Hands and Feet Project is celebrating 15 years of working in Haiti. What better way to celebrate than have people that originally started taking in and caring for orphaned kids in Jacmel come visit us along with people that came to visit within the first few years? This was our first time to meet the first Hands and Feet Project missionaries, Drex and Jo Stuart (parents of Mark Stuart), and we had a great time hearing stories about early successes and challenges that they faced. And with them came many people who came on teams in those early days.
This summer has been a bit of a scorcher, and we’re really glad we’ve had teams and interns here to help with teaching and activities for the kids. Of course having so much going on here has kept us very busy as well! Thankfully, we were able to get a few days off for some much-needed rest and relaxation when we had other people here to watch over the campus.
So what else have we been up to? Some longtime supporters of Hands and Feet Project came to visit in June. It just happened to be a time when there were some travel challenges around the Port au Prince area, but we are so thankful that we persevered and found ways to get them down to Jacmel for a few days to have some fun with the kids and to show them around Jacmel.
Pam and Denise teaching about the Armor of God
We had an amazing week of Vacation Bible School in mid-July where we learned about the armor of God and had some great visual aids when talking about each piece of armor. Denise played a big role in sharing the daily lessons along with our amazing VBS team leader, Pam. The kids had a great time learning about the armor of God, with a variety of crafts, songs and food activities to reinforce the message.
We then followed up with our huge Village Values celebration weekend where we bring everyone together on one campus for a time of celebrating, fun, food and music.
School prep is in full swing with getting kids registered, and finding all of the books, backpacks, uniforms, school shoes they need to get started in early September. We’re hoping and praying that schools are able to open and be fully staffed despite current fuel shortages across the country.
We’re also planning a business conference in September for our older kids to learn more about what it takes to start up and run a successful business. As our kids approach 18 year old, learn trades and begin their transition to live in the community, we want them to have the knowledge and guidance needed to build successful, sustainable careers. Some may also have opportunities to have helpful mentors they can learn from along the way.
Here are a few more summer pictures of various activities and teams.
