This is just a quick note to tell you that the presentation by Pastor Duval has been postponed until March 13th at the same time and location. Sorry we had to change it, but there was a personal reason Pastor Duval could not return from Haiti with us. He is currently in Miami with his sister who lives there and will join our family instead on March 7th and stay with us until March 15th. Please make note of this and tell anyone you thought was going to come on the 27th- please!!
As for our trip- it could not have been better. God is amazing and He works in fantastic ways. Ron (my husband) absolutely fell in love with Haiti as I have and he was blessed to meet and get to know the Arris family, visit Chaveneau, etc... I will blog more about the trip over the weekend ahead, but for now, let me say THANK YOU for the prayers from all of you. There was no doubt that God was at work both in us and through us. He is absolutely amazing and He never fails to reveal Himself to those who seek after Him.
His servant- Crystal
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Off to Haiti :)
Tomorrow morning at 2 am we will leave for Haiti- everything is packed in the car, the "house/dog sitter" is here, daughters are taken care of (they are too grown-up to need much care but it's nice to know people will watch after them), etc... VERY VERY excited since Ron (my husband) will be joining me on this trip and will get to experience Haiti for the very first time! WOO HOO!!! We would appreciate any and all prayers for this trip- we will be heading to Chaveneau to check on progress at the school, we will view the plans the engineer has drawn up for the building and the estimate he has made, we may be setting up bank account for Hearts United at the bank in Haiti, etc... Then, Pastor Duval will return on Feb. 22nd with us! He will be speaking at our church (Living Rock Bible Church) on Feb. 27th at 2:30 pm. -- anyone within driving distance of Elverson, PA is invited to attend this presentation. We will reveal the plans for the school, talk about the project and our partnership, etc... details to follow! Blessings- Crystal
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
WOW!
When things move fast, they move FAST! This week I have made soooo many phone calls and done so much paperwork, etc. for this organization. But it's all been a delight to do. Through the phone calls I have met soooo many wonderful people and talked with them about Haiti. My main focus has been to try to find translators for the week Pastor Duval is at our home. So, I have contacted the Haitian church in a nearby town, many "friends of a friend" who have lived in Haiti, are Haitian, or have contacts with Haiti. It is so fun to "blind call" these people and get into conversations about Haiti and their love for the country too. So far I still do not have many more "leads" for translators, but I am having FUN!
Also spoke with the lawyer again and he is such an amazing man of God and soooo willing to help. I have to get some paperwork together tonight or tomorrow to fax to him so that he can help me submit some paperwork to the state of PA. He will also give me advice on what else needs to be filed and/or completed.
I got payments for the March trip from some people and deposits from others as well as paperwork. I am also starting to get phone calls from people interested in the summer trips! This is soooooo exciting. Spoke with the assistant superintendent at school and she was 100 % supportive of my time I need to take off in March for the trip as well as the time I will need at the end of the school year. So, that is another blessing.
SO.... it has been a whirlwind week and I expect that next week will be even crazier as we leave ONE WEEK FROM TODAY :-) .... sooooo much to get done. But, God is faithful and it will all happen. I am sure of that- He never gives us more than we can handle. Amen! - Crystal
Also spoke with the lawyer again and he is such an amazing man of God and soooo willing to help. I have to get some paperwork together tonight or tomorrow to fax to him so that he can help me submit some paperwork to the state of PA. He will also give me advice on what else needs to be filed and/or completed.
I got payments for the March trip from some people and deposits from others as well as paperwork. I am also starting to get phone calls from people interested in the summer trips! This is soooooo exciting. Spoke with the assistant superintendent at school and she was 100 % supportive of my time I need to take off in March for the trip as well as the time I will need at the end of the school year. So, that is another blessing.
SO.... it has been a whirlwind week and I expect that next week will be even crazier as we leave ONE WEEK FROM TODAY :-) .... sooooo much to get done. But, God is faithful and it will all happen. I am sure of that- He never gives us more than we can handle. Amen! - Crystal
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Challenges or Faith Builders?
This past week has been full of "obstacles". It seems Michael and I have been on the phone or skype every day with another thing that needs to be addressed. But, in spite of what could be viewed as "challenges", we have been able to pray together, to talk together, and (so far) to stay unified in our thinking and in what we feel God is saying to each of us regarding the direction for Hearts United with Haiti. We are also blessed to have our board of directors pretty much in place and will soon be able to consult with them as well about some of these things. Never did either of us realize just how much "work" would be involved with this project, but also how many different things we would be faced with and have to overcome. BUT... that being said, God has been sooooo faithful and has made His way very clear so far to both of us.
