FW: MERRY CHRISTMAS from Haiti!!!!

From: kim o'dwyer [mailto:kimmy_o@hotmail.com]
Sent: Friday, December 16, 2011 5:24 PM
Subject: MERRY CHRISTMAS from Haiti!!!!

As you settle down during this special time of the year, I thought I would share with you a little bit of our Christmas traditions down here in Haiti. Yesterday, as I drove through the village, the weather is seasonably warm (+30°c), the vegetation is lush, and the air is humid; on the radio, “Jingle Bells” is playing in Creole and I can’t help but reflect upon Christmas’ past and the Christmas to come.

In Haiti, Christmas is a special time that is celebrated by all, rich and poor, old and young. Traditionally, many Haitians will attend a Christmas Eve service where the church is filled with joyous singing, dancing and celebration. As you can imagine, this is avery fun-filled evening for all, and the small Baptist church we attend will be full of song and prayer early into Christmas morning.

            On Christmas day, we will wake early and attend another service at our church. The children will be so excited for our special Christmas dinner and of course, the gifts to follow. Typically, most children will receive a small gift at Christmas, either a doll or truck. In similar fashion, our children will also receive special gifts, from those who love them so dear. We are so thankful for the amazing support we receive from our special friends and family in both Canada and the USA, and it is you all, who have provided us with the high quality gifts and clothing the children will receive on Christmas Day.

            As many of you can share, Christmas is my favorite time of the year. Back at home, I always looked forward to decorating our old farm house with lights and garland, and cherished the time spent with friends and family. And in similar fashion we have been busy decorating our home for Christmas! We have decorations adorning our house and a small tree decorated as well. This Christmas, I am blessed to have two friends, Andrea and Kaylea, from Gleanings in California, sacrifice their time at home to spend it here at Children ofGrace. We look forward to sharing this special time all together, sharing with our children the love of Christ and the true reason for the season.

Lastly, we just wanted to wish you and your family a very MERRY CHRISTMAS. It is exciting to look back on this year and see all that God has done for us here in Haiti. Today, as I was walking within the village the verse that kept coming to my mind is " my God shall supply all my needs."  We serve such an amazing and faithful God.  As I think back on this year we have experienced His faithfulness in so many ways and again you have all been part of this journey, and we are looking forward to seeing all that God has in store for us in 2012. 

Thank you all for your prayers and support this year we cannot do it without you.  Iknow you hold us up in prayer and give to us financially and we so appreciate it.

I pray a special blessing on all of you this Christmas.  May Godly richly bless you as only He can!

Love and Prayers,

Kim - on behalf of all the children at Children of Grace Orphanage

We also included separately this note regarding financial support.

For those wishing to financially support Children of Grace please see the instructions below.  In Canada

If a tax deductible receipt is needed-please make your cheque payable to Youth With a Mission and write a note separate from the cheque saying that the money is for Kim O'Dwyer, serving in Haiti. They will directly deposit the money into Kim's account monthly and send a monthly statement to Kim. The cheque can be mailed to the following address:

YWAM Canada

Project Funding Office

PO Box 57100

Vancouver, BC V5K 1Z0 Canada

If a tax deductible receipt is not needed- we would ask that the cheque be made payable directly to Kim O'Dwyer and mailed to:

Children of Grace

C/o Jessica O'Dwyer

PO Box 97

Pouce Coupe, BC

V0C 2C0

***If you would like this money to be designated to a specific project or if you are sponsoring a child, etc. Please just write me a note so I can pass that information along to Kim.***

If you have any questions or need any clarification on any of this, please feel free to contact me (Jessica O’Dwyer) via email trevjess@pris.ca or you can reach me at (250) 786-0478.

In the United States:

If a tax deductible receipt is needed-please make your cheque payable to Gleanings for the Hungry and write a note separate from the cheque saying that the money is for Kim O'Dwyer, serving in Haiti. The cheque can be mailed to the following address:

Gleanings for the Hungry

PO Box 309

Sultana, CA   93666 

Thank you and have a wonderful day!