Sabrina...

Please be praying for little Sabrina. She is at God's Littlest Angels Orphanage. Her mom brought her to GLA last week, at 3 days old, to see if they could help. Her head circ is 54.5 cm. Weight 12 pounds. (A normal head circ of a newborn is between 33-38 cm.) Probably 4-5 lbs of her birth weight is water on her brain. Without immediate surgery, this little girl will die.

We are working on finding her a doctor/hospital as I type. Right now, with the help of the Medical Advocacy Team, we might have the answer to our prayers. Please pray that this will work out and she will be able to live.

PLEASE BE PRAYING FOR SABRINA, HER MOM, AND EVERYONE WORKING ON GETTING THIS PRECIOUS ANGEL ALL THAT SHE DESERVES!!!!!

Update on our friend Shnaider

Wow what a difference a year makes. It was a year ago now that Shnaider arrived for his first surgery. He looks like such a little guy and now he is all grown up! Shnaider proved himself to be a very resilient child. He went through 3 surgeries before all was said and done. He spent time with a couple different families and did amazing through all of it. He is such a happy go lucky kiddo.

On his last check with Dr.Young he was thrilled at Shnaiders progress. The shunt that is in place to keep the fluid drained off his surgery site gets to stay in place which means no more surgery! He will go back for a recheck soon but all seems to be healing properly.

We are so thankful to God for how he has protected Shnaider and brought all the right people into his life to care for him. Many have gotten to witness Shnaider's love and have touched his life. We thank God for Dr.Young, St.Vincent Hospital, the Truesdale's, the Mueller's, and the Hall family for being a part of his life.

Georgey

Hello everyone, Hands That Heal has a new child comming soon from Haiti. His name is Georgey. He is 9 years old and will be having surgery at St.Vincent hospital in Indianapolis. The surgery is to correct his gentalia that have not developed properly. The surgery itself will only consist of a few days in the hospital but he will need to have weekly visits with a counselor due to the nature of the surgery and how it will effect him emotionally.
We are coordinating his care with Angel Missions Haiti. He is a very quiet, calm and sweet child. A very special family will be needed to help him through this emotional time. We are in need of a family that is interested in hosting him. If you think this may be something God is calling you to do and would like more information please contact us.
Blessings,
HTH Team

This Is Why We Exhist...

(A new referral: Mishna--clubbed feet)

³⁴"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. ³⁵For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

³⁷"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

⁴⁰"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

Matthew 25: 34-40 (NIV)

AUCTION...

That's right, Hands That Heal will be having an auction June 13, 2009. I am so excited for this!!! Four years ago I was campaign coordinator for a little boy who was having a kidney transplant. We did a benefit auction for him at our church, and we raised over $14,000.00 that day. It was the most amazing and energizing day!

If we could even come close to this amount, think of all the people that will benefit... Missionaries would not have to worry about finding the $ to get the kids here, and host families would not be required to carry the whole financial burden of adding an additional member for a time being. Also, there are a lot of little things that add up when our patients are here.

So, what can you do???? Do you make anything that you want to donate for the auction? Do you have any sports memorablelia that is collecting dust? Do you know any famous people that could autograph something??? ;-) Anything will help!!!

If you want to donate an item, or just make a monetary contribution, I will be able to get you a "In kind donation" form for tax purposes.

Also, if you live anywhere close to Fort Wayne, Indiana; mark June 13, 2009 on your calendar and come and join us for a morning of great fun and God's goodness!!!!!!!!!!!

THANKS IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR DONATIOINS!!!

Just leave me a comment if you have any questions, or would like to be involved in any way.

The "Miracle" Visa(s)...

Djemy and Joyce leaving for his medical visa appointment.

