For His Glory Outreach Blog

With Great Sadness

2011-08-26T17:11:00.000-05:00

It is with great sadness that we inform you our dear brother in the Lord, Jean Kuislin "Kiki" Alexis, has passed away and gone to be with the Lord. Matthew 18:5 tells us that "whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name, welcomes me." Kiki welcomed the Lord daily as he served the orphans in Haiti through Maison. Through his ministry and work with Maison, Kiki helped hundreds of children be united with their forever families and many more to have a safe place to live with food, water and medical care they would not have had otherwise. We are so thankful to have known Kiki and to have worked alongside him in the ministry the Lord had called him to.

Please be in prayer for his family and the staff and children at Maison during this difficult time. Since Kiki's life was poured out to serve the children through Maison, we ask that memorial gifts be sent through For His Glory with "Kiki Memorial" in the memo, and we will ensure that your gift is applied toward the continuation of his work.

If you are a family currently in the adoption process of a child at Maison, we will be notifying your agency as to the changes that will be made in who will be processing adoptions for Maison as soon as that can be determined. Thank you for your patience in this area.

Exciting Things at FHG

2011-05-26T16:02:00.001-05:00

I wanted to share with you some of the exciting things happening at FHG and Maison right now. Seeing how the Lord is working in and through this ministry is so encouraging for all of those involved.

We are getting ready for summer mission teams to begin arriving. The mission teams are such a blessing to the staff and children at Maison and we are excited to have them. In addition to the orphanage, Maison reaches out to a boys home in Port-au-Prince and a small village. The short-term teams will have opportunities to be a part of this outreach this summer. Please pray for the teams as they minister to the children and staff at the orphanage as well as the boys home and village.
Feed Haiti Team
Feed Haiti Team

We have had a couple of people recently take it upon themselves to help raise funds for the orphanage. The Feed Haiti Team ran in the Frederick Running Festival and raised over $4300 toward food for Maison and another orphanage in Citi Soleil that we reach out to and share with whenever we have additional food, clothing or other practical items. Thank you Feed Haiti Team for all your hard work to help feed the children in the orphanage!

Audrey, a young girl who is now a cousin to two of the children that came home to the U.S. from Maison shortly after the earthquake, has become passionate about helping the orphans in Haiti. Audrey decided to organize and host a pancake breakfast to benefit FHG. She raised $1928 through the breakfast to benefit the children. Thank you Audrey for a great idea and a lot of hard work!
Our New Generator
Our New Generator

Through several generous donors, we were able to purchase the much needed new generator! What a relief it is to have this in place and know that we have a reliable way to power the orphanage - keeping refrigerated medicines good, and powering lights and fans. Thank you to all who gave to make this possible!
Vanessa
Vanessa

We are very excited to tell you that after being denied twice for a medical visa, Vanessa was suddenly granted a visa to travel to the U.S. for treatment for Blount's Disease. Vanessa traveled to Denver on Friday and will be treated by Denver Children's Hospital. Following her surgery and recovery, she will be able to walk normally. Had Vanessa not been given this opportunity, she likely would have eventually not been able to walk at all and would have been in a wheel chair. Please join us in praising the Lord for His moving in this situation. And thank you to Denver Children's Hospital for providing the care and surgery that Vanessa needs! Please pray for her surgery and recovery.

Tech Serve, an organization that helps ministries build internationally, recently completed a trip to Port-au-Price to survey the land God blessed us with last summer. Their trip gave us a lot of information about what will be needed to build the orphanage, where the buildings should be placed and what kind of drainage and irrigation is available. Please continue to pray with us for the building project. Pray that the previous owner would be moved to come in and sign the notary papers that are needed. Pray also for the funding to build the orphanage on the new land and further the vision and outreach of Maison through being able to reach out and care for more children and reach out to the community through a community clinic, church and school.

Pierre, Director of Maison, recently spent two weeks in the U.S. sharing with churches and organizations about the ministry. This was an especially encouraging time for him. He is now back in Haiti overseeing the orphanage and preparing for the summer teams and working on more details for the land. Please be in prayer for Pierre, Frankis, Kiki and Angie as they serve tirelessly on behalf of caring for the orphans in Haiti that the Lord has placed in the care of Maison.

Often I am asked what our biggest needs are. In the past, Maison was funded primarily though adoption fees with the short-fall raised and provided by For His Glory. At the time of the earthquake, all of the children who were in the process of adoption were allowed to join their forever families. Since the earthquake, we have taken in 83 children. Adoptions are beginning, but the large majority of the children now in the orphanage do not yet have adoptive families. This means that there is a large monthly short-fall that we need to help meet. Please pray about how you can join us in caring for orphans in Haiti by helping to raise a $300/month commitment. This could be through your Sunday School Class, small group, Bible Study etc. If 70 people will rise up to this challenge, the orphanage will be fully funded! Through your help, we really can be the hands and feet of Jesus to these children.

In Him,

Kim Harmon, President

Running for a Cause

2011-02-22T14:49:00.003-06:00

Kendra Evans has set up a website for a half marathon. If you would like to sponsor Kendra, the proceeds will be given directly to the orphanage. The website is www.firstgiving.com to donate or for more information.

