Return.

Our trip was amazing.  We are sitting in the Miami airport right now, getting our minds around the abundance we see, and admittedly partaking ourselves as we sit at TGIFriday’s ordering huge plates of food.

Everyone told us re-entry would be hard, but we are just scratching the surface of emotions as we see high heels, glitter purses, large screen TVs, free flowing water and food. And it's weird that everyone has shoes.

We don’t know how to summarize our trip, so in honor of our teenage boys, we thought we would create a Top 10 List, David Letterman style.

The Top 10 Favorite things we did in Haiti:

10. “Uncle Tom’s” jokes – and all our awesome Team Leaders from Healing Haiti.

9.  Watching our boys barter for souvenirs in the marketplaces in Port au Prince and mountain areas.

8.  Doing “word of the day” each evening and hearing how our day’s work uniquely impacted each person.

7.  Visiting the orphaned elderly: praying, singing and delivering food and enjoying their company.

6.  Church!  Sunrise service at the outdoor tent church and Sunday morning worship with the Grace Village children – replete with bilingual translation, children leading worship, the worship flags being used for the first time and the inclusion of the local community of Titanyen!

5. Riding in the “Tap Tap”, singing songs and spending awesome time bonding with the world’s best Haitian staff! 

4.  Our first glimpse of “heaven” up on the hill – Grace Village Orphanage – meeting all the kids after so much anticipation and delivering all the donations we collected. 

3.  Ministering at the Home for the Sick and Dying Children – and witnessing a worldwide ministry in action.  And loving those little babies. 

2.  Water truck ministry in the Cite Soleil.  Between the eager children, riding on the side of the truck and knowing we were serving the poorest of the poor free water who would otherwise have to pay, it was a highlight of our week.  And we never thought we could be so grateful for a cold shower after a hot, dirty day!

1.  Impromptu Soccer in the street outside the guesthouse that turned into 6 nights straight!  Watching our boys “love our neighbors” through the universal language of sports was a God-given gift.  Seeing the boys (and girls) on the last night when we said they could keep their EP jerseys make a decision to collect them all and keep them in one place so they could keep playing soccer was a joyous moment we won’t soon forget. 

Our team’s theme verse for the week was John 15:16 – which says, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit – fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.”    Little did we know how that verse would impact our mission - the boys have already begun praying and planning a dream of building a soccer field for the boys they built relationships with for a week in that neighborhood with the name of “Chosen Fields.”

 

As Moms we couldn’t be more proud of our boys and the way they served the Haitian people.  And with the help of God, we continue to pray there will be much fruit in these treasured communities imprinted in our hearts . . .

Maybe even a soccer field.

With love and thanks for all your support and prayers,
Sarah, Marijo, Karla and Kris (and Nick, Ben, Tim, Matt and Jacob)

Unity

As I sit here in these last hours of our experience down here in Haiti this week, I can't help to smile on the many blessings God has given to me, our team, and the people whom we've been able to be touched by making our lives transformed.

I posted prior to our trip on how we needed to be "in the game" to be used for God's glory, and I know God is smiling down on this team, who have formed together within the unified body for Christ and His purposes. 

We experienced a unified body also up at Grace Village this morning praising and worshiping God led by their beautiful servant of God, Fan Fan.  The children were dressed up in their finest clothes and many townspeople came to the open gates of GV to join in this beautiful service.  We had babies through elderly whom Healing Haiti serves united in celebration!

Later we toured Port Au Prince and even though there is still much rubble from the earthquake that hit over 2 years ago, I was pleasantly surprised how this new government is becoming more unified and making some changes even since last September's visit down here.  A recycling program has begun and much less plastic in gutters and streets, tent cities are fewer, and road construction vehicles are even making some changes, at least in the area down by the palace.

The rained poured all day, but God answered our prayers as the skies opened up after dinner for the boys' final soccer match with the neighborhood kids, who had been waiting for hours and singing "God is so Good" prior to this unified experience.  We knew this one was going to be difficult, as many friendships over a soccer ball had been established.  The boys celebrated the final game by each handing out a medal and jersey to their soccer mates.  We expected that each would leave with their jersey, medal, and snack...my heart skipped a beat as I watched a boy start collecting all the jerseys.  My first thought is that he was forcing the kids to give him the jerseys as I've seen this happen in the past with shoes given to a younger child as an older sibling/child takes the item.  Tears of joy formed as I found out that this boy was collecting the jerseys because they were to continue this nightly ritual of soccer with the Eden Prairie jerseys...a unification of the body in this neighborhood village!  I'm so touched how these EP boys and moms have made such an impact in Haiti and how in turn, Haiti has captured their hearts as much as it has captured mine!


