...BETTER A LIL LATE THAN NEVER ;-)

Count your blessings, name them one by one, 

Count your blessings, see what God hath done! 

Count your blessings, name them one by one, 

Count your many blessings, see what God hath done. 

And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.”

WOW! Has an entire year really flown right on by...As I reflect back I canʼt believe how much has happened...I just canʼt help but stand in Awe of God! As I count my MANY BLESSINGS I am completely overwhelmed. The Lord has done so much this year & blessed myself & my ministry beyond what I could have ever asked for or imagined. I am in a place of feeling humbled, incredibly thankful, & anxious to see what God has in store for 2015. ! As I sit here trying to figure out how I can condense a year into a 1 blog...I realize I canʼt...although I want to share EVERYTHING that has been happening...I will share the highlights in my 2 main ministry areas therapy and For Jonathan Sake Outreach Program. For more stories & pictures you can visit previously BLOGs from this year or go www.youtube.com & place in the search engine “Autumn Marshall” or become my friend on facebook where I post daily from in Haiti.

I hope after reading this you will be standing in Awe with a thankful heart as well realizing each of you have played a part in my ministry either through prayer, encouragement, financial support or coming & serving in Haiti alongside me. I am praying for each of you. Praying for Godʼs blessing to be upon you & your family. That each and everyone of you will have time to reflect on you year & count your many blessings as well and see what the Lord has done.

A quick update on where I am at...I am currently living in Toledo, OH working a 3 month travel Pediatric OT job in order to earn/save $ to be in Haiti for another 1.5-2 years. While stateside I am also support raising, taking continuing education classes to maintain my OT licensure & increase my knowledge, spending time with family/friends, working on getting healthy again, trying to spiritually rejuvinated, and tackling some projects for Haiti that I could not do in Haiti. ! I wish I could see each and every one of you while I am home in the states for a few months (Nov-1st week March) but I know that is not possible. 

PERSONAL UPDATES FROM THE YEAR

• This year I renovated a new room, moved into it, & made it my home. I realized I can better take care of myself in this new environment & am learning how important that it especially when you live where you minister. I am trying to learn boundaries & take time for myself...that balance between work/ministry and rest.

• I have had a rough year healthwise again. Unfortunately ended up stateside 2 different times with health problems. I am working closely with doctors while I am stateside now for a longer stint to really get healthy & go back strong. I have made alot of changes & am trying to put things in place in Haiti to better maintain my health. I know if I am not healthy I canʼt do my ministry well.

• This year in my quiet time I worked my way through the gospels in chronological order in a study Bible I have. I learned alot. I also the last 2 months I was in Haiti found a prayer/accountability partner from another mission & it was such a blessing to meet 1x a week & check in, pour into each other, and share what God had been teaching us.

• I was blessed to travel to the Cap Haitian area 2x this year to visit other missionaries and see their ministryʼs. What a tremendous blessing that was.

Phoenix Rising October 2014
Justin, one of Haitian staff, Me, Morgan

MY PLANS/GOALS FOR 2015

• While I am in the states I am taking CEU courses to grow in my knowledge and skills so when I return to Haiti I can train my staff on even more skills and working a full-time travel OT pediatrics job to earn $ to pay my student loans for the next year & half. I really want to learn about APT and Kinesio taping and already took a course in NDT. I am also working on trying to get some barrels packed in Florida & shipped into Haiti & working to figure out how to get wheelchairs & other adaptive equipment into Haiti. 
• I am headed to Denver at the end of January to visit my Made Known family & to meet their board members. Praying for good weather to fly.
• Return to Haiti beginning of March for the next 1-2 years to continue serving the beautiful people God has blessed me with the opportunity to serve & live in community with.
• Continue to grow the therapy program, outreach program, & deepen my relationship with Loma Linda/UNAH rehab tech school and Phoenix Rising. I am also working to get CEU courses brought into Haiti to train nationals.
• Visit Heather & Papitoʼs Ministry FootPrints Of The Son ministry in Tierrer Rouge
• Visit my friends in Cap Haitian, Haiti at Emmanual Seminary, Radio 4VEH, and Kids Alive.
• Spiritually I will be seeking a more intimate prayer • Increase my fluency in Kreole so I can better communicate

