2015.....

2015 is a big year for our family.  Way back in August when we were officially asked to serve at COTP I kept saying that I would think about our move after Christmas.  Well, Christmas has passed and here we are at the eve of 2015.  On top of that we are packing up to leave for our trip to Haiti. That last few days have been filled with many emotions.  I have been looking forward to this trip for a long time but I have to admit that I am terrified.  My stomach is in knots.  I am confident that God has called us to this place but when I stop and think about how everything I know as normal will be completely different its a bit terrifying.  My prayer is that this trip will be affirming and that God will fill my heart with peace and excitement as we look forward to our move in June.

As I reflect on 2014 I see God's hand in so many things.  He has provided for us and made very clear His plans for us.  He is working in our hearts and the hearts of our kids to prepare us for Haiti.  God is a promise keeper and I know beyond a shadow of doubt that He loves me and my family and He will never leave or forsake us.  As I look forward to 2015, I look forward to seeing how God will continue to work as we live our last 5 months in Michigan and prepare us for the big move.

So, yes I am scared and nervous - just keeping it real for everyone!!  But I rest in God and cling to His words.  "For I know that plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

Please pray for us in the next week.  Pray specifically for our boys.  Both are nervous to fly and I am not fond of it either! Pray for health and safety and for our girls at home too. Pray for the many caregivers that will be taking care of them.  Pray that this trip is exactly what I need it to be!

December

I love the month of December! I love the Christmas season, I love listening to Christmas music, I love the decorations, I love spending time with family, and most of all I love Jesus and celebrating His birth because without Him I am nothing!

December is also pretty important to our family.  Two years ago we brought Hannah home from Ethiopia.  On December 7, 2012 we officially became a family of 7.  Its amazing how she has changed in the the last 2 years.  She came home a sweet 7 month old and is now a confident 2 year old who brings us so much joy, laughter and even a little frustration.  She is a charmer and her eyes and smile will get you every time.  She definitely knows how to make you smile.  I just love that girl and so thankful that God in His perfect plan placed her in our family.

Sweet and spunky little Addison turns 5 on the 14th! How can that be?  She is going to Young 5's and loving it.  She is our social butterfly always meeting new friends.  She loves to sing, dance, and do gymnastics in our living room.  Happy Birthday sweet girl!

My wonderful builder of a husband is pretty excited too.  He is building a home for a pretty awesome family.  It is going to be one of the last things he does before we leave for Haiti.  I love how God provided this opportunity for him and just the right time.

Many of you know that this year we moved our kids to Zeeland Christian.  We loved Boruclo Christian school and really struggled with what to do, but Zeeland Christian offers a School/Home Collabrative, so the older three kids go to school 3 days a week and are home 2 days.  We are learning a little bit about school at home and the kids are learning a lot about working together(they are all three in the same classroom).  It has had its challenges but overall the experience has been good.   Megan came home the other day and was telling me about what they learned in Bible.  It was about trusting God even when we aren't sure about the outcome.  She expressed that she was not super impressed to have to leave a school and friends she really loved but she trusted God that He would be with her and take care of her.  She said its just like with Haiti, we don't know what its going to be like and its sometimes scary to think about but God will always be with us.  I love my children's simple faith and I am so thankful for the teachers that are speaking and teaching truth to their hearts.

In this season of waiting God is teaching me so many things.  I am learning more and more each day  who I am as a wife, a mother, a friend, a daughter, and a sister.  He is revealing to me daily the areas I need to work on.  I am so thankful for His deep love for me and His grace.  I am so thankful He uses a broken person like me to do His work.  I am grateful for the people he has placed in our life that pray for us and encourage us.  I am daily reminded of His goodness and confirmation that we are walking in obedience.

In 3 weeks we leave for Haiti with the boys.  Please pray for our trip.  Please pray for the boys.  They are excited and scared.  Neither one has flown before so that will be an adventure, we are hoping for smooth flights. Pray for their hearts as the experience and see first hand the place we will call home.  We are excited to be back there again and are thankful we will have this time with the boys.  Not to mention we get to spend some time with some really amazing people.

Blessings this Christmas season.  Thank you to all who pray for us and support us.  We love you and are so thankful for you.

Children of the Promise: Our Story

If you are interested in learning a little more about Children of the Promise check out this video.

Life Lately.....

We still have a long time before we actually move to Haiti.  It seems like a long time, but in reality it will come fast.  Some days we wish we could go next week.  It is difficult living here and wanting to be there.  We are trusting in God's plan and His timing.  We are here for a very specific purpose.  He is growing us, preparing us and giving us the time we need to finish up things here.  He is giving us time to do this well and not be stressed and rushed.  We have been given the gift of time.  I believe God is using this time to teach us and prepare our hearts for what is coming in the future.

Not a day goes by that the place "Haiti" does not come up.  Our kids talk about it almost everyday, we pray at the dinner table for the children that will be in our care. We talk about what we are scared about and what we are excited for.  The kids are very open and talk about their fears.  I am thankful that they are able to express their feelings. We find ourselves dreaming of what it will be like and standing amazed that we really are moving our family to Haiti.  A place that God so clearly opened doors for us to go.  Haiti fills us with much joy and excitement and also fear and the reality that it will be both very good and very hard too. 

