Fall Update - Post Hurricane Matthew

First and foremost, we ask for continued prayers as the west side of Haiti is still battling to recover from Hurricane Matthew.  All of our campuses were prepared for the coming wind and rain and faired the storm well, minus a few trees.  We truly appreciate the prayers, especially as the sad reality is that the vast majority of Haitians, including our precious neighbors’ homes are never prepared to withstand storm of Matthew's magnitude.   Flooding and mudslides have continued to wreck havoc on our neighbors out west.  Praying for the rain we desperately need without the continued destruction.

Here the crazy summer months have come to an end and school is back in session.  The street are filled with matching uniforms and bouncing backpacks and us, as the staff, are grateful for the return of a normal schedule.  

  

Pictured:  Our neighborhoods ready for school.  Kendi, Stanley, Michlin, Gibson & Ason.  As you guys have continued to support us, we were able to help these awesome kids with some much needed school supplies again this year.  We all appreciate the continued support!

In September HAFP hosted our annual Village Values event to encourage and reward our staff and kids to continually grow in their responsibilities, obedience, honesty and loving others well.  This was our 3^rd consecutive year, but the first time we have celebrated at our Gran Gwav campuses.  The girls took over our Ikondo campus for a massive weekend slumber party and big screen movie nights while the boys invaded the Thozin campus.  Our kids and staff love this opportunity to connect with their friends from across the island and join together for a weekend of fun and celebration.   The event included the fan favorite, Jacmel vs Gran Gwav soccer match, awards ceremony, ice cream, an evening concert, pizza and a fireworks finale.  For the 2^nd year in a row we have had the amazing privilege of Derek Minor, of the 116 crew, come and perform for us as the evening headliner.  He followed up a dance routine from some of the Gran Gwav boys, two young rappers from a neighboring organization performing their own gospel centered lyrics, and then a local group of some of our very own young men and Haiti Made employees.   The night was a hit with good times had by all of our kids, staff, neighbors and fellow expats.   

Pictured:  Maj and the neighborhood boys “patiently”waiting for the concert to start.  

Pictured:  Jean Baptiste, HAFP 1st young adult to transition out of HAFP, and Derek Minor getting ready to go cruise town to shoot some video footage for an upcoming video.  

We have had a few very busy months with groups in and out.  The last few weeks have been filled with only a few small special groups, which has allowed us the flexibility to focus more on our childcare responsibilities, Haiti Made, our neighbors and last, but not least, our family.  With more time to focus on childcare we are honing in on one of our HAFP goals to continually build up and empower our Haitian staff.  This goal is 2 fold.  1, to encourage our staff to continually grow into their God given potential and 2, to set up our staff as examples and leaders to our kids.  It’s vitally important that our kids and staff learn to see each other as the change and opportunity that they want to see in Haiti.    

Pictured:  HAFP Gran Gwav admin staff.  Merlande, Madam Pelio, Samuel & Lapaix.  We are so grateful for this amazing group of young adults leading the way for our kids and staff.  

Baby Dyeni Update:  Ti Papa, Manoucheka & Dyeni are doing great.  Dyeni is growing like a weed with giant cubby checks and their new home is complete.  They have settled in and making their new house a home.  Thank you for the continued prayers for our sweet friends!

We have a stateside trip planned for November, to spend some time in the cooler temperatures, enjoy some of our beloved fall activities and see friends and family.  We have been blessed this year with the opportunity to return stateside more often than expected.  This amazing blessing allows us to refuel and get some much-needed community that we lack while here in Haiti.  

We are so thankful for everyone that continually prays for us, encourages us and supports us financially.  Our family is facing a season of growth and change, and we are praying for wisdom, discernment and guidance as we continue to walk down the path that God has set before our family.  Currently we have more questions than answers, but we are seeking the Lord to grace us with the answers we need.  Raising kids anywhere is challenging, but Haiti has added its own set of challenges that only Haiti could do.  We consistently fight to create an environment that is healthy for our family, but God has revealed to and convicted us that we need to do more to ensure our family is our number one priority and first call to ministry.  Please join us in praying for quiet minds to hear Gods words as He offers us what is next, for courage to move forward in His call and for the joy to know we are in His presence and will. 

Sean

Last Month's Guest

Over the last month we have been busy with some teams coming in and out.  With that comes a lot of work, but also a lot of blessings!

     We had a team come in to do miscellaneous projects around our campuses, but also brought in a Dentist who worked on all of the HAFP kids teeth and missionary families!  Addyx had a bad cavity and he was able to do a filling right here in Haiti on the table top.  This is such a blessing and she was a trooper.  We all were able to get a cleanings and check ups.  In all, he saw 30+ kids, some staff and all the American families serving here in Grand Goave.
   
