Long time no Blog

But I have several really good excuses!

The first is I got Dengue fever 3 weeks ago. And boy was I sick. I did not know pain like that existed! I will spare you the medical details, BUT if you are interested in knowing, click the link that will tell you about this tropical virus.

Dengue Fever

Then I went to the states to the International Conference on Missions. This is the first year Invest Hope exhibited and it went great! Of course my favorite part still is seeing some of the missionaries from around the world that stayed at our house when I was growing up. It is usually the only time I see them anymore. And I love it!

 Invest Hope Booth!

Then I had Thanksgiving and my future sister-in-law's wedding shower. Which had an awesome beach theme since they are getting married on the beach in February!

 Stacy in front of her wedding shower loot!

 Beach themed cupcakes!

And the final excuse is...

We might have had a few relaxing, goofy days at the beach in between.

Our foster girls, Ayi and Mardochee, are doing well. We transitioned them to the first floor of our house. There were 3 bedrooms to pick from so the fact that they chose to share a room together...is a great sign! Or maybe it means they just want more time together to plot against us! Just kidding. We really enjoy having them around. They have been going to a Haitian church close to our house. This week they joined the youth choir and are excited about that. They sing here in the evenings and when they are doing laundry and do a great job!

So while I am full of excuses...I am ready to get back to blogging to keep you updated on what's going on with us in Haiti.

Mission Must Read Book

As I have said plenty of times before on this blog, I am a reader. A "stay up all night long reading Hunger Games"(Don't judge...it was a fabulous series) kind of reader. A "I love my kindle but my credit card does not" kind of reader.

Ok. Ok.

I read a lot of recommendations from others. After a discussion on how Invest Hope was trying to do missions a slightly different way, my friend Megan from Ohio suggested I read "Toxic Charity" by Robert D. Lupton. She so much suggested it that she bought it for me on Amazon and had it next day shipped to my house so I could have it before returning to Haiti. She obviously really wanted me to read this book.

So I did. And I have to say that I was agreeing out loud and found myself thinking that the author must be living right here in Haiti with me with the problems he talked about that are faced on the mission field.

My favorite quote of this whole book was,

"Giving to those in need what they could be gaining from their own initiative may well be the kindest way to destroy people."

That's why my budget reports to my board seldom have expenditures such as food bought for the poor or candy given away to children or shoes bought for barefoot people. I could spend 1000 times my budget every month on these 3 items alone in the one little village I work in. 

Does that mean Invest Hope never provides food for the hungry or parties for children or shoes? 

Nope. It just means that we rarely do.

We believe in giving people the tools to support themselves.

Toxic Charity says it best with these Compassion Rules:

"Give once and you elicit appreciation.

Give twice and you create anticipation.

Give three times and you create expectation.

Give four times and it becomes entitlement.

Give five times and you establish dependency."

I encourage everyone who is on their church mission committee or is going on a short term trip to read this book.

When you live among the poorest of the poor, your view on how to help them changes. I know mine did. Dramatically. 

Don't get me wrong. I know none other than the Lord first and foremost can help them. That never changed.

But how I do my job in helping the poor did change. Dramatically. And "Toxic Charity" hits the nail on the head.

Go to this Amazon link to buy the book "Toxic Charity"

Go to this Amazon link to buy the Kindle version of "Toxic Charity"

 

Evenson's Homecoming

I wanted to update you with some good news...

Remember Evenson? Click here to read the blog post with his story.

 

Well he is HOME! After being in the states for a year...he is back in the arms of his parents.

 

Look at the smile on this Mama's face! I love it! 

Her son who was on the path to an early death when she last saw him is now back in her arms cancer free!

God is good...He provided top notch medical care 100% free of charge to this boy born into a family who could never pay for it. What was impossible for his earthly parents to do for Evenson was made completely possible by his heavenly Father.

What an amazing example of God's provision Evenson is.

Evenson went to the states under the mission Angel Missions Haiti. Click here to be directed to their website to see how you can help other kids like Evenson receive the life saving care they need.

I worked for this mission for a year and I can not say enough positive things about them. God is using them to make a difference in kids lives throughout Haiti.