style anyone...

How fun is this…I got this from this website from sarah beth…http://sproost.com

Its great. If some of you don’t know this I’ll confess now…if I didn’t want to chase after God and fighting for justice and peace in the world I would be all about creating spaces and doing photography. I love decorating. I’m in love with magazines like domino and ready made…so I couldn’t help but put this on here for fun.

The quiz came out as me being a mix of all three…and I fully agree.

44% Cottage Chic

Cottage Chic
Who says that cottages can't be modern and chic? Who says that they have to be floral and cheesy? Not you!
You love the carefree spirit that the cottage interior inspires, but you are also serious about your appreciation for modern art and hip treasures. You love old and new alike, and love to highlight them all to expose the uniqueness of each. What better way to show off these treasures than with a light background?

33% Rustic Revival

Rustic Revival
You can take kid out of the country but you can't take the country out of the kid... or is your theme "you can take the kid out of the city, but you can't take the city out of the kid?".
Either way you play it, you are one of the unique individuals who loves a mix of modern and country. The clean lines of the modern softened by rustic/vintage elements is the perfect mix in your mind. And can we blame you? You've taken the best aspects of two popular designs and mixed them in a manner that appeals to young and old alike. A subtle background of white or light colors provides a nice canvas for all the wonderful flea market, eBay, or garage sale finds as well as the classic modern pieces that you love.

23% Vintage Modern

Vintage Modern
Flea Market, anyone? You know you are drawn to modern furniture and interiors, and yet you don't like a space that feels cold and sterile. And who could blame you? That's why Vintage Modern is so appealing to you. Though the backdrop of the room, the walls and windows, are many times white or monochromatic, the furniture and accessories have the color, shape and texture to bring the warmth into the space.
The great thing about Vintage Modern is ease of mixing different styles in the one space. You can have a new modular sofa mixed with a great pair of chairs that your grandmother purchased in the late 1950's. The new and old work appear as though they were destined for each other. Even if you don't have time for swap meets and garage sales, so many of the mid-century pieces were so great that they have been remade and mimicked year after year.

Water Color

while kathy has been in haiti we have had a wonderful woman named sherry white smith to do the art classes on monday nights. she is an incredible artist with water color. i had never done water coloring before for real...but i did and it turned out really great. i cant lie i am really proud of it. granted ms. sherry helped me a lot, but it turned out really great. so great actually that i think beaver wants to make some prints and put it in the gift shop. i am very excited!

now if only you all where here in south georgia!!

here it is...

check it out

an article a friend sent me...check it out...and PRAY PRAY PRAY for the people of Gonaives, Haiti.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/24/world/americas/24haiti.html?_r=1&emc=eta1

mama kati update 03/23/09

Roosters are singing, occasional dogs barking... relative quiet for the city of Port Au Prince. It's Monday. March 23rd, 3:30 am. The sounds of this place have always been intriguing.. In Bersy , it was the goats and roosters and donkeys and waking babies downstairs that gave the wake up call. In Gonaives it was the cool breezes and Mr Sun himself , as we chose to sleep on Emory and Mary's wonderful large flat concrete roof.

Last night, Sunday, it was church services with loud sound systems from each direction, the “club”that is a covered area just down on the corner beside the half size , outdoor basket ball court, the tap taps with their tunes blaring and passionate voices rising and falling over what i do not know and shouldn't imagine.

Sam brings his guitar down to my room and he and Kevens and I add our voices to the lovely cacophony. We sing, ”where you go , i go , what you say i say , God, what you pray i pray” . We teach Kevs a few new songs. His voice and spirit add much to the worship. My advise to all who travel,, bring a couple of your kids with you , and make certain at least one can play the guitar! Oh how lovely is the King of glory is this Christ...and oh how He loves us ...

I feel the need to finish writing about our time in Gonaives:

One huge blessing was having Casey with us for the trip to Gonaives. So good to share her air space. LOVE LOVE this girl.. As always she is love personified.

Must say that the Berry team was amazing...they jumped right into some very challenging situations and never missed a beat. They loved on very dirty and naked kids,,..they never shrank back,..just picked them and loved them. Cory put his medical potential to the test and did some really gross doctoring stuff. He beamed.....i asked him if he still wanted to be a doctor..he said .I love it! ( personally i almost threw up)Thank you Rachel, Minyoung, Nicki , Amanda and Cory !

