After a short month of visiting friends, family, & doctors – our family is happy to be back in the Mole!
We have really missed our two girls – Gigi & Isebelle.
It was really precious to hear some of the stories about Gigi. Each time that we leave, Gigi stays with her aunt who works for the mission. Her aunt now lives on the property right beside the orphanage. So I told her instead of watching Gigi at our house the whole time – let Gigi hang out at the orphanage with some of the other kids.
Gigi actually let some of the little orphan kids sit in her lap!! She won’t even let my kids sit in her lap! Gigi and Fedna have become fast friends! She gives Fedna high-fives every time she reaches out for her! Fedna will just sit with her for hours on end – both of them looking at their hands! Fedna will even bring her toys and when Gigi throws them – she will go get them and bring them back to her.
My little butterball Isebelle is all about dancing and singing for Jesus! She loves to raise her hands and say in Creole – “Praise the Lord”! If you tell her it’s time to pray – she will put her hands together and say – “AMEN”!
So now that we are home – I wanted to take a few moments and share some updates with you!
Housing Update
I want to thank everyone who sacrificed so that our large family could have a place to call home in Mole St Nicholas! We’ve had a lot of sleepless nights ever since we found out we had just a few months to vacate our rental. We honestly had no clue how we were going to raise the funds in such a short amount of time. God revealed to us – it’s not about who WE know – but it’s all about who HE knows!
Thanks to your donations – we have finished the foundations for our home, the school, and Miss Beth’s apartment. Our container of panels (the walls for our home) is in Port-au-Prince right now and we are expecting them next week. I have some pictures below of the construction on the foundations.
Our renters are giving us through the end of June to move out of our current home! Otherwise we would be packing up RIGHT NOW and moving into the school!! Praise the Lord for small miracles!
If you are wondering where our home will be on the property – we made a road on the far left side of the church – towards the end of our property line. The road goes all the way to the back of the property. Our home is in the back left-hand side… right before the mountain starts.
Several have asked if we have reached our goal? Yes and No!
Our original estimate of the house didn’t include the windows, doors, plumbing, electrical, shelving, kitchen counters, etc. So while we met our original estimate – we are still a little short on fully funding the housing complex. But our God has performed non-stop miracles for us this past month and we know HE will continue to provide.
This Summer:
We are gearing up for our summer groups – expecting over 150 travelers in the next two months for our campus alone!
Our Mole Service Projects will include: building the medical clinic, clearing out land for a soccer field, painting the school, building our home, & digging the foundation for our church.
Never A Dull Moment:
I always say there’s never a dull moment in Haiti…. yesterday was no exception.
While we were in church we got a phone call that there was an explosion in our children’s bedroom. The twins were home with the babysitter so we hurried to the house.
The boys were in the living room when it happened and were okay. One of the Ryobi batteries that were charging exploded and then caught on fire.
Luckily someone was there to hear it or the whole room would have burned. Our babysitter ran and got the neighbor and they threw sand on the fire to put it out. God REALLY protected our family and our home from something that could have been devastating.
I guess you could say that the Castillo Clan is – ON FIRE FOR JESUS!
