endless grace

A year. It's been a year to the day since we left Haiti. It still feels so ever present in my mind; how could it have really been that long ago? What a handful of gifts and memories God has given me since then, and a heart full of lifelong lessons and promises.

Also:

Positive thoughts from 15 months ago...

Learning to laugh amidst the trials.

Facing trials, but not in vain.

Plenty of amazing sights.

A trip of twists and turns.

Joy in progress and production.

A video of our time living in Haiti.

Reflections a year after arriving in Haiti.


Living in a place you both absolutely love, but are completely battling every minute, will make a lasting impact. Thanks to everyone who has bared with me as I have reflected over this past year. I think I've had to grieve the loss of my time in Haiti. I know I am in a new chapter, but I still feel so connected to this one. It has changed the course of my life. I feel like a totally different person, though it still fills my heart... and I hope to return again another time and give it another go. But I appreciate the patience and understanding as I sift through feelings and continue building and growing.

xoxoxo

hard work pays off

Andrew returned Monday night from his 10-day trip to Haiti. He went with a good friend of ours to film the progress at AyitimounYo, which we will use to put together a short video to help our fundraising project. I'm going to include his updates in my upcoming posts, along with some pictures and stories I didn't get to yet from our three month stay there, and maybe even a few guest writer posts along the way :)

For now, I'll leave you with this photograph of one of our two teachers in action. Andrew says it was an incredible experience to see the fruit of our time there come alive. I can't wait to share more pictures and stories- all made possible by God and by the prayers and support of so many of you.

xo

small steps will become bigger

Yesterday, Andrew had a very interesting meeting with the Education Specialist at the IDB. So many huge companies have so much money to spend, but for some reason or another don't find a way to spend it and nothing gets done and nothing changes. He's had the opportunity to make so many contacts with people in the business development world, and it will definitely provide us with a lot of resources moving forward. 

With how much isn't being done in this country, it's always refreshing to see the things that are actually being done, and being done right. We received these pictures the other day from our newest partner Ayitimoun Yo. The students have begun school with the two teachers that OEF is currently supporting. While the students don't yet have their uniforms (should arrive in a few weeks), nor have they been able to open their doors to the other children in the community (a few more weeks), they are still focused and determined as ever to provide these children with quality education. 

official announcement

If you have been keeping up with our business updates, you know that we have been spending the majority of our work-time meeting with important people from multiple organizations, orphanages, and schools in hopes of finding and creating new partnerships for OEF. Well, we would like to officially announce that OEF has made the decision to financially support two teachers at the school run by Ayitimoun Yo!

Both of the teachers are already trained with the program we endorse and train our teachers with, and actually both teachers have worked with OEF before! It's really crazy how it all worked out. One of the teachers and Andrew & I each discovered Ayitimoun Yo on our own and got connected with them without knowing that the other had also done so. When we went to visit Ayitimoun Yo, that teacher completely coincidentally happened to be visiting that same weekend (and that's not an easy trip to just happen to be there at the same time!). We feel great about working with people we can trust and in whom we can put our full confidence and support. We look forward to keeping you updated with the progress there, and are in the process of not missing a beat and beginning the first stages of fundraising. We are excited to see what this school year brings for the kids at Ayitimoun Yo and for the families in the community of Anse-a-Pitres.

goats yelling like humans

Did you see the trend of videos a few months ago, "Goats Yelling Like Humans"? Videos of goats making sounds that surprisingly sound a lot like people. If you close your eyes, you can easily imagine the screams coming from a person! They are the kind of humor that I call dumb-humor (so funny because it's so dumb), and also so weird! Anyways, when we were visiting Ayitimoun Yo last week, a goat on their property reminded me of the videos, so I had to share it. Just something humorous to brighten your day :)

P.S. This was my favorite "Goats Yelling Like Humans" Remix.

not for the faint of heart

Traveling to and from Anse-a-Pitres last week was quite the adventure. From our house to the small coastal town is only a 90 mile stretch, but the journey itself took a little more than 9 hours each way. I wanted to document a few pieces of our adventure, but it's turned out to be a long post. So, if you're interested in the crazy details, click the link below! Mothers, you've been warned...

what makes a good party?

Last Saturday at Ayitimoun Yo, there was a party for the children- 1) because it was someone's birthday, and 2) because a staff member's phone had "gone missing" (potentially stolen by one of the kids), and had recently been "found"(honesty calls for celebration!). It was quite the celebration. So, I have to ask, what makes a good party? Click the link below to find out all the party secrets...

children of haiti

Below are a few pictures and some brief information about our recent site-visit to Anse-a-Pitres, if you'd like to see...

around the country and back again

Back to the blogging world! And the world in general. This past weekend, Andrew and I visited an orphanage (the French-founder pictured above) in Anse-a-Pitres, a town on the most south-eastern tip of Haiti, right on the border of the Dominican Republic. We had a great experience and have a lot to report. However, the trip there and back was completely exhausting (reference pictures below). We are taking a few days to recover and catch up on some work, so I will give a more official update soon.

In the mean time, here are our "how I feel right now" pictures we took last night after traveling back home- 1 border crossing, 1 moto ride with 3 flat tires, a 3.5 hour-long moto ride through the winding mountains on gravel roads, and 3 tap-taps in 2 hours of traffic later... 9 and a half hours to travel only 91 miles. Se Ayiti...

We also have excellent farmers' tans, as you can imagine. See you when we recover...

xo