Praising God for His Goodness

“Thanks for all your prayers and support for the school year. I have learned so much for the first year.”

— Steeve Derard

Last night of the 2015-2016 school year

We often commemorate firsts in life and forget to acknowledge lasts, so tonight we want to acknowledge Steeve's last night at STEP for this school year.

When Haiti Awake was founded in October of 2014, we knew one thing:  Steeve felt called of God to pursue his education.  And we knew that God was calling us to walk alongside him on the journey.

Last year Steeve went back to high school and graduated.  And then he was accepted into STEP for this school year.    We thank God for so many things as we look back.  And as we look forward.

Thank you to those of you who have supported Haiti Awake with your prayers, your time, your donations, and your finances.  Without you, this night would not have been possible.

“My mouth will tell about Your righteousness and Your salvation all day long, though I cannot sum them up. ”

— Psalm 71:15

Happy Birthday, Stevenly!

You are a special part of Haiti Awake, and we praise God for you, Stevenly.  

The LORD your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.”  

                                                                                                                      -----Zephaniah 3:17

Happy birthday to Idelmy and Migerlson!

Idelmy is 14 today, and Migerlson is 11.

“For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.”

— Philippians 1:6

Happy birthday, Boys!

Happy birthday, Hudson!

Today we celebrate the 24th birthday of our friend and co-worker, Hudson!  We are blessed to know him.

“The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.”

— Numbers 6:24-26

Happy 1st Birthday, Caleb!

We love the Derard family.  Simply love them.  They are part of OUR family.

And today, as they celebrate Caleb’s 1st birthday, we can’t help by think about the goodness of God in their lives over the past year.  God is faithful.

Caleb's Birth Story:

http://www.haitiawake.org/news/2015/5/15/caleb-steven-derard-2

Caleb's first day at Bible school, March, 2016

“For You, O LORD, have made me glad by what You have done, I will sing for joy at the works of Your hands.
How great are Your works, O LORD! Your thoughts are very deep.”

— Psalm 92: 4-5

“Standing on this mountaintop
Looking just how far we’ve come
Knowing that for every step
You were with us

Kneeling on this battle ground
Seeing just how much You’ve done
Knowing every victory
Was Your power in us

Scars and struggles on the way
But with joy our hearts can say
Yes, our hearts can say

Never once did we ever walk alone
Never once did You leave us on our own
You are faithful, God, You are faithful
Never once did we ever walk alone

Every step we are breathing in Your grace
Ever more we’ll be breathing out Your praise
You are faithful, God, You are faithful.”

— Ingram, Redman, and Wanstall

Never Once by Matt Redman on the album 10,000 Reasons which is available from itunes. Enjoy, and God bless.

Looking in the Rearview Mirror

I journal a great deal, especially when I am in Haiti.  But I've never really shared any of that publicly.  But I think today is a good day to share a little bit of what I wrote back in 2013.

“July 15:
I am sitting at EpiDor waiting for Steeve. Maybe I will be able to bear the next few days if he visits for a while. The last 24 hours have been very difficult for me - emotional ups and downs . . . mostly downs.

I feel so isolated up there at Children’s Lifeline. I hope it will get easier as the days go by. I don’t know why I feel this way . . .

Sitting here, I am beginning to wonder, “Have I become too comfortable where we are at MTH?” God is definitely stretching me.

Micah 6:8 is running through my mind: “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”

Evening:
Lunch with Steeve was encouraging. He had the words to say that I needed to hear. He reminded me of how the Bensons are leaving and it’s God’s plan. He reminded me that God has a plan for my life - each moment.


July 17:
Today I went with Hillary, Assiah, and Robenson into PaP to do sponsorship work. Three different orphanages. All so different.

July 18:
From Dan Huffstutler’s Facebook this morning. Luke 17:10: “When you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’

What an incredible week of seeing a land God has not forgotten.”

This photo of this sign eventually led us back to the children I met on July 17 - the children we now have under our care.

You see, today, April 12, 2016, is a day that brought all of this full circle.  A day when I can look back and see how God was working everything together for good.

Without that difficult week, I would never have met Tyler.  We would never have become friends.  And I'd have one less person in my life who gets me, gets my love for Haiti . . . and loves Haiti just as much . . . if not more!  Tyler knows how hard that week was for me because he was right there to listen to me cry.  We didn't know each other before, but we became friends and have kept in touch ever since.  And I'm so thankful for that!

Without that difficult week, I would never have met the children we now consider part of our Haiti Awake family . . . children we feel tremendous responsibility for . . . children we know by name and love with our whole hearts.

First photo of Handy and me together.  Such precious memories!

