god is incredible.

well for starters i have been super horrible with my posting. i have been busy with the holidays & other things & still do not have my christmas tree up.

this post will be all about all the amazing things the lord has been doing in the past few months. i can't believe this has taken me so long so here it goes.

SHOES: my sweet babies at CAD will all be getting a brand new pair of tennis shoes. for all of you that have been to CAD you know usually they have flip flops or those little slip on shoes that people donate which is AMAZING- BUT how incredible is it that the lord put someone on my path that is able to create an angel tree with their company & provide each kid with their very own pair of new shoes. i was in tears when she sent me the photos of the display. how i met her is crazy & the story is beautiful & her story of why she wanted to help is beautiful & i am just full of excitement & happiness. can you even wait to see their faces when they get their very own pair of shoes? i am going to take a lot of photos just so i can make a little video for everyone to see & hopefully raise more support for these sweet kids.

CAMERA: on my last trip to haiti our bus got stranded on the side of the road for a few hours. this is a typical thing to happen so you just make the best of it & start conversations with people. i got into a conversation with a sweet lady diane. the lord works in crazy ways as i type this story i can't even tell you all the feelings writing this brings up. so we are talking & she has this really cool instax full frame camera that she brought & i was sharing how happy i was that she brought it. all the people in the elderly home that got a photo to put on their wall, something of theirs to keep obviously meant the world to her. every family that got a photo right then to have. it was incredible. i started talking about all the things i wanted to do in haiti - and the photography classes i wanted to do with the kids. well she started talking about her daughter & how she had a non-profit that did just that. i was like no way, & when she told me the name of her daughters non-profit i almost lost my mind. YOU GUYS - it was the exact non profit that a friend told me about years ago that made me want to do the photography classes in haiti in the first place! -- PICTURE CHANGE

can we just stop & think about this for one second. God you never cease to amaze me. PLEASE check the non-profit out. kate is doing amazing things.

after our brief exchange of excitement, diane looks at me & says, well the lord wants me to give you this camera. WHAT! JESUS! i was blown away & in tears. i get teary just thinking about that.

FUNDING: so fundraising is always difficult as i have wrote about before. i haven't really gotten a lot of donations but everyone that knows me knows i will work myself to passing out to make a way for my trips. so the lord has opened and provided so much work for us for this trip! he is good & is always on time & always provides. if you are reading this & would like to give to us online you can do so HERE --- we have a few fundraising things coming up really soon so keep up with me on Facebook 

CREATIVITY: the lord has been putting all kinds of ideas into my heart to raise continual support for my trips to haiti. i can't wait to share with all of you once i have some stuff made.

KREYOL LESSONS: i started my lessons with haiti hub & i am so excited that i can actually write sentences now.

mwen kontan avek tout bagay!

-- i am happy with everything.

i walk around rattling off stuff all the time. it is so exciting and rewarding to be able to speak the language of the place that i love the most.

THE LORD IS GOOD. sometimes i get discouraged with life & he does things like this to lift my spirits and fill my heart. he knows our needs before we ask.

cad garden part 2.

um guys, can i just tell you how excited i am. the garden at CAD has doubled in size. DOUBLED! so many people worked so hard to make this come to fruition & i know those kids are eternally grateful.  i don't think people realize how many opportunities we have to share the love of christ, literally everything you do in life is an opportunity to share jesus. if you stop & think about that for a moment you also think about all the opportunities that you let slip away, myself included. father help me to be present in every moment that is chance to show someone you. 

little sammy working in the garden

you might remember my first post about the starting of this garden. so thankful for clay, he sent us a list of everything that we needed & drew a picture for us to follow.  thank you so much terry, cole, daniel, beau & everyone else that put sweat into this garden. the first part that we planted last time is now filled with papaya trees, cucumbers & some sweet peppers. the second part is swischard, sweet peppers & a few tomatoes. thank you lord for making this happen for those kids, another chance to show them that YOU are their provider.

sarah - love this girl

kreesla modeling as usual

alison & her daughter maddie were incredible

wilderson working hard

all the kids helping, we were surrounded by them

first you have to remove all the weeds, which is crazy hard

mixing the concrete 

sarah holding the boards down so we can cut

the second day we went to work on the garden we split into 2 groups. 7 of us working on the garden & the rest of the group went to do vbs & distribute rice & beans to some of the displaced dominicans.
when we got to CAD the kids were getting out of school so they were hanging around the fence watching all of us work. i had alix ask wilderson if he wanted to help & you should have seen his sweet face. he put on those gloves & dug holes better than any of us could. needless to say i was so happy to see him helping. all the kids were helping. sammy (the youngest) was even helping. we were surrounded by all these children who want to be involved, who help without wanting anything in return, they just want to be included. i could cry thinking about it actually. these kids have nothing, but they really do have everything. they loves jesus & they will all say sunday is there favorite day because they get to worship. what some of our youth could take from the youngest there could be life changing.

maddie, one of the youngest in our group, she is incredible

robenson was an incredible help. love that sweet boy. 

thank the lord for alex, he helped us get the veggies & sweated helping us plant them.

wilderson & robenson- best buddies

the first part to the right is now papaya trees- these kiddos need more fruit in their diet. 

the new addition- can't wait to watch these little ones grow. 

i am so happy. just so happy. i will be taking a group in january & we will be at CAD most of the time. there are so many things i want to get done there & in order to do that i need to spend more time  making sure they do. we will be doing a music & art school in january. we will also be planting a lot of trees on the property so the kids can have a source of shade. it gets so hot & they have no escape. i cannot wait to share more about this trip- so make sure you keep up with the blog. 

bondye beni ou.