Calling All Adoptive Parents Who Have Adopted in 2010

2011-01-18T21:52:00.002-06:00

It has been a little over a year now since the earthquake devastated Haiti. Recently, a documentary aired on Hulu called, "Adopting Haiti" about the days following the earthquake. We would like to hear from you if you brought a child home following the earthquake. Please send an update email, along with photos to families@forhisgloryoutreach.org. We want to hear from you and hear your story!

Watch The Account of What Hapended a Year Ago on Hulu Today!

2011-01-12T13:57:00.004-06:00

"Adopting Haiti"

Shortly after the January 12, 2010 earthquake in Haiti, filmmaker Timothy Wolfer arrived at our orphanage, Maison des Enfants de Dieu. This powerful documentary tells the story of survival following the earthquake and the struggle to evacuate the children to their adoptive families in the U.S. Be sure to watch it on Hulu.

Tawnya Constantino, a neurologist and adoptive mother, was at the orphanage in the aftermath of the earthquake and appears in the documentary, along with her husband, Greg, an FHG Board Member.

Click this link for more info:

A Word from Pierre

2010-12-16T08:56:00.003-06:00

This year is a special year in the history of the orphanage. At the end of last year, I was asking God what verse to teach the children and the staff for the beginning of 2010. He inspired me to teach ISAIAH 45:2,3, "I will go before you and level the exalted places, I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron, I will give you the treasures of darkness and the hoards in secret places, that you may know that it is I, the Lord, the God of Israel, who call you by your name. We learned it, and believed He was going to do something great for the children.

Many of the children had been waiting for a longtime in the adoption process to go home. They felt encouraged by the verse. Suddenly,on January 12, the earthquake hit and made big changes in the life of the kids. It is an unforgotten day for Haitian people. It was the first time we faced this event: in 35 seconds more than 300,000 people died, 250,000 houses collapsed leaving 1.5 million people in tents. We were asking ourselves why did God allow it to happened. He had His reasons for it.

From this hopeless situation, He made marvelous things for us. We had no children
hurt, but we did lose a Nanny who was at home. Our security walls that fell were
rebuilt by a team from California. He sent 110 children to their families
in the States, Canada and Argentina. He broke the difficult bars of adoption to
bring joy, new hope and loving care to these children.

Now, God has entrusted us with new children. He blessed us with a new van to drive the kids, families and the Missionaries that come to serve here. He gave us a piece of land to shine His Glory to the community. What an awesome God we serve!

As outreach, with GRANGOU and other donors, we were able to feed the
birth parents for a few months after the earthquake, help churches, feed orphanages
and a village. We distributed medicines to Hospitals and clinics to help save lives. During last summer, we organized a VBS for 600 children. We also fed them during the week. It was a great time. 72 of them gave their life to Jesus. Hallelujah!!! God has opened a house for 50 street boys who now are receiving food, education and medical care. Their lives are being changed. Finally, last November, we organized a Leadership conference for 150 Pastors where they got trained, equipped, empowered and encouraged to serve better in the Kingdom.

All this was possible because He used YOU to be a channel of blessings to us. I want to thank all of you that contributed to make a huge difference in the lives of these kids and the Haitian people. We were so encouraged by your presence, your love, your kindness and your donations to the orphanage, For His Glory and GRANGOU. We pray that God will continue to use you as His tool to keep on blessing this ministry.

We have some new challenges for next year. We want to build the land so that we can serve more children and a bigger community. This is a big dream God gave us to fulfill for His Glory. We want to find families for the kids that live with us now. As outreach, we plan to organize a VBS for the children in the community, a Leadership Conference for 300 Pastors, a Woman's Retreat and Medical Clinics for the community. Please keep us in your prayers so that God can make these projects come true.

I wish all of you a wonderful"Merry Christmas"(jwaye nwel in creole). May the light and the love of God keep you warmed.

Bless you,
Pierre

Medical Visas and Life Changing Surgeries

2010-11-30T13:38:00.002-06:00

Medical Visas and Life Changing Surgeries

We currently have two amazing children that we have been working to get medical visas to come to the US for treatment for the last 8 months.

Samy Leo, a very happy and active little guy, has club feet and is in need of surgery if he will ever have the hope of walking. Dr. Jane Aronson and Dr. Mark Reiger, in connection with Morrison Memorial Hospital Campus in Morristown, New Jersey have offered their services to repair little Samy's legs and a family had generously offered to host and care for Samy while he was in the U.S. for treatment. We just learned that Samy's medical visa was denied. Please pray with us that the Lord will provide another alternative for Samy to receive this life changing surgery.

Vanessa, an amazing little girl that is happy and full of energy, will be traveling to Colorado to Denver Children's Hospital where Dr. Mark Erickson will be treating her for Blounts Disease. Vanessa runs and jumps rope, even with her disability, but following her surgery, she will be able to walk and play normally. If left untreated, Vanessa's legs would likely continue to worsen and could lead to the inability to walk. Please pray for God's provision for airfare for Vanessa and her escort and that her surgery will be successful and that she will soon be able to walk and play normally.

