Saturday, September 20, 2008

Crash makes Mdme Kiki cry...with joy and a homesick heart!

(Left:Christine Stevens & Melissa) (Below:our granddaughter, Alexandra)


Well with all the things going on with Lonia we haven't had the time to properly introduce you to the new help we have these days. Her name is Christine Stevens. She moved to Haiti in August, hook, line and sinker. She has committed to serving at least two years with us. Of course selfishly we are already praying that God has plans for her to stay longer. This is Chris in the red shirt with the blond/brown hair and yes, you guessed it, she's the bleached out one, with Melissa sitting on her lap. Melissa is our grandchild who lives with us she is five. We ask you to pray fervently for Crash, forgive me if I call her that. It is her nick name and it is all I could do to introduce her as Christine Stevens. Now you know from here on out when I am talking about Crash, it's her. Pray for her to have the strength to face each day in Haiti and let God do the rest.

Actually my friend Chris called me and said go check your e-mail and get a tissue but it's a good thing. This is the first time Crash has been able to send pics since she got to Haiti because it is Haiti and as we all know, "everything takes longer than it takes!". I have thought of and talked to Wilckly and Bioude and everyone else on the phone but haven't seen pictures. Obviously I was a lot more homesick than I thought!!!!! Imagine that? Did it help that Ashley screamed and kissed the screen when she saw our little granddaughter Alexandra? She just turned one in September. We can't believe how much she's grown and changed. Ashley couldn't believe how long her hair is now. Then Ashley said, "I can't wait until March so we can go home to Haiti." Kelsey on the other hand, shouted to everyone, "MY DADDY, IT'S MY DADDY". Very humorous since a day hasn't gone by when she hasn't asked to see her daddy or when are we getting on the plane to go see her daddy or when is her daddy coming to see her. At any rate it has been a great Saturday to see pictures of home. To see our family and dear Bioude who always helps balance the boat while others are busy trying to rock it. Thanks Crash! We needed that.

We have finally finished fencing the yard so animals can't come through. We couldn't plant anything because peoples animals walk around freely at Cariess and will devour whatever you have if it isn't fenced in. We have eight goats of our own now. This might not look like the ideal Iowa cornfield but we can find the corn and that is what counts. We have about two hundred banana plants planted. Why so many, you ask? We have a lot of mouths to feed and it looks like no one will be able to buy rice because it will be so expensive because of all the The crops are growing in the yard that we have finally fenced completely, so every one's hurricanes destroying the rice crop in Haiti. Praise God our crops are still standing and growing. We will keep adding goats to our herd. We will have our own meat. Praise God for the property we have and that it is finally fenced in. We spend money every month on continued construction. In Haiti you don't truly own something until you have it fenced in with block or rock walls, have buildings on it and people living on it and still many times it is questionable whether you own it. That's just Haiti. Pray for us as we try to become more self sufficient especially with our food. We are anxious to do a fish pond project which would provide more meat and protein for ourselves and eventually enough for the daily feeding program we plan to have in our school. PLEASE PRAY FOR THIS TO BECOME A REALITY. IT IS MORE IMPORTANT NOW THAN EVER. Haiti has taken a hit from these four hurricanes that could be irreversible. It is going to be very, very important that we are able to produce as much of our own food as possible. Please pray that all of these projects will come together.

Somebody once asked me, "Dee, why don't you and Wilckly just choose one thing to do in Haiti and stick to it instead of going in so many directions?" I said, "You try living in the middle of the people for one week and just choose one ministry to focus on. If they haven't run you out of town by then, we will certainly take your advice!" The question was asked because of the lack of understanding of the Haitian culture we live in. It is a third world or fourth world company depending on where you get your information. Basically means no matter who you are, when you are in the middle of it the only way to survive is to meet as many needs as you can no matter how different and varied they are. It doesn't even matter that it is your area of expertise, it just matters that you attempted to meet the need.

