Tag: Travel

Merry Christmas from the McGarveys!

Christmas in Haiti

Merry Christmas banner

Can you believe it’s Christmas time already? We pray that you have a Merry Christmas and a blessed holiday season as we celebrate the birth of Jesus. It’s an exciting time for the children and families in our assistance programs in Haiti.

Christmas goats

We are so thankful to each of you who helped fund our Christmas shopping this year through the Project Essentials promotions. There are many more families that Hands & Feet Project (H&FP) is supporting this year than in previous years, and we can’t do that without the support of you and the rest of our amazing donors! One of the gifts we gave families in the communities that we support is a goat! Goats are gifts that can be used in a variety of ways. It has been an adventure for our staff in Jacmel and Grand Goave to find, purchase and deliver goats to families in need.

Families will also be receiving children’s Bibles in Haitian Creole so they can learn together and grow in their faith. This is a great time of year for families to sit together and read Bible stories. Children in our daycares hear Bible stories regularly and often share them with their families. Providing Bibles is just another way to share the love of Jesus and encourage others along their faith journey. We pray that these gifts will help these families have a Merry Christmas!

Leadership Change at H&FP

We have a new executive director for our organization! You can meet Letty Vendrell through a video interview on the latest version of the Project Red podcast. (The first link goes to the interview on YouTube; you can find different podcast formats and other Project Red podcasts on the 2nd link.) Our former executive director, Andrea McGinniss, announced early this year that she was stepping down in the fall of this year. After a long search and much prayer, Letty joined the team and is already having an impact on our organization. Andrea worked closely with us for many years, and she will certainly be missed.

Meet Our Haitian Staff

While we are talking about staff, there are opportunities to meet our Haitian staff through posts on The Hands and Feet Project Facebook page. The stories of people we work closely with in Haiti have been shared over the last several weeks and months. We encourage you to follow our McGarvey Haitian Adventures page on Facebook, and also The Hands and Feet Project page in order to keep up with things that are happening through our ministry.

In addition to receiving our newsletter (sign up here if you are not already on the list), you can also follow the activities of our ministry organization. The H&FP newsletter archive and a link to sign up to get those via e-mail can be found here.

Family Update

Please keep Denise and her family in your prayers as we all cope with the loss of her mom, Ruth Ann Vlasak, early this month. Denise went to Louisiana several times over the last few months to be with her mom as her health was failing. We are thankful for her faith in Jesus, and that she has taken up residence in heaven.

Our community in Florida held an event on the Longest Night of the year as many of us grieve the loss of someone we love. That grief often hits us just a little harder around the holidays. The Longest Night is a service of comfort and spiritual support for those who are walking through grief, loneliness, loss, hopelessness, or who are just feeling a little down during the Christmas Season, or desire a quiet & contemplative experience.

Year-End Activities

The end of the year is always a busy time in Haiti. Not only do we have the holidays to plan for, but also work contracts for the following year, year-end bonuses (some are mandatory in Haiti!), updating job descriptions and work contracts, payroll changes for the new year, and getting budgets approved. That is quite a list! It keeps us busy the last few months of the year. Even though we started early, our to-do lists are still pretty long!

Our team is planning a trip to Haiti in the early part of 2026. Please keep us all in your prayers as we make plans and travel arrangements.

In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps.
— Proverbs 16:9

Thank you to all of you who added a special year-end gift to your giving plans. We are so grateful to each person who helps us through prayer and financial support. If you are still considering a year-end gift, donations towards our support can be made here, and we also want to share a message that was just recently sent out regarding general donations to Hands & Feet Project. We appreciate your ongoing financial and prayer support. We cannot do this without you!

We pray that you have a blessed Christmas and and a God-filled New Year.

Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Luke 2:11-12

Haiti News Update – Spring 2025

Haiti and Hands and Feet Project

Working with the Haitian and American staff to help children and families in Haiti continues to be challenging, yet rewarding. Haiti life is not easy, but it’s the only life most Haitians know. Sometimes it is challenging to find certain supplies or food. And because the usual trade route through Port au Prince is closed, many things are more expensive month to month. And at times certain items are not available in some areas. It’s quite impressive that the local markets and stores are able to offer such a large variety of products and food, but prices are constantly increasing. The Haitian community has such resilience in the face of opposition!

Inflation in the USA is currently around 2.8%. Can you imagine an inflation rate of 28.4%? That’s what Haiti has been facing for the last several years. Despite the rising costs, Hands and Feet Project is still committed to purchasing items in Haiti as much as possible. We make this commitment because it helps the local businesses survive and thrive, and provides market vendors with money so they can feed their families.

Haiti and US inflation rates for the last year (source: https://tradingeconomics.com/haiti/inflation-cpi#)
Continue reading “Haiti News Update – Spring 2025”

Stories of Hope from Haiti

Do you ever wonder what keeps us working in Haiti? Many people have expressed concerns about traveling to Haiti, and some have suggested that we pursue ministry in “safer” countries. For us, God continues to draw us to Haiti and the amazing people that we have come to know and love there.

It’s also exciting to see the transformed lives of the children that we work with. As with many kids growing up, especially those that have experienced trauma, they go through hard times. They sometimes push away those that are there to help them. And sometimes they just withdraw. At times, they have breakthroughs and turn their attitudes and their lives around. And there are times where God coordinates an amazing sequence of events to turn lives around.

Here are 2 stories that Hands and Feet Project recently shared on their social media that we don’t want you to miss.

God is working in the lives of the young people around us in Haiti. It’s such a blessing to witness the transforming power of God in their lives.

“For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.”

