Merry Christmas!

We want to wish you all a

Merry Christmas.

May your hearts and homes be filled with

love, peace and joy

this Christmas season.

Love,

Randy, Karen, Maia Joy & Levi

Home Sweet Home

Just a quick post to let you know that the third time was a charm. We finally made it back home to Port au Prince. We apologize to anyone who was on the same flights as us. We take no responsibility for loss of hearing due to uncontrollable screaming from Maia. After our trip back I don't know if we'll ever fly again!
But... we are back, settling in, enjoying showing off Levi and seeing friends and co-workers again.
If you're looking for something to pray about please pray for Maia, the adjustment back is tough on her and she has this new routine of getting up in the middle of the night and not wanting to go back to bed, it started just over a week ago and has made for some long nights for all of us. We've almost exhausted all strategies - nap, no nap, stay up late, tylenol, gravol, bottle, scream it out, cuddling. Needless to say we are getting tired and Maia needs her sleep!
Thanks for the prayers, we'll post some more once we get a little more sleep and a little more settled.

Introducing....Levi Casey

With huge thankfulness to the LORD we want to introduce to you Levi Casey Lodder! He was born this morning at 9:15am, weighing in at 7lbs, 9 ounces. Mother and child are doing well (so is dad, in case anyone cares.) In a brief interview with Levi he stated that he loves his daddy very much but he is glad that he looks like his mom. He is ready to tackle this world, one nap at a time. And he likes his big sister Maia, because she hasn't poked him in the eye, yet, and shared with him the big apple she was eating. Mother and child are staying over at St.Joes, and D.V. willl be headed home tomorrow. A thankful dad, Randy

Above: Karen and Levi.

Below: Maia sporting her "Super-Sister" shirt, welcoming Levi to this crazy family.

Nicole and Opa meeting Levi.

When Helping Hurts

Randy has recently been taking some courses through the Chalmers Center. This all started shortly after the earthquake when evaluating what our organization was doing... really doing. As a result of this evaluation we, as well as those involved in CDIA, were encouraged to read the book When Helping Hurts by Steve Corbett & Brian Fikkert. This book is extremely challenging and thought provoking (we highly recommend it). After reading the book Randy signed up for some courses that are offered through the Chalmers Center. He was recently asked if they could use some of his thoughts for their monthly newsletter. To read the article in the Chalmers Center monthly newsletter click here.

dEar daDdy,
i can't wait tO see yOu. onLy tWo moRe slEePs!
loVe yOu
mAia joy

First day of Lekol!

Proverbs 22:6 "Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it."

1 Timothy 4:7,10 "Rather train yourself for godliness. For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God..."

Well, today we had our first day of school! Praise the LORD! We were excited to open our doors again and welcome the students back as we begin our new school year. Most of the students showed up, packing the classrooms. The first day of school is always hard though because there are so many parents who still show up with their children trying to get them into the school - but we do not have enough room, and can't take them all. It is heart breaking to turn people away.



On the first day of school the children receive all their books and cahiers, they get introduced or re-introduced to the school’s rules, meet their teachers and get settled into their class-rooms. You can see on some photos the stack of new books that the students receive this year. Because of the earthquake most students’ books were destroyed or lost, and so this year we had to purchase new ones for them all. Thank-you to everyone who has supported Adoration through child sponsorship or disaster relief. The books are included in the sponsorship.

We are also blessed in that through your support we can offer 2 meals a day to these students. They receive breakfast and lunch. It was good to have the cooks back, working hard to provide these meals.The students will be given uniforms as well, when they are finished being made. We provide 2 shirts for them, and they are responsible for their pants or skirt.

Maia enjoys the school, and enjoys playing with the students and sitting with them. She also enjoys organizing the school office, as Kim always needs a hand tidying up.

Many things still need to be done to the Centre to make it fully functional. We do not have any electricity yet, and we are still working on building classroom dividers, enough tables and benches, getting the pastors office, the church, and the medical clinic up and running. Please pray that in the next little while we would be able to get all these things operational.

God is good... all the time!

