We arrived safe and sound in California. We have been received like royalty. The whole Gates family are taking wonderful care of us. Things have been sped up because of Lonia's condition getting worse. This is just a quick update to get out to people to let them know how to pray. God's timing is amazing and perfect and we are here just in time because she couldn't wait a second later. Praise God all of this didn't start happening Haiti. It is such a comfort to be staying in the doctor's own home. They are all so concerned about Lonia. The morning started about 5 a.m. and by 8 we were at the hospital.

Praise God We are here in God's good timing. Yesterday was a day of rest. Lonia was to go into the hospital Monday for tests and The surgery on Wednesday. However she slept well through the night but after drinking water and formula she began projectile vomiting. Dr. Gates and I took her at 8 this morning and got her admitted. She was severely dehydrated. Dr. Gates tried starting the IV but to no avail. They hot packed her little arms and legs and the next lady came to try starting it. After about 30 minutes she gave up and they called in a nurse from neo-natal. She searched and searched before trying and on the first try succeeded, to my relief and Lonia's. She is in good hands. We don't know what time tomorrow but Dr. Gates will do the colostomy and get her cleaned out to begin with which will give her great relief. The Lord has preserved her life to this point which is absolutely a miracle to everyone. We thought her problem was one in every 10,000 live births. It seems her condition is more severe. It is one in every 50,000 live births. Usually this surgery is done within one to five days after birth. The fact that she is alive is an absolute miracle and testimony of its own that will be told and retold for years to come. She is a fighter. Please keep praying as there is still a long road ahead. Thanks for lifting it up to Him!!!
I promise some pictures soon but today was pretty hectic as you can imagine.

Dee

Well I have no pictures today because I am not on my own computer. We are FINALLY in Sacramento!!!! Kelsey, Lonia and I flew from Haiti at 9:00a.m. and arrived in Sacramento at9:30p.m. Both traveled fairly well but Kelsey's stomach was upset and she threw up on the plane. Fortunately I had remebered to stick in a change of clothes for her. The Lord is good as we made it the rest of the way without incident.

We are staying with Dr. Robert Gates and his wife and daughter in their home in Sacramento. Dr. Gates will be performing Lonia's surgery on Wed. Monday and Tuesday they will be exploring to see what is going on inside her little tummy and what course of action will be necessary. Please keep lifting us up in prayer and the Dr.'s and all those who will be trying to correct the problem.

We are just thankful to finally be here. I will try to keep things posted on the blogspot as to what is happening since we are in the wonderful land of twenty-four hour a day electricity and easy access to the internet.

Thank you for praying us all the way here. We know you will continue to pray us all the way back to Haiti.

School has officially ended and we are already preparing for next year. We have a great problem. Not enough space. We are still planning and praying about how and where to change that. Pray for us as we study the possibilities and make decisions about it.

More later.
Dee

Great things happening! Should You take a trip?

What do all of these pictures have in common??? They are all great things that are happening with Dorce' Ministries. Next question, should you make a trip to Haiti to see what the Lord is doing there? The answer is a resounding Yes you should come and see what is happening and then you in turn can be a part of making more great things happen!

How does all of that work? As a missionary who is out of touch with a lot of things stateside I do think I heard the politically correct term for all of this would be "networking". The truck you see may look like an old relic you would see in a small town parade. To us it means life. It has been filled by many of our Christian friends with lots of goodies for the ministry and especially for the children. More food was added at the last minute because of the worsening food crisis here in Haiti. I would have never been able to get the truck, fill it and get it shipped to Miami and then to Haiti if it weren't for the help of many others. We would especially like to thank Charlie Bowen and his wife Teresa who are in the large group picture above. Three years ago they made a trip to Haiti to visit the work. They found themselves and their lives changed in a way they never dreamed of. Most recently as he took charge of getting the truck, filling it and shipping it to Miami. In Haiti, we say, "Everything takes longer than it takes." We found out in the states that happens too. Since October they have been trying to get it shipped to us. Praise the Lord this week it arrived in Miami. Now we are waiting to know when they will be shipping it to Haiti. Please pray it will be soon.

