Denise, Author at McGarvey Haitian Adventures

And then there was a wedding….

A couple plans for what seems like forever for their “big day.” In a country that isn’t considered “third world”, you can pretty much count on your wedding happening on the day you plan it and things going fairly smooth and as it was planned.

This past week you may have heard that the country of Haiti again, was on a lock down. Road blocks and protesting because of so many things that the people in Haiti are just plain tired of. You can read more about it in our last blog. While the city we live in was pretty much stopped, there was a couple who had planned their wedding for this past Saturday. Waiting for this day, to become one. I am sure that the whole week was spent just not knowing if the wedding would happen the way they planned it, let alone at all.

Family Preservation, Daycares and the “New Normal”

At the Hands and Feet Project, we focus our efforts on protecting, caring, and serving the vulnerable in Haiti through four projects:

* Preserving Families
* Providing Families
* Experiencing Missions
* Restoring Survivors

You can visit the Hands and Feet Project website to learn more about each of these projects. You can also review the 2021 Impact Report for more impact stats from our different projects.

Preserving Families

The goal of our Preserving Families Project is to keep families together. Among the several projects within our Family Preservation Project is our Little Hands Daycare. We have talked about this in the past and it is something we are excited about. In 2021 we supported 28 families, 28 children. That is 28 families where moms, dads, and caregivers can go to work and know that their child is being well taken care of, learning, and having fun as well. It also means they can continue with their jobs and support their family. Keep the family intact. There is no cost to the family for this service.

Spring 2021 McGarvey News Update

Welcoming Spring

Spring is a time for new life and new growth after surviving the winter season. Every year we see the pictures of snowdrops and crocuses poking through the snow on warm days. We had many of those flowers at our house in upstate New York and looked forward to seeing them mark the beginning of the Spring season every year. This Spring is a new season for us as well.

Wrapping Up 2020 & Jumping Into 2021

Happy New Year! We’re thankful that 2020 is finally over, but there’s still a lot of work to do in 2021. Are you ready?

Thinking ahead about the new year before us, some of our Hands and Feet Project team have chosen words to describe their intentions for 2021. What word would you choose for 2021? Here’s the post from the Hands and Feet Project Facebook page that you should be able to see even if you don’t have a Facebook account.

Expanding Transition Training

McDonalds Golden Arches are not common in Haiti

When our own kids were still in our house and as they approached their teen years, our focus was on preparing them for the “outside” world. Preparing them to be “okay” in any situation as they head out to college and the years beyond. Helping them understand the importance of having a job, and supporting them in their quest to find their first one. McDonalds? Somewhere in the Mall? Wegmans? The choices for a part time job seemed many. Helping them “transition” into adulthood and the world outside of our house. Supporting them in what they felt “called” to do in their work after college.

Never would we have imagined at that time in our lives we would have to think about all of this process with over 70 kids in a country like Haiti! It is so different, but we want the same goal for these kids. We want them to have hope and desires for their futures just as we experienced with our kids in the USA.

Health News Update

Patience? Perseverance? Faith??

Many are asking how things are going with Denise’s health. With the risk of boring you, this is what we have done, been through, tried, and what’s next:

In November, while still in Haiti, literally overnight I woke up feeling very nauseous. At first we thought it was a medication I had recently started a few weeks earlier. I stopped the medication per doctor’s instructions and nothing changed. We sought the counsel of our PA who works with us both in the states and Haiti. She suggested some blood work and testing of my stool. Based on the results of these tests she recommended we head to the states for further testing and to “get healthy”.

Two Years in Haiti!

Today, June 17, marks our 2 year anniversary of moving to Haiti.

When you think of all that can happen in a two year time period, it boggles the mind. That is how we are feeling at the moment. Really? Two years has gone by? We mean, flown by!

Continue reading “Two Years in Haiti!”

Merry Christmas from the McGarveys

Denise and Randy by the Christmas tree — Merry Christmas from Denise & Randy!

Our Christmas this year is quite a bit different than last year. After hosting an amazing Christmas team at our Hands and Feet Project campus in Haiti, we headed to the states with the team. We are in upstate New York; the sun is no where to be found and it is seriously cold to us.

Our Christmas team in Haiti helped decorate our kid’s ten houses with Continue reading “Merry Christmas from the McGarveys”

Village Values Weekend

What are Village Values?
Love, Obedience, Honesty and Responsibility. These are the values we strive for here at The Hands and Feet Project. Our Village Values. We talk about them, teach them, strive for the best of them in everything we do. From our littlest of kids to the caregivers, wash ladies, cooks, maintenance and our office staff.

Continue reading “Village Values Weekend”

Church Family

We would not be here in Haiti if it wasn’t for God, our friends, family, and our church family at LifeTree Fellowship in Rochester.

We quickly realized how much our church family meant to us as we started to miss them almost right away. We, fortunately were able to watch the weekly church service online and that helped. We also went to a few of the churches here in Haiti that our children and caregivers go to. While we are getting better in the language, we are far from understanding all that is said in a Haitian church. Our home church culture is quite different from here as well. We were missing the community that comes from a church family. Continue reading “Church Family”

Author: Denise

And then there was a wedding….

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