Answered prayers in so many ways!!!!

June 30, 2010

Regarding Susana – Every prayer we prayed (and every one you have prayed) has been answered!  The line put in her chest was successful without any problems.  Thank you Jesus!  The stem cells were all harvested in one day!  Thank you Jesus!  She is doing great and we will be going home tomorrow morning after a quick check up and quick platelets.  Thank you Jesus!  Lord willing, she will begin her next round of chemo sooner than scheduled since her counts are so good.

Regarding our mission work in Haiti – We prayed that we could start getting food on a regular basis so that we can both feed the orphaned children that we are trying to sponsor as well as start up several feeding programs in the rural communities where we are ministering.  Well, we have already had one mission agree to give us food enough to provide for the orphaned children daily as well as enough food for one of the schools that we are ministering to.  And now, I have just been put in touch with Kids Against Hunger in Orlando and they are wanting to send us a 20 foot container every 3 months!!!   Thank you Jesus!  With that much food, we will be able to further develop several feeding programs, especially way deep in the mountains where there is so much poverty.  Please pray that we are able to work out some of the shipping logistics so that we can start receiving this food as soon as possible.

One of the things we now need is for churches or individuals to help financially sponsor some of these feeding programs.  We will certainly have the food, but now we will need additional money for each program so that they (or we) can purchase oil, charcoal, and bouillon so that they can cook the food for the children every day.  And I know that the Lord will provide…

I will be going back to Haiti from July 15th – 22nd.  We have 3 teams coming in July (Islego Missions Team from July 10th-17th, Calvary Chapel Uncasville Connecticut from July 17th – 24th, and Calvary Chapel Castlerock Colorado from July 24th – 31st) and I am very happy that I will be there to be part of some of those teams.  The Lord is really growing this ministry.  We just stand amazed!

Thank you all for praying for our family and for the ministry that God has entrusted to us.  He is faithful

Update on Susana (per request)

June 28, 2010

Susana has completed a total of 3 rounds of chemo therapy, but Mission Hospital has only given her 2 of those 3 and since Mission has her on a different protocol than they had her in Miami, they are counting her technically as having completed 2 rounds rather than three.  So, she completed her second round last week, and she came through with flying colors!  She didn’t have any negative side effects, nausea, pain, etc.  The whole time she was in the hospital, she was like a happy little butterfly.  They even began her chemo sooner than the normal three week interval because she was doing so well.

Now, we are at Duke Hospital where she is getting ready to have what is called a stem cell harvest procedure.  We arrived last night, spent most of the day at the hospital today even though it is all outpatient, and will probably be spending the week here as she gets this procedure.  Here’s how it works:  (spoken in a non-technical way)  She will get a tube surgically placed in her chest tomorrow (she will be under anesthesia for the procedure, and it really won’t hurt her, maybe just cause some discomfort temporarily).  Then on Wednesday, they will attempt the stem cell harvest.  The goal is to collect a certain number of healthy non cancerous stem cells from her bone marrow.  These cells will be extracted by a machine that will  basically draw them out while putting everything else back.  These stem cells will then be frozen and saved for a later time when she will really need them, like after her 4th or 5th round of chemo, which will be so high dose, that it will destroy her bone marrow (and hopefully every micro fiber of every stinkin’ trace of a tumor)  Since her bone marrow will be destroyed by this super high dose of chemo, that is when they will re-infuse those healthy stem cells that will be collected this week.  Does that make sense?????

So, today they needed to give her blood and platelets because she was low and they need to have her super healthy so that they can do these procedures.  She will get more platelets tomorrow morning just before getting the tube placed in her chest.

So, here is what we need you all to pray for:  Please pray that the tube is inserted without any complications under the anesthesia.  Then pray that they are able to collect all the stem cells that are needed in just one day.  If they don’t get enough on the first day, then we have to stay another day, and possibly another.  Basically, we are here until they collect the amount of healthy stem cells that are needed.  So, please pray for God’s favor that they get all the stem cells they need on the first day.  That way, we’ll get to go home.

