"Another Miracle!" -or- "He Can Walk!!!!!"

LOOK! Youvendgy is walking, all by himself! He was 3 years old in February, and now he can walk. Thank you, Father God!

Youvendgy came to us in August and went straight into the hospital. [see August post] He was treated for anemia, sickle cell crisis, tuberculosis and malnutrition. When he was younger both legs were broken, at different times I think. His legs and buttocks were SO weak! He scooted on his bottom, couldn't walk or even stand alone.

What a difference a few months of love and good nutrition can make. So maybe it's not an instant miracle of the "Get up and walk" type, but it's miraculous just the same. Where would this little guy be if Laura Lynn "Lala" Nichols hadn't found him and tried to help. She didn't even give up when his mother threatened to kill him. Lala found an official who had the authority and the heart to give Lala temporary custody so she could find help for Youvendgy.

And what brought Lala to Haiti and to the village of Jubilee in Gonaives? God. And who started, funds and runs Faith Hope Love Infant Rescue? God. HE took time from running the universe to intervene in Youvendgy's life. Just because HE loves him. Just like HE loves you, and me, and everyone else.

Praise God and glory hallelujah!

Michilove Noel - My HERO!

Mich was grinning as we left the dentist's office yesterday, February 2nd, after his 5th visit. Why? "He didn't pull any teeth!" I'm not surprised: at his last 3 visits over the last 3 weeks, 6 teeth have been pulled. Some were broken off and not easy to remove. It was very hard on Mich.

Mich has lived with us since shortly after the earthquake last January. His mother is very poor. When we first saw Mich in 2007 he was extremely malnourished. His bones and teeth were affected.

The only time he cried in fear since coming here was the night before his first major tests at school in December. Once I assured him that we don't beat children for bad grades he was fine. Heartbreaking that a child would expect abuse for less than perfect performance but that is not uncommon in Haiti!

Speaking of school, Mich is in first grade at a Christian school nearby. In this country where less than half of all children go to school, ever, that is amazing. More amazing is how seriously he takes his schooling. We often see him working on his lessons with the nannies.

Despite all the hard knocks Mich has faced in his life he faces every difficulty with a courage that blows me away. How many 14 yr old boys would go to the dentist knowing that several teeth were going to be pulled without a word of complaint! I think I would whine at the very least.

Mich's courage blows me away but God's care for him is even more awesome. The great Lord God of the universe saw this little boy in Haiti and had me leave a good job and home to come to Haiti to help him. Praise the Lord!

Dr. Mondestin explains to Mich what is going to happen and why.

Mich gets his teeth cleaned for the first time in his life at his first dentist's

visit on Jan 6, 2011.

Dr. Mondestin is also trained in orthodontics

Mich's teeth were damaged by malnutrition. Here is a copy of his dental treatment plan.

Despite everything, Mich has a smile that proclaims his joy in life

Mich's ribcage was dangerously narrow

Mich had 21 badly healed broken bones

Mich July 2007, 10 yrs old

Leila Paul Dec 2005 - Jan 2011

"We have a 5 yr old girl who has been in the hospital for 2 months" said Mdm Phadael, the social worker at the HIV clinic where our children are treated. "Would you take her home with you when she is released?" I was hesitant. We take babies and small children. Older children have different needs. Brenda and I agreed to see her. We walked into the hospital room and fell in love. Yes, we agreed to take her.

Leila and her mom came home with us on November 17th along with 15 prescription medicines to treat AIDS, tuberculosis and a heart problem. Leila's mom signed her over to us without any visible emotion. Leila showed no emotion when her mom left. Sad, we thought.

We grew to love Leila with her silky hair, gentle ways and elfin smile. We noticed she had trouble walking due to pain in her legs and pelvis and back. The doctor commented that she had been really sick. In December she started having stomach pain, so much so that the doctor prescribed a medicine containing phenobarbital. It didn't help much. After another couple of weeks she started having fever every day. We took her to the clinic several times. The doctor came to our house. Tests were run, antibiotics prescribed. Her appetite failed.

On Sunday, January the 9th, she wouldn't even take fluids. The doctor came to the house and sent us to the emergency room. While waiting to be admitted, she died in the nanny's arms. I couldn't believe it when they called me with the news. The doctors were also surprised. The week after her death we learned that Leila's white blood count was only 830. A low normal count is around 4000. Her immune system had failed.