Margie

Amazing

           Today was our free day to do the things that we felt we wanted to do before we leave on Monday. First we went on the water truck for the second time on our trip. The water truck was another amazing experience that really reminded me about how lucky I am to live in the conditions I live in and reminded me that even though the Haitian people have almost nothing, they are always extremely happy. It really helped me open my eyes and change my perspective on life.



The second thing I did today was go to Gertrudes home for special needs kids. This was our second visit there on our trip. Again it was a very fun and joyous time playing with the kids and being a light in their lives as well as them being a light in ours. It a so great to see how they can be so happy despite their disabilities.

The third thing I did today was play soccer. Today was another outstanding evening playing soccer with the little Haitian boys. It is always a blessing to be able to play a game with the boys and have so much fun with a little kickball (soccer ball) and rocks (goal). Everyday as we keep playing more and more kids keep showing up and want to play. Tonight we had a very special gift for the kids after the game ended. We had some extra Feed My Starving Children food and we got to give the kids each two packs of food. It was an amazing moment being able to see the expression on their faces when they got to recieve the food. It was one moment that I will remember for the rest of my life. One last thing that happened before the night was one of my new best friends that I have met on my trip gave me three pictures he drew for me. They were some of the best drawings I have seen in a long time.  They were so detailed and they looked like a person who draws for a living. One of the drawings had my name and his name next to each other and two very neatly drawn birds with flowers and grass. I was so amazed that he drew this and that he made it for me. I thanked him greatly and will keep those pictures for a long time.

        I realized after today that I am making and building new relationships with these people here that will be hard to let go. One of the hardest things about this whole trip will be leaving all of the great people and friends that I have made here. They are loving, nice, happy, joyous, GOD-loving, and outstanding people that have really impacted my life greatly.

-Matt Carson

Captured

The people of Haiti have captured our hearts. 

From the very first moment when we pulled up at the first water stop and they leapt into our arms...they had us.

Today is Saturday, Day 5 of our mission work.  So far we have: delivered water in the Cite Soleil, visited the elders throughout Titanyen in their "homes", held and played with children at the Home of the Sick and Dying Children, visited the special needs children at Gertrude's home, visited a local school, shopped at a local market and  participated in a faith formation lesson at Grace Village and delivered shoes, hats and jerseys while we played with the children there.

Day 5 is "free choice" day, and unanimously we wanted to do the water truck again today for the first part of the day.  We just returned and my heart is heavy because at the last stop I met a little girl named Jennifer whose Grandmother came up to me when I was holding her and asked me to help her because she has no money to take care of her. (this was a common request when we were doing water deliveries, but my first one.)

Both Jennifer's parents died in the Earthquake.  She had beautiful yellow ribbons in her hair and I held her most of the stop.  If I put her down she was never far from me.  Even when I was carrying water buckets for other little girls she had her hand on the back of my shirt and tailed along.  If I gave my attention to any other children she would stand right next to me and hold my hand.

The only time she left my side was when I was doing my job managing the water line did she leave me, but she was right back within reach the moment I moved out from that area. 

Another highlight was a darling girl named Madeline who I sang with.  I began by singing "Jesus loves you." and she then sang it back to me in Creole.  (She is pictured here in the pink shirt in front.) 

The group divided for the afternoon between Home for the Sick and Dying Children and Gertrude's...and we were blessed by holding, singing and loving more children for our last "mission" work of the week. 

Please join us in praying for the mother of a little one who lost their life just as our team was getting ready to leave for the day.  It was heartwrenching for those on our team who witnessed it...pray for their hearts also.

Thank you God for capturing that little girl in your loving and sovereign arms.

Sarah

Grace Village

Grace Village - what a beautiful sanctuary for these sweet little ones.  The village sits amongst a mountain region, overlooking the ocean in the distance.  It has the appearance of a hill city in Tuscany; until the gate is opened and one is surrounded by the most beautiful, sweet children, blessed by all Grace Village has to offer.  They are a community amongst themselves.  The older children are often seen carrying a little one in their arms, easily sharing toys and treasures they find. 