Hebrews 3:4 (NASB)
Continue reading “Stories of Hope from Haiti”

Season of Thanksgiving

As we wind down 2024, and move into this season of Thanksgiving, we want to express our deep appreciation to all of you who have supported us so generously. For over 20 years, Hands and Feet Project has been working in Haiti to change the lives of the least and the lost. We have been a part of that story since 2017. We serve in Haiti based on faith that God called us there and directed our attention and our hearts to help meet the physical and spiritual needs of Haitian people. And He has done just that. The partnerships we have with people, churches and businesses are the only way this is possible, and we are thankful for each and every one of you!

Rochester Visit

Our semi-annual trip to Rochester went well. We had a great time seeing friends, family and the faithful supporters of our ministry. Our time there always goes by so quickly, and there are always more people that we wish we could see. We will be back north again in April. We hope and pray that you all have a safe and warm winter!

Continue reading “Season of Thanksgiving”

Haiti Adventures and Activities

Travel Plans to Haiti

Working in Haiti is always an adventure. There are unexpected things around every corner. For example, I expected to be writing this note from Haiti! We have shared that we were looking for opportunities to get back into Haiti for the last several months. Flights were booked to head in, only to be postponed and then rescheduled due to conditions within Haiti. Sadly, now the trip was canceled.

The day we were scheduled to fly in was a day the protests in Haiti ramped up. The small airport we were supposed to fly into was closed due to protests. We are so thankful we did not end up in the capital waiting to see when the small commuter planes would resume flights to Les Cayes!

The protests culminated in many roadblocks across the country, and people gathering to march in the streets. Some of the roadblocks were quite impressive!

So what were they protesting? Primarily, they want the current acting Prime Minister to step down. He’s been the sole, unelected government figure since the presidential assassination in June 2021. There have not been any elections since then. And frankly, fair elections would be difficult given the growing gang problem across the country.

Continue reading “Haiti Adventures and Activities”

Happy New Year 2024

Bon Ane tout moun! Happy New Year everyone! How time seems to be flying by. It’s hard to believe we are ushering in 2024 already. It seems like the Y2K preparations were only a few short years ago. Do you remember that? But time marches on. As we look forward to 2024, we pray that you have a blessed and fruitful year. We also pray that our work in Haiti continues to be fruitful as we constantly adapt to changing conditions there, and as we follow God’s leading on how best to reach children and families for Christ.

God consistently provides for us in amazing ways. There are growing challenges of serving in Haiti. There is still the possibility that the United Nations will be coordinating a Kenyan-led multinational force to help with the gang problem. There is no specific plan for that yet. The gangs are continuing to expand their reach in and around the capital of Port au Prince. Despite these challenges, supplies we need to care for children and families continue to be available. Our Haitian staff do an amazing job finding everything that is needed.

Continue reading “Happy New Year 2024”

Haiti Trip Report – Summer 2023

God is so good. We are thankful for a good visit to Haiti for Randy and a few coworkers. Randy returned from Haiti last week. Here is a brief trip report of how things went, and about the current conditions in Haiti.

Trip Highlights

Haiti Made Staff

It was great to visit with many of the kids on our campuses. We also spent time with some of our current staff and met new staff members. Hands and Feet Project is increasing efforts to reunify children with family, and we have new staff in both Jacmel and Grand Goave to help facilitate that process. We are excited about the progress being made, but it takes time to form a lasting relationship. We also talked with our talented Haiti Made staff as they were working to complete some recent orders. It’s great to see that business continuing to thrive and to see the amazing hand-crafted good that the team creates.

Continue reading “Haiti Trip Report – Summer 2023”

McGarvey Ministry Update: Haiti News – Summer 2023

It’s another hot, humid summer in Haiti, and in Florida! Here’s an update about what is going on in Haiti, our activities with the Hands and Feet Project (HAFP), and what is happening with Denise and Randy McGarvey.

Haiti in the News

Conditions in Haiti continue to be challenging. There are very few news reports about conditions in Haiti. There is a general consensus from news agencies around the world that outside help is needed to resolve the issues in Haiti, but nobody has stepped up to lead it. Talks continue on many levels about possible next steps. We continue to pray for a solution to restore peace and improve the situation for Haitians and ministries that support families and communities. Here’s a link to find recent news about Haiti.

We continue to thank God for providing the means and methods to care for the kids and the communities that Hands and Feet Project supports in various parts of Haiti. Despite all the daunting circumstances people face, schools have finished for the year, graduations have been held, and summer has begun!

Continue reading “McGarvey Ministry Update: Haiti News – Summer 2023”

McGarvey News – May 2023

Denise and Randy are back in Florida after driving Randy’s parents back to Rochester, New York and visiting with friends and family there. We had some great time visiting with people while we were there, but there’s never enough time to see everyone!

We are constantly watching for opportunities to head back to Haiti, even if it’s for a short term trip to tackle some projects or address some issues. Here are the types of warnings we are seeing from the State Department. This one has been expanded to account for the current conditions.

Continue reading “McGarvey News – May 2023”

Spring 2023 Haiti Update

What have you heard about Haiti lately? There hasn’t been much good news reported from the usual news sources as they try and explain the current situation and how Haiti got to this state. We’re here to update you with some good news about Haiti.

Good News!

We are happy to share that Hands and Feet Project continues to provide food and supplies for the children we’ve been entrusted with, and the many families that we’re helping to support in some way. We’re so thankful that God continues to provide the means and the methods to obtain food and supplies needed.

What other good news is there? Here are a few things you should know.

Continue reading “Spring 2023 Haiti Update”