Week 1

It has been an exciting and busy first week back in Haiti and I'm so thankful and blessed by God's continued faithfulness to the mission He has called me to. Please take a look at some of what's been going on in the Good Samaritan ministry!

The newest additions to Good Samaritan

On Sunday, the boys' home welcomed their first set of twins, Loubens & Loubenson. (We are working on nicknames.) They're three years old and love to hang around the older boys. With the older boys being in the same age range, the addition of these two are giving the home a new dynamic. I'm really excited to see how all the boys grow this next year because of these two and the new responsibilities that come with them!

Another new addition

With the funds raised from last weekend's yard sale in Pennsylvania, we were able to purchase a refrigerator for the boys' home. The boys' caretakers have been looking forward to this day for a long time and Lens and Junior love it because their jungle gym just got a little better. Thank you to everyone back home who helped make this possible! This is just some of the fruit of your willingness to give of your time and resources for the boys.

The Good Samaritan Woodshop has begun

In August, Jeff designed a bench/desk for the school and church in Canaan. After church is over, the backrest of the bench can easily be flipped up and turned into a desk for school.

For Church:

For School:

Earlier this week, we had an organization order several of these benches for their church and school in a nearby town. We decided to take this opportunity to get a few of the older boys from Good Samaritan around carpentry, which could potentially be the beginning of a transition program for the boys. On Thursday and Friday, we picked up Roodley and Jamesly (age 15) to come help with this project. As expected, they jumped in to help wherever they could and loved having the opportunity to learn new skills.

As these pictures might suggest, God has shown me so much of His love and grace in my transition back to Haiti. As I left the boys' home last night, I felt an overwhelming sense of peace and joy in knowing that I am exactly where God has called me to and His faithfulness this week and the weeks leading up to my return is a reflection of that. Please continue to pray that I will continue to follow God's direction above all else, remembering at all times that this is His ministry. Thank you for walking beside me on this journey!

A Glimpse of His Faithfulness

I was kind of disappointed when I found out I had a two hour layover in Miami on my way to Port-au-Prince, but now I'm thankful for it because it's giving me the chance to share with you how God has been working in big ways. As you may or may not know, I came back to the States for a short time to regroup before heading back to Haiti for one year. It was incredible to see God providing for the mission that He has called me to during this time. It was a great reminder that there is no reason to worry because as long as I remain faithful and obedient to where He is leading me, He will provide.

We had a yard sale for the Good Samaritan boys this past Saturday where many people sacrificed their time and resources to help carry out God's plan for the day. I wasn't feeling too good about the day, because the previous few days had been nothing but rain which caused major flooding in south-central PA. We had many people praying for this day and that God's plan would be carried out, whatever that looked like. The day was filled with nothing but sunshine and clear skies.

With no real "big ticket items" up for sale, I was hoping that we would be able to raise $1000 for the boys, but I even felt that was a long shot. Then God has His plan. There was a constant flow of traffic in front of our house all day and at the end of the day, our garage (which was packed full the day before) was nearly empty. When all was said and done, we had raised just over $2400.

I am completely blown away by God's power and faithfulness. He knew that I was only going to be in PA for a few weeks and He knew that I didn't have the time to prepare different types of fundraisers for the boys on top of raising my own support and spending time with family and friends. He knew exactly who we needed to make all this possible, and He provided those people. Thank you so much to everyone who helped make this day possible, I don't want to even guess what it would have looked like without your help. I couldn't ask for a more encouraging last couple of days before moving to Haiti...GOD IS FAITHFUL!