Please Pray

We are back in full swing. Kenya and Elijah have been making a little extra cash by picking blackberries and selling them to mommy. Apparently blackberries have really gone up in price over the years. I guess that is the price you pay if you don't want to go pick them yourself. Unfortunatly, Elijah thinks picking them and then giving the profits to someone else, whether it comes with money or not is a cheap alternative to just stationing yourself at the bush and eating them until your sick.

Apparently the travels aren't over for my sweet husband.

Our previous pastor (Pastor Ken)

who I am sure is extatic that I used this picture, called and asked Tadd to help him out. Tadd had worked with Ken at our church until Ken moved to Costa Mesa, California and is now moving back to Washington to start a Calvary Chapel in Everett. Everett is about an hour south of us, by Seattle. Tadd will be helping him get the church in Everett started until we leave for Haiti in November. We are picking up his wonderful wife Lynn and their 3 kids from the airport next week and then at the end of the week Tadd will fly down to Cali and take a week to help Ken drive back up here. With a short pit stop in Jacksonville, OR of course as Ken is also a fan of Jon Courson, but I am sure not half as big as Tadd.

All of that said, we could really use some prayer for safety for Tadd and Ken as they drive back and also for protection and sanity for both of their wives and kids. If you could also really commit the church in Everett to prayer. The web address is www.calvaryeverett.com check it out and keep it in prayer.

Drained from Drifting

Well, we are finally home for awhile. We have visited and vacationed to our little hearts desire and we are now trying to cram our life into a box and head to Haiti. We are targeting the first of November as our departure date. We will be commiting to 6 months there and depending on how our adoption goes we will be back to show off our kids. Then we will seek the Lord and re-evaluate weither he takes us back to Haiti or in a different direction. We are just storing all of our thing now, so that we can use them when we come back to introduce Annecy and Isaiah to everyone and we will make a decision from there weither to continue to store or get rid of it all. We are so excited to go to Haiti and be with our kids, work with the Ebenhaaks and be a part of the amazing things God has going there. We will posting soon with more details and more direction. So stay tuned.

Meanwhile, we had a long, but fun 3 week vacation to say goodbye to family and friends. We started out in Idaho with Charity's family reunion which I'm sure you have already ooggled at that on our previous post, but hears a little follow up

mia and aunt charity

The sista's (4 outta 7 that is)

Sanfords & Scheffers @ museum

Next on to Saint George for lots of very Hot family fun.

Kenya and Elijah riding the kiddie go karts, they are not amuzed as the power wheels they have goes much faster.

So daddy let them ride on his go cart, much more amuzing, Dad hit the Lady in front of Him and make her do a 360 on the track.





The nice thing is the heat really wears the kids out.


We celebrated Kenya's 7th birthday on July 29th. Daddy took her on a date while Elijah and Mom stayed home to suprise her with cake and decor. It apparently worked and we got a snap shot as she walked in the door. She got to take a big bite right out of the cake, and then Elijah felt justified in doing the same.

Then off to Indio California to hang out with the Wheelers before they go off to Brazil.

We were afraid with 6 kids between both families we wouldn't get enough adult time together. We figured that out pretty quick and were able to go out with out the kids a couple of times.


The first night we just put them in front of the TV and told them not to make to much noise.


Then we took them to the beach and burried them in the sand, until we got back from surfing.



We had lots of fun at the beach and all the kids and guys got to go to the Pendleton Marine base in Oceanside. Since Billy is a Marine they got some special treatment when playing with the tanks. Then back home for some sweet snuggle time.



It seems that was the pattern for the whole vacation was, lots of play, lots of fun, then complete exhaustion.



Finally, we said good bye to the Wheeler's and on to our last stop in Jacksonville, OR for some borderline stalking of Jon Courson (a very gifted pastor that we love to listen to online). The reason I say borderline stalking is because every vacation we take, we end up stopping by to attend a service there and the kids love the kids museum and the camping spot we stay at.
We took a slight detour into the Oregon Vortex and found out that Kenya and Elijah are closer in height depending on where they stand. After satifying our obsessions, we limped our way home with excitement and exhaustion. Poor Elijah who was regularly deprived of his much needed naps was totally spent.


Thanks for keeping up with us and most of all keeping us in your prayers. We will try to post a little more frequently, now that we are a little more stationary. Love you all and we'll talk to you soon.

Enjoying Each Other

Well, we had a great time with Charity's family in Lava hot springs, Here's some pic and a breif walk through what we did.

It was an 11 kid camp out every night in th living room at the conference center.

Statton, Kenya and Nick Statton, Mia, Maddie, Nick, Chandler, Kenya

Which made for some good snuggle time.

Ty and Elijah, Then Maddie and Kylee

The place we stayed was right next to a small river that you could rent tubes and float down, it looked pretty harmless, but Charity and Kenya got dumped half way down and could not stay above water for about a minute. The water slowed down and we were able to recover. Kenya however will never touch a tube or a small river again, charity has a sprained finger from trying to pry Kenya off her to get her back into the tube. Tadd and the other "adults" decided to go farther up river where there was rumor of a 10 ft water fall you can go over. After about 20 minutes Tadd came back with a bloody head and ear, Bob had a bloody back and head, and everyone else had many scrapes and bruises. Apparently no one told them you should not try to act 16 if your not. Everyone was bandaged and babied, then they went back up to try it one more time. Do we blame this on the upbringing or loss of brain cells over time.

The next day we hit Lava Hot Springs water park to see what other things on our bodies we could damage. Scott and Elle attemped the 32 foot diving platform and Tadd got a mid air shot.

All the sain people just swam in the pool and hit the waterslides.

