People may think it is simple or even easy to start a ministry
in one of the poorest countries in the world, but that is not the case when you
are trying to achieve Kingdom excellence.
I have had many mentors in my last 3 years here, and one piece of advice
that stands out the most is this… “Don’t just do it…do it WELL!”
Doing it well means taking our time to pray, plan, and
prepare. As you look at my Facebook
posts and pictures, you may say, “Alright already, where are the kids?” Trust me, they are coming and that is why we
are taking this time to prepare ourselves, our family, our community, and our
home! God has already showed us some of
the need, and we know there is much more to come.
What are we doing now exactly (well, here is the fun part of
the blog…)
1.
We are pulling buckets of water up with rope
from our well to bathe, wash clothes, flush toilets, clean dishes, water
plants, etc. (As of last night, our water pump was lowered deep enough to bring
water to our tank on our roof and run through our pipes…so no more buckets…ok,
maybe a few still!)
2.
We are eating a lot of peanut butter sandwiches,
Tampico, and food made by neighbors! (A
stove top will be purchased soon so we can cook for our family…after that; we
will get the outdoor kitchen set up for outreach and our future foster
children.)
3.
We pray every night at 6pm that the government
street power will come on so we can charge everything for the next day (we will
need to purchase a generator before the hot summer months, but for now we are
grateful the weather is beautiful!)
4.
At 5pm, we hang out on our roof looking down at
the children playing soccer in the street and enjoy the nature around us.
5.
We are building relationships and trust with the
community so they know we are not “scary!” (One day a little boy told Papito he
was scared because we have a big house and he thinks Papito could shoot him
with a gun…Now, that same boy hangs out right outside of our home and greets us
with a smile on his face!)
6.
We are making a 2013 budget (which is a lengthy
process of planning, price searching, getting quotes, etc…we can’t have foster
children until we have beds for them to lay their sweet heads on.)
7.
We are finding some beautiful families that have
been raising special needs children with no assistance. We are seeing hope in their eyes as we tell
them of our vision to assist them as they raise their special children.
8.
We are helping where we can (Anchilove got a
pink portable crib yesterday that we just “happened to have” and not need! We also took her to the doctor, got blood
work, and medicine as well as cereal and formula for her…we have seen her
parents go from seeing her as a burden to treating her like a “princess” in less
than a week!)
9.
We are learning to be a “family” because this
will be the foundation of the ministry, Footprints of the Son.
10.
We are seeking God’s guidance, listening to His whispers,
and thanking Him for the blessings!
I head to the states for two weeks on Wednesday, and will be
gathering supplies and getting some necessary paperwork so we can complete the
Haitian foundation process when I get back.
Please be praying for Papito as he will have much on his plate here in
Haiti while I’m away (Christ-tcherry, Peterson, the home, banking, outreach,
etc.) I am more than confident that he
will handle it all with a smile on his face but a few prayers could never hurt!
Thank you to all of you that are already supporting us in such great
ways…each prayer, each thought, each donation, each word of encouragement is
greatly appreciated!
“He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and He will reward him
for what he has done.”
Proverbs 19:17 NIV
