update on canaan & some THANK YOU'S!

i am sorry it has taken so long for me to write this post. trying to get in the swing of things, last papers for the non-profit, get the sponsorship program up & running, organizing the september trip, grow a baby & go to doctors appointments, do the laundry & take a minute to breathe.

moise.

banaelle.

babissa.

pouchon.

i have so much to tell you. our last trip was very productive. laura & i got so much done. we had a lot of administrative, & research to do but we did it. there was a lot of love to give out to all those kids with it being us 2 but we did a pretty good job.

thanks to everyone that gave for the kids in canaan we were able to take:

624 pens
295 pencils
glue
214 toothbrushes
152 tubes of toothpaste
31 boxes of crayons
150 bars of soap
20 bottles of lotion
30 bookbags

& $1500 to buy the fabric for the kids uniforms.

alix & wa-wa with all of the fabric. 

laura. 

this girl never lets me do anything because of my "condition"

WHAT! God is so incredible & good.

i was in tears packing all of the supplies & giving it to wa-wa & alix made us so happy.



THANK YOU to  Villa Rica Christian Church - their VBS raised an incredible amount of supplies for us to take to those kids.

THANK YOU  Saint Andrew's Christian Church - thank you for letting laura & i speak, thank you for hosting spaghetti night to raise money, thank you for the prayers, thank you for everything.

THANK YOU  First Christian Church of Carrollton - who donated money to help the school get items they were in need of.

wa-wa & alix have given out the fabric to the kids so their families can have their uniforms made.

these are some of the kids that will going to the school. 

this is wa-wa's daughter. 

they are in the process of registering all the kids for school & then they will give out all the supplies that were donated!

they will take photos of all of this for us. i cannot wait to see them!

they will start the school in the church & were doing a bunch of repairs while we were there. before the church was so hot it did not have a lot of windows but they were putting a bunch in & i was so excited.

eventually when the money is raised we will build a school close to the church. 

this is the bathroom that is already almost finished. 

this is some of the land where the school will be in canaan. 

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 orphanage.

 i am sure you  have seen my pictures, heard me talk, & seen posts about CAD. this orphanage is home to around 75 children of all ages, with smiles that will melt your heart & these kids have personality for days.

we spent most of our time there this last trip seeing what their needs are & just spending time with them. this is one of the first places i went to on my first trip to haiti in december of 2013 & one special little boy stole my heart. wilderson mauro. don't get me wrong, they ALL have a special place in my heart, but this young boy is a huge part of my life, like i have such a connection with him to the point i KNOW the lord put us together. 

    The God of peace will make me complete in every good work to do His will, working in me what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ. (Hebrews 13:21)

when i first met him he was so shy, so quiet & wouldn't even tell me his name. 

i remember when we were there in 2013 we stopped by before we left & my heart was already sad to leave: well wilderson was outside when we pulled up & when i got off the bus he said my name. he remembered me. that meant so much to me just as much as when we remember theirs. when i go in june i am taking hello my name is stickers bc i am determined to remember each & every one of them. 

one day we drove to the DR & picked up hot dogs, pineapple & then we went to some store to get marshmallows & found some mangos on the way. that same day wendy's group had taken them to the museum so we knew it was going to be a really fun day for them. we pulled up & the kids went NUTS. they were shouting & so excited! they were yelling, "yes, yes yes" ... it was all i could do to not cry, i am sure it was the same for DD. something so simple means so much. we get out of the car & the kids were jumping all over us. the kitchen ladies were so nice to cut up all the fruit, put all the hotdogs on sticks, & put all the marshmallows on a tray for them. they had built a little fire & had sticks ready- IT WAS SO CUTE!

here is a little video of them singing around the fire before we cooked hotdogs. you can see how loud wilderson is & i LOVE it. 

they loved the hot dogs & their faces with the marshmallows made me laugh so hard. wilderson was so unsure, i am literally laughing just thinking about it. 

what was crazy was the fruit. i thought guytho & DD were going to get trampled. it was funny & made me sad at the same time. i mean guys, we take so many things for granted. FRUIT! they love it & we are going to make sure they get it. like i have said & will continue to say if you would like to sponsor these kids monthly for nutrition $50 can do so much. please email me or Facebook me if you would like to help. 

we have church that sponsors for them to have chickens. they built a coop this past january & this is an amazing source of protein for them. YAY for chickens. 

love these faces.

the kids loved the carnival day. they had games & won prizes- SO MUCH FUN. 

wilderson played a basketball game & won & then handed me what he got. its so cute bc anytime he gets things he puts them in my book bag like i am supposed to watch over them & i LOVE it. 

he is really good at almost everything- art, beating me at tic-tac-toe. HOW DOES THAT HAPPEN! i thought that was an easy game? he just laughed at me. 

i cannot wait to see these kids in june & i am already putting some stuff together for them. we are taking up journals & disposable cameras to take. we are thinking of doing a study for the week & have them write in the journals & i am going to teach a photography class for them. i have been wanting to do some photo stuff with them for a while & this is the perfect opportunity. lets cultivate dreams & creativity!

please pray for everyone involved in missions around the world, wether it is in the states or in another country. one day at the time is what i have to tell myself. 

God will instruct me and teach me in the way I should go. He will guide me with His eye. (Psalm 32:8)

if you would like to donate to my next trip you can do so on my gofundme account

cheers,

Evanda