Getting prepared

We have had a good trip here to Canada, the boys have loved being on the farm and spending time with their cousins, we visited and spoke in some great churches and had some good family time.  I even had time to get some things done which have been on my to do list for a long time.

But its time to start thinking about going back to Haiti. Part of that process is making sure we have everything we need that we can't get in Haiti, part of it is saying goodbye, part of it is packing and weighing, packing and weighing and making sure we use every ounce of weight allowance we have and then part of it is preparing your heart and mind for the reality of life in Haiti.

Going back after a little time away is seeing the poverty and suffering with fresh eyes, and its shocking every time.  It's not something you get used to or ever should.

Everyday we meet people in need, people who are hungry, people who are sick, people who need money for school, for their homes and the list could go on.  Its one of my biggest struggles living in Haiti is knowing who to help, when to help, how much to give, is it ok to give money, should I do something else, how can I possibly do nothing?

David Platt says explains those feelings exactly in his most recent article.  I don't know what the answer is but we need a lot of wisdom and discernment to make those decisions almost everyday.

There is also a lot to do when we get back, were moving next door and right now this is where our stuff is...

We are however thankful to have neighbours & friends who will order us some groceries before we return, and have our house in a little bit of order so were not arriving into complete chaos!

We are spending the weekend with Bill's brother and his family and doing what Sam has been wanting to do all summer.....go to the zoo! Its going to be a long journey back, we leave Calgary on Monday afternoon, stay over night in Dallas to catch the 5am flight to Miami then down to Haiti.  Please pray for the journey back, I am not looking forward to it at all.  Our boys are all good sleepers and will not appreciate being woken up at 3am to head to the airport.  The only positive of that is they will more than likely sleep on the next two flights!

A couple more prayer points....Dr Rodney is in negotiations regarding a piece of property for Bethesda.  The property is a very reasonable price and in a very good location, we ask for your prayers for all of the legal paperwork to be taken care of smoothly and quickly.  IF the property is finalised then EMI (engineers ministries international) have agreed to send a team down to Haiti in September to survey the land and being drawing up building plans.  Having this team from EMI would really be a huge blessing and put us right on our timeline.  Please pray the property would be finalised and all the legal paperwork completed very soon.  Pray that EMI would be able to recruit the team and all the logistics would come together for the team to come in September.  Pray also for the funding of this project, that God would provide all that Bethesda needs over the next two years.

Bethesda will be sending out regular prayer updates and needs and ways for people to be involved if you would like to be added to this list please email me (julieedler@hotmail.co.uk) your email address and I will make sure that you are added to the list.