September 2010
1 post
On The Road AGAIN
It seems this summer has been a summer full of weekends on the road. It also seems that when we go on the road for one reason, we end up with supplies for Haiti.
In June we went to Omaha, Nebraska for our nephew’s wedding. The next day we enjoyed the chance to meet up with Roberta Vander Zwaag, her husband Kris and their five wonderful children. We had fun in Omaha and they blessed Real...
July 2010
2 posts
Back To School Specials For Some Very Special...
It seems to be that time of year when it is time to actually start thinking about school supplies. Since I don’t have a child to buy school supplies for anymore, I had kind of lost touch. However, I was pleasantly surprised to see how reasonable it is to get school supplies this time of year.
This year Real Hope For Haiti will be getting sponsorships to help 100 children in the Cazale...
Happy Birthday Brooke!!!
I don’t even know Brooke. I’m not even sure how old she is. However, I do know that she seems to be a very thoughtful girl. For her birthday she asked that gifts be given to the children of Haiti and her friends responded generously.
This week at work, I received a large box of beautiful new clothing for the children at the Rescue Center and backpacks for the school children were...
June 2010
1 post
The Gifts Keep Coming and That Is Good
We are still getting shipments of supplies and that is good. We are planning to ship another container and would love to have as many supplies as possible by mid-August.
Above are some of the most recent supplies sent by West Jones High School Student Council in Laurel, Mississippi. These supplies will be greatly appreciated at the Real Hope For Haiti Rescue Center.
THANK YOU to all the...
May 2010
5 posts
Meeting Their Goal!!
Dakota and Alysha Haugen are two VERY cute individuals who worked hard at Art-A-Whirl last weekend making bracelets and bookmarks.
Anybody who made a donation to Real Hope For Haiti was allowed to pick a bracelet or bookmark. Alysha and Dakota made signs and did a real good job of merchandising the items they made.
On Saturday, they collected $100. On Sunday, they came back with a...
Give The Gift of Knowledge
God blesses each of us with gifts so that we may bless others. There are so many ways that people can continue to help the people of Haiti. Today, I’d like to mention two more ways that people can help bless the people of Haiti with their gifts of knowledge.
If you have the gift of medical knowledge, including physicians, nurses, physical therapists and dermatologists, I encourage you to...
More Than Supplies Going To Haiti
There will be more than supplies going to Haiti this month. Jess Lehman will be heading into Haiti on May 25th if all goes according to plan. She will be staying through August OR ???????????????????????????????? — only GOD knows.
Jess is a student at North Central University. She contacted me early on to see if she could help and if she could bring friends too. She was a...
The Containers Are In Haiti!!!
The 40-foot containers (from Minnesota and Indiana) are in Haiti. Davis Zachary (Zach) of Real Hope For Haiti will be getting them out of customs and then they will have to unload TWO 40-foot containers and bring the supplies to Cazale.
Please pray for Zach and all those involved in getting the supplies into the hands of the Haitian people. Please pray for the people of Haiti as they continue...
The Only Difference Between Men And Boys Is The...
When some people read the list of needs they had an “interesting” reaction to the inclusion of a bulldozer and backhoe. After all, how many of us have a spare bulldozer in the backyard that isn’t a Tonka Toy?
The truth is before the earthquake occured, God had been laying a plan for the Zachary family to expand their services. They have been in prayer about it for years. ...
April 2010
14 posts
Digging Deeper For Diapers
This week I received an e-mail from Steve Hanson, Global Pastor at Church of the Open Door in Maple Grove, MN. He had visited Mother Teresa Sisters of Charity where the mission teams from Church of the Open Door usually spend some of their time in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti.
Much like the Real Hope For Haiti Rescue Center in Cazale, Mother Teresa’s provides care for sick, abandoned and dying...
The Mothers Day Hint
Remember when you were little and you REALLY wanted to give your mom something special for Mothers Day? For me it was flowers. BEAUTIFUL DANDELIONS! Yes, I would try to pick the best dandelions to give my mom because she was the BEST mom. Some of you might not have had access to dandelions in your well manicured yard, but we did then, and I do now.
As you get older and your mother does too,...
Loading The Container, And It Ships!!!!!
It didn’t go according to OUR plan but we trust it is going according to God’s plan. The 40-foot container was scheduled to arrive at 9:00 a.m. on Friday. The volunteers were all lined up and the anticipation was building. At about 8:30 a.m., I received a phone call that goes like this.