Today we were assigned the task of leading the children of Grace Village in a faith study.  Our team chose to use Mark 9:35, the verse declaring that "whoever wants to be first must take the last place and be the servant of everyone else".  Our activities included making bracelets, playing with dominoes and washing the kids' feet...followed by outfitting each one with a new pair of shoes.  I was struck by how the children of Grace Village ministered right back to us.  One little girl, after having her own feet washed, bent down and took our team leader's shoes off and proceeded to wash her feet!  Amazing.

These little ones are so very blessed to have this beautiful sanctuary - and their Papa Jeff - to surround them with faith, hope and love; and our EP team has been blessed to be a small part of this wonderful ministry.

With love from Haiti, Kris

Grace Village

Today we all went out to the orphanage run by Healing Haiti called Grace Village. It is truly a brilliant sanctuary, a city on a hill amidst a town and nation defined by poverty. The kids we found there were far more brilliant than the magnificant buildings we found them in. To see these kids who are so happy with so much less than we have in the US has been one of the many highlights of my trip. After our arrivial, one little kid was so hot and tired he fell asleep in my lap while all the others played baseball and soccer around the complex. Watching him sleep there with a little smile on his face really showed me that even in polar opposite socities, the children and people are far more alike than different. Gods love is truly lived out at the Grace Village orphanage.

-Tim Ose

Highs and Lows

Wednesday

To quote my teammate, Trish... "Today was a day of HIGHS and LOWS".    Here in Haiti, the lows are more than I could have ever imagined and I'm confident they have changed our hearts forever.   But what's beautiful, is that the Highs are so HIGH, it makes every moment of sorrow worth it!  

We began our day serving at Gertrude's orphanage, a home for disabled children.     I knew going in this would be extremely hard.    I knew for a fact we would be uncomfortable, as we had been prepared that some of the disabilites were extreme.    What we experienced when we walked in was multiple kids strapped in wheel chairs, some tied to the walls for restraint.  A room that smelled of urine.   Broken down truck in the middle of the tiny playground, just to name a few.    This was our LOW.   

After just a few short minutes of acclimating, we wheeled the children out into the open air courtyard.   Some we unstrapped from their wheelchairs and took out to hold and play with.  Our friend, Junior, started playing his guitar much to the delight of the children.    The boys started racing hand-pedaled trikes with Mickey and Jr.,who were quite fast!    We gave our visually impaired friend, Maxim, a hand note that said "Glory to God" in braille hand-made by our Eden Prairie friends the Bushlands, whose daughter is also visually impaired.   We had so much fun and the boys were awesome with the kids.  Very poignant moments and our HIGH!

Next, we headed off to the Home for the Sick and Dying Children.   To say this was tough would be an understatement.   Although the care the children get is wonderful, it was overwhelming to see so many sick babies and toddlers.  Each room was lined with rows of cribs.    Babies malnourished and hooked up to IV's.   Toddlers crying from their cribs, arms outstretched with the hopes of being picked up and held.    Many burning up from fevers.  This was a LOW.

We jumped into action, picking up and holding as many babies as our arms could hold.    The boys brought out some balloons and began entertaining the older kids that were well enough to play.    We carried babies out into the courtyard for some much needed fresh air.   We managed to get beautiful smiles  on the faces of children who had looked so sad and hopeless.    This was a HIGH!

When you're in Haiti, it's extremely hard not to be overcome with feelings of helplessness.  The needs are extreme everywhere we go.  Therefore, we are constantly reminded that our mission is not to meet every physical need.  Our most important mission is to share the Hope they have in Christ and remind them of God's great love for them.

For more photos of our adventures, go to our Facebook page - 2012 EP Haiti mission trip.

Much Love from Haiti,
Karla

A day with everyone

Thursday, Day 4 - Today was a day that kept us moving. We started out today driving to Jean Garry's school where 472 kids learn in tight quarters. We played with the younger kids and sang some songs. After that we drove to grace village. It was a blast playing with the kids there for a little while. I cant wait for a whole day there tomorrow. Then it was off to visit with the elderly. They lived in average run down homes/shacks mixed in with the community. We visited 5 of the elderly that aged up to 79. Several were handicapped but all loved our visit. We sang songs, prayed, and gave they some supplies. It was great to see their lively spirits and love for god in their poor living conditions. We played with kids along the way and sung many songs. The mass grave was next. It was a small memorial at the base of the mountains where the unidentified victims of the earthquake were buried. Then it was off to another incredible game of street soccer. With two rocks as a goal, a kickball, and some new Eden Prairie jerseys we played a great game all leaving with smiles. It was a great day full of excitement and I cant wait for tomorrows day at Grace Village.