Can you imagine living in the middle of hungry people and trying to tell them you don't help with food, you only do education or medicine. Trust me they will not just give you an understanding look and go away. They will either force you to move your program elsewhere or add a new program like helping to provide food for them. We are so fortunate to receive 25 boxes of rice from Feed My Starving Children and Love A Child. This might not go far but it certainly helps the people, especially the children, know we are trying to meet their need for food. Above and to the right is a picture of Wilckly in the middle of a bunch of school and neighborhood children. He is distributing the rice bag by bag because there was such a great need at this moment. It was impossible to give it to just the school children we usually give it to. We thank the Lord for blessing us with this wonderful, "manna from heaven", if you will. To so many of them it has been just that. Above and to the left is a picture of many of the parents. They need food for their children. They need an education for their children. They need people willing to invest in the future of their children. They need the Lord in their lives.

Please remember all though the flood waters have past, the water has gone down....the real disaster has just begun. If you aren't able to give a monthly gift to help us work in Haiti but continually pray for us and our ministry, we really appreciate that. If you've been thinking you can't really make a monthly commitment but you would like to give a one time gift that would really make an impact, whether it is $5, $50, $500 or even $50,000, the time to make a difference is now! There are so many needs to be met. There are people to
feed, clothe, house, employ, educate, train and basically live out Christ's example before them. There is so much truth in the lyrics of the song that says, you may be the only Jesus some people ever see. If you would like to send your help at this time, make your check payable to :

NORTHEAST EVANGELISM memo: Dorce'
send to: Fred Green
900 South Clark St.
Moberly, MO 65270

Your gift is tax deductible. We thank you in advance. No gift is too small
or too large when given to the Lord. He will make all gifts sufficient.


Please continue to lift in prayer all of the people of Haiti as they try to get their bearings, pick up the pieces if they can find them and keep their heads up and keep going. One thing I know is that they are a resilient people. In most cases, like Lonia, absolutely amazing. You can't begin to imagine the hardships those people live through on a daily basis. Pray that many will come to know the Lord personally through all of this devastation. Pray for us and our mission that we will continue to live out Christ before them in a way that would make them hunger and thirst to know the Savior. It is not an easy task but it is the one that is set before us and we know we will reap the harvest if we do not grow weary. It's a promise. The exciting thing is, in spite of the hardships of ministry the Lord is impacting the lives of the Haitian people. People are coming to know Him. This is a baptism by immersion in the ocean near Cariess with fellow believers looking on and encouraging them. Please rejoice with them and pray for these new babes in Christ. Pray for them to remain faithful to Him.

Please pray for wisdom for Wilckly as he and I dream and plan the future of the mission work at Cariess. Pray that we would continue to dream big and dream what God wants to happen there and not what Wilckly and Dee want. Pray that we will continue to grow stronger as a couple whether near or far away as we are right now. Pray for strength for each of us to endure all that we face in this time apart. Pray we, our children and the mission will all be stronger for it. We, as always, thank you as you partner with us in whatever way to help us continue the work in Haiti. Please pray about visiting us in Haiti to actually see the work. May the Lord bless you and yours for a wonderful time of serving Him with everything you have.

In Chist,
Dee

Friday, September 12, 2008







Hello to all,

I have been so busy with traveling, Lonia's surgery and recovery, Ashley's school, Kelsey's being a three year old who needs her mom, flooding in Haiti, Wilckly in Haiti and not with us and a new recruit, Christine Stevens who is on the field without me. Did I mention being pregnant, staying with the Gates family and praying we don't wear out our welcome, school starting in Haiti and I am not there, just to mention a few.

BUT...GOD IS GOOD ALL THE TIME! Praise the Lord He remains faithful even when we are not. He keeps His promises even when we don't. He loves us even when we are not lovable. He is in control even when we can't make sense of things and don't know how to handle it. If we let Him He will take care of things in His own time but if we try to do it our way it will always be a mess.

