Our Lady of the Hills students give gift boxes to Haitian kids for Christmas!

Christmas wishes from TX to Haiti

Merry Christmas, 3 Angels!

Some pics of the Gift Box Givers!!

2nd - 6th grade givers at Grace Christian School

7th-12th grade givers at Grace Christian School
Gift Givers from Our Lady of the Hills High School

THANK YOU!!!!

A belated, but heartfelt, thank you to everyone who contributed to our Christmas Joy by donating a shoebox(es) for us to give to the orphans at 3 Angels. Also, thanks a MILLION to my friend Brenda A., who graciously gave her TIME to help Hannah and me figure out how to pack all the gifts in our suitcases before the trip. That was a crazy job!!

This time of year can be quite hectic, and we really appreciated the way so many of you took the time to do all this for kids you've never even met. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!! How fun to have students from Grace Christian School, Hill Country Homeschoolers and Our Lady of the Hills Regional High School to all contribute SO MANY BOXES!! Truly, we couldn't have done it without all of you!! Thanks also to the many families from Grace Bible Chapel as well as so many other churches around town who gave their love and time to the precious children in Haiti. One adorable boy, Steven, was simply astounded by his gift box. He looked at me with awe and asked, "Did you really make this all for me, Miss Linda?" I explained that while I brought the box, another family from my town actually made his box. I showed him a picture of the Schmerbeck family who made his box, and he just couldn't believe it. "They don't even know me, and they do so much for me?" He was amazed. Then he asked me this question: "Miss Linda, is Christmas ever this wonderful in the United States??" That question almost made me cry. If he only knew of all the excesses in our country, of all the revelry and fun that goes on all month in the USA! He'd be overwhelmed. Yet looking at the total joy and wonder on his sweet face, I told him honestly, "Well, Steven, Christmas IS good there, but not quite this good." What can compare to being with 44 totally happy, thankful and enthralled kiddos?

May your Christmas celebration tomorrow morning be "almost as good" as ours was December 15 in Haiti!!! Merry Christmas! Jesus is born!!



Thanks again, and Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Hamming it up

A somewhat shy schoolboy wanted me to record him singing a song.....but the adorable camera-hog, orphan HAMS just HAD to get a piece of the action! So cute! Can you see why I love this place/these kids???

ROLLER COASTER FUN - HAITI STYLE!!

A new friend of mine, named Cara, brought one of those fun toy roller coasters as a BIG Christmas presents for all the kids in the orphanage to share. Was it ever a hit! I remember when my nieces had this very same rollercoaster in Houston, and the entire neighborhood loved it. Guess this toy has universal appeal. Here's a sample:

TO WATCH VIDEOS, TURN OFF MUSIC!!

JUST A HINT: IF YOU WANT TO WATCH ANY OF THESE VIDEOS, YOU'LL PROBABLY ENJOY THEM MORE IF YOU FIRST SCROLL DOWN TO THE VERY BOTTOM OF THIS BLOG AND CLICK THE "PAUSE" BUTTON ON THE JUKEBOX THINGY. THAT WAY YOU WON'T HAVE TO HEAR THE COMPETING NOISE FROM THE CHILDREN ON THE VIDEO VS. THE SONGS ON THE JUKEBOX!!!!!

Happy Birthday Matt!!!

Mia sings Happy Birthday (with a dramatic twist) for my cool brother, Matt!

Steeve singing Happy Birthday to Matt!!

Home, Sweet Home!

We made it back to Texas - a day later than we thought, but we still made it! Hugging my husband and kids was like wrapping up in a cozy fleece blanket with a favorite book. How I missed their hugs!!