Here is a glimpse into the miracle of Djemy's visa... The below 2 paragraphs were written on a GLA Yahoo group last week. The host parents for Djemy have been in an adoption battle for the past year to get their twins home from GLA. To make a long story REALLY short, everything was going very smooth in their adoption of Sonia and Sonel. Well, as smooth as Haitian adoptions go... :-) They got through Parquet, where the Haitian Court Systems do a birth parent interview, and that went well, and so passports with were issued with Tuttle as their last name. They were legally Ralph and Beka's children now. The US added another birth parent interview on to the end of adoptions in the last year or so. So, at the last birth parent interview, the birth mom said, "That she had never intended on giving them up?????!!!! What???? She did not want them back, and had NO MEANS to care for them! She was in an abusive situation herself, and her children would be in grave danger if she were to ever get them back. She said that she wanted them to live at GLA forever??? So, the fight for Sonia and Sonel began February of 2007. Finally, almost one year later, the USCIS office in San Diego wrote a letter to the Consulate in Haiti to release the children to the Tuttle's, because they fully met the requirements of orphaned children. End of story, and visas were issued. Below are two messages written by Djemy's host mom, Rebekah Tuttle...
---------------------------------------------------------------
(Written January 9, 2009)

I can't type because I am shaking from head to toe but I just had to
announce the news! God has given me the best birthday gift of all and
that is visas for Sonia and Sonel as well as a medical visa for
Djemy....all on the same day!

My wish is for everyone of you to realize that God is faithful and He
still moves mountains! Give Him ALL the glory!!!!

"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised
is faithful!" Hebrews 10:23
------------------------------------------------------------------
(Written January 13, 2009)


Hi! I just have to post even though my list of to-do's continues to
grow instead of shrinking. We are leaving on Sunday to bring our
children home! Praise God! We have been singing the Doxology over and
over because it fits our feelings of praise so well! What words can't
say, songs do.

First of all, I want to make sure that I tell all of you as a group
of friends how thankful I am for your friendships and the love and
compassion you have shown. God has blessed me 'above all I could ask
or even think' and I am so thankful! Thank you for your posts,
emails, cards, phone calls and for the incredible outpouring of
congratulations you have given. I am printing them all out to put in
our "Miracle Day" file. One of these days we are going to be able to
share with our children the process that we went through to see them
come home. If I were to have imagined the last two and a half years,
I could never had done it but God knew we were in for a bunch of
heartbreak and agony. He strengthened us and we now come out on the
other side of this with greater blessings that I could ever imagine.

You all of have been used by God to help me continue on even on those
days when I literally begged God to help me breathe. Not only did He
help me breathe but He gave me such compassion for all of you. Every
day now I wake up praying for you and your children that God will
complete what He has started and will bring your children home as
quickly as He wills. I have learned to say the Lord's Prayer and mean
it. It is really not about my will but His.

I can tell you that what God has joined, man can NOT separate. We
have several stories in the Bible that spoke to us during our wait
not only for children but also in those years we have been struggling
with the infertility (make that 14 years). Job came to mind when we
had the miscarriage of our twins. My dad passed away from pancreatic
cancer, two of my sisters were diagnosed with thyroid cancer, Ralph
was called up to go with the Marines to Iraq (God canceled that bump
in the road) and we were trying to get through medical school and the
120 work hour internship year. Those things happened within two years
of each other.

I believe now that God was preparing us for the biggest fight we
would encounter. We were in a Red Sea situation where we would drown
if we continued forward but the army was behind us and we had no
choice but to move forward knowing God had to provide and there was
no other option for us. I will never forget the day back in June or
July when Ralph walked up to me with tears streaming down his face.
He looked at me and said, "I was just sitting at the computer and God
assured me that He has answered our prayers!" God never goes back on
His promises!

One day I was praying and I had this clear picture in my head of
guardian angels hovering over Sonia and Sonel where they were sitting
in the orphanage. We prayed for so long that God would dump buckets
of joy over our heads and we believe that is exactly what has
happened.