Pray for me as we are entering another week where there is a team at the Arris home. Pray for them that their week is blessed. And pray for Michael - he has to register for his next semester of classes on Monday and start classes on Tuesday. This always proves to be a challenge when he has a team in town because he would like to be with the team AND still go to school. The team leaves on Friday- the day I will have a simple proceedure at my doctor's office so I am completely healthy and ready to go to Haiti the following week. So... this will be a crazy week. Then, Ron and I leave for Haiti on Feb. 17 and return on Feb. 22 with Pastor Duval. He will remain at our home for a week and we will be arranging translators for him, meetings, sight-seeing/networking, a time to speak at our church, etc...
So... my title- are these times going to be viewed as challenges or as time to build our faith and our foundation for this organization? We pray we remain true to God and to following His lead- and as we do that we grow in our own faith and assist others in growing in theirs. Nothing takes Him by suprise- He is in control of each and every one of these situations. And we pray that we continue to stay on the path He has shown us and not grow weary in the process. Thank you for your support and prayers! It is a true blessing to be part of Hearts United and to see where God is taking this organization. May He richly bless YOU for partnering with us- :-) We appreciate you- Crystal
Pray for me as we are entering another week where there is a team at the Arris home. Pray for them that their week is blessed. And pray for Michael - he has to register for his next semester of classes on Monday and start classes on Tuesday. This always proves to be a challenge when he has a team in town because he would like to be with the team AND still go to school. The team leaves on Friday- the day I will have a simple proceedure at my doctor's office so I am completely healthy and ready to go to Haiti the following week. So... this will be a crazy week. Then, Ron and I leave for Haiti on Feb. 17 and return on Feb. 22 with Pastor Duval. He will remain at our home for a week and we will be arranging translators for him, meetings, sight-seeing/networking, a time to speak at our church, etc...
So... my title- are these times going to be viewed as challenges or as time to build our faith and our foundation for this organization? We pray we remain true to God and to following His lead- and as we do that we grow in our own faith and assist others in growing in theirs. Nothing takes Him by suprise- He is in control of each and every one of these situations. And we pray that we continue to stay on the path He has shown us and not grow weary in the process. Thank you for your support and prayers! It is a true blessing to be part of Hearts United and to see where God is taking this organization. May He richly bless YOU for partnering with us- :-) We appreciate you- Crystal
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Plane Ticket Purchased!
I woke yesterday to a phone call (5:45 am) from Michael saying his father (Pastor Duval) would like to book his plane ticket to the USA with American Airlines so that he returns with Ron and I when we come home in February (on the same flight). So, I got on the computer, searched the AA site, and found their was availability on the flight home. Together Michael and I "saved" the flight info., put the ticket "on hold" for 24 hours, retrieved the locator number, and then I forwarded that to Michael in an e-mail. Anyway, to make a long story short, he then took that number, went to the American Airlines office in Port au Prince and officially booked the flight. I got a text at 2 pm yesterday afternoon saying, "I want to let you know that I just left the American Airlines office. I got the ticket booked and it was $100 less than it was when you saved it online!" God is soooooo good!!!
This means that Pastor Duval will be coming to our home from Feb. 22 to March 2, 2011 and we could not be more excited! We will schedule a time for people to come and hear him speak so they can hear from him what his vision is for Chaveneau. Pray for the trip home (about 12 hours of being together when neither of us speaks the other's language!), and for us to be able to procur translators for the week he will be here. Our daughter Emily will do most of the translating around the house. Not sure about the other times though- since she will have to work.
I have already spoken to my building principal who has graciously offered to give him a tour of an "American school" so he can see how things are done here. He can also meet and speak with the Haitian students at our school to talk to them and hear what they think about school in America. I am working to get him a tour of an elementary school too since that is what the school in Chaveneau is. I would LOVE to get him to be able to see an Amish school here as well since that is more like what they do in Haiti- the whole one room schoolhouse idea.
If anyone has any ideas for things he may be interested in seeing/doing when here, please let me know. Remember I live in Pennsylvania and we get a LOT of snow and it is COLD (he will not be used to the cold). We are so excited to have this opportunity and pray it is the first of many trips to our home.