We are here in California with Lonia for instance. We are convinced that is where God wants us for whatever reason. We are doing our best to enjoy it here and accept the gracious hospitality of the Gates family. They are truly wonderful and a hug right from the Lord. They do everything possible to make our stay enjoyable. We thank God for putting us with them. We thank God for all of the surgeries Dr. Gates has performed and the great Sutter Medical Center for providing all of Lonia's care.

Lonia is doing well. She had her surgery on Aug. 29 on a Friday and came home the following Tuesday which was phenominal. She came home with a sore bottom and a catheter not to mention the wonderful colostomy bag she already had. We had to do two diapers running the catheter through a hole cut in the first diaper so it could drain into the second. It was quite an ordeal just to change a wet diaper and a stinky colostomy bag. She has been healing fairly well for her malnourished condition. She eats like the food is going out of style. We had a busy Wednesday as we got her catheter taken out and we are all much happier for it. She did have a urinary tract infection with some fever off and on and she is cutting more teeth. We can't complain though because she is a very good baby especially for all she has been through. We will stay until the end of October to see how she is healing. We have maneuvers to do with her new parts so that will be another learning adventure. Hopefully we will be able to return to Iowa around the first of November. The colostomy will be reversed at yet a later date. Nobody had any idea what we were getting into when we started this process and it is still a day by day learning. Thank you for all of your prayers and support through all of this.

Many of you know there was no way for me to be out raising support this summer. This has put a real crunch on things. Some things have been put aside and others have been stopped completely. Our truck has been broken down since I left in June and needs some costly repairs. Money from camps and VBS usually give us something to work from for emergencies without making pleas for extra help. Now we have the second emergency with the four storms and all the flooding that has hit Haiti. It is great to say that Wilckly, all of our people and compound are safe at Cariess. It is another to say we are not affected in any way by the situation. There is no way anyone can be working in Haiti or living there and not be affected. People are starting to stream down from the mountains around Cariess where we have 15 churches we are helping. They are coming one by one to tell of the devastating effects of all the flash flooding. They didn't have much to begin with and now even that is gone. They need food, water, shelter, materials to rebuild, something to start over and encouragement. The needs are great and overwhelming. I pray for Wilckly and our staff as they use whatever resources they have to meet the needs of as many as possible. Yesterday we received 25 boxes of rice from Feed My Starving Children which we usually share with our school children. Yesterday, however there were so many in need that we shared it all with the community.

There are five bridges out between PAP and Gonaives alone. There is ONLY ONE ROAD between here and most places. This means even Marcs weekly, sometimes daily trips to PAP will be much more treacherous and tiring. Pray for him and for his safety. We already had food riots before I left in June. Now food prices will sky rocket once again. It is more important now than ever for us to find a source of food to be able to share with the people. Please pray for this. Clothes we have in our depot will be given to those who have come from the mountains. Bioude will be busy cooking and planning for extra people everyday not knowing how many people will show up for a hot meal. The girls will be washing all the extra sheets by hand to be ready for many who will come to share their story and spend the night or the week depending what they have to return home to. Some may call it total chaos, we just call it .....Another Day in Haiti!!! How could I miss something so chaotic and unpredictable so much??? It's just home.

The government has postponed the opening of school from the first week of September to October the 6th. Many will still not be opening at that time. Thank you to all of those already sponsoring kids in our school and that continue to do so. We haven't been able to take care of uniforms yet. When I spoke to Wilckly today they had purchased part of the books needed and they were stamping all of them. More are needed.

There are so many needs. We appreciate each and everyone of you who continues to pray for our ministry and all of you who continue to support us financially. Please prayerfully consider how you could do something this month to help relieve the pressure in Haiti. We would appreciate it whether it is above and beyond what you usually give or just a one time gift because you feel now is when your gift could be used best.