Anticipation

So the "little" bit of work has been done and Adoration is almost ready to open it's doors Monday morning to 140 very excited students, 11 very pumped teachers and assistants, 2 amazing cooks, 1 fabulous gatekeeper, 1 great errand guy, 4 extraordinary directors and 1 cute little blan. This week was extra busy but lots of different people came and helped out and because of that, di Dieu vle, we can open our doors on Monday!
They were able to totally clear and clean up Charles' propertyFix tables and benches (under Maia's supervision of course!)Supervise entry exams for new students who are hoping to attend Adoration this year Maia also helped out with the supervising of the entry exams

as well as countless other jobs that we didn't get pictures of... moving all the wood around, cleaning, cleaning and more cleaning, preparing for class, organizing books, tables and benches, buying supplies, setting up the kitchen, painting, moving furniture around, picking up garbage etc, etc.

On the personal side of things Maia and I are packing up and saying the dreaded good-byes.

Besides missing her daddy A LOT (he'll be flying in a little later than us) Maia is especially going to miss "Uncle" Cadeau, he spoils her rotten!

Happy Thanksgiving!

To our all dear Canadian friends and family, Happy Thanksgiving!
We were able to celebrate Thanksgiving dinner yesterday up the coast with fellow Canadians and a fabulous turkey dinner put on by Samaritans Purse. It was fun to meet and fellowship with other Canadians.
And today we were able to celebrate Thanksgiving by having our first meeting at the "new" Adoration Christian Centre. It truly is a blessing to have a building that school, programs and church can call "home". Although the building needs a bit of work we are hoping and praying that Adoration Christian School can start next Monday. This will require a lot of prayers and a lot of hard work but we know that our community can do it!
Below is staff and volunteers helping move Adoration's stuff

and... our little dutch girl :)

"What goes up must come down"

Unfortunately this statement is true of all the temporary structures that were put up for Adoration Christian School. Although we knew they were going to be temporary we never dreamed we would be taking them down already. But we know that in all of this God has a plan. So we've received access to the property and in two days most of the buildings were down. We are waiting finalization on our next location for Adoration Christian Centre and then we will be moving all of our stuff over. In the meantime plans are in the works so that as soon as the next location is secured school and programs can once again start up.

And a couple of weeks ago we went to the "zoo" here in Haiti. Maia LOVED it.

Before I post on the present I should catch up on what has happened in the past...

Just over a week ago we felt the presence of Tropical Storm Matthew here in Port au Prince. It was a powerful storm that did a lot of damage in the area. Tent cities were mostly affected as the strong winds whipped through pulling tents and tarps free and leaving peoples possessions exposed for the heavy rains. It was a freaky storm as it brought back earthquake memories, feelings of hopelessness, desolation, an event beyond your control, but at the same time it was a good reminder of how powerful our God is. We continue to pray for those in tents that they may find what they need for their daily bread.

Here are a few pics to show the damage to our property

Below one of our big beautiful trees came down, roots and all! Patio table almost got blown away, thankfully the big branch that had fallen caught it for us!

A week or so ago Kim, Maia and I were able to visit one of our secondary students who had just given birth. Although it's an unfortunate situation that this young girl is in, at the same time we rejoice with her for her bundle of joy. Her baby is a healthy and happy and precious gift that the Lord has given to her. We pray that this young mother may have the means to provide for this baby and may lavish her with love. She is beautiful!

And, on the Maia end of things
In training for heading back to Canada for the fall. She needs to be able to help Opa clean up the leaves in exchange for room and board.

And... just hanging out

prayer

(Picture : Standing on the grounds where Adoration crumbled on January 12th)

Send Thy peace O Lord, which is

perfect and everlasting,

that our souls may radiate peace.

Send Thy peace O Lord, that we may

think, act and speak harmoniously.

Send Thy peace O Lord,

that we may be contented and thankful

for Thy bountiful gifts.

Send Thy peace O Lord,

that amidst our worldly strife,

we may enjoy Thy bliss.