I am not a 'signs and wonders' person but we were presented with
nothing less than that on our trip to Oregon. Remember, we have been
praying that God would send the rain and that He would complete the
work He had started in the heart of our daughter, Caitlin. Two hours
from home, the weather turned dark and the snow started coming down.
For three hours, we drove in SoCal with that kind of weather. We got
to central California and we had a rainbow literally follow us for
the entire day until it was evening. Again, the snow began to fall
and we had to stop for the night because the roads were impassible.
The next morning we got up, put the chains on our van and crept up
and over the mountain into Oregon praying we would get there in one
piece. The snow continued the entire two weeks we were gone. Oregon
has never had that kind of weather. I grew up there and this storm
broke all records.

We arrived on Tuesday, logged onto the computer and found that Ralph
was accepted into a residency program that would extend our time in
California for the next few years so we could complete Caitlin's high
school and finish the adoption that God has called us to. Before I
crawled into bed, I logged onto the computer again and found the
email telling us that it appeared we would be adopting not two more
but also a third little sister who needs to be loved and have a home
with her siblings.

Talk about a God-sighting...showing us that He always shows up on
time and is NEVER late. I know, there were times when people would
tell me that "all in God's timing" and I was not wanting to hear that
but looking back, we can clearly see that God was working even when
we could not see Him. I begged Him to show me that He loved me! There
were days that I did not post anything because I hurt too badly. That
should end the speculation that I never questioned or had absolute
faith. I didn't....but I believed God and chose to trust on days when
I didn't want to.

I have been praying for months that God would bring the twins and
Djemy home all three together. I have prayed that believing God could
do it if He chose. On my birthday, we heard that the twins were going
in for their visa appointment. It came out of the blue. It was like
Peter knocking on the door saying, "I am here," and no one believing
it even though he was standing right there. I read the words and it
just would not register. I called for Ralph who had come home to take
me out for lunch. We blinked together and then called GLA! I can't
remember much about the rest of my day except that we kept looking at
each other with a comical look of disbelief and expectant
anticipation that God had answered our prayers!

Friday morning, my phone rang and it was Dixie. She was so excited to
call with the news that was all good. Not only did we have two visas
for our twins but she also was able to pick up the medical visa for
Djemy! God not only poured out His blessings. He dumped buckets of
joy on our heads!

I can tell you that JESUS NEVER FAILS! We have two beautiful children
coming home named Sonia and Sonel who are living proof of that. This
wasn't a case of working it out or finding the right person who could
argue clearly or finding a person who wanted to be nice. The visas
were printed because God performed a miracle against all odds.

This is longer than I intended but I want to give you hope. The
adoption wait is terrible but it would be impossible without the
support of this group which Kristin started and a Friend who never
fails! Thank you, my friend and Friend!

You are all forever in my heart and I am now back at the beginning of
an adoption and most of you will have your kiddos home before I have
the next batch of three. That means I will get to root for you and
send congratulations your way when the good news comes.

"I am still confident of this; I will see the goodness of the Lord in
the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart
and wait for the Lord." Psalms 27:13-14

God has given us back more than we would ever have dreamed. I am the
mommy of 6 children! Glory to God!

In one week, I will be hugging on my children and yours!

Love all of you,
Beka
----------------------------------------
Here is a glimpse of a family that God made by His own hands, and He will complete...

Guerlens

Djemy

Dieuna

Sonel Tuttle

Sonia Tuttle

Be praying for the Tuttle's (Ralph, Beka, and Caitlin,16)! They leave for Haiti on Sunday, January 18th, and will arrive back in San Diego the following Friday. It will be like 'man on man defense'--3 on 3... ;-)

PRAISE THE LORD!!!!!!!!!!

PRAISE THE LORD FROM WHOM ALL BLESSINGS FLOW!!!!!!! Djemy was issued his medical visa today! I have to run, but I will update the entire story tonight!!!!!!

God is still doing MIRACLES TODAY!!!

New Pics of Shnaider...

Shnaider is getting sooooooo big!!! He is not the little baby that I brought home from the airport! Look at how GREAT he looks! Thanks to the Hall family for taking such great care of this precious boy!

