FINALLY!
i spent a long weekend with the boys & it was SO NEEDED. they have grown so much & i was so insanely happy to see them. not in a photo or video but with my own eyes.
let me just tell you getting there was something else. 8 months since my feet were on haitian soil & if you know me you know that is a LONG TIME. the day cory took me to the airport i accidentally left my phone in the car, the incredible ticket agent allowed me to use her phone to call him (insert praise hands) on his way home our car went crazy & stopped right in front of a library so he just coasted in (insert praise hands again). he is literally on the phone with me telling me everything as I am about to board the plane, i was like get behind me devil. an uber driver, a good friend, a tow truck, cory's step dad & an alternator later the car was good to go.
when i walked into the house my heart was just overcome with thankfulness. yes we still need to raise $4000 before august for our rent BUT when you have peace it surpasses all the other feelings. ya know? i am so blessed to love these boys & be loved in return. i am so blessed to be surrounded with good people, like good to the core. alix, he is like the brother i never had but should have had. i seriously have no idea what we would do without him. he is doing such a incredible work with our boys & his mom takes such good care of them. i could not ask for better people to hold our boys close.
i went with no agenda other than to spend time with them & to celebrate some birthdays. maybe a little planning with alix & a few photos, but thats it. just sit with them, talk with them, joke with them, watch movies, talk about school & what they wanted to do for the summer. we did some english classes & alot of reading. we sang happy birthday to wilderson (17), julien (19), & makendy (17) we ate cake, we listened to music, i taught them how to waltz, we talked politics, we talked about the change they can bring NOW, we talked about the future, we talked about exams, we talked about girls, we talked about soccer, we talked about america, we talked about salvation, we talked about the bible, we talked about living a life truly serving the lord & all that it means. we talked about dreams. we talked about everything. i spent alot of time talking & alot of time listening.
everyone that meets our boys always talks about a feeling they get when they meet them. i know this feeling all too well. i remember many years ago going to haiti & i had no clue what to expect or what to think or what to do or how to follow the feelings i had after i came back. no clue about anything. so i read alot. i talked to my small group of friends alot. i talked to God ALOT. i journaled alot. i went to haiti alot. i did alot of things. i made alot of mistakes. i learned from those mistakes. I don't have it all figured out, none of us do but there is so much reward in knowing you are doing what God wants you to do even through ALL THE HARD STUFF. when i look at these boys, these young men i see so many good things. i see dreams being achieved. i see a father that has used so many people to reach them, to keep them out of the streets, to show them that they do have a future & despite circumstances, despite where they live THEY CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH HIM. that is the best thing. the very best thing i could ever teach them. isn't it a beautiful thing when God takes your past, your brokenness, your failures & uses them to bring truth, love & freedom to someone else? THAT IS WHAT IT IS ABOUT! sometimes we have no clue why we are going through such hard things but what we don't see is that God has a plan. he will take all the mess & it can be used to bring Glory to HIS NAME.
romans 5:3-5
more than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because Gods love has been poured into our hearts through the holy spirit who has been given to us.
james 1:2-3
count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.
what would it be like to rejoice in our sufferings?
such power in that. when i spend time with these boys i am reminded of his goodness. our cultures are different, our languages are different, our lives are different but our God is the same. i am reminded of all my sufferings & when I thought WHY? i am not saying that God causes these things, i am saying God takes our suffering & shapes us into stronger people & those sufferings can end up reaching people in their sufferings. WOW WOW WOW.
God,
you are so incredibly kind. so gracious to let us breathe another day. to worship you is such an honor & to live a life following your calling is such a beautiful thing. God help me to never take it for granted. help me to always follow you. open my ears to hear your voice. only yours God. open doors & shut doors. help me to always humble myself. help me to always be teachable. thank you for the opportunity to play such a small part in these boys lives. thank you for each person that has given to make things happen for them. thank you for their lives. thank you thank you thank you.
- your daughter
now. i will be going back to haiti in a few months & there are a few things to let you in on.
we are working on getting more partners & more people involved financially. we are so thankful for each person that gives but we do need to have more money to come in with all the price changes in haiti & the needs we have. sometimes we think how in the world are we making it but GOD. always God. we always have just enough to cover our basic needs.
we currently owe $4000 for rent which is only half. we are working on finding another house in the country for next year that is a tad cheaper so we can make room in our budget for more educational needs to be met. we want to implement summer learning programs, & strengthen our soccer programs which all take money. RI is small & we like that so with your help & gods we can strengthen our budget to make these things happen. we need around $4000 a month to meet our needs & we are about half way there! if you know someone who wants to get involved or would like to support RI please pass this along! it takes a village you guys!