This group recently came to us from High Hill, MO. They prayed together and worked together as a group for almost a year to make sure things went well as much

as it depended on them. They made a campaign to support as many of the school children as they could. This group is small but mighty with God on their side.

We greatly appreciate all their efforts as they support 9 of the school children. What a joy it was to bring them gifts and meet them for the first time. We were able to share a meal with all of the 9 kids they sponsor. The two in the picture are supported by the whole church, Jackson and Melissa. The rest are sponsored by small groups and individual families. Praise God for your efforts there. Thank you for taking the plunge.

The contact with these folks has set many things into motion and we will share more with you as time goes on. All of this because they were willing to come and see what was happening and see how they could do more to help. Sometimes more means 15 more minutes of prayer for your missionaries or those you have made friends with on the field! Thank you! Keep lifting us up.

The girls from Hannibal LaGrange College in Hannibal, Missouri have shown us what young people can do to make a difference. Chris Stevens visited us in Haiti for five days. I was sick and didn't get a chance to know her well. She went home but she didn't forget. She got permission to organize a trip to Haiti with other college girls and their professor. They came last year bearing many gifts for the school children, lots of laughter, lots of music and great singing, and tons of talent in so many areas. They enjoyed it so much they decided to make it an annual thing. They came back this year with six returning and four new people. Now Chris Stevens, otherwise known as the one and only CRASH, is returning on April 14th - May 1. She wants to do more to help out on the field and see if she can't come back after this survey trip and help us on a more permanent basis. Pray for all of those great things happening.

Things are getting really exciting. Pray that we keep focused on Christ and that all things would be done for His glory and Honor. Praise to the Lord! Hats off and bow low before Him! It is only He who deserves our praise!!! Louanj pou Bondie Chapo ba pou Bondie Li merite Louanj!!!

If you still have doubt I can help you contact any of these people to help you answer the question, Should YOU make a trip to Haiti?

Mdme Kiki

Well, you can figure out the sequence since I'm not very good at it yet. Ashley Dorce who is eight was baptized into Christ in January while Grandma Jan and Grandpa Fred were here. It was a sweet experience for her to be baptized in the ocean by her dad, Wilckly Dorce. We just wanted to share it with you all and ask you to be praying for the Lord to really do a precious work for Him with her life.

I want to remind all of you once again that we have the world's largest baptistry.

This was an excellent start to an excellent year, 2008. How could it be anything but that if you are living it for the Lord? We want to encourage you to come and visit us. I can tell you that as a missionary on the field for 15 years in a country as hard as Haiti, this past two and a half months have been rich in spiritual blessings and fellowship. We have been blessed to receive three different groups of people. Fred and Jan came to us from Moberly, MO bringing a group of nine people.

We hauled them around in our old blue dump truck which is ever so faithful. No more excuses for those of you who think you are too old to go on a mission trip. Fred Green turned eighty when he went back home. He is still going strong and put all of us to shame getting in and out of the truck. May God continue to bless him with good health. Granpa Fred and Wilckly led a seminar right under the mango tree. Many were blessed as we had about forty people representing our different churches that were present at the seminar. They spent the night and we shared several meals with all of them. It was a blessing and a pleasure for me to translate for Mdme Fred as we were able to share with the ladies. Thanks grandma Jan.

We are truly inspired by this couple. They put their all into serving the Lord. We celebrate knowing them and we send all our love and appreciation to them. You've blessed so many and we thank you for your example and love for the Lord and your desire to share it with everyone, even those in Haiti. I'll close for now so I don't lose my electricity. More tomorrow. Mdme Kiki

Open a school, close a prison!

