tye dye & a clothing line.

THIS was such a fun lesson. i think laura would agree with me when i say we both got something out of every lesson each person spoke about.

laura spoke about gods purpose & had an incredible visual & hands on part to go with it. she spoke about how we don't really know what our life is going to end up like. we don't know what god is going to create. we go through life & things happen to us & it changes a little part of what we will become. she was using a white shirt all ready for tye dye. each time she would talk about something she would add a color, but since the shirt was all tied up in rubber bands you couldn't see what the colors were doing. all the kids were watching intently. after she was done talking about the lesson she unfolded her shirt & it was this amazing shirt with so many colors going all different ways.

SO FUN!

then we let 6-7 kids come up & do their own shirt!

earlier that day or maybe it was the day before i really don't remember, laura & i & a handful of our little guy helpers put up the clothing line. at this point they did not have one. they usually wash their clothes & hang them on the fence or wherever they can find a place for them. the first big wind storm that comes by will blow them everywhere. so the last time i was there i said to myself we are going to make a clothing line. so easy.

so. the kids did their shirt & elana & raegan were waiting to hang them up on the new line. it was so fun. the next day we were going to the beach so the kids were going to wear them for beach day.

what a FUN lesson that we all need to hear. what is gods purpose for your life? i think we all need to be praying over our lives regarding this. god has amazing plans for all of us, but what are they? how much time do we spend in prayer over this?

a lot to think about. 

-e

teach a man to farm.

--Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime--

I AM SO HAPPY RIGHT NOW!

you all know how important teaching kids life skills  is to me. well this upcoming trip to haiti we were going to have farming classes with the kids. we would have a beginner class & an advanced class. well the first week we had to cancel the class because the kids will have final exams that week. 

SO. food for the poor delivered some really cool raised garden beds to CAD, with some AMAZING dirt. you might think that is absurd for me to be so happy about dirt but if you go to haiti & you see the dirt i have to work with sometimes you would understand. dirt that has been worked & worked is a precious thing. 

the kids helping unload them. they are always so willing to help.

the agriculture guy who delivered the beds spoke with alix & they organized a trip for him to come & give the kids a class on CAD property with the new raised beds. in a few days they will plant SO MANY VEGGIES. 

this is an answered prayer. you have no idea. a lot of people think i don't do anything because i don't have a full time job, but let me tell you these 53 children keep me busy. they keep me in prayer & keep me figuring out a plan to keep them fed, to keep them in school, to keep them drinking water, to keep them feeling loved, to keep them believing in their dreams. my heart is broken so many days. my mind spends too much time in worry instead of trust. God knows those kids are there. he knows their needs before they even ask. i am a mother to them. i feel responsible. when i raise money for these trips every single penny goes to these kids, translators, transportation. anything extra goes to buying them fruit & spoiling them while we are there. 

they LOVED the class. 

when i get photos of my kids working in the dirt & learning such an amazing skill that so many take for granted it literally brings me to tears. 

dear wilderson, you can stop growing. love your mom. 

mixing compost & dirt. *fun fact* most of the compost has rice in it to hold moisture. SMART. 

even the teachers were helping. 

THIS is what i live for. these kids have NO ONE. i don't think most of you can comprehend that. these kids fend for themselves. they eat rice every single day & you won't hear them complain. you will see them by themselves & you ask them whats wrong & they tell you they are hungry & their stomach hurts. its heart breaking. they don't have anyone buying them clothes. hugging them in the mornings. NO ONE. as i sit here & write this i am in tears bc i know these kids so well. i want the BEST for them & sometimes things seem impossible. i choose to trust in God. even when things seem so out of reach. please be in prayer that the non-profit goes quickly so we can start getting some funds on a regular basis to support these amazing kids. 

today when i had a little moment of worry the song "first", by lauren daigle, came to my mind. 

i put the lyrics below, just take a minute & read them. gosh, help this be my life's song. 

Before I bring my need
I will bring my heart
Before I lift my cares
I will lift my arms
I wanna know You
I wanna find You
In every season
In every moment
Before I bring my need
I will bring my heart
And seek You

First
I want to seek You
I want to seek You
First
I want to keep You
I want to keep You
First
More than anything I want, I want You
First

Before I speak a word
Let me hear Your voice
And in the midst of pain
Let me feel Your joy
I wanna know You
I wanna find You
In every season
In every moment
Before I speak a word
I will bring my heart
And seek You

First
I want to seek You
I want to seek You
First
I want to keep You
I want to keep You
First
More than anything I want, I want You
First

You are my treasure and my reward
Let nothing ever come before
You are my treasure and my reward
Let nothing ever come before
I seek You