current needs: generator ( YOU GUYS HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH WE NEED THIS) we priced a few & the one with our discount would run around $2500
if you have any questions please feel free to email us & make sure you are keeping up with us on facebook
i spent a long weekend with the boys & it was SO NEEDED. they have grown so much & i was so insanely happy to see them. not in a photo or video but with my own eyes.
let me just tell you getting there was something else. 8 months since my feet were on haitian soil & if you know me you know that is a LONG TIME. the day cory took me to the airport i accidentally left my phone in the car, the incredible ticket agent allowed me to use her phone to call him (insert praise hands) on his way home our car went crazy & stopped right in front of a library so he just coasted in (insert praise hands again). he is literally on the phone with me telling me everything as I am about to board the plane, i was like get behind me devil. an uber driver, a good friend, a tow truck, cory's step dad & an alternator later the car was good to go.
when i walked into the house my heart was just overcome with thankfulness. yes we still need to raise $4000 before august for our rent BUT when you have peace it surpasses all the other feelings. ya know? i am so blessed to love these boys & be loved in return. i am so blessed to be surrounded with good people, like good to the core. alix, he is like the brother i never had but should have had. i seriously have no idea what we would do without him. he is doing such a incredible work with our boys & his mom takes such good care of them. i could not ask for better people to hold our boys close.
i went with no agenda other than to spend time with them & to celebrate some birthdays. maybe a little planning with alix & a few photos, but thats it. just sit with them, talk with them, joke with them, watch movies, talk about school & what they wanted to do for the summer. we did some english classes & alot of reading. we sang happy birthday to wilderson (17), julien (19), & makendy (17) we ate cake, we listened to music, i taught them how to waltz, we talked politics, we talked about the change they can bring NOW, we talked about the future, we talked about exams, we talked about girls, we talked about soccer, we talked about america, we talked about salvation, we talked about the bible, we talked about living a life truly serving the lord & all that it means. we talked about dreams. we talked about everything. i spent alot of time talking & alot of time listening.
everyone that meets our boys always talks about a feeling they get when they meet them. i know this feeling all too well. i remember many years ago going to haiti & i had no clue what to expect or what to think or what to do or how to follow the feelings i had after i came back. no clue about anything. so i read alot. i talked to my small group of friends alot. i talked to God ALOT. i journaled alot. i went to haiti alot. i did alot of things. i made alot of mistakes. i learned from those mistakes. I don't have it all figured out, none of us do but there is so much reward in knowing you are doing what God wants you to do even through ALL THE HARD STUFF. when i look at these boys, these young men i see so many good things. i see dreams being achieved. i see a father that has used so many people to reach them, to keep them out of the streets, to show them that they do have a future & despite circumstances, despite where they live THEY CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH HIM. that is the best thing. the very best thing i could ever teach them. isn't it a beautiful thing when God takes your past, your brokenness, your failures & uses them to bring truth, love & freedom to someone else? THAT IS WHAT IT IS ABOUT! sometimes we have no clue why we are going through such hard things but what we don't see is that God has a plan. he will take all the mess & it can be used to bring Glory to HIS NAME.
romans 5:3-5
more than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because Gods love has been poured into our hearts through the holy spirit who has been given to us.
james 1:2-3
count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.
what would it be like to rejoice in our sufferings?
such power in that. when i spend time with these boys i am reminded of his goodness. our cultures are different, our languages are different, our lives are different but our God is the same. i am reminded of all my sufferings & when I thought WHY? i am not saying that God causes these things, i am saying God takes our suffering & shapes us into stronger people & those sufferings can end up reaching people in their sufferings. WOW WOW WOW.
God,
you are so incredibly kind. so gracious to let us breathe another day. to worship you is such an honor & to live a life following your calling is such a beautiful thing. God help me to never take it for granted. help me to always follow you. open my ears to hear your voice. only yours God. open doors & shut doors. help me to always humble myself. help me to always be teachable. thank you for the opportunity to play such a small part in these boys lives. thank you for each person that has given to make things happen for them. thank you for their lives. thank you thank you thank you.
- your daughter
now. i will be going back to haiti in a few months & there are a few things to let you in on.
we are working on getting more partners & more people involved financially. we are so thankful for each person that gives but we do need to have more money to come in with all the price changes in haiti & the needs we have. sometimes we think how in the world are we making it but GOD. always God. we always have just enough to cover our basic needs.
we currently owe $4000 for rent which is only half. we are working on finding another house in the country for next year that is a tad cheaper so we can make room in our budget for more educational needs to be met. we want to implement summer learning programs, & strengthen our soccer programs which all take money. RI is small & we like that so with your help & gods we can strengthen our budget to make these things happen. we need around $4000 a month to meet our needs & we are about half way there! if you know someone who wants to get involved or would like to support RI please pass this along! it takes a village you guys!
if you have any questions please feel free to email us & make sure you are keeping up with us on facebook
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