Susana will then begin her 3rd round of chemo as soon as her body is healthy enough to begin.  After the next few rounds, they will do surgery and try to remove the tumors as much as possible.  Then they do the stem cell transplant (re-infuse the healthy stem cells).  Then, they will do radiation therapy for a period of time.  And finally, they will do a special antibody therapy.

So…that’s the update.  She has been doing great ever since we got to Asheville.  The doctors continue to give us good reports stating that she seems to be doing really well.

The good reports are nice to hear.  Seeing our little girl run around the hospital play room gives us joy.  Watching her play with her big sister brings a smile to our face.  But you know what?  The moments still hit us at times like a ton of bricks.  Our daughter has a stage 4 aggressive cancer.  People die from this often.  Our little girl is essentially fighting for her life…and we are fighting with her.  That reality hits sometimes and it just breaks us.  Those are the nights that Maria and I sit on the bathroom floor and weep and cry out to the Lord for healing for our little girl.  Those are the moments where our faith is sitting in the midst of the fiery furnace and all we can do is look for the Son of Man who comforts us in that furnace.  And when we come out of that furnace, whether for a brief moment or an extended time, our prayer is that we are changed and our faith is proved genuine, which will result in praise, glory, and honor given to Jesus Christ.  That is our prayer.

As much as we want to “claim” total healing…we cannot.  The bible simply does not give us permission to do so.  The only thing that we can claim, and we continue to claim from the bathroom floor as well as from the roof tops, is that God is good.  He is faithful.  He is loving.  He is strong.  And He never changes.  His grace is enough…even from the bathroom floor…His grace is enough. – Cody

Just a personal note to YOU!

June 26, 2010

We wanted to take the time to write you a note and say, “thank you”. June has been an incredibly busy month in our home. Taking care of Susana and Isabela at the same that we are dealing with our new life routines has been quite a challenge. We could not have done without you. So we wanted to take some time to let you know that we truly appreciate you.

• Thank you for all the gifts you sent from the Target.com registry list and even outside the list.

• Thank you for putting together a birthday party for our sweet Isabela. And thank you for all of her wonderful birthday gifts.

• Thank you for all the furniture and housewares that you provided.

• Thank you for your financial contributions to help us get back on our feet and take care of Susana’s expenses.

• Thank you for all the cards and the notes and the simple little things that brought much joy to our hearts.

• Thank you for putting an auction together on Susana’s behalf and for participating in it.

• Thank you for creating and joining a prayer group on Susana’s behalf through Facebook.

• Thank you for coming to visit.

• Thank you for providing a meal.

• Thank you for watching Susana in the hospital while I ran home to let the dog out.

• Thank you for watching the dog while I traveled four hours to Duke for a doctor’s appointment.

• Thank you for calling and checking on us.

• Thank you for driving out of your way (or flying) to come and see us.

• Thank you for the clothes for the girls.

• Thank you for the movies.

• Thank you for the prayer bracelets.

• Thank you for the food and snacks in our pantry.

• Thank you for the gift cards.

• Thank you for the toys for the girls.

• Thank you for flying our dog, Casey, back to the States.

• Thank you for bringing some of our belongings back to us.

• Thank you for Susana’s iPod. I’ve never seen the girls so quiet.

• Thank you for providing phones for us.

• Thank you for the girls homeschooling curriculum.

• Thank you for understanding when we felt stressed and weren’t on our best behavior.

• Thank you for being a shoulder to cry on.

• Thank you for listening to us.

• Thank you for sharing our pain and our joys so graciously.

• Thank you for loving us.

• Thank you for volunteering to help.

• Thank you for giving Cody and I a date night.

• Thank you for your continue support towards our ministry in Haiti. We love knowing that our love for the children of Haiti is mutual and that it doesn’t stop with our circumstances.

• Thank you for coming to Haiti with us.

• Thank you for being a true friend.

And above all, THANK YOU for praying for our family. We truly appreciate all that you have done and continue to do for our family. In many ways the burden is lighter when we know we have you. We could not do it without you. And we thank the Lord for you.

And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. –Acts 2:44-47

Bondye Kapab Fe Tout Bagay!!

June 23, 2010

“God can do all things!”  This is my favorite saying when I am talking with haitian people about what their needs are.  I guess it is a way to take me off the hook so that they are not looking to me to meet their needs.  I tell them, in a sense, not to look to me, but to look to God because God is the One who is able to meet their needs.

