Rewind…

As I sat down to write about my week I realized that I haven’t blogged about LAST week!  We have been crazy busy but crazy blessed!  I’m going to back up a bit and fill you in on last week too… sorry if it’s a long one but there is SO MUCH to tell you!

Last Thursday at the prison was emotional but very sweet as we shared our memories of the earthquake and also went through the many blessings that have come in the last two years… especially the fact that the prison doors were even open to us to begin this ministry.  I was able to introduce them all to our new medical intern, Maria, as she will be heading up the weekly clinics for me there.  Last Thursday was the day we started a new Bible study at Papa Yo’s as well.  We started at the beginning, using the summaries and crossword puzzles that I have prepared for the prisoners over the last couple of years.   We have combined the brothel girls with the boys as we start making our way through the Bible, one book at a time.  Obviously I will still need to separate them as we focus on different areas and get to the princess parties, etc that we love so much… but for now it’s just really nice to study God’s Word as a family.

On the way back to the mission we stopped at the LaPointe brothel.  It has been closed up tight since I’ve been back (Halleluiah!)  but I wanted to check in on all of our community friends who had joined in our Bible study time with the girls.  We found four young men (who I didn’t recognize) sitting outside the gate.  Edril and I explained who we were and told them that we would be back the next day after lunch for Bible study and that anyone and everyone was welcome.  We had no idea what to expect…

The next afternoon, Katie, Ashley and I headed back to LaPointe.  Our truck broke down on the way so we were an hour and a half late.  I was so nervous that they would think we just weren’t coming at all… so I couldn’t believe my eyes as we pulled up and saw all of our old friends, with Bibles in hand, waiting for us outside the gate.  The doors to the brothel were opened and we all piled in.  There were around 30 people there including several new faces so we went through a time of introduction and then went into an incredibly sweet time of prayer.  As always, we asked for individual prayer requests at the end to allow me as much one on one contact with each person as possible.  As I wrote down request after request, Katie would lead them out, one at a time and Ashley took time praying with each person or family as they left.  We couldn’t wait to see what would happen as they all agreed to come to our weekly Bible study every Friday afternoon.

This is where my week got crazy.  The next day the surgery team came in (a treat as I was so happy to see so many friends!), two days later I took the very long ride (about 7 hours) to the Mole campus with Tracey so we could visit and meet with Jody about travel stuff.  An absolutely gorgeous area and an incredibly sweet time of catching up and silliness that was much needed.  We spent just one full day there and got back in the truck early Wednesday morning to start the journey back to the mission… a very bumpy seven and a half hours!  We got back with just enough time for me to prepare for the next days devotions at the prison and brothel!

This Thursday in PdP was emotional to say the least.  Very high highs and very low lows.  The devotion that I shared with them was on sharing and putting each others needs above your own… something that the prisoners know way more about than I do.  The devotion time went well and I closed at each cell by telling them we were finally ready to set up our next time of baptism there at the prison.  I have had several men and women make the decision over the last six months or so and knew that it would be enough to as the director permission again.   I guess I have totally lost count or maybe just don’t give God enough credit for what He is doing in these prisoners hearts.  I am beyond shocked and completely overjoyed to tell you that sixty-seven men and 2 women came forward and asked to be baptized.  Why this shocked me, I don’t know.  The last baptisms we had seventy-six total…  I guess it’s because I know so many of them had already been baptized before I even knew them that I was shocked by this HUGE number.  With only 335 prisoners I am blown away by their overwhelming passion for the Lord!!!

So there is a super high high…  the lows are just incredibly painful and I ask that you lift my sweet friends up in special prayer this week.  One of the prisoners died at the local hospital this week, creating fear and sadness in some of the others.  Two of my closest friends at the prison, Charles and Madam Jacques are incredibly sick, and while we were able to have a special time of prayer… my heart was still breaking for them.  Another of the women had just learned that her son had been shot and killed the night before.  My heart, as a mom, was completely overwhelmed with grief at the thought of her not even being able to mourn with her family during this awful time.  There are six men that are battling TB that are in pretty rough shape…  all six of them came forward to be baptized… a huge relief but still and awful feeling to be so helpless in meeting their physical needs.