There is something we say in Haiti that is true for all the world, "When you open a school you close the doors of a prison." What in the world does that mean? I would probably have never understood it without living in Haiti. Before our school was opened a year and a half ago the children were really and truly a burden on my heart. I would see them sitting at home playing in the dirt with a stick or even eating the dirt. They should of been in school instead they were chasing one anoter and throwing rocks at each other and cursing one another. A year and a half after our school opened to have 185 children in our is truly a blessing. Not having enough chairs and benches is a blessing from the Lord! Not having enough space for them to run and play at recess is a blessing! Not having enough materials to work with is a blessing! Why? Because He will provide a way.

We know He will provide more sponsors like you who is willing to sacrifice a little for someone who has nothing. To see these bright shining faces as they received their new backpacks and some rice and other goodies, was priceless! You can do something lifechanging even if it is only you.

The High Hill Christian Church in High Hill, MO has set an example that others should follow. They chose to sponsor a child in our school as a church. They faithfully send this forty dollars a month to help with their childs education and need for books and uniform and monthly school tuition. However they didn't stop there. Several small groups and individuals have followed suite. This church and her people sponsor nine of the children at Berea Christian school. Wow, what an effort and what a blessing to all. They took it a step further as the group of 7 came from their church to visit the work being done in Haiti. They were able to see the difference in the lives of these children first hand. They were able to share a meal with them, share gifts they had brought for them and take many pictures.

I challenge anyone who is reading this to come and visit us in Haiti. I challenge you to prayerfully consider supporting some of these children and really truly make an impact on their lives.

Dee

Showers of Blessing

Many school kids proudly hold their backpacks and wait for their names to be printed on them. Dave shares a moment with Asher, my grandson as he remembers his grandkids back in the States.






Showers of blessings were everywhere as the group from High Hill Christian Church handed out 300 backpacks to some very anxious and excited children. Each bag was filled with a toothbrush, toothpaste, crayons, toys, stickers, candy and gum. It also had 3 bags of rice for each child provided by Feed My Starving Children and Love a Child ministries. A special thanks for this gracious donation to help us give each of these children the much needed nutrients and vitamins that they so desperately need. Smiles were contagious and could be found everywhere.














My daughter, Ashley Dorce' is an eight year old missionary kid. She is in third grade. There are 35 students in her class and one teacher. She was happy to receive her backpack. Many others patiently waited as we called out their names, one by one. We now have 185 children in the school at Carries. What a blessing! We also have two other schools. One at Legend and one in the mountains called Cupois. They have a total of 80 students. We don't know how to thank you enough for these beautiful backpacks with the school emblem and name of the school on them. Thank you all working with Tammy at the dentist for donating the money for them. You don't even know what a precious treasure you have given to these children. Something of their very own and something they can be very proud of. It may be the first thing, especially brand new, that they have EVER had. They come from large families because women usually just have children until they can't anymore or until they die in childbirth. They reason they keep having children is in hopes that if they have ten children at least one of them will survive and not die of hunger or disease and that one will take care of them when they are old. Needless to say, most of them wear hand-me-downs. Most things that might be bought for them are used already. I just wanted you to understand why they back packs are so special and why it was such a big deal to Wilckly and I too. Again, we are grateful to all of you.
Mdme Kiki

Thanks

Laughs and hugs were great medicine for kids and missionaries alike. Thank You! Mesi anpil!

Thanks to all of you from High Hill! You were a tremendous encouragement to all of us. We savor the precious time spent with all of you on your first trip to Haiti. We thank you for spending a year preparing yourselves and each other for this trip. We know the time you took to ask God's guidance in preparation and coming was the main reason for such a successful trip. You don't even realize the obstacles you removed by praying the team together before you came. It is hard to deal with a group that has maybe never even met one another and as soon as they do there are surely a couple or more who will have personality conflicts. It made our job simple really because you really did come as a group and it was such a blessing. We know God did his part to really break your hearts for Haiti. We are counting on you to continue praying for us and with us as we will be for you also. We love you lots