Hi, I am Francesca!

Hi! I am Francesca!  Today is my 13th birthday!  I was hoping to be home with my forever family by now but God seen it differently so...I will be celebrating my birthday in the big "O" where I live with 109 other children. 

I was born in Port Au Prince, Haiti, and I am one of the oldest of five children.  I remember living with my Haitian Mama and Dad a little bit.  I remember a big fire that my Mama would cook over. I also remember the way that my house looked on the inside.  There were two rooms...one for eating and one for sleeping.  When I was five my Mama brought me to Miss Chris at the orphanage to live because she could not take care of me anymore.

I love living at the "O".  Miss Chris is so kind to me and she is like another Momma.  I love Pastor Hal to, but sometimes he scares me because he is so big and loud!  I think he has to be because some of the boys don't listen to him very well.  I think that he loves me, though!

When God made me he made me a little different than you.  My Forever Mom says that He was planning on making me a angel and then changed His mind at the last moment and made me a little girl instead.  I think that was a good idea on His part because I am certainly NO angel!  At least that is what my big brother, Al says!

Some of my favorite things to do are to string beads and make beautiful necklaces for the people that I love.  I also like to read and my big sister Rebecca is helping me to do this while I am in Haiti waiting. The words are so hard for me sometimes but I will learn them!  I don't like being 13 and not able to read.

I lived with my forever family for a while when I was in America and I met some wonderful friends.  That is another thing that I like to do... make new friends.  In fact everywhere I go i make new friends. 

I was born Francesca... but I have alot of nicknames.  In the "O" I am Frankie.  In Ohio I am Fran, Francece (my momma), and Francula (aunt Holly).  But my favorite name is Frannie, because my teacher Mrs. Porter gave it to me. Dad told me to pick a middle name... we don't have middle names in Haiti and I chose Elizabeth because it is my oldest forever sister Abbey's middle name.  So I am Francesca (Frannie) Elizabeth Dorilas Shellabarger.... wow that is a mouthful! :)

I guess my birthday will be a little different than I had hoped.  Miss Kelliegh, Fritzner's forever mama, has come to the orphanage because Fritzner has the sickness that is all over Haiti.  We thought we might not get it here at the "O" but it has arrived.  Bethiana was taken to the hospital this morning too and some of the other toddlers are sick. One baby has died. My forever family was going to skype me tonight on Pastor's computer but Miss Chris says that because of all that we are going thru here at His Home they will not bother Pastor.

 Before I left to come back to Haiti from living in America, my mom and I planned what my 13th birthday party would be like.  We decided that we would have it with my older sister Rebecca who turned 16 on June 9 together and invite lots and lots of people and have hats, and tooters, and play games and do crafts.  But since I am not there, Miss Kelliegh says they are making spaghetti, that is my favorite food...except for Ramen Noodles, to celebrate my birthday.  I am  sure that they will be praying for me.  My family prays all of the time!  Sometimes I get kinda bored with this. Sorry Jesus, Sorry Jesus, I love you. It is just hard to sit still with my eyes closed that's all.  I am kinda mad about them not skyping, but my sister Rebe tells me to be quiet and be thankful I am not the sick one!...so I will listen to her. My Haitian birth mama works here at the Orphanage and does laundry, but because of the sickness she will not come on my birthday either.  Oh, well I will still be 13 and a teenager and no one can take that away from me. 

I do hope that I can go home soon to live with my forever family.  Mama says that once I get there I will never have to leave again unless I want to.  My parents talk to me about living in America and getting a good education and then maybe coming back to Haiti and helping my people.  Sometimes I think this is a good idea...but first I want to have fun in the United States of America.  Hey, I think I will wear my red shirt with the American flag on it today! 

Well, I hope you have enjoyed getting to know me and will pray for me on my Birthday! 

In Sharp Contrast- It is Summertime!

School is out, School is out

The hearts of the Children wants to run and Shout!

What a blessed sight to see the joy and smiles on the faces of my niece and youngest daughter as they step off of the school bus one last day!  Chatters of excitement tell me that they got the teacher that they want for next year and the plans for the summer are in full swing. 

My 13 year old is on the diving board ready to jump off with my older niece, already having begun the fun at hand! 

Our fifteen year old son is cutting the lawn with the ipod and headphones in place. Probably shoot some baskets when he gets done.  He has practice tonight.

It is a beautiful day with a clear blue sky and the scent of the Mock Orange in bloom.  The farmers are planting their crops and you can hear the hum of the tractor engines.  There is a smell of fresh cut hay in the air and the birds are in delight as worms are being unturned for their consumption. 

"The Heaven declare the glory of God

And the skies proclaim the work of His Hand"

The Garden is beginning to produce as we picked several quarts of strawberries today, as well as asparagus in abundance.

I am thinking that strawberry smoothies or a fresh strawberry pie is in the making for the evening!

Our oldest daughter and a bevy of helpers are preparing for the first night of her horse ministry which she calls "Unbridled Hope".  There are twenty something girls, ages 8-16 planning to attend this weekly camp in which they learn to ride, bond with the horses, as well as have a worship and devotional time with God.

So the smell of equine mixed with leather is also added to the menagerie of smells of the summertime.

It makes the heart light and the spirit praise filled! The children will be close to God's beauty all summer long and this in turn is the way He draws their spirits unto Him!

The daddy of this place is doing what he does best and that is keeping everything looking nice from the fruit trees to the road island red chickens that are now roaming all over our front yard!

This is what life is about... Summertime and the heart of a child!

Here is the contrast....

Let's now travel over 2000 miles south and another 2 hours of air time to the city of Port au Prince, Haiti where our two additional daughters live.  They reside at "His Home for Children" which houses 110 children who need forever families.  Some are waiting, some of being considered, and some will never leave this place. 