We went down the hill to Papa Yo’s and realized quickly that God had more surprises in store for us.  All of the girls except the one Dominican girl had left… gone home for good.  I was so excited!  It was funny because my friend Kim had come with me as she is very interested in women’s ministry and I found myself actually APOLOGIZING for the fact that there was only one girl there!  Lol!  It was a great time of Bible study though as we still had all of the “brothel boys” and the several guys that just kind of hang out there join us.  Markel was there and able to translate for the spanish speaking Dominican as we studied the book of Exodus this week.  She shared that she was sad that the other girls all left and that she was lonely… she also shared that she had been reading the Bible I had given her every day!!!  My hope and prayer for her is that she is the next to go… before Papa Yo manages to find new girls to come and “keep her company”.

Kim (a nurse) also joined us yesterday at the LaPointe brothel…. again…. I almost felt guilty that there are actually not ANY prostitutes at this Bible study!  Haha.  Such an interesting thing I do…   Katie had made cupcakes and be brought cold milk but were completely overwhelmed by the number of people that had come.  Our little community Bible study has grown!  My devotion was similar to the one I had done with the prisoners but really focused more on community and again… meeting each others needs.  Just like at the prison, I know that this group of individuals knows far more about this than I do but we shared in the Word and sought out what God tells us so clearly.

We started out with around 30 men, women and children but we honestly lost count by the end.  My guess is that we spoke to and prayed with around  50 people.  As they learned that Kim was a nurse, the prayer requests turned into pleas for help.  I already knew so many of their stories… and incredibly difficult lives… so adding their medical needs into that mix was emotionally draining to say the least.  Just like the week before, Ashley set up a prayer station outside but as the lines grew longer we all jumped in and were able to spend powerful time of prayer with each person that came.  There are too many to list but there are a few that really jumped out at me this week.

Joanna is a sixteen year old girl that has been coming regularly since the very first day at the Lapointe brothel.  Her parents are both dead and a woman that she didn’t really know took her in.  She literally has no other family.  Her one and only prayer request has been that she might find a way to finish school.  It was only because Kim was with us that I also learned of her vision problems and chronic headaches.  Founa is another woman that we know well.  Her husband died four years ago, she and her three children have been homeless since, floating from house to house as different people have taken them in for a few weeks at a time. A typical story here.  One of her daughters has a pretty nasty skin infection that Kim was able to treat but it was Founa’s story that got me.  As she shared her stomach pains, headaches and dizziness with Kim I realized instantly what the problem was.  She admitted that she only eats one meal every two to three days so that her children each have a few more bites of whatever it is she has for them that day.  Heartbreaking.

The next two were both first timers… Rodrigue is eighteen years old and very shy.  He was orphaned as a young boy and now lives with a friend.  His prayer request was for a family to take care of him.  That’s it.  Holy cow.  He shared that he used to know Jesus but that he had forgotten Him as his situation started to seem hopeless.  We were able to share in God’s Word about the special place God has in his heart for orphans and how God might choose to use him to be able to grow up and help BE that protector for other orphans and be the one to teach them about Jesus.  After an incredibly powerful time of prayer Rodrigue promised to come to our Bible studies each week and asked me for a Bible.   Another first timer is a sweet eleven year old named Shanika.  Last week she was asked to leave her school as her parents can no longer afford it.  Just one of many, many children in the same boat.  But God stirred something in my soul as I listened to her quiet prayer request that she might finish her studies so she can grow up and be a doctor.  She will be on my mind in in my prayers.

I know that this is a rambling mess of information…  but this is my life.  As we left the brothel, Kim asked me how I can stand it… seeing so much need and not being able to “fix it”.  As hard as it is sometimes, my comfort comes from this…  It is NOT about what I can do.  But it IS about what God can do.  Period.  To beat myself up any more than that is to give myself way too much credit.  It’s not about me.  And I thank God every minute of every day for that.  Please join me this week in praying for my sweet friends in the prisons and brothels.  For the people living in our communities.  For the stories I will never hear and the names I will never know.  Pray that they WILL see the face of Jesus through us and that they WILL hear that God truly does love them and have His arms wrapped around them.

Pray also for Katelyn as I am heading home in a couple of days to speak at a church event and get some much needed hubby time.  She will have a lot on her plate with the prison and brothel ministries while I am gone.  I am tickled at what God is doing through the brothel ministry…  brothel turned orphanage… brothel turned community center… I hope He is getting a good giggle in over this as well!  Thanks for standing in the gap with us!

Remembering… two years later

I can hardly believe it’s already been two years since the earthquake.  But at the same time, it feels more like twenty years have gone by with all that has happened here in Haiti lately.