GREAT News for Djemy!!!

Djemy and Guerlens--Dec. 2008

We just found out this week that Djemy has been accepted for Surgery in San Diego, CA, at Rady Children's Hospital. Letters have been written and are in transit to Haiti, via Fed Ex today. Please pray that they arrive in Haiti on Thursday, as expected!

We are praying that everything will fall in line to get him to the States before Christmas.
Will you please pray for this with us?

Djemy will be having multiple surgeries over the next year or more, to reconstruct his nose. We need to get him here, to bulk him up before his surgeries begin.

Please be praying for his little brother, Guerlens, that he will be leaving behind at God's Littlest Angels Orphanage. They are VERY CLOSE, and will miss each other terribly!

Update on Witlene...

Sorry for the silence on Witlene. We have AMAZING NEWS!!! After her MRI and blood tests, we went up for the consult with the Neurosurgeon. He flipped through the slides, and then looked at her blood tests. He almost jumped... (you never see a neurosurgeon get excited!) and had a smile on his face, and said, "Yes, this is what I wanted to see!" What he was referring to, was her Prolactin levels. If the levels are too high or too low, medicine can not be used to shrink the tumor; surgery is the only option.

Her Prolactin levels were too high from the tests done in Haiti. They were repeated 3 or 4 times to make sure. Well, that day they were right in the range, (THANK YOU GOD!), and the doctor is able to start shrinking the tumor with medication. She will return to the doctor at the beginning of January to have her levels taken again. The doctor will know from the blood results if the tumor is responding to the medication. There are only 2 medications used to shrink this kind of tumor, so please pray with us that it is working.

She is having some side effects from the medicine, but that should subside soon. Please pray that all of the side effects (nausea, dizziness, etc.) would dissapear!!!!!

She has some family here in the US, so they are enjoying some time with them. Witlene's brother and his wife have 3 children that were born here in the States, and before this trip, Witlene and her mom had never met them in person. What an amazing opportunity for Witlene and her mom to be able to spend Christmas with family that they have only ever gotten to see photos of, and "hear" about... This will be a Christmas to remember!!! Especially since there will be snow and no Palm Trees this year! :-)

Update on Shnaider

Well if any of you caught it I said that I "had" been hosting Shnaider. We are very excited to let everyone know that he has transitioned on to his prospective adoptive family. They are a wonderful christian couple that got to know about Shnaider through their daughter. Kate Bowley that hosted little Widline recently is prospectively going to be his big sister! This family is amazing. They have adopted many children over the years and currently have 5 children living with them that have all been adopted.

Shnaider transitioned so well with them. We were very sad for him to leave us but very excited to see God bring him his forever family. The top picture is of Shnaider and his two soon to be brothers from Haiti also. The middle are his new parents to be and I cant even believe how big he looks in the last picture. He is getting so big and grown up looking.

He was recently at Dr. Youngs office and the doctor was thrilled with Shnaiders progress. He feels that he will not have to do surgery again and the bone patch that covered the defect is in place. Dr. Young was so happy with Shnaiders growth and development as well. In January they will take out the shunt that had been placed to keep the swelling down and prayerfully the site will have been completely sealed over then and he will be totally done with treatment.

His new family will be keeping him through the duration of his medical stay and are working on the process of adoption.

Keep them in your prayers.

Stephanie

Helping Hands that Heal

Hello all, my name is Stephanie Mueller. That might sound familiar to you because I was hosting Shnaider Alliome. I have gotten to be friends with Rebekah throught the process of hosting and already had a heart for Haiti before I even met Rebekah. I am a nurse and I live in Indianapolis, IN. I have been to Haiti 3 times and run a medical clinic when I am there in a rual area of Haiti called Chambrun.
Through getting to know Rebekah and what Hands that Heal is doing I am now going to be assisting her in helping in any way that I can. I am excited to see how God will use and grow this ministry and to be a part of that.
Stephanie

Witlene...