Mary and Emory: they have chosen probably one of the most challenging places in Haiti to serve. The people of Jubilee, the area where they concentrate on feeding and teaching, giving and building is poor beyond what we can really imagine. People have moved back after the flood and rebuilt many of the homes that were destroyed, or moved back into the remains. Mostly they are dirt floors with thatch walls and some tin, some thatch roofs. No running water, no electricity.... really not much more than dirt

(my battery is low and we have not had electricity since yesterday afternoon so may have to end this and start again later.) By the way...i am so thankful for this lap tap Suzanne gave me! Thank you girl friend!

It's now Tuesday around 3:30 am, i am up again to the sounds of roosters and dogs!

Gonaives... the children are beautiful and so ready to learn and love. They are so precious and at the same time very tough. There is great opportunity ! Emory and Mary have much honor among them as they have loved and loved . They care for the sick, , visit the elderly , taking food to them . Mary has identified those with diabetes and goes by to check sugar levels and treat their sores. She is amazing. They both are It really is an honor to get to spend time here with them.

The Genadas have moved into their new home and are so happy, so grateful ...The first floor is complete and so clean and nice. The church building is across the street. They raised the floor about 6 feet. It is a concrete slab and still under the same roof..that they will also raise as soon as possible. IT works . The bakery , very close to finished.

Words cannot really describe Gonaives..”we Cry Out” mountain. I-HOP Haiti..( international house of prayer) rock slab on the face of a hill overlooking the city where people gather 24-7 to pray and be with God. We sit with those gathered praying... we stand and sing in creole, we weep we smile, for a little while we are one.

There is much good coming for this place.

Still no electricity but i can type as long as my battery holds out/

At Sherries now, in PAP. She leaves this morning for the states.

Sam and Kevs and I were reading in Isaiah 40 last night ..it said that God gives strength to the weary and power to the weak. I got great comfort from that....i totally qualify for both the strength and the power!

Many of the students here in this school and the staff have lost their homes and/ or their homes are being threatened to be bulldozed each day. Even in that there is amazing grace and peace. Sherrie has given money to help all those connected to this school. She is amazing. We had a meeting on Sunday and individually gave out envelops with enough money to pay half a year rent on a new place. ( they have to pay a full year rent here up front) we got to pray with the people and they were of course very grateful.. Then we told them to not tell anyone !

Yesterday for devotion with the staff we walked down to the ravine where the house had been destroyed. She wanted to make certain they all knew what was going on. Some never had been there,,,even though most of the children come for the ravine area.

Our time with Kevs has been so good. Sam and I are taking turns working with him on his school work. He is so intelligent. His vocabulary is huge as he is an avid reader. He loves the books we brought...his whole face lit up when he saw them...more than the basketball !

Being with him makes me miss Rebecca something fierce. Makes me want to spend much more time with her when i am at home. I must change my life at home to have more time with her.. I love the marketplace , but i have to get some space in my life for my treasure of a daughter!

Sam is doing great. He has been able to get on face book and keep up with friends he misses.. He is a HUGE help.. I am so thankful he loves it here . I really feel like i need him to be with me.. His greatest asset is his attitude. He is a 24-7 worshiper, no matter what he is dong. He offers to help with everything and he see the good and God in every situation. He walks in courage even when he is afraid. So thankful for this kid. He is great with Kevs .and Kevs loves him . He has been helping with the medical . Kez and Mary, two nurses came yesterday and we walked the ravine with them doing medical checks. Always a good time Sam is learning alot.

So I hear the city starting to wake up through the open doors and windows. Hope the power comes on soon. It did yesterday morning and it was wonderful. Then i can copy and paste this and email it to you..

Sherry bought a phone for me to use the number is 011-509-3-638-8147. We can receive calls from the states and it doesn't use our minutes. S o please feel free to phone!!!