--e

"friday meetups" -- wilderson mauro.

i love people. i love meeting new people & hearing them share their hearts, so i am very excited to be  adding this little thing i am going to call "friday meetup's" - i know it is not friday but this one took a little more time because i had to use my brother in haiti (guytho) to translate questions and then translate the answers to me. i really need to learn creole. hope you love getting to know wilderson as much as i do. my plan is to interview individuals that have left a mark on my heart & in hope their story touches you & inspires you in some way. so enjoy. 


background: wilderson came to CAD july of 2013. his parents died when he was very young & he was then living with his brother. things from his house came up missing & his brother accused him of stealing them, so his brother beat him. the police took him from his brother, they took him to a children's center & the centre brought him to CAD. 

life has a funny way of leading you to people that leave an imprint on your heart & change you in ways you never imagined. this amazing young man i had the honor to interview is wilderson mauro. he is in my thoughts every single day & in my prayers every single morning. my house has photos of him everywhere & it is a constant reminder to pray for him. i pray that he grows up to be the young man that the lord wants & changes the world in ways he never thought possible. i pray that he always keeps his faith in God & always puts God first in everything he does.

James 1:27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

wilderson mauro

1. before you go to bed at night what do you pray for?

* i pray about  being a pastor. i want to be a pastor because i want to help people & pray for people to have faith in God. 

2. what is your favorite color?

*black

3. what is your favorite food?

* rice & beans

4. what is your favorite memory?

* when i came to CAD

5. favorite sport?

*soccer

6. favorite chapter of the bible

*psalm 100

7. if you could change anything about the world what would it be & why?

*i would like to change all the bad things. a lot of people do the bad things & i want them to become new people & preach to them about jesus & let the world be new. 

8. when you die what do you want to be remembered for?

* everything in this interview because it is always in my head

9. if you could learn anything what would it be?

*english

10. if you could change anything about CAD what would it be?

* i would like more access to water.

i met wilderson december of 2013, a few months after he came to CAD & on my very first trip to haiti. he was very shy when we first met. when i left the first day at CAD i didn't even know his name. my last day at CAD he knew mine. i heard this little voice behind me one day saying my name & when i turned around & saw his face my heart was full of love. 

fast forward to may of 2014 & i would be headed to haiti once again. i knew we would be going to CAD & i couldn't contain my excitement. i would be seeing this little guy again. i would think about him everyday & i would ask cory questions like what do you think he is doing? do you think he is ok? do you think he has gotten a hug today? do you think someone has told him they loved him today?  i wonder if he will remember me. i wonder if he has gotten enough to eat or enough to drink. he was constantly on my mind as well as all the other kids at CAD. 

every single time i would go to haiti it got harder to leave but i also had a peace bc i knew i would be back. i knew the lord wouldn't put such passion in my heart for these kids & not allow me to go back.  december of 2014 i was supposed to go b but some things with the mission we stayed at were going a little grey so we decided not to go back there & looked for other options. you guys, not going in december was so hard for me bc all i could think about were these kids & not seeing them. 

when dd approached me about going this past april i jumped at the chance. planning & raising money started & before i knew it we were on the plane headed back to haiti. our first stop was CAD & i remember i couldn't find wilderson anywhere. so some of the kids went & got him & a few seconds later i heard his voice behind me saying my name. i was so excitedddddddd. he had gotten so much bigger, so much taller. it makes me sad that i miss so much not seeing him for that long. 

look how tall he is?

he is such a talented kid. 

in april i decided to hire guytho so he could go once a week to CAD & spend time with the kids & help them with their english. so sometimes i get to video chat with them &  those are my happiest days. guytho sends me pictures & he makes sure to give wilderson hugs & kisses for me. i don't think guytho knows how much of a blessing he is not only to me but to those kids. all of those kids look up to him like a big brother. 

june 2015 i went back for 10 days with luke 101 & we were at CAD for a few days. you can read about that trip here.

all the kids in haiti play soccer &  they are all amazing & make all the americans look like we have never played before. i got to watch him play soccer a lot this trip. 

this cutie. love this smile. 

these are pictures he took below. 

wilderson probably doesn't know this but i get pictures of him all the time hahahaha. next time i am there he is going to see all these pictures on my phone & wonder how they got there. 

he loves to help with worship. he loves to serve. always helping the little kids. always helping if he is asked & sometimes when he is not asked. marlene tells me he is a very nice young boy, very responsible & very respectful, he makes good grades because i check them when i am there. you already have the heart of a  pastor. wilderson mauro you are going to do great things. cory & i are so proud of you & the young man you are becoming. 

can't wait to see him in october.

i asked wilderson if there is anything we all could be praying for him about & he said his future.

mwen renmen widerson. 

-- E