Funding Deadline

Our funding is at 74%, we are SO close. We have an amazing group of people that have seen the vision that God has given us and decided that they want to join us. We can not even begin to tell you how thrilled we are that you want to be part of bringing the Gospel and discipling the Haitian people.

The Heady's told us yesterday that they are amazed at how quickly we were able to get to 74%. They said we must have a lot of friends. And its true, we have some pretty amazing friends and family.  We also know that our God is that big. 

Our deadline to raise these funds is January 5th, one week from today. If they do not come in we will be changing our tickets to a later date. 

We aren't stressed. Or at least not mostly. We know that God has called us to return to Haiti. We know that God can do anything and when He wants us to be in Haiti, the funds will come in. We trust Him and His timing completely. We have been living this way for a while now, we will not move unless we know that Jesus is leading. The best thing about living this way is that when things get hard, and they always do, we know it wasn't a mistake. We know that the hard things are part of God's plan. There is a ton of peace in knowing that. 

So we are letting you all know. We need your prayers. Prayers that God's will is clear. That the funding comes in, we are asking that it happens before January 5th.  Thank you for the many people that are praying with us. We know there are hundreds that lift our family in prayers and you are valued beyond words. 

Sweaty palms lifted in surrender.

Funding update. So far we are 40% funded for the next year; we need another 40% to be able to return. Tickets are purchased for Jan 15th. This means that we are going to be doing even more calls, follow up meetings, and letters. 

I would have preferred it if God would have just made the money appear in our account. But, He is going to require that we make calls, my palms are already sweating. Since His ways are perfect, say a prayer for us. 

So this is a mass request to begin our personal requests, if you feel called to join us please do so. If you want to hear more specifically about our vision and what we will be doing, we would love to chat with you on the phone or a 1 on 1 (whichever you prefer). 

We know that God has called us to Haiti to serve the Haitian people. One of the things we will be focusing on is the conference center already located on the Global Outreach land. It is equiped to have about 210 people sleef there and feed approximately 300 people three meals a day. There is an open air church, class-roooms, a cafeteria, and a closed area that holds over 500 people and is set up for concerts. 

We are excited about this because we feel that one of the main things we can share with the Haitians, that does not create dependance, is knowledge and information. That is what the conference center is all about. We want to be part of empowering Haitians to help Haitians. 

Let us know if you want to talk and hear more about this vision. We have a lot of words to share. :) Email imsland76@gmail.com to set something up. 

I don't have Haiti pics, but we have been able to be with and be loved on by family and friends. So I thought I would share a few pictures. 

Shane and my parents took us to Disney World in September. Best vacation ever!

Landen hanging out with his friends. 

Carving pumpkins. 

Apparently all the BIG tarantulas come out in October. Not sad we missed it. Yuck. 

Custest picture of Austin ever. On a side my children will NOT stop growing. Sierra can stand on her toes and be taller than me. 

Homeschool with crafts are still happening.

Went to a painting class with my family. 

Sierra and Bianca. :) Some friendships stay forever. We love Bianca. 

Christmas bingo. So much fun and silly prizes. 

This is Lilly, my 2 year old neice. She decided she needed another piece of pie. This is her being busted. She is the youngest in our large, loud family...we let her finish eating it under the table and then handed her a rag to clean up the mess.

Silly mud mask evening with my neices and sister in law. 

Landen even played along with his 'ninja' mask. 

Time together. I love this guy.

Celebrating my sister's graduation together. Its blurry because we never sit still. 

No idea why the border but its a fun pic anyway. 

Roller-coaster emotions

Emotions are such a strange thing. I heard once that emotions don't have an IQ, and I believe that is true. They just are what they are. Sometimes they behave like a child, sometimes they are wise beyond their years and often times, they contradict themselves as many emotions can be felt at the same time. 

While we were preparing to leave Haiti, I was filled with sadness about leaving. I was worried that the time we would be gone was too long, that my kids wouldn't want to come back, that we would not get the funding we need. While these worries didn't consume me, they were always there, like a nagging tooth ache. They would pop up at unexpected times and I would have to go through the excercise of reminding myself that I trust God completely and that His will will ultimately reign. I would need to refocus my thoughts, not on my worries, but on glorifying God. 

