End of May Snapshot

Friends and Family,

Well we wanted to give you guys a quick (well maybe not so quick) update on what we’ve been up to the past few weeks. We’ve been going to Grand Goave Tuesdays-Thursday mornings and the internet is pretty slow there, so we haven’t updated in a while- sorry about that. Anyways, so here we go:

This past Sunday morning we watched the babies early and then were done in time to go to church with the kids. We finally bought some hymn books so we could follow along with the worship. Their hymn books are pretty crazy- they’ve got 7 different colored sections. So even if you are able to catch what number they’re talking about, you still have to know what section. Part of it is in French, the other part is in Creole. About 75% of the songs they sing are in French. We don’t know how to pronounce anything in French, but it at least helps to be able to follow along. Some of the words seam to be similar to the Creole ones. We could tell that this line is talking about the cross, and this line is about God’s faithfulness- better than nothing! We’re also starting to pick up more and more out of Pastor Maxie’s sermon, which is exciting. Faith was a little fussy during church, but I think it was because it was really hot in there. The lady next to me helped hold her for a while. It was pretty funny though, because this Haitian Grandma tried to calm her down by carrying her up and down the aisle during the message. (I was just going to carry her out to the back.) But she was walking up and down the aisle with a crying white baby :-). It was kind of funny, I thought.

Then on Monday we had the feeding program (as usual). It was a little crazy this week though! We are only budgeted to have 50 babies on the program- but lately (since Emi, who usually does it, has been gone), we’ve had 69 kids show up the past few weeks! The problem is that some of the kids have been cut from the program (because they are older than 2 or they are at a healthy weight). But these moms still have their cards, so they’re taking advantage of the fact that Emi is not here to tell them that they’re not on the program. Anyways- all that to say that it was pretty stressful on Monday when we had people coming back twice for more food (saying that they didn’t get any)- even though I had their name checked off the list. So we’re working on putting a better system together. Later that afternoon, we had our language class, which is going really well. We’re learning so much! It’s hard to believe we’ll be done with it in 4 weeks though.

Tuesday we got up early and left for GG (at 5AM!) It’s really early, but you don’t see a lot of other crazy Haitian drivers on the extremely windy mountain road, so it’s actually a lot better for us to leave early. We got there and found out that there was a team of college students from Ohio staying in GG, to help Pastor Lex with some projects. When they didn’t have any other projects with him, a few of them helped us out at our new site- which was awesome! We put up the rest of the fence (with 2 strands of barbed wire across the top), and they also dug out some lines for the septic. So we made quite a lot of progress this week. I heard that they poured the cement slab for the kids bath house today and they’ve got the gate on the fence! YAY! So it’s coming right along.

Wednesday we got our Deuce- praise the LORD! What a huge answer to prayer!!! The only thing that we can’t find (and think might have been stolen) is Faith’s car seat. It was in the cab of the truck, which you can’t really lock from the outside, so it was pretty easy to take (either at the shipyard in Miami or in customs.) But, that’s all- everything else is there. They even opened up the computer box out of the truck in customs and that was all still in there- praise the Lord! So Wednesday we were able to get into the back and get some of our stuff out- it was so exciting! It was like Christmas in May! We quickly got out Faith’s walker and a few other toys for her. Unfortunately, just like her mom, she’s got short legs – so she’s a little too short to reach the floor. But she still is enjoying it and can push herself off if she really reaches!

Ok, so I need to preface this next story with this statement: we serve an AMAZING and LOVING God! So, Wednesday Faith and I stayed back at the beach house while Andrew went to help at the site because she hadn’t been sleeping well at the job site (imagine that :-). Our bed there is made up of 2 twin beds put together about 2 feet off the ground. I went in to lay her down for her nap, when I found the cat in her pack n’ play! So I decided, if she’s got my allergies, I probably should lay her down in the middle of the two beds. So she slept for about 3 hours- which is pretty long for her. But I was out on the porch when I heard her start crying. I walked into the bedroom and started to panic- she wasn’t on the bed!!! OH MY WORD! I looked on the floor, and there she was laying on the tile floor face up. Just to give you a little picture of what happened- there was about 1 foot between the mattress and the concrete wall. Then, there was also a little doorway right near our bed with a tile step going up into the bathroom. So, not only was there a concrete wall a foot away, but there was also a little tile step for her to hit. Anyways…..when I picked her up- I miraculously found a towel all bunched up laying perfectly centered under her head! The towel was on the bed with her and “just so happened” to fall off with her (when she rolled over not once, but twice!) I was shaking like crazy - oh my word! She seamed to be fine though- she was eating fine within 5 minutes. But I am absolutely convinced that God protected her from any serious injuries!! The only injury you can see on her body is a little abrasion to her right upper arm- which is really small- no bruises or scrapes on her head at all!! WOW! I’m sure this has happened to lots of kids before, but I was just amazed at the hand of God and how He was watching over and protecting our little Faith!!