It’s funny… the things that stand out in my memory.  It seems as though so much of it has blurred together in my mind but then there are certain things that still jump out at me.  I read Jody’s blog post  (http://castilloavektimoun.wordpress.com/2012/01/12/i-will-never-forget/)  earlier today and was instantly transported back to that moment… to that day… to those first weeks…  and I shocked myself by needing a good hard cry.  Not that I don’t cry about absolutely everything… but what shocked me was the grief… how fresh it felt… I think I needed to remember what that felt like.

I remember that the sun was shining… for the first time in over a week.  I remember how good it felt to be outside.  I remember the feeling of the ground, moving beneath my feet and the confusion I felt.  I remember the look on Susan’s face as she stared back at me in the middle of the road.  I remember the panicked screams and I remember the sight and sound of so many of my Haitian brothers and sisters who were face down in the church court yard, crying out to God.  I remember nervously laughing when it was over and posting something snarky on facebook.  I remember the shock as the news started trickling in that it was bad… really bad.  I remember the fear at realizing that Jose was there, in PAP… and then the shock at knowing that so many of our staff and loved ones were also on the ground there.  I remember calling my husband and begging him to not turn on the television… or let my mother watch either… even as we sat glued to the news ourselves.  I remember trying to hold it together for the small group that was here on campus but laying on my floor, sobbing, behind closed doors.  I remember the noisy sobs at our worship service, held with the Americans on campus and all of our sweet Haitian staff who still hadn’t heard from loved ones.  I remember hands clutching useless phones, praying for them to suddenly ring with news.  I remember our hearts breaking as we listened to Jocelyn tell his story of survival and how he and the other boys had made it back to the mission after three days.  I remember Larry and his quiet strength as he left for PAP.  I remember dragging children out into the courtyard in the pitch black because there was a ridiculous announcement on the radio that another earthquake was coming.  I remember the grief.   I remember the fear.  I remember Jody running to embrace Jose in the middle of the courtyard after so many days of uncertainty…  I remember the dog crying and jumping on them both as they held each other and sobbed.   I remember watching as our little town swelled with the survivors who had made their way to the Northwest zone.  I remember the aftershocks, and the aftershocks, and the aftershocks.  I remember the surgery team arriving and the utter relief that I felt as they got off the bus.  I remember finally, finally making it home, six weeks later, and seeing my husband for the first time in the airport.  I remember dropping my bags and being held and making the decision that I would never, ever,  stand on my own two feet again.  I remember not wanting to come back.  I remember, selfishly, never wanting to ever experience that kind of grief again.  I remember knowing that God had not finished with me yet and not being particularly happy with Him about that.  I remember difficult discussions with my family and loved ones and I remember being gently and lovingly urged back to Haiti.  I remember what Haiti looked like before the earthquake.  I remember that it was the earthquake that opened the doors to the PdP prison to me and the ministry that we have there today.  I remember the teams and the donations that came flooding in, wanting to help in anyway possible.  I remember the gratitude at knowing that we weren’t in this alone… that the whole world was watching and wanting to help.  I remember the praises rising and the beauty that has come from such a dark and painful place.

On this… the National Day of Remembrance….  I do remember.  Do you?

loving my Thursdays!

Today was a crazy busy day for us in Port de Paix… this was the largest group I’ve ever brought with me to the prison and it went amazingly well.  I had an entire team of nursing students (led by our summer medical intern) go to do clinic for the prisoners… the first they’ve had since the fall.  I also had a couple of other friends tag along who have joined me before and are interested in both the prison and brothel ministries.  One of our “misc team”, Paul Olsen, was kind enough to lead a devotion with each of the cells and I got to introduce my son and his wife to everyone too!  There are now over 335 prisoners in 9 “regular” cells plus a few that sleep in the sewing cell in a few in the “sick cell”.  Katelyn had her work cut out for her handing out soap, batteries, condiments and playing cards today.  Busy… but AWESOME.

The most exciting part of the prison today was that the men and women had been ministering to the new prisoners that had come into their cells while I was away… The men had a small group of “new guys” that they had shared the Bible with and who were now ready to accept Christ.  I had the privilege of leading them in that prayer of salvation.  Paul led a couple of new boys in the “little boys cell” in that prayer as well.  The women had a new lady that has already accepted Christ and is waiting for us to baptize her…  How cool is that?!?  They are doing it… being the church… regardless of their circumstances, sharing the love of Christ with each other in such an unlikely place.  Love it.  Their one big request today (not on my list of collected supplies of course…) was new Bibles and song books.  Time to put it a new order…

We had a great visit at the brothel today too.  It was so fun to be able to give Papa Yo the school uniforms and the (first wave) of school supplies for the boys!  We had a great small group time with the brothel girls before inviting the boys to join our circle to do our worksheets on the names of God we had prepared.  We also ended up with five or six random men that had been hanging around join us too…  pretty funny (and sweet) to see these “tough guys” getting in line for pens and pencils and trying to be the first to finish their crossword puzzles.