  Every six months or so we have a special group of doctors and nurses that come in and pour into us, our staff and kids with check-ups, supplies and specialty health classes.  This is an amazing blessing as they bring so much encouragement and information that is so needed and important, for everyone here at HAFP.  I love that they do not only come to serve, but to empower and encourage our Haitian staff we have set up at HAFP.



 
  We were also excited to host and partner with Jessica with Sa Voix.  Sa Voix is a new endeavor here in Haiti, using art as therapy to help Haitians process things in their lives, especially many moments that are difficult and painful.  She held 2 sessions for our girls, as they were introduced to different art medias and had the opportunity to learn how to use them as they reflected and processed things in their lives.


    Also, intertwined in all of the guests last month we have watched the older boys step out into greater responsibility as they moved into their own transitional house in the community, which allows them to continue to grow into who they will become here within Haiti and their own community.  Although we work to build a Transitional Plan, the day to day growth these kids experience with each other and our staff is what really helps them prepare for their future.

Thank you for continuing to follow us through this journey called life in Haiti.  May we all choose to follow Christ in the way He has planned for our lives.

-Jen

Update: We are Home

We have finally made our way back home to Haiti after an amazing time away.  Jen and I enjoyed an EPIC trip to Israel and Rome while the kids got to visit with family and friends.  Our time away was jam packed, but so refreshing.  It’s amazing that Hands and Feet is so supportive of the missionary families' need & desire to step away for extended weeks throughout the year to recharge.  As we have returned home we wanted to connect and share some of the latest and greatest news and prayer request.  

As we get back to work we ask that you prayer for our teammates, Andrew & Angie Sutton, as they just had their 3rd baby girl.  Pray for a quick recovery for Angie and that their family can rest and cherish this new season of life.  

We are so grateful to have 2 great interns serving alongside us for a couple months.  Please pray for Jessica and Jasmine as they serve with us helping us with teams, helping with missionary kiddos and any other aspects of Haiti life that they can plug into.  Having interns is such a blessing to our family and to HAF and we are so grateful for their time.  

Please pray how you might help us connect with more people that may be interested in partnering with us and our journey in Haiti.  

Pray for our family over the coming weeks and months.  The team season is upon us and that means LOTS of people in and out of Haiti.  Please pray for strength, energy, grace and special time for our family to connect.  

Pray that the Lord would continue to stir and move the hearts of some families that are thinking of moving to Haiti to help us with the growing responsibilities of team hosting.  

The first group of the older transitional aged boys will be moving into their new home in the community in the coming weeks.  We are finalizing the work on the house and hope to have them set up in a couple weeks.  We all know change can be difficult, but we ask that you pray for peace and understanding that they see that sometimes growing pains are a good thing.  May their hearts and minds be filled with wisdom and knowledge that they need to continue down a successful path.

Please take a few minutes and watch an amazing video put together by the guys at Ride Nature.  They are an amazing organization that blessed our Gran Gwav campus at the end of January.  

Ride Nature visits Hands and Feet

Enjoy and thanks for following our journey! 

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!  

A victory over the darkness.

With the ever-present depravity of Haiti constantly looming heavy on our hearts and minds, we are so grateful when the Lord offers His calming, joy filled breath on our lives and those we call friends and neighbors. 

Many of you, remember my friend/Godson/Haitian little brother, Ti Papa.  He and his beautiful wife experienced a life altering loss, which few can relate too, in early 2015.  Watching Ti Papa and Manoucheka fight through grief, questions and pain has brought back painful memories, but I know their marriage and faith is stronger because they have been tempered in the flames.  I say this with grace filled confidence as this week I witnessed this amazingly; steadfast couple stand victorious over the darkness by declaring their faith and trust in Jesus Christ through baptism.  Besides this amazing celebration starting at 5am, I’m grateful to have celebrated this victory as their lives are shining bright as a testimony to Jesus’s power over pain and death. 

Please join with us as we celebrate this victory in Christ and please continue to pray for Ti Papa and Manoucheka as they continue to grow in their faith and strive to have a strong marriage and family.

- Sean  

Joel's story

Too often the mention of Haiti brings forth thoughts of despair, hopelessness, oppression and pain, but today is different.  I’m graced with the opportunity to spend my days with the young men and women who are breaking these chains.  We, at Hands and Feet Project could share countless stories of joy, laughter and growth, but today I want to share one that is especially close to my heart.   

Joel is like many of our soccer loving, always on the move young men, but he continually shows that his path shines brighter.   Watching Joel grow into the man God has created him to be is truly a gift from above.  

I pray that his story is just one of many victorious lives that shines bright for the world to see. 

- Sean

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http://handsandfeetproject.org

Moore of Us... November 2015