Thursday we left GG about 6am and drove back to Jacmel. Then we did a bunch of random things (booking plane tickets for July, catching up on emails, checking out all the sick kids, homework, class…) Then we had our weekly meeting that evening after dinner.

Friday we did a few more random things. We’re working on getting our “Permit de Sejour” (residency papers), so we don’t have to leave Haiti every 90 days. There are about 12 different steps you have to do before you can turn it in to the immigration office in PAP. So anyways, you need 2 “passport like” photos. So we went into town today to get them done. We went into this TINY room (about 3’x8’) with about a 12’x12’ room attached in the back. This guy took our pictures (with his really nice camera) and printed them out right there for us. He also gave us a little discount (I’m pretty sure it was because Faith was making friends there :-). It was supposed to be $15 total, but he gave it to us for $8! Wow- maybe we should take Faith with us more often :-). Then we had our language class that afternoon. We also went out for ice cream right after that, because it’s Friday night and the staff usually goes out to eat. We chose ice cream – imagine that.

When we got home, Andrew set it up so the kids could watch a movie in the dining area. It was kind of funny because every week they fight over who gets to pick out the movie. So a few of the older boys picked out “Chariots of Fire” this week. About 30 minutes into the movie two of the boys who helped pick the movie said to me, “Angie, we don’t love this movie. We want to pick a different one.” Hahaha- I guess it was a little boring for them, but I told them they had to keep watching it or go to bed. It was just really funny to see that kids are kids anywhere!

I think that pretty much sums up our week. I will let you know that Faith and I are flying to NY this upcoming Thursday (June 2-7) to get her 4 month shots. So that will be fun for us (well not the shots), poor Andrew has to stay here. It will be his first time away from Faith for more than 10 hours!

Praise the Lord:

- Praise the Lord that our Deuce made it through customs and it is now at Pastor Lex’s beach property!!!

- Praise the Lord for His protection over Faith in her fall this week! It could have been so much worse but our God is so good and He was looking out for her! Thank you, Jesus.

- Language classes are going well and we are learning so much. We are finally able to communicate a little bit with the people of Haiti!

Prayer requests:

- Pray for Faith and myself as we travel back to NY June 2-7 to get her shots. Pray for safe travels and that it would be a sweet time of fellowship with family and friends back home.

- Please continue to pray for our 31 kids at Grand Goave. They are almost out of school (end of June?). Pray for this time of transition that it would be as smooth as possible.

- Pray for God to bring us a Haitian construction foreman. We are still looking for someone to help us oversee some of the construction projects that knows how Haitians think and work.

- Unity among our team down here- “fulfill my joy by thinking the same way, having the same love, sharing the same feelings, focusing on one goal…” ~Phil 2:2

- Pray that we would continue to rely on His strength and His provision for our every need. Pray that our lives would truly reflect a life of faith and complete dependence upon Christ.

- Pray that as we make preparations to move over to GG (around June 13^th) that God would show us how He wants this orphanage to be run. We need His wisdom and His guidance. Pray that we wouldn’t take things into our own hands, but that we would continually seek Him and His will in all that we do.

- Continued protection and good health for Faith. She is doing great- but I know that God protected her this past week because of your prayers! So THANK YOU!!!

- Pray for us to get our residency papers done and turned in. Pray that will be a smooth and relatively quick process.

- Continue to pray for our language learning. Pray especially for Andrew. He is doing a lot better and is even starting to speak to some of the cooks and nannies. Pray that we would be able to make the most of these last 4 weeks of class before we move to GG, where we’re on our own.

Thank you guys so much for all of your prayers and support!!! You have no idea, but we feel them in amazing ways down here- so thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Also, just to let you guys know, all of us are coming back to the States July 11-25. We will be flying into Charlotte on the 11^th and staying in Columbia from July 12-18. Then we will be driving up to NY on the 18^th. I know summer plans are always crazy and booked months in advance, but we just wanted to let you guys know when we’ll be back.