The flight out of Haiti was delayed by about 4 hours due to "crew legalities". Not sure what that means, but I think it may have something to do with working too many hours without a break. This inconvenienced a lot of folk trying to make connecting flights, but for us it was a welcome change of plans. Hannah-Grace picked up a GI thing (we assume from the orphans), and felt dizzy, weak, achey, clammy and naseous at the airport. She could hardly stand up and was running a fever. I wondered how she would make it through an entire day of running through airports. The delay meant she could sleep a few hours on the chairs in the gate area. Then, because we missed the last flight out of Miami to Dallas, American Airlines put us up in a Holiday Inn AND gave us meal vouchers for Dinner, Breakfast and Lunch the next day. The vouchers don't quite cover the cost of a real meal, but since Hannah wasn't eating, we had plenty of money to cover my food! We made it to the hotel, where Hannah collapsed into bed, getting up only for sick visits to the restroom. She slept all the next day until 2 p.m. Tim called in some LoMotil (sp?), which enabled her to go to the airport and fly without incident. We arrived back in S.A. at 9:55 and discovered one of our bags was lost, which of course meant we didn't get out of the airport for another hour, due to filling out all the required paperwork. Driving up to our house around midnight, I was greeted by our beautiful outdoor Christmas lights - so pretty! Tim and the kids added more while we were gone.....the scene is beautiful!! Then, of course, the sparkly tree - and our faithful dogs - welcomed us as we walked in the entry hall. AH......HOME. I wish everyone in the world could live in such a warm and secure place. Why did God choose to bless me so abundantly, and not all those millions of people, just like me, living all over the rest of the world? I don't mean to question His goodness, because I KNOW Him to be very, very good. Time and again over the last 20 years since He opened my eyes, (but really over my entire life), I've seen that He is the Only One who is truly good and can always be trusted. I know I could never begin to understand His reasons or His grand plan. But, oh, how I wish there didn't have to be such suffering for so many in this world.

On the Bright Side.....

Though we're leaving all these children behind, which of course makes me sad, I cannot WAIT to see MY other three children I left behind a week ago in the States! And of course, I can't wait to see my SWEET HUSBAND, too! I've missed you guys sooooooo much!!!! Can't wait to give you all big hugs and kisses! See you around 2 a.m.!!!!!!!! Love, me

New Email

If anyone has emailed me in the last week, just thought you might want to know that I couldn't read it. For some unknown reason, my email bounced all my messages back to ..... somewhere all week!! This same thing happened the last time I was in Haiti! What a bummer! Because I couldn't fix the problem, I opened a new email account. Effective two days ago, I am using this new account, and will transition out of the old one permanently eventually. SO.......if you want, you can find your old sent emails from the last week and forward them to this new address. Or.....just please copy this new address and begin using it from now on! Thanks so much.

LindaMullerBerg@gmail.com

We leave in one hour to drive to the orphanage one last time. We'll say our quick farewells to all the precious children there before rushing off to the airport. So sad!

What is that verse about God being a father to the fatherless? I can't remember it exactly just now, and don't have a concordance with me.....but I'm thankful that, although people like us come and go constantly in these childrens' lives, God never leaves them and His love for them is always strong and true.

Boxes and Boxes, Oh Boy!!

cmas pics

Christmas Party!! "Awesome" just doesn't even describe it!!

What a full day we had. We are so tired, but it's a good tired. The "boxes" were a huge success. We stayed up til 12:30 last night putting finishing touches on everything.......we were bleary eyes this morning -- but oh, those smiling faces! What fun!! Totally worth everything. Talk about that Christmas morning feeling! This was really fun. I know I'm doing a lousy job explaining it all....perhaps in a day or two, I'll be able to say more than "it was so fun". Afterwards, we drove to a restaurant in town for lunch. It was sort of a combo of a mcdonald's (but not a mcdonald's in name) and a nice bakery. Then the driver took us by the presidential palace, which makes our White House look dinky and a few other important places. We also saw lots of folks gathering in the city park for the free Wycliff Jean concert which is tonight. In fact, as I type this blog, I can hear his concert as its being carried live, and the workers at the Guest House are all watching it on t.v. Wycliff Jean is a popular singer in the USA, but he is originally from Haiti and comes back a lot to do charity work and give concerts, etc. He evidently bought all the large garbage dumpsters in town (they're stationed about every mile on the roads) and the trucks which empty them. This act alone has changed the face of the poor areas of Port Au Prince.

