America

I had, yes another, oppertunity to go back to America. My best friend, Jeremy French, was married on Sept. 9th. I arrived in Seattle a week early as to have plenty of time to get to know his new wife and meet his life in Seattle. It had been a few years since we had seen eachother. Jeremy is the kind of friend you may only have one in your lifetime. It was neat to be able to see his life and meet his friends to which I felt connected with because of hours of phone conversations. Jeremy is a pilot and I was able to go on a short flight with him. The view

of Mt. Rainier was spectacular. For the bachelor party we went bungee jumping off a bridge. 191ft, the highest jump site in North America. It was on of the coolest things I've ever done. The wedding was beautiful and fellowship was even better. I even met 2 little privilaged Haitian children who were adopted by the pastor who married Jeremy. It was an emotional meeting. They were beautiful and their rescued life something that words can't explain. All in all my trip was amazing. I pray that God would manifest Himself into the Covenant relationship that Jeremy and Mehgan have entered into, and that the world might never be the same due to their obedience in serving following and blessing Jesus Christ.

Going to Grandma's

I had a wonderful time visiting my Grandma. It was a little strange being back in the States, quite a different life. Thanks to some generous team members I was able to visit Grandma probably for the last time, as she is in the latter parts of cancer. I shared pictures of Caitlin, and also the work we are doing here. It was a sweet time service. Of course it was also nice to see familiar family faces, Aunt Belva, BJ and JR, Clint, Doug, Missy, the whole crew. My Dad was there too. It was nice to see him and spend at least a couple of days with him. And when does playing with cousins ever get old!

Abandoned babies

Caitlin and her friends found this little girl and her mother out in one of the villages one day. They had recently walked from Haiti. This is a common thing, as the Haitians seek a better life here in the DR. It is about a 2 or 3 day walk from the border. They come to this area because they know there are other Haitians and possibly family who live in the villages surrounding the sugar cane. She is about a year and half old. The girls immediately took them to the public hospital. They hadn't eaten in days. The little girl looked especially rough. Her skin looked like that of someone of 90 years old. I borrowed some pictures off of Jessi's blog, you can also refer to hers for a more accurate medical take. (the "jessi" link on the left) She had infections and swelling from unkept bug bites. She was almost lifeless as she hadn't eaten in days. The girls made sure they received proper treatment and bought the mother enough food for her daughter to last awhile. When they returned a couple days later to check on them, the food was gone. When asked what happened, the mother said she didn't know what happened to it. Having dealt with this situation in times past, Faith, our friend, instantly knew what had happened. "She sold the food". Meaning yet another day where the little one hadn't eaten. The mother was in fact starving her little girl. It is something that frequently happens in the Haitian community. It's their form of birth control. Something none of us could ever begin to understand. So, the girls took the baby. Now, she is staying at the Crossroads mission house until she is nursed back to health. After that we are not sure, Neither Crossroads nor Kids Alive, in this site at least, is set up for an orphanage. She is doing much better after just 2 weeks. Her swelling is going down, and I actually saw her smile for the first time today. Her skin is improving as the old is falling off making way for the new. This is the second case of this we have witnessed in the last month. One little boy who was being starved is now living with a friend of ours just down the street. Please pray for these situations as they are unfortunately not rare. Pray we would know what to do when they arrive and the proper way to handle them. Pray also for the children, although I myself haven't really figured out specifically how.

Fun

We're having fun!

Walls

We Just keep building!!

All day

Pouring concrete here is tough work. Concrete truck? Who needs 'em when you have these 2 studly workers. What a team!

Rest

WE GET A VACATION!!! Well sort of, we went down the road a little bit and stayed 2 nights in a hotel by the sea. It was a much needed break. We sat by the pool and read our books, snorkled in the sea, and most importantly, relaxed. We also spent some time with friends. This is the entire Amlingmier family. To have all of them together is very rare and special. They are the family that runs Crossroads, the ministry "next door"