We set our hearts to the bigness of God in every situation. We Set our hearts to declare His goodness all over the place. We set our hearts to bless the people, the government and even those driving bulldozers. We set our hearts because we know the Father's heart's that HIS Glory covers the entire earth. His structures are ever expanding, light always trumps darkness away. He is wisdom itself and He lives in me. And when we are weak His strength gets to shine !

Love love to you all, from Haiti, Mama Kathy

Kathy Brooks
MUCH Ministries, Inc.
72610 Hwy.82
Waynesville, GA 31566
admin@muchministries.org

kathy's update from haiti

so last sunday Kathy, 2 of her sons(cory and sam), plus 4 girls (from Cory's college)and another boy kevin headed off to haiti. they arrived back this saturday. however kathy and sam stayed to look after sherrie fausey's ministry for 2 weeks while she does fundraising in the states. please pray for them, their safety, and direction. here is an update from tuesday march 17th...

"Life is pretty simple. Share, Hug, Love, try to bathe when you can.

Sitting on the roof top, feeling the lovely cool early evening breeze, we are happy in Haiti. Want to send a report...

Each one seems to be so at peace here amid some very chaotic moments. They have never missed a beat loving on the kids and helping the missionaries.

Lets see. Today we went to a place called Jubilee. We also called it today the place of Gods blessing. I'm not sure there is a more desolate looking place this side of Uganda. But we named it a place of abundance and life springing up.

We had a list of names of kids who had been tested by a previous , wonderful medical team. The list we had were of the kids that had scored the very lowest on the hemoglobin tvst. Severe anemia.. . So we had a list of about 40 kids to find.

No street names, no house numbers. Just kids names and their approximate ages amid a plain of mud, sand, huts and dust.. We had a Haitian man to help us and our son Kervens ( Haitian) to translate. And the Holy Spirit to give us hints !We found all but four of them in about 4 hours. We gave out vitamins and explained to the parents how important it was that they get one each day. Nicki was our scribe. She had to write a running journal on every child we found and where they lived, according to our guess of direction from where the sun was ...in relationship to the market area...and any other markings to identify the house...like door held on by a flip flop nailed to it....things like that. We will add the info we gathered today to the data base. Eventually we'll be able to really make a diffenernce in this on small community.

We made up names of the streets according to the goodness of God.

Rachel held one vitamin bag and was quick to find what we needed and Amanda held the other and seemed to always have a baby or child in her arms. Minyoung was nick named Jackie Chan by one of the kids...she won't lose that soon ! We all love her so much. She is a natural with the kids . She loves them so easily and with confidence. They have all been so so so so amazing

Meanwhile the Boys...Kevin Eades, Sam, Cory and a young man here from Wisconsin, named Austin, worked to help put a roof on a lady's house that was lost during the flood. they worked removing mud and actually constructing the roof. Let's just say they were filthy, hot, tired, sunburned and happy when we picked them up after 3pm.

Then we drove back to the house and got the 5 gallon buckets of cooked rice and beans . Then drove back to Jubilee and distributed food to about 200 kids....many of the same ones we had visitied earlier. Our second day.. It got a little crazy today. Very little discipline and control. We are going to try another way to work it tomorrow.

Pray for us! Right now we are back at the Wilson s and some of the guys and some of the girls are building benches to put in the feeding place. We hope that will help bring some order to the situation so the kids won't go nuts again.
Its not all of them. Just some. Most are so precious and they rush to eat so that we can re use their dishes and the others can eat. SPOONS we must always bring spoons!These kids are so thankful..this is their meal of the day. In the streets they are sucking on sugar cane. They are mostly filthy and many are naked or very close to naked. It breaks you...

ok...

Back at the house late afternoon ... There is a young man living here named Reubens, he paints! So I had to spend some time painting..what a trial ! Ha ! just happened to have my supplies with me! Kervens, Casey, DG and I sat on the cistern with Reubens and made art. t'was lovely.

The girls also helped Mary unpack her kitchen stuff this afternoon, as the Genadas have moved out to their new house.It is so beautiful..and clean and without mud! and right across the street from the church.

Emory and Mary are amazing...and the Genadas as well. What an honor to be with them. We are having sweeet times of worship and sharing. Their hearts are gold!

So in between other things we sit on the roof, we pray, we cry we sing , we hug, we see this beautiful place called Haiti.