Therapy Team 2014
Nicholson, Me, Presidue, Carlos

THERPY UPDATES

1.  Finished construction on our new therapy room! 
2. Each child at the Miriam Home now has an up to date treatment and receives 1 hour of therapy per week. The kids get so excited for their time in the therapy room & work so hard. I just love seeing them making progress
3. Partnering with Loma Linda University/UNAH Rehab Tech Program to take & supervise Haitian students for their level 1 & 2 clinicalʼs. This year I had 2 three month students (Carlos & Johnson) and 3 two week students (Nahum, Patricia, Laura). I even got the opportunity to go PAP in September to attend graduation for my level 2 students.
4. Getting the chance to work alongside Phoenix Rising Orthopedic/ Prosthetic/PT team 3 different weeks this year in PdP. So many of our kids & staff were blessed to be treated by them & my students & myself learned so much from our time with them as well.
5. Getting the chance to work alongside the October orthopedic surgery team & that 8 of the FJS outreach kiddos or their parents got needed surgery.
6. Having Leah & Allyson both OT students from the states come & intern this summer. As well as having 4 therapists come on short- term trips & spend time with us. What a blessing it was to have each of them & Serve alongside them.
7. Creating a pediatric hands on training manual to use with my interns, LLU students, & therapy staff. The training includes massage, therapy brushing, stretching, therapy ball, feeding/oral- motor, sensory integration, evaluations, handwriting, cutting, etc.
8. We were blessed to not only get some awesome Therapy Equipment donated but to also have groups that carried it into Haiti. The piece of equipment we use the most is the pediatric stander.
9. Nahum has finished his first year of Rehab Tech School & Nicholson applied & was accepted & will start March 2015. So excited & thankful they are able to get further training & a college education in order to make a greater impact!
10. Hiring Carlos my first Haitian Therapist. He was one of my interns & after graduation he accepted the position. We are beyond 
    blessed to have him as part of our team.
    

    

    Loma Linda Graduation for Rehab Tech Program in September for Carlos & Johnson

    
    

MY GOALS/PLANS FOR THE THERAPY PROGRAM 2015

• Find, train, hire a new therapy assistant to replace Nicholson as he heads to school.
• Facilitate sending Nicholson to therapy school to grow in his knowledge and therapy skills.
• Continue doing/facilitating 1:1 therapy with the children at MC 
• Facilitate therapists and therapy student interns who come into Haiti & plugging them in 
• Continue towards setting up a Saturday Routine of activities for the older kids 
• Continue taking Haitian Therapy students from school in PAP for their rotations & supervising them. I plan on taking 4 level 2 fieldwork students (2 in the spring March-June and 2 in the summer June-September). I am also considering taking level 1 fieldwork students again. I have also been asked to possibly teach the pediatric OT 2 week course at the university in PAP next year which I am praying about.
• I am currently in contact with Tina Allen with Liddlekidz pediatric disability massage about possibly coming to Haiti for 2 weeks to train nationals either this year or next hopefully. We would travel & train Haitians from Cap Haitian to PAP to PdP as well as right at our mission. She is one of the leaders in her field & it would be an incredible opportunity if it works out. As well as in communication with a ministry up in NYC that does APT and talking to see if they can possibly come into Haiti in the next year or so to train the nationals in APT (making adaptive equiptment that is sturdy out of cardboard). I am also in contact with Joni& friends to try to get wheelchairs into Haiti for the MC kids and outreach kids.
• Continue working on getting more adaptive equipment & positioning devices in for the kids
• Another big project is to get all my therapy handouts & educational materials online (about 40 of them). Once they are all on a website, it will be easy for others to access, learn, and share with those they are working with across Haiti.
• I hope to hire 2-3 more full-time Haitian therapists in the next year to 2 to get the therapy program (both Miriam Home & FJS outreach) running to full capacity with all the Miriam Home children getting 2 hours 1:1 therapy per week and the therapy aspect of outreach being better staffed.
• Continue working alongside Phoenix Rising when they are in PdP and facilitate getting the Miriam Home children/staff as well as the FJS outreach children seen for PT, Orthotics and
• Prosthetics. I know it will continue to provide great learning experiences for my therapy staff, students and me personally.
• Facilitate any kids that would benefit from orthopedic surgery to get surgery, good after care, and therapy to recover and gain new skills. Also work along side surgery teams during surgery week.

Nahum came for a level 1 2 week clinical at the Miriam Center
And Nicholson working alongside him

Johnson (1 of my Haitian students)
Bethany (came on 10 day trip to help in the Miriam Center)
Caitlin (a PT who came to serve for 10 days)
Edie (OT came to serve for 10 days)
Nicholson (my Therapy Assistant)