Today reminded me just how much I love my sweet friends and why I do what I do here.  A much needed boost! 

 

home sweet Haiti home

Wow!  Two months was a LONG time to be away.  A much needed break but it’s so, so, so good to be back in my little Haiti house again!  Yesterday was spent cleaning and getting caught up on schedules, etc for the groups coming in a few days.  It was also my chance to show my son everything that has changed around here since his last visit almost two years ago…. a LOT!  Lee spent seven years coming in every six month or so but hasn’t been in since he got married two years ago.  Having Lee and Marisa join us here for a couple of weeks is such a treat!  It is a very different place than he remembers!  I love this picture he took from the mission roof yesterday afternoon…

Katie, Marisa and I went downtown yesterday and bought lots of fresh fruits and veggies at the market and even got to see some of the local brothel girls.  I cannot WAIT to get back to the brothels and to the prison!  We are waiting on our luggage (twelve bags!!!!) to arrive today so we can begin sorting and getting the donated supplies ready to distribute.  SO EXCITED!!!

Please keep us in your prayers as we get back into the swing of things.  We are enjoying the quiet before the storm but are also really looking forward to getting out and back to work and are especially excited about the groups coming!

Goodbye 2011… Hello 2012

Some of you will get this in the mail but many of you will only see it online and I didn’t want to miss anyone!… The following is the end of the year newsletter going out to my friends, family and supporters filling you in on our year and our current needs…

December 2011 Update

This past year at NWHCM has brought many changes and tons of growth.  Our new chapel has been a wonderful addition to the main campus, the aquaponics program is nearing completion, we’ve had some unbelievable additions to our staff with more to come.  Please check out the mission website if you haven’t yet…  www.NWHCM.org to see what we’ve been up to!  It is an exciting time for us as we prepare for the upcoming year!

I have been incredibly blessed to have my girls, Susan and Katelyn, with me for much of the last year in Haiti. Katelyn (the baby of the family!) graduated high school in May and decided to put college off for a year as she works alongside me at NWHCM.  Susan is now back in the states and is considering different schools.  You can be sure that you will still see her regularly in Haiti this year though!  My sweet hubby, Jim, now (finally!) being finished with the crazy legal issues we have been dealing with over the last several years is looking forward to being able to spend more time in Haiti over the next year.  The week or two here and there he’d been getting in were just not cutting it! My son and daughter-in-law will be joining me next month for a visit as well!

The prison ministry is going strong and continues to be my passion.  There are well over 300 prisoners now in the Port-de-Paix prison that we have the privilege to minister to.  So many of you have helped make it possible for us to provide them with (among many other things!) clean water, bars of soap and other toiletries, Bibles, medicines and clinic care, sewing classes, English classes… and hope.  These men and women have responded so passionately to the words of Christ and have been a challenge to me to learn more as they have such a hunger for the Word of God.

The brothel ministry has probably brought the most surprises this year.  We are now ministering in four different brothels and have seen unbelievable change.  These girls are my heart… but this ministry has grown now to include many men and children.  We had over 20 men, children and women praying along with me to accept Christ at the LaPointe brothel just before I left to come home for the holidays!  The PdP brothel has gone from having as many at 12-15 girls working to maybe 2-3 this year and the owner (Papa Yo) and his wife have actually taken in 24 teenaged boys that were living on the streets.  They now have a place to live, are being fed regular meals and will be starting school in January.  PRAISE GOD!  Who would have ever seen a change like that coming?!?

As always, I am still asked regularly, both by strangers and those who know me well,  WHY prisoners and prostitutes?  And my response is always the same.  WHY NOT?!?  God has called us to love the lost, broken and sometimes seemingly unlovable people of this world.  I honestly feel like the luckiest girl in the world that He has called ME to love these two groups of people so passionately, to get to experience the blessings that come with obedience and the pure joy that comes from seeing lives being transformed for the Kingdom.  You can read some of my blogs for a better understanding of the “why’s” at  www.MelonnieinHaiti.com.  I cannot begin to thank you enough for the support that SO many of you have shown me in these ministries.  It absolutely blows me away to see the way you have stepped up and responded to the needs of my sweet friends.