If i am sending this to you its probably because you've done something to make me think you care ! Thank you for being who you are !

Blessings !

Mama Kathy

Kathy Brooks
MUCH Ministries, Inc.
72610 Hwy.82
Waynesville, GA 31566
admin@muchministries.org"

Emily Marie

so i have exciting news...i was able to talk to casey, and sam in haiti a few days ago. on the way to Gonaives the team stopped in Bercy and they were able to see emily...my sweet emily, or i mean God's sweet emily. i just loves her a WHOLE lot!!

apparently casey said she asked.."ou sonje natasha?"- meaning you remember natasha? and emily looked at casey like 'i know yous a white lady but you arent my white lady'...and then she started saying my name! i cried when i heard...i was just so overwhelmed with the love i feel for her and the fact that i miss her so much.

i wanted to share that news, as it just really blessed me to know that she still remembers me and can say my name now. i do hope i get to see her sooner than later.



blessings to you all.
tasha rae

Isaiah 40

Isaiah 40 (New Living Translation)


Comfort for God’s People

1 “Comfort, comfort my people,”
says your God.
2 “Speak tenderly to Jerusalem.
Tell her that her sad days are gone
and her sins are pardoned.
Yes, the Lord has punished her twice over
for all her sins.”
3 Listen! It’s the voice of someone shouting,
“Clear the way through the wilderness
for the Lord!
Make a straight highway through the wasteland
for our God!
4 Fill in the valleys,
and level the mountains and hills.
Straighten the curves,
and smooth out the rough places.
5 Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed,
and all people will see it together.
The Lord has spoken!”[a]

6 A voice said, “Shout!”
I asked, “What should I shout?”

“Shout that people are like the grass.
Their beauty fades as quickly
as the flowers in a field.
7 The grass withers and the flowers fade
beneath the breath of the Lord.
And so it is with people.
8 The grass withers and the flowers fade,
but the word of our God stands forever.”

9 O Zion, messenger of good news,
shout from the mountaintops!
Shout it louder, O Jerusalem.[b]
Shout, and do not be afraid.
Tell the towns of Judah,
“Your God is coming!”
10 Yes, the Sovereign Lord is coming in power.
He will rule with a powerful arm.
See, he brings his reward with him as he comes.
11 He will feed his flock like a shepherd.
He will carry the lambs in his arms,
holding them close to his heart.
He will gently lead the mother sheep with their young.

The Lord Has No Equal

12 Who else has held the oceans in his hand?
Who has measured off the heavens with his fingers?
Who else knows the weight of the earth
or has weighed the mountains and hills on a scale?
13 Who is able to advise the Spirit of the Lord?[c]
Who knows enough to give him advice or teach him?
14 Has the Lord ever needed anyone’s advice?
Does he need instruction about what is good?
Did someone teach him what is right
or show him the path of justice?
15 No, for all the nations of the world
are but a drop in the bucket.
They are nothing more
than dust on the scales.
He picks up the whole earth
as though it were a grain of sand.
16 All the wood in Lebanon’s forests
and all Lebanon’s animals would not be enough
to make a burnt offering worthy of our God.
17 The nations of the world are worth nothing to him.
In his eyes they count for less than nothing—
mere emptiness and froth.

18 To whom can you compare God?
What image can you find to resemble him?
19 Can he be compared to an idol formed in a mold,
overlaid with gold, and decorated with silver chains?
20 Or if people are too poor for that,
they might at least choose wood that won’t decay
and a skilled craftsman
to carve an image that won’t fall down!

21 Haven’t you heard? Don’t you understand?
Are you deaf to the words of God—
the words he gave before the world began?
Are you so ignorant?
22 God sits above the circle of the earth.
The people below seem like grasshoppers to him!
He spreads out the heavens like a curtain
and makes his tent from them.
23 He judges the great people of the world
and brings them all to nothing.
24 They hardly get started, barely taking root,
when he blows on them and they wither.
The wind carries them off like chaff.

25 “To whom will you compare me?
Who is my equal?” asks the Holy One.