Much love,

~The Suttons

Middle of May Snapshot

These past two weeks have been a little hectic around here. The Pierce’s (the Jacmel field director and his wife) have gone home for the month of May to see the birth of their first grandbaby. So that means the same responsibilities, with less people. So we’ve been quite busy these past few weeks.

I have been in charge of the Baby Nursery, making sure the nannies have all that they need for the day (diapers, wipes, formula, clean baby clothes…). In addition to being in charge of the Nursery, I’ve also been the campus nurse :-). We had a scare, the first day the Pierce’s left, a nanny came to us to tell us that one of our preschool boys has had a fever for 3 days. I checked his temp and it was 104.2!!! We gave him some Tylenol, which brought it down some, but we ended up taking him to the free Cuban hospital and they gave him an antibiotic. I’m not quite sure how this whole hospital is funded (I guess from the Cuban government), but we went in the next day with three more sick kids. We got two chest x-rays and saw a doctor for three of our kids and we didn’t have to pay a dime!! Can you imagine?!?!? The doctor was really nice, but he was talking in 3 different languages: Spanish, English & Creole- it was pretty crazy but we understood each other! So a few days after the Pierce’s left, we had about 8-9 kids on antibiotics three times a day (in addition to Jezimond’s wound care three times a day from his cleft palate surgery)- so I was pretty busy. I am so happy to say that they are doing MUCH better and are all off their antibiotics.

Andrew has been helping Zac (our maintenance intern) with various projects around the compound. If you know Andrew well- you know he’s got a servant’s heart and is willing to help out with whatever!

A little update on Faith, for those of you interested. She is doing pretty well! She just got her first cold yesterday. I’m not sure how you get a cold in Haiti- but she got one (I think from her Dad :-). It’s really not too bad though- just a runny nose and an occasional cough. She is growing like crazy though- last Sunday she weighed 14 lbs 3oz and her legs are getting pretty chunky! She’s also starting to laugh a little, which is really fun.

HUGE PRAISE ITEM: our Deuce made it to Haiti!!!! Pastor Lex (the Haitian pastor in GG) has a broker who is helping to get it out of customs. If everything goes smoothly, we should have it out of customs tomorrow!!!

We also have the ok to go to GG this week for a few days. We’ve rearranged our Kreyol lessons to be on Monday, Thursday, Friday this week. That way, we can leave early Tuesday morning to go to GG and come back on Thursday. We’re excited to be able to go and see the kids as well as the new site and it’s progress. Drex told us that they’ve got all the posts in the ground for our chain link fence (to go around our temporary housing) and most of the septic tank dug. After they finish those two projects, they’ll get started on building our temporary house. That way, we’ll have a place to stay when we come and visit for a few days at a time before we actually move there. We’re still shooting for June 20th to move the kids into the new housing. We will probably end up moving to GG the week before that, so we can get acclimated and figure out where to buy different items that we’ll need right away. We are so excited and can’t wait to be a part of these kids lives!! At the same time, we’re a little overwhelmed at the task before us, but that makes it even more exciting because there is no possible way we can do it in our own strength so God is going to have to get the glory!

We were able to go to church today with the rest of the kids here in Jacmel (except the babies). We watched the babies from 6:30-8:30am and then went to church at 10am. They had enough nannies there today that we didn’t have to stay and watch the babies. So we were excited to be able to go and worship with the rest of the kids! It was really neat because we’re starting to pick up more and more Kreyol and we’re able to understand a little more each week :-). This past week we learned numbers in our language class- so we were able to follow along with the Scripture as well as the songbook numbers. We also recognized three songs today: As the Deer, And Can It Be and God is so Good. We got to church a little late, so Andrew and I had to sit in different pews. Then in the middle of the service, the lady sitting next to me wanted to hold Faith- so that was fun! All the nannies here love her and call her by her new nickname “Lafwa” which means faith in Kreyol :-)

