The other day I had the blessing of flying Marie Joy back home to Ouanaminthe after being in PAP for adoption paperwork.  I did not recognize Marie Joy but her adoptive mom, Brittany, reminded me that I had flown her after the earthquake.

Marie Joy and Brittany

She was at her aunts house in Port au Prince and had been badly burned during the disaster.  Brittany works with Danita’s Children which is an orphanage in Northern Haiti and had taken Marie Joy in after the earthquake.   While getting in the plane I remembered doing a medivac flight for one of their babies named Lubenson  in 2006.  He had a huge life threatening tumor in his mouth and needed emergency surgery in the US.  I had flown him from the orphanage in Ouanaminthe (OAN) to Port-au-Prince (PAP) for the needed paper work and to catch the flight to the US.  Several months later, after his surgery in the US, I flew him back home to Ouanaminthe.  I asked Brittany if Lebenson was still there.  She said yes and asked if I wanted to see him.  I was thrilled to be able to see him again and arrangements were made for Lubenson to come to the airstrip and meet the plane.

Will and Lubenson in 2006 on the flight to Port au Prince.

Lubenson's before and after surgery picture.

Before starting the plane Marie Joy looked terrified.  Brittany told me she had screamed and cried the entire flight from OAN to PAP.  I talked to Marie Joy before firing up the engine and tried to get her to relax.  I had no memory of flying her after the earthquake but she seemed to remember me.  It was almost as if Marie Joy was thinking, “I know you helped me last time, so even though I’m terrified now, I’ll trust you”  Several times during the flight I turned around and gave her the standard “MAF thumbs up”.  There is nothing else pilots can do while flying a noisy plane and wearing a huge helmet.  Marie Joy did surprisingly well and we arrived in OAN in 35 minutes.  She even posed for an in-flight picture. 

First Class seats in MAF planes.

After landing and unloading,  Lubenson showed up.  Even though he had grown up from the baby I flew 6 years ago,  I recognized him immediately.  It was encouraging to learn how God is using Lubenson.  He often prays with other kids at the orphanage that have special needs and shares his story of how God provided for him.  The Lord has great plans for Lubenson.  We look forward to keeping up with him over the years.

Will and Lubenson both looking older.

Thanks to all our prayer and financial supporters who make it possible for us to minister to kids like Lubenson and Marie Joy, and spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ in Haiti.


For more information on Lubenson and Danita's Children click the link below:
http://www.danitaschildren.org/lubenson-s-story/

Last week Will shared a video in his airplane.  This week I decided to share pictures of where we live.  This is our two-story house in Haiti.  We live on a dead-end street with 3 Haitian families & 3 missionary families.  Most houses are built of concrete.  Our windows are covered with bars.  If you look closely, you can see the razor wire at the top of our car gate & walk-in gate.  William's regular job is to open/close the gate each time we drive someplace.

 If you are wondering what we do while Will is at the hangar and we are on summer vacation out of school, these pictures will help to show you.  Once in awhile, the kids beg to drive up to the Baptist Mission about 30 minutes away.  There is a pitiful little zoo, a small playground, a bakery and flower shop, a gift/souvenir/tourist shop, and a cafe.  Here Abby is sitting on the playground in a chair made from carving out some trees up on the mountain.  We will have to take some more photos to show you the different little areas up there.  This section is to be continued . . .                                                          

Back at home, the kids have captured some exotic pets.  William has always wanted a tarantula for a pet so we decided this year was the year to let him do that.  It still creeps me out but he seems to enjoy it.  Either that or he just enjoys creeping his mother out!  He has not held it yet and it is a challenge to find live insects for it to eat.  This is out on our front porch because I don't want the spider in my house!  Nobody has come up with a name for it yet so if any of you have some ideas, feel free to offer us some suggestions.  Missionaries that used to live in Haiti had mastered the art of making paper weights out of tarantulas.  I am finding myself very fond of that idea! 

Abby inherited a red-eared slider turtle from our neighbors who just left the country.  It lives in the grey tote locker so it can swim in the water.  We put a large stone in there for it to climb up on.  When we let it out in the yard, it likes to burrow under the dirt and rocks.  The dogs bark at it and try to play with it.  We like seeing it pop it's head quickly back into it's shell.  When it's scared, it will hiss at us!  This is in our foyer area inside the front door of our house.