Then, when God does use us to meet that need, they are more prone to give thanks to God rather than to us because they know that it was God who ultimately came through.

Last week, while in Haiti, I was meeting with Pastor Jean Franko and talking about the orphaned children that we are now able to provide food for on a daily basis.  He was very happy that the orphaned kids are getting food, but he mentioned that it is creating somewhat of a problem for the other children who were not receiving food.  he said that there were about 25 other children that basically had to watch these orphan children eat while they themselves did not eat.

So, you know what I told Jean Frank right?  ”Bondye kapab fe tout bagay!”  He agreed and I said that we will pray and ask the Lord to provide more food so that all of the kids in the church can receive food each day.

Also, a few months ago, Fenel and I were meeting with Josue, the Director of the school in Marigot that we are partnering with.  He also was telling us of the need for many things, including food, for his school.  Without promising anything, I simply reminded him, “Bondye kapab fe tout bagay.”  From time to time since then, we have been able to provide some food to his program, but we never had enough to give food for all the kids on a daily consistent basis.

Well…God is able to do all things.  Tonight, I give Him praise as I just learned that our application to receive food from another mission organization was approved and we will start receiving food that will provide for 400 kids daily!!!!

So, all of the children in Jean Franko’s church will now be fed daily.  And all of the kids at the school in Marigot will now be fed daily.  There will be some happy faces!!  Praise the Lord for how He provides.

I will never get tired of saying, “Bondye kapab fe tout bagay!!!!”

Biltmore Baptist Haiti Week in Pictures

June 19, 2010

Biltmore Baptist Brings the Love of Jesus to Haiti!!!

June 19, 2010

What an AWESOME week it has been to have the team from Biltmore Baptist with us in Haiti to reach out to the people with the love of Jesus.  The team consisted of 14 people, all of which have showed such love and care to the people of Haiti.  The group was divided into 3 different teams:  The construction team which has been helping repair the home of the pastor that we are working with in the community, the outreach/orphan team which has been doing various outreaches in the morning and then ministering to the group of orphans that we are currently supporting, and the soccer team which has been joining the outreach and construction team in the morning and then have conducted soccer clinics/games in the afternoon with a large group of kids from a school in Marigot that we are partnering with.

Day 1

The team arrived on Monday afternoon.  After having to file claims for 8 lost bags, we left the airport and began our 3 hour drive down to Jacmel.  I absolutely love having new teams that have never been to Haiti before.  Their comments and observations remind me of what my very first visit was like.  I too would marvel over seeing pigs in the streets of Port au Prince eating the garbage, or the sight of a person bathing in dirty brown water.  But, now after having lived in Haiti, its like I don’t even notice those things anymore because they are just so common.

Anyway, after getting to the mission house in the evening, the team was greeted by our awesome house staff with a meal that knocked their socks off.  I had told the team that they would not suffer with regards to lack of good food.  I think they finally believed me after eating dinner.  They all ranted and raved over the food!

It was so late by that point and the team was so exhausted that I decided to postpone our orientation/devotion time for the morning.  After dinner, everybody crashed hard.  Well…not exactly.  First, the girls got all wigged out because there was a huge cockroach in their room.  So, after disposing of that, they found another one.  So, after taking care of that one, I heard one of the girls say, “um…Cody…there’s a crab in our room…”.  I didn’t believe them at first, but they insisted that they were telling the truth, so I went downstairs to investigate, and sure enough there was a crab about 5 inches long crawling in the corner.  So…being a man as well as a missionary as well as a great host, I um….well I uh…kinda…got wigged out and asked one of the ladies to capture it so that we could get it out of the house.  hahaha.  Francie stepped up to the task and captured the little bugger and then I threw him over the fence.  After sweating off a few pounds in the intense heat, the team finally fell asleep with the sound of fans blasting throughout the house.