As far as my personal support needs, I am still looking for several monthly supporters to step up and help my family continue in our work.  We took a big hit to our support earlier this year and had an overwhelming response from those willing to step up and help us get back on track.  We are close.  The biggest need we have as a family this year is to have enough travel money in our NWHCM account to cover the extra trips in that Jim is hoping to make this year and the trips home that I am hoping to be able to make in between my May and November/December breaks.  At this point I am planning on leaving for Haiti Dec 28^th and not returning until May 5^th.  That’s a long time to be away from home!

I ask that you prayerfully consider making a one time donation or becoming a monthly supporter in order to help us reach our goal of not having finances dictate our family time.  We are all committed to my work in Haiti but can honestly say that it’s been very hard for our family to be apart so often over the last three years especially.  This past year was the first time that trips in/out didn’t get to happen because of support issues and it was a real eye opener for me.  We are trusting that God will provide what we need this year and hope and pray that He gives us a peace about what the future holds.

If you would like to donate to my work in the prisons and brothels and help my family continue to serve together in Haiti, you can do so online (the easiest way!) by going to the GIVE page on my personal blog (MelonnieinHaiti.com) or on the mission website.  You can also choose to mail any donations directly to the mission offices at Northwest Haiti Christian Mission, 7271 Mayflower Park, Zionsville, IN 46077.  Please make all checks out to NWHCM with Melonnie Kelly in the memo line.  Every penny helps so please don’t think your $5 or $10 a month wouldn’t be a help!  It all adds up!

2011 has been a year of ups and downs for the Kelly family… we have been so grateful to have so many of you standing with, and behind us, throughout it all.  We are looking forward to seeing what God has in store for us over the next twelve months!

Thanks for taking the time to read about our year and our needs.  I pray that God blesses each and every one of you MIGHTILY this year and that you continue to stay involved with helping the lost, broken and hurting people of Haiti.

 

With much love and gratitude,

Melonnie Kelly and family

fundraising success story!

Wow!!!   Thanks to all of you who donated to my Christmas for Haiti party earlier this month!  The response was overwhelming!  I pray HUGE blessings on each and every one of you who gave so sacrificially and became part of something so big!  I will be bringing back bags and bags of supplies for the prison and brothel ministries thanks to your wonderful donations…

it’s almost here…

Less than a week until my Christmas open house and Haiti fundraiser for the prison and brothel ministries!  I am having SO much fun opening the front door to your packages of goodies from my list!  I am still hoping that those of you close enough to come will do just that… come!  I have updated the list to show what’s already come in so that we can hopefully get a little of everything.  Your donations have been absolutely overwhelming!  I literally sat on my kitchen floor last week and just cried, thanked God and cried some more as my doorbell kept ringing with new packages form my sweet friends.  My guess is that the biggest need to fill after Friday night will be funds to pay for the extra bags back into Haiti!

One huge update:  We had enough shirts donated for the “brothel boys” school uniforms!  I have also gotten a message about someone bringing school supplies Friday night so it looks like school will be in session when I get back!  WOOOHOOO!  (Thanks Jodi and Dawn!)

Here’s what we are still looking for.  You can bring them by and say hello on Friday night or drop it in the mail if you are too far away.

batteries (sizes D, AA and AAA)
individual portion drink mixes
packs of playing cards
toiletry items (bars of soap, shampoo, toothpaste)
notebooks  (for prison and school at brothel)
packages of Oreo’s
bathroom size paper cups
boxed milk
cake mix/frosting
cupcake liners
pouches of chocolate chip cookie mix

Monetary donations needed (cash or check):
* money to restock depleted supplies listed above and baggage fees
* sewing instructor at prison $80/month
* Bibles and song books $10/each
* money to build business opportunity for girls leaving the brothel (about $500 each)

The open house is this Friday, Dec 2nd, from 6pm-9pm.  The address to come, and to mail, is 18 Huntsman Look, Ormond Beach, FL  32174.

Thanks for being a part of keeping these ministries going!  Hope to see you there. 

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

I am beyond blessed and pray that you all are feeling God’s love as much as I am today.  I have been overwhelmed by your generosity this week as so many of you have donated supplies from my list for Haiti.  Today is a day of family for me…  A ridiculously big Thanksgiving dinner at home with the whole family (yay!) and then heading out to serve  another feast to people without a celebration of their own to attend this afternoon… with the whole family again… even the mom-in-law, Lol.

Try to find someone to bless today!  xoxox

so much catching up to do…

I am finally back from our road trip from Florida to Maine and back.  Lots of stops along the way, lots of visits and laughter and love.  It was wonderful to be back in our own church this morning, getting both challenged and refueled.