Thank you again. You are a blessing to us, our ministry and the people of Haiti. Keep praying that one more will come to know Christ because of the ministry you help us maintain there.

In Christ,
Wilckly and Dee Dorce'
Please join us in prayer




Commit your works to the Lord and your plans will be established
Proverbs 16:3

Monday, September 8, 2008

How you can help.

Hi,
Many are concerned, have seen the weather, have got bits and pieces and want to know how things really are in Haiti. I am not there, I am here in California but from experience and talking to Wilckly I know this article I have copied to my blog is pretty straight forward and truthful about what is happening.

Yesterday I heard the road was flooded at Cabaret which is our only way to get to PAP where we have to change money and buy food. I tried not to panic thinking they couldn't get through. Then I heard the bridge was out at Montrouis which is the only road in the other direction and possible way to get to another bank at St. Marc for money to buy food. I tried to keep telling myself that everything was okay but it sure was good to finally hear Wilckly's voice this morning as I got through to him.

He said they are safe at Cariess. He said the water went down and our head mason was able to pass at Cabaret to get to Cariess. This is a blessing but still a lot of devastation to the people of that area. We have dear friends there and we haven't heard from them yet.

Wilckly said the people are starting to come to him to ask for food, clothing and help, money and materials to help rebuild their homes and churches. The church where Lonia is from is in shambles as it is made of sticks and wood that could not withstand the pounding rains. This is only one in the story of many that will come before Wilckly in the days to come. People will come from the other churches we help, families will come. All of them are counting on us, Dee and Wilckly as you know us but Pasteur Kiki and Mdme Kiki as the Haitians know us. They are not counting on the UN, the Haitian gov't, or any other organization because it is Pasteur Kiki and Mdme Kiki they know and count on to help them in their time of need. We in turn are counting on you. We know without you giving to help with this situation it will be very difficult to carry this burden. We know that with the Lord's help, through you, we will manage to continue helping them. Wilckly, Christine Stevens, Marc, Bioude they are all there to help those people. I am busy about what God has me doing here with Lonia but my heart is there. I know people will show up daily and unannounced and they will be given food, clothing and a place to sleep and money or food or clothing to take back home.

If you feel you can help us carry this burden as Haiti has been hit hard with four storms in four weeks, please do. God only knows we can use your help.

The best way to help right now is to send money donations to Fred Green.

Fred Green
900 South Clark St.
Moberly, Missouri 65270

Make checks payable to : Northeast Evangelism Memo: Dorce/Disaster aid

Fred will send this all immediately to Wilckly in Haiti where he can buy food, building materials, possibly even send masons to help with some of the rebuilding. The church at Cupois is also used for school. There were 30 students last year. They are anxious to start school this year and they have already come to Wilckly with the news of the devastation. This is again, where Lonia is from.

We appreciate all the prayers, calls, e-mails and contributions to help with the situation in advance. May God continue to bless you richly that you might bless those around you and around the world that one more lost soul would come to Christ.

Dee

Haiti's Plight

just one more story from Haiti

To:
mdmekiki@yahoo.com
AP Story posted on Yahoo:


US Navy reaches Haiti as floodwaters recede

By JONATHAN M. KATZ, Associated Press WriterMon Sep 8, 6:29 PM ET

The sun came out in Haiti on Monday as waters from Hurricane Ike receded and a U.S. Navy hospital ship equipped with helicopters and amphibious boats was arriving in the capital to deliver food and water to cities still marooned by flooding.

But Haiti - and the world - still lacks a complete picture of the destruction, and desperation was setting in among people who have spent days in the floodwaters and mud.

Most roads remain impassible, with bridges torn away by overflowing rivers and gaping holes preventing aid from moving by land. Hard-hit Gonaives, north of the capital, remained cut off by land. A Red Cross truck trying to reach Les Cayes on Haiti's southern coast had to turn back, one of many international aid efforts still struggling to leave the capital.

