ivy and orchid

My life is really great. I have never starved. I have always had a roof over my head. I have a loving family. I have a supportive community. The few times I have gone through difficult periods in my life, I have gotten through all of them. Well, I didn't do it on my own; it was God who has gotten me this far and has provided more than I ever could imagine. It is the reminders of how God has gotten me this far that keeps me going. It is His promises that encourage me to keep believing-- to keep dreaming--about tomorrow. I know we are quarantined in our homes. I know most countries' borders are closed. I know the economy is rough right now. But I keep dreaming anyway. It was at the Global Leadership Summit (GLS) in 2016 that I realized we were destined for Global Missions. So last week, when I was beginning to think I should be more of a realist rather than a dreamer, I watched a video from that GLS of Jossy Chacko speaking and in it he said, " don't let the earth...

In the midst of being in quarantine due to COVID-19, this isolation has left me wondering how to make the most of my time. Never in my life have I been part of anything that affects the entire world like this pandemic has. Outside all of our doors, the world has pushed pause. It hasn't stopped. It has paused-enough that we can sit and ponder what is important in our lives. Since the quarantine began, I have seen people taking necessary time to [electronically] gather. I have seen people supporting their local restaurants so that their businesses may continue. Teachers are staying connected to their students for the sake of knowledge and well-being. I have seen people proudly sharing their gifts without fear or judgement. Churches are creatively reaching people and proving that the church is not limited to the walls of a building. I have witnessed the need for God like never before. This is why Easter is so necessary right now . Christ had come to earth, to live among ...

About two months ago, before COVID-19 was a serious issue in the United States, I kept having a recurring dream. In my dream, I was driving on the highway when all of the sudden, my view changed. It was as if I had put on virtual reality glasses and I was looking at a roller coaster with all the turns and loops. In my dream, I was aware that I was driving quickly on the road, but I  could not see it because of the wild vision I was seeing in front of me. I had the same dream a second time, and that time the VR image was much more wild. I told myself that although I could not see the road I was driving on, as long as I continue moving forward, like before, I would be safe and get where I was heading. I had the dream one last time and the vision changed from the highway to the crazy roller coaster. More than ever, I remained focused on continuing straight as before and trusting that I would not swerve off course. During the fuel crisis in Haiti last year, we were isolated at ...

Before the new year, a  Bethel Music worship leader, Kalley Heiligenthal, and her husband lost their 2-year old daughter. Over the following 5 days, they asked for bold prayers that their daughter would be resurrected. Crazy, right? But as Christians, we read in the Bible that Jesus did bring people back to life after their death. (Jairus' daughter ( Luke 8 ), Lazarus ( John 11 ), Jesus Christ et al). Each night, she and her husband, along with Bethel and many more worshiped hard . I saw videos of people believing and worshiping like never before. In the end, their daughter was not resurrected but it is what followed that has been on my mind. The Heiligenthals had to face the reality that their daughter was gone and they continue to worship and praise hard . Do you know why? Because God hurts along with us. God feels our pain. And God brings us through these hard times.  So, let me tell you, our experiences in Haiti were hard. I was prepared to have to practically build ...

Have you ever been in a moment of transition and do not know where the road is leading you? This is where we are. I have to admit that historically I have hated being in transition, but this time, it's okay. Even if we do not see evidence of God working, we would know that he is. But we see him working in amazing ways and we feel him working. That is a lot like growing pains. There have been a lot of talks, a lot of tears and most of all, a lot of time with God. It's not easy having God work on you, but you know that because he is good, the end result will be better than we could imagine. He is providing for us in all the ways we need so I'm going to keep trusting that at the end of this chapter, we are going to have such a story to share!   Currently, we remain employees of TeachBeyond, but we are on a leave of absence and continue raising support until God makes his plan clear to us. The stresses that we faced in Cap-Haitien were extremely hard on our family and we a...

We have to admit that it has been a hard few months. If you haven't heard by now, we are back in Indiana because, frankly, everything we have gone through has been difficult on our family. We are back after only four months; now that is a hard pill to swallow. However, since telling people we were returning for a short time, everyone has been amazing to our family and for that, we have so much to be thankful for.  We are thankful for our family who hears the worst part of our stories, they worry tirelessly for us and never cease in their prayers. They answer the phone when we call them swollen and broken out in rashes, connected to IVs and crying. They have had to let us go, serve a mission God has called us to and still support us even though it is absolutely difficult for them. Thank you. We are thankful for those of you supporting us in various essential ways. Just like our family, you worry about us and believe in the work God is doing. Your belief an...

     When we were deciding to be missionaries in Haiti, we understood that life would be more difficult. We wouldn't have the luxuries, conveniences and comforts of our life in the United States. However, our family has always been adaptable and we knew that we could adjust to the everyday inconveniences of Haiti.       Most of these "inconveniences" are still luxuries in Haiti. To have a house with electricity and running water alone is to have privilege and our family is adjusting to these things just fine. However, what is difficult is when everything just stops. There has been very little to no fuel coming into Haiti for about 5 weeks now which puts a hold on practically everything: businesses, hospitals, schools and roads. We did not have school for three weeks and I hardly left our house. I began to wonder what I was doing in Haiti if I couldn't go to school, but how can I understand this culture if I don't truly live it? I could adapt to ...