Leila lives with her heavenly Father now. She is free of all pain and sickness. She knows HIS love in a way we back on earth cannot comprehend. I miss her - we all do - but I wouldn't bring her back for anything. Thank you, LORD, for allowing this precious child to be in our lives and for the opportunity to give her unconditional love in her final days on earth.

August 15 news

Good morning from Haiti! What a couple of weeks we have had. Youvendji went in the hospital on July 22nd. We had to go immediately to the Haitian Red Cross to get blood for him. Denika from Bercy went in on August 6th. We had to go get blood for her, too. We had to get more blood for her this past week. Last Sunday, Wilmerson was taken to the emergency room and admitted with probable meningitis.


Haiti's blood bank is depleted. Each time we waited hours to get blood for the children. If children weren't a priority, we probably wouldn't have gotten blood at all. The Red Cross waited for someone to come in and donate blood, or the bloodmobile to bring it in, then they processed it and handed it out to the lucky ones who were waiting.


Youvendji, 2 ½, is from Gonaives. He is malnourished and might have tuberculosis. He definitely has sickle cell anemia. The hospital didn't wait for confirmation of the TB but started treating him immediately. When I visited a couple of days ago, the nurse proudly told me his weight is up to 8.2 kg, about 18 lbs.! We are hoping he can come home this week. He is unable to stand but he can move his legs. We need a physical therapist to teach us how to help him get strong.

Austin from Bercy brought Denika, 1 yr old, to us on July 31. She, too, is malnourished and might have tuberculosis. Denika will stay in the hospital for a while. We are giving her mother money for food and help with laundry, etc., while she stays with her daughter.

Wilmerson responded to antibiotics right away. He came home today! He seems stronger now than at any time since coming to us in January. Praise God!

We got our new truck on August 5th (the Haitians say it isn't a truck, it's a pickup). The dealership was so happy to be able to finally deliver it, they greeted me with a huge arrangement of fragrant, beautiful flowers and everyone came outside to watch! Thank you, Father, for your blessings.

The truck went right to work the next day, making three trips to the hospital and one to downtown Port au Prince to get blood. I have not driven a stick shift in more than 40 years and driving up and down steep hills in stop and creep bumper-car traffic was an experience. I hope the Lord laughed as much as Laura Lynn and I did. HE is good and the day ended with no accidents and every errand completed.

Four of our children are registered for school at the International Missions Outreach (http://www.imohaiti.org/) just down the street from us. Michelor, Rosa, Claudine and Johnny will start school in October. Thirteen year old Mich has never been to school before: he will be in first grade. Rosa and Claudine will be in pre-k 4 and Johnny in pre-k3. I can't wait to get their uniforms so we can get pictures!

Thank you for the many donations of formula, clothes, etc. and your financial contributions. We had to rent vehicles in July, pay extra staff for hospital care, and pay school registration fees. It takes a lot to do a good job of caring for so many and we deeply appreciate your help.

God bless you!

Dorothy Pearce
Faith-Hope-Love Infant Rescue

Youvendji

Denika

Wilmerson

Miracle of provision

Yes, God is in the miracle business. See our new truck? The dealership, Atlantis Motors, was so happy to give me the truck after weeks of waiting, they also gave a huge arrangement of flowers. Practically everyone came into the garage to witness the delivery of the truck to me. I thank God for providing for us.

We got the truck on Thursday afternoon. Friday, the next day, I made three trips to St. Damien's Hospital (Petit Frere et Souer), admitted one baby, and drove to General Hospital to get blood for the baby. I can drive automatic transmission; the truck is standard. I think the Lord must have laughed and laughed as I struggled with Haiti traffic and hills and driving after dark in the rain with cars coming toward me in my lane.

He laughs gently, though, and every challenge had a successful resolution. His angels kept the truck from rolling into the cars behind us, the baby got her blood, Laura Lynn and I had a nice meal at the restaurant near the hospital, and we got home safely. We laughed ourselves silly, too.

Spirit, our new 2010 Tata Xenon pickup truck

Miracles - The Lazyboy

We are going thru a time of frustration. Our Isuzu was given to a Haitian mechanic to fix an electrical problem. He tore the engine out and has left it in pieces. He won't finish it. We have no vehicle.

