|
Welcome to the website for the Robin’s Nest Children’s Home
|
|
News Items:
|
 |
|
 |
"When
you did it to one of the least
of these my brothers and sisters,
you were doing it to me.”
-Matthew 25:40 (New Living Translation) |
 |
Mission
Statement:
We pray that Robin's Nest will provide a nurturing,
loving, safe, Christ-centered atmosphere in which all children will grow
at their own speed --physically, mentally, and spiritually -- so they
may develop their own individual gifts, talents and abilities and become
the person who God intended.
FEEL FREE TO USE
OUR
Gifting Form
WHEN GIVING! |
|
|
|
|
Robin's Nest Children's Home
Salter's Hill, John's Hall
Montego Bay, Jamaica
|
|
 |
|
|
|
We are excited
to introduce you to our new Executive Directors of Robin’s Nest
Children’s Home, Joel & Angie O’Dell of Des Moines, Iowa. They will
be at the Nest the month of July, return home for training in August
and then start full-time at the Nest. Please remember them in your
prayers as they go through this transition. We are very grateful to
Andy and Laura Chapeau for presently filling in as Interim Directors
and to Michelle Robinette, our founder, for following God’s call 12
years ago to begin this ministry. To God be the glory!
ANSWERING GOD’S
CALL
|
 |
|
On September 14th,
2008 God changed the O’Dell household forever…
Joel and I
have been married for nearly 19 years and have been blessed with 3
beautiful children. God placed many hills and valleys along the
way. In 2008 the valleys were great: financial difficulties,
depression, and a feeling of emptiness as we didn’t understand what
God had in store for us. Well, as we sat in the sanctuary of our
church on a September day in 2008 we heard echoing from our Pastor:
“Christianity is not just a journey it is an adventure. Are you
living that adventure? When your life is over will you have “lived”
the life God has “gifted” you and “called” you to? Are you using
your spiritual gifts and talents?” Have you taken a real “leap of
faith??” After the sermon we felt God’s spirit telling us, “No, we
are not on the “adventure”. Therefore, as the road went on we
decided to follow the path God was asking of us.
|
Here is our story:
Joel has wanted
to go on a medical mission trip to Jamaica for many years.
There always seemed to be an obstacle. God had lain on my
heart that September day to take a “leap of faith” and send Joel to
Jamaica. I decided to give Joel a birthday gift he had always
dreamed of. So, with no extra money in hand and lots of prayer
I took a “leap of faith” and began secretly emailing all my friends
and family, took on a part-time job, and saved every penny to
raise the funds to surprise Joel with this trip. Well,
within 1 month we had enough money to surprise him with this trip.
HE WAS GOING TO JAMAICA!! God had started our
“adventure”.
|
 |
|
In the
following weeks God kept working. Two weeks after we raised the
funds my parents had me over for dinner. They had sensed I was
exhausted and just needed a night to myself. During that dinner
they handed me a card and inside was an amazing gift; it was a
ticket to accompany Joel on the mission trip! Not only was I going
to be able to surprise Joel that he was going on this trip, but I
would get to go too!! I just couldn’t believe it! God was now
building on his plan for our lives.
On January 31st,
2009 we began our travels to Jamaica to serve and every aspect was
amazing. God kept placing people in our paths while we were there
that would change our lives forever. We served at a church for most
of the time. Our team of 13 quickly became a team of “many” and
Joel and I felt so very blessed, however little did we know that the
blessings we were experiencing now were just the beginning of what
God had in store for us.
On the last
day of our trip, February 5th, 2009, we had the
opportunity to visit Robin’s Nest Children’s Home. We delivered
some amazing children’s quilts for the children from our church.
Our church had known about Robin’s Nest as a couple adopted a child
from there and some of the members in our group had visited the home
two years ago.
Leading up to
this day was hard for me. We had never had the opportunity to visit
any place like Jamaica before and the last day of the trip was
supposed to be our “fun day”. A part of me really wanted to stay at
the resort and just soak up the sun and waves. I was so frightened
to go because I knew it was an orphanage and I knew I might fall in
love with every child and have a very hard time separating myself
from them. Joel was convicted about going and he convinced me into
going with the group. He reminded me we were on an “adventure” with
God and we must not stop now. During the drive, which was an
adventure of its own, I remember thinking why did I decide to go and
I was feeling a little angry about my submission. Well, as soon
as we arrived on the “mountain top” and I stepped foot on the
ground, God answered all of my questions and eased my fears. As
soon as we walked in the doors I felt a sense of “home”. We were
given a tour of the place and I just tried to figure out why I felt
so at ease. I asked about their needs. They mentioned they needed
new directors. Suddenly I just felt a sense of peace. I knew at
that moment why God had led me here. Now the next part of this
“adventure” would be to tell Joel what just happened and that wasn’t
going to be easy, or so I thought. As we traveled back down I was
fully engulfed in prayer. Upon arrival, we went on our own to
process the trip. Joel asked me, “So, what did you think of Robin’s
Nest”. I simply said for the first time ever, “No, I won’t talk
first this time; you go first and tell me what you thought.” At
that moment Joel just started to laugh. I thought he was laughing
because I had told him to talk first but the words that came out of
his mouth next were so amazing we both started to laugh, then cry,
then laugh some more…..
