It’s a beautiful day in Haiti today! Here are a few short video clips from our drive to school. The 2019-2020 school year is wrapping up and some schools are doing final exams. The new school year starts in the next month or so, depending on the school! Most schools will only have 2 weeks off before the next school year starts!
The potholes are getting bad again, as you can see in the first video. Other sections just got patched and are still holding up okay. We hope you enjoy the videos.
We are excited to share that we’re heading back to Haiti at the end of the month! In order to see as many people as possible before we leave, we’re having a modified open house for those in the Rochester, New York area. On Friday, August 21, we will be at Panera Bread in Penfield from noon to 3 and 5 to 7:30. We are asking people to reserve a time slot, if possible, so we don’t have a large group there at one time. You can reply to this message, reply to the open house event on Facebook, text us, email us, send a web site comment, send a carrier pigeon, or just come visit us when you have the time available.
Returning to Haiti
Feeling tall at Sampson State Park
Regarding our return to Haiti, the borders to Haiti opened last month, and we found some affordable flights from Rochester. The number of airlines and flights to Haiti have been reduced, so the trip to Haiti now requires an overnight layover, but we worked it out so we are meeting up with other people along the way and fly in together.
It’s August 2020, and do you know what that means? We recently celebrated our 3rd anniversary of moving to Haiti! We moved to Haiti on June 20, 2017. Can you believe we’re almost 2 months into our 4th year already? Wow, it’s amazing to think about how much we’ve learned and grown over these last 3 years! If you think back over the last 3 years of your life, it’s likely you’ve seen some big changes as well. We’re excited about how far we’ve come, and we’re looking forward to making further progress in caring for our Haitian kids and preparing them for the future. Here’s an update on what’s been going on in Haiti as we continue to work remotely and make plans for school.
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.
This has been a year of the unexpected for many of us. We never expected to be spending the summer in the states and working remotely to keep things moving forward in Jacmel. We have so much to do as we constantly plan and implement next steps to equip and prepare the kids on our campus for next steps in life. As you can imagine, this is a constant process of evaluating the past and making adjustments for the future. We’re thankful for video meeting capabilities and other forms of technology to keep us connected and moving forward!
Some days we spend 6-7 hours in Zoom meetings!
Haiti is still dealing with the Covid-19 virus and continues to restrict travel into, out from and within the country. There are some flights scheduled most weeks to allow people to leave Haiti, and after several months with a travel ban into Haiti, there’s talk about opening the airport again. The requirements for those traveling into the country are not clear yet, but we’ll be watching for opportunities to return.
Can you believe May is nearly over? Memorial Day is now behind us in America and the unofficial summer season has arrived after a long, cold winter and spring in many places. Florida was not one of those cold places, and, of course, neither was Haiti! In the last month, Haiti has also celebrated Labor / Agriculture Day on May 1, Flag Day on May 18, and Mother’s Day on May 31. It’s been a busy month! We’ve celebrated each Haitian holiday from afar as we’ve been in Florida for several months and are now in upstate New York (the Rochester / Finger Lakes region, not the New York City area!)
Haiti Happenings Update
So what have we been up to this month? We’ve been working like crazy to care for our kids during this coronavirus lockdown while looking ahead to next steps as our kids learn and grow. Our days are often filled with Zoom video calls, and WhatsApp calls and chats – the tools we use to communicate with our Haitian and American coworkers. We’re so thankful for the dedication of our essential staff in Haiti and for all the work they’re doing to keep the campus running smoothly and keeping food and supplies for the kids coming in. We have many changes that we’re working on, and of course it’s a bit more difficult to manage change remotely, but we’re moving forward with everyone’s help. We’re moving kids as they hit the maximum age for our campuses, we’re making campus safety improvements, overseeing repair and maintenance projects, and preparing for more of our kids to head out into the community and beyond.
Hello everyone! We hope and pray that each and every one of you and your families are safe, healthy, and able to find all the essentials during this lockdown period. We also pray that you have a wonderful Easter weekend as we reflect on the death and celebrate the resurrection of Jesus.
Thank you all for your prayers and encouragement as we continue to lead our staff in Haiti from afar. So far, Haiti only has 30 reported cases of Coronavirus Covid-19. Only a few cases have been reported in the Jacmel area so far.
What impact do you expect Coronavirus COVID-19 to have on your life? It’s hard to answer that question, isn’t it? Many people have already been affected, but we don’t know how much more impact it will have. We’ve seen some countries are reporting having the spread of the virus under control and the number of new cases is decreasing. Other countries are just dealing with the initial onslaught and still have increasing numbers. We’ve also heard that the virus is changing as it migrates from country to country, so that increases the uncertainty even more.
Look out Nashville, we’re coming your way! As the next step to seek the root cause of Denise’s nausea, we’re heading to Nashville! After cross-crossing the state of Florida seeking medical help, we’re heading on to Nashville to see someone who has helped other friends with mysterious symptoms. Please keep us in your prayers as we drive there and spend some time with a new doctor, and pray that he has divine insight into what’s going on and how to fix it. While we’re near our Hands and Feet Project office, we also have some meetings with our HAFP leadership and coworkers.
We are thinking and praying about all of you during this challenging time. We pray that you all remain healthy and that you’re able to find key essential toiletries and other necessities. In case you’re wondering where to find toilet paper, perhaps look on the side of the road as you’re traveling. It works in Haiti!! To date, there are no reported cases of Coronavirus COVID-19 in Haiti. We pray that Haiti is spared from this illness!
Kudos to our coworker, Michelle, for snapping this great picture!
