It’s gloomy, cold and sleeting back here in Madison, Wisconsin and absolutely NOT what I was expecting for this Saturday in February.
Instead, I was supposed to be with a fantastic team of dentists, doctors, hygienists, medical assistants, Fond Blanc Foundation board members and Next Step Ministry staff in Fond Blanc serving the community that we all adore so much.
I was hoping to be loving on Loudmia, Kervins, Manaica, and Givenchy. Checking in on Franklin, James and Eugen’s school grades and English. I was going to be giving Rilismy heck for picking on Victoria, my daughter, and loving on all of my other favorite kiddos in a country so far from mine.
Indeed, this was not how I expected to be spending this Saturday.
Instead, I am sitting here wondering, remembering, reminiscing, and feeling so far from my other home.
Unfortunately, such is life when working with a ministry based in a developing, and at times, unstable country. When we cancelled a trip for the third time in just over a year and I had to reach out to the team to tell them, that the State Department had increased their travel advisory for Haiti to a Level 4 Travel Ban, but most importantly I wanted them to know that this is WHY we serve in Haiti! The country’s political unrest, their protests, their fragmented and unstable lives are the REASON we serve there, and nothing will keep us from continuing our mission.
Yet still, this is heartbreaking for so many of us.
Our hearts are broken for those in Haiti who continue to struggle with uncertainty and danger. This is FAR greater than my sadness from missing the kids and a country I love so much.
While we continue to exist in a country that provides so much for its people, it’s hard to imagine how a small country only 600 miles from the tip of Florida continues on a path of destruction. While we strive to help to make things better for this mountain community of Fond Blanc, we are constantly wondering how we can help with the bigger picture in Haiti.
And then I remember what God is asking of us. Serve and love these people in Fond Blanc, as this is where I have placed so many of you. HE has provided us with the love, devotion and ability to make much needed change for this region. I recognize we cannot change everything, but we can help this.
This we can do.
We can continue to help provide salaries for our amazing staff in Fond Blanc.
We can continue to keep a much-needed school open and thriving in a community, previously existing so far from a sanctioned school.
We can continue to assist them with resources and funds to feed many.
We can continue to watch and support a farming and gardening operation that provides so much and has only just begun to see its full potential.
And although your sponsorship letters will once again be delayed, you can be ASSURED that your love and support is helping this community thrive beyond expectation. What God has called us to do in sponsoring a child, donating to the school or farming projects, and supporting our school, are indeed abundantly blessing this community that we care so much for.
My heartbreak on this gloomy day in Madison is replaced by the reminder that so many of you care, resulting in meaningful change in this remote village in Haiti.
Hang in there! We will find a way down to Haiti to get those sponsor letters done for each of you. And when that happens, you can bet that they will be done with immense joy and happiness, each with the reminder of the love you provide for the kids and the love they express back to each of you.
Bondye Beni Ou
Tia Bunz