Send Thy peace O Lord,

that we may endure all, tolerate all,

in the thought of Thy grace and mercy.

Send Thy peace O Lord,

that our lives may become a Divine vision

and in Thy light,all darkness may vanish.

Send Thy peace O Lord,

that we Thy children on Earth

may all unite in one family.

prayer for peace - pir-o-murshid inayat khan - 1921 ±

Big Sister in Training

As most of you may know... or maybe do not know... we are expecting our second child early in November. We are excited (and a little scared) about having another little Lodder baby running around. Our orginal plan was to have this baby in Haiti and apply for the Canadian citizenship card and passport from the embassy here in Port au Prince. Unfortunately when Maia and I went to visit the embassy the other week we got some disappointing news. A citizenship card can take anywhere from 3-12 months and a passport 1-2 months. Also the lady that we talked to said that after the earthquake some people were not able to evacuate because they did not have all the paperwork for their babies. So, because the reality of being evacuated is still fresh in our minds, elections are two weeks after the baby is due, the process only takes 4-6 weeks in Canada, and we realize that we live in an unstable country, we have decided that it would be best to go back to Canada for the birth of the baby. Although this is disappointing to us we know that God has a plan for our family and that through this time of once again being separated, settling Maia and ourselves into a different culture (again), adding a baby brother/sister to Maia's life and ours and then resettling them back home in Haiti. We know it will be a time of many highs and lows and we are trusting in our Faithful Father to carry us through it.

....So while we are back in Canada if you feel like being destroyed in either raquetball or settlers just email us and we'll set a date :) And... Randy is training to run in the WWCS race in November. If you think you even stand a chance of beating him sign up here

A Request for Prayer

As you can see from the letter below we have been asked to leave the property where the temporary location of Adoration Christian Centre was set up. It pains us to be removed from a location which we know a lot of people have poured a lot of sweat and tears into, and a setup that we love, and, so soon after finishing it. But we know that the LORD must have something better in store for us. We know that He has a plan, and that this situation is in His hand. So we will keep our eyes fixed on Him, give Him the praise that is due his Name, and humble ourselves before Him.
Please keep Adoration Christian Centre in your prayers as we make plans for the upcoming school year. Through all this we are reminded of the prayer in2 Chronicles 20: 12 "We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you". We really do not know what to do in this situation, but we move forward with our eyes upon the LORD. He is our Rock! He is the great Provider.

Dear Friends of Adoration Christian Centre:

Due to a situation that is outside of our control, it appears that Adoration is going to have to find a different location for the upcoming school year which begins in October.

The temporary site that we were using was owned by Pastor Charles of the Presbyterian Mission to Haiti. Because of a falling out with the church, Pastor Charles has withdrawn his permission to use the property. At this point Randy is hopeful that all the buildings and materials will be recovered. The news of this development is a great disappointment, as many relationships have been severed, and for those who worked so hard to erect the offices, residences, classrooms, playground, bathrooms, kitchen and the tent.

However, the teachers and staff have been a source of encouragement for Randy and Karen and Kim! They are confident in the Lord's goodness, and that even in this, the LORD has a plan. He has always come through for us, and He will again.

We ask for your prayers in resolving this situation, either through a change of heart for Pastor Charles, or that God may lead us to another property where everything can be re-installed. We stand with the decision the Presbyterian Mission to Haiti board had to make regarding Pastor Charles Amicy, and with the decision of the overseeing Presbytery of the PCA. To read their statement on the situation please visit their website at www.presbyterianmissioninhaiti.org. We continue to work with Pastor Ben Hopp, OPC missionary, and Pastor Octavius Delfis, PCA Pastor. The work of the church will continue, as we prayerfully and humbly move forward. Sometimes it seems like life in Haiti is one crisis after another, and it is true, the Devil is hard at work! On the other hand, our work has been so greatly blessed, and many people have been able to witness the love and power of our God, that we stand in awe of His works.

As much as possible we will try to keep our supporters up to date on the developments. Thank you for your continued concern, support and prayer.