Then we arrived in America. At first, I felt ovewhelmed by all the 'good' things of America; good food, easy driving, lots of options for everything; just to name a few. But after about 3 weeks, I began to settle into American living. While I feel sad about America's spiritual and relational defecites, there are so many wonderful things about America. I have enjoyed the freedom of connecting with many of our supporters and being able to share the vision that God has given us. I love that my children have been able to start going to our church's middle school activities and have been welcomed warmly. I love ordering lattes. So then I start to think, what if God decides He isn't going to send us back to Haiti? What if we are supposed to go through this excercise of obedience but He actually has something completely different in mind? What if we are wasting our time trying to return to Haiti? Worry begins to consume me and I have to refocus my thoughts again, not on my wonderings about our future, but on glorifying God. 

1 Peter 5:6-8

So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. Give all your worries an cares to God, for he cares for you. 

So now we are 6 week into our time in America and I feel thrilled to be able to gather often with our family. We have missed them terribly. I feel blessed to spend time just being in the presence of my friends. I am excited about watching God open doors and developing new relationships that He has planned. I know we are on the right path when doors routinely open and blessings abound as we fundraise for our return to Haiti. So now, I am starting to miss Haiti. I miss our friends there, I miss being able to work on the frontlines, I miss being where God has called us. 

Then I start to worry that maybe the funding won't come in. Maybe we won't be able to follow through on this calling. I have doubts like we don't know enough people, those that have said they will support us will forget or get distracted, that God can't/won't step in. My mind starts to make God very small and I start to think that maybe we aren't doing enough. Our goal has been to meet with at least one person or group a day (often we try to meet with two) but maybe that isn't enough. My thoughts begin to spin, again. I have to refocus my thoughts, not on my worry about 'doing', but on remembering that God has called me to follow not lead, and my only job is to glorify God. 

Matthew 11:28-30

Then Jesus said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light. 

I waste so much time and energy on thinking about things that were, are, or could be. This part of my humanity annoys me. Yet, God created me and He knows all about my humanity. A part of me wants to hide my doubts, pretend that they don't exist. Put on a perfect face, share perfect stories, I know I can do this if I try just a little. Another part wants to dwell on these thoughts for eternity. Try to find my own solutions. But, what I have learned is that God wants me to bring these honest emotions and thoughts to him, not hide them or let them distract me. He wants me to tell him all about them, then leave them with Him. Knowing that He can take care of all things. God invites me to wrestle with these emotions with him. 

Numbers 23:19a

God is ot a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. 

I am so grateful that I follow a God that is not ruled by emotions. A God that is all powerful, all knowing, all present. We have watched God change circumstances, do the unexpectated and deliver miracles. I am so glad that I follow a God that is intimately involved in my life and one who wants to be in relationship with me. My God knows all about my ever changing emotions and He has this, and all circumstances, in his control. 

One of our fellow missionaries took this cool picture of our Globals property. 

Couple of pics from Disney. :)

Hanging with friends. 

Loving the time with family!

Best picture of Austin EVER. (Love that smile!)

Every winter he gets this cut. It makes me laugh EVERY time. Dont' worry, the cat likes it and loves to show everyone his haircut. :)

Prayer Requests:

-Prayers for funding. We are 1/3 of the way to our end goal. 

-Prayers for guidance, that we balance the 'doing' part with the 'trusting' part. 

-Prayers for the unity of our family as we continue to live lives of the gypsies. 

Anachemie...

The problems in Haiti are big. Too big for me to comprehend, to big for me to fix, to big for me to shoulder. But I have learned that God does not need me to do any of these things. My only job is to be intimately connected to Jesus and to listen to the Holy Spirit's whisper. When I focus on Him and not my task, that is when He can use me. 

While we were waiting we very clearly felt led to help my friend the 'rock thrower', Anachemie. I blogged about her before, I'm not sure if you remember. She used to throw rocks at us when we would pass by her house. Yet one time, I stopped walking and asked her to be my friend. For the last 9 months we have been developing that friendship. 

Anachemie is the second of five children. Her father died two years ago and her mother does not work. They do not go to school, they have no money, and they have very little hope. God decided to use us to show them that He does hear their prayers. 

We were able to enroll all 4 of the school aged children, purchase uniforms, books, and school supplies. We will be checking up on them quarterly to make sure that they are doing well and to help address problems as they occur. We are also supplying food each month, as it is impossible to learn when your physical needs are not being met. We are working with the mom to see if there is some job or small business that she can do to supply her families needs by herself. 

