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Tomorrow

*Written in early September but just now publishing.

I met Florence six months ago. The neighborhood we moved to a year ago is not one that we see our neighbors as often as we did in our former Haiti hangout. Most of the houses near us are beach houses that are only frequented on the weekends or holidays. This has been a nice break considering homeschooling and feeling like we can be home when we are home without a thousand knocks on the gate. But it feels weird after living in close quarters knowing all our neighbors business and them knowing ours for five years. So it felt really nice to meet our neighbor Florence and develop a friendship that felt easy and encouraging in the months that followed. Continue reading “Tomorrow”

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Transient

I’ve been writing in my head for months but the words don’t type themselves. The last time I actually wrote some words down here was over the Christmas holidays when most everyone we spend time with outside of work/ministry was away from Haiti. That got me pondering the transient nature of our relationships and life in general. Little did I know that feeling was only a foreshadowing of the months to follow. I think about the life of Jesus and how he knew He only had a short time to walk in this world He humbly came to save. Jesus’ love for us through the incarnation shows that he is God with us. We are created with a compulsion to be with those we love as well, instead of remaining a world away. Lately, it feels like the worlds between us and those we love keep moving farther and father away. It feels like a way too slow kingdom coming. We are left longing for forever, not this transient entrapment.

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MERRY CHRISTMAS NEWSLETTER 2017!

MERRY CHRISTMAS! We are celebrating from Haiti again this year and so thankful to be here as we remember all God has done and look forward to another year to serve Him and others around the world!

Ministries continue to grow. We love our mission team at Heart of God and the privilege of working together for the sake of the gospel around the world. Eric continues to teach and disciple Haitian pastors through our mission and our partner ministry at Disciples Village. The July conference that brought both Haitian and American pastors together in Haiti was a huge blessing. Eric has just finished planning and is looking forward to the upcoming March pastor conference with Disciples Village. Doors also are opening for Eric to travel to other countries through our mission organization this year! Keep reading for more ministry and family updates below!

July pastors conference at Disciples Village.

Continue reading “MERRY CHRISTMAS NEWSLETTER 2017!”

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Reasons for Relocating Continued: Surprises

O Lord, give me the grace to be
Content with what You give to me.
No! More than that, let me rejoice
In all You send me—it’s Your choice!

—Anonymous

Last spring when we begin to realize that relocating might become a reality, we just figured we would move all the stuff we needed and sell what would not fit into our downsizing. That is basically what we did but the way God provided for that to happen was our first surprise blessing. Our former guest house had three guest bedrooms, two bathrooms, a second kitchen and living area in addition to our upstairs family quarters that doubled the same. We needed to shed at least half our stuff. Moving things like an 1,800 pound generator, heavy kitchen appliances and beds, unhooking and reinstalling the power and water sources all seemed like  incredibly daunting tasks especially since our vehicle had been down forty percent of the time. We knew we needed to move but how to accomplish moving in Haiti was another matter.

Continue reading “Reasons for Relocating Continued: Surprises”

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Reasons for Relocating: Family and Focus

Written by Elisabeth

This time last year we were in the trenches of dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew on many of our friends, neighbors, ministry partners and program participants whom were deeply affected. Prior to the hurricane we had prayed about possibly relocating now that Eric was no longer working at the school in Saint Marc and our children had started the new school year primarily as homeschoolers. We have always liked the noble idea of homeschooling and have attempted a few rounds of it out of necessity in the past. But truthfully, the reality of homeschooling terrifies all of us even under best case scenarios. Even those who are well suited for this brave endeavor find homeschooling in Haiti a daunting task.  We had concerns about how homeschooling would be accomplished with the many unavoidable dilemmas demanding our attention throughout each day and distractions in and around our home. However, we had prayed about whether we should stay and try to make it work and believed that was the right thing to do at that time. Trusting God’s timing is easier said than done. Looking back now, we are in awe of what He had in store, the doors opened and the journey still ahead of us.

Continue reading “Reasons for Relocating: Family and Focus”