Summer 2013
Hi Friends, the time has come! We’ve
been praying and waiting on the Lord’s guidance for us to continue our journey
to Haiti and here it is. We have been so blessed to stay with dear friends/mentors
in Illinois this summer. The couple of months that we’ve been here have been a
real resting time for me {Melissa} and the girls. And it’s been the perfect
place to be while waiting for the birth of our 4th daughter.
Galia {ga-lee-a}
Elizabeth was born
on June 29th! Her birth story is wonderful and her delivery was the
quickest and easiest by far. The Lord was really with me and the entire thing
was actually enjoyable! She weighed 7
lbs 2 oz. and is such a gift to have with us! Galia is a Hebrew name meaning ‘The Lord has redeemed.’ I also was
blessed to have my mom fly up from Puerto Rico to be with me. She was there for
the 3 other girls’ births so it was awesome to have her there again. She is my ‘professional
prayer warrior’ in the delivery room while Theo is my superhero and I couldn’t
do it without him! Ultimately though, the Lord really gave me confidence and
control over every minute of it {which was only 45 from start to finish- no
time for meds- again!!} and REDEEMED
the birth process from one of fear and anxiety to one of awesomeness and delight.
Stella, Naya and Olivia have grown so much this summer and they are really enjoying
having another sister. They are all wonderful helpers and definitely like to
smother Galia with hugs and kisses. J
Stella turned 6 in June and such a
fun and spunky girl. She is practicing her reading skills and getting ready to
do first grade homeschooling when we arrive and settle in Haiti. She is
enjoying learning basic math skills as well and is quite the artist. She really
enjoys drawing and coloring.
Naya is 4 ½ and learning preschool and kindergarten
skills. She is our tender and nurturing one. She’s very sensitive and
considerate of others, especially when hurt or in need.
Olivia will already be 3 in a couple
of months. She’s having fun learning along side her sisters and loves to
snuggle! Since Galia was born, Olivia seems to have grown into a giant and is
no longer the baby. She’s enjoying being one of the ‘big’ sisters now!
The girls have gotten to ride the
horses, swim in the big pond in the yard and learn to collect eggs from the
chickens. {Naya is the animal lover and natural ‘farmer girl’ out of the 3!} They
also sat with us for a little while to snap green beans before being canned
yesterday. We’re all getting a real country living experience here! So fun!
Our time in Illinois has given us the
chance to save a little money to help our transition and to pray and plan for
our big move. We’re thankful for the opportunity to not be rushed into this new
life in Haiti, as well as a little time to adjust to being a family of 6!
THE PLAN:
So our plan is to leave Le Roy on the
morning of August 12th. We’ll make our way to North Carolina first
to see our dearest friends Lee and Sarah, as well as possibly a friend we met through Theo’s trip to
Columbia in January. We will also meet with Rich Stevenson, director of the
Malachi Network, and former professor and director of the Apostolic Missions School
in Kansas City. Rich led the team Theo was on when they traveled to Myanmar in
2008 and
we now raise our
financial support through his organization,
The Malachi Network.
We will then make our way south into
Florida, possibly making a couple of stops along the way to see friends and
family. We hope to visit and hug many friends from the Harbour Church as well
when we get to Ft. Lauderdale.
We will ship our 12 passenger van,
loaded with what’s left of our belongings, to Haiti and then fly from Ft. Lauderdale to Port-Au-Prince on September
12TH.
We will be living and working with
Theo’s parents in Port-Au-Prince and you can go to
to see the guest/team house that we
will be living in and helping facilitate. Click on “Grace Center Guest House” to
see a virtual picture of the place and to get some info. Theo will also be working
in 3 more arenas.
First, he will be working with his
father in his construction/building business. As you may know Haiti is really on
the up in terms of rebuilding the city. Many homes and structures are being
worked on since the earthquake in 2010 destroyed so much of Port-Au-Prince. Ted
{Theo’s father} has been a business man and builder in Haiti for many years and
is busy with new projects.
Secondly, Theo will be working with “Christians
Concerned for Haiti.” It is a foundation started to assist other organizations
and people who desire to work and serve in Haiti without the hassle or
complexity of the ‘red tape’ of the government. Being registered under Christians
Concerned for Haiti enables you to come in legally and registered to work with
the desired area of ministry or service.
Thirdly, we hope and plan to plant
another house church, much like Baja Fellowship. This is really at the core of
our hearts. We’ve been doing ‘house church’ for many years now and know the
fruit it bears in the hearts of the people. We love to see Jesus transform hearts
and minds to His likeness through the Word and fellowship with one another. We
miss the wonderful people that make up Baja Fellowship in Ensenada, the house
church in Kansas City, and we’ve enjoyed and love the people at the house
church here in Le Roy. And of course, we absolutely love and cherish the ones that
introduced us to the house church model at the Harbour Church in Ft.
Lauderdale, FL. Getting to experience Church
in these different places has shown us and given us a deep love and desire to
help grow believers this same way!
PRAYER POINTS:
1.
Monthly support until we are able to
attain enough monthly income from Theo’s work.
2.
Funds to help cover moving and set up
costs in Haiti.
3.
Peace and security from the Lord for
our daughters during all of the transition.
4.
Safety and health throughout all the
travel to our final destination.
5.
That the Lord would be glorified and
exalted through our family.
6.
Grace and strength as we begin
homeschooling on our own, learn French and Kreyol, and adapt to life in a 3rd
world country. Lots of change!!!
We
appreciate your prayers more than you know. Thank you for thinking of us and
bringing our needs before our gracious Father in heaven. He is so kind and
faithful to hear us and answer! If you would like to partner with His purposes
for our family financially, let us know!
You can send tax deductible financial
support via THE MALACHI NETWORK at www.malachinetwork.org
Click on DONATE and you’ll be taken
to the page where you can scroll down to our names and continue from there.
We are also raising support
specifically for the move on www.gofundme.com/steinhauerstohaiti
and have a goal of raising $15,000 to
cover the transition and set up in Haiti.
We’d like to thank everyone for your
love and encouragement during this time. The Phillips Family for the incredible
generosity and support throughout the years and especially this summer. All
those who have supported us financially and prayerfully throughout the years,
you have helped us get to this point and we’re forever grateful! Our family who
has loved and tracked with us from country to country….thank you for hanging on
for the adventure of our lives! We love you all!
We can be contacted via FACEBOOK, by
phone at (217) 550-4755 or by email
at