We purchased, more than a month ago for cash, a brand new Tata Xenon pickup truck: double cab, 4WD, diesel, with air conditioning! Haiti customs held it prisoner for a few weeks. Now Haitian registration/tags are holding it up. We still have no vehicle although we own 2.

One baby is in the hospital: two more should be inpatient. But we have no vehicle.

See why I'm frustrated?

Well, my favorite chair, the Lazyboy rocker/recliner pictured below, reminds me that God knows all things and controls all things and works in HIS own good time.

The chair was shipped in a van to Haiti in 2004. The van arrived during the ouster of former president Aristide. The country was in turmoil; anarchy reigned. The ports were looted and everything movable was stolen. The van disappeared.

We caught up with the van a year later, on the southern peninsula of Haiti. When I traveled down to see it and try to get it back, I was floored to see that even though everything had been stolen from inside the van - including the bench seats, battery and fuel pump - the Lazyboy was still there. Though it took a while longer to get the van back, the police allowed me to remove the chair that day.

The chair, practically a throne to me, reminds me daily of God's power. And that HE works in HIS own time, not mine, not anybody's.

The chair is my reminder that God is greater even than wild mobs of looters and HE is not fazed by time frames that are unacceptable to me.

SO, thanks to one of the best lessons I have ever learned, taught by a Lazyboy rocker/recliner, our no-vehicle problem has been handed to The One Who Can Handle The Impossible.

Thank you, Lord, for putting me back in my rocker. With it you gave me the FAITH to not give up HOPE but to rest in your LOVE with the certainty that you will do what is best when it is best.

THE MIRACLE CHAIR

a powerful lesson

by Dorothy Pearce

Founder of Faith-Hope-Love Infant Rescue

I'm BACK!!!

Families are wonderful. I enjoyed every minute of the 3 months I spent in the USA with my family. My grandson's heart surgery was successful and we all thank you for your prayers. Now I am thrilled to be back in Haiti with my other family.

The children look great. Josue is crawling and standing: he's nice and fat, glowing with good health! You can't see him now and believe that he almost died from malnutrition and anemia in December. Emmannuella is moving more than ever before. She has been here for a year and has made amazing progress. Praise God for HIS presence and mercy!

Naphtalie, Naphtalia and Emmanuella all got chicken pox after I got back. I sure hope this is the end of the epidemic. They have recovered well. Thank you, Lord!

Mis Audette has been a great addition to our staff. She is a nurse but consented to also teach the children. She is a strong Christian lady who teaches with love. The children, staff and I all adore her. The children are learning about Jesus, French and manners! We need a sponsor to pay her salary of $200 US per month. Please pray about this need.

Katie Benner will come in September to help us for 3 months with the school situation and direct children's activities. Please pray for her as she prepares to come.

Youvendgy, 2 1/2, came from Gonaives. He has sickle cell anemia, malnutrition and pneumonia. Or maybe it's tuberculosis: they're still testing. His hemoglobin was 4 grams and he has had 2 transfusions: It is up to 8 now. He is in Ti Frere hospital (a miracle in itself since they don't take children for orphanages). Please pray for his healing.

The social worker at our HIV clinic asked if we can take more children with HIV. Parents who are sick with the disease and living in tents aren't capable of giving medicines on a regular basis. They can't give the kids the nutrition they need, either. Pray for wisdom in choosing which children to accept and provision of resources to care for them.

Four of our ladies were able to attend a women's conference led by Eileen Murphy last week. It was a treat for them. Crusades for Christ sent ladies to care for the children so they could go. That is how the LORD launched our year of ministry to our ladies. Thank you, Father! They had a good time and learned a lot!

The NEW TRUCK is washed and prepped and ready to be ours as soon as the Haitian government completes the registration and issues the tags. Maybe tomorrow? You'll hear me cheering when we actually take possession!

A German medical group came over Saturday and gave the kids vaccinations. What a relief! Praise God for their help! Good job, PAPA GOD! We give thanks!

The work here is hard and it is sweltering hot, but we can feel the peace of the Lord always sheltering and lifting us. It is most apparent in the children's progress but also can be seen in our ladies as they begin to believe that they can make a difference in the world. So can you! Search for God in your life, put HIM first, above everything else, and the rest will follow.

God bless you all!