2020 Vision for Health & Growth

2019 in Review

Looking back at 2019, it has been a year of hope and promise, but also of challenges and obstacles. It was another year of endless learning opportunities for us that we’ve tried to capitalize on. We’ve learned so much more about the Haitian people and culture, yet we know there’s still so much more. The history and heritage of the Haitian people is rich and yet challenging. The year ended with health challenges that sent us to Florida for resolution.

Last year also brought us opportunities to meet more people in our community, from Haiti and elsewhere, and continue to build relationships with everyone we meet. Unfortunately ministry in Haiti has many challenges, and we’ve had to say goodbye to friends that felt themselves called away from their organizations. It’s been hard to see friends leave, but we’re confident that God will use them in big ways elsewhere. We’re been blessed to have new coworkers, Marty & Patti Bearden, join us at Hands and Feet Project (HAFP) to help guide and oversee programs for our kids as we continue to improve how we prepare them to live independently when they leave HAFP campuses. They are both social workers and have been to our campus for short and intermediate length trips in the past.

Our kids continue to grow like crazy. They’re growing into young adults before our eyes. We are all thankful that schools have remained open since early December. We even have one of our kids in college now, learning about business and management.

Looking Forward Through 2020

It can be a challenge to work remotely, especially when there’s a language gap and cultural differences to factor in. We continue to learn about how things may be perceived differently than we intended.  That effect is magnified when we aren’t all in one place working through the differences. Thankfully we all work well together and sometimes have a good laugh about our unmet expectations and communication challenges.

We’ve been in Florida since December. We were optimistically hoping to return to Haiti before Christmas, but that wasn’t in God’s plan. It’s been a long road to determine what’s going on with Denise that’s causing her nonstop nausea, and we’re still not there yet. All the scans, exams, blood tests, stool samples, supplements, medications and diet changes haven’t helped so far. She found a primary care physician with the help of family, and has also been to see a variety of specialists multiple times. Everyone seems to be stumped, but she is currently experimenting with dietary changes and nutritional supplements. We’ve been researching her symptoms and reaching out to others that may be able to help. Please continue to keep her in your prayers for guidance and healing. We want her to be on a clear path to full health before returning to Haiti.

In our absence, our Jacmel campus has been doing well. We are in regular communication with our Haitian staff and helping them to keep moving things forward. We’ve had other staff there for different periods of time to keep things flowing smoothly. We’ve even had an extended stay by one of our new social workers to dive in and guide our staff and consultants towards further improvements in the care of our kids. We’re currently making plans for Randy to head in next week for some time to meet with our staff and kids.

Thank you all for your continued encouragement and support as we continue to seek resolution for Denise’s health challenges so that we can get settled back to our lives in Haiti. We continue with our commitment to HAFP and to our kids and staff there, and anxiously look forward to our return.