44 days.

only 44 days until we leave for haiti again. that is crazy to me. i feel like time goes by faster the older i get. cory was going to go with me for a few days on this trip but we decided he should go on the september trip considering we will be celebrating my birthday there. i am going to miss him so so so so so so so much. it is always so hard being away from him & i wish he could come every single time.

i cannot wait. i cannot wait for all of the new people going who will build life long relationships, learn so much about themselves, who they are in christ, learn to be more humble, meet the kids, meet my family there, try new things, step out of their comfort zones & everything else in between. i cannot wait for the people who have been before coming back again & seeing everyone that they have missed so much. i cannot wait to see the look on the kids faces when their best friends are back. i cannot wait to go to la cabane & hug tina's neck. i cannot wait to see my son & tell him how much i love him & missed him. i cannot wait to plants veggies. i cannot wait to take these kids to farming classes. i cannot wait to teach them about business. i cannot wait to teach english classes. i cannot wait to do sewing classes. i cannot wait to organizes rooms to make the staffs life a little bit easier. i cannot wait to clean up trash with the kids. i cannot wait to go to canaan & see some people who i am growing so fond of. i cannot wait to pray with these children every night. i cannot wait to have team meetings & talk about the goodness of God each & every day. i cannot wait to stay up late laughing with all my girls. i cannot wait to see nancy & hug her neck. i cannot wait to speak kreyol more & practice with all my little loves. i cannot wait to teach lessons on dreaming, & have the team teach lessons on forgiveness, trust, self-worth, fear, purpose, pursuing god, & sewing & reaping. i cannot wait to do small groups & talk to these kids about their life & how to stay on the path the lord has set before them. i cannot wait for all of us to get to know each other better. i cannot wait for all the hugs & all the i love you's. i cannot wait for prayer at night when they tell me, "evanda i pray for you". that means the world to me.

you guys know how much i love these kids. how much of my heart is for them. how much i am thankful to be able to go every 2 months to these people that i truly love. god has had a plan my whole life for this path i am on right now. i know it is just the beginning. my prayer is that every decision i make is for him to get the glory. every door i walk through is a door from him. i want every thing i do to be pleasing to the father. i truly do. every person i work with to be someone god put on my path to further his kingdom & plan.

i am super excited about this small group of people banning together to make a difference. we are not apart of just one church. we are a group of people spread out in different states just answering gods call to serve. to be an impact, no matter how big or small. it all makes a difference if our hearts are pure.

if you would like to be apart of our vision- you can donate HERE

please pray for the people coming & their efforts for raising funds.
our teams for the 2 weeks consists of.

corrissa
tiffany
laura
kat
dd
courtney
brandi
elana
matthew
raegan
ashleigh
me

most of these people have been before & some of them have not. please be in prayer that we would allow god to work through us. that we would be vessels for his message & his plans. help us to not complain, help us all to work together, help us all to have a servants heart, help us all to help each other, & encourage each other.


ALL proceeds that we raise go towards translators, transportation, supplies for projects, water for the kids, propane for the kitchen & extra money for fruit for the kids while we are there.

--e

oh ayiti cherie.

i am constantly amazed by haiti & all this country has to offer. i love going & doing missions & sharing jesus  & receiving jesus from so many BUT i also LOVE trying new food, meeting new people, visiting new places, & diving deeper into the culture. i feel like if i know more about the culture & the people i can better reach them & can better receive from them. because when you go to haiti its not just about  giving - you receive so much more than you could ever give. i learn to be humble. i learn that i don't know everything. i learn to love more. i learn to love deeper. i learn to trust God on a completely different level. i learn so much more than i give. i learn that a simple bracelet is literally the only thing that could have been given & that means the world to me. haiti really has changed my life. some would call me obsessed, i like to call myself passionate.

don't be mistaken. i would be ok with never driving through port-au-prince again. i would be ok with never eating a fish & being so sick i crapped myself & puked everywhere for hours. i would be ok with not being stuck in traffic for 4 hours & only going 4 miles. even with all these minor issues haiti will always have my heart. people ask me if i would live there & my answer is always a yes. i would. i think people have one picture in their mind of haiti & that is devastation. i really want to change that.

on our last trip we were able to take a day & go to one of the prettiest places ever- basin bleu. i get really excited about showing haiti off. so when i take people & i'm like '"oh my gosh, this place you guys is the best thing ever, you get to repel off of a rock, climb up a waterfall & jump into this beautiful blue water" i want people to be just as excited. so when this group saw basin bleu & they loved it too my little heart was so happy. this day was good. even with the fish market traffic. even with the random soccer game traffic. it was a much needed & good day.

we left at 5am & headed to our first stop. breakfast spaghetti. 

our tour guide, ricardo. he was so nice. he has been to california & lived there for a while. he went to school for communications & told me all sorts of facts. i did not know this but 15,000 people live at the top of the mountain where basin bleu is. 

its like a 30 minute hike.

we also went into this little cave. 

this is the rope you climb down. 

the first little spot, & when you jump in & swim over your see the waterfall. 

SO PRETTY!

you can see us climbing up & jumping into the water. guito had to show off & climb higher. 

alix finally got in. 

pretty nancy. we will teach her to swim in june!

guito trying to model. 

we cool. we cool. 

all of us- just missing kayla & kim. 

leaving basin bleu on the way to jacmel. you can see the ocean. so pretty. 

nancy & guito. the sidewalks are so pretty. 

diana & nancy. 

wa-wa & nancy. 

my beautiful mom. 

mom & i. 

my daughter grace & i. 

sweet tia. 

tia & nancy modeling in the trash. 

walking to eat. 

she really needs to stop being so pretty. 

we stopped by this little beach place to eat & there were these crazy statues. so we decided to take photos with them. 

love this girl & her adventurous spirit. she's my little gem.

really cool place we ate. 

mom & diana. 

my food. chicken. plantains & some really good sauce. 

mom, diana, & pastor jeanty (our driver & the best driver)

so pretty

wa-wa- he sure does look happy. he had a fever & did not feel well at all. 

the sweet couple. 

it was such a fun day. when you think of haiti think of beautiful mountains where you can see every detail. think of days when the dust is crazy & you can hardly see but you have the most amazing kid sitting in your lap showing you unconditional love & in that moment the last thing you think of is dust. think of basin bleu & this natural wonder that takes your breath away. think of this country where 50% of the population is children. that is not a bad thing that is an incredible thing. half of the population is our next leaders, teachers, preachers, kingdom shakers,  children who will change their country & the world. think of sitting down to a lunch with your haitian friends & trying new food together. learning about their culture. building relationships that will change your life. think about when a child gives you a bracelet it literally is the only thing they have to give. when they give you a photo someone has given them it is the only thing they have to give. when they tell you that you are their best friend it means so much. when they tell you that they love you they mean it. when they tell you that you are their brother or sister that is not something to take lightly. it means something. one thing i respect about this culture is they mean what they say. i love that. now, who wants to go to haiti?