We would like to say thank you to these hospitals, doctors and host families for all that they are doing to help! You are such a blessing.

Baby Rudy's Story

2010-11-30T11:09:00.000-06:00

Baby Rudy - Captured Hearts

Baby Rudy joined our family on Thursday, November 11, 2010. He was born January 21, just nine days after the earthquake killed his father. Rudy's 17-year-old mother brought him to us because she "didn't want him to die in this condition." He was extremely malnourished, and his skin hung from his body. His cry was weak and sounded more like a newborn baby than a 10-month old. He only weighed 8.8 pounds.

The nannies immediately began to care for Rudy. They bathed him and fed him. A rocking chair was brought in to ease his discomfort with being held. When I visited him and held him, he would hold his little hand up to my mouth for me to kiss. Our pediatrician came every day to check on his progress. He had a terrible cough, and was not gaining weight.

After being with us for a week, Rudy began vomiting. On Friday, November 19 we took him to the hospital. The first hospital told us they couldn't treat him because of his severe malnutrition, but they did send us to a hospital that could. A nanny stayed with Rudy at the hospital 24 hours a day. She fed and cared for him. Every 12 hours the nannies would switch.

On Sunday, Rudy was put on oxygen because of severely labored breathing. He was suffering from vomiting and diarrhea. On Monday, Pierre, two missionaries and I went to the hospital, circled around Baby Rudy and sang and prayed over him again and again - petitioning the Lord to bring healing to his little body, to not only help him to survive, to bring him to a point of growing and thriving. Rudy was very alert and even grasped my finger with his sweet hand... That is when I cried.

We had learned earlier in the day that the doctor suspected pneumonia as well as tuberculosis, but Rudy was not able to be transported for an x-ray. He was on the first step of their severe malnutrition program and received only small amounts of special milk every 30 minutes. That is all his little tummy was able to tolerate at one time.

When I arrived at the hospital on Tuesday afternoon, Rudy had visibly worsened. We began seeking answers to questions, and sought the help of additional medical personnel. We were told that the blood transfusion he had received had not helped yet, and we were waiting for him to urinate. I prayed and prayed, and finally put my hands on his small back, where his kidneys would be. I asked that whatever was blocking his kidneys from allowing urination would move in the name of Jesus. A few minutes later, Rudy urinated in the small bag attached to him! We celebrated, and then went home to get some sleep.

Wednesday brought news that Rudy was in a coma. His eyes were no longer open, and his breathing was beginning to grow more labored. Another blood transfusion failed to bring desired results.

On Thursday, Thanksgiving Day in the U.S., I went to see Rudy in the hospital. I arrived around 10 a.m., and was informed again that his conndition had worsened. He struggled to take each breath, and there was no response when you touched his hands. I spent the day at the hospital because I just couldn't leave. He had swelling on his brain and blood around the brain. His pupils were dilated and they said they had done everything they could do. Now, his body had to do the rest.

Someone had told me I had to prepare myself for this precious baby to die. I had refused to do that. I was holding on to hope that the Lord would bring him through. But, the thought continued to run through my head and I spent the day wrestling with the idea that he might not make it. The last thing I wanted to happen was to see this little one die. As the day wore on, I realized that the man was correct. My prayers became truly about God showing mercy to this little one, whatever that may look like. As I watched his labored breathing, I realized how much I truly love this little one, and how much I want what is best for him, whether that be to recover from this, or to go and be with Jesus.

I watched three nurses try desperately for over an hour to find a vein for Rudy's IV, with no success. I watched them call in a surgeon to open up his leg to locate a vein. The surgeon worked with extremely dim light for almost an hour and a half and finally found something he could work with. The whole time, I watched Rudy's gasping breaths. Over and over I kept singing "You Never Let Go" (words below) over Baby Rudy. When I left at 3:00 p.m., he was in the same condition. But, I was in a much different condition than I had been the last time I left his side. I have to trust that God truly is sovereign. That He is God and I am not, and in that, His plan for each of us is perfect. Even His plan for Rudy. And His plan for me. And His plan for each of you.

On Friday, November 26, 2010 at 2:37 a.m. Rudy went home to Jesus. After hearing the news of her son's death, Rudy's mother Wideline, accepted Christ as her Savior. I am thankful for this tiny child, sent to teach us so many things, one of them being how you are to fight with every fiber of your being for what you know is true and right. I am truly rejoicing at the healing that God gave to Rudy - not on this earth, but in His presence. I am sad that he had to suffer so much in his life, but I am grateful that God, in His infinite mercy, wisdom and love, brought Rudy home to experience eternal peace, love and joy, and that now his mother will join him one day.