Here is a quick recap of what’s been going on and what we are trying to do next…

I am hosting a “different kind of Christmas Party” at my home in Florida on December 2nd.  I am hoping that ALL of my Florida friends get to stop by and visit for a few minutes as Katie and I will be gone until May 5th when we head back to Haiti after Christmas!  For those that don’t live close enough to come, you can still participate (as so many have already done!) by sending in items on the list or donations to help us gather the much needed supplies and money for our Haiti ministries to my home address.  These are the items we are looking for:

batteries (sizes D, AA and AAA)
individual portion drink mixes
individual portion condiments (ketchup, mayo, salt/pepper, etc)
packs of playing cards
toiletry items (bars of soap, shampoo, toothpaste) *biggest need*
notebooks/pens/pencils (for prison and school at brothel)
packages of Oreo’s
bathroom size paper cups
boxed milk
cake mix/frosting
cupcake liners
pouches of chocolate chip cookie mix
beef jerky
sewing supplies (fabrics, thread, patterns, elastic, zippers)
all over the counter meds (especially anti-fungal cream)
individually wrapped candy (no chocolate)

Monetary donations needed (cash or check):
* money to restock depleted supplies listed above and baggage fees
* sewing instructor at prison $80/month
* Bibles and song books $10/each (biggest need)
* money to build business opportunity for girls leaving the brothel (about $500 each)
* money for school uniforms/supplies/food for Papa Yo’s boys. (24 boys, ages 8-18)

You’ll notice the school supplies… I haven’t had much of a chance to blog about this but this is a HUGE opportunity to help Papa Yo in his quest to change his business and lifestyle.  As some of you already know, Papa Yo has taken in 24 homeless boys, ages 8 to 18, and is housing and feeding them all on his own.  He has converted most of the brothel rooms into dorms for the boys and his next step is building them a school.  He has built two “VIP” rooms in his dance club and will use those for classrooms during the day.  He is hiring teachers on his own.  The only thing he has asked me for is help with school supplies and uniforms so the boys feel like they are actually going to a “real” school.  I am open to suggestions on how to go about getting 30 matching shirts for the boys along with backpacks, notebooks, pencils, etc for all of them.  I have their clothing sizes and shoe sizes.  These are some of the sweetest boys!  They have been participating in our Bible studies and Katelyn has agreed to work with them when we return to Haiti as their Bible teacher.  One little boy has already accepted Christ (thanks to Papa Yo’s help) and I just know that God has a huge plan for this time in their lives.

Anyone know of a good place to look for donated laptops?  I am in need of a few for the staff at the mission and at the prison.  I couldn’t care less how old they are as long as they still work.  Same thing with old iPhones… let me know if hear of anything like that.

Our family is really looking forward to Thanksgiving Day this year!  We have so, so, so much to be thankful for!  We have a busy day planned in having an early Thanksgiving feast and then heading out as a family to serve another feast to those less fortunate or just plain lonely.  There will be LOTS of cooking going on in the Kelly house this year! 

I am so grateful for each of you… for your prayers and your support.   Thanks for helping me step out in obedience with an army surrounding me!

prayers for Maeka

I just got word that my sweet Maeka is not doing well.  She is one of the sweetest girls I have met at the brothel.  Just twenty years old but seems even younger than that.  She is very fragile.  She came to the mission last week before I left complaining of stomach pains.  She was really scared and cried as I held her the entire time we were waiting for the doctor.  Ashley is still in Haiti for another couple of weeks and went down to the local brothel with Edril to visit the girls and check on Maeka.    She apparently looked awful so Ashley went back down with one of the mission nurses and then got Maeka to go back to the mission and see Dr Simone again.  It turns out that she is pregnant.  Oh.My.Heart.  Not only is she pregnant, but she took a drug bought on the street to try to end the pregnancy.  She is very sick.  Ashley has been praying with her and has shared why this babies life is so important.  PLEASE pray with me.  I am so scared for Maeka.  I am so heartbroken that I can’t be there for her right now.  I am scared for the baby.  I am also incredibly grateful for Ashley being there and I worry about her tender heart.  This is not an easy situation and a real test of the “love them where they’re at” thing we all have to deal with there.

Maeka is just a girl…  a girl who has made some bad decisions… who feels like there are no other options… a girl that my daughters both adore… a girl who has captured my heart and who wants to know Jesus.  Pray that she and her baby both get that chance.