Big News From Haiti For The New Year...

 

Some of the big news (please be seated while reading)…

The matchmakers have completed their job!  Peterson and Christ-tcherry (with a lot of assistance from our Great God,) have succeeded in making a "family" for themselves!  It took over a year, a lot of good times, hardships, surgery, etc but Peterson's mommy and Christ-tcherry's daddy have fallen in love and tied the knot! 

On Christmas Day, we ran around Ouanaminthe on a motorcycle talking to our Christian mentors, our families, and a judge getting acceptance to be ONE.  God worked a miracle and on December 26th, we were married with Pastor Daniel and Mami Karris as our witnesses (of course, the two little matchmakers were present too!) 

We are thrilled to have made the commitment to be Mr. and Mrs. Dasmin Gabaud for the rest of our lives, and we look forward to having a celebration in Haiti on May 25th with some family and friends!

 

The new endeavor…

On February 1^st, we will be moving into our new home in Terrier Rouge, Haiti (northeast Haiti.)  We will be getting the home ready for the birth of the new ministry…Footprints of the Son.  It is simply the following…

1)    A temporary foster home for severe/fragile special needs orphans needing more TLC than their current orphanages are able to offer

2)    An outreach program to aid and train Haitian families in raising their special needs sons and daughters

Why the name Footprints of the Son? 

Being a temporary foster home, we would like to leave the footprints of God’s love on each of these little ones that He entrusts us with for their most fragile time on earth.

Mission Statement: 

To nurture, love, and protect the severe and fragile special needs children living in Haiti by assisting, teaching and guiding their forever families through the love of Jesus Christ, our Savior. 

Verse that represents the heart of the ministry: 

John 13:  1-17 (passage speaks of Jesus washing the disciples feet…a literal example of bringing understanding to the importance of serving others and also teaching what is right.

 

Our heart for the foster home…

(The following was written by Heather)

Being a mother in Haiti for the last three years has been such a blessing, and I can’t imagine doing anything but caring for some of the most severe/fragile special needs children of Haiti.  It is my heart, it is my passion, and it is simply what I love to do.  I know it does not come without heartache, but the blessed times always surpass the dark days (my little Jean was the first evidence of this…if it wasn’t for my sweet little man, I would never have known my true gifting and calling!) 

The home will serve as temporary care and aid to larger orphanages and families trying to care for these fragile ones.  The goal of the home will be to offer the proper medical needs, nutritional needs, and extra TLC that these children require in order to strengthen them to be integrated back into their forever families.  We will have about five foster children at a time to ensure that they receive the quality of care and attention they need.  We will celebrate with great joy when one child is well enough to go back to their home, and we have the ability to assist another precious one!

Our heart for the outreach program…

(The following was written by Papito and translated into English.)

Because I am a parent of a special needs child, I have lived the life that many other parents are living in Haiti with their different children.  On behalf of our great God Jehovah, my heart begins to rejoice about our outreach ministry to assist these parents and children.  I will never forget my past with my first son, Christ-tcherry.  I can now be an example to teach other parents how they can be important in the lives of their special children.  I have an open heart for them.  These children are very important and they have the same power as us.  They do not have the opportunity to speak and act as others, but they are valuable nonetheless.  Within the ministry of Footprints of the Son, the outreach program will be my priority.  I want to give them all I am to make them feel well, taken care of, and loved.  I pray that the Lord will use me for this outreach program and that it will give much glory to Him.

That is probably enough shock for one night…

Please stay connected and let us know if you want to be on the Footprints of the Son mailing list.  We are in the beginning stages and would like to ask you for your thoughts, prayers, and encouragement.  We feel so blessed for everything that the Lord is doing in our lives and are so excited to give the glory to Him!  Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for standing behind us as we continue on this blessed path.