One of our family's sayings is, “The answer is yes Lord, but what’s the question.” No matter where we live we want to be on a mission for Jesus. We could not begin to share all of the amazing adventures we have experienced while serving in Haiti. We are so thankful for each trial and victory as we walked whole-heartedly in what we believe God was calling us to. The journey has been truly amazing.
“Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit." Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that." James 4:13-15
2017 will be an adventure for sure, just of a different nature. After much prayer and counsel we have decided its time for our family to transition out of Haiti and our full time role with Hands and Feet Project. God started to show our family through mentors, conversations, the condition of our hearts, and the Spirits leading that change was coming our way. The Lord revealed to us areas of our life that we were choosing to suppress while continuing to work with our heads down and full steam ahead. The spiritual and emotional community needs of our family are the driving factors in this decision. As these thoughts and feelings came to light we fought and struggled, but thankfully through counsel, prayer and our community from afar, we are brought to a place where making this choice for our family is exactly what God had in store for us. With this, we are returning to the states to seek the community we are designed for, need, and desire at this stage in our life.
We are still partnered with HAFP through this transition and working together to get our family back to the states for a healthy reentry. Like with most transitions, they take time, so we are working with our leadership to help create a transition plan that will set our family up to succeed, as well as those that we have worked beside in Haiti for so long. We have repeatedly told our Haitian staff how much we love them, Haiti and Hands and Feet and that no one is at fault for the decision we have made. We are solely seeking to place our family’s needs first, and nothing else.
Our departure from Haiti is scheduled to take place March 9th. (WOW, that’s really tough to actually put on paper and finalize to the world.) Upon reentry we will treat the first month or so as a normal furlough. As we continue to seek a new place and a new life in the states, we will remain a part of the HAFP team helping as needed and as we can during this transition. We have been loved and taken care of by our HAFP family and want to do our best to finish well. Our long-term future with HAFP is currently undetermined as we are praying through and discussing what God has planned for us upon our return. To be honest, we are taking blind and faithful steps as we reenter the states, just as we did when we entered Haiti not so long ago.
We are excited about our return and the journey ahead. Our family is wading through our emotions as best we can. Fear, excitement, anxiousness, sadness and joy, as we look forward to the change, but mourn the loss of our precious time and connections in Haiti.
So as we share this life changing, tear jerking, excitement filled news we have something to ask from you; our family, friends and partners in this amazing adventure.
1. Please pray for our family, staff, HAFP kids, fellow missionaries, neighbors and friends as we all prepare for the coming transition. For our family we are not only running to something, but also leaving those around us, and for those we pray God fills the void like only He can.
2. For those of you that are our current financial supporters, please prayerfully consider continuing your gifts through June, as we remain employed by Hands and Feet while we navigate this transition.
3. Please pray that the Lord would grant us wisdom and clarity for the unseen road ahead.
4. Since our long-term future with HAFP is still up in the air and dependent on many factors, regarding what is best for our family we ask for some assistance. With this uncertainty, we ask that if you know of any opportunities for Sean, please let us know. We have made so many valued friendships and connections over the years and are praying that the Lord will use this network to help plant our family right where he wants us.
5. And now for the fun one. We want to take a road trip. A big, long one and we may be able to see you along the way. Nothing is set in stone, but we want to hit the road to enjoy some much-needed family time, see America and see some of you in person. With this, as we transition back to America and hit the road please know we welcome your communication and contact. If you see that we are in your neck of the woods, please let us know. We don’t make any promises as this is a time dedicated to our family, but we definitely want to make an effort to see those of you that have partnered with us while we answered God’s call for our family to serve in Haiti.
We trust that this is not a “good bye” to Haiti, but a “see you later”. With excitement and anticipation we wait to see what the Lord has in store.
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