Urgent Call for Action:

2010-11-29T14:46:00.000-06:00

Urgent Call for Action:

Let’s Get the Help Haiti Act of 2010 Passed! The Help Haiti Act of 2010 (HR 5283) will give the Haitian children who came to the United States this year the same green card and citizenship path they would have had if they had come through the normal international adoption route. The House of Representatives needs to vote on the Senate Amendment to H.R. 5283 - Help HAITI Act of 2010 before the “lame duck” session of Congress ends. Everyone in the adoption community: please contact the Democratic House leadership and urge them to bring this bill to the House floor for a vote. Let’s finish the job we started in January. There are around 1,200 children who need our help. The people to contact are:

perry.aplebaum@mail.house.gov (on behalf of Congressman John Conyers)

John.Lawrence1@mail.house.gov (on behalf of Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi)

terry.lierman@mail.house.gov (on behalf of Congressman Steny Hoyer)

Contact us at adoptionpolicy.org with any questions

How much is $10 worth to you? It could feed our children for a month.

2010-11-07T21:10:00.002-06:00

Dear Friends and Family,
As I wrote about in a blog post and email earlier this week, the orphanage is facing an interesting situation in the next month. I gave a general request for help, a blanket statement that I make from time to time.
I decided to make it specific. And I did my math. I’m going to challenge you to feed the orphanage for a month. Yes, a month. But I’m not asking you to do it alone.
Between my facebook friends and those of you who receive this email, and those who read my blog (I realize there is some overlap) I figured that if each of you gave $10, you could feed the orphanage for an entire month.
Did you catch that? $10 as in the cost of a movie ticket, 2 awesome beverages from Starbucks, a sale DVD at Target, all of those things are around $10. For that amount, together you can feed all 74 children and the entire staff (yes, we are responsible for feeding the staff daily) for a whole month.
When is the last time you fed that many people for just $10? I’ve watched other ChipIn meters go to the goal. And then go past them. And then rejoiced that so many people came together to make a difference in the lives of kids.
So now it’s your turn.
I’m going to make it short and sweet, because I know you’re going to respond quickly.
So between November 8-November 13, I challenge you to feed my children!
Let’s do this!

Angie

Hurricane Tomas Update

2010-11-06T22:08:00.005-05:00

Thank you very much for your prayers regarding the hurricane. The Lord hears and answers our prayers. This verse is a reminder of the power of God.

Matthew 8:27
The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”

We received word that the children and orphanage are doing well. Everybody is safe and sound. Please continue to pray for PAP and those living in tent cities who have not been as fortunate as Maison.

2010-11-06T22:08:00.001-05:00

Pastor Pierre's Ordination

2010-10-11T20:38:00.000-05:00

Riverstone at Maison des Enfants de Dieu

2010-10-09T22:10:00.001-05:00

A Heart for Haiti Slideshow

2010-10-09T22:09:00.001-05:00

Port Au Prince_Haiti

2010-10-09T22:07:00.001-05:00

God at Work in the Earthquake

2010-03-20T22:36:00.002-05:00

I recently had the opportunity to talk with Pierre about the ways he saw God working through the earthquake. I hope you can see Him working too.

There is a four story house or building that started to collapse and there was a lady in the highest story. When she saw the house collapsing, she was very scared, crying and screaming.

She was the only one on the higher story. She was waving her hands for people to come and help her. But people were afraid to come and help her because they were afraid the building would collapse.

The police came, but they wouldn’t go in. They said she would have to just jump and they will stay with arms linked to catch her. She said, “No I will die.” They said, “If you don’t want to jump, you will die. Do you want to die upstairs or on the ground where your family will know where you died?”

She said, “I don’t want to die.” So now they said, “Ok, either way you will die. But the best thing you need to do is give your life to Jesus.” They called a pastor. The pastor came and shared the gospel with her. “I am willing to give my life to Jesus,” she said. The pastor prayed from the ground with her. “Do you believe it?” the pastor asked. She said, “Not yet. I don’t feel like it right now.”

“Lady you need to hurry, this is the time for you. Either you go to heaven or hell. Choose right now,” the pastor said.

“Ok I believe,” she said.

“If you believe jump,” he said.

She said no.

The pastor said, “When you believe, you can jump.”

She felt someone grab her by he sides, pick her up, and throw her out the window. The police caught her on their linked arms. She had no bones broken.

The same day when the earthquake happened, there was a famous voodoo priest on Delmas 33. He was so shocked that the evil spirits had not revealed the earthquake to him.

At midnight he set up a ceremony to find out what was happening. All night long there were aftershocks. When it was 12:30 am the evil spirit came and he said to the spirit, “Why you did not tell me? I’ve been serving you a long time.”

The evil spirit said, “You need to know. I don’t have control of the earth. Now we all have problems. Leave me alone don’t bother me.”

The voodoo priest said, “You need to know too from now I am not going to serve you because you are not as powerful as I thought.”

He burned all his voodoo things. He turned the perestil (voodoo ceremony place) into a place to pray to God.

There were some Haitian Americans that came to Haiti to honor what they call the guardian (evil spirit) of the family. Usually they make a big ceremony and pay the voodoo priest to set up the ceremony to please the evil spirits. All of the sudden the earthquake happened and the perestil was shaking and there was part of it that collapsed. Everyone got outside including the priest. The priest already got paid for the ceremony but his money was left inside. He left all the money and people were asking him why the evil spirit did not protect him. He was more upset that the evil spirit did not save his money. He said, “If I did not run out of the perestil I would have lost my life too.” So he told them he would begin serving Jesus. All the people there gave their life to Jesus.

