Sponsors Needed
After many delays due to COVID 19 and the upheaval in Haiti, our wonderful Assistant Director Luckner Estimable was able...
Beate Rufft, was introduced to Hands Across the Sea and our founder, Karen Huxter in 2010, after seeing the devastation of the earthquake and wanting to volunteer in the country. An elementary school teacher in Ontario, Beate has previously worked with homeless children in Columbia and orphans in El Salvador. Beate is currently serving as Board Secretary and travels to Haiti each year. She is a proud to support the vital work that HATS does for the children and families in the community of Deschapelles.
After many delays due to COVID 19 and the upheaval in Haiti, our wonderful Assistant Director Luckner Estimable was able...
Hi everyone, it’s me again, Beate… Sadly, I won’t be making the 2085 km trek to Deschapelles again this year,...
Karen asked me to write a blog for the website, and the first thing I did was to look at...
One of the reasons that I fell in love with the Hands Across the Sea Mission, is that Karen Huxter,...
Ah Haiti….Ah HATS…How can I ever express to you all how happy and blessed I am to be back? There’s...
Blog from another family member of HATS-Haiti – Beate Rufft Hello everyone Thank goodness for photos! I take so many...
Hey all, it’s Beate. As you already know, I got to have the one and only Karen and Luc stay...
Hi Everyone, it’s Beate. So, I’m going to HATS at the end of July, but I figured that it’s never...
Beate’s writing this from “sunny” Toronto! I’m writing this blog to officially thank everyone for their amazing generosity during our fundraising...
I’ve lost track of the days, so I apologize ? for not writing a blog sooner. The days certainly have...
Oh yes, it’s Friday Night….Ladies Night! You know, when you get to be my age, with a grown up daughter,...
Hello my friends, Heather is gone….Karen is gone…who’s left at HATS you may wonder? Why it’s Beate!!!! Yes, Karen trusted...
Two accidents and a wedding, but we weren’t involved in either! But I have to ‘back up’ to our arrival...
It’s Sunday and what a great way to start the day…we went to church of course. Yolene led the service,...
Well, we’ve been without internet for the last few days, so this blog is coming out late. Mind you, I’ve...
If you’ve ever considered sponsorship, now is the time to do it. Your donation truly does make a difference!
I’m not sure what we’re doing here, just showing up for a week – it’s not like it’s sustainable. And I don’t want to become depressed by some of the harsh realities that Karen has to deal with every day. You know it’s ONE thing to start an orphanage and school (Yes, Karen has done things that are beeeeyond me), but it’s ANOTHER thing to raise the 20 babies that become YOUR kids!!! Not only are they a big family, but they are a big family containing individual stories that got them all to where they are in the orphanage. I don’t even know how to describe it…I have never seen a woman her age with this much energy…fun loving energy that is. She so inspired me today and really is a wonderful mother to all these children.
I am going to try to explain why a trip to Haiti is life-changing. No-one can be thrown into a group of people who have the common purpose of doing something for someone less fortunate and not be changed in many ways. As with those I joined in each of the first four trips I made to HATS, my respect and affection for each of the team members grows daily. To those who wonder if your donations and prayers are actually making a difference, I will answer you in this way…there are about 300 children in front of me right now and some or many of them God will use in a great way to change the future face of Haiti and its people. YOU have helped make that possible — AND THAT, FOLKS — is a fact!
It’s my hope that I manage to touch their hearts in some small way, the way that they have touched mine – in a major way.
I am so thankful to Jesus for the opportunity to serve at HATS and to finally experience the great work that God is doing there. I look forward to seeing them all again when I visit next time.
After years of thinking about it and months of planning for it, it seems strange that our time in Haiti is over. We have been asked by a few if it was like we expected. Well, no. I’m not sure what we expected, but our minds could not have fathomed what we have experienced, and we can hardly believe that our 3 month stay has come to an end. HATS really became home away from home for us. We knew we would enjoy getting to know and spending time with the kids but we had no idea how difficult it would be to leave them. They sneak in and steal your heart without you even knowing it. We have left a piece of our hearts in Haiti and can’t wait for the day when we can return.
Culture shock for this Canadian team at first, but a ride through busy, vibrant streets proved terrifically interesting; busy markets, vendors selling exotic fruits, clothing and shoes, used tires and rusty metal… and then the gorgeous countryside: banana plants, mangoes, cows and goats and pigs and dogs, the Golfe de La Gonave by our side. Rice patties indicated we were close to our home for the next week. We were greeted by Magalie, a house mother, with hugs for all and, of course, the children themselves, so gorgeous and endearing. A beautiful meal was followed by a sharing of impressions: there is a lot of poverty but so much potential and hope. We are already in love with Haiti.
This week has been amazing – one of the best weeks of my life thus far, hands down. I can’t really think of any other experience in my life that can even come close to comparing to this. Though my visit here was short (too short), it has been incredibly eye-opening, and life changing. I will never forget the people I have met here, or the things I’ve gotten to experience! Most of all, I would like to say how remarkable it is to see first-hand the amazing work God is doing here. I am behind this ministry 100%, and will continue to support it. I am so, so blessed to have been given the opportunity to come here, and I am REALLY not looking forward to saying goodbye to the children tonight. My heart sinks just thinking about it. There’s no doubt that they’ve had a bigger impact on my life than I’ve had on theirs. I will be leaving a big piece of my heart with these people and this country. God bless.
I spent a week in Haiti at HATS in November 2017 and it was a wonderful experience. Karen is an amazing woman and is doing amazing work. She is dedicated to the children in her care and is changing lives. I would love the opportunity to visit again and help out where I can.
The time has passed so quickly. We know what we’ve done this week is important and makes a difference here at Hands Across the Sea. But it’s easy in Haiti to feel that anything we do here is simply a drop in the ocean. So much need on so many different levels: political, organizational, educational, social, spiritual…But we remind ourselves that each individual life is of infinite value so changing the life of one child and one family is worth the effort.
They call Karen “the helicopter ” and after spending three days by her side I know why. She propels through life!!! If you want to get on the ride you better start running. It is an amazing work that the Lord is doing here through so many many dedicated workers…literally hundreds of children impacted every day with the love of Christ…but the task to do so is enormous. The dedication of staff is invaluable…they NEED US ALL!!
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