And They're Off!

Following their moving sale and commissioning service during the first weekend of June, the Nikkels had a few days to get last-minute items, pack and say many difficult goodbyes. They left for Ft. Pierce, Florida, last Friday, June 12, and had 5 days of relaxation before leaving for Pignon, Haiti, today.

While in Florida, Will and Natalie spent lots of time swimming and loving it! They discovered that Natalie is quite the little fish! They even tried to catch a space shuttle launch while they were there, but it was cancelled due to a leak of some kind. (Stacey reported that Will thought they should have just done it anyway.) In addition to the fun, they spent 4 hours at Sam's Club trying to buy the supplies they think they will need for the next year. Imagine trying to figure that out! Stacey said the few days of down time was really good for them, even though it is difficult to truly relax with such a big change coming.

This morning they left bright and early on an MFI (Missionary Flights International) and should have arrived in Pignon about 11:00 this morning. (Side note: Haiti does not participate in Daylight Savings Time, so they are currently on the same time as we are here in the Midwest.)

Below is a snippet from an email Stacey sent yesterday, and below that I've pasted some prayer requests she sent as well. After a long time of planning, their journey in Haiti has officially begun. Please keep them in your prayers!

"Tomorrow is coming fast and we are anxious to get to Haiti! Jared made a second trip to MFI with our luggage and found out we would be accompanied on the flight by some baby chicks and ducklings, Natalie can hardly wait to see them. Our flight should be 'non-stop' to Haiti, meaning we won't be stopping for fuel in the Bahamas. We'll pick up a customs agent in Cap Haitien on the northern coast, then fly into Pignon around 11:00. If everything goes well, we should make it through the customs check, hopefully with some of our cash left in hand. We've been told it can get pretty expensive, depending on the agent. So please pray all goes well with the flight and with customs!

We will be in touch as soon as we can. It could take some time to get someone from Port-au-Prince to come install a satellite so we will have internet service. Until then we may be able to use a local internet cafe (sounds strange for a 3rd world country!) or possibly at the Campbell's, our friends from the orphanage. At any rate we will try to get a message out to someone that we arrived and are getting settled. First order of business is to find a tutor and someone to run to market and cook for us. After that, piece of cake, right? We're looking forward to what God has in store for us and more importantly the people of Haiti."

Please pray for the Nikkels:

• For Will and Natalie, anything the spirit lays on your heart; this is a big adjustment for them, and mom and dad need extra patience and grace during this transition as well
• Protection over our marriage
• Protection over our family relationships
• Peace, patience and grace in everything we do
• For there to be a set of truck keys in our hands soon!
• God's mercy and grace as we are not even slightly prepared for what He has in store (it's so good to know He uses the ordinary!)
• Anything else you can think of to add would be great....

Thanks for your continued support!

Commissioning Service

You are invited to a Commissioning Service for Jared, Stacey, Will & Natalie Nikkel on Sunday, June 7, at 7:00 pm in the Third Church sanctuary (708 E 13th St, Pella).

The service will be a special time of worship, encouragement and blessing for the Nikkels as they are commissioned to serve full-time in Pignon, Haiti. You can hear their story of God's powerful call on their lives and be part of their formal send-off. All are welcome!

Moving Sale

Hello, Many Hands Supporters! It is now less than 2 weeks until the Nikkel family leaves, and they are feverishly packing their house and preparing to be out by this Friday, June 5. There is much to do, and you can imagine that it is stressful. Not only is there the physical and practical aspects of packing, buying necessary items, deciding what to keep and sell, but there is also all the emotion of major life change, goodbyes and fear of the unknown. Please keep the Nikkels and their families in your prayers daily!

Moving Sale:
Friday, June 5: 1pm-7pm
Saturday, June 6: 8am-1pm
307 Liberty Street, Pella
(in alley)

On Friday and Saturday, June 5-6, Jared & Stacey are having a moving sale in Pella--at my house, actually! As Jared put it, "Think of all the stuff in your house, and then think of selling it." That's what will be on the sale. To name a few items, they have entertainment centers, a rocking chair, PlayStation 2, a weedeater, a leafblower, garden tools, hunting/fishing/camping gear, lots of toys, Dora the Explorer 4-wheeler, a queen size mattress, twin beds, bedding, a pre-lit Christmas tree, boys and girls clothes and much household miscellaneous. In addition, a couple other people are adding items like an infant carseat with base, infant bathtub, boppy pillow and an infant gym. Stop by and tell others! You can also see our ad in the Town Crier this week. If you have questions about anything, give me a call at 641-621-1628 or 641-780-1400. They must sell everything!