Another family came from the U.S. They are Haitian. They came to make a sacrifice in Gonaives. They started their ceremony at 6 am and it was after 5 pm. The evil spirit finally showed up. And the voodoo priest said, “Why did you take so long to come down and answer us?”

“You need to know…{voodoo priests never name Jesus…if you are possessed and say to the spirit get out in the name of Jesus, the spirit has to go, so they never say Jesus} Emmanuel is coming. We were in a meeting to find out what to do to protect ourselves. Don’t bother me,” said the evil spirit.

The voodoo priest was surprised to here this. “If the spirit does not know how to save himself, I need to go to the one who saves, who is Jesus.”

Every Tuesday at 4 in the afternoon the women at the church get together to pray. On January 12 they started to pray. All of a sudden the earthquake started. The building was swaying, moving back and forth. Some of the ladies laid down to pray, some of them held a wall just to not fall down. They were asking God for protection. The building collapsed. They were saved and nothing happened to them. But the way it collapsed they were trapped, there was no way for them to get out of the building. So they decided to start praising God and singing. They were scared the roof would collapse on them, so they kept singing, singing, singing. After 30 minutes {hands motion an explosion} and aftershock happened and a hole blew in the wall and they were able to get out.

We can die in one second but God can do a zillion things in one second. That’s amazing. When the boy said that, the blood of Jesus protected him. He understood enough to know that.

There is a joke about that {the earthquake} too. Some people say there was a meeting between Jesus and Satan. Satan said he had more people in Haiti following him. Jesus said He didn’t think so.

Satan said, “Wait for Carnaval. Then you will see.” Jesus said, “I can’t wait to show you. I will shake Port au Prince and show you right now!”

In the earthquake no one said Satan. They all said Jesus Jesus Jesus!

Everybody was calling Jesus! If you were there to hear you would hear ‘Jesus Jesus!’ Even now, when there is an aftershock, ‘Jesus Jesus Jesus!’ Many were protected and saved by Jesus.

An old man he lives by my house and he is a mason man. I used to talk to him about Jesus. When the earthquake, happened he was in his house. The house started collapsing. The wall inside the house fell over him and he fell down. His children were saying, “Daddy what is happening to you?” While he was under the blocks he said, “Jesus!” All of a sudden he was able to jump up and run, and when he ran out the building collapsed. Now he follows Jesus.

Not serving Him, Jesus saved them., Name of Jesus is so powerful.

The girls had just got home from school. Marlah was trying to find something to eat. Marie France was there but Marie France sat down on the bed nursing the baby when the house was swaying. She fell down on the floor with the baby. She started screaming. The other children started screaming. She thought the house was going to collapse on them. They were calling Jesus. She was so scared she could not stand up. I could not go, so I sent Clenide to her. When Clenide got my house, she found Marie France in the house. Marie France said, “I feel so weak I cannot stand up.” Clenide helped her stand up and get the baby and the girls out of the house.

I was so scared if all die.

When we got her at the orphanage I was so happy, so happy. Since then whenever we have aftershocks Vicki has heart beat fast.

I think that took me 3 hours to hear from Kiki. I kept calling calling calling. I could not get through. He called and said, “Where are you?” I said, “I am fine.” And then we got disconnected. But I knew he was okay.

Franckis was in the countryside. They felt it in the south, but they did not get any damage,.

The Sunday before the earthquake I preached. We lost 5 people in the church. Yes they knew the Lord. One of them was supposed to be in the women meeting which motivates them now to go to the meeting. Because those in the meeting got saved. She did not come for some reason.

One nanny died when the wall fell on her. But the bad news is that she did not give her life to Jesus. She came to her sister in a dream and said I don’t want you to put my dad where they put me. Go tell him now.

They found her under the blocks with her two children.

Everybody was there at the orphanage. Some were so worried about their family they went home. Some were on the road to come to work, they still came to see what happened with the orphanage.

Some people from the dayshift stayed for 3 days, some go and check on families, and come back.

Many that lost their families. Esther in 2^nd baby room lost her baby. Rennate had 9 cousins die. Janet in toddler room she had her house collapse on her son, but he did not die. They got him under the rubble. She has nephew that died too. Another lady named nadia has her mom her dad her brother her sister, her cousin..in total 10 people that died. She is the only one left in her family. What amazing? Try to save yourself. You cannot pay attention to the lost. You have to take care of yourself.

Everybody’s scared.

Time for God. We are getting worse and worse since 200 years. God broke the building of the government every office serves an evil spirit. Director…minister of—you have to serve that evil spirit to stay. This the same thing in the national palace.

If you are working for government you are strong Christian or serving the devils the only way to keep your job your position.

People that want to have your job will do whatever they can to get rid of you. If you are not strongly planted in the Lord they will kill you. Not find so many ppl in the govt serving the Lord.

That’s why a lot of people saying this is
God’s judgment. Because most of the government building collapsed.

Congress collapsed. Senators died. Even in building they serve evil spirits too. Get inside the car, you can smell it. Unclean spirit, smell bad. Smell very bad.