Day 2

The day began very early for both Fenel and I, as well as our house staff, which consisted of a woman from the states named Sharon, who is kind of like Fenel’s adopted Mom as he spent 3 years living with her family in Ohio many years ago.  Anyway, Sharon came down to help specifically with the team and she did an incredible job.  So, Fenel was at the house early trying to fix our water pump which just happened to break just before the team was arriving.  As he was working on that, I was on the phone with American Airlines trying to track down the lost luggage from yesterday.  They told us that the bags had arrived and that we could pick them up at the airport in Port au Prince.  So, my schedule for the day was instantly changed as I now had to spend the day driving to Port au Prince…again.  Sadly, I had to take a team member with me so that the bags could be claimed.  I felt bad having to take a team member since the whole group was so excited to start their week of outreach and ministry.

So, as I headed out to Port au Prince, the team broke up into their groups and headed out.  The construction team headed down the street to work on Pastor Jean Franko’s house which sustained lots of damage from the earthquake.  He was so happy to have a team come down and spend the week repairing his home.  The outreach team headed over to the Sister’s of Charity orphanage to minister to the children.  They had an awesome time holding babies and playing with children.  They also saw baby Mackenson and prayed over him.  They said that he looked very good.  Praise the Lord.  The report from the soccer team was great as well.  Levi gathered the entire group together before starting and shared the gospel of Jesus with them, letting them know that this was most important.  Many of the kids said they wanted to pray to receive Christ.  Then they did the clinic and it went great.  I think he said there were about 75 kids that showed up.

After making the long drive to Port, picking up the bags, and driving straight back, I felt like I wanted to take Robin (the team member that had to go with me and miss all the other outreach) to the places that the team went to earlier and even to some other places so that she could still get to reach out to children that day.  So, we first went to the hospital infant room and prayed over a newborn baby who was very sick.  Then, we went over to Sister’s of Charity orphanage and she got to see all the babies and little children.  We also saw baby Mackenson.  He looks great!!!  He looks so healthy.  I was so happy to see how well he is doing.  I held him, kissed him, and prayed over him.  I also got him to smile and giggle which made me so happy.  It was hard to imagine that this was the same baby that was nothing but skin and bones when we first brought him in.  Many thanks also to Hands and Feet orphanage who have helped care for him and visit him often.  This is definitely a team effort and we are so blessed to be part of it.

After leaving the orphanage, I brought Robin to see Peterson and his wife.  Peterson is the guy we helped get married by providing the funds, rings, clothes, etc.  Unfortunately, Peterson was not home, but we did sit with his wife and other family members for a bit and spent some time with them.  It was really good.

Lastly, we headed over to Hands and Feet orphanage to say hello to the staff and children there.  It was great to see them.  They are such cute kids.  They call me Ti Kabrit, which means little goat.  They are a lot of fun.

We then went back to the mission house for dinner with the team and then followed that with a recap of the day and a time of prayer and devotions.  It turned out to be a fantastic day for everybody.

Day 3

This day was definitely the highlight of my time spent in Haiti.  First, after the construction team departed, we headed up into the mountains to Kap Wouj, which is my favorite place to go in the mountains.  The team was in shock with the steepness of the drive to get there and the level of poverty that they saw along the way.  We did an outreach at the school where we are partnering with.  There were about 100 or so kids, and they were very happy to see our group.  The BBC team taught them a song in english, then told them a bible story.  After that, we all went outside and just played like crazy!  We played soccer, jump rope, did the limbo, threw a football, etc.  Then, we gathered all the kids together and I shared a short message about sharing God’s love with others.  We then gave them each a little stuffed animal on our way out.

When we got back to the Mission House, the team started preparing their craft activity for the orphaned children that would be arriving shortly while I took some time to work on my message since I would be preaching later that night.

Having the orphaned children come to our mission house was really a milestone for our ministry.  Remember that our original vision for coming to Haiti was to develop a ministry for orphaned children.  And now, the Lord has brought us a group of 23 orphaned children that we are starting a ministry to help care for them.  This brings great joy to our heart as we are able to bring great joy to their hearts.