26 Look up into the heavens.
Who created all the stars?
He brings them out like an army, one after another,
calling each by its name.
Because of his great power and incomparable strength,
not a single one is missing.
27 O Jacob, how can you say the Lord does not see your troubles?
O Israel, how can you say God ignores your rights?
28 Have you never heard?
Have you never understood?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of all the earth.
He never grows weak or weary.
No one can measure the depths of his understanding.
29 He gives power to the weak
and strength to the powerless.
30 Even youths will become weak and tired,
and young men will fall in exhaustion.
31 But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.
They will soar high on wings like eagles.
They will run and not grow weary.
They will walk and not faint.


Footnotes:
Isaiah 40:5 Greek version reads He is a voice shouting in the wilderness, / “Prepare the way for the Lord’s coming! / Clear a road for our God! / Fill in the valleys, / and level the mountains and hills. / And then the glory of the Lord will be revealed, / and all people will see the salvation sent from God. / The Lord has spoken!” Compare Matt 3:3; Mark 1:3; Luke 3:4-6.
Isaiah 40:9 Or O messenger of good news, shout to Zion from the mountaintops! Shout it louder to Jerusalem.
Isaiah 40:13 Greek version reads Who can know the Lord’s thoughts? Compare Rom 11:34; 1 Cor 2:16.

one more thing...

Casey and Kervens got to go with the team out to Gonaives! Its very exciting as Casey is so dear to the brooks family (jus another adoptive child, as so many are) and kevs is their adoptive son.

thanks for all the prayers! xoxox

berry team

So since i have been here i have helped with preparations for the Berry College trip to Haiti. The team left Sunday with Kathy, Cory and Sam Brooks, along with 4 other girls from Cory's College Berry. I booked all their tickets, wrote them vocabulary lists, an encouragement letter, put together folders for them, helping them pack 16 suitcases and have been praying for them. Mama Kathy and Sam with be there for a month, the rest of the group comes back this Saturday night. Its good, i definitely feel like i am with them and my ministry to Haiti hasn't stop as i do things like this and am in contact with those i love there almost every week.

Saturday night it hit me hard that i wasn't actually physically going with them. we prayed over the team and returned home at sunny brooks farm to do finishing touches and hang out before the next morning of their departure. i secluded myself in Becca's room, well our room and wrote a note of encouragement for Kathy. Y'all pray for her as she is staying 2 weeks extra to watch over Sherrie fausey's ministry. She will be in charge of 35 staff a school and a feeding program in the ravine. i thought it was scary to be in charge of Dorothy's for 2 months and that was only 16-20 kids and 11 staff. So keep her in your prayers.

Anyway i had an overwhelming moment of missing everyone and desperately wanted to be able to hug them, love on them, be there in Haiti. i cried for a bit and then the Lord showed me Isaiah 40 for Kathy, but I think it must have been for me too! all this to say the Lord is teaching me much...I am doing good things here. Much Ministries has a team in Haiti and you should keep them in your prayers.

thanks again for everything.
blessings
Natasha

Dorothy's Update March 17 2009

Dr. Karen McCarthy was in town again! She often sends us babies she sees at medical clinics and this trip was no exception. Eliezer Pierre came to stay with us on February 25th. He is 15 months old and weighed 14 lbs. His lower legs were starting to swell from a protein deficiency (kwashiorker malnutrition). The swelling is going down but the skin is still stretched so tight it is shiny and scaly looking. His blood tests look good except for infection and anemia. I expect he will recover fully in time and return to his family. He is adorable!

We started homeschooling Kervens recently. Casey brought books and lesson plans. I am searching for books and movies to make school more exciting. He will study astronomy in science. Do you have videos, DVDs or books that you don't need anymore and would be willing to share? Homeschoolers, please let me know about great resources you have found. Kervens is very bright and needs a variety of materials.

It's time to give the next round of DPT and polio immunizations but - guess what! Haiti doesn't have any vaccines! We'll just have to wait until they get a new supply. The kids who are old enough to remember 'pickies' (as they call them) are very happy.

Thanks to Janice Taylor and lots of very nice people in Kansas and Missouri, Mickenson got his surgery! He is home now and pretty much recovered. Praise God!!

