Big Rock Candy Mountain
Hey, it’s Seth and it’s my turn to blog again. I’ll start out by saying we haven’t forgotten about you...
Hey, it’s Seth and it’s my turn to blog again. I’ll start out by saying we haven’t forgotten about you...
Baby Sandra is doing well here at home with us. She is keeping us even busier but she is worth...
She is finally here with us. She came home from the hospital today around noon after spending 15 days there....
We are doing well. The children continue with their schooling, tutoring, and having fun. Precious little baby Sandra is still...
This blog is to introduce you to Baby Sandra and to ask for prayer for her. Sandra joined our family...
Hello all, Jessie Here. I hope you all are in for the long haul, because this is going to be one...
Noise, noise, noise at the administration building/Karen’s living accommodations. But the noise is for a good reason. Bang, bang, bang...
After sending off the last blog and then reading it again ourselves, we decided that we should ask for some...
So Jess and I have been in Haiti for exactly a month now! It sure doesn’t seem like that long!...
Since HATS-Haiti is “ALL ABOUT THE CHILDREN” it is time for me to get back to blogging about my children....
Some things just don’t change – at least not yet. Work, work, work, busy, busy, busy and then for a...
As the sun goes down on yet another day here at HATS, I am not going to lie, I am...
Sorry about no blog for a few days folks but we have been a ‘little bit busy’. Getting the last...
Hey everyone, it’s Seth, which is also the reason the blog hasn’t been written in almost a week because I’ve...
Hello again from the fast acting, fast moving, fast changing mission of HATS. Never a dull moment. Never without lots...
If you’ve ever considered sponsorship, now is the time to do it. Your donation truly does make a difference!
Such important work done with LOVE and commitment!
One thing that has impacted me on this trip is seeing the children and all the dedication in this orphanage. There is so much going on behind the scenes to keep the HATS orphanage and school running.
Thank you Karen for everything you do, all the hard work and dedication that you put into this place, all of the work behind the scenes. Thank you for putting up with all the craziness that we bring when we come to your house for the week, just thank you times a million and one for everything Karen. I can write about my week until I am blue in the face (maybe not write that long but if you know me I can definitely talk for that long), and can sing about kit kat bars until my voice gives out, but I cannot even begin to try and articulate in song, dance, or other random art forms how thankful and blessed I am to have been given this experience not only once but twice! Thank you – thank you – thank you – thank you!!!!!!!
We have so enjoyed our time here. The work we have done has been fulfilling, the fellowship has been memorable and our hearts are forever impacted by the sweet, sweet children. A piece of HATS will always stay with each of us and who knows, maybe a few will return!
I have learned much about Haiti in my short stay here, much about generational, entrenched poverty, and much about hope. We can only be part of the bringing of hope if we become one small actor on the huge stage that is poverty. Thank you, Lynn Clark, for inviting me to share this life changing experience with you, and thank-you, Karen Huxter, for investing so much of your life in a work designed to bring hope to those who need it more than any Canadian could ever imagine.
I had anticipated that I would enjoy spending time getting to know the children and being a part of Karen’s daily life in Haiti but I had not anticipated that it would capture my heart like it did. I will miss spending time with the children and Karen but I am hopeful that I’ll be able to see them all again in the not too distant future.
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 going to be impossible to put my thoughts into words about this experience, so I’d say this – if you can get here – do. I think most people probably think they’re coming to help others. To some extent, that’s true (at least this temporary blogger thought so). To a larger extent, you’ll leave Haiti a better person than when you arrived. Nelson Mandela once said something like “Everywhere I go, I wear you”. It means that none of us is our own person entirely. Rather, we’re the culmination of the people and experiences we have had. I leave Haiti wearing 16 HATS children, 10(ish) Haitian staff members, a Calgarian, 2 Winnipegian’s, and a Newfie. And I couldn’t be happier about it. Until we meet again my friends.
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.
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.
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