The kids all arrived and the team was so excited to see them.  It was the first time for us to have children from the community into our home, and it was such a beautiful sight to see these 23 kids come in with anticipation of having a good time.  We sang songs about Jesus.  We shared the word of God with them.  We did a craft activity.  We did face painting.  We measured their feet so that we can give them shoes the next day.  We took a profile of each child so that we can begin getting these kids sponsored.  It was an amazing time we had.  The kids were so happy and thankful.  They all gave us kisses and hugs before they left.  It was definitely the highlight for me because I believe that it was the first fruits of many great things that the Lord is going to do now that we have a mission house to bring kids from the community into for discipleship, love, and encouragement.  Many thanks go out to the awesome Calvary Chapel Castlerock Colorado team that came down a few months ago to paint the inside of the mission house in anticipation of what we are now experiencing.  Again, a great partnership effort in order to grow the Kingdom of God.

After the kids left, we had just a few minutes to shovel down some good food and get ready for church and the fun night that we had planned for the church after service.

So, church was awesome.  I love preaching the Word of God, especially in Haiti.  I shared from Psalm 62.  I talked about the victory that we have in Jesus, that the victorious life is not at all one that is pain and problem free, but rather one that can rejoice in the deepest pains and struggles of life because of our hope in Jesus and the power and love that He has.  Just like David said in Psalm 62, “He alone is my rock and my salvation.  He is my fortress.  I will never be shaken”, we too can say the same thing because of our hope in Jesus.  It was a good message that the people could relate to, and of course, I can relate to also.  It is in the ability of us to be able to rejoice in the midst of such pain that will be a testimony to the world around us that Christ is indeed real and powerful and loving, and this testimony will bring glory and honor to God.

After service, we set up shop to make peanut butter sandwiches to give to everybody as well as juice.  Then, we set up the projector and showed some Tom and Jerry cartoons.  Everybody had such an amazing time.  I am so thankful that the Lord is using us to be able to minister to this church.  I really love Jean Franko and the people.  They are very special to me.

Day 4

Well, this was my last day in Haiti and I had to get up at 4:00 AM to get to the airport by 7.  I flew back to Ft Lauderdale at noon, jumped in my car, and headed north as far as possible to try to get as close to Asheville as I could before having to crash at a hotel.  I made it to Savannah, GA.

The rest of the team is staying until Sunday.  So, their plan for this day was to go to the school in Marigot where we are partnering with and deliver them food for our feeding program that we have started.  Then, the team would have the orphaned children come to the mission house again for some fun and outreach.  The team would also give clothes and shoes to each child.  It would be a great day again for the team.  The following day, they would go around our neighborhood in the morning to spend time with the kids in the area and just get to know them.  Then in the afternoon they would go to an after school program in Jacmel and do an outreach with the kids.

Today (Saturday), the team is having a fun day.  They will have a short tour of Jacmel in the morning, then in the afternoon they will go to Basin Bleau and swim at the waterfall, and then they will go out to eat at Cap Lanmandou Restaurant for dinner.  Then, they will fly home early Sunday morning.

It has been a great blessing to have the Biltmore Baptist team come and serve with our ministry in Haiti.  I know they had an awesome time, and it was so great to have them share in the work that we are doing in Haiti.  I only hope that they will come back again.

I was very pleased with my trip back to Haiti.  While there, Fenel and I spent some time  planning and strategizing for the future of the ministry.  I will say that I am VERY excited to see how the Lord is blessing the ministry and I am VERY excited for the things that we have planned for the future.  I will be sharing more about this soon.

I also will post many pics on the next post, once I figure out how to upload them from my new Mac.

First few days in Haiti

June 12, 2010

Aside from leaving my laptop at the airport check point never to see it again, and leaving the power cord of a new computer that a friend asked me to purchase for him and bring down, things have been good.

The whole reason I left my computer and threw away the power cord of the other computer is because Spirit Airlines deceived me into thinking that I am allowed to check in 2 bags, both of which I paid for on-line prior to my trip, only to be told at the airport terminal that I can only check one bag and that I was going to have to condense my 2 bags into one before they could issue me my ticket.  So, I had to rush and take all my stuff out of one bag and jam stuff it into the other one, while still keeping it under 50 lbs because they also stated that they will not take any bags over the weight limit.