Our dry season is so wet we had 3 inches of water downstairs on March 6th. About 9 pm we had to go down and bring up all the children and mattresses and put up anything that could be damaged by water. The children and nannies slept in the living room. Even though water still comes in when we have heavy rain it has not again flooded so badly. Unfortunately, the water comes in under the walls so there isn't much we can do to stop it. We hope to get a new house in the next few months.

Is our house going to be destroyed? For the past couple of decades Haiti's poor have been so desperate for housing they have built squatter's shacks in right-of-ways. Wealthier people who wanted more land sometimes extended their houses into right-of-ways because nobody cared enough to tell them not to. The Mayor for our section of Port au Prince wants to make haiti nice again so he is knocking down any structure in a right-of-way. Thousands of poor people have totally lost their homes with very little notice and no compensation. Our wall has now been marked for destruction. We aren't sure if the house behind the wall will also be destroyed. The bulldozers are supposed to show up Easter weekend if they are coming at all. I'll let you know what happens.

Please pray for Claudia Dorvil, one of our nannies, whose home is scheduled to be totally destroyed April 5th. She doesn't have any idea what she is going to do. She and her daughter could come here, at least temporarily, but we can't house her pig and chickens. She will need money to pay rent at least 6 months in advance, around $600 USD.

The mother of one of the children we have sent home has 5 children. Her husband is abusing her and last week tried to kill their oldest child. We hope to be able to help her find a home for herself and the 5 children. We will also need to help her start a business so she can support her children. Please pray for both of these desperate situations.

Frantzo is 3 years old today. I can't look at him without thanking God that he is alive. He is truly a miracle baby. Twice, 2 years ago, I saw him on the brink of death - the doctors were sure he couldn't live. But he did!!! I prayed very hard for God to spare him and not let him have severe brain damage. Though his development has been delayed, he is now developing like a normal little boy: he is beginning to talk and to tease us and to do all the things he should have done at 1 to 2 years of age. Rejoice with me and praise God for miracles!

We had a fun week with a group from Dublin, Georgia. Will Cooper was pastor of my church in Jacksonville when God told me to move to Haiti. It was a joy to see him and three members of his new church in Dublin, Karen, Paul and Anthony. They did lots of work, especially by building shelves on the front porch and in the depot. Our cat and dogs are happily catching the mice that were displaced when food was moved off the floor. I am happy that our food supply is now safe! Karen fell in love with the kids and was in tears when she had to leave them. All of this wonderful group blessed us. Thank you, Lord!

God bless all of you. I love you and thank you for your support.

Dorothy Pearce
Faith-Hope-Love Infant Rescue
http://dorothypearcehaiti.blogspot.com

"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." I Cor. 13:13


Mailing address:
Dorothy Pearce
Agape Flights PAP 15297
100 Airport Ave
Venice, FL 34285
(I am charged $1.50 per pound for shipping on all packages)

Tax deductible donations:
Christian Light Foundation, Inc.
P.O. Box 23881
Jacksonville FL 32241-3881
Memo: For D. Pearce, Haiti

Telephone: 011-509-3529-1962

Pieces from: To Begin with The Sweet Grass, by- Mary Oliver

I found this poem the other day and couldnt resist writing it down multiple places. i took all the parts i loved to make it what you read today! i hope you relish in it for a bit and smile. God is good and we are blessed.

"...Behold, I say -- behold, the reliability and the finery and the teachings of this gritty earth gift...

Eat bread and understand comfort.
Drink water and understand delight...

Look, and look again, this world is not just a thrill for the eyes.
It's more than bones.
It's more than the delicate wrist with its personal pulse.
It's more than the beating of a single heart.
It's praising.
It's giving until giving feels like receiving.

You have a life -- just imagine that!
You have this day, and maybe another, and maybe still another...

We do one thing or another; we stay the same or we change.
Congradulations, if you have changed...

And if you have not been enchanted by this andventure -- Your life --
What would do for you?...

And I have become the child of clouds, of hope.
I have become the friend of the enemy, whoever that is.
I have become older and, cherishing what I have learned,
I have become younger...

And what do I risk to tell you this, which is all I know?...

Love yourself.
Then forget it.
Then, love the world."