Without that difficult week, I probably wouldn't speak nor understand Creole as well as I do because a little over a year ago, Tyler introduced me to Gloria Board who became my Creole teacher, as well as a mentor.  I love Gloria, and I am so thankful that God providentially put her in my life to help me learn and grow and understand more.  

 In June of 2014 Tyler and I got the opportunity to visit Gloria and her husband at their home in Haiti.  What a blessing that was! Gloria has helped me in so many ways in understanding and loving Haiti better. 

Today I got a series of photos from Polo.  He was at our orphanage . . . and Tyler was visiting with some of his friends from Children's Lifeline.  And I was so struck by the goodness of God in bringing all of the circumstances of the last three years together.  

Partnerships in Haiti are so important.   Those of us who love Haiti need each other.  We can't do this alone.

Three years ago I had no idea where we would be today.   No idea.  But God did.

“My God is awesome
He can move mountains
Keep me in the valley
Hide me from the rain

My God is awesome
Heals me when I’m broken
Gives strength where I’ve been weakened
Forever He will reign”

— Charles Jenkins

“I waited patiently for the LORD; he inclined to me and heard my cry.”

— Psalm 40:1

"They are more than can be told"

Psalm 40:5
You have multiplied, O LORD my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you! I will proclaim and tell of them, yet they are more than can be told.

Reflections on Four Years

On March 12, 2012, the Graves family landed in Haiti for the first time.  Little did we know how this one trip would change our lives in so many ways.

One of the first photos we took after we landed.  Mountains upon mountains.

We have learned so much, and we still have so much to learn.  Perhaps the most important thing we've learned is summed up in this quote from the book, Overrated:

“We need to do away with the “I can change the whole world” mentality and language because it’s impossible, and actually unhelpful.

But we can impact the worlds of some. And some may be many. Some may be just a few. Some may be just one family or one person, but we can make an impact and in the process, be changed ourselves. This, in my opinion, is the best part of wanting to change the world. Inevitably, we will be changed in the process.”

— Eugene Cho

There are so many people in Haiti.  So many.   We'll never know them all.  
But . . . we're incredibly thankful for the few we are privileged to call friends.  Because their story has become part of our story.  

And, si Dye vle, there are many chapters still to write.

“ Little children, we must not love with word or speech, but with truth and action.”

— I John 3:18

Happy Birthday, Polo!

We are blessed beyond words to have you as part of Haiti Awake, zanmi m.  May God richly bless you in the coming year.

Keep living out I Timothy 4:12:  "Let no one despise your youth; instead, you should be an example to the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity."

 

Happy 13th Birthday, Cesnel!

Cesnel, you are loved.  

Praying Psalm 20:4 over you today: "May He give you what your heart desires and fulfill your whole purpose."

Seven Steps to Poverty

From this morning's reading in He Walks Among Us.

'One of the most difficult things to communicate is what it feels like to be poor in the developing world.  How can Americans really understand global poverty without travelling to see it?  Let me try to help you understand, simply by taking seven things away from you, one at a time.  Ready?

First, I take away your clothes.  Don’t panic, I won’t take them all.  You can keep the clothes on your back and wash them each night.  Your children feel the brunt of this humiliation at school.

Next, I take away your electricity.  Now you come home to a dark house each night.  None of your appliances work: no refrigerator, telephone, television, computer or stereo.  Your showers are cold and you have to wash your clothes by hand.  Your quality of life has dropped precipitously.  But you are still better off than most of the world.

Takeaway No. 3 is really tough: clean water.  None of your faucets, toilets, or showers work, and the only water source is a stagnant waterhole about a mile away.  It takes hours each day to fetch what you need, and because it is teeming with bacteria, you and your children are constantly sick.  Despair starts to set in.

 I’m afraid I have to take away even more: your home.  Now you and your whole family must live and sleep in a 20-by-20 mud hut with a dirt floor.  When it rains, the roof leaks and the floor turns muddy. 

Takeway No. 5 is devastating: food.  Your children have long ago lost their smiles; now they are hungry with a gnawing pain.  You find a little food by picking through your neighbor’s garbage.  Already sick from exposure to the elements and from drinking dirty water, your children’s bodies become severely malnourished and cannot fight off diseases.  Your 4-year old girl seems to be slipping away.

 Getting her to the doctor is urgent but, tragically, No. 6 takeaway is health care.  To your horror, your daughter dies before your very eyes – of diarrhea.  How can this be happening?  Why has no one stepped in to help? 

What else could I possibly take away?  No. 7 is Hope.  Without these basic necessities of life, you and your children have no hope for the future.

 Poverty, for most of us, is distant and remote.  But this is the pain that billions on our earth endure each day.”

