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Tuesday, January 12, 2016

From the beginning of our marriage, Sean and I have had the heart for teens, and as we age, the 20-somethings.  I love that no matter where we live, God has honored this desire of our hearts.

Since we have been in Haiti, we have been able to work with youth in these age groups.  One of our roles with Hands and Feet is to work in the area of transitional care.  For us this means having the opportunity to pour into these young adults emotionally, spiritually and practically; along with empowering our staff and mentors to step up and encourage these young adults to prepare them for life outside the walls of where they have been raised.  There is a beauty and a beast to the process of raising kids.  You get to love them, protect them and teach them what you want them to know, but then one day they have to leave, spread their wings and fly, and maybe they are not ready!  For some of us we crave and embrace change, but for others it is difficult and can be terrifying.  Our heart is to try and equip these kids and mentors with tools they need to be confident and independent in their future.  For us, it is living in the proximity of the older kids and staff that work for us, the desire to continue to develop a mentorship program, training up the next generation, and praying that we seek God in each decision.



Today was a day that I will not soon forget.  Recently a house was chosen in the community for our older boys, that we will try out over the next 6 months, as they adapt to life with a lot more independence.  As these are big changes for some of the kids, we asked our staff to go with us to see the house and to lead us in prayer over the home and coming changes.  About 6 of our staff members joined us along with the boys that will live there and some of the other kids that are close, but not yet in the transitional program.  Tears poured from my eyes as we stood on the porch of this house and sang Haitian hymns, prayed, staff shared scripture and wisdom they wanted the boys to hear.  You could look at these young men and see fear and courage all at the same time.  I definitely felt the presence of God in that moment, the reassurance that it is a good thing, and not everything we are asked to do will be easy.  Please join us in praying for the boys that are currently in our transitional care, for the upcoming changes, for the mentors we have set in place and for all of us as we adjust to the coming changes.  

I often take moments like these for granted and do not take the time to share, but these are the moments that God uses to remind me why we are here!