CAD Garden Part 3.

so excited to let you all know about one of the projects we did this past week in haiti.

you all might remember the garden we started back in the summer, if not you can read about it HERE

WELL this time i took my sweet husband, my dad & my mom with me to haiti. i was more than excited to introduce them to the kids & for them to see my heart & love for this amazing country & these incredible kids.

cory, phil, matthew & a few others worked so hard building the fence around where the trees would be planted. if you were wondering why we have to build fences around all the trees it is to keep all the goats from eating them up. when they get bigger we can take this fence down a re-purpose it in another area to plant more trees. right now we are in need of more water for the kids. food for the poor & water missions international put a water purification system at CAD so they can clean their water BUT it still costs money to bring in the water for them to clean it. the kids currently have limited drinking water, & they bathe with water that is not clean. if you want to partner with me to get these kids CLEAN water in all areas & make it where the DONT have a limit on drinking water PLEASE email me--- evanda.estes@gmail.com

i mean can you imagine being in the sun all day & being told when you are allowed to have water because there is not a lot? it breaks my heart. lets work together & get this done.

so here are some photos of all the work! enjoy :)

this is their new water purification system. the concrete box to the left is where they put the unclean water. the clean water goes to the top & comes down near the window so they can fill up their containers with it. what i want to happen is to pipe this clean water down to the bathrooms & to the kitchen so they have easy access to this. this is a very long walk up the hill where the school is. this is a project that needs to happen ASAP. so many things cannot continue until we get this done. WATER IS SO IMPORTANT. if you are a business & looking for a way to help, if you are a student that feels a tug at your heart, if you have nothing to give PLEASE pray. PRAYER is everything. 

phil showing the guys how to dig holes. 

cory doing work. 

the kids LOVE helping. 

the ladies & kids gathered rocks to put at the bottom to keep the goats away. 

my mom doing her part.

all these little cuties. 

brandi & taina.

jennifer. 

pouchon, guytho & wilderson. 

THIS guy always helps me. he helped do the other gardens & LOVED helping with this one. he came running up to me when i got there & told me he had watered the garden that morning. he was so proud of himself. i am so proud of them. they love learning. 

jerry planting one of the moringa trees. if you do not know much about trees you would happy to know that you can use every single part of this tree. it is literally called the tree of life. 7 times the amount of vitamin c of an orange, 4 times the vitamin A of carrots, 4 times the calcium of milk, 3 times the potassium of bananas, 2 times the protein of yogurt. you can use the bark to make cooking oil & the list goes on. another plus size is moringa grows with almost no care at all! it really is a miracle tree. for kids who do not get a huge nutritional diet this tree will help them get a lot of vitamins. so excited to see them grow. 

we had some left over compost so we cleaned dead stuff out of the vegetable garden & added some there. 

you can see how big the papaya is. its amazing. i remember it being to my knees. 

my little group of farmers. 

CRAZY FACES.

here we are planting a mango tree. 

i get all my plants from double harvest. the place is something else. i love seeing the same faces when i go & giving my business to help another business in haiti. you can ask the others in the group i am a little excited when i take people here. i see future jobs. i see good food for my babies. i see hope. i see dreams being filled. all good things. 

all together we planted 4 mango trees, 2 avocado trees, 2 moringa trees & 2 big shade trees. 

AND guess what? 

i go back march 18th with 3 other girls & we will be taking 2 groups to double harvest for farming classes. 

i literally cry thinking about it. 

why? because these kids need skills. they need to know what kind of jobs they can have. what kind of dreams to dream. they need their minds stimulated with possibility. they could partner with each other & one day start something amazing. they WILL do great things. i am super excited about this project. if you would like to sponsor a kid for a lesson please email me-- evanda.estes@gmail.com

also in case you didn't know--- m'ap aprann kreyol!

--e

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.