It hasn't been a problem for our little tropical girl to adjust to this frigid cold. She lets you know, quickly, how unhappy she is to be stuck in that crazy car seat with her coat, that already swallows her up. It doesn't stop her and it's usually short lived. She is always ready to go when someone else is getting their coat on.

She is very active as a 16 month old should be. Her body continues to heal. We will be returning to California with her for one last check up from Dr. Gates before returning to Haiti in March. We are excited about that visit. We are very anxious for everyone to see how much she is changing and growing. Please pray for us as we make plans to return to Haiti also and all that this entails.

Lonia might not remember much about Haiti and what was her home but Mdme Kiki remembers. Yes I am a "little" homesick to say the least. Please pray for us as we prepare to return to Haiti and what my family recognizes as "normal". I'm sure God is smiling or maybe He even laughed out loud to Himself with this statement from me. I wouldn't have it any other way.
Dee

What a Mighty God We Serve

WHAT A MIGHTY GOD WE SERVE!

Keep praying for our girl Lonia. She is doing amazingly well for all that she has been through. She is walking everywhere. She knows no stranger. She is full of all things little girls should be full of but especially, personality. She is talking and saying all kinds of things. She eats everything in sight. She has been staying with Charlie and Teresa Bowen in Maryville, Missouri. This was a big help while we waited for Josiah's arrival. Thank you both so much for your commitment to the Lord and to Lonia.

Every time I take a few minutes to think of the journey we've been on I am overwhelmed and the tears start flowing relentlessly. Just thinking how amazing it is that this little girl is alive! What does God have in mind? What is His special plan for her? The whole thing is a blur in my mind. It seems I've been gone from Haiti so long. I'm not sure who I am or where I am but I am sure who God is and I am still sure that where He leads me, I will follow.

I don't know how people live without Him. I would lose my sanity, lose my grip easy if I wasn't so sure of His presence in my life. He is so in love with each of us, He can't take His eyes off of us. What an awesome God we serve! I am kind of getting that as I hold Josiah in my arms and I can't take my eyes off of Him. How awesome, how precious, how delicate and so much detail! Really God, are you sure you want me to take care of him? I don't want to mess him up and God I know with you, I can't.

Daddy and Josiah

"Baby Belly" is here!

("Baby Belly" is the name Kelsey has affectionately been using for the baby throughout the pregnancy!)

His name is Wilckly Josiah. He arrived at 9:49pm Dec. 20, weighing 7'7" and 20 in. long. Dee tried to coax him into joining the world a little earlier in the week, but Josiah had his own agenda!

Dee and the baby and the proud Daddy and the girls are all doing well ... admiring their new addition.

Please accept our sincere thanks for the host of prayers and well wishes for the health of Dee and the baby! It's great to be on this side of this long wait!

BTW, Lonia is doing beautifully, walking everywhere! I think she may even be getting used to the cold weather ... if anyone ever does!!

We'll post more pics and update with more details soon.

Lonia is home...

SORRY, BUT I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS PICTURE! THIS GIRL HAS SO MUCH SPIRIT AND SPUNK. IT AMAZES EVERYONE......THANKS FOR PRAYING AND PRAYING AND PRAYING!



Dear Friends,
Thank you for praying for Lonia continually. This little ball of fire is an encouragement to us all with her flashing eyes and dashing smile. Her surgery to reverse the colostomy was successful on Thursday and she was able to come home on Sunday.

She was in the same room with a little girl named Brenn who had the same problem as Lonia.
The difference with Brenn is that at two days old she was given her colostomy. Lonia didn't get her life saving colostomy until she was eleven months old. Brenn had her next surgery the same time we brought Lonia in July for her first one. They had this last one at the same time. It was great to meet her family. Brenn has an identical twin sister named Brooke. They are eight months old now and Lonia is fourteen months. It was neat to get to know their family and to swap experiences. Both girls are doing well.

I had never prayed for someone to get their system going in quite this fashion before. It was crazy waiting for both of them to pass something through their new "pipelines and openings"! Sure enough they did. Never thought anyone could get so excited over changing a dirty diaper but we were definitely excited. It is a new experience for both of them and amazing to not be changing those nasty, very potent, colostomy bags anymore. Now they both have very sore bottoms but it doesn't seem to phase them much. Lonia is trying to walk. She is everywhere. She hangs on to whatever she can get a hold of. Please continue to pray for healing of her little body and no infection. I hope many of you will get to see her before we return to Haiti. We will be heading back to Iowa on Nov. 1, Lord willing.