The two pics below were taken the day after Witlene, her mother Marie, and her brother Walter, had gotten to Indiana. The cute little blonde boy is my youngest son, Luca. I love seeing him snuggling on Walter's lap! He loved being with Walter.

Marie, Witlene, and Walter.

Please keep Witlene and her family in your prayers tomorrow! I, along with her mother, the host parents, Dr. Binkley (the doc from Haiti who asked us to find her help) and his wife Donna, will be accompying Witlene to her MRI and appointment with the neurosurgeon tomorrow. Please pray that my Creole is "on" tomorrow too! :-) I will be the sole tranlator until Dr. Binkley and his wife get to the doctor appointment tomorrow afternoon. I think I will do fine, but there are always words that I don't know...But somehow I am always able to describe the word that I am wanting to use, in Creole! lol...

Her MRI is at noon, eastern time, and her appointment with the neurosurgeon is at 3:30. We will then know the course of action that he wants to take with this tumor. As of the last appointment, 1 week ago, the tumor was the size of a baseball.

----------------

Please also be praying for Djemy. We should be hearing any day on his case. The panel of doctors were meeting last week to decide what kids they were accepting for charity work. I should know something by tomorrow...

Slow Connection...

I am posting this from my sister's apartment in Indianapolis, and her connection is not very good. So, I will not be posting any pics, or much of an update tonight. My oldest son is having surgery tomorrow in Indianapolis, so I will try to get pics uploaded tomorrow night.

Here is who I will be updating on...

Shnaider: pics and some VERY exciting news...

Widline: Hoping to get some more pics of her with family in Haiti...

Witlene: She and her mom are having a great time with the host family. Thanks Dave and Jo for making them feel so welcomed!!! She has an eye doctor exam on Monday, and her MRI and neurosurgeon appt. on Wednesday, the 19th. She was anointed at our church on Sunday, and we are praying that the size of the tumor has shrank. She is just so ready to have some relief from her pain!!!

Djemy: We are waiting to hear from Fresh Start Surgical Gifts, to hear if he will be accepted as a charity case for Rady Children's hospital in San Diego, CA. I am hoping to get a call tomorrow from them.

Some new patients:

Joseph: He is 14 and has very large tumors on his legs. Dr. Didelot from St. Vincent Hospital, in Indianapolis, has agreed to operate on Joseph. we are getting letters together, and arrangements made for him to come over: hopefully by January.

Gregory: He is 8 and has some major urological issues. Dr. Cain from St. Vincent Hospital, has agreed to take Gregory on as a charity case. We are hoping to have him to the States shortly after the New Year.

Both of the above new patients, are being referred to us by Angel Missions Haiti.

Witlene is here...

Witlene is here in Indiana, and I had the privilege to host her, her mother, and brother last night and today. We went to her 1st doctor's appointment this morning and we found out the tumor on her pituitary gland is about the size of a baseball. Over the next couple weeks, she will be getting a lot of blood work done, complete vision screening, and a MRI. She will see the neurosurgeon on November 19th to discuss all of the results from these tests, and the best possible way to fight or remove the tumor.

I will post pictures and more information tomorrow. She and her mother are FREEZING here in Indiana, and we are having seasonally warm weather for November. (71 today) The 40's, that are coming this weekend will be a terrible shock to their systems. They sat in my living room with winter coats on, while my 2 yr. old son, Luca, ran around in jeans and no shirt. :-) It was really funny and they were laughing about it!

I am thanking God that she is here finally, and is able to get the medical attention that she so deserves!!!

PRAISE THE LORD!!!!!!!!!!

I just got this e-mail from Witlene's brother:

Family in Christ,

I don't know how much to thank you for your support praying for my sister. I am excited to let you know that she just received her visa today to travel to the United States where she will undergo surgery for her tumor. Please continue to pray for the remaining of the process. Pray for the doctors, nurses and Technicians, pray for Witlene's host family, pray for Rebekah's family and her organization for God's provision, as well as anyone who will be involved in this process.