The best part is that we have not done this all on our own. We have partnered with two of our Haitian friends to help this mom get things moving, to purchase the food, and to help us begin to understand this families dynamics so we can help, not harm. We are also using this opportunity for our two 'workers' to earn a small income and build trust and responsibility in them. One thing that struck me is that both of our Haitian partners have come to us, after visiting Anachemie's home, and expressed their shock at the poverty this family is living in and their gratitude to be able to be part of helping. 

I don't know if this is something we will continue to do or if this is a one time event. I do know that when I visit my friend Anachemie, she has a look of hope in her eyes. I also know that serving God is never boring. 

Two of Anachemie's siblings outside of their home. 

Prayer requests:

-Pray for Anachemie and her family and that we can find a way for them to be self-sufficient. 

-Doors continue to open for us to share the vision God has given us. 

-That we can be present, appreciate all the good in America yet still stay intimately connected to God (tricky in all the good). 

Daphne...

There is a woman, named Daphne, that worked in our house in Haiti. We have enjoyed working with her and getting to know her. She has three daughters ages 18, 16, 15. Her husband does not live with the family and does little to support them. This woman and her three daughters live with her mother, brother, and probably a couple of other random people. Their house is brick, which is actually not a bad living situation, and has 4 square rooms (dining room, kichen, and two bedrooms) and each room is about 10' square. It is clean and very crowded. Oftentimes the girls will sleep at someone elses house just so they have a little more space. Daphne is hard working, loves my family, and loves Jesus. It has been a joy to get to know her. 

Since moving to Global, I have asked Daphne if she would be willing to help me with my Creole for an hour about 2x a day. She doesn't speak a bit of English which is good because it means that she won't adjust her Creole for me to understand. So for the last three months, we have been able to discuss things on a deeper level. She has become a trusted friend. 

Daphne recently brought to my attention her desire to do more to support her family. People come to us all of the time to ask for help because the 80% unemployment rate in Haiti is one of the main problems in Haiti. However, hers was different. She came with a plan to raise and sell chickens. I asked her to put together a business proposal, I gave her the questions to answer, and told her if she put these things together, then we would talk. My experience in Haiti is that requesting this information is the end of the conversation. The asker very rarely comes back with it put together. However, she came back to me less than a week later with a pretty good business proposal. 

I sent this proposal to a friend of mine to ask him to look over it and help me decide if it was a wise business to start to which he replied, lets do it. He wrote up a contract for us which laid out the details of the micro-loan. I then explained to her that she will be required to pay the loan back and that whatever money she pays back will be used to help another woman start up a business. 

So, 3 weeks later, she was able to purchase 200 chickens. I don't know which one of us is more excited. By the end of October, she should be able to sell her first 200, and then purchase 200 more. I am so excited to be able to be part of helping her take the steps needed to take care of her family by herself. I am so excited to see the sparkle in her eyes. I can not wait to find out how this develops. 

"Do for one what you wish you could do for everyone." Andy Stanley

"Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love." Mother Teresa

The little chicks. 

The chicks need constant management so her brother is partnering with her by spending the night there to watch them. 

The blue tarp thing is a place where they can put very small chicks that still need warming lights. Chicks this small are less expesive so they can purchase more next time. 

They have a sign. :)

Poverty

 We have been preparing to speak with some churches, small groups, and individuals. We want to share the vision that God has given us and find out if people feel called to join us in this vision. Do they want to support us, financially or prayerfully and by doing so invest in God's kingdom? As we prepare, we are becoming more aware of what God is calling us to do and why he chose our family to do it. 

One of the things that we continue to come back to is relationships. Our entire family is passionate about developing relationships. We want to connect with our Haitian staff, other American missionaries, Haitians in the street, Haitians our organization supports, and visiting short-term missionaries. We love to connect.

So, what does this really means for us? We are becoming aware, on a deeper level, that relationships, through Christ, are all about loving. Love is a word that is overused, but it is real. Its not the kind of love that is looking to 'get something' but the kind of love that IS, simply because the other person is a valued child of God.

One of the series of verses we stand on is 1 Corinthians 13. It talks about doing many good works, but without love, those good works are nothing. It then goes on to describe what love is. I believe everyone has heard the list, and everyone, especially me, can feel convicted by some description of true love. But it gives us something to aspire to. 1 Corinthians 13's final verse is this,

"Three things will last forever- faith, hope and love- but the greatest of these is love" 1 Corinthians 13:13

I was watching a tv show the other day. It is about a woman that was a midwife on the east side of London in the 1950's. The poverty was great. She was struggling with the reality of poverty and was talking to a priest. He explained to her that poverty was not a lack of money, hygene, or personal property. Poverty is a lack of being loved and being treated respectfully. 