This afternoon, two more interns arrived to help out for the summer: Rebekah & Cameron. After they got settled in, we were able to go to the beach with a bunch of the kids. It was a perfect day for the beach because it was pretty hot out!! Everyone had a great time- including Faith.
I know some of our friends have been asking for a list of items that we could use down here. If any of you have items that you would like to donate, please email me so that we can hook up with you when we come back to the States in July. I’ve emailed Renee (Lex’s wife) to ask her what the kids in GG need the most. Here’s what she said: they could use new bathing suits (boy & girl – ages range from 5-16, with 7 girls and 24 boys), belts for the boys and hair accessories for the girls (they use the plastic colorful barrettes). She also said that they go through sandals pretty quick, so if any one would like to donate some good quality sandals, that would be great too! Those of you reading this who haven’t asked for a list of items, then please disregard this message. I don’t want you to misunderstand me and think that we are begging for more money or items. Thanks so much for all your help!!!!

Praises:
- A HUGE PRAISE: Our Deuce made it to Haiti!!! It should be out of customs by tomorrow afternoon (if everything goes well :-). Please pray that it would go smoothly on Monday though.

- Most of our kids are feeling better and are over their sicknesses.

- We’re half-way done with our language class- YAY!

Prayer:
- Please continue to pray for our kids at GG. There are still several of our kids at GG who need sponsors- pray that God would lay it on people's hearts to partner with these children.

- Pray for God to give us HIS wisdom as we are looking to take on a huge responsibility of ministering to and taking care of these 31 kids. The more I think about it, the more I realize how inadequate we are to do this. We have a 4 month old daughter, and in less than a month, we will be responsible for taking care of 31 kids- some of whom are teenagers!! Overwhelming, huh? Please pray that God would lead us and show us how to care for these kids with His love and to teach them to follow after Christ wholeheartedly.

- Please pray for the staff that we’ll eventually have at GG. Pray that they would be strong men and women of the faith.

- I’m including this one separately because it’s been weighing heavy on our hearts. We would really like to find a Haitian construction supervisor to help us with our temporary housing as well as our permanent buildings. This position is extremely helpful- especially when it comes to building things Haitian style that we know nothing about. Please pray that God would bring us the man He would have for this position to help us out!! You can also be praying for the construction of these temporary buildings- that it would be smooth and that we’d be able to get these kids in there by June 20th.

- A few paperwork items. We still need to get our residency papers completed (in order to stay here longer than 90 days without leaving the country.) We also need to get a license as an orphanage for the GG site. We’re not sure about all the details with each of these- but pray that God would help us in knowing where to go to get some of these things accomplished.

- Continue to pray for our language learning. Andrew’s learning style is different from what our tutor is using. So we would ask for you pray especially for Andrew to have the patience and understanding as we continue to learn Kreyol.

- And of course- continued health for Faith. Pray that as the rainy season approaches (which brings mosquitos) that God will put His hedge of protection around her!

Thank you guys so much for your prayers and encouragement!!! I think that’s about all of the news I can give you from this end for now. I hope you guys are doing well!! By the way- we’re planning on coming back to the States (SC & NY) for 2 weeks towards the end of July. We haven’t nailed down the dates yet, but that should be coming soon- we will let you know!! Thanks again for all your support!

Beginning of May Snapshot

We had a great week last week!! We didn't have our language class, but we still tried to study on our own in the afternoons, to make sure that we're using the time we have here in Jacmel wisely. Anyways, but in addition to our studying and working on our Creole homework, we were able to do a lot of really fun things! Monday I was able to help out with the feeding program. Because the kids didn't go back to school until Tuesday (from their Spring Break), some of them were able to help us with the program. It was really neat to have them be a part of a huge ministry! We feed about 50 kids each Monday. The moms will bring their own bags (sometimes they'll use a pillowcase or their tattered purse) along with a "Hands & Feet" laminated card- meaning that they've been approved for our feeding program. Then they all stand at the second gate handing us their bags through the fence. Then we'll run the bags inside and fill them with 3 bags of soy rice (which has some protein in it) and 1 can of formula or 1 can of powdered milk (depending on the age of the child). Then we run it back out to them and they're all set for the week. It was really neat to see some of our grade school boys helping out with this incredible ministry, in addition to their excitement!!