He said,
“Angie, something happened while I was I up there today. I don’t
know if you noticed but I really bonded with the place. I was
thinking how I could help the handicap kids with their physical
therapy; I knew I could assist them with their maintenance projects,
etc. I just felt God telling me that all of my spiritual gifts and
talents could be used here. I don’t know it just felt like home.”
We just sat in
awe at what God had just done in our lives. We knew that God was
asking us to take that leap of faith and live the adventure. We are
humbled and on our knees with God’s call in our lives. We know the
task ahead of us is great but with God leading the way it will be
the adventure and blessing of our lives!!!
“Jesus looked at them intently and said, “
…..with God
everything is possible”
Matthew 19:26
Blessings to all,
The O’Dell Family
|
|
REPORT FROM THE NEST
by Andy & Laura Chapeau
May, 2009
(Andy & Laura will be
ending their time as interim directors in early June. We pray for a smooth
transition to the new directors and for Andy & Laura as they look for jobs
and continue their education. We are MOST grateful for their time of
service and sacrifice to the children of Robin’s Nest. Praise God for their
commitment.)
|
 |
|
Dear friends of Robin’s
Nest,
It has been a busy month
at the Nest, no two days are ever the same.
Our Nest family
continues to change. We no sooner were able to send some of our children to
their adoptive or foster homes when we grew by receiving 6 children all in
one day. All 6 of them are 3 years and under and then shortly thereafter,
we received another one. It has been a
blessing to see our new little ones blend in so well. They are beginning to
bond with their pod parents, and their growth is visible on an almost daily
basis. Each of the children is a blessing. Similar to any family having a
new child, we experienced some growing pains, but our staff is wonderful at
accommodating to the children’s needs, and being flexible. A team recently
made very cute kid-size picnic tables for each of the porches, which have
been a fabulous addition as our pods can eat as families, and use them for
reading, coloring, play dough etc. We have also moved bedtime to the
porches and adjusted the staffing so the “babies” fall asleep on blankets on
the porches with their Pod Moms. I am very grateful to our staff for
working as a team and assisting in the ideas and implementation of these
changes. I am daily in awe of the love our staff has for our kids.
God has seemingly
opened the floodgates of Jamaican support for Robin’s Nest!!
Two resorts
have both stopped by this month. We have not heard of their final decision
for support, but both tours went well, and both representatives seemed very
impressed. When the representative came, she brought a small mission team
for a tour that comes yearly to do projects on the island and is looking for
a new place. They mentioned that they will be contacting us as well.
Praise God!
Our church has also
begun to take Robin’s Nest under their wing. They are very inviting of our
children, and have been wonderful to them in Sunday school and the church
services. The Pastor came to visit the home with several leaders of the
church, and stated that she was very impressed, and the home was unlike any
other that she had visited. Soon after that another church leader called to
talk to us about being a ministry that they visit on a weekly basis.
Starting next Monday they will visit weekly to read and disciple our older
kids. What a blessing to have strong Christian males being examples to our
children.
The beach often leads
several inquiries about the Nest – we are constantly thankful for Doctor’s
Cave and their support. A man who runs a business in the states stopped us
to ask about the kids. His dream is to build a playground – God you are a
miracle worker! He stated that he will call the Nest and hopes to visit to
explore this possibility at our home. Please keep this in your prayers, and
pray that God will move His heart. We then met 2 Peace Corps workers, who
are still trying to figure out what they will be doing and where they can
spend their time. They played with the kids and were impressed with their
behavior. After further conversation, we learned that one of them is a
Civil Engineer, and his experience is in water! I explained the water
project and he is very interested. Please pray he will follow up as he said
he would.
We have hired and
trained in several new staff who are doing wonderfully. God is good. There
is also a new taxi driver in the area that drives safely! We have been
working him in to driving as many of the late night and weekend shifts as
possible. While it isn’t perfect yet it’s coming along, and taking some of
the pressure off of our drivers. Our new driver is an enormous blessing.
Even as I type this he is out playing with the babies in the swings, and
often when he isn’t driving he helps the staff with the laundry and the
ironing. I cannot say enough about his integrity and character. – Thank you
Jesus!
There continues to be
endless struggles with water. We just went about 10 days without any.