The death toll - which government officials said stood at 312 people in four tropical storms in less than a month - is sure to rise as more bodies surface in the mud.

Two more bodies were found Monday in coastal Cabaret, where 60 people died as mudslides and floods unleashed by a swollen river crushed homes in the middle of the night. Sixteen other people - mostly children reported missing by their parents - were being searched for in the wreckage, Cabaret civil defense director Henri Louis Praviel said.

And there was still no word Monday on Ike's death toll in other cities, let alone more remote areas.

In Gonaives, Police Commissioner Ernst Dorfeuille said his poorly equipped force - 15 officers for the city of 160,000 - has buried dozens of badly decomposed and unidentifiable corpses in graves outside the city.

"After three days, those bodies could not stay," said Dorfeuille, adding he witnessed the burial of five people.

It wasn't clear how these bodies fit with previous tallies of the dead, but Dorfeuille denied reports citing him as giving a death toll of nearly 500 in Gonaives.

Lines of storm refugees trudged down from denuded hills Monday to the wreckage of their homes and stores.

"They told me it was destroyed but I wanted to see for myself," said Evos Chyot, who slogged through water up to her thighs to find her corner shop filled with black mud and debris.

Broken pews were scattered across the mud-smeared floor of the Gonaives cathedral, where about 50 people now live in the choir balcony. They gathered around a small cooking pot, stirring some goat meat and cornmeal to share.

Meanwhile, inmates at the city's jail clamored for deliverance from the overpowering stench of filth and sewage, and supplies for jail staff and U.N. peacekeepers as well as the 224 inmates were perilously low, said Dr. Manvoor Ahmad, a Pakistani member of the U.N. mission.

All across the Western Hemisphere's poorest nation, desperation was evident.

"People are starting to move back because they have nowhere to go," U.N. development official Eric Mouillefarine said Monday. "They want to protect their homes from looters."

The USS Kearsarge was arriving in Port-au-Prince Monday after it was rerouted from a humanitarian mission to Colombia. With eight helicopters and three landing ships, it can deliver cargo and equipment all over Haiti, providing much of the logistical support needed by aid groups that haven't been able to get through on land.

Some of the helicopters flew ahead to find dry places large and secure enough to offload, and the amphibious boats can reach places where even helicopters can't land. The Kearsarge also has four operating rooms and 53 hospital beds, which may come in handy once the ship reaches the hard-hit cities of Saint Marc and Gonaives.

"We can deliver several thousand tons a day. It's not what we can do, it's how it can be done," said the mission's commander, Capt. Fernandez "Frank" Ponds. "We can't just land them anywhere, so we're doing assessments. We have to make sure they can land safely."

One of the helicopters delivered rice, beans and cooking oil from the World Food Program to the town of Jeremie on Haiti's southwest peninsula. A woman who cares for 110 children at the Haiti Gospel orphanage was among about 50 people asking for a share.

"My garden was destroyed," said Yvros Pierre, who had just two bags of spoiled bread mix left. "My food is finished. My boss told me to see if there were any Americans coming and ask them for help."

Aid groups are appealing for donations to sustain a lengthy response, warning of a secondary disaster caused by waterborne illnesses and other problems in the weeks ahead. Even areas not destroyed by the storms need food, and Haiti's main farming area in the Artibonite Valley was threatened again when authorities had to open an overflowing dam on Sunday.

Some Gonaives residents gave up on the city altogether, walking barefoot across mountains to reach Haiti's northern coast, which suffered less damage. Racine Presume in Cap-Haitien said he got a desperate call from a group of a dozen relatives gave up along the way - and he was trying to find fuel for his truck to reach them.

"They are waiting for me. I said, 'Can I bring you a bed?' They said, 'Don't bring a bed because we don't have a house. Bring food, bring clothes, bring shoes, bring lots of water,'" Presume said. "They are dying of hunger."

___

Associated Press Writer Alexandra Olson, with a helicopter crew fro