Steve: Hi, this is Steve and I understand that you are looking for a container to ship to...
My Friend Meg
It has been wonderful meeting so many new people in this process of collecting, sorting and packing donations. Just as wonderful is the opportunity to spend the day with my lifelong friend Meg. She came up for a whole day to help us pack a few more pallets of donations on Wednesday, the day before we had all the pallets ready for loading.
Meg also collected $400 to help us with pallet...
Joy Noel
Joyeux Noel in Creole means Merry Christmas. Here we say Joy Noel, meaning it was a JOY to meet Noel AND her son Abraham, grandson Orison (not shown) and Abraham’s friend Zach Wartes. Pictured above from left to right are Noel Piper, Davis Zachary (Zach from Real Hope For Haiti), Abraham Piper and Zach Wartes.
It was also a little bit like Christmas as Noel came to the warehouse...
Peanut Butter and Beans Competition
At my age it is so cool to have an 8th-grade girl initiate an e-mail to ask how she can help Haiti. That is exactly what Lauren Baird (left) from Calvin Christian School in Blaine, Minnesota did. We discussed the different needs and talked about the malnutrition in Haiti due to lack of protein.
Lauren talked with her friend Kali Vander Maten (right) and together they decided to create a...
WMD's
Open up a box of these bad boys in the inner city (where I work) and people get a little nervous. I’m talking about these WMD’s — you know, Wonderful Machete Donations.
While some people in the inner city may be far removed from farming tools, these machetes will be a HUGE blessing to the people of Haiti where nearly all farming is completed with physical labor and hand...
Almost SHIP Shape
We are almost ready to ship the container from Minnesota to Haiti. We will be picking up Davis Zachary (papa Zach) on Monday. Zach is the co-founder of Real Hope For Haiti with his wife Gretchen who has since gone on to be with the Lord.
I have NEVER packed and filled a semi container of donated goods. I’ve even been told Zach is a bit picky about how it is done. We are working hard...
Meet Kerderns - Our Toy Tester
Last Friday, Jana and Jon Buettner rolled into Minneapolis with their vehicle stuffed full AND a u-haul trailer on the back bringing a large quantity of supplies from western Minnesota (around the Alexandria area). THANK YOU to everyone who donated to bless the people of Haiti.
Jana and Jon also brought Kerderns with them, the most recent addition to their family. Kerderns was at God’s...
Efez 6:4
Two boxes of these wonderful handmade blankets have arrived from the Beakley’s home in Trinity, Texas. Attached to each blanket is this verse: Kanta nou menm, manman ak papa, pa aji ak timoun nou yo yon jan pou eksite yo. Men, ba yo bon levasyon, korije yo, pale ak yo dapre prensip Seye a.
And when this technological idiot (that’s me) learns how to make that fancy mark above the...
Burning The Midnight (or 2:00 a.m.) Oil
A VERY special thanks goes out to Tiel Stanton Howard and her husband Claude. Tiel has been working to solicit donations and organize transportation for the donations early on after the earthquake hit.
Tiel worked with several churches and with the school in her small Iowa community of Springville, Iowa and WOW did they come through. As though it wasn’t enough, Tiel even made a trip out...
Even The Chicks Are Getting Excited!
Yes, it’s true. Even the chicks in Haiti are getting excited about their new poultry drinkers. I’m not even positive who made the actual purchase. I do know that the poultry drinkers came via the Claude and Tiel express with items from Iowa and Nebraska.
Way To Cute!
Did I mention that I work full-time? I have to admit it is becoming a bit of a distraction to receive all these packages. The dresses and diapers are just too cute.
When I opened the box from Simpsonville United Methodist in Louisville, Kentucky, there were the most adorable MATCHING dresses and diapers.
THANK YOU to all the people at Simpsonville United Methodist who made these wonderful...
All Boxed Out
I returned to my office and I could not even get in the door thanks to a mega delivery of supplies from Faith City Church in Fenton, Michigan. There was something for everyone and I think the kids are going to LOVE the critters that crawled in for the ride. The little buggers even light up.
Thank you to everyone at Faith City Church for blessing the people in Haiti. Please continue to pray...
March 2010
14 posts
Courage and Hope
Last Thursday, Jamie Knutson from the Courage Center in Minnesota stopped by with a pick truck LOADED with mobility equipment. Wonderful wheelchairs and a variety of other mobility aids were included. Jamie spent time working with Healing Hands For Haiti in January, 2009. (www.healinghandsforhaiti.org)
Today on my way to work I saw a billboard by Gillette Childrens Hospital that pictured a boy...
