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.