Sorry I couldn't inform you of all of this sooner. We brought Lonia home Sunday night but for the past couple weeks we have all been in limbo as the Gates are purchasing a new home and selling their old home, the one we all live in with them. It has been up and down. First it's going through and then it isn't with the situation everyone has been facing. We got the final on Monday. Mrs. Gates has been boxing things up for a couple weeks but we really poured it on Monday. Tuesday the movers came to load everything in the moving truck. I spent the day at the other house with the little ones, out of everyone's way. We slept here for the last night. This morning they will come get the rest of the stuff and we will be in the other house. It is exciting but I know it has been very stressful to them. They keep apologizing for moving while we are here. I told them they couldn't have chosen better people to move with. My kids and I are used to taking what comes our way and we are used to living out of suitcases. We are just thankful to have a place to stay with such wonderful people and that they didn't leave us behind. Please pray God will continue to bless them for all of their efforts with Lonia and with us. It is quite an undertaking to house a pregnant woman and three small children for an unknown period of time!!!

News from Haiti is that they are opening school and the children are coming. It usually takes them up to a month to come out in full swing. We will keep you updated. Chris is busy helping us put order into chaos and doing a fine job. She would love and email of encouragement from any of you.

She and Wilckly said they have really struggled with the transportation problem. Money has been sent to help get the big truck fixed and we praise the Lord for that. It has been great to receive food from Feed My Starving Children but the cost we've paid to rent a vehicle to go get 25 boxes has been astronomical. They can get around at Carries with the motorcycle and walking. However the opportunity has come up to purchase a pick up. The man asked $5,000.00 as his final price but wanted it all up front. Wilckly said forget it because that's impossible right now. The man came back and Wilckly offered to give him $1,000.00 each month and he said no. He came back and said he would take $2,000.00 up front and we can give him $1,000.00 a month for the next three months. Wilckly told him he would consider it. PLEASE I am asking each of you to consider how you might be able to help with this project at this time. Any of you who have been to Haiti definitely understand the URGENCY of having a vehicle!!! If there is any way you could help with this at all please send funds to Fred as soon as possible. It will definitely be a blessing to us and to the ministry and a wise use of funds. Thanks in advance. Please continue to pray for all of those picking up the pieces after the terrible flooding in Haiti. People continue to come from the mountain churches for help/ Thanks to many of you who sent funds so that we could help them as they come with food, clothes and even helping some of them cover their houses. Pray for Salonique and family as they continue to muddle through and clean up the mess. Pray that the Lord would keep their spirits high as they continue to fight the evil one.
May God bless you.
Dee

Commit your works to the Lord and your plans will be established

Proverbs 16:3

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Rejoice with Us!!!

Rejoice with us as there is no more colostomy. Dr. Gates is below with Lonia after the surgery. It was successful and we are thankful. This should be the last surgery needed. Pray for that and pray for quick healing and recovery. Pray for God to continue to bless Dr. Gates and his family and the faculty and staff at Sutter Memorial Hospital for the life they have given to this little girl. Praise to the Lord for orchestrating such a beautiful thing and allowing us to be part of it. Pictures are in backwards order but you can see she has gained weight. She has a killer smile that can dazzle anyone. Thanks for your prayers and enjoy the pictures. More later as Kelsey and I are heading to the hospital to spend the day with Lonia.
Dee




She was pretty mad about the NG tube but she got over it pretty quickly. Is that cute or what?


She loves her Elmo. He is her safety blanket.


Have a great day in the Lord. May you bring encouragement and joy to those around you and may it overflow in your life as well that those around you would see Christ in you.
Dee

Surprise! Surprise!

Lonia Ermilus, who would have thought. Definitely not her parents or her friends and neighbors, nor Mdme Kiki would have thought we would have been experiencing everything we have since March 2008. It has been a long, sometimes fast, sometimes slow, sometimes whirlwind ride. I think you all will agree this is not the same sick little girl we brought from Haiti. Airplane rides, carseats, computers, toys and three big sisters, she doesn't miss a thing.
She loves riding in her new carseat beside big sister Anna Lynn Gates.


She is always sporting a fancy new hair style. Her skin is clearing up nicely. Mdme Kiki is a little partial to her.















Big sisters are plentiful and lots of fun! Ashley and Kelsey Dorce and Anna Lynn Gates know how to fit the bill perfectly. If you are thinking there is a dull moment at the Gates house with all these beauty queens you are very wrong. They all love Lonia to death.




























I just wanted you all to see how well she is doing. She is so advanced that we have started her in computer class with Elmo. Miss Beverly is her teacher! And she is doing quite well! Ha Ha Beverly is Dr. Gates wife. She is part of the "Keep Your Sanity " club that the adults have in this house. We do tag team with Lonia between our own girls and homework. Lonia is trying to stand and walk and everything else.

She is healing so well that Dr. Gates has decided to reverse her colostomy tomorrow. I am getting ready to take her to the hospital for prep now. I just wanted all of our prayer warriors to be alert and praying for continued healing. She will be in the hospital until next Monday or Tuesday. Thanks for all your prayers and support!

Dee

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