One year later!

October 14, 2010, we arrived at the airport in D.C. with as much as we could stuff into 10 large check bags, 5 small suitcases, and 5 back packs. We had sold our home. Jeff left his job. We had no vehicles. Our kids gave up much of their belongings, left their bikes, their pool. We left our friends and family and all that was familiar. Knowing we were asking so much of them to follow and trust, we promised they would not have to give up their beloved dog, Tundra.
Sounds simple enough, right? Clearly, we knew this wasn’t a move across town or even a move to another state. We really couldn’t predict what the decision we were making would feel like when we stepped onto a plane in D.C. and onto Haiti soil.
Unfortunately, when we approached the check in at American Airlines, the attendant informed us that even though we had all the necessary paperwork for Tundra, she would not be able to travel with us due to the temperatures forecasted being higher than they allowed. WHAT???? This could not even be happening. The five of us sobbed our way through a good bye and made our way to our gate. All I could think and process was “it wasn’t enough that we gave up everything else, now we had to leave the one thing we promised our children they would not have to. It wasn’t enough to get rid of all the STUFF, leave our comfortable lives in Carlisle, and leave our friends and family?” Mature, I know.
The first two days were filled with intermittent, crying and sleeping spells. Not the kids, but Jeff and I. We were angry. Angry that we couldn’t keep our promise to our kids. We were scared. It’s one thing to be in this country serving for a week or even three weeks at a time, but being there knowing we weren’t boarding a plane back to comfort anytime soon with our children scared us to death.
Slowly, God brought us to a better place of being able to function.
Our kids on the other hand, handled things so well. They all immediately embraced the 22 girls living below us. Our girls couldn’t wait until the girls got home from school so they could go downstairs to play.
When we made an initial visit to a family we knew and cared for (with one little girl and another due soon), living in a tent, their eyes were opened and their compassion increased. When we made our first trip to Canaan just a few weeks after arriving here, their eyes were opened and their compassion increased. Our pastor in Haiti continually says that missions is seeing first. They saw. They questioned. They grew. Now they all want to give. Jeff and I were amazed and proud at how God prepared them and the way they just jumped in with both feet!
Over the course of the following months, we as a family have experienced a variety trials. So much of our lifestyle changed. Public school to home school. Grocery shopping at any one of 5 fully stocked stores within a 5 mile radius to…well Belmart(which may or may not have what I have on my list to make any one particular meal). Friends and people we knew almost everywhere we went, to 2 Haitian families we knew and trusted. Driving in an organized fashion with strict laws for our own good, to um…Haiti driving (which I’ve kind of learned to like in a weird kind of way. It’s always a challenge and it requires prayer every time we get in the car). There’s so much more…if you want more, come to our fundraiser on November 20th to see “you know you’re in Haiti when…”
Beyond those little insignificant trials, there have been bigger ones. Spritual trials. We have felt Satan at work in a new way. We had not seen Satan so visibly working before we moved here. We see the struggle in some living in dire circumstances. Satan so clearly plays on that. We see Satan trying to stop the work we are doing. He hates it.
So many people come here and comment that they are able to really experience God in a new way here. He’s so very real almost like you can touch him. Part of that I am certain is that people aren’t distracted by so much busyness here. Truly we have experienced God in a new way here. This country requires people to be self-sufficient in so many ways, which in turn, teaches Christians to trust God more. We have experienced God’s spirit here so heavy at times. Times of healing, praising, changing not only Haitians’ lives, but our own. We have felt God’s presence even on our own property in an unexplainable way giving strength when needed.
We have been filled with amazement in all that God has done in and through this ministry in a year. We’ve had the privilege to see all of the vision unfold as God provided and lead. We’ve seen lives changed in tangible ways in the building, in providing food, in relief from pain and suffering for life here on earth. But we’ve also experienced God changing hearts, changing focus in people, changing priorities, therefore changes for eternity!
So, yes, there have been many struggles over this past year, but truly the blessings have been far more, far greater. The growth in the ministry, the growth in the kids at Good Samaritan Homes, the growth in the community in Canaan, the growth in team members serving here, the growth in the relationships we are building here, the growth in our children, the growth in us. It’s all worth it. It’s all for Him! Our family is blessed to be used by God here. We’re blessed to have this opportunity. We are forever changed!
Here we are one year later...ready for more challenges, more change, and more blessings!
~Thank you to our families for supporting and encouraging us!
~Thank you to our AWAKENHAITI leadership team for working so hard to get this ministry up and running and for supporting us!
~Thank you to all of you who pray for the ministry, for the people we serve here and for our family!
~Thank you to all of you who support us financially!
WE COULDN’T DO THIS WITHOUT YOU!