Mackenson's Birthday:)

Our silly boys with their silly shoes.

Beaming over his cake

We have to wear our party shoes!

Our group

Mackenson loves sitting type pictures

Not sure what Jn Robert is doing here.

Jn Robert yelled, "wait", as I was gonna take the picture.
He wanted to be a part of the cake eating group too.

Mackenson had a wonderful birthday. His friends outdid Nixon and I as he came home with a new shirt, new jeans, and a silver chain(the kind Nixon really wants).
We ussually celebrate here in the home with cake and a small gift. Well, the boys came up as usual at about 8:00pm. I heard them as they came up. There was marching and singing as they came up. I was laughing already. As if it wasn't enough, Wisky pointed out that they were wearing shoes in honor of the birthday. Sure enough, all of them were wearing nice shiny church shoes in honor of Mackenson's birthday. They were loud, boisterous and wonderful. And it was hilarious!
We had our usual devotion time and then I brought out the cake. Mackenson LOVED it! I ussually don't outdo myself with cake making for my boys. They are all so old that I don't think they will make such a fuss over it. Oh my gosh! They all took pictures with the cake and Mackenson beemed as Wisky complemented it and he proudly said that Madam Nixon had made it just for him. (I have to admit that it was a pretty cute cake.) Nixon was kind of proud too since he got to write Mackenson's name on the cake. LOL!
We had cake and 7 up and Mackenson got a nice card with a nice big phone card so he could call his friends and tell them what a wonderful birthday he had had. :)
Mackenson has been doing so much better this year. He is learning how to get positive attention. He is doing wonderfully and I think he knows it. He has also been a lot more social with the boys. Last year he did not seem to want to be a part of the team, even choosing to not watch movies with them or go to the beach. I am glad to see him being a part of the group a lot more this year.
Nixon and I pray that Mackenson would grow more mature this year, confident in himself with God on his side(instead of relying on drama), and that he would grow in the knowledge and confidence that he is loved by us and the Lord. He has also always been a worrier, I pray that the Lord would give him peace as He does his best and lets God do the rest.
Happy Birthday Mackenson!

A wonderful weekend with our boys

Last night the boys came up and we watched a movie together. Actually, it was in french so I stuck around a little while then went to finish up my lesson plans for Junior church. Nixon fell asleep during the movie. We want to make sure and talk about the movies we watch this year and make them a lesson to learn from. We compared the vengeance taken in last nights movie to David not wanting to take Saul's life. It was good.
This afternoon we waited for the exterminator to come and then after borrowing a car, we went to the beach. I took my Bible and a book I've been trying to finish. I ended up watching the game. It was a really good game. None of the players expected Jackie to do anything so when it seemed they were on their way, Jackie would swipe the ball. Jocelyn was a great goalie, he got so sandy trying to give his all. Mackenson would steal the ball but then would seem to lose control as he ran with the ball. He finally made 2+goals though. Jn Robert is a very good soccer player. Jn Robert did stay and work for Joy In Hope all summer though. He has been practicing his soccer skills, getting up at 5am and joining a rough bunch of soccer players on the other side of town. He is very competitive. Elira found every opportunity to jump in the water and splash around. Wisky was a little sluggish but made his share of goals. He has a lot of fun playing, laughs all the way through.

My highlights are as follows:
-The boys making goals.
-Me yelling bon travay! (i was such a dork!)
-a guy wearing boxers who joined the game. His "peppy" kept escaping the
whole time.
-A big, (tiny) bikini wearing man jogging on the beach
-My chocolate kiss making goals, he made ALOT OF THEM:)
-the boys yelling out the score to me each time someone made a goal.
- their beaming faces when I would yell out their name, followed by "good job".

After we cleaned up the car, gave it back, and we cleaned up ourselves up, we had a devotion time. I then made popcorn seasoned with cheddar cheese flavoring, we sipped on sodas and watched another movie together.
(Thank you to John for teaching me to make popcorn and thank you Christa for the cheddar cheese flavouring!)
With a few glitches in between, we have had a great day with our boys, actually a wonderful weekend with our boys. I sometimes forget that we are pouring into these boy's lives and that it is such a privilege. It is God's will that we show them more about Him. I pray that we would do it to the best of His ability. Please pray for Nixon and I to be close to the Lord in order to properly make Him shine in us and then the boys. Please pray for the boy's, for their hearts to be captivated by the Lord.

Beach Day

Whenever we can we like to take the boys to the beach. Nick and Nixon got together and made plans to go to the beach on Sunday afternoon, yesterday, a while after church. I was gonna be a party pooper and stay home since I slept like 4 hours on Saturday night. But I decided not to stay home. I got some great pictures. I am sure if I had one of those fancy cameras, they would have been better but I kinda think they are ridiculously expensive. I could think of a lot more things I would rather spend money on. But that is just me. My little camera has been a blessing for over 3 years now. KNOCK ON WOOD.

Anyway, the boys had fun playing soccer with some neighbor boys and with Nixon. Nixon said he thought he would be rough since he doesn't play much in a couple of years but he did great. Just between us, he was lying in bed saying he felt soooo sore last night. LOL! The boys loved the soccer though. I was very very happy that Mackenson went along as well. He is ussually the one that doesn't want to go so I told Nixon to encourage him(it worked!). Frandy(Ser Kokot's son) and Jocelyn were the goal keepers. Mackenson, Nixon, and Whisky were constantly on the move. Jackie went here and there but he seemed out of sorts playing with all the big guys. I do think it was Jackie's first time going to the beach with the group since he didn't have any shorts to wear. Thanks to the last team that came through, he now has shorts. Thanks guys.:) We missed Jn Robert, he decided to stay home and have some extra studying time.

