ivy and orchid

No, this isn't a comparison of the two countries, but rather the struggle I am finding as we approach the 6-month-ish mark. Our future includes moving to Haiti, living as missionaries, teaching and leading at Cowman School and learning Creole. In addition to this, Abigail and Keenen will go to school in Haiti next year! Furthermore, we are anxious to see how God will use us while we are there. All of this is very exciting and we cannot wait to get there and get to work! On the other hand, we have to prepare for this change which means working and teaching while we begin the purge. My mind is constantly thinking of the future while living in the present. Everything I touch in my home, I think, "Should I bring this to Haiti or sell it? Is this worth holding onto, or should I just donate it? I can make a fun craft with these Bell jars for Christmas and then I don't need to leave them all at Goodwill." Fun craft idea? It is getting more difficult thinking of ...

What does Walmart have to do with becoming a missionary in Haiti? Let me explain my thought process. . . . The other day, our family was in the candy isle of Walmart. Look at all the different choices and quantity. There are at least 20 bags of Peanut M & Ms alone! Walmart has an overwhelming supply of anything you could ever want. Could you imagine a life without Walmart or Amazon or the easy accessibility of goods in our country? So why would we choose to give up the abundance that we have in our lives? Why give up our house, our cars, our bed, our grocery stores? Why move away from our families, our friends, our jobs? Why move out of the US to a country stricken with poverty? A country that is still being hit by hurricanes and earthquakes? We go because our Heavenly Father invited us to go. We go because we have been given gifts and tools that can help build the lives of others. We go because we want to share our blessings with others so they can understand Christ's ...

Ten years ago, I discovered the Christian author Jennie Allen and she has been changing my life since. A decade ago, I read the book Anything which says we should be willing to do anything for God. Deep in my soul, I just wanted to do big things for Jesus. Abigail had just been born, I was working in the preschool at church and teaching piano at Spring Arbor, but I wanted to do something bigger. Then Allen put out the book Restless which is a follow-up to Anything which, to me said: sometimes "anything" is raising a family, but I didn't believe this was true for our lives. Feeling this pull towards something more, I had no idea where to look or what to do, so I kept on living just as I had been. Then about 4 years ago, I heard a quote by Jennie Allen that said; "I don't want to get to heaven and have God ask me why I didn't do more." In that moment, that is when I decided that I would say 'yes' to everything. So the journey began and it happene...

I hope you know Jesus's love like this:  He is jealous for me, Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree, Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy. When all of a sudden, I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory, And I realize just how beautiful You are, And how great Your affections are for me. And oh, how He loves us oh Oh how He loves us, How He loves us all And we are His portion and He is our prize, Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes, If His grace is an ocean, we're all sinking. And heaven meets earth like an unforeseen kiss, And my heart turns violently inside of my chest, I don't have time to maintain these regrets, When I think about, the way That He loves us, Oh how He loves us.

My life is easy. Even when I think my life is hard, it is easy. When Shawn and I first got married, money was tight. We both still talk about the horrible ham and bean soup that we ate every day for a week because we had to make our food stretch. At the time, it felt hard. Looking back, we were rich. We qualified for the University's Food Bank where we got amazing food for the week. We were able to receive health care at a really low rate through the University (Michigan State). If I needed anything, I could walk to any store in less than thirty minutes. So even when it felt hard, it was easy. Then Shawn got his first job and we bought our first house which we paid less than $20,000 for. We made it home, but when the cops started running in our neighborhood and killed a dog in front of our house, we decided to move to somewhere safer. We had the choice for a better home because life was easy. I can honestly say I do not know what it is like to have a hard life. When we went to ...

We have officially reached the "Less-Than-a-Year" point until we will move to Haiti and the emotional roller coaster has set in. We are excited to move to Vaudreuil and see how God is going to use us in this beautiful country. Through Facebook, we see the progress being made in the Cap-Haitien region and we see the current missionaries working so diligently to help make a difference. On the other hand, we are sad to leave, especially as we approach the "last birthdays" or "last Christmas" that we will have with our families. We want to savor every part of this life and we want to reach our financial goal quickly so we can move to Haiti. It's as if we're living between two worlds and I have to remember that this is my temporary home ( 2 Corinthians 5:1-10 ).  So prayer partners, please pray for a steady determination to reach our financial goal and to prepare for our [BIG] move. One thing that has helped keep me motivated are the amazing people...

Recently, I had a friend ask me what I will miss most of all when we move to Haiti. That should be an easy question to answer, but I was not able to. I know life will be difficult and there will be a lack of amenities and conveniences, but I really won't know how much I will miss the luxuries of my home country until I live that life a while. Also, no matter how difficult my life will become, I like to stay optimistic because I know that God will provide for us. Since beginning this journey, I have seen how God has provided helpers, amenities and so much more for the missionaries already on the field. However, because I like lists, and I'm sure I'm not alone, I will make a list of the things I will miss most of all: 1.) Our people (Family, friends, church, school) 2.) Variety of food 3.) Air conditioning 4.) Being a 2-car household or even a 1-car household at that 5.) Control of our finances (vs. completely relying on others for our funds) BUT! Ask me what I gain: ...