Pictures with the kids and in the nursery

This is me with one of the sweetest babies in the world

I did manage to get a few pictures of the other volunteers/staff!! Starting from the top, left to right: Michelle, Me, Melanie, Kim, Amanda, Melissa, Molly, and Joyce

Dad!

Amanda, Michelle, and Melanie

The beautiful Molly and lovely Joyce

So sweet

The nursery

Swinging!

Me, Dad, and Mom with our beautiful and sweet kiddos.

The babies with the vitamins that were donated.

Babies with the diaper ointment that was donated!

Pictures from Haiti!!

Here are some pictures from the party we had last Friday for the children at the toddler house!

Our last day in Haiti

Today is our last full day here at God's Littlest Angels. We will leave for the airport at about 10:00 tomorrow morning; and while I'm anxious to get home to see Matthew, Gracie, and Titus since I haven't seen them for two weeks, I am also going to miss GLA, a lot more than I expected. I will miss the children, of course, I'll miss Molly and Joyce at the toddler house, and I'll miss Amanda and Melanie and the other volunteers. I'll miss everybody so much more than I had expected. I'm particularly going to miss a few of the children who I've grown very close to. They are all so sweet. Right now I'm going to go get one of the babies, but I just thought I'd leave one more post before we go.


I can say right now, God is doing a great work here and I will miss all of His littlest angels.

Mom left Haiti today *sobs*

Today, Mama left Haiti and went back to Washington. I was very sad to see her go. Please pray that she would have a safe flight and that she would not feel sick. She got very, very sick yesterday, and although she was feeling better today, I would (and I know she would as well) still appreciate prayers that she would stay well through her flight.
Dad and I will still be here for four more days, so hopefully I will post before we leave on Monday. God bless you!
Rachel

Picture day!

Today was so amazing. God is so good! This morning we had picture day for the boys, so we dressed them up and took lots of pictures of them each individually. These pictures are for their forever families' monthly updates. Tomorrow will be picture day for the girls!!
We also sorted through all of the clothes and gave each child a new outfit today. It was a crazy (but productive) day! Hopefully more updates soon!
The children are all so sweet. We love them so much. God bless you, Rachel

Pictures

God's Littlest Angels

I'm so sorry we haven't updated since we've been here! Things have been very, very busy. On Monday we got to the orphanage, after flying all night, at about 2:00 p.m. We played with a few of the kids, and then went to bed and slept very well. Mom and I had only slept about an hour the previous night and Dad didn't sleep at all. Tuesday and yesterday we had breakfast at 7:30 and started working with the kids at 8:00. We have eight children who we work with for one hour each, so with lunch we finish at 5:00, and then we have dinner. Last night we had Bible study and then made party bags after dinner, and tonight we're posting on the blog! Earlier today we went to the toddler house, about one mile away. The kids were SOOOO sweet there and they gathered around us as if we were celebrities. One little girl, Dahlini (I think that is how you spell her name) was so sweet and didn't leave my side for more than two minutes the whole time I was there. She was so cute! The older boys loved playing basketball, soccer, and baseball with Dad, and the younger boys and girls loved to sit on Mom's lap. I can't begin to tell you how sweet the kids are. It has been such a blessing.
We are posting pictures (finally) in a few minutes.
Blessings to you,
Rachel

In four and a half hours we will leave for Haiti!

At 9:40 tonight we will be leaving for God's Littlest Angels Orphanage in Haiti! We are so blessed and excited. God is so good! We will arrive in New York at 3:00 tomorrow morning and from there fly to Haiti. We will land in Port au Prince at 1:00 (or 10:00 our time). Then will drive to GLA, about forty minutes away. We will update more tomorrow...
Until then,
Rachel :)

Pictures of our family

Our Family

Dear friends, family, and generous donors,
Welcome to the Pettersen God's Littlest Angels Orphanage blog. We are so glad you found us! For those of you that do not know us very well we want to give you a little bio on our family. We have been married for twenty-one years. We have four wonderful children who are amazing blessings to us. Rachel is fifteen years old. She has a passion for the Lord and serves Him with whole-hearted devotion. Matthew is ten. He also has a beautiful heart. He is the comedian of our family! Gracie is four years old. She is a dream fulfilled of our family. She was adopted from Guangxi China four years ago. Last but not least is Titus, and he is also four. He was born in Liberia (West Africa region), and we have had him for almost two-and-one-half years. Our children are constantly asking, "Can we adopt again?" For now we are probably not going to do this, but we are still wanting to help orphans. As we pray on what that will look like we have the opportunity to volunteer at God's Littlest Angels, an orphanage in Haiti. Please see their website at www.glahaiti.org . We have planned, prayed, and prepared for this trip for over four months. I cannot tell you what an incredible journey it has been already. God has provided in so many ways and through so many people! We are so convinced of God's hand in this and so excited for what is yet to come. Please check back soon, we will do an update (hopefully early) next week from Haiti!