We had a great time! I even got to kick the ball in a few times since it would go out into the water. They were pretty sissyish kicks but I thought it was thrilling.

Jocelyn and Jackie

These two are our new boys. We really didn't know they were brothers until Teresa called to tell us Jocelyn was on his way. They are doing well though. I have been checking to see if all the boys are studying during the set hours of the day. Yesterday afternoon I saw Jackie go up to the roof, notebooks in hand. Then I saw Jocelyn go up. Figuring I might find them horsing around instead of studying, I went to take a peek. The boys were sitting in different spots on the roof, studying. I thought, "Good job boys!"

Like I said before, the boys that have been with us for a year allready, have lots of fun with them. The boys are like the freshmen. Yes, they get teased. Though we might try to minimize this, it happens anyway. The boys tell them they are country side and know only the bushes. If told they are countryside boys too, they claim they are naturalized. LOL!

Poor Jocelyn is never going to live down the "dvd" story. On the second day he was here, the boys watched a movie on a portable dvd player. The boys said he was shocked, never had seen a dvd player before. ( I dont really know if the boys were exagerating, they tend to do that.)

And the boys EAT A LOT! I think their tummies are adjusting but they eat all their food in one sitting. If you've seen the amount of food on a Haitian main meal plate, you know what I am talking about. The boys ussually save some of their food for later in the day but Jackie and Jocelyn eat it all. Jocelyn pulled Nixon aside and explained to him, in a matter of fact kind a way, that he came here to regenerate so he needs to eat well. Hilarious!

Jackie also gets teased at school. Have I mentioned that he is 13 and wears size 7 pants. Oh My Gosh! I still can't believe it. Well, he gets teased at school for that and needed a little encouragement during those first days of school. He seems to be doing well. I walked home from church with him on Friday and he shared that he liked school. I was glad to hear it.

All in all, they are good boys. Everything is new for them and so they are easily enthused and eager to learn and to help with whatever needs doing. Please pray for these boys as they continue to study in the "city".

These boys also do not have a lot of funds from home. They have a mother but no father and mother has 8+ children at home. Part of the deal here at the Boys Home is that the families have to pay for anything the boys might need apart from their education fees and their room and board. Jackie's mother was having trouble sending money for school shoes for Jackie. She finally did but we know things are hard for her to do that. Please pray for provision for the family. In order for the boys and their families to value this opportunity and not take advantage of the program, they need to have room to provide (even if a little) for their boys although we know it is difficult. Please join us in praying for the boy's families, for provision for all their children.

All my ducks in a row

On Sunday before school started, we had the boys come up for their introduction meeting.

The boys must follow a set of rules and regulations in order to be in the home.

I'll talk about that later. Anyway, my friend Christa thought it was hilarious that the boys had arranged their chairs into a line. They all faced the wall. It seemed liked they were looking at the wall and they were, but they weren't. They were just waiting.

Last night the boys all came up to our house for their evening devotion time. I came out of the bedroom and it was so funny. The boys had arranged their chairs with their backs against my curtains, facing my dish cabinet. They seemed like they were watching tv or something. They weren't. They were just waiting.

We love having the boys. :) This is just one of those "funny things you notice" moments.

Joy In Hope Boys Home-2009-2010

What a Good Lookin Group:)
We are excited to have them.

"Hot Shots"

Ok folks, I wanted to keep up with this blog and post things from the past year but it didn't really happen that way. It is much harder to backtrack. I might post sporadic past year stories that come to mind and that sort of thing but I think mostly we'll start with a clean slate.

Jean Robert held a summer job overseeing the 3 levels of the Rue Petion house this summer. He made a little money and he did a great job. I think he missed the boys a ton though.

It was pretty hard keeping the boys away. Many don't have much to go home too and they prefer to be here. Plus they eat here and I don't know how that goes when they are away. I know all of them are skinnier than when they left. (And Elirah is HUGE, he really went through a growth spurt.)

Frandy was the only boy we lost from last year. He did not pass into the next grade level so he no longer qualifies for the program. We still see him often since Ser KokoT still works here on a daily basis. I will miss seeing him on a daily basis though. He is a sweet boy and I love him so much. He is gifted as an artist and hope than he gets an opportunity to develop this gift. Unfortunately he is at a point where he really isn't interested in school and does not like to study, though he says he does.

We have two new boys this year. Jocelyn and his brother Jackie are from Seguin as well.

They are quiet and the boys tease them about being country-side boys, knowing nothing except bushes. Nixon tells them they are all "country side" but they insist that they are "naturalized".

They are hilarious!

Both of our newest boys are really small for their age. Jocelyn is 16 but looks 14 and Jackie is 13 but wears size 7 pants. CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT?! Wow! Nixon and I try our best not to coddle him, he is just so CUTE! We have a good looking bunch and were finally able to get pictures of the boy's first week.

They are so glad to be back. It is nice to hear them going up and down, to hear their laughter, to see them being "boys". Well, I will tell you all more soon. Here are some pictures to look at.

Please pray for our boys as they start their school year again and as they continue to live in a home away from home. Both can be difficult. And school is a lot harder here than in the U.S.