It’s an old building. It’s still standing. Second the walls they only fell over 2 workers. Most of the children were outside. Third, even the house of our neighbor collapsed. With no people inside. We would not be able to stay at the orphanage with dead bodies.

The other thing is the wall did not fall over anybody that was on the street. It collapsed outside, and nobody got hurt. Not even on the street. That was amazing.

The other thing too, we the children stayed outside and the babies, and we had people that come to help us. God put people in your way. That’s amazing because, I think we were the first orphanage that got an official visit from the US side. I remember I saw 15 cars. Most of them had US soldiers in them. And I didn’t remember why I was outside but I was driving and I saw 15 cars. Wow, where are they going? I tried to follow them. They were on Delmas 31. I saw them stop in front of the orphanage. They all go inside and said we come to check on you. What’s going on, check on the children. We need security. They will send some soldiers if necessary. They spent 1 hour checking. They check my leg. They say, ok, we come back and bring food back to you.

See so many US soldiers, they know they have to be careful with us. Even our neightbors say, we should sleep on your property because it’s safer now.

Clouter—

Came with 2 cars, one broke down. Broke down because they spent whole evening working on car. People thought it was our security.

Rebuilding the Security Wall

2010-02-23T13:52:00.003-06:00

If you would like to see photos of the security wall being rebuilt please go to our website www.forhisgloryoutreach.org click on earthquake relief and then photos.

Thank you Mission Haiti for all the hard work that you have done to make this project possible.

God Bless You.

URGENT NEED

2010-02-20T16:45:00.003-06:00

There are currently 300 children in Haiti that still qualify for humanitarian parole. The State Dept. has cancelled military flights. Volunteer Charter Flights are needed to evacuate the remaining children. If you or someone you know can provide transportation for these children, please contact info@forhisgloryoutreach.org
Let's help them get home!

We Are Home

2010-02-17T19:44:00.003-06:00

Our Homecoming Story:

View the story of how 80 children came home to be with their forever families as told by CNN:

January 20,2010 - Our orphanage manager, Pierre Alexis sharing our plight

http://cnn.com/video/?/video/world/2010/01/20/pkg.obrien.haiti.orphans.cnn

January 21, 2010 - Maison des Enfants de Dieu bus ride to make their way to America

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2010/01/22/obrien.orphan.journey.cnn?hpt=C2

January 23, 2010 - Here are 80 of our children arriving home to be with their forever families

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jMjwgoEAyE&feature=related

We Need Your Mission Trip Stories!

2010-01-11T13:39:00.007-06:00

Have you been on a trip to work at Maison des Enfants de Dieu?

Would you please consider writing a blog post about how God used you in Haiti?

Please send your entry and photos (if you have them) to me at jodie.eyberg@gmail.com.

Thanks!

P.S. -- I'd also love to have your adoption stories, recipes, etc.!

Soup Joumou Recipes

2009-12-27T17:00:00.002-06:00

Haitian Soup Joumou is more than just soup--this is a symbol Haiti's independence.

Before 1804, the black Haitians were forbidden from touching joumou, a flavorful and aromatic pumpkin savored by their white French masters. When independence was gained, what better way to celebrate than to enjoy what was once forbidden?

So, this is what Haitians traditionally consume Jan. 1, Haiti's Independence Day.

Thanks to the Real Hope For Haiti Rescue Center for this version of the recipe.

Ingredients:
1 lb corned beef or beef stew meat (you can use chicken or goat as well)
water
1 1/2 lbs pumpkin, peeled & diced
2 turnips, diced
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 sprig parsley
1 sprig thyme
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 cup milk
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon butter
3/4 cup rice, washed (uncooked, not instant)
salt
3/4 teaspoon pepper
2 to 4 teaspoons butter

Instructions:

In a saucepan, cover beef generously with water and boil over medium-low heat, partially covered for 1 hour.

Drain and chop beef into bite-sized pieces.

In a saucepan, bring 4 cups of water to a boil; add pumpkin, turnips, beef, onions, parsley, thyme, and 2 cloves garlic. Simmer until pumpkin is tender (15 minutes). Discard parsley and thyme.

Transfer pumpkin to food processor with 1/4 cup stock and puree. Return to saucepan and heat through.

Add milk, nutmeg, butter, and rice; cook until rice is tender (15-20 minutes).

Season with salt and pepper, and mix in remaining garlic.

Serve hot with a little butter in each bowl.

Serving Size: 4

Thanks to Joshua and Liz Daby for this version:

1 lb beef
1 medium butternut squash
1 to 2 cups cabbage
2 carrots
1 cup spinach
1 large onion
4 cloves garlic
6 to 8 cups chicken broth
½ tsp cloves
Black pepper/salt
½ cup macaroni
1 habenero

Instructions:

Brown the meat in some oil, add chopped onion and garlic, sauté.

Add chicken broth, spices and peeled chunked squash.

Add whole habenero, bring mixture to a boil then cover and simmer up to 1 hour.

Add carrots, cabbage (shredded) and spinach.