God is so good to join families and lives together the way He does- regardless of race, nationality, language, etc.... We are all united in Him and He provides ways we can find "common ground" to worship, praise and bless one another and Him! Have a fantastic day in the Lord! -Crystal
This means that Pastor Duval will be coming to our home from Feb. 22 to March 2, 2011 and we could not be more excited! We will schedule a time for people to come and hear him speak so they can hear from him what his vision is for Chaveneau. Pray for the trip home (about 12 hours of being together when neither of us speaks the other's language!), and for us to be able to procur translators for the week he will be here. Our daughter Emily will do most of the translating around the house. Not sure about the other times though- since she will have to work.
I have already spoken to my building principal who has graciously offered to give him a tour of an "American school" so he can see how things are done here. He can also meet and speak with the Haitian students at our school to talk to them and hear what they think about school in America. I am working to get him a tour of an elementary school too since that is what the school in Chaveneau is. I would LOVE to get him to be able to see an Amish school here as well since that is more like what they do in Haiti- the whole one room schoolhouse idea.
If anyone has any ideas for things he may be interested in seeing/doing when here, please let me know. Remember I live in Pennsylvania and we get a LOT of snow and it is COLD (he will not be used to the cold). We are so excited to have this opportunity and pray it is the first of many trips to our home.
God is so good to join families and lives together the way He does- regardless of race, nationality, language, etc.... We are all united in Him and He provides ways we can find "common ground" to worship, praise and bless one another and Him! Have a fantastic day in the Lord! -Crystal
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
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
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
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Summer trips on website
We wanted you to know that the summer trips are posted on the website http://www.heartsunitedwithhaiti.org/ Look at the tab on the far right hand side marked "trips" and you will find three trips to Chaveneau and two trips to Carrefour listed there. There are two trips in June, two in July and one in August. This is a very "ambitious" schedule, however, it is what we felt God asking us to put out there. He will direct people to the trips if He wants them to happen We truly feel that they will have participants and we will begin to hear from people soon about the trips. Please contact us if you would like an information sheet and/or an application.
Speaking of trips to Chaveneau I am excited to report that Pastor Duval and Michael traveled yesterday to Chaveneau with an engineer who agreed to look at the land where we hope to build the school. He will make suggestions about building on that land and help design the school building we will eventually construct. This is VERY exciting! Things are moving along well and we should soon have an estimate of cost to erect the school building and/or ways for YOU to help out with either the physical labor or the costs involved. This engineer charged $500 US for this service.
On a personal note, I have ordered the brochures to be printed. They should be ready sometime in the next two weeks so I can take them along with me when Ron and I travel to Haiti in February. Also, I have been working more on the DVD which is still having technical problems (I am NOT a computer person). The next step toward non-profit status is to register the organization as a corporation with the state of Pennsylvania which has a hefty fee ($125) and then I must publish an advertizement in three papers which will also cost money (not sure how much yet). So... you can see the financial needs are starting to mount, however, God is good and He has provided so far- He will send people who can help us with these expenses. We believe that and we rest in this belief.
Have a great day and we really pray that we will hear from you if you feel God calling you to inquire about one of our summer trips (or the March one as well- there are still some spots left).
God bless you for taking the time to read this and to pray for our ministry! -Crystal
Speaking of trips to Chaveneau I am excited to report that Pastor Duval and Michael traveled yesterday to Chaveneau with an engineer who agreed to look at the land where we hope to build the school. He will make suggestions about building on that land and help design the school building we will eventually construct. This is VERY exciting! Things are moving along well and we should soon have an estimate of cost to erect the school building and/or ways for YOU to help out with either the physical labor or the costs involved. This engineer charged $500 US for this service.
On a personal note, I have ordered the brochures to be printed. They should be ready sometime in the next two weeks so I can take them along with me when Ron and I travel to Haiti in February. Also, I have been working more on the DVD which is still having technical problems (I am NOT a computer person). The next step toward non-profit status is to register the organization as a corporation with the state of Pennsylvania which has a hefty fee ($125) and then I must publish an advertizement in three papers which will also cost money (not sure how much yet). So... you can see the financial needs are starting to mount, however, God is good and He has provided so far- He will send people who can help us with these expenses. We believe that and we rest in this belief.
Have a great day and we really pray that we will hear from you if you feel God calling you to inquire about one of our summer trips (or the March one as well- there are still some spots left).
God bless you for taking the time to read this and to pray for our ministry! -Crystal
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