Author - Richard Stearns

"You Can Tell All My Friends in Haiti Awake I Am a New Person Now"

2 Korentyen 5 v 17
Kifè ankò, depi yon moun nan Kris, li se yon nouvo kreyasyon. Ansyen bagay yo pase. Epi, gade! Tout bagay vin nouvo.

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things have come.

We are rejoicing with Wesly. Glwa pou Bondye.

A Year of Abundant Blessings

“And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed.”

— 2 Corinthians 9:8

January - March

Highlights

• The 2nd Haiti Awake team

• Food for Haiti Yard Sale 2015

• Steeve's 2nd visit to the United States

April - May

Highlights

• Time together

• Caleb's birth

• The children move into their new home

June - July

• Three Amazing Teams

• Strengthening relationships and growing together

August - September 

• Funding received for the children's schooling

• A 4th summer team

• Steeve began seminary

October - December

• Haiti Awake's 6th team 

• The children's first day of school

• A new wheelchair for a special boy

 

“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. ”

— Ephesians 3:20-21

Believing Ephesians 3:20-21 as we enter 2016.

 

Why?

One of the things that I love about hosting American teams in Haiti is hearing them ask questions.  No matter how many times you go to Haiti, you'll always leave with more questions than answers.  And many times that question is a "Why?" question.

The roads that are now routine to me, the things that no longer surprise me, the questions I no longer ask, the things I no longer even see . . .   These are all new and exciting to first-time visitors.  Beyond that, those who are new to Haiti have so much optimism and enthusiasm.  They ask questions and challenge the status-quo in a new way.  They don't realize, "We can't do that."  And when you don't realize you CAN'T do something, you do it.

 

“Why are the children living like this?”

— January Team

That why question took the children from the house above to the house below.

“Why aren’t the children in school?”

— June Team, Week 2

That question took the children from no school to the first day of school photo below.

1st Day of School - October 2015

“Why can’t we get a new wheelchair for Wendy Divine?”

— October Team

Because of that question, Wendy was in his new wheelchair just over a month later.  And . . . it didn't even cost anything.  Someone had a nearly new wheelchair they didn't need.  And they gave it to Wendy.  We just had to ask.

Isn't God amazing in how He provides?

I'm looking forward to more questions from team members in 2016, questions that help us all see more clearly the direction in which God is moving Haiti Awake.
 

12/09/09

December 9, 2009.

That was the day this amazing little man was born.

Happy birthday, Handy.  We love you more than words.  God used you to start a chain of events which brought us to where we are today.

You are loved.

You are valued.

You have a hope.

You have a future.

We're so excited to see where God takes you!

July 17, 2013

“Many, LORD my God, are the wonders you have done, the things you planned for us. None can compare with you; were I to speak and tell of your deeds, they would be too many to declare.”

— Psalm 40 v. 5

Let Us Use Them

Romans 12:6 says, "Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them."

We are thrilled that God has led Kay Rowe to use her gifts to assist us at Haiti Awake. Kay will be volunteering weekly, helping with paperwork, donations, and other needs as they arise.

Kay has a heart for Haiti Awake and an understanding of our ministry objectives because of the time she spent with us in Haiti this summer.

She's the perfect person for this new position!

#GIVINGTUESDAY

Today is "Giving Tuesday."

Yes, it is a made-up event that was not on the calendar before 2012, but it is noble.

As the commercialism of Black Friday and Cyber Monday has turned Thanksgiving into "Thanksgetting" (I borrowed that from a cell phone advertisement that was sadly spot-on), it is refreshing to see any effort that is not self-absorbed.

Giving is the transfer of something as a gift, something given with nothing tangible received in exchange.

This day is a timely reminder as we enter a season of giving inspired by God's greatest gift of all, and this time between Thanksgiving and the year-end has become vitally important to charities and ministries. Givers inspired by the season, and encouraged by a tax deduction, of course, give more during this month and than any other month of the year.

Please pause today and think about the charities and ministries that you believe in, then . . . give. Be a part of something more significant than the latest gadget or knick-knack that will soon be broken, lost, and forgotten. ---Rick

Amazon Approved Charity

Haiti Awake is now an approved charity on Amazon Smile! Some of you might not know this, but if you make your Amazon purchases throughhttp://smile.amazon.com/ .5% of your purchase is given to a charity that you can designate. It is easy. Simply go tohttp://smile.amazon.com and sign into your Amazon account. Search for and choose Haiti Awake (Wilmington NC) and you are all set. Just make sure in the future that you start with smile.Amazon.com when you shop on Amazon (and most of the time it will assume you do or it will remind you). This is a great way you can support Haiti Awake as you shop for Christmas and all year long.

