The past month has been such a blessing for us.  We have seen the Lord work in so many ways.  We serve an awesome God and we are so thankful that He has called us to serve Him in this place.  Everyday has been an experience that we will never forget.  We love watching the boys grow to trust us and respect us.  They call Ron Won, because they can't pronounce "R".  They call me Kawen.  We hear our names being called all day long. 
I think the fighting has slowed down, at least for today.  They don't like to have to sit all day for fighting and they don't like to have to follow Won awound all day when they get in twouble.  Won works them cleaning the outhouse and lots of other things.  Well, I think they did have a good time cleaning the bathrooms.  Ron cleaned and they carried water.
Every day there are new wounds to doctor.  I have accused the boys of getting hurt on purpose so they get a little extra attention.  It has been a good way for us to have one on one time with the boys.  Everybody needs a little extra TLC when they get hurt. We love to love on them and they love being loved on.  Some show it more than others.  I just wish it didn't involve pain.  We've had some pretty bad wounds.  It seems that the boys don't have any concept of danger.  They just play as hard as they can each day without thinking about safety.
The heat has been unbearable most days, with only a shower here and there.  Until today!  It rained this morning and cooled off this afternoon with overcast skies and lots of the boys had sweaters on.  It was funny.  I finally felt comfortable and they were freezing.  I hope tomorrow is as cool.
Two new interns arrived today.  They will be working with the girls. We are so excited for the girls.  It seems like the boys and the toddlers get so much more attention.  The interns are just out of high school so they will be good for them.
We took some of the boys to the river on the other side of town the other day.  I had never been there and I'm not sure that the boys had been there.  It was interesting.  There were people crossing in trucks, cars, boats, motorcycles and on foot.  The water was very brown and cows were drinking in it and lots of people bathing and washing clothes.  There is a bridge being built to cross but it is in the very first stages of the building process.  It will be a great day when it gets finished.

Some of the boys went fishing last week and caught several fish.  They had a great time.  Most of the fish were very small but they cooked every one of them.  They were cooking all afternoon.  They were very happy boys.

It was so cool to watch Ron give out marbles.  They made a line and Ron put all the marbles in a bucket and the boys had to pick one at a time without looking.  They were so excited they could hardly be still.  When they got one that was especially good they would dance around to the end of the line.  Amazing what joy marbles can bring.  There's always a down side, though.  They get in trouble sometimes for fighting over them.  When they play marbles they play for keeps, so it can get competitive.  All in all, much fun!

Some of the boys are into flying kites.  Since we live on the ocean most days there is some wind, so kite-flying is good.  They make their own kites out of pieces of plastic that they find and small sticks.  I love to watch them.  They really know how to work the kite string. This picture is Massa and the kite he made.

Some of the boys build carts out of pieces of wood and scraps of whatever they can find.  They had some old roller skates that they took the wheels off of and put on the carts and they push each other around in them.  They get leftover paint and use that for color.  There is quite a bit of talent within these walls.  We just need to encourage their growth.  There just isn't a lot to work with here.

I had a birthday this month.  It was a very good day.  Special meals and gifts and many friends.  It was hard being away from my family, though.  I don't think I've spent a birthday away from them.  One highlight of the day was that one of the boys here, whose name is Massa,  is now sharing my birthday with me.  He came here with no information about who he is or when his birthday is.  He said he was seven years old.   Since there are no other birthdays in September we decided that we should celebrate Massa's birthday this month and since mine is the 13th,  well, I think that's a great day for Massa to have his birthday.  Now he is eight.  One of the boys asked me yesterday if he had a birthday and I told him yes.  He asked Massa how old he was and with a huge smile on his face, Massa held up 4 fingers on each hand.  I am so happy for him.

As you can see we stay quite busy here.  There is always something going on.  It seems that the days are very long and the nights are very short.  Rest doesn't come easy.  The boys are up at daylight and they go strong until way after dark.  Their bedtime is at 8:30 and 9:30 and our bedtime is 10:30 or 11 on a good night.  I have taken a few naps but it's usually too hot to sleep. 

The natives are getting restless and I must go and tuck them in so I will close for now.  We do need your prayers desperately as we battle each day against the powers of evil, the heat and the living conditions.  We see much change in the attitudes of the boys but there is still much work to be done.  Please pray that our gracious Father would replace the hurt and anger in their hearts with His peace, joy and love.

God bless you and goodnight for now.

Hot, Hot, Hot!

Well, It is really hot.  It's hot when you sweat while you're taking a bath with cold water.  Actually it isn't cold.  I miss the cold water we had in April.  I'm not sure what happened to it.

Things have been very exciting since we've been here.  The boys are adjusting to us and accepting the new authority in their lives.  It's great to see the changes in them from day to day.  I love getting hugs from the ones who use to be too shy to come to me.  Lots of work is being done.  Many old rules are being enforced and a few new rules have been put in place. 

Ron has become Dr. Ron.  He spends hours every day doctoring cuts, old wounds, new wounds and scrapes.  He works on our boys and some of the boys from outside the compound.  The boys love all of the attention. It's amazing how many little scratches and cuts they can find to put a bandaid on.

The menu is about the same as before.  There are a few meals that are new but the food supply has gone down quite a bit since April.  There are a few more crates coming.  We really need some canned meats.  Last night we had chicken and dumplings without the chicken.  That required lots of maggie (chicken boullion).  It was very tasty.  Lisha is a very good cook.  She has lots of practice feeding many people here.

We got to take the boys to the beach last week but were not able to go to the nice beach that we planned to  go to.  After a very long ride, crossing a river and a pond we had to turn around and go to another beach that wasn't as clean because the road was washed out and a big truck was stuck.  We couldn't get past.  One of the boys said,  "If we don't get to go to the beach the boys will cry in their hearts."  My heart melted.  Some of the older boys wouldn't get in the water where we went because it wasn't real clean but most of them got in and had lots of fun.  We took peanut butter sandwiches and water and the pastor and his wife stopped and bought sugar cane and bags of "cheese puffs".  All in all it was a very good day.

There is a mother and daughter here for 2 wks. to work with the girls and they have also been spending time with the boys.  There is also a young man who was here with a team in April while I was here who is staying for 3 mos.  He is a huge help in getting some projects done.  He and some of the boys who live here built a cabinet for Madame Pastor for all of her medical supplies. A couple came in today for 2 wks. who are looking at possibly working with the girls.  They are also looking at a few other places.  We are praying for Father to give them a heart for Haiti and allow them to stay here and serve.

There are a lot of battles each day that we would ask for prayer about.

One is the generator.  It seems that it is a great struggle to keep one running each night.  We are in constant prayer over that situation.

Another is the relationships between the boys.  They seem to have days when all they want to do is fight with each other.  It seems to be an every day thing to break up fights.  Some are not as bad as others but it is not good for them to fight each other.  I know brothers fight and boys will be boys but I am praying that the Lord will bring peace and love for each other into their hearts that they will not want to fight.

Finally I would ask for prayer for Pastor Andy.  He has not been feeling well and the drs. have found nothing wrong with him.  He has decided that it is a spiritual battle that only prayer can heal.  We are in agreement with that.

These requests are only a few of the many battles before us, but our Lord is in control and we know that we can conquer through Him and with prayer.  All the powers of darkness can't drown out a single Word.  He reigns!! 

Thank you for praying with us as we serve.