Anyway, in my haste, I took my friend’s brand new computer out of the box to conserve space, but I forgot to take the power cord out as well and so I ended up throwing it away at the airport.  Then, I had to take all my clothes and jam stuff them into my carry on backpack.  At the security check point, I pulled out my laptop and sent it through separately, rushed through the rest because I was late due to having to repack my suitcases, and I left for the gate without remembering to pick up my laptop.  Bummer!!!

I called them a few times since then and they said that nobody has returned a laptop to them…of course they didn’t.  So, I leave it in the Lord’s hands and I pray for the person who stole my laptop.  I pray that perhaps they will start it up and see some of my documents or recent websites that speak of the Lord and His goodness.  I pray that the person will be convicted of what they did and they will return it.  But I must remember that vengeance belongs to the Lord.  So, I leave it in His hands and I move on.

It was great to see Fenel outside the airport waiting for me.  The drive through Port au Prince was an immediate reminder of what I left behind, but have not forgotten.  The damage in Port au Prince is exactly the same as it was since I left.  It is so sad to know that billions of dollars have been sunk into Haiti and it still has not yet really reached the places where it is most needed.

Hey, here is something that I learned:  Port au Prince has ATM machines!  And guess what?  Of the 4 that we went to, one of them actually worked!  Haha.  So, after about 2 hours of trying to get cash, we finally scored and I was able to withdraw the maximum amount allowed at that ATM…about $100  Woo Hoo!!!  So, because this amount was ridiculously low, we still had to find a bank since our chances of finding another working ATM were no better than seeing a fat cow in Haiti.

After waiting about an hour and a half at the bank, we finally got some cash and we were able to purchase 10 chairs for the mission house.  Then, we headed down to Jacmel.

It was great to get back to Jacmel and see everything that has become so familiar to me.  What was even better was that I was able to see my good friend Terry who was there for the week with a small team of 4.  We went out to dinner at Cap Lanmandou and had a good time.

The next day, him and another guy, Mike Fig…, came by the mission house and I took them around our neighborhood and showed him the different places where we have been ministering to families in our community.  They brought some soccer balls and volley balls as well as some candy and gave these out to the kids.  we had a great time.  I showed them the houses that we have built.  Every person who we built a house for insisted that we all come inside their house and have a picture taken with them.  they are still just so happy about having a new home.  Praise God for the impact that it has made.

After spending some time there, I took them down the street to Jean Franko’s church where we were able to spend some time with some of the orphaned children there.  it was so good to see Jean Franko.  We were both very happy to see each other.  This is where we will have the upcoming Biltmore Baptist Team focus a lot of their efforts.  We are going to be doing home repair to Jean Franko’s house since it sustained a lot of damage from the earthquake.  We will also be doing a VBS type outreach for the orphaned children during the week.  We also have a bunch of clothes and shoes that we will give the children.  On Wednesday night, I will be preaching there, and then after the service we will have a very fun night with the kids and the church members.  I am really excited about the Biltmore Team coming.  We are going to have a great time.

Terry and his group left on Friday afternoon.  It was great to be able to spend some time with them, show them what we are doing, and share with them some more about our vision for ministry.  Lord willing, he will be back with a group from the church some time later this year.  I am so glad that he had a great time while he was here in Haiti.

Last night, it was so stinkin’ hot that I had to sleep with 3 fans on me, and even then I was dripping with sweat!  It was pure misery!!!  It is certainly getting hot down here.  I hope the Biltmore Team can handle it cuz it’s nothin’ at all like the summers in Asheville, NC.

Today, I did not leave the Mission House.  I spent the entire day cleaning, organizing, and getting the house ready for the upcoming team.  So, things are looking good and we are ready to rock and roll.

Our new truck for Haiti!!!

June 9, 2010

1997 Toyota Tacoma.  4 Wheel Drive.  5 Speed.  Only 86,000 miles.  This truck is in great condition.  I just picked it up yesterday and brought it to the shipping dock today.  Let’s pray that it arrives to Haiti in that same great condition.  It should be there in a few weeks.

This truck will help us transport food and supplies into the mountains, transport mission teams, and haul construction materials as we continue to build houses as a way to help those that have suffered much loss in the earthquake.

May this truck last a long long time and be used to glorify God as we minister His grace and truth to the people of Haiti.