The Illusion of Safety

Americans value safety.   We value the illusion of safety.  We want to believe that if we plan things just right, nothing bad can happen.

Until it does.

“Is it safe to travel to Haiti?”

We hear this question quite frequently.  In fact, it was the very question that nearly kept our family from going to Haiti in March of 2012 for the first time.  It's a valid question.  And a complicated question.  And a question without a quick and easy answer.

I asked a recent team member for her input, and here's what she had to say.

“One thing Jason (her husband) and I have talked about, especially in making the decision to send Vivian and Martha (their pre-teen daughters), is that we are all on God’s time.
It is not my time, his time, her time. It is God’s time. If God decides to take us, He is going to take us no matter where we are or what we are doing.
As a parent it is hard to concede that or to release that control . . . ”

— Tamara Smith

Recent events in Haiti have created additional concerns for foreigners looking to travel to Haiti for humanitarian work.  The murder of an American missionary and presidential elections led to a sharp downturn in ticket sales for Delta Airlines, forcing the company to consolidate some flights for November, thus interrupting daily service.

We recently hosted the October 2015 team during the week of presidential elections.  It was interesting to be in country comparing what we could see with what is often reported worldwide about the election process in Haiti.  

This is what I saw at the polls on election day:  many people and a great deal of national pride.

For the team, the day of National Elections was quiet.  They walked to church.  They walked home from church.  They went to the orphanage to visit the children.  And we all encouraged our Haitian co-workers to go to the polls and vote.  

Sunday morning before church

Was I ever afraid to be in Haiti in October?  The answer is a simple, "No."  Did we need to be wise in what we did?  Yes.

Sunday afternoon after a wonderful time at Federick's

Recently I was talking to someone who asked me if I felt safe working in Haiti.  I was able to truthfully say that I've never felt afraid while working with Haiti Awake.  Never.  Not one time.  

In fact, the only time I feared for my safety was on my very first trip to Haiti, and looking back, I don't believe I was in any danger.  I just didn't understand people.  And hunger.  And desperation.  And the emotion and energy that comes with that.  And I remember during that moment of fear a Haitian friend coming alongside me and saying, "Don't worry.  Just walk.  I am here with you."  And everything was okay.

“For God has not given us a spirit of fearfulness, but one of power, love, and sound judgment”

— 2 Timothy 1:7

Ironically last Thursday evening I sat at Starbucks for an hour, talking with parents whose teenage daughter wants to travel with Haiti Awake over spring break.  Her parents had many questions.  Rightfully so.   Their daughter is their responsibility.  And Haiti is not always safe. ("Have you read the US State Department's website?" I often ask, tongue-in-cheek.) 

Her dad often apologized for his questions, but I shared my own story, my own journey from fear to confidence.  I validated his questions, his concerns.  I told him, "I can't guarantee your daughter's safety.  I can't promise you that.  I can only promise we will do everything we can to be wise about what we do."  

We do take wise precautions, but we are not hindered by the fear of what might happen.

And then I told him I couldn't guarantee his daughter's safety anywhere.  Here in Wilmington, NC.  In Haiti.  In any country.  

And then Friday night happened.

And I was reminded of our conversation on Thursday.   If someone had offered you a round-trip, all-expense paid vacation to Paris last week, would you have asked, "Is it safe?"

“In peace I will both lie down and sleep, For You alone, O LORD, make me to dwell in safety.”

— Psalm 4:8

Walking out the journey as friends with this crew brings a great deal of peace and security to my heart

“So if I move to the right, or I move to the left
Move up north, move down south, the east or the west
No matter how far I go, or if I stay right here
If I’m in the middle of Your will, there’s nothing left to fear”

— Audio Adrenaline, "He Moves, You Move"

Missions Conference at GBC

In late October, we had the opportunity to share Haiti Awake a number of times during the Grace Baptist Church Missions Conference. 

Steeve Derard was able to travel from Port-au-Prince and speak a number of times, both at GBC and at Wilmington Christian Academy.

Chris Snowden produced a special video on Haiti Awake for the conference, and it was a tool to help people understand the heart of our ministry.

The Heart of Haiti Awake. (Produced by Chris Snowden).

On Sunday evening, the children's choir of GBC shared a special number . . . in Haitian Creole!

Uploaded by Becky Graves on 2015-10-19.

We are thankful for the love and support of our church family, as well as many people who attend other churches.  

God has been so good to Haiti Awake this year, and we're looking forward to great things in 2016.  Thank you for your support.

“Together you are the body of Christ. Each one of you is part of his body.”

— I Corinthians 12:27