This is so true! Love and respect. This is something we try to give to those we encounter, through our actions, our words, our eyes. Our family wants to be used by God to show others that they are loved, they are respected. They are a valued child of God. To be called to be an ambassador of Jesus is the highest honor. We are thrilled that we get to do this in such an impoverished (loveless place where people are treated with little respect) area. 

I stole this picture from a friend. :) Love that smile!

Quick update

This is just a quick update. We were able to spend an amazing week in Florida with Shane's parents and my parents. It was the best vacation I have ever taken with our little family. We were able to have so much fun, enjoy each others company, and truly rest. What a blessing!

This week we have missionary training with Global Outreach in Tupelo, MS. This training is one of the ways that God has already started to open up the doors for us to serve at Global. Global requires that the missionaries they support go to this training before they serve with Global. These trainings are held 3 or 4 times a year and fill up quickly so we thought that we would not be able to attend one until February at the earliest. Then we  found out that the training this week happens to be a fast track training (only 2 days instead of 5) for people that are already on the field and there just happened to be some cancelations so we can attend. This allows us to speed up the usual process of a 1 year preparation to go out into the field where we feel called. We are praying for a 3 month process, knowing God can do anything and trusting that His time table is perfect. And it doesn't hurt to ask. :)  

After that, it is time to get to work fundraising.  We know that many of you are already financially supporting some sort of organization. We know that it can get tiring to be constantly asked to fund yet another missionary, organization, need. The needs are big and there are many good places to donate your money. We want you to know, that regardless of whether you are able to help us financially or not, we value you and your prayer support. 

That being said, there are some of our readers that know in their spirit that it is time to step in. We know that God has called us to Haiti and we trust completely that He will bring the funds in. And we know that God uses people to do His work. So if you are one of those that feels the nudge to help, we need you. We need monthly commitments so that we will be able to plan for the next year. No donation is too small. 

Pleasse consider it. Pray over it. 

If you don't want to pay for your taptap ride, just hop on the back. 

This group of people sat in the back of this truck for 5 hours. We followed them the entire way back from Port Salute. 

This pole is in the center of a very busy road. It made me smile to see this man using the shade. Why not?

I'm not sure if this is how a truck bed liner should be used. 

Loving on a friend's baby. 

My young friend's siblings.

The pictures below were borrowed from a short term missionary's fb post. :) 

One of Global's water pumps. They drill them and then maintain them. Very cool. 

Chris Brumley, the director of Global Outreach Haiti. 

Shane and Nicky 'working' in the shop. 

A beautiful long term missionary that we have the pleasure of serving with. 

If you have made it to the end of my blog, I have been making a list of things that are better/different/now feel strange (not in order of importance);

-So many options 

-the roads (every one follows the rules)

-soft water in the shower

-pressure to look a certain way

-family and friends

-worshiping at our home church 

-freedom to drive with relative safety

-easily accessible grocery store

-when I walk I now look at my feet (trying to make sure I don't trip on loose rocks..not really needed in MN) 

-remembering to pray (in Haiti before we do anything we always pray, ie driving. Its harder to remember in America) 

-quote from Landen when asked why he was eating so much, "There is so much to eat I'm trying to make sure none of it gets wasted". 

-sleeping with lots of blankets on

-leaves changing colors

-being clean all day long

Decisions, decisions...God's leading

After three and a half months of prayer, speaking with many different organizations, and waiting on God, we believe that we know the next steps that God would like us to take. We have been staying with Global Outreach while we wait and they have been amazing mentors and encouragers for us. They have allowed us to join them in their work this summer and have shared as much of their knowledge of Haiti with us as possible, even knowing that we would possibly be leaving after three months. God has been kind in allowing us to rest and really get to know this organization before He directed us, and we feel that His direction is clear. 

We are excited to announce that we are beginning the process of staying on with Global Outreach Haiti for the forseeable future. They have many ministires; well drilling and repair, burn clinic, conference center that can hold up to 200 people, an elementary school, an afternoon school (often for children living in Restavek), child education sponsorship, an elderly feeding program, soccer discipleship program, church disciple progam for young men and short term mission trips. 