FOR JONATHAN SAKE OUTREACH UPDATES

1. Weekly Therapy: We are up to 45 children who come 1 day per week with their parents for 2 hours of group therapy. Many of the children in outreach are making good therapy progress and gaining new skills that are increasing their functional mobility and increased quality of life. During this time the families continue to learn how to work with their children, provide therapy at home and at the same time getting to fellowship with the other families. We continue to end each day with sharing Godʼs word & praying together. We also have been blessed to be able to continue to paying 1 way transportation for the families home from therapy.
2.  Therapy Equipment: We were able to bless many of the families with therapy equipment for in the home, custom made hand braces, fit for AFOʼs & provide socks/shoes, customized haitian chairs for sitting, made PVC pipe walkers/standers to promote upright positioning/strengthening at home, and trained on/provided equipment to do therapy ball, therapy brushing, massage, stretching, & oral-motor with their children at home.
3. Education: This year we had ~30 children in the education part of outreach. Education in outreach is two-fold, children are advocated for and sent to school in the community and there is special education provided at the Miriam Center. Stephanie has done a great job developing & running this aspect.
4. Nutrition is a new aspect to outreach created this year by stephanie after seeing a great need in this area. This food is only provided to children in outreach who need extra nutrition. This food has also been provided to children in the community that are not special needs but to the point of malnourishment that if help is not received developing a special need is highly possible. The nutritious pack of food that contains 16 meals for the child, that can be prepared at home. Each child in this program gets 1 bag of food each week. I have seen this food make a big difference especially with the therapy children I work with that receive the food.
5. .Outreach Homevisits: Tuesdayʼs from 1-4 is the time we have set aside to enter into each of the families home environment, to hear their stories, meet their families, & grow in relationship together. During this time we open Godʼs word together, share prayer requests and pray together. During homevisits we were able to continue to bless the families with a solar-power christian radio with the NT in Creole to each outreach family (3/4 of the families have them now). We visited all 45 families at least 1-2x this year (some more).
6. Community building/outing/education event: Once a month we planned/carried out an event. This was implemented so that the families could have fun with their kids and build relationships with the other outreach families. Some months we did a fun activity like renting a hotel hotel pool in PdP for the friday outreach families, going to the beach a couple different months, movie afternoon, etc. Other times it is an educational/therapy related activity. One month the families helped make adaptations to their childrenʼs haitian chairs another month they helped make boppy pillows &PVC pipe walkers/ standers, and another month participated in a therapy home programming training.
7. Medical: Each child that enters the program receives free medical care. This medical care includes; coming to the clinic to see the doctors, receiving lab work, medicine, and overnight stays at the hospital. For some of the children this also includes trips to PAP for extra medical attention (hydrocephalus and cleft palate trips, etc.). This is another aspect of outreach that Stephanie does a great job overseeing. I coordinate orthopedic surgeries & Phoenix Rising trips.
8. Blessing Fund: was created this year in order to bless families that are going through an especially hard/stressful time because of unexpected health, family, or other situations. This is determined on a case by case basis through a team decision. Some ways we have used this fund this year have been to help out with rent (3-4 families), helped 3 different families start up businesses so they could in return provide financially for their families, helped 4-5 families with $ for medical testing for the parents so that they could stay healthy to take care of their children.
9. Redeeming Gifts Purse Ministry: Just got started up at the end of October. This aspect of the ministry provides a job to 4-5 of the outreach motherʼs at a time for 3 months at a time. It is run by 1 of the outreach motherʼs who already knows how to sew & she is teaching the others. This is one way we are able to fill in the gaps for these families that need a job. We are enabling them to work so they can financially support their families. Each purse is made with love by one of the outreach mothers. Each purse is completely made out of materials found on the island and all funds go straight back into the program, giving the mothers an income.

Bible Study during an outreach Homevisit.
During this visit we also delivered Stacey's PVC pipe stander.

Carlos during an outreach Homevisit

My Goals/Plans for FJS Outreach Program 2015

•  For the past 4 years the therapy aspect of the outreach program has met in the birdcage. We are excited that this coming year we will be moving into the new building which will allow for me privacy for the families.
• Continue with each of the aspects of the program (Therapy outreach, Education, Outreach Homevisits, Community Building/Education, Blessing Fund, Nutrition, Medical, and Redeeming Gifts).
• Creating some new training handouts and holding more training for the families to learn some new therapy techniques.
• Revamping the weekly devotional time to go deeper in the word together
• Encouraging deeper relationship building/building support system for the families.
• I would also like to hire a trained Haitian therapist whoʼs entire job is working with the outreach.
• Continue to get Redeeming Gifts off the ground • Overall the goal is to continue to work towards enabling each
• child to participate in their family & community to their fullest ability.

PRAYER REQUESTS

• For my health- continued healing & ability to maintain it in Haiti 
• For my spiritual growth & walk with the Lord 
• For the FJS Outreach Program- each of the 70 families to grow in their wisdom knowledge of the Lord, for them to feel empowered to care for their children.
• For the Miriam Home children and staff that daily take care of them- for their health, spiritual growth, etc. 
• For Miriam Center Leadership- Wisdom & Guidance For the therapy program & wisdom as I seek to hire new staff. 
• For the new students I will be supervising & Nicholson as he heads to school
• For open doors to bring trainings into Haiti & wisdom on timing and with what organization
• Wisdom as I create trainings for nationals to know what to train on, how to word it, and when to do the training. 

My prayer/Bible Study partner Anna

“The prayer of a Righteous man is POWERFUL and EFFECTIVE” James 5”16

ORGANIZATIONS I SERVE THROUGH

1. Northwest Haiti Christian Mission- www.nwhcm.org
2. Made Known "formerly Kimmy's House"- www.madeknown.org 

• Made Known has the same mission...same purpose... same vision just a different name. There desire has always been for children with disabilities to be Made Known in their communities and for Godʼs image to be Made Known to the children and a families they work with. Their mission is to partner with Jesus Christ to impact the lives of individuals with special needs around the world by equipping communities to provide quality holistic care.