Anyway,

Matt, if you're reading this, hope you had a GREAT BDAY Celebration. Sorry we couldn't be there. We tried to download some short video clips of some of the orphanage kids saying "Happy Birthday, Matthew!"....but hte connection is just too slow. We'll have to show you when we get back.

Meanwhile, Here's a few pics of the Cmas party today. Hi to everyone at the party, if y'all see this! We miss you, but will be back soon!

Love, Linda

Happy Birthday, Matt!!!!!!

My Big Brother turns the big 5-0 later this month.......so I want to be sure to tell him Happy Birthday from me, Hannah-Grace and all the kiddos at 3 Angels Orphanage in Haiti!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MATT!!!!

God's love is amazing!

Okay, just a few hours ago everything looked so bleak. After posting the last entry, I went downstairs to do something. A local Haitian visitor was there, playing the guitar. He was playing tons of old praise songs from "the old days" (the 80's!) =). A couple people were singing, and I joined in, sort of with the attitude I have when I take my vitamins. I was thinking, "Boy, I am totally NOT in the mood to worship, but it would probably be really good for me right now. At the same time, however, I felt so in need of God's presence that I was so thankful the man (whoever he was) was playing. Soon, our whole group was singing together. In about 2 songs, I felt so much better and had gained a whole new perspective on the day, folks being sick, the risk of getting sick, the migraine, the throw-up, ......everything! Here's just a few of the lyrics:

"You are my strength when I am weak, you are the treasure that I seek, You are my all in all. Seeking you as a precious jewel, Lord to give up, I'd be a fool, You are my all in all...."

"Change my heart, O God, make it ever true. Change my heart o God, may I be like you. You are the potter, I am the clay. Mold me and make me, this is what I pray....."

"Give thanks, with a grateful heart, give thanks, to the Holy One, Give thanks, because He's given Jesus Christ, His son......And now, let the weak say "I am strong", let the poor say "I am rich, because of what the Lord has done for us."

"Oh God, you are my God, and I will ever praise you....I will seek you in the morining, , and I will learn to walk in your ways, and step by step you'll lead me, and I will follow you all of my days."

"This is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it."

"Lord, I lift your name on high. Lord I love to sing your praises. I'm so glad you're in my life. I'm so glad you came to save us. You came from heaven to earth to show the way. From the earth to the cross, my debt to pay. From the cross to the grave, from the grave to the sky. Lord I lift your name on high."

NO WONDER I FELT BETTER!!!!

I am so grateful for the way God DOES renew our strength when we look to Him.......

And I'm also grateful that we finished the Christmas boxes!! Hurray!!!

Can't wait to give them to the kids! Also, this is so cool.....we have lots of extra stuff left over -- 2 HUGE suitcases worth -- it's like our toys reproduced while on the plane or something!! So, we're going to either give th extras to a Methodist Boys' Home, Mother Teresa's Orphanage, or our new friend, Esperandieu Pierre's school -- or maybe a combination of the above! How fun is that?!

Playing Santa

Hannah Grace and I stayed up really late last night, decorating boxes full of Christmas gifts for the kiddos. We had so much fun. We're still not done....we'll finish tonight (we hope). The big Christmas party is Saturday. Woo Hoo! Hannah continues to be everyone's favorite toy -- so lifelike!! =)

I had a migraine today, which wasn't fun.

This afternoon, a little girl fell down - hard - and hit her head on the cement. I felt like we could relate to one another -- both needing something that just couldn't be found in our little corner of Haiti: ICE!! As I was rocking her and trying to give her comfort, I couldn't help but reflect on all the comforts of home I have at my fingertips whenever one of my children is sick or gets hurt. I longed to be able to run to my freezer and push the "crushed ice" button to make a little icepack for her. But, of course, that's just not a possibility! She has a knot on her forehead now, but of course, all the tears have dried. Apparently, ice isn't quite as necessary as I'd always thought.