Yours in Christ,
CDIA Board and Adoration Team

Four Weeks and Counting...

Well we haven't fallen off the face of the earth we've just been a little quiet lately on the blog. This post should bring you all up to speed on the major happenings in August.

Two days after we flew in Ryan and Cassandra Vandenhaak joined us. Ryan is studying youth ministry and part of his program was to do a three week internship so they joined us here at the ACC and Randy put Ryan to work teaching Bible, leading Bible study, organizing a community soccer tournament, setting up a house in a third world country, the experience of driving in Haiti, teaching with a translator, I think the list could go on and on. Cassandra was a blessing to have along as well as she helped out a lot with administrative stuff since our co-worker Kim was out of country. She was also a Super Huge help with Maia, babysitting her and entertaining her so that I could get our "new"house organized...

Ryan teaching Bible in Grade 3

Maia hanging out with CassandraThe Winners of the secondary students World Cup Tournament

yes we moved! It's probably only a km down the road but it is a much nicer place to be. It is way less dusty, on a quiet road and it has a bit of vegetation - banana trees, palm trees, lime trees - it's beautiful and we are so thankful for God opening up doors for us to rent it so fast and move in so quickly. Ryan and Cassandra were able to help us out with the move, which was another big blessing, epecially since Ryan's got the muscle power and Cassandra has the gift of organizing kitchen cupboards among many other talents.

And along with the house came two more dogs. They are two more big dogs to add to the two we already had. The main reason for them is security, we have a tent city right outside our back wall and our two big black dogs look scary but they aren't much for security as I think they are a little deaf. The two new dogs however are good guard dogs... I was even afraid to come into my own yard! Thankfully though they let Maia boss them around and use and abuse them.

And to end off the month of August school let out for the year. It has definately been a year of ups and downs but through it all we can confidently say the Lord is good! We have been so blessed this year by teachers, staff members, students, parents, co-workers. We've dealt with many big losses this year - loss of life, loss of building - but we have also gained so much - new staff members, stronger sense of community - GOD is good, all the time! Before school let out we had a fun day with the kids, the older kids had a world cup tournament and the younger kids participated in a little talent show. It was amazing hearing their giggles and their screams of delight and their voices belting out praises.

The Long Lost Post

Well this post was prepared before we left Haiti some three weeks ago or so... so the news is old but it's still good and the events were big and brought a lot of healing.
THE tent is put together and up. While John and Jim came down to visit us again (last time was the time of the earthquake) we thought what better use of time then to get them to do some physical work on the new property :) I think they enjoyed there work and the end result was definately worth it as they were able to experience the first worship service under the tent as well as the school's memorial service.

On Monday Adoration was able to hold a memorial service for our community who lost loved ones. We specifically remembered our beloved gatekeeper, Luc Guerdeson, our Grade 2 teacher, Samuel Marcelin and one of our Grade 6 students, Mackson Aristil. Many other names were mentioned and thought of as well that morning as our community lost many close family and friends on January 12. We were comforted during the service by the words of Job "the Lord gives and the Lord has taken away, blessed be the Name of the Lord." It was healing to grieve together, pray together and sing praises together.

The whole student body sang a beautiful song that morning for us all. "Are you ready?" Are you ready to meet your maker and go to heaven, you never know when Jesus will return or when He will call you home.Randy sharing a short meditation on the words of Job.I'm not sure if you can make out the picture below but this is the old Adoration. We've hired a parent of one of our students to take down the building. It's a slow process but they are slowly working away at it. And life at the "new" Adoration continues on. Students are giggling, learning, writing, eating, crying, praying, singing, dancing, playing and enjoying the blessings of once again having a school to attend and dedicated and loving teachers, cooks and directors overseeing the operation of their learning.And before we head off to Canada this is a special one for Carina. Yes, Carina that is a recorder, Maia is learning a very special song so that she can serenade you when we see you in Canada :) We'll be taking a short break from the blog while we enjoy some time in Canada. We are looking forward to family and friends, grass, trees, fresh air and birds. Si Dieu vle, we'll see you in August!