- Ben Ose

Friendship

Yesterday we got to deliver water to 3 different locations in city soleil to the people that live in shacks made out of anything they can find. As soon as we got off the water truck little kids that had seen us coming surrounded us. It was as if we had known them forever and we were their best friends. They completely trusted us, and even though they were living in about the worst conditions possible they were still so happy to be with us. We went to our 3 stops and at every stop kids were smiling and at the end of our last stop a huge group of kids started singing a song as we left. It was one of the greatest experiences of my life. We got back, showered, and ate dinner, but since it was only about 7 o'clock Ben wanted to see if the kids in the neighborhood wanted to play soccer. The rest of us weren't too sure at first but it turned into what Tom called "a sacred time". Those little 10 year olds were laughing and beating us 4 to 0. We finally started to come back when we got this little haitian kid on our team named Jameson. We ended up coming back and tied them 5 -5. When we told them that we had to go, they made us promise that we would come back again the next day to play with them. We had known them for a little over an hour and we already had made some great friends. Then we met up with our group and each of us shared our word of the day. That's where we take our whole day and try to sum it up into one word, and mine was friendship. Everybody that we met was so nice and friendly, and you would want to go back and play with them some more. Yesterday was one of the best days of my life, and I'm never going to forget it.

Served

Wow!  What an amazing day we had delivering water to Cite Soleil, the poorest of the poor in the Western  Hemisphere. Every evening in the guest house we sit in a circle and share our "word of the day".  My word today after serving on the water truck was "served"....not serve...but "served".  At our first stop I was holding a precious little girl, half dressed, as we took a little tour of the area.  As we walked, this precious little one wiped the sweat off my face and moved the hair sticking to my face.  Then she started singing "God is so good, He's so good, He's so good, God is!"  Totally loving me, sharing her joy and serving me....  Then at our second spot I was holding two little ones and when it got too hard for me to hold them both,  I sat down and gained a third.  As I was moving, the rubberband fell out of my hair and a few older teenage girls came over and started braiding my hair in the beautiful, perfect braids like they have in their hair (and, I might add, picking out the gray ones they found and totatlly laughing in amazement).  They were totally serving me, loving me, connecting with me....I started out the day ready to serve God's precious people and instead God's precious people served me.

And by the way....I couldn't have been prouder of our amazing teenage boys serving, laughing, and loving the people of Haiti!

God always has a plan for us.

After a long trip through Miami we arrived at the guesthouse in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, all intact with all of our luggage and personal belongings. After a quick swim at the hotel pool across the street and a delicious dinner we got a chance to take a little walk. As we were walking through the rubble-filled streets, we were greeted by a swarm of boys. These boys, in their rags of clothes and dirty, broken shoes, were happy. I was shocked at this occurance, as was the rest of the group. Although these kids had almost nothing, barely enough food and water, they were content and even happy. This just showed me that even though they don't have much, God has a plan for them. In Jeremiah 29:11 God says "I have a hope and a future for you" this is something that we need to remember, no matter how bad we think we have it God always has a plan for us.

Thank you for your prayers and God bless,

Nick Beckman

Being "In The Game"

What an honor and privilege to be serving such an amazing team!  As I walked into "Packing Central" the first thing that stood out were the rows of shoes, caps, jerseys and personalized bookmarks that were so lovingly laid out ready to be loaded and delivered to these precious children down at Grace Village.  The efforts made all around to fulfill this special request to make sure EVERY child is to receive a pair of shoes, even the brand new residents, was heartfelt.  Thank you all for making this happen in such a short amount of time...with God anything is possible!

The caps, jerseys, boys, and planned sport activity at Grace Village made me think about being on a team and the wonderful blessing of being on Jesus' team!  We're joined with him by faith so that when He wins, we win.  That is what is means to be glorified in Him.  He chose us, and He made us "get in the game".  This group is "getting into the game"!  Our great calling is to find out what God is doing in the world and then to fling ourselves wholeheartedly into His cause.  Yes, there have been questions about what is to happen this next week as we're down in Haiti and there will be many more...but all in all, this group is stepping out on God's court in this world.  The world is God's kingdom.  He could do all of this without us, but we share in His glory because we are on His team and that's God's call to all of us!  I pray that God will show each one us His kingdom in unexpected ways and that we fully invest for Jesus and His kingdom not only this next week but always.