With gratitude,

Walter Thermidor

Visa appointment...

Please be praying for Witlene today. She has her visa appointment at the US Embassy today at 11am. God willing, Witline will be coming to the States ASAP to get a tumor removed from her pituitary glande. We have the doctor, hospital, and host family all lined up: Now we just wait on the US Embassy.

Please God, make the meeting go smoothly, and that Witlene would get her visa without any hassels!!!!!!!!!!

Widline back in Haiti...

I don't know much, as Vanessa is still in Haiti, but what I do know is that Widline is in Haiti, and has been reunited with her family. She flew back to Haiti with Vanessa, Angel Missions Haiti, on October 6th. These photos below were taken October 8th. The man in the photo is her grandpa. I won't even try to understand how HARD it was for the Bowley family to say goodbye to Widline!!! But seeing her reunited with her grandpa, and seeing his smile, makes me smile knowing that he entrusted her to us, PERFECT STRANGERS, and now will be able to see his grand daughter grow up to lead a more normal life. This is what Hands That Heal is all about: Helping families get life-saving medical care for their loved ones, that is not accessible in Haiti, and then reuniting them healthy and whole!

Please continue to pray for little Widline, as she acclimates herself back to Haiti, and her family. For her little mind, she would not remember anything about Haiti or her birth family! Also, please keep the Bowley's in your prayers. I have talked with Kate, Widline's host mom, multiple times since Widline left, and the void of her being gone is still very fresh and painful!!! The family loved her like one of their own, and now they are all mourning the loss of her being a part of their family!

BOWLEY'S: WE LOVE YOU AND ARE PRAYING FOR YOU GUYS!!!!! THANKS FOR BEING SUCH AN AMAZING HOST FAMILY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

- Stepping back for a bit -

Well, after much prayer & thought on this subject, I feel I need to step back for a bit as far as doing much 'hands on' work goes with Hands That Heal. The reason has nothing to do with having a problem with anything or anyone [not at all!], but instead, it has to do with everything going on here at the house.

`

As some of you may know, we adopted a baby girl that's 4 weeks old today. We were at the hospital when she was born & brought her home with us at 2 days old. She's doing fabulous in every way except for the fact that at night when she's sleeping, she stops breathing!! It's really bothering us & we've had her at the doctor 2 times so far for it already & she's going in for extensive testing on the 20th. Due to all that she's going through, we're like getting no sleep at all [almost literally].

`

If that's not enough, we're moving into another home in less than 3 weeks. Moving can be a trying time in & of itself for a family of 2 or 3, but we're a family of 8 & so it'll be nothing short of miraculous to get this done [when 4 of the 8 are 6 & under!].

`

I'm the type of person that if I say I'll do something, then you can count on me to throw 110% into it or I'd just as soon not do it at all. That's why I'm at this point now, I don't feel with everything that's going on here, that I can give 110%, so therefore I feel the need to step back.

`

I've talked this over with Rebekah & things between us are great, it's just that this' something that I need to do for our family at this time. I'll still help out when/where I can, but it'll be more of a 'behind the scenes' thing for now.

`

Thanks to all those that have been praying for Hands That Heal, since it began. Your prayers are so appreciated & will be what makes this organization continue from here on.

Please pray...

Please pray for the Bowley family today. This will be their last day with Widline. They should be in one of their appointments right now, and the other appointment should be around 2:30 EST. Please, please pray that if there is something more that needs to be done, that it is VERY CLEAR AND EVIDENT! We are helping Widlene through an organization called, Angel Missions Haiti. They are her POA, and will be making any and all final decisions.

Pray for peace as they leave her with Vanessa's sister today, and pray that Widlene does not cry!!!!! Kate is dreading this. This is the hardest part about being a host family: Saying goodbye to someone that you love and have cared for, for months!!!