Category: Support

Happy Thanksgiving!

Give thanks with a grateful heart

Here we are at Thanksgiving 2020. What a year it’s been for all of us! Covid, travel restrictions, mask requirements, business closings, jobs lost, and election challenges in the United States. Haiti has dealt with huge exchange rate fluctuations followed by substantial price swings for goods and services. Thankfully Covid hasn’t been as big of a factor here in the Caribbean countries. There are many days we’re thankful that we’re in Haiti!

what are you thankful for this year?

In a year of challenges, can you still identify positive things that God has provided for you? A good friend? Extra time with family? Time to clean the house? Extra time to devote to Bible reading and devotions?

Continue reading “Happy Thanksgiving!”

Summer in the States

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.

Continue reading “Summer in the States”

May Reflections

Haiti and Holidays!

Happy Mother’s Day to all of our caregivers!

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.

Continue reading “May Reflections”

Haiti, Health and Wellness

Jacmel Campus and Haiti News

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.

Continue reading “Haiti, Health and Wellness”

Coronavirus COVID-19 Hits Haiti

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.

Continue reading “Coronavirus COVID-19 Hits Haiti”

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.

Continue reading “2020 Vision for Health & Growth”

Tomorrow is Giving Tuesday!

Give the gift of care this Christmas
Giving Tuesday heart logo #GivingTuesday

How were your Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday? Can you believe tomorrow has yet another special name? It’s Giving Tuesday! And Christmas is coming soon! (If you’re not familiar with Giving Tuesday, you can find information about it here.)

Continue reading “Tomorrow is Giving Tuesday!”

Thanksgiving 2019 Update

A warm hello and Happy Thanksgiving to everyone from the Caribbean! 

We try to take time here and there to remind ourselves of the beauty in Haiti and not to just take it for granted.  As the USA has dealt with some very cold weather already, we are thankful for a little break from the heat and not seeing many temperatures above 90 F.  Thanksgiving FoodIn this season of Thanksgiving, we want to reflect on other things that we’re thankful for….and it starts with the amazing donors, supporters and friends that are all essential to making this journey possible!  Thanks for all your prayers, financial assistance, encouragement, conversations, care packages, and sharing our social media posts.  We can’t do this without you and really appreciate each and every one of you.

We’re thankful for the wonderful Thanksgiving dinner we had with local friends old and new.  It was great to get together and enjoy a turkey dinner with a variety of other foods and people!  There was an amazing spread of dinner and dessert items!  

We’re thankful for power!  As I sit and write, we are enjoying power from the local electric company.  We have endured 14 weeks of ongoing protests about government corruption and the many side effects of money not being spent where it would best help the people and the country. Continue reading “Thanksgiving 2019 Update”

Open House & Fundraiser at Panera in Penfield

Panera Bread Company logo

As we mentioned in a previous post, we’re having another open house at Panera in Penfield. These events have been highlights of our visits to Rochester because so many people stop by that we wouldn’t get to see otherwise. The next one will be on Friday, May 17th from 4-8pm. This event will be an official fundraiser. For those who present our fundraiser flyer to the cashier, Panera will donate 20% of your purchase price towards our support!

Continue reading “Open House & Fundraiser at Panera in Penfield”

May in Rochester

What are your plans for May? Here are some of ours:

  1. Lilac Festival at Highland Park
  2. Rochester Public Market
  3. Rochester Twilight Criterium bike race
  4. Animal Adventure Park visit (think giraffes!)
  5. Dunkin’ Donuts latte
  6. Coldstone Creamery ice cream
  7. Wegmans Food Market grocery store
  8. Panera Bread Company Open House
  9. Church and small group conversations
  10. Time with family, friends and our awesome supporters
Visiting Rochester, New York Lilac Festival at Highland Park
Continue reading “May in Rochester”