ivy and orchid

As you may or may not know, it is best, especially for newbie missionaries like us, to work with a sending agency. This is the organization that directs us on next steps in the missionary process and they handle our finances as well. Both are very important because 1.) I have not found a book on How to Become a Missionary.  My initial thinking was we wanted to help with a problem and anyone would be happy to take us, right? No, that's not the best way. God has a plan and God directs the plan each step of the way. 2.) It is nice to have a reputable organization to handle our precious funds so you know that we're not spending all of your money at Target. So the initial organization we started with is One Mission Society (OMS) whose headquarters are in Greenwood, Indiana. OMS has been amazing and we have worked closely with them for two years. They led, directed and prayed with us every week for two years. They introduced us to the missionaries in Haiti. They trained us on raisi...

Back in 2014, my mom sent me a link to listen to the new song "Oceans" by Hillsong United. Little did she know just how important this song would become on our journey towards becoming missionaries. Then in 2015, we found out my dad had pancreatic cancer.  It is an ugly disease and many nights I stayed up late doing research and crying and praying. There was one night that I was listening to "Oceans" and praying and I sensed God was going to do something big. My dad only lived two more months on this earth, but God was indeed working on something in my  life. Fast forward to our vision trip to Haiti this year. Throughout the week, some of the missionaries serving there would ask me if God had confirmed that we were meant to serve at the Cowman school. Sadly, I hadn't had an overwhelming sign or feeling that I was supposed to be there (but Shawn had). Then on our last day there, on a Friday, the school held chapel on the porch. During worship, the sweet student...

Now that you've seen how beautiful Haiti is, let me tell you what we did on our trip and what our next steps are. Our main objective in going to Cap-Haitien in May was to see what our "jobs" will be when we move there. I will be filling in as a Teacher's Assistant to a Pre-K/elementary classroom. My goal is to eventually go to the Emmaus Biblical Seminary in Cap-Haitien to get my Masters in Education so I can become a certified teacher. Then I can teach in the classroom which allows me to then train Haitians to become teachers in Haiti.  Shawn will be working with the middle school and high school administration at Cowman https://www.cowmaninternationalschool.org/.  The high school is a relatively new addition and the spring of 2019 will be the first year to have graduating seniors. Shawn will work alongside the administration to establish a curriculum that will prepare the students for University. The Cowman International School Teachers The director of the ...

      We have returned from our trip to Haiti, but before I begin telling stories, I would like to thank you all for your support! I know many of you are praying for us and sending well-wishes as we go along this journey together. We arrived in Cap-Hatien safely, stayed healthy and returned home with no problems. Thank you to all of you who donated school supplies for Cowman School. Thank you for supporting us financially so that we could make the trip. We were even able to buy extra school supplies, classroom prizes and hard-to-find-in-Haiti food for the Missionaries there. With one large suitcase filled with clothes for our family, all of the other suitcases were filled things to bring to Cowman. Each of you are contributing to this great commission and our family couldn't do our work there without your support, so we thank you!           The Cap-Hatien region of Haiti is surrounded by mountains and this was the m...

Since sharing our news of serving in Haiti, we have been amazed by the generosity of all of you. You have shown us compassion in ways that we never could have imagined! You have shared stories of your own journeys, you have provided for us not only financially but also in ways that will allow us to grow our support. You have shared our excitement for a new adventure, our sadness for the end of our current chapter, our apprehension for the uncertainties that lay ahead of us and your faith in knowing that God will be with us every step of the way. Every person who has given to us tells us that you believe in what we are doing and we are incredibly grateful for that support, that faith, that encouragement and your fulfillment of Matthew 28:19 ("Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations. . ."). So what is next? We are heading to Haiti for our vision trip this weekend. We will see Haiti for the first time. We will see our future home, the school our kids will attend, w...

What is a vision trip, you might be asking? A vision trip is essentially "scoping out" a place before moving there to do ministry. Our vision trip is May 6th-12th and we will be staying on the One Mission Society (OMS) compound near Cap-Haitien, Haiti. We will see where we will live, where we will work and meet the wonderful people we will have a chance to do life with. We will be staying in the Nord (North) part of Haiti, just west of the Dominican Republic. We will mainly visit the Cowman School ( https://www.onemissionsociety.org/give/cowman-international-school)  to better understand our roles at the school. Over time, the school has expanded to more than 160 students each year in preschool, elementary, and high school (now including children of local ministry leaders, Haitian business professionals and government officials). Because of its growth, the school has been working on expanding the physical school building as well as developing its curriculum accre...

When are you going to Haiti? We will be arriving near Cap-Haitien around May 7,  2018 as part of our Vision Trip. This trip is to give us a clearer understanding of what our duties will be at the Cowman School and understand the culture better. So you won't be paid? No, as missionaries, we will be volunteering our time to serve others and we will be depending on the financial support of generous people like you! What about your jobs? Shawn will work for one more academic year (2018-2019) at UE and Jaime will teach piano lessons as long as possible. Because Shawn will be employed full-time, Jaime will be handling much of the fundraising, so she will have to limit her collaborative playing to make this possible. What about music/saxophone/piano? Music is and always will be an important part of our lives. Shawn will bring a saxophone along and Jaime will have access to pianos and keyboards. There are already opportunities for music-making as well as flexibility to create ...