A few days last week, Andrew and I worked on taking the jungle gym apart. They are wanting to redesign in and move it to a different spot in the compound (so the boys can have a bigger space to play soccer.) One of the girls at our orphanage goes to a special ed school and doesn't go back to school until this week. So she was outside helping us take apart the jungle gym all morning. She was so cute- she helped me take the screws out with the cordless drill. Then she was so excited to help me carry some of the wood to the other side of the compound. Then when some of the other kids got home, a lot of them started helping us carry the wood! I thought to myself, "What in the world? Why do these kids want to help us carry wood?" After thinking about it, I really think that they just wanted to hang out with us- how crazy is that?! These kids are so hungry for your love and affection, that they're willing to carry 2x4's across the yard just to be with you! WOW! What an amazing responsibility the Lord has given to us- to love on these kids who have no other family!!

Then on Friday, we were able to drive down to Grand Goave - my first time seeing it!!!! It was an AMAZING weekend. We got to met Drex & Jo Stuart (Mark Stuart's parents- the ones who pretty much ran the orphanage for the past 5-6 years.) They are here until the end of June to help figure out some temporary housing for the new GG site. On Saturday we got to go over and meet all of the kids. They were adorable!! As soon as we hopped out of the truck, we were greeted with 31 huge hugs and smiles! We were able to take pictures of each of them and get their names, so we can start making prayer cards and praying for them by name (as well as trying to match faces to names.) But I couldn't figure out why they were so dusty!! It literally looked like some of them had just been rolling around in the dirt. It didn't take me long to figure out what they were doing. We went out behind the church and there was a construction site (where they're building a new school building) and they had a walk out basement partially dug. Somehow these kids had created a "cement hill" and they were riding on the empty cement bags down this cement hill. They were sledding down the hill. Some of them even got resourceful and used a broken plastic slide, turned it upside down, and put 4 kids on it and rode it down like a toboggan. Hahah- it was so cute but you can imagine how dirty they were from that cement dust!!! Anyways, it was really neat to see them in such good spirits for really not having any toys or anything to play with! We can't wait to get them over to the new site and let them run around and have some fun with soccer balls, bikes, kites etc. Then one of the boys showed us their rooms. There are 24 boys living in a 32'x15' room! They sleep at least 2 to a single bunk bed, while others are sleeping 3 to a bed. And these boys aren't all that young- 5-16 years old! There are only 7 girls, so their room isn't as cramped, but they are still sleeping 2 to a bed! They have no room for their clothes or "stuff" except under their bed- which they share with another kid. After seeing where they are living, we are so excited to get them to a temporary housing- where they'll each have their own bed and a cubby space for all their clothes and belongings!!

After that, we were able to go see the new property and it looks awesome!! It has 5-6 big mango trees as well as hundreds of plantain trees (so we'll try to keep as many as possible, to provide for shade and food :-) Currently, the only thing on the property is a well. It is about 60' in the front, runs back 490' and then fans out to 120' in the back. So it's a pretty good size property. So the plan. Drex & Jo are here to help us build some temporary housing to get these kids into their own beds. We were going to buy some treated lumber from a guy we met at church on Sunday who is with Samaritan's Purse. But it turns out, that they wanted to donate 10 shelters to Hands & Feet for these temporary buildings. So, hopefully this week we'll be able to see some progress. Our tentative move in date to GG (for us & the kids) is June 20th. We have another missionary family (with three young kids) who are going to be coming down this fall to help us design a master plan for the GG site. (He is an architect/construction manager.) Anyways, once we get a master plan for the site, we'll start building our permanent structures. So lots is happening!

On Sunday, we got to go visit the church that the kids go to. It was awesome too! Pastor Lex is a local Haitian pastor who spent many years in the States and then came back to Haiti to minister. He is the one who took these children in (I'll have to tell you that story later- about how we got these 31 kids) and started a church and Christian school. Anyways, this is a protestant church (they really don't have denominations down here- or so I've been told.) They are extremely lively though! They've got a keyboard, electric guitar, bass and drums! It was really neat, because they did 2 songs in Creole that we recognized: "I'm Trading My Sorrows" and "How Great is our God." It was neat to be able to worship our Almighty God with them, in spite of the language barrier. Also, alleluia seems to be the same in every language :-)

We are now back in Jacmel pressing on with our language studies- which is going really well, by the way. I also have a few random tidbits that I found out this week:

1. There are no mice down here- just RATS! Dr. Ken was telling us about one time they found this rat in the garage. He cornered it, so he thought he was good. Then it started crawling up the wall!!! He said the body of the rat was a good foot!!! I think I probably would have passed out if I came across a foot long rat in my apartment!!! YUCK. But you know, it's funny how God continually prepares us for what's ahead. When we first moved into our house in SC, we caught 6 mice- I thought THAT was disgusting. Then a few months after we moved in, I found 3 little lizards in our house too- I flipped out!! I hate mice and lizards! Haha- the only two animals that get into your house down here (other than bugs) are rats and lizards! I guess God was preparing me for Haiti in more ways than one :-) Not to mention about how He has been preparing me for the heat. I grew up in NY, moved to SC (a little warmer) then now to Haiti (even warmer!) It's amazing to look back and see how God prepared us along the way for things that He knew were coming up ahead!!!