First
First
I want to seek You
I want to seek You
First
I want to keep You
I want to keep You
First
More than anything I want, I want You
First
First

what would i do without the lord? i would be a mess. i would be nothing. nothing good that i ever did would ever truly matter in the long run. my pastor growing up used to say "pursuit is the proof of desire" that has stuck with me since i have heard it. i constantly ask myself, God is what i am pursuing something i should desire? i want everything i do to reflect the bigger picture of what God is doing. i want people to know my heart. i want people to know what really matters to me. i don't want to have to defend my character to someone. i want my life lived to show my hearts intentions. don't get me wrong i do NOT have anything together more than my neighbor, but as i have gotten older i have realized more & more what is REALLY important. i have realized how much i NEED the lord every single day.  i have realized the importance on relationships that are genuine & healthy. i feel so incredibly blessed to have found these 53 children who are in need of so many things. i feel blessed that THEY love me. i feel so blessed that they know how much i love them. i feel so blessed to be able to go & see them & spend time getting to know their hearts & dreams. to pray with them & look into their eyes & tell them that they matter. 

if you want to give towards our next trip you can do so HERE but PLEASE pray for these kids. please. 

28 more days. 

- e

farm class 101.

HUGE shout out to BECKY CHAPMAN. your donation made this class possible. i am so so so thankful. please come back to haiti again. SOON!

oh my goodness. you all know i am such a nerd when it comes to self-sustaining BUT i was literally freaking out about this class. i was also hoping the boys would love it too & they did. alix had it set up that i could take some boys (we took 11) & they would get a tour of everything. i picked 11 boys. sonson, dadou, robenson, wilderson, jerry, makendy, dawensky, pipito, ronaldo, saint-franel, & jameson. my older boys. we loaded the bus & headed down the road to double harvest.

these glasses are my inspector gadget glasses. am i right? when i wear them this is what i think about.

robenson is sitting on my lap bc he hates the air conditioning. he hates the smell. he was so funny bc sometimes he can be so over the top. he's like "evanda, i don't like the smell of the air." I'm like what???? so he sits on my lap. at one point all of us were so hot & we realized they had all turned the air off on our seats hahahaha.

so we start the tour. our guide was incredible. he told the kids everything you could imagine. how they start the plants & then transfer them to the ground. how they plant them. how they water them. where the water comes from. the kids were asking so many questions & i was almost crying bc i was so happy they were interested in everything. these kids LOVE learning. they just need someone to show them the way. farming is an incredible thing to learn. in haiti so many things grow naturally. these kids need these skills, they could be future farmers that employee people to support their families. teach them to farm & they can feed their families & help others in need. give back to their communities. 

i love seeing all these photos below bc they were on my phone. the kids took turns taking photos. they were really interested in everything here. 

it was so so so hot & i was literally laughing bc some of our boys had on hoodies! 

so pretty!

dawensky & makendy in their hoodies.

jameson. i think his head was a little hot hahahaha.

double harvest is such a beautiful place where they grow veggies, trees, plants, flowers, they have fish, & chickens. they have 300 people working there most days. the farm was started by an american man in the 90's. it has a school. a hospital & is a magical little place. i buy everything i plant at CAD here.

the fish. 

they had just caught some!

all the babies. 

planting the seeds. next time in the 2nd farming class the kids will be able to plant some seeds & get more involved in everything.

the compost piles. one thing i love about their compost is they add rice to it. it holds moisture in the hot sun longer for the plants. so cool!

all the pretty plants!

dadou.

ronaldo, pipito, & makendy.

saint-franel, ronaldo, pipito, makendy, dadou.

so pretty.

i can give the kids food but i can also teach them how to grow their own. so much you can do with that lesson.

we did a tour of the fish. the chickens. the compost. everything! they learned so much. so when we go back we will have an advanced class where they will buy some plants & veggies & they will plant what they picked out & be responsible for taking care of it. we will also take another beginner group.


after their class we took them to a nice lunch & then to the supermarket to get stuff for dinner. my mom made tacos that night. we also let each of them pick out an ice-cream.  most of my photos were taken by the kids- so it was fun to see things from their point of view. fun to see what was important for them to capture.

mom & jerry. he held her hand for most of the tour. so sweet. jerry is the sweetest kid & has been at CAD for many years. his parents both passed away in a car accident. 

sonson & ronaldo.

dadou.

mom & pipito. 

diana & her sweetie makendy.

robenson. 

wilder son with his coke after the tour. 

ronaldo, jameson, & dawensky.

sonson.

jerry & pipito. 

robenson listening to music. he listens to "sorry" by justin  like 13993 times a day. 

gosh. i love this kid. he has gotten way too big. that smile melts my heart. he's sweet spirit is contagious. 

ronaldo, jameson & dawensky.

saint-franel.

ordering food. 

robenson & saint-franel.

love them so so much.

keeping it cool.

diana!

dadou.

i was so happy to take them to this place to show them how everything operates. one of them could be a farmer one day, you never know. i want to show these kids possibilities. i want to inspire them to dream of their future. i want them to know their options & what could be. so when they lay down their heads on their new pillows & tuck themselves into their new sheets they can dream happy dreams. they can dream of their future & think about what God wants for them. so much potential in these children. so much purpose in them. when you donate to my trips THIS is where the money goes. it goes straight into these children's lives. thank you for making it happen. thank you for investing in them.