God is amazing!

Well- last night I was blessed to spend some time with good friends who have "donated" their frequent flyer miles so that Ron (my hubbie) and I are able to travel to Haiti for FREE in February!  This is such a blessing- you can not imagine.  Ron has yet to travel to Haiti and see it/get to know the people I love there.  He has "met" them all on Skype and spoken with them, but that is all.  To actually have the opportunity to travel there, to see the sights, to hear the sounds, to smell the smells, etc.... will be absolutely amazing.  Please pray with me that I will be able to remember this IS his first time and I will not expect him to move at the pace I have grown accustomed to when I travel to Haiti.  It is easy to forget how overwhelmed I was my first trip to Haiti.

Pray also since he has accounts that depend upon him for snow removal in the winter.  If it snows when we are gone, someone will have to take care of those accounts for him which will not only result in lost revenue for our family, but could potentially cause him stress wondering about things "at home" instead of relaxing and enjoying Haiti. 

Even more of a blessing with this story is the fact that Pastor Jean Duval is seriously considering accompanying us back to the US so that he can come to our home for a few days.  This would provide an opportunity for many of you to meet him and hear him speak about the project in Chaveneau and would offer a chance for my family/friends to hear his heart for the people of Haiti.  Pray that as we look at booking his flight back with us that he is able to find room on the same flight and that we are also able to find someone here in Pennsylvania who is willing to translate for him when he is in town.  We are blessed that our middle daughter (Emily) speaks French and is willing to stay at home that week instead of her apartment in the Lancaster area.  That way we will have someone here who can help with his transition to our home. 

In other "news":  Much has been happening with the "start- up" of the organization (Hearts United with Haiti).  I still need to file articles of incorporation with the state of Pennsylvania but that requires $125 which I do not have at this time.  I am praying that someone will come forward to donate toward "start-up" expenses because they are mounting quickly.  I have received some money so far, but that has already been spent on other expenses not listed below. God has been faithful to provide exactly what we have needed as we have gone along in this process and we are sure if He wants us to continue, He will provide accordingly.  But, I have also been reminded that people can not help if they do not know what your needs are.  So, I will put them on here for you to be aware. Currently we need to do the following, but have no funds to do so:
  
          -  file articles of incorporation with the state of Pennslyvania=  $125
          -  print brochures for the organization=  $200 (this is with a HUGE
                    discount- being printed by  friends of mine from church)
          -   lawyer fees=  $300 (this is for an "online" law site who will
                     draft and file the paperwork for us)
          -  advertizement in three papers (2 regular and 1 "professional")
                       - this is required by the state of PA
                        (don't know a cost on this yet)

There are other expenses to begin the organization, but these are the main ones for now.  I will be calling the lawyer who has been advising me again today to see if he either knows someone who is willing to donate services OR if he is willing to do so himself.  So, there is another thing to pray about. 

Thank you for your support of Hearts United with Haiti.  I continue to be amazed at how God has worked over the past months to bless this ministry.  Sometimes when caught up in the day-to-day details it is easy to lose sight of His hand at work.  But He HAS provided and He HAS proved over and over that this is the direction He desires us to take.  And that is largely a result of YOUR prayers and encouragement.  So, thank you for caring about Haiti, about this project in particular and about our organization.  We are blessed as a result and so are the Haitians we work with!    :-)

We serve a mighty God!  - Crystal