This month we have the difficult task of saying goodbye and thank you to some people whose service in Fond Blanc has been at the very heart of all that we are trying to accomplish there. Goulit will be moving back to Port-au-Prince, while Alison and Molly will be returning to the States. It is always tough to see good people leave, but as you will see in a moment, there is some very exciting personal news behind these changes and, rest assured, the orphanage continues to operate smoothly while we await new interns arriving in Fond Blanc soon.
We’ll have more to report on our new staff arrivals in another post, but today the Executive Committee wants to focus on lifting up Alison, Goulit and Molly. Please join us in celebrating their contributions and thanking them for their hearts for serving the children.
To understand the magnitude of Alison’s commitment to Fond Blanc you have to try to put yourself in the shoes of a young lady who completely uprooted her life to move to Fond Blanc full time a year and a half ago. What depth of love fuels such a bold, all-in move? How humble a faith that so obediently follows the call to serve in a country and culture so far from her own? How strong is the heart that has the endurance and grace to serve more than 50 children, through both joy and chaos, day in and day out for a year and a half?
Alison’s passion is part of the taproot of the Fond Blanc Foundation which she helped to establish and which leaned heavily on her shoulders this last year. She – who has no children of her own (yet) – has stood in as a motherly figure to more than 50 kids, modeling nurture for a culture that tends to rely more on strict discipline. People often remark on how much better the kids are doing now. Whether they realize it or not, they are to a large degree acknowledging the effect Alison has had on these young lives.
Alison hopes to stay on with the Foundation, continuing to help us while she proceeds with her life…with Goulit! Yes, Alison and Goulit have plans to be married! That more than anything, is why she is leaving the orphanage a few months ahead of schedule. It turns out to be no simple thing to marry someone from another country, and the simple explanation is: the sooner she can return home, the sooner they can be married.
Which brings us to Goulit, himself. You would be hard-pressed to meet a more capable, engaging young man. It is impossible not to like Goulit. His personality and his outlook on life are irrepressibly positive. His energy and his thoughts seem to always be focused on what he can do for someone else. For the boys in the orphanage, he has been a role model like no other.
Goulit first joined the effort in Fond Blanc as a translator, but later took over many responsibilities for our daily operations in Fond Blanc. He has become practically indespensible because he does so much. Though he never complains, he absolutely wears himself out working for the children. It is said that performing an act of service for somebody is one of the “languages” of love. Some people come to know they are loved by the way others care and do for them. Goulit has become pretty fluent in English, but that still does not compare to his mastery of this love language of service. He has set a standard that we will work hard to maintain.
Goulit hopes to finish his education when he finally reaches the U.S. Both he and Alison have spoken about the ways they can continue to assist the orpahanage while they are in Haiti, and if God leads them back to Haiti in the future they will always have “family” in Fond Blanc.
Molly is another servant who has interrupted her life to come and live with the children. Most recent college grads can’t wait to jump into careers and get on with their lives. A rare few like Molly move purposefully to a more selfless path, heading out to serve in places such as Fond Blanc. Molly represents the sort of intermediate term intern that we are attracting to Fond Blanc. During her time in the orphanage, Molly has been a faithful servant.
As you might expect, the children have a strong interest in our language, and Molly has been helping them with their English – which is not an easy task if you can’t speak much Kreyol yourself. That English comes in handy when the children write letters to their sponsors, and Molly has been a big help for the kids with those letters. Another way Moly has made a difference is through her hands-on participation in the kids’ daily routines. We tout these routines as examples of ways in which the children’s lives are both improved and stabilized. But routines need to go smoothly to be helpful, and Molly’s effort and presence have been a big part of keeping things…well, “routine”.
We say goodbye to these three servants with mixed emotions. We are so grateful for all their hard work and commitment to the kids. We will miss them, but at the same time we are all excited to see what God has planned for them. We send them out with our blessings and we look for the joyful day when they will come back to Fond Blanc. And so we say: “Thank you, and may God bless you!” “Mèsi, e Bondye beni ou!”