When we stay "in the game" four things happen:
 (1) We are living proof of God's power
 (2) We accomplish God's goals for our lives
 (3) We glorify Christ with our life
 (4) We share in His ultimate victory

What a wonderful way to live! 

"Heavenly father, your kingdom will last long after the things of the world will pass.  Help us to live today for the things that will last forever.  Thank you for letting us "be in the game" and make us living proof of your power so that those who know us will know that we know You.  May we never be ashamed to say, "I believe in Jesus".  In your precious name, Amen."

Team

If just hit me today as i was organizing my garage full of donations that God has really changed my definition of "team" over the last few months.  When we started out planning this mission trip i was so excited to have this experience with two of my sons, Tim and Ben.....team "Ose".  Then God placed it on the hearts of a few other moms and sons to come along on the adventure, moms and kids whom i love and am so blessed to share this time with...."EP mom - son team".  Then i realize that our team leaders will be my dear friend Margie Schroeder and Jeff Gacek the founder of Healing Haiti, WOW....team "amazing".  Then Jeff's brother Tom and his wife decide they actually like working with teenagers and want to come along with our crew, fantastic....team "incredible".  Then we have a garage sale to make money for Healing Haiti and i see friends donate their garage (literally), items to sell, shop the sale, donate even if they don't shop, bake beautiful items to sell to the shoppers......team "above and beyond".  Then i see the continued, growing amazing support of family and friends as people have been praying for us, making financial donations to our trip, dropping off shoes for the kids at Grace Village, boxes of Educational toys, baby food and nutritional supplements, clinging crosses for nervous moms, batteries, sports equipments,  portable green houses, suitcases, anything they can do to bless our team and the people of Haiti....team "exceeds my imagination".  To top it off, my sweet friend and neighbor Eleisha McGuire, and her 2 darling children walk down yesterday with a bag full of name tag / book marks for each of the kids at Grace Village...tags that we can tie to the shoes so the kids will know which pair is for who and then they can use the tags as a book mark in their Bibles.  The scripture on the bookmark reads...."Cast your cares on the Lord and HE WILL sustain you: He will NEVER let the righteous be shaken" Psalm 55:22.  Team...."All of You"....thank you for sharing your talents, gifts, time, money, prayers all to be part of this team!  My definition of team started out so little......and God thinks so big!!

Count Down

Alo
Bonjour
Komen ou ye?
Mwen tre byen.  mesi.
Kisa ou rele?
Mwen rele Ben.
Kilaj ou?
Mwen 15.
Bondy Beniou
Mesi anpil.
Orevwa!
Orevwa!

We leave for Haiti in 2 weeks from today!  Can't wait to talk to the kids I will meet there.  Feeling a little nervous and very excited.  I hope we will be able to serve God in a mighty way!!  Stay tuned......

by Ben Ose

Significane

In one month and one day we will embark upon our mission trip to Haiti!  A lot has happened since we started planning this adventure including the upcoming move of our dear friends and mission partners Nick and Sarah Beckman.  I consider it an extra blessing that we will get this special time with them before they head out on their next adventure in New Mexico!

Also, in the weeks leading up to this point we have had the privilege of meeting with our team and team leaders to prepare our hearts for this trip.  Jeff has so beautifully shared how his life has changed over the past 6 years from a life of seeking success to a life of seeking SIGNIFICANCE.  Significance....things that matter, things that are eternal, things that go beyond ourselves and change the lives of others.  I feel so blessed that at the impressionable ages of the boys going on this trip, they will have the chance to be mentored by a man who has found the joy and blessing of seeking a life of purpose and of being available to God and His will.  It makes me think of the verse in Matthew when Jesus reminds us, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also".  I am not exactly sure what it looks like to live a life seeking significance, but I am excited to give it a try and see what God has in store!

I also want to thank all of you for your SIGNIFICANT prayers, support, and donations to our mission trip and Healing Haiti.  We are all so blessed by your gifts and honored to have you as part of our team.

On a lighter note, we have decided to change our fundraising pancake breakfast to a charity garage sale to benefit our mission trip and Healing Haiti.  Be sure to stop by and see us!

Saturday, May 12th, 2012  8:00am - 12:00pm in the Cul De Sac at 9063 Gould Rd.  Eden prairie, MN 55347

Pictured is Gus living a life of Significance in his eyes :)

With Thanksgiving, Presenting Our Requests To God

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

2 months and counting...