School in Port does not leave out for the summer.  It is a year round education.  The girls begin their day with a five thirty wake up.  No electricity is usually available at this time of the morning but in Haiti daylight is about 4:30. They dress, eat breakfast, and head to school on foot of course.  There are no gardens or swimming facilities close by just lots and lots of people with lots and lots of dust, and lots and lots of smells.

  Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere.  Eighty percent of the population lives in extreme poverty.  Our girls are very blessed to attend school, as 65 % of children never finish elementary and 80 % will never attend high school.

Over half of the adult population is illiterate.

The smells that they have to endure include charcoal smoke ( most people cook with this), sewage, and rotting animals from the streets.

The food they eat consists of rice and beans, oatmeal..!?
Most of the water is not fit to drink for Americans and according to Hal who runs the orphanage... not for the Haitians either.

There is alot of noise... crying babies, shouting neighbors, cursing on the street out front and just a overall drone of human beings, as the city population is around 3.5 million, nearly half of the whole countries population.
Disease is rampant and words such as cholera, malaria, and HIV fill many fearful conversations.  Nothing is taken for granted and tomorrow nothing may be the same. 

The summertime doesn't change much from the winter time, or the fall and spring as well.  The routine is the same each day of the week... Monday- Friday is school....Saturday they get to take a cold shower and wash their hair and re braid it. Sunday is church and grilled cheese and hot dogs, a specialty that they love to look forward to.  They have chores, especially our 16 year old. She does the laundry for a group of children by hand in a pan in the backyard and then carries the clothes up a 6 foot ladder to a flat roof of metal where she lays them out to dry.

Their bedroom is shared with 10 other girls and every bed is made and the room is spotless.  They work very hard to keep it this way.

"I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and justice for the poor."

Pslm 140:12

On a recent visit we ask our daughters on their birthday celebration what they wanted to do in their 16th and 13th years.  I do believe we could have ask them if it snows in Haiti, by the looks on their faces!  Dreams, hopes, and future are not words that are understood.  The only answer that we got from them was to "Come Home" ,and we pray every day that this wish will be granted.

Why then we ask, are some of us placed in lives that are so full of blessing and hope and so many others have been put in situations that will never change or prosper? 
The Word of God says that there will always be the poor and the afflicted. 
Does this excuse us then in anyway from helping or reaching out??  I think not!

Perhaps we are seeing it through the wrong glasses... while out blessings are abundant, we are so busy with the blessings that sometimes I think we forget what it is to "be still and now that I am God".  With our prosperous churches and business'  we have learned to take everything for granted and do not appreciate anything that we have or are.  Attending church in Haiti in comparison to America is like a rushing water fall in contrast to a small stream of water in a dried up creek bed.  When our business is doing well we horde are increase and desire for more.  In Haiti if someone has something of value they share with anyone who does not have the same blessings.

Some of the things that our two sets of children have the same are that they can look up and see the same moon every night.  They each have the ability to choose right from wrong.  Each child has five senses and hands and feet to use and walk upon.  They each have the love of A Everlasting Father in Heaven who when they cry out to Him, He will always answer them. 




And they have two parents...a Dad and a Mom who love them and will never give up on getting them home to enjoy all the beauty and blessing that we, their families have been given only by the gracious hand of God!

So until then.... we will pick those strawberries and make those summer plans and get excited about life and the hopes for the future and most of all we will continue to follow the Lord Jesus Christ and pray each and every morning and night that our family be united together under one roof... and with the most certainty we know that our God is faithful and that this to will come to pass.....! Praises to Him on High!

On the Mountain Top and In the Valley

     A picture remains in my mind of the beauty of Washington State that we experienced on several visits.  The mountains of granduer are of the most memorable.  Their beauty ever surpassing the surroundings that encircle them as they jut up out of the earth reaching and tapering as they go toward the skies, as though they are praising their maker with all of their might! They seem to sing of the majesty of God and the Glory that He so deserves.  They have a mighty power that speaks of His power and they have a ever so breathtaking (literally if you are at a certain altitude) strength that you feel as though you could actually see God in all of His presence. 
     I compare this to the experience of a mountaintop in our spiritual lives... where we can do nothing but sing His praises, cry out in adoration, and bask in the wonderful presence of His strength and power.  Lord God... how we love these times of being in Your supreme will and supreme grace... as we glorify in your Holy Spirit as it fills us with its beauty and purity!  We can get no closer to you than at these moments of grandeur! 

     However...

As we find in the mountains of God and also in our spiritual lives, we cannot remain in this state.  The road will inevitably begin to taper downward into a different area not seen so much when we are on the mountain top.  The valley of the land or the valley of the soul.  It is not so breathtaking as the mountain.  It is darker, it is quieter, and it is sometimes very sad in a valley!  I remember being alone one evening and driving through the valleys in Ellensburg, Washington along the river and the mountains that towered above where on both sides.  It seemed still somewhat granduer down there but there where many shadows.  As I approached a curve in the road sun broke thru a mountain crevice and the shadows did a bit of twisting and revealed a beautiful sunset.  It had been hidding behind the mountains and could just be seen.  There was also a orchard filled with apples that were ripe for picking as it was the month of September.  Comparing this to our spiritual realm, I realize that this to is true in our lives as we face the valleys.  Fruit can grow abundantly when we are feeling the shadows of life that surround and that

afflict us.  But if we allow it to, it is here that the fruit of God can trully grow in us.  Mountains do not bring forth fruit but the valleys do!  Lord Jesus, help me to seize this opportunity in the valleys of life!