Our Kids Took A Trip!
Last week, our kids were able to take a trip away from All Things New! For many of us who have been on vacation, sent our kids to camp, or just had the freedom to go places as Covid restrictions lessen, this may not seem like a big deal. For our kids, after pretty much being stuck in Gressier for the past 3 years, this was huge!
Raymond and Gina, 2 or our favorite people in Haiti, recently purchased property in a city about an hour away and in the opposite direction of Port Au Prince. Their plan is to turn it into a church and ministry, and they are systematically making that happen. Gina is our House Mom Manager and has taken on an even bigger role over the past couple of years and through Covid and has done an excellent job.
A couple of months ago she told me that they were going to do a VBS at their property and they would love for our kids to come and spend the night there for the week while attending VBS during the day. I was a little hesitant at first with all of the things going on in Haiti, but I trust Gina and Raymond and I also knew that the kids needed something. They needed to get away.
They spent the past week in Ti Goave which means "Little Port" and it is funny because you have to go through Gran Goave or "Big Port" to get to Ti Goave. While that is not funny in and of itself, it is funny because Ti Goave is actually considerably larger than Gran Goave though its port is actually slightly smaller.
Anyway, our kids had a blast with Raymond and Gina at the VBS and they did a great job as always leading All Things New and leading their new ministry. The main thing is that it was good for them to get away. Remember that first time you went back to a restaurant or to a store after Covid? Think about that after close to 3 years of social unrest, Covid, and danger.
The truth is that the past few years have been really difficult. They have been difficult on our kids, on our employees, on our organization, and on our family as well. With all of the uncertainty in Haiti, the danger in Haiti, the difficulty of fundraising during Covid, and not being able to be physically present as much as we would like things are hard. The kids needed this and they had a lot of fun.
Our kids deserved it and they could not have done it without Gina! Please continue to pray for All Things New moving forward, and in your prayers please lift up Gina and Raymond as well. As hard as some of these things have been to see, Haiti is their country and they love it. Our kids love it, our employees love it, and most of the people reading this love it as well.