Faith to Go...
God has confirmed through many people in many marvelous ways that He has called us to minister primarily in Haiti and also in other countries as opportunities open to go. Our hearts desire is to be obedient yet have asked many times how we will afford to go? It is truly a blessing to live a life of faith in God's provision, but it has not always been easy. There have been times when we were not sure how we were going to feed our family from day to day but in His faithfulness and goodness to us we have never gone hungry. These times have grown our faith in such a way that while we often have no idea how God will choose to provide the continued finances for our family to live and serve Him overseas, we fully trust that He will.
Finances needed...
God began preparing the way for us to get to Haiti in His timing (which was surprisingly faster than we expected). We moved our family to Haiti September 4, 2011. It is so amazing to look back and see God's provision during our first three years in Haiti and the many doors He has opened for continued fruitful ministry. In addition to working with Quisqueya Christian School in Port au Prince and now El Shaddai Learning Center in St. Marc, we have had open doors to work with Haitian pastors/churches, several orphanages, assist those seeking missions opportunities, helping start a microloan ministry (KOFAEL) to impoverished Haitian women, teach community English classes using the Bible as the textbook, provide more job opportunities/sales for Haitian artisans through a gift-shop run out of our home, and hosting adoptive families and friends in our home. We are very excited about all these provisions and open doors and look forward to sharing continually with you!
Unfortunately, the cost of living in Haiti is actually quite high adding to the extreme poverty of her people. Most products are imported to the small island and as a result are 3 x more expensive to purchase. The earthquake, subsequent natural disasters and diseases have added to this crippling effect. We need to raise a minimum of $3,500 per month to cover our very basic living expenses in Haiti. The majority of money raised will go towards our housing, food, and necessary supplies. This does not include travel or medical insurance expenses in our budget and we are praying for additional means of provision for those as well. Please know that anything we raise above our needs will go toward meeting the dire needs of the poor surrounding us. We have many opportunities to minister to widows, orphans, the poorest of the poor and the ministries that assist them. We consider this a privilege and can think of no better way to expose our children to a life of faith and the very heart of God.
Friends who will send...
It is extremely humbling to be dependent upon the support of others to meet our basic daily needs. We believe that God has called every believer to serve in missions. We believe He has called every believer to go beyond our comfort zones and open our eyes to those tragically affected by the results of sin in our fallen world. We cannot fight this battle without you. We need each other. Some will go and some will send. We believe that God has called us to go. We are stepping out in faith trusting that God will continue leading friends to support us with fervent prayers and finances. Will you be that friend?