See you there!
Beth

Celebration & Information

It seems I need to start every post with an apology for the length of time that has passed since my previous post. So, once again I apologize that we are not keeping up! While I'm done making promises I can't keep, I do promise that once Jared & Stacey are in Haiti, updates will be much more frequent. I hope we can get into a weekly or bi-weekly rhythm at that point so that prayer needs can be frequently shared and you can experience some of what the Nikkels are living in Haiti.

At this point, final preparations are in full swing. Major fundraising efforts are complete, and we're left to the details of travel, packing, and planning. A couple things MUST be highlighted! God is so good! He continues to open doors and bless our efforts in His name.

1) The Meals With a Mission fundraiser in April was huge success! More than $12,000 worth of orders for frozen meals, Dutch letters, cookie dough and coffee were filled, raising over $7,000 in profit for the Nikkel start-up costs. (All this even without a single mention on the blog...I'm so ashamed!) Thank you so much both to those who ordered and those who offered their time to help us prepare all those meals! I don't know all the numbers, but I do know that over 5,000 cookies were scooped! You can use your imagination for numbers of hamballs scooped, chicken pot pies fluted and pounds of chicken cut. Another job well done by fundraising leaders Nancy Henry and Tiffany Van Zee.

2) SOLD! Jared and Stacey's house is officially sold! Stacey told me over and over again that "it was already sold," and her faith became sight. A young couple soon to be married will make their home in Kilduff, and they were two of just a handful of people to show interest. God had the right people in mind, and He opened the door. Such a relief and blessing.

Current Updates:
1) Currently Stacey is in North Carolina for a 10-day medical missionary training, learning things like how to do stitches, give injections, put in air tubes, etc. It sounds like it is very hands-on and somewhat primitive, which I suppose is just how it will be in Haiti if she needs to use these skills. Jared reports that she is doing well, but is ready to come home. She still has one week left; she returns Thursday, May 21. Jared is home with the kids. Please pray for all of them in this time away from one another. The kids are doing well, but it's always tough without Mom.

2) Jared is technically on "vacation" right now, but is officially finished with his job with Jasper County law enforcement. While in some ways he was ready to be done, it is still a loss and transition to adjust to. They are thankful for the time Jared has to dedicate to the kids while Stacey is gone and to give to preparations for their quickly approaching move.

3) A Commissioning Service is planned for Sunday, June 7, at Third Church, and the Nikkels will be moving the following week. They will first spend a few days in Florida and then will fly into Haiti the following week. I don't have specific details (dates/times) of all this right now, but will try to get it on the blog in the next couple weeks.

Will you please be diligent in prayer for Jared, Stacey, Will & Natalie in the next few weeks? You can imagine all the emotional and practical implications of this move. Between now and the second week of June, many details of travel and moving will be finalized, the house will be handed to its new owners, many events and farewells will take place with family, friends and supporters, and the reality of this major life change will continue to become more real both for the Nikkels and those close to them. You can imagine that the Enemy will also be hard at work creating confusion and discouragement. Pray for a heavyness of God's Spirit over the Nikkels, for protection against the Enemy and for God to continue opening doors and "making the path straight."

Thank you for your support!

Missing Socks

Have you seen any socks around? I ask because MH4H supporters have knocked our socks off with their generosity, and God has knocked our socks off with his generous provision, even in our own inadequacy, uncertainty and doubt! Our feet our going to get cold if this keeps up...

Much has happened since our last post, and I apologize that it has taken so long to get an update. In this exciting season things are changing quickly, so we want to be diligent about sharing all that God is doing with you. The hard part is that it's also the busiest season for everyone involved, making it more difficult to get to the blog as often as we want!

With all that being said, on behalf of Jared & Stacey I want to say a humongous, ginormous THANK YOU to all who supported Hotcakes for Haiti. Our last post shared that there would be a finale pancake breakfast at Third Church on March 29 in hopes of meeting the $30,000 Nickels for Nikkels goal to purchase the Third World truck. Let me tell you, it was a grand finale! We went into the 29th with just over $12,500, so in our wildest hopes, we were hoping to get into the mid-twenties...maybe. Instead, God decided to use the generous hearts of so many people at Third Church to remind us that He is going before us and providing beyond what we can ask or hope. We ended the day with over $40,000! Those of us there when the announcement was made were overcome with gratitude and joy. It was an awesome moment! Thank you again to everyone who served at Hotcakes for Haiti, everyone who attended and offered financial gifts, and everyone who is praying for the mission of Many Hands for Haiti.

We had another great Hotcakes for Haiti breakfast in Sully on April 4, and we want to say another huge thank you to the Sully Lions Club for sponsoring that breakfast and providing all the needed workers. Gifts totaling over $3,000 were given in just three hours that Saturday morning. Thank you to the Lions and the Sully community!

