Summer Sizzles and School Starts

volleyball in the courtyard Every time we write a new post, it seems like we talk about how fast the time goes by. This is no exception. Summer is sizzling away here with temperatures at least in the 90s every day and the heat index into triple digits.  We visited our old hometown of Rochester, New York in the last part of June and into July. Soon after our return to Haiti, there was a period of unrest and some rioting over a proposed significant increase in fuel prices. You can read more about this and the impact on the Hands and Feet Project in a post from Mark Stuart by clicking here.

The period of unrest resulted in an increase in the travel advisory level from the US embassy / state department that caused us to cancel 2 teams that were supposed to visit us this summer. Continue reading “Summer Sizzles and School Starts”

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.

Jacmel church in the woods

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”

Life in Haiti

As you may have seen on TV and on the internet. there’s been a bit of unrest in Haiti over the last week.  It started when a significant fuel price increase was announced.  Depending on the type of fuel, the increases ranged from 38-51%.  The price increase was put in place due to pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).  Hands and Feet Project MissionCan you imagine the chaos that would cause in your community?  That would be a bit of a hardship on some people.  Here in Haiti, Continue reading “Life in Haiti”

One Year in Haiti

It’s hard to believe that we moved to Haiti a year ago!  That year has flown by.  As we look ahead into our 2nd year, we took some time to review the last year and provide this video update.

Thanks to our many amazing supporters that help make this possible.  We would love to have you join our team of financial and prayer partners!  You can support our work financially by making a donation to the Hands and Feet Project in our name.  You can also sponsor one or more of the kids that are in our care.

Feel free to Like and Share this video to help spread the word about the work that we’re doing.

Open House Opportunity and Rochester NY Visit

After a very tiring and long journey back to the states, we arrived in Rochester, New York and got into bed about 4:00am-ish on Tuesday morning. We had both been up for just over 24 hours.  Neither of us had not done that in many years!  We will be in Rochester through July 2nd, and are staying at Randy’s Mom and Dad’s house in Webster.  They are wonderful hosts to us.

Continue reading “Open House Opportunity and Rochester NY Visit”

A Day in Haiti

A few people have asked what a typical day in Haiti looks like, and we’ve put off trying to answer that because there’s not much of a pattern to a typical day!  We’ve tried logging our time a few different days, but that gets put aside when the first urgent need of the day comes up. We never get bored of the routine, and there’s always something else to learn!

Hands and Feet Project Campus from the Big House
Panorama view of campus form the Big House

Our campus consists of perhaps 15 acres of land, separated by a suspension bridge. Continue reading “A Day in Haiti”

Nine Months

Kids Ready For School
Kids Ready For School

Nine months. That’s hard to grasp. Where does the time go? Can you believe that it’s been 9 months since we moved to Haiti? Nine months of waking up to the joyful sounds of kids waiting to be taken to school (and the occasional rooster). Nine months of learning about each of the nearly 75 kids on our campus and in community care, forming a relationship with each one of them and helping to determine their areas of strength. Nine months of getting to know each of our Haitian staff who each Continue reading “Nine Months”

Taking Time for Self-Care

We had a great visit to the states last November, and we really enjoyed seeing many of our family and friends, as well as connecting with many who support our mission. We spoke at a few churches as well. The traveling was very time consuming, and we didn’t stay anywhere more than 3 days. It wasn’t ideal for rest and relaxation, but we are very thankful that we were able to see so many familiar faces!

When we got back we went right back into full time mission mode! Given our crazy schedule with very little downtime, it was highly recommended that we Continue reading “Taking Time for Self-Care”

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

We hope and pray that you had an awesome Christmas and New Year’s with family and friends.

Girls going to a soccer game on Christmas break

Every time we write an update about our adventures here in Haiti, we wonder where the time went since our last update. It’s hard to believe that the Christmas and New Year holidays have passed by — we never really had the opportunity to reflect and celebrate! As mentioned in an earlier blog, we said our Christmas was going to be different this year. Well, we have never been more right! When the time comes for a holiday in Haiti, most of our staff are off, but our kids are still here on campus. That means we work extra hard on holidays! Weekends are very similar as well, but not to the same degree.

Continue reading “Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!”

Coming to Rochester!

Bonswa tout moun! (Good evening everyone!)

Well, on Tuesday evening we arrived in the USA, or stateside, as it is called.  Spent two days with Randy’s mom and dad in the Tampa area and then headed out to Phoenix to spend time with some good friends and our daughter, Emily. That is where I am writing this blog. I can’t believe we already head out tomorrow  to go back east, Orlando. We will then get a rental car and head to Continue reading “Coming to Rochester!”