Currently there are 4 couples living on the property and one single intern. One of the couples, the Headys, have been in Haiti for 32 years. They are Globals' Regional Directors and the knowledge that they have about Haiti and their willingness to share that knowledge is a blessings. The other couple, the Brumleys, have been with Global for 11 years and are the Directors of Global Outreach Haiti. They are strong and compassionate and bring stability to the compound. The Runks, are a couple our age and have two children (10 & 8). They bring a willingness to help with anything that is needed and a desire to support others with encouragement. The Todds, are another couple our age with 4 children (16, 14, 11, 4). We ended up connecting with them right before both of our families moved to Haiti and we have been good friends ever since. They are passionate and creative about serving in Haiti. Finally, but not least, is Miss Casey. She is the youngest on the compound and is hard working and fun. She likes to tease Landen that he is her boyfriend, which makes Landen blush. 

God has already opened doors that only He can which shows us that this next step is within His plans.To be able to join this team, to know them and to have them know us very well, is just another blessing He is giving us. Plus, we are thrilled to be able to stay in Titanyen and continue to build on the relationships and friendships that we have made this last year. God is good. 

One of the things that is a little different about Global is that ALL of the ministries that are done through Global Outreach Haiti are FULLY supported by the missionaries on the ground. This means that our fundraising needs are going to increase.

We are coming back to Minnesota in October and November to talk to churches and to work on that fundraising. We have been told that usually, missionaries need about 6 months to a year to raise the needed funds to return to the field. That being said, we believe that our God is big and we believe that He will fully fund us by the beginning of December. Please join us in prayer that God steps in and glorifies Himself as we begin this journey. 

Some other prayer needs:

-Pray that God continues to direct our paths as we step out in faith to join Global Outreach

-Please pray for our family as we transition temporarily to America again (we are excited and know that it will be a lot of work)

-Please prayerfully consider whether God wants you to support us financially (we will have an official donation site on October 6th)

-Also, if you know of a church that would consider sponsoring us, please contact me. 

If you would like to learn more about Global Outreach Haiti here are a few sites to check out:

http://vimeo.com/32789589 (to see what Global Outreach Haiti does)

http://globaloutreach.org

http://youtu.be/Rsze9nyy8gk (to see what Global Outreach International does)

Drilling wells in Haiti - our cold water challenge

 As we wait on The Lord for our future direction we have been taken in by our friends at Global Outreach.  They have given us a place to live, tons of support, and truly shown us God's love daily.  I was recently given the oppurtunity to take part in drilling wells with Global and an organization called Healing Hands.  We drove about 10 miles up and over the mountain to a community called Zoranger.  Zoranger is typical of what Haitian life is like, they walk anywhere from 1/2 a mile to 2 miles to get clean water.  They carry as many buckets as they can, they usually make this trip 2 to 4 times a day.  I am going to share with you this experience through pictures.  I will explain things along the way...just

remember we drill a hole in the rocks, God provides the water and sometimes there is not any.

We always start with a prayer asking for God's divine blessing for the people of the area and to give us water.

Here is Healing Hand's drill rig getting prepared in our first spot.

This is the support rig, carries extra drill pipe, water for drilling, and the compressor.

The drill is up and ready to go.

Now we are drilling.

As the drill goes down they blow air and some water down the hole to clear it out.

As we go the crowd of excited on-lookers continues to grow.

After about 4 hours of drilling and praise The Lord we have water!  The next steps are to ensure we get down into the water far enough to set a pump.  The challenge with that is if you go too far and punch out into a cavern you may lose your water.  After pulling the drill out of the hole we push 4 inch PVC back in as a casing, then we lay the pump base...

 

We drop a clean out pump down into the well to get all the sediment out from drilling, we also use this water to mix the cement for the base and to share with the local Haitians.

Level out the base, drop in some big rocks, mix up some cement (by hand of course), shovel in the cement..

Trowel out the cement, and let it set for a day or two.

Now ifs the fun part, pump installation...

After the well is set up but before we turn it over to the community our Haitians share the Gospel.  They read a passage from the bible, we ensure they know that God provides the water, not us.  We also pass out tracs and witness with those who gathered.

So this is truly a cold water challenge.  God provides clean drinking water for the community and he gives us the pleasure of building the well to pull it out of the ground. 

Matthew 10:42 And if you give even a cup of cold water to one of the least of my followers, you will surely be rewarded.  NLT

These wells are able to be drilled because so many people have said 'yes' to giving; Healing Hands had to come up with $250K to purchase the drilling machine (some of whose parts are $100k to replace) and someone in America had to fund the $6K to drill each individual well. This is something the Haitian people can not do on their own but God's community can. 

Thank you for following our blog, please continue to pray for guidance for our family.  God Bless!