Truly Blessed
Last Monday night I was truly blessed with the help of 4 amazing young adults. Jess Lehman, a student at North Central University e-mailed me to find out if she could help. She brought along 3 other people and they made up boxes, sorted, and packed from 6:30 - 10:30 pm.. Jess has a HUGE heart for Haiti and is hoping God will open the door for her to work in Haiti this summer. She is...
WatchHello from Minneapolis!
Holy Buckets!
When I sent out a list of needs, many of the artists at the Northrup King Building responded. One response was from Jim Wrayge. Jim and his fiance Erica Christ, pulled up to the Northrup King Building on two separate occasions to drop off 180 5-gallon buckets, at least 2/3 of them with lids.
The generous donation came from Erich and Joanne Christ who own the Black Forest Inn Restaurant...
Spring HAS Sprung
Spring had definitely sprung when I opened the package from Mitzi Peterson and her daughter Abigail from Olney, Illinois. The box was full of beautiful headbands and barettes with homemade flowers attached.
Mitzi’s friends Kathy Hallam, Connie Cox and Kendra Page and her son Isaac even got in on the act by sending aprons for the nannies, pillowcase dresses and brand new clothes for the...
Florence and Faulata
Florence Kulubya-Nabeta at Qwest, Specialized Billing in Minneapolis and Fautala Wathum-Ocama at Securian Financial Moneyin Group in St. Paul both organized donations from their work groups to help meet the hygiene needs of Haitian women.
Florence and Fautala stopped by the Northrup King Building after work on Thursday, March 18th. Thank you Florence, Fautala and all those who contributed to...
Some of my favorite peeps
Pictured above are third grade students from Room 57 at Cityview School in North Minneapolis. This is the second year I have volunteered with teacher Colleen Barksdale, a world class teacher. Each year, Mrs. Barksdale has allowed the students time to learn and talk about Haiti. This year we followed the Real Hope For Haiti blog after the earthquake.
The students were moved to collect food...
Debby's Day
I’m not referring to myself, but to Debby Smith who has made numerous donations in the past two weeks and has spent over 10 hours helping to sort, inventory and pack.
Debby has been reading the RHFH blog and the Livesay blog for the past several years and was thrilled to learn that we would be shipping from Minneapolis. In the past Debby had sent her donations to Indiana.
Here is a...
Wednesday Night At Walmart
My husband Paul and I met up at Walmart on Wednesday night to make our site-to-store pick-up of 3 Little Tikes picnic tables. With the large number of children that eat three square meals a day, these picnic tables are really going to be nice.
Thank you Dawn Scott from Valley, Nebraska, Karen Bush from Omaha, Nebraska and Kristen Hvidsten from Stephen Minnesota for blessing the children at the...
Having SEW Much Fun In Missouri
Top Photo: Linda Harre (right) from Eureka, Missouri and her sister Sandy Haynes (left) from Kirkwood, Missouri have been sewing up a storm. They are shown here with many of the “ditty bags” that have been made up with hygiene items, a stuffed animal and snack bars.
2nd photo: They have enlisted friends Penny Byrne, Susie Busch and Mary Hauser from Webster Groves, Missouri to get...
Springville Elementary in Iowa
Springville Elementary School in Iowa put together this poster to advertise their supply drive for the Real Hope For Haiti clinic and rescue center. This is a small school in a district that graduates about 30 seniors per year.
Tiel Stanton Howard (are we related ?- my maiden name was Stanton) has offered to pick up the supplies and bring a van FULL to Minneapolis.
THANK YOU Springville...
The packing begins!
Dan and Amy Rogers and their daughter Maddy drove 3 hours each way on Saturday, March 13th to help pack donations. They worked 5 hours with one teeny weeny break.
Amy brought boxes of fun baby blankets, bowls, spoons and sippy cups and more for the Rescue Center all courtesy of the good people at Ministry Home Care in Marshfield, Wisconsin.
Maddy, you rock! I don’t know how many...
Prie Nou Avek Ou
Deb Burich, Director for Volunteer Ministries at First Congregational United Church of Christ in Appleton, Wisconsin organized the donations of crutches, walkers, canes, leg braces and a wheelchair from members of the congregation.
Words of encouragement are written in Creole and taped to the crutches.
N’ap toujou bo kote w & Prie nou avek ou
Karon Sandberg made the drive to...