Now, we need the financial assistance to pay custom taxes once it arrives in Haiti.  Would you prayerfully consider making a donation to our ministry so that we can get this truck out of customs and into the mountains?

I (Cody) head to Haiti tomorrow morning and will be there for the week.  I am so excited to get back there and see all the people that I have come to know and love so dearly.  We have a great week planned next week for our Biltmore Baptist team that is coming for the first time.  It is going to be an awesome week!!!!

Susana, Isabela, and Maria are going to hold down the fort while I am gone.  Keep us all in your prayers.  Susana continues to do well with her chemo treatment.  She will be going to Duke in a week to have a consultation for her upcoming stem cell harvest.  The doctors continue to be impressed with how she is doing.  We praise God for the great report and pray that it just keeps getting better.

Ayiti…M ap vini!!!!!!

New Contact Info…

June 5, 2010

Hey all,

Yes, it is another change of address for us, but now we are finally settled into our place, have new phone #’s, and things won’t change for a while…hopefully.

Our new address is:

Cody and Maria Whittaker

155 Lanceford Circle

Fletcher, NC 28732

Cody’s Cell:  828-279-1585    Maria’s Cell:  828-279-1595

In the Creole language, there is only one word for love, “renmen”.  It means “love” and “like”.  It is the same word to say “I like swimming at the beach” as it is for a newlywed couple to say, “I love you”.  Isn’t that weird?

Maria and I feel like the word “thank you” in english is the same way.  For us to just keep saying thank you to all of you who have given so sacrificially and graciously just doesn’t seem to communicate what we really want to say.  I wish there were stronger words for “thank you.”  We are just overwhelmed in our hearts by all the love and support that we have received.  We truly are seeing the grace of God manifested to us through each and every one of you.  So, with that being said…..Thank You!!!!

M prale Ayiti (I’m going to Haiti)

June 2, 2010

Yup…I just booked my ticket today.  I am thankful that my wife has been totally encouraging me to go.  I told her that I would only go as long as Susana was feeling good and as long as we were settled in.  So, praise the Lord that Susana has been doing great and praise the Lord that we are getting settled here in Asheville.  God is good.

We both really miss Haiti.  I was not thinking that I was going to go until maybe next month when we have 2 more teams coming down.  But after Maria watched a video on Facebook posted by Hands and Feet Project, which featured some of the work and ministry that we were doing, she came to me with full conviction and said, “I really really want you to go to Haiti.”  So, since we have 2 teams coming in the next few weeks, it is a good time for me to go and help lead these teams along with our awesome ministry right hand man Fenel (I have to come up with a better title than “right hand man”).  It is going to be a great week.

The first few days I will be catching the end of the first team that is coming, which includes my good friend Terry who is the Missions Pastor at a church in Delaware.  We did a lot of outreach together in the inner city of Wilmington.  It will be great to see him in Haiti and show him what we are doing so that he can go back and pray with the church with regards to partnering with our ministry.

Then I will have a few days for Fenel and I to get everything ready for the next team that will arrive a few days later.  This is a large team from my church, Biltmore Baptist that is coming.  There will be about 15 people.  We will be focusing on Jean Franko’s church just down the street from our mission house.  We will do some building and repair work on his home as well as do some VBS type ministry to the children in the church and community.  We will also focus a lot of our attention on the 20 or so orphaned children that the church is currently caring for.  It is going to be a great week.  Unfortunately, I will not be able to stay for the entire week since I will have already been there 4 days prior to their arrival.  So, I will head back to the states mid-week and leave the team in good hands with Fenel.  We also will have another woman who will be helping us out with the teams those 2 weeks.  She is a good friend of Fenel and Mimi.  She lives in the states and will be coming down to help us out with the teams.

I will be heading down to Florida early next week just before flying to Haiti.  I am driving down there so that I can purchase a 4 wheel drive truck and ship it to Haiti so that we can have it for our ministry, which we really need to be able to haul supplies and stuff.  I am excited to see how the Lord is blessing the ministry and bringing forth fruit for His glory.

Ayiti….mwen sonje ou anpil…..

Keep praying for Susana!!!!  We go to the doctor tomorrow just to check her blood counts.  She has been doing great,  so keep on praying!!!!

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