The boys who were staying in our room with the super high fever have now passed their illness on to their adoptive mom. She's been throwing up all day in our room. I'd REALLY like for Hannah and I to NOT get sick -- not now, not when we get back and have only a week b4 Christmas, not at all!! Here we are, surrounded by so many profound needs, and all I can think about is my daughter's and my well being and convenience. Pretty shallow and self-centered, I know. But, I am SO hoping we don't get sick. If you'd like to enable my self-centeredness =), I'd love any prayers in that regard. OKAY-- in the middle of writing the above sentence, one of the guests here came running upstairs to tel l me there had been an "accident" and Hannah needed a new set of clothes. It seems one of the orphans threw up all over her. I have just returned from bringing the clothes, and I can confirm: never have I seen that much throw up on one person. Lovely. I am amazed at my daughter -- she wasn't even upset about it, but felt sorry for the little kid! Meanwhile, I was totally grossed out.

I think now would be a good time to reflect on our children's memory verse.

"Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing. Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." -Isaiah 40:28-31

I'm glad He isn't tired or weary....b/c I sure am. I will hope in the Lord and look to Him to renew my strength - body, mind and soul.

I wish we could find a germ free place to sleep tonight. No time to worry about that right now, though. We've still got lots of Santa work to do!

Thats my Girl! (Oh, & me too! )

Look at the Monkeys on the Hannah Tree!! lol!


Lets Chalk!!


Uh-OH - Now EVERYONE wants some! =)


Hey Tim -- Your friend Peter says "hi"!!

"Day 2"

Today Hannah-Grace saw Three Angels Orphanage for the first time -- unless you count all the times she's seen it in pictures and on youtube!! She quickly became a hot commodity....all the kids LOVED her. I don't think I ever saw her without at least two children (more often, about 4-5) hanging from her arms, neck or legs. She is stronger than her mom....I would have fainted from exhaustion! We colored, Hannah twirled about a million kids (okay, how about 50?) in the air until she was just too dizzy to go on, jumped rope, played hopscotch, etc. etc.

One funny thing: all the kids were FASCINATED with Hannah's braces. One kid thought the metal was stuck there by mistake and kept trying to pry it off for her! Good thing Dr. Reisenger put them on good and tight! =) Then, later, the kids were wondering why I didn't have any on MY teeth! I was going to tell them it was because I sucked my thumb for 9 years, but figured they wouldn't get the joke.

We're happy that the storm didn't visit us in Port Au Prince. Evidently, about 8 folks died in the DR, and 2 in Haiti, but this was very far away. Poor folks. We heard about 25,000 are displaced from the flooding, but you'd never know it here. We've only had light rain. The temp. is refreshingly cool --- little children were coming to school today all bundled up in coats and hats. It was 74 F. Ha ha ha! It looked so funny. All the locals kept shivering and talking about how very COLD it was! I'll always remember that I think.

I'm going to try to upload a pic of Hannah at the orphanage. That's all for now! Thanks for reading!

Oops - one more thing. Thanks for praying for Justin - he's doing much better; only light fever tonight. Yea!

Well, we made it!!

Hannah-Grace and I safely arrived at the Methodist Guest House, and settled into our room. We're sharing a room with Tina, an adoptive mom with 4 bio kids - one in college, youngest 13 yrs., I think. Also with Cara, who is adopting 2 boys. Not sure if she has kids at home. The kids are staying in the Guest House with us, so all the beds are full and things are a little crazier around here than the last time we stayed with almost all adults.