Cook until carrots are just about tender, add macaroni and cook 5 to 7 minutes more.

This should be thick, the squash falls apart and becomes part of the broth.

Please send contributions for the blog to jodie.eyberg@gmail.com.
We'd love your recipes, "how we were called to adopt" stories, etc.!

Jock & Lisa's Adoption Journey -- So Far ...

2009-12-13T14:31:00.000-06:00

We were married in 1999, and began to try to grow our family soon after. About two years into our marriage, we sought medical assistance, not knowing the emotional roller-coaster we would face of hope in fertility treatments and loss of multiple pregnancies. The Lord used this time to learn from these experiences and to grow a closer bond than we ever could have imagined. The door had been closed to us having biological children, but He opened our hearts and minds to adoption as a means of growing our family.

After several months of researching various options, we had all but settled on adopting from Haiti, when Lisa read a personal interest story on her company website of a family that had adopted from Haiti. With Haiti being a relatively unknown country from which to adopt at that time (2005), this was the God’s confirmation to us that we were to adopt from Haiti! So, we continued to research the possibilities.

In early May 2005, we decided on an agency, began working on our application, and started gathering paperwork for our dossier. The day we’d planned to mail the application form to the agency, we learned that Lisa was pregnant. This threw us for a loop! The agency we’d chosen was not one that would allow your adoption to continue if you became pregnant, so we did not mail in the application that day. One week later, Lisa was in emergency surgery for an ectopic pregnancy.

During the next couple of months, while getting Lisa healthy again, we felt strongly that we should be adopting independently, not through the agency. So we began researching our adoptions, and came upon For His Glory. We did some more research and prayed over this option, and felt that this was where God was leading us – this was where our children were. We started the application process, and continued learning more about dossier preparation and the adoption process.

In August 2005, as we were waiting on the reference letters needed for our application, we received a call from a relative in another state regarding a child that may need an adoptive family. We prayed over this, yet another change in course, and truly believed that our children were in Haiti, but that we needed to be available for this child first, and follow this path where ever it would lead.

This path required us to become licensed for foster care and adoption in our state, but about half-way through the training, we learned that this child would be returning to live with his biological family. We had a certain peace about this loss – that he was not meant to be a part of our family, but that God was using this as a path towards another child/children. We continued the training, as we were learning useful parenting skills. We also thought that, while we were not comfortable with foster parenting, having the dual adoption license could possibly open doors… which it most certainly did!

Within one month of obtaining our state license, we got a call about a little girl. This surprised us, because with the comfort level of placements we’d specified it was unlikely that we’d get a call. We had a few visits with this little girl and prayed about whether this she was meant to be a part of our family. Over a course of a few weeks, this was confirmed for us - she was our little girl. She was placed with us in March 2006, and we finalized her adoption on Adoption Saturday, November 18, 2006. What a blessing this was, after starting trying to grow our family in 2000, and opening our hearts to adoption in early 2005.

Well, even before our daughter’s adoption was finalized, we felt the tug on our hearts to again seek an adoption from Haiti. We prayed over this for several months, and in March 2007, decided to again start paperwork to adopt independently through For His Glory, and began immediately working on both our application and our dossier.

Quite a whirlwind the paperwork gathering was! Our application to For His Glory was completed, submitted, and accepted, in May 2007. Our dossier was completed in June 2007, and promptly sent to Haiti at the end of the month. We signed the referrals for our two darlings at the end of July 2007, which started the processing in Haiti.

In February 2008, we had the pleasure of meeting the director of For His Glory and the director of the orphanage in Haiti, when they were traveling to our area doing some fundraising. They encouraged us to travel with the mission trip in March. Though the trip was only two weeks away, we couldn’t turn down the chance to meet our precious angels. However difficult it was to leave at the end of the week, we’re so blessed with that experience – we wouldn’t trade the time we had with them for anything! We have since traveled to Haiti two other times – once just Lisa, in July 2008, to sign our I-600, and both of us again on a missions/work trip in March 2009.

Our dossier is now in MOI, awaiting approval for passports. We are praying for a speedy exit from MOI, and for the immigration processing, including the birth parents’ interviews, to also go smoothly. This has been a long journey for us, but we wait on the Lord to fulfill His purposes which He’s called us to. We’ve had many trials along the way, but we know that the Lord is working them all for our good (Romans 8:28). The process of Haitian adoptions is neither short nor easy, but we know this will be well worth it in the end. We pray every day for our two children in Haiti, and cannot wait until that day comes for them to bless us and our home with their presence!

Blessings,
Jock & Lisa

Please send contributions for the blog to jodie.eyberg@gmail.com. We'd love your recipes, "how we were called to adopt" stories, etc.!

