Get Involved: Come to Haiti!

This is a really fun blog to write now because…We Purchased Our Tickets For Haiti!

This means that we are officially heading back to Haiti Friday (we haven’t actually received Elijah’s passport yet, but we think we will Monday) and we are very excited and nervous about the trip.  I thought, with our trip coming a week from today, that it would be a perfect time to write about another great way to get involved with All Things New…Come to Haiti!

I would encourage anyone who is involved with All Things New to come down to Haiti for a variety of reasons, and if you have been before, we would love to hear about your experience and potentially share it with others (click here and send us an email or Facebook message with your story).  Here are some of the best reasons to come down:

• To meet the kids.  Especially if you are a sponsor, our kids really enjoy getting to meet the people who love them and help them.
• To spend time with and encourage us.  It is nice to have American visitors after being in Haiti for a while.
• For GOD to change your life by spending time ministering to others and being ministered to by others.
• To help All Things New and our community.  Whether it be pampering our House Moms, praying for our community, setting up a medical clinic, running a VBS, or numerous other options these trips can really help us minister to the Gressier community.
• See where your donations go and how your prayers help.  Praying for and giving money to an organization that you have never seen should be difficult.  When you come down to Haiti with All Things New, you can see and experience what GOD is doing.
• You become an even better supporter.  After a trip you have a personal connection, incredible new stories, and a renewed passion for the ministry of All Things New and the country of Haiti. 

There are many other reasons to come down, but the bottom line is that we want you to come and experience All Things New in Haiti.  If you are interested in coming, there are many options available to you, so choose one and then contact us and let us know when you want to come down:

• An All Things New trip.  Now that the Bush family is heading back to Haiti, we will plan 3-4 ATN trips annually.  We usually do 1 in October, 1 in January (our annual Christmas party trip), and 1 during the summer.  If you are interested in this, let us know and we will begin planning those dates ASAP.  
• A Church Trip.  We have had teams from First Baptist LaGrange, Christ’s Church in Jacksonville, Cleaerview Chapel in LaGrange, RiverTown Church in Jacksonville, Westside Baptist in Jacksonville, and NEO Church from Cleveland.  If you do not attend one of these churches, we can either put you in contact with them to see if they are coming down or you could approach your church about the possibility of sending a team to Haiti.  Just let us know and we will help however we can.
• A Family Trip.  We have had families come down either by themselves or with other groups, and these trips are always a lot of fun.  If you are interested in bringing your family down, just let us know and we will help you take care of the logistics.
• A Personal Trip.  If you want to come down and help or if you have a group of people who want to come down, we can help you with this as well.  In fact, Karen Whalen and Jenn DeLoach (2 of our wonderful supporters) have come down like this numerous times and will be coming again on September 1 this year to help us get ready for school and to help us settle in to living in Haiti as a family.  If you are interested in planning a trip like this one, let us know.

This is the best way to get to know us and the ministry of All Things New, and we would encourage every one of our supporters to come down at some point.  We will do everything we can to make this a reality and we look forward to seeing you all in Haiti!