2. Dr. Ken heard about an orphanage in Les Cayes that was about to be shut down by Unicef (child protective service agency.) They had about 90 kids living on a pretty nice compound. Apparently two churches helped support this orphanage- one provided the funds while the other provided the care for the kids. They had a falling out somehow (I don’t know the details). When Unicef found them, these kids hadn’t eaten in who knows how long! They had the huge bellies and the skinny legs and arms. There was no food to be found anywhere on the compound. So, Dr. Ken heard about their need and went with a group from Jacmel to deliver a bunch of mattresses and a bunch of that soy rice with milk. Dr. Ken arrived on Sunday, and Unicef told the orphanage to try to find the kids moms by Monday. So Monday all but 20 moms showed up to pick their kids up. I asked myself, why are these kids at an orphanage if they still have moms around? This seams to be a huge issue in Haiti!!! Apparently, this pastor had offered to give food to these kids, a clean home, as well as an education- which the mom could not provide. A lot of Haitian moms are unable to provide for their kids (and the dads are completely out of the picture). It is heart wrenching for these moms to give up their kids, but their alternative is to hear their kids cry each morning because they are hungry, knowing she can’t give them anything. What mom in this situation wouldn’t let her kid live at an orphanage if they were promised food, a bed, and an education!?!? Anyways- really heavy stuff! The whole point of this really long story was to tell you that there is a possibility of Hands and Feet opening up an orphanage down in Les Cayes where those 20 kids are left. So that’s pretty exciting. It’s not in the works yet, but a possibility, so be praying for those kids!

Praises:

- HUGE praise item: we just got approved for our long term health insurance just this past week!! Praise the Lord! Thank you guys so much for praying!! I am convinced that the reason it went through this week was because of your prayers!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

- We got to go visit Grand Goave without any issues or problems. We were so excited to be able to meet the children that we'll be living with in a few months! Praise Jesus!

- We also are extremely blessed to have Pastor Lex as a close friend (who lives in GG). What a tremendous resource to have a Haitian- who truly knows the people- so close by. Not to mention that he (and his wife and 2 teenage kids) can speak English fluently! We are truly blessed to be able to have such an amazing resource right there already. Alexis (Lex's 14 year old daughter) is already really involved in these kids lives - she teaches some of the girls dance and also how to sing. So she is already wanting to be involved when we move to the new site!

Prayer:

- Please continue to pray for these 31 (I messed up last time and told you 37- but there's only 31) kids at Grand Goave. Pray that God would draw them to Himself and that they would see Christ in us as we get ready to move over there.

- Continue to pray for the staff that we'll have at GG: the nannies, cooks, interns, the other missionary family that's currently raising support.

- Pray for Drex & Jo as they make decisions about this temporary housing. Pray that God would give them discernment and wisdom. Also pray that they would have all the materials that they need and that the details would just fall into place. Things tend to take 5 times as long to finish in Haiti- just because of the nature of this country. So pray that we'd be able to meet our deadline of June 20th.

- Also pray for our entire Hands & Feet team to be united and intent on one purpose. Satan is trying to render us useless, so pray that any issues that come up in our team would not divide us- but draw us even closer together. It really is a spiritual battle as Paul says in Ephesians, and I've never felt it so much before as I have here. Pray that we would stand strong against the enemy's tactics and that we could have a united front for His Glory!!!

- The Pierce's will be leaving this Thursday for a month (their first Grandbaby is due.) Be praying that we can step it up and have more energy (as we'll be short staffed a little). And that it will run smoothly while they're gone.

Thanks again for all your prayers and encouraging emails!!! I may not respond to everyone that you send, but know that they are a HUGE encouragement- you have no idea! So thank you for your partnership in bringing the Gospel to these kids!

Much love,

~The Suttons