I can hardly believe we're in our final months of planning and preparing for our June 11th departure date!   There are so many emotions that one experiences when planning for a trip like this.    A few we've been feeling in our house are excitement, anticipation, fear of the unknown, anxiousness and eagerness, just to name a few.

The subject of the last few chapters in our "Prepare Your Heart" study were discussing our fears, which was enormously helpful.    We spent some time looking up scripture to see what Jesus had to say about confronting those fears.   The verse we focused on was Philippians 4:6-7, in which Paul gives a means for finding God's peace over our fears..."Do not be anxious about anything, by prayer and petition, with Thanksgiving, present your requests to God.   And the peace of God will guard our hearts and minds."

So, taking this verse to heart, we committed our group time in prayer to giving Thanks to our Heavenly Father for His provisions, and then presenting our concerns.    Our prayers are for health and safety, wisdom and guidance in being respectful of our hosts and the people we're visiting, patience with language barrier, and a deeper/stronger connection to God.    Oh, and I musn't forget...that Tim Ose will like the food and that our boys will be able to wear shorts.   (Inside joke!)

We would very much appreciate your prayers for our group as we continue to plan and prepare for what's sure to be a life-changing adventure for us EP Moms and Sons.

Coming Soon:     Pancake Breakfast on May 12th in order to raise awareness for Healing Haiti and donations.   More info. to come.

To God be the Glory!
Karla

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Alyn

I had the privilege of meeting Alyn Shannon about 4 years ago.  My friend, Margie Schroeder, invited me to a party showcasing Alyn’s beautiful jewlery.  Alyn was an amazing lady.  She lit up the room. Her jewelry pointed right to the throne of Christ. Pictured is the necklace I bought the night I met her….”Trust in the Lord with all of your heart” Proverbs 3:5. 

Alyn’s words, her heart, and everything about her was pure beauty.  Alyn and I talked that night about Healing Haiti and we made a plan to introduce the ministry to our Sunday School kids at St. Michaels.  That was the beginning of a beautiful friendship between the children at St. Michaels and the kids in Haiti.  They never met in person, but Alyn and Jeff somehow were able to bridge the miles and help the children connect and see each other as friends loving and praying for one another.

Alyn went to be with the Lord about a year and a half ago after a battle with breast cancer.  I didn’t get to know Alyn well enough or long enough, but even the little I knew her, I was totally amazed by her LOVE.  Her love for the Lord, her love for Jeff, her love for the people of Haiti, really her love for us all. 

And now, in 3 months, I have a chance to go to Haiti and see her dream and see the people she loved so dearly.  I am amazed at how God works so intimately in our lives.  Even though I know I won’t see Alyn there, I know I will feel her there.  When I look at pictures from Haiti, her spirit is in every smile I see.   Her beauty is in every inch of Grace Village and her warmth can just be felt by the Joy brought to Haiti through the ministry of Healing Haiti.  I feel so blessed to go on this mission trip.  I will be with my 2 oldest sons, 3 dear friends and their wonderful sons, and our trip leaders are my dear friend Margie Schroeder and the one and only Jeff Gacek.  I can’t wait to see what God has in store and I can’t wait to see all that Alyn loved so dearly.

“Trust in the Lord with all of your heart, lean not on your own understanding.  In all of your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths.”  Proverbs 3:5,6.  My prayer for the next 3 months is that our team will trust in the Lord and rely on Him and have our eyes open to the path He will take us on.

Preparations for Haiti June 11-18, 2012

WELCOME to the EP Moms and Sons blog 

We are delighted you've come by to listen in on our thoughts as we prepare our hearts and lives for this exciting trip.  

Presently, we are working through a devotional book as a Team called "Preparing your Heart."  We meet monthly to discuss our learning and insights as we hear what God has to say about serving his people.  We also meet regularly with Healing Haiti representatives so we can be fully apprised of what to expect on our trip.

We are also planning some fundraising events and determining our list of essential items to bring along, as well as some fun ones too!  Please stay tuned for the list of items.  

Additionally, if you are interested in financially supporting any Team Member(s), please follow this link .  There is a spot on the very last page of the donation process where you can include a team name so the funds will be allocated properly.  As a reminder, all donations are 100% tax deductible.  

We also ask for your continued prayers as we prepare for this adventure in serving!