Teachers' Summit 2013!

Alex's House partnered with GLOW Haiti to participate in the 2013 Haiti Teachers' Summit for the second year in a row. God blessed us dearly by sending us over 80 Haitian teachers who were passionate about growing academically as well as spiritually! Beautiful testimonies were shared right alongside interactive lessons. Creative teaching techniques and application skills were taught with games, songs, and by using the word of God! The three day Summit ended too quickly! So many wonderful relationships developed along with an affirmation of the special impact that teachers make in the lives of their students everywhere in the world! With God's Divine guidance we are changing the world one child at a time!

Our teacher team along with some children from Alex' s House also had the incredible opportunity to minister to a group of Haitian widows. Approximately 60 widows gathered in the front yard of Pastor Morvann's home. We shared the Word of God and led them in some praise songs. In turn they sang Haitian praise songs with unbridled passion! We sang, laughed, and danced together. After our time of worship, we showed these shunned widows that we love and care about them by massaging theirs dry, worn out arms, necks, shoulders, legs, and feet with sweet scented lotion. We touched them tenderly and kissed their soft cheeks when we finished. It was so unbelievably humbling.

We were also able to present them with gift bags containing crocheted head covering and washcloths lovingly made by an elderly group of women from Georgia. Their excitement was contagious! God is so good! Finally we shared a delicious meal with each widow. God calls us to care for orphans and widows and in that one gathering we had an opportunity to do both! Mesi, Jezi! Thank you for our dear sisters in Christ...faithful women at the cross!

A big thank you to Deb Young for a wonderful write-up to memorialize our week together! If you are an educator (current or retired) and are interested in participating in next year's conference, please contact Amy Hobbs at amy@alexshouseorphanage.org.

Heaven welcomes our beloved Guerda - July 2, 2013

A month has passed, but our love for Guerda has grown even deeper as we have reflected on the legacy of Christ she left behind! On July 2, 2013, our dear friend and cook, Guerda, suddenly passed early in the morning. She wasn't feeling well, so Jimmy took her to the hospital. However, she did not make it. The doctors indicated that she had a stroke. Her last words were spoken praising the Lord and translated into "Jesus' blood is alive!!" 

Two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to sit down and talk with the children about Guerda and what they missed most about her.  Several of the children spoke of her big, contagious smile, but most of them talked about how she read the Bible to them and prayed with them every day!  Personally, I miss the way she danced around the kitchen, with her hands lifted high, as she cooked praising her Lord as if He was standing before her.  What a blessing she was to us!

For all those who know Guerda, she exemplified Christ to our children and our teams in how she loved us, served us and laughed with us. She was part of our family, and words can not describe the loss our hearts have felt over the past month. Please lift up our children and staff as we continue to miss her dearly.

With the hope that only Christ offers, we rejoice knowing that she is standing before the KING OF ALL KINGS with lifted hands praising and dancing!