These past few weeks have felt like an emotional roller coaster! So much has been happening! As most of you know, we have been trying to get my fiance, Jonathan, out of Haiti. As of right now it doesn't look like he will be able to come out. From what we are hearing from various officials it is due to some US government issues, needing more staff there at the embassy in Port-au-Prince, etc. We are very concerned about this because like many other people in Haiti, he doesn't have a place to go, but I know that this situation is in God's hands and that there is not a better place for it to be. I know that in God's own time & in His own circumstances, He will provide & I thank Him for that!
Many good things have been happening also! Dad has been working with a team from Christ Fellowship Church where we used to attend while living in Florida! It's so awesome to hear how they ended up together, etc. Dad has also been able to help interpret in many different places. Several days this week he was helping at the Miami University hospital that is set up there. Dad will be back on Wednesday, so hopefully some pictures will be coming soon.
It has been so awesome to see how people have come & joined together to help & support Haiti! Afterall isn't that what especially we as Christians are supposed to do? Aren't we supposed to put aside past differences, etc. & join together as the body of Christ? Haiti is a major concern to people all over the world, but my only concern is that people won't forget them in days to come. I know I definately won't & I can't. It's going to take time & many efforts to rebuild, but with God's help it can & will be accomplished!
Even though everything has not ended up this week as I have hoped & prayed for, I still thank God for what He has done & for what I know He is working on & will do! It's so good to be able to surrender everything to God and let him take care of things, especially when you don't know where else to turn or who else to contact or speak to! I think maybe God has used these situations lately to try and show me that I need to rely on Him more and trust Him more than I do. Not only that, but I feel that my faith has been put to the test. I'm realizing that there are some things I need to work on in my spiritual life, such as more faith. I'm also learning that I can't and am not in control of things...this realization is both frightning, but yet comforting bc I know that God is in control of my life & the various situations taking place!

The day my world fell

How do I describe what has happened this past week & I am not even in Haiti? I feel that at some point I will wake up and this will all have been a nightmare which has happened to my friends. How do I describe how it feels to hear of loved ones and dearest friends fighting just to stay alive? How do I describe these things for people to really understand or comprehend? A local tv channel found out about us recently somehow and about how we have been so involved in Haiti. One question the guy asked me was to personally describe Haiti..."is it nice even tho' its poor," he said. How do I even begin to describe all the sights, sounds, feelings, etc. of Haiti. How do you explain these wonderful people and how much they mean to you? All I can say is that you have to have been there to understand. You have to have spent day to day life with the people to really understand them and to get to really know them for who they are. I can't fully explain any of these things with words.

I've been SO grateful to God and so impressed at how the whole world is responding to what has happened to Haiti! God has already answered SO many of everyone's prayers! I know that God is in control and I know that He has so many plans for Haiti! It's just so hard standing back so far away from the place I love so dearly and feeling so helpless! Right now tho all I can do is pray and trust God.

~Haiti~

Most all of you by now have heard about the devastation in Haiti from the recent earthquake. It’s so hard for me to sit here and watch everything that is taking place over there. In many ways I feel so helpless! I wish I could be over there right now helping in any way that I can. I heard from my fiancé, Jonathan, this morning briefly via internet & he is fine, which was a big relief, but there are several other friends who I haven’t heard about & I wonder if they have survived. I hear & see pictures of the many buildings that have fallen & of the bodies laying everywhere, but I know that it doesn’t measure up to what it’s like in real life. Seeing how the Haitian people struggle day to day, I can’t even begin think of how they are feeling right now or how they are handling these terrible circumstances. My thoughts and prayers go out to my many friends & loved ones back home in Haiti! I know that they are in God’s hands and there is no better place for them to be! Please pray for the Haitian people!

~Another Cake~

A friend of ours from the church here asked me to do 2 cakes for a surprise party she is having for her mother. One is a recipe card and the other is a recipe box. She found the ideas in a cake book and asked me to make some similar to the pictures. This is the end result.

Holiday Journeys

Here are some pictures from the holidays. We went to Michigan for New Year's, so most of the pictures are from the time in Michigan with family. The pictures are out of order, so if you want to look at them in order, then start from the bottom. :)

Grandpa & Grandma Brookens

Barak, Mom, Jaelle & I getting ready to ride a sled down the hill.

"Once in a Blue Moon"


Looking over towards the Great-Grandparent's barn/farm.

Snowmobiling with a sled hooked on back

Path in the woods

Mom Snowmobiling

Brooke & I snowmobiling

Path in Grandpa & Grandma's woods where we went snomobiling, etc.

Snow covered field

Grandma's tree upstairs

Part of Grandma's Christmas village

Our road after the big snow storm on Christmas Eve...they aren't used to this kind of weather.

Pictures Courtesy of Brooke