And the craziness continues as this week is meal prep week for the Meals With a Mission fundraiser. More than $12,000 worth of orders came in for frozen meals, cookie dough, Dutch letters and coffee! Again, we were blown away by the response. We are grateful for many volunteers who are willing to help us prepare food this week. With over 660 meals to make, I'm sure many will be seeing lasagna and ham balls in their sleep! Please pray for this meals mission this week and specifically pray peace and protection for Nancy Henry and Tiffany Van Zee and their families as they lead this fundraising event and coordinate all the details. Volunteers will be preparing food all day Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. If you'd still like to help, there are plenty of spots available. Contact Tiffany Van Zee at 641-780-2876 or stvanzee@iowatelecom.net.

On behalf of Jared & Stacey, thank you again for your support of this mission. In this heavy fundraising season, we also say a special thank you to Nancy Henry and Tiffany Van Zee, who have worked tirelessly on details for t-shirt sales, Hotcakes for Haiti and Meals With a Mission. Thank you for your sacrifice of time, and for the use of your gifts for MH4H!

We are so grateful to God for His continued provision and confirmation of this calling on the Nikkel family. It's amazing to be part of something so much bigger than ourselves and see that God is so graciously at work in all things, even when we are blind to it! Keep praying that His will be done through us!

Get 'Em While They're Hot!

They're here! We currently have Many Hands for Haiti and Hotcakes for Haiti t-shirts available for purchase with all proceeds going toward Nikkel family start-up costs. We have both youth and adult unisex sizes. T-shirts are $15 each, or free with your tax-deductible donation of $50. To order yours, contact Tiffany Van Zee at stvanzee@iowatelecom.net or 641-628-8664. See all the fun styles and colors below!

**For those of you attending the Hotcakes for Haiti pancake breakfast at Third Church on March 29 or in Sully on April 4, we'd love to see you wearing your shirt in support of Jared, Stacey, Will & Natalie!

Many Hands for Haiti logo is in blue and yellow on all tees.

Many Hands tees: available in pink, orange, green or grey

Adult sizes: S-2XL; Youth: S-L

(Infant/toddler sizes are available by special order, grey only)

Hotcakes for Haiti logo--FUN!

Adult Sizes: S-2XL in brown

Youth Sizes: S-L in orange

Other Current Giving Opportunities:

Nickels for Nikkels is a change drive to raise money for the purchase of the reliable Third World truck the Nikkels will need in Haiti. The campaign wraps up this weekend! If you'd like to donate from your change jar or just give cash, containers are displayed at Third Reformed Church or Gosselink's Christian Book Store in Pella, or cash/check donations can also be brought to Marion County Bank. We're just over 1/3 of the way to our $30,000 goal, so please consider a gift!

In case you haven't heard, Hotcakes for Haiti is coming soon to a church or community center near you!

On Sunday, March 29, pancakes, eggs, sausage and drinks will be served all morning at Third Reformed Church with freewill donations being taken for the Nikkels, specifically to be added to the Nickels for Nikkels total for the purchase of a reliable Third World Truck.

On April 4, Hotcakes for Haiti continues with another hearty breakfast at the Sully Community Building from 7:00-10:00 am. We are so grateful to the Sully Lions Club for sponsoring this breakfast! T-shirts will be sold and freewill donations will be taken for Nikkel family start-up costs.

Welcome Back!

Welcome back to the MH4H blog! Jared & Stacey have been away for awhile, but now with some teamwork, we've resurrected the blog, and it will now become the online hub of information for fundraising details, ministry information and personal thoughts from the Nikkels.

I'm Beth Gaulke, Jared's sister, and I'm helping with communication in this season of preparation and fundraising. It is such a blessing to be part of this process, an exciting time of obedience to God's powerful call on their lives. What an amazing journey the Nikkels are walking--one of sacrificial obedience, unexplainable joy, impractical change and blind faithfulness to Jesus. Please pray for them in this time of planning, fundraising and major life change.

If you need to get caught up on the Nikkel family's story and the call they've received to serve in Haiti, read Stacey's very first blog entry here.

Currently, fundraising is in full swing as we seek to raise the $70,000 in needed start-up costs. This money will go toward building a small house, buying a reliable truck, funding ministry costs and projects, and the actual costs of relocating to Haiti. Watch for how you can get involved in helping us out in the next post!

We'll be frequently adding new information, such as prayer requests, giving opportunities, details regarding the process of preparation and relocation, and more! Thank you for your interest in the Nikkel family and Many Hands for Haiti! Keep checking back!