Then on the last couple of days we stayed safe and Ben made a great treasure hunt for the kids which Sarah provided pirate tatoos for I'm not sure which was more fun, the hunt or the treasure itself. We followed the treasure hunt with some sushi made by Chris who was in Japan for 2 years and perfected Charity;s favorite dish, California rolls. Fireworks and a historical tour through the ancestors cemetary to end the whole sha bang. Bringing a close to a crazy, but fun family reunion.

R & R

Well, were of to a REAL vacation. I know most of you might think, YOU JUST GOT BACK! Well as much as we loved spending time with our kids and friends in Haiti. Haiti is the last place that feels like a family vacation. So we are off to our yearly family vacation. We are spending 3 days with Charity's family at a reunion in Lava Hot Springs, Idaho, Then off for a week at our Trendwest timeshare in St. George, UT.

We will be able to say good-bye to her side before we leave to do missionary work and we will be able to use up our timeshare points that we may never be able to use again, as Haiti doesn't have a lot of timeshare vacation spots. Then we are spending some time at the trendwest in Indio, CA with our sweet chicken friends, The Wheelers, before they leave to Brazil to do mission work.

It's a fairly lengthy vacation, but we are trying to store up some R & R as the next couple of months will be pretty hectic. If nothing else it will make us really ready to come home. We should be back the second week in August or so. Then it's home to get rid of all of our worldly possesions and pack up to head to the mission field. We are so blessed to be able to take some time with family and friends before we go and God has blessed us with such wonderful people in both of these circles.

We talked on the phone to Annecy and Isaiah for the first time since we left Haiti, as the directors just got back from spending a month in the US and our much coveted phone conversations were not possible until today. It's almost harder to talk to them on the phone now as I know thier personalities and quirks so much better now, I can just picture their facial expressions and understand more of what they are feeling. All the sadness of being apart was lost as we talk about how excited we were to see them soon and they wouldn't have to live the orphanage life any more. After 7 and 9 years of living in orphanages, I'm sure it is almost unfathomable to them.

There was a story on Nightline a couple of weeks ago called, "How to buy a child in 10 hours" it's a story about child slavery in Haiti. It very interesting, but also heartbreaking. Here is a link to it. http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/Story?id=5326508 This link takes you to the nightline story part 1, if you look below part 1 there is a link to part 2 and 3. It's pretty long, but if you have time it is definantly worth it.

We are so overwhelmed that God has provided the opportunity to be with our kids and minister to the people of Haiti. We are looking so forward to seeing what the Lord is going to do.

knowing He is God

The paperwork that was supposed to come out last week to be re-submitted to the passport office did not come out. So we are hoping this week. We did hear that the passport and visa processes are speeding up down there. There are 3 families that thier paperwork was not lost and they just got their kids home or are going to bring them home in the next couple of weeks. Selfishly it is kind of hard to hear about other families passing you up in the process and hearing their stories of thier kids first days home. But that is why knowing the Lord is so awesome. We know he is in control and know He is God. In trusting those 3 simple words, we know that He has a plan for us, He will give us the patience we need, He will bring our kids home in His perfect timing, and He is fully capable of doing way more, that I could ever think about doing for my kids. Lastly, that He is a better parent to them than we ever could be and I know he will be their All in All or thier I AM, whether they are near or far. So we will stand on His promises until we see Him moving these paper to the proper place. Thanks for listening to my rambling. It's probablly more for my benefit than anyone elses, but thanks for listening.

Laugh'in out loud

Hi All,

Sorry it's been so long since we have posted. We have been trying to post a video on our blog for a couple of days, but can't get it to post as it is too big and takes up too much room. So we posted it on you tube and put a link to it here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUumBwgMFs8 If for some reason the link doesn't work you can just put "youtube.com" in your google search and then when youtube comes up search "Scheff kids Hard to Stand". We are excited to say our adoption paperwork that was lost is due to be done on Friday and we would appreciate prayer in that direction. The adoption offices in Haiti have been speeding up lately and so we are hoping as soon as our paperwork is re-submitted we will actually be making some movement. Also we need prayer as we seek the direction the Lord would have us go in the next couple of months we are trying to get some more definate plans figured out, so we know what action to take in the next couple of months. If you would be in prayer with us we would really appreciate it. Thank you again for all of your prayers, we are so blessed to see how many people pray for us and our kids daily. We are very encouraged to see the wonderful people God has put around us to encourage and support us. Thank you. We will let you know as soon as we hear if the paperwork comes out.

Haitian Life

While we were with the kids in Carrefour (suburb of Port au Prince) we spent most of the time at the hotel. We would spend about 4 hours a day in the pool and the rest of the day reading books, playing etc... After a few days we all needed to get out so we had my Haitian friend Jean Sonel take us for a walk to see another family that I had meet on a previous trip. The wife "works" selling old Salvation Army clothes like hundreds of other women along the side of the road. The husband is absent, the wife's name is Jeanette. We went to her abode a 15x15 concrete encloser connected to dozens and dozens just like it. They have one opening, the doorway without a door only a sheet hangs over it, no back door or windows just concrete on all four walls and a concrete ceiling and floor. Ventilation is nil and the heat is stifling. They share a "bathroom" with their neighbors,which is a hole in the ground, with a sheet propped up around it. Six people live their lives in this "house" that is about the size of my kitchen. After talking for a few minutes catching up on family reports Jeanette told us how embarrassed she was that she did not have anything to offer us, we were embarrassed that she even felt that she needed to. Her life is not unlike millions of other Haitians.
The following is a video from her door back all th way out onto the street. You can kind of get a sense of the maze of humanity and level of poverty that lives in the Port au Prince area.