Steve & Faith Leach

Dear Friends and Family,

We decided to wait to send out an update letter until we had our latest news:

Announcement

Hattie Elizabeth Margaret Leach
Daughter of Nathan & Bethany
Born December 30, 2011, in Edinburgh Scotland. We were so excited to hear she arrived safely and they are all doing well. We enjoyed chatting with them on Skype and seeing them in video. Nathan had a month long break so they can all settle in to family time before he heads back to class. Bethany's Mom will be there for a 3 week visit then.

Christmas time celebrations

We have had such a great vacation time in the US. We were able to spend a lot of time with family and friends. That time was so precious. We were able to spend a lot of time with Asher our 10 month old grandson (Seth & Kristen's son). Grace was on break almost the whole time we were there so we had some great time with her. We were able to spend some more time with Jacob and his fiancée Amanda. It was a relaxing time spent with other family as well. Time with Steve's Mom and Faith's Dad was especially sweet as there's not always much time to just relax together. It has been the most relaxing break we have had in a long time.

We are looking forward to the coming year. We get to make a trip to Scotland in late April to see Nathan, Bethany and Hattie then travel in France for a week as well. Then on to Missouri in May for Grace's college graduation and Jacob's wedding. With another visit with Seth, Kristen and Asher thrown in along the way.

Back to Work

We are so excited to welcome Dan & Sharon Beardsley back to Bombardopolis. It will be so good to have them working with us. They will be taking over some responsibilities and sharing others and we look forward to the fellowship time together. We thank the Lord for this blessing on the ministry and our lives.
Back to work means ………………………figuring out if the repair on the back u-joint on the truck is really fixed and that was the only problem that caused the loud noise when we were driving into Port last time. We pray it is.
Back to work means we need prayers in several areas ……………………… Safety in travel & back in Haiti. Need for wisdom & patience in making decisions. Medical issues coming up: Zanesville Surgery team coming Jan 9-16. We continue to pray for Astrel – a long time employee and friend in Haiti who broke his right leg in a motorcycle accident the week before last. We appreciate your prayers on all these issues.

May God Bless your year.
Love, Steve & Faith Leach

Dan & Sharon Beardsley

It is time for us to go and we are excited. Leaving our wonderful family and friends behind will be tough emotionally but we can keep in touch & we know that the times we see them when we get to come home will be sweeter and more intentional. Our granddaughter, Charlotte is now praying for us to be safe, going and coming, instead of praying for all the people in Haiti to get well so we don't have to go. We want to be safe also but sometimes being in God's will means moving out of perceived safety and comfort, so off we go. We appreciate Charlotte's and all of your prayers for our safety and we would ask you to join us in praying that God will use us for His purpose and that we will grow closer to Him, this is more important than our safety. Pray that we will be brave. Pray that we will trust. Pray that we will put Him first, always first. Pray that we will learn Creole.

We got to have some great visits with our kids and grandkids over the Christmas holiday. We were all able to be together at one time during the week before Christmas. There are 16 of us and we are fairly spread out so this is a pretty big deal. Good times. We are so blessed to have 3 wonderful daughters, three great sons-in-law, & 8 super-gifted (in my unbiased opinion) grandkids.

We have been so blessed by all of you who have given to help us go, by the prayers offered on our behalf, by the encouraging comments given to us. We thank God for this calling, this privilege to serve, to give help to folks that so badly need it. Obviously not all of us are called to go to Haiti, but of course we are all called to minister with the gifts He gives us wherever we are.

In this New Year we intend to do our part in cultivating a closer relationship with Jesus, to be more open to how He would have us live day to day & hour to hour. There is a lot to be done in Bombarde and we are excited to be part of getting it done. We look forward to giving updates from there. We look forward to spending time with some of our favorite people in the world, Steve and Faith, and working beside them. We are fortunate to have the benefit of their 15 years of experience and the wisdom that comes from it.

Our plan, which is probably past tense as you read this, is to go to Arlington, VA on 1/1 and stay with our daughter and family there. Then leave 1/3 for Haiti, meeting up with Steve and Faith in Miami as both of our flights connect to Port au Prince. Zanesville Medical Mission is coming to Bombarde on 1/8 to do a much needed surgical mission, so we will be hitting the ground running as we buy supplies in Port au Prince and head up to get everything ready for them.

So as we go we thank you for your interest. We continue to need your prayers and support. This is a big step for us, were glad that you are part of it. Thank you and Happy New Year.

Love in Christ, Dan & Sharon Beardsley

Please do not respond directly to this email, as it goes to an email address that is not monitored. If you would like to contact someone at IMF, please email newsletter@haitihospital.org, or go to our website at www.haitihospital.org. Thanks!