While this is very difficult, our staff has stepped in and is doing laundry
by hand, while Glaston is bringing water up by small tanks. Please keep
this continually in your prayers.
Last Sunday we ate our
first chicken dinner of chickens that we grew ourselves. As it is planned
we will never have to buy frozen chicken again!!! Our farmer is wonderful,
and enjoys his job. He is continuing to bring two big bags of produce in
from the garden every other day; our corn is almost ready as well. He and
another of our workers told me that they wanted to teach our big boys to
roast corn like the Jamaicans do. We are looking forward to that day. We
don’t want our kids to grow up without those skills!
It is clear that God
is faithful. While our time here continues to be a challenge, we find that
when we continue to follow God’s leading and His will, He always prevails.
This is God’s home and these are His children. “Thank you Father for
allowing us to participate in a small part of Your work here. Thank You for
Your faithfulness and guidance while we have served here.”
Thank you, supporters,
very much for all of your continued support and prayers for the mission and
ministry of Robin’s Nest. Blessings, Andy & Laura
|
|
|
ATTENTION ALL YOU READERS
YOUNG AND OLD!
This is the
garage sale of garage sales for readers because that’s all there
will be for sale IS BOOKS! An assortment of over 2000 books for
readers in all categories and for every age. This is a fundraiser
for Robin’s Nest Children’s Home – an orphanage in Jamaica whose
mission is: We pray that Robin’s Nest will provide a nurturing,
loving, safe, Christ-centered atmosphere in which all children will
grow at their own speed—physically, mentally, and spiritually—so
they may develop their own individual gifts, talents, and abilities
and become the person who God intended.
Date: July 30th
& 31st 9-6 p.m.,
August 1st 9-Noon.
Address:
9241 Newgate Avenue North
in Stillwater Township. |
SPONSOR A CHILD
FROM THE "NEST"
In
2006, we began a new program, “Sponsor a child.” We are so
grateful to the many of you who have faithfully given to this
program which helps us to provide board and room for our children.
For only 50 cents a day or $15 a month, you can help the children of
Robin’s Nest. If you desire to be a part of this program or
want more information, please fill in the area concerning it on the
gift form (click
here for the sponsor form).
You are free to choose any of the children listed on the
Children's Page.
We are so grateful to have Cindy
Anderson now handling the sponsor a child program, so please contact
her at
canderson12@marykay.com.
Please note: We would like to do this program
primarily by e-mail
and automatic deduction.
However, if you are unable to do this,
please do not hesitate to sign up.
|
Statement of Faith
1.
We believe the Bible to be the divinely inspired, infallible and
authoritative Word of God.
II Timothy 3:16-17
2.
We believe that there is only one God, manifested in the
Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
II Cor. 13:14
3.
We believe in the deity and humanity of Jesus Christ, in His
virgin birth and sinless life. He died on the cross for our
sins, rose again, ascended back to heaven, and will return again
in power and glory. Jesus Christ is the only way to God and
eternal life.
John 3:16
|
|
|
|
Would you like to make
a donation to
Robin's Nest?
All money is wired
directly to Jamaica.
Please send to: Robin's Nest U.S. Office;
P. O. #122;
Lake Elmo, MN
55042
(Robin's Nest is a 501(c)(3)
organization,
and all gifts are tax deductible to the full
extent
allowed by law.)
For more
information on Robin's Nest,
you may email:
k.killian@att.net
|
Visit the
Children's
Page
to see photos of
the beautiful children
|
Robin's Nest U.S.
Board of Directors
| Michelle Robinette |
Founder |
| Joel & Angie O'Dell |
Incoming Exec. Directors |
| Andy & Laura Chapeau |
Interim Directors |
| Kris Killian |
President |
| Wayne Anderson |
Vice President |
| Richard
Diehl |
Treasurer |
|
Marguerite Defore |
Secretary |
| Brian Brynell |
Shipping Director |
| Kim
Ellenbecker |
Trip Coordinator |
Members-at-Large:
|
| Paula
Merkouris |
Mike Rygh |
| Marian Edelen |
Missy
Bright |
|
Robin's Nest US offices:
P.O. #122
Lake Elmo, MN 55042-0122
K.Killian@att.net
If you would like more information on Robin's Nest or would like to send
a donation (all money is wired directly to Jamaica via our bank here)
please contact Kris Killian at the Robin's Nest U.S. office:
P.O. #122, Lake Elmo, MN 55042-0122
or you may call 651-779-4648.
(Robin's Nest is a 501(c)(3)
organization,
and all gifts are tax deductible to the full
extent
allowed by law.)
If you have been to the Nest and have a trip report
for us or pictures
to share, please contact our website/ newsletter coordinator, Paula Merkouris, at
salem@alliancecom.net. E-mail: k.killian@att.net |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