Our flight was a tad on the bumpy side, due to that tropical depression what's-her-name (guess I'll be hearing more about her tomorrow). No weather on the ground, however...aside from a few raindrops. We'd appreciate prayers regarding the storm, however, as I'd prefer not to experience any foul weather while here! =)

So far, all Hannah has experienced is the flight, the airport (which was a total zoo this time) and the Guest House. She likes the Guest House best. Big shocker there! When we arrived, it was totally dark, which is partly why I think the airport was worse than before. I think people in general are a little more agitated here after dark, and then the funky weather, and .....well, I don't guess I know why, but it was a little crazy and rather disconcerting for me as a mom. I was wondering, "What was I thinking, bringing my baby to this place?!?!?!" Okay, I realize, my "baby" is taller than I am, but I was still doing quite a bit of praying/panicking all rolled up into one! Thankfully, it all turned out fine; but I'm glad our return trip is in daylight.

Here's an excerpt from an email Hannah Grace sent her dad, sister, grandparents and best friend:

"THere are Roosters crowing here - and NOT quiet ones - (are there such a thing?), It makes me think of the ranch with the peacocks.... Only THEY aren't so loud. By the way, they are very CONFUSED roosters it's only 9:46 pm!!!!!! Soooo........ We got to Haiti....(which I guess you fugured out by now). As soon as we had FINALLY gotten all of our bags and went outside, well, you'll see..... So, as I was saing, when we got outside there were TONS and TONS of people watching us from behind this railing thing, not to mention the just plain old half of a Ton of people NOT behind a rail thingy! YIKES!!! People immediatly started pushing to help us with our bags, all of who were, lets just say, not Quiet people. EVERYONE was yelling and SCREAMING!! hee-hee! Yeah - pretty hectic....... Anyhoo, There was this one big man that kept screaming at everyone trying to help us get our bags through the incredibly crowded, busy, and not-so-well-made street - "NO TOUCH ANY THIS!!!!!!! - NOO TOOUCH ANY THIS!!!!!!! NO TOUCH ANY THIS!!!!!". Which as far as I could figure out ment - "these people you don't steal from, no stealing or taking their stuff!". At one point I was trying to push my crooked wheeled cart of luggage behing a certain man, I knew I had to follow someone, and this guy (we had been talking to him on the plane ride) was on the 3Angels board and knew what he was doing,the rest of the group was behind me, and people blocked my view of the guy I was following!!! DOUBLE- YIIIIIIKES!!!!!! I ended up back withe group but it was PRETTY scary! One last funny note - as we were getting on our taxii-bus-thing, there was a man playing the trumpet (for muulah of course) right in the middle of the very crowded and very traffic crazy filled parking lot (can you say let's get run over?) and he played, among many other american hymns, a few jazz tunes, the happy birthday song and such - was "the star spangled banner". WEIRD! So... HOW did he learn to play that again??? he-he!!!!Love You and Miss you!!!! ~Hannah

P.s. - the guest house is REALLY safe, and safe-feeling, Which is LOVELY! Oh, and I know the email sounds sort of pessimistic but it is fun now that I'm in the guest house and OUT of the taki-taxi! Someone told me that was the worst it's ever been getting out of the airport, which, if that's the worst ,it's not THAT bad. Love yall -HG."

If you're in a praying mood (or even if you're not?!), pls. do pray that the One who loves my daughter even more than I do will keep her SAFE and SOUND and even that He would give her a GREAT travel experience. And of course, that He would do whatever He knows is best for us and all the orphans here while we're here (and that we'd trust Him as He does so!).

Guess this post is getting a little too heavy! I think I need to catch some zzzzz's. Thanks for reading! -Linda

One more thing: One of the children from the orphanage who is staying in the guest house is named Justin. He is pretty sick. His fever is 105.3 currently. Poor thing. They can't get to a doctor at night, so we're just keeping cool rags on him and giving him motrin. Pls. pray for him as well. He is sleeping in our room, so that's just another reason I'm praying for Hannah's well being.

Gotta run and get some sleep!

Cite Soleil, Haiti, the "worst slum in the world" according to UN officials. At least 2 children from 3Angels orphanage are from this place.....