2009-12-02T20:22:00.001-06:00

Easy Chicken Creole

2009-11-22T10:35:00.005-06:00

Easy Chicken Creole

Ingredients:
1 large onion, chopped
3/4 cup diced green pepper (1 medium)
1 large clove garlic, crushed
3 Tbl. oil
2 Tbl. flour
1 (6oz) can tomato paste
1/4 t. hot pepper sauce
1/2 t. salt
2 cups cubed cooked chicken
1/2 t. sugar
2 1/4 c. chicken broth
black pepper
hot cooked rice

Directions:
In a large skillet, saute onion, green pepper and garlic in oil until tender, stirring occasionally. Add flour; cook and stir just until flour starts to brown. Stir in tomato paste, broth, sugar, salt and pepper sauce. Cook and stir until mixture comes to a boil and thickens. Simmer uncovered 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in chicken and season with pepper. Heat until hot. Serve over hot rice.

Recipe from Town and Country Creole Cooking: Traditional and Modern Recipes of Haiti by Betty and Wally Turnbull

Please send contributions for the blog to jodie.eyberg@gmail.com. We'd love your recipes, "how we were called to adopt" stories, etc.!

Mabel's Story

2009-11-02T16:51:00.020-06:00

By Mabel Garcia, Argentinean mom

I am a single mom who always wanted to be an adoptive parent. International adoption made this possible for me.

On October 2008, they assigned me a sweet heart, Egenson who is currently 44 months old. As per the new regulations, I had to travel to Haiti in order to sign before Judge. On October 17th I met my child for the first time.

As soon as we met, we both realized that we were born to be together. Egenson said “bye bye” to his friends a few minutes after we met without even telling him that we were going to a hotel to share a few unforgettable days together. He knew that his moment had arrived. He saw that happening many times with other kids and that was “his” moment. That was my moment as well and the first time I was called mammy!

Without an invitation, the toddlers came as well. May be they smelt the candies…One, two, five for each one and tons of 3 and 4 years old kept moving on where we were. I did not have enough hands for giving them sweets but I brought hugs for each one. They loved both!

I visited the orphanage and it was great to see the kids of most of parents of the orphanage’s web site. I met them before meeting their parents! 15, 20 or even more babies under two were crying, eating, and crawling in the next two rooms. More nannies than anywhere else were busily feeding and papering kids. There were a few babies in another room, recovering of sicknesses and they looked at me with curiosity and big eyes, may be surprised to see a new face coming. My son was beside me all the time watching my movements just in case…

The older kids did not hesitate to come and they did not forget to say “thanks” after receiving the candies.

Pierre drove us to the hotel. An amazing week was ahead. My son and I had a brief conversation before jumping to the swimming pool. I spoke Spanish and he did it in his sweet Creole. We understood each other perfectly and we both agreed that we were together to enjoy the challenge and adventure of being mom and son for a week. “Egenson is a very active boy” Pierre said and in fact, he is. He was amazed with every single discover of his new world, from my tender kisses to the huge bed that we shared with his toys, cars, soccer ball and candies.

It is great to learn from our children. They always have something to teach us and Egenson showed me that he could adapt himself perfectly well to my rhythm. Now, far away from Haiti, I understand that during that week, he felt he had to do a lot to be accepted and he made the effort to understand Spanish, he tried different food, he woke up with me, he slept when I went to sleep, he became the most important person of my life and the reason to live day to day.

We might have the share of worries about adopting older kids. Would the children fit in with others, would they fit into the school system, how old would be considered too old, would they learn English or another language, would they be employable, and of course would they fit into my family and would they accept us, what if we don’t get along? During my visit, one day I brought 4 girls to the hotel to enjoy a day together. They are 4, 6, 11 and 14 and real nice, helpful and polite. They were very talkative and they did not hesitate to ask me whatever they had in mind. They speak fluent English, they love swimming and we spent an unforgettable day together.

We visited the orphanage couple of times during that week and my son was more than welcome! Kids screaming and running beside the car were waiting him may be to hear his stories of his days with a mom? Egenson jumped from the car and went to join the group of “vandals” while the nannies run behind them trying to keep them together.

My dear baby, my son, my teacher, my all…I miss you so much that I can’t wait to be with you forever! God bless every moment of your life. I was blessed with you…

Preparing

2009-10-11T08:48:00.000-05:00

The first groups are preparing to go down to Haiti in accordance with the new request that parents appear at court. We do not yet know how that will go. Please keep the travelers in prayer as well as Pierre, Kiki and the others involved in keeping the adoptions moving.

The New Board

2009-09-24T13:01:00.001-05:00

Changes

2009-09-20T09:11:00.000-05:00

There have been recent changes at FHG.

Kim Harmon is now president. Most of you know her story. She went to Haiti the first time to support her daughter Natalie who was adopting from FHG. Kim and her husband ended up adopting four children themselves! Since then she has brought another one home and is now in the process of adopting a sixth child from FHG so she is certainly in tune with Haitian adoption news and frustrations.

Pat Flowers in vice president.

Greg Constantino is treasurer secretary.

Please uphold these officers in prayer as things fall into place for them.

Adoptions will continue as normal and hopefully we will have news soon about whether or not families have to travel for court.

Haiti

2009-09-09T14:43:00.001-05:00

Life in Haiti is tough.

Many people have no income.

No home.

No food.

For His Glory Outreach is making a difference in Haiti.

Over 100 children call Maison des Enfants de Dieu home.

They receive three meals a day.

They have close friends.

Nannies care for the children.

The children attend school at the O.