This week we had our first snow fall. With that comes much excitement from our kids.  For mom, crazy chaos as I search for all our winter gear in hopes that it fits.  Thankfully it did and they were off to school.  As I watched them play in the snow I couldn't help but think about next year.  They will not experience the snow.  I love West Michigan.  I love the beauty of all the season. So much we will miss.  I find myself cherishing each day, each season.

The holidays are approaching, in a few short weeks we will be enjoying a yummy Thanksgiving dinner,  hunting for the best Christmas tree, spending time with family, and celebrating Jesus. We are so blessed to have our family so close and enjoying time with them.  Next year....what will it look like?  I don't know, but I trust God that it will be good and wonderful but different, but that's OK.

Today we sent out our support letters.  What a relief to have that done.  If you have not received one and would like us to send you one please contact us at 7mokmasinhaiti@gmail.com

Blessings to your family during the coming Holiday Season!

First snowfall of 2014-2015, so beautiful!

The boys were thrilled about the snowman they built.

Opening day of gun hunting.  Fun times! Although it doesn't look like it, Braden did have fun. He isn't much for his picture taken.

Questions

I thought I would take a moment to post some answers to many questions that we get asked about our future.  I love talking to people about what is happening in our family's life.  I love telling how God is working.

As you can imagine, it is no easy task to move your family out of the country.  I am finding that out.   In some ways I feel like we have plenty of time.  I convince myself that June is a longs ways off.  But the reality is, it will be here before we know it.

Many of you have asked about our house.  At this point we plan on selling it.  We will put it "for sale" late spring to avoid moving twice.  In the meantime we will do some updating to get it ready to sell.

What about our belongings?  I am in the process of purging.  My goal is a room/closet a week.  Some will get sold, some will be given away, some will go to Haiti with us and some into storage.  We plan on storing our things at Kevin's parents.  My job is way easier than Kevin's!  He has a barn full of tools and work things he has accumulated over the years.  We often stand there looking and thinking were do you even begin.

Vehicles and travel trailer - all three will be sold.  We have been trying to sell our trailer but will soon be put in storage and we will try again in the spring.  Our cars, we will sell before we leave.

Financial Support:  We are in the process of sending out our support letter.  We are looking for a few churches to support us too, please contact me if your church is looking to support new missionary's.

Kevin's business - this is probably the biggest question we get.  Kevin has a good business that he has grown over the last several years.  It's not big, but it has provided for our family.  God has always been faithful.  We have gone through some slow times but also some really busy times.  He has one pretty awesome guy that works with him, someone that is like family to us.  Kevin will be finishing the work he has before moving to Haiti and then walking away.  Many of you have asked about when we come back, what will he do?  We don't have the answer.  We are not worried about when we come back.  We have to get to Haiti first.  Like so many things right now, we are trusting God.

Its easy not to become overwhelmed with the task before us.  Its easy not to get caught in the "what ifs". We don't have all the answers, we don't know how its all going to work out.  One thing we do know is that we serve a great big God.  We are simply laying all these things at His feet and walking forward in faith.

I love these words to this song by Rush of Fools!

"Held In Your Hands"

Look up, another day before me
Look back, another day is gone
Should my heart begin to worry
Lift my eyes to find again the promise of Your love
Lift my eyes to find again that You will be enough

All our yesterdays and all of our tomorrows
Held in Your hands, held in Your hands
All we know to pray and all we've yet to face
Is held in Your hands, is held in Your hands

I know, Jesus, I can trust You
I know in all things You are good
I'm casting every care upon You
You knew my name, my every pain, before this breath was mine
You made a way, You overcame with love that outlives time

All our yesterdays and all of our tomorrows
Held in Your hands, held in Your hands
All we know to pray and all we've yet to face
Is held in Your hands, is held in Your hands

These hands that carried the cross
Carry us now every moment, every hour
These hands that carried the cross
Carry us now never failing, only good
Never failing, only good

All our yesterdays and all of our tomorrows
Held in Your hands, held in Your hands

The kids......

Over the last several months as we considered, prayed, and wondered about COTP and if and when God would call us to go, we talked a lot about our kids.  What would a move like this do to them, what if they get sick, what about one child's anxiety, his difficulty with new situations, what about friends, how are they going to handle being with each other all the time, how are they going to react to homeschooling,  I often found myself wondering if I would ruin my kids by moving them to Haiti.  My dear husband, always the level headed one; would say just trust, God has brought us this far He will take care of our kids.

Over the last few weeks God has confirmed in so many ways through our kids that His plan for our family it right and He has all the details taken care of.  Let me share with you a few ways.

Homeschooling: Our kids go to Zeeland Christian and are in the School/Home Collaborative.  They go to school 3 days and we do school at home 2 days.  It is going so well.  I was afraid going into it but they have showed such progress and eagerness to learn at home and school.  Through this experience it is giving me the confidence that I need to teach them and for them to know that I will be teacher and mom.  I will say though, Kevin is the math teacher!!!! My brain and numbers don't work!

A few weeks ago we were doing our devotions in the morning.  The Biblical truth they were talking about at school was "God created us to need Him for everything".  We were able to have a beautiful conversation about our move to Haiti and how God is in control, how He has a perfect plan for our family, how He will be with us when we are afraid, when we we miss our friends and family.  Braden was talking about saying goodbye to his favorite Uncle Jeff, his best friend Lukas, and grandparents.  I assured him that yes, its sad and its going to be very, very hard but God is with us and He will give us the strength.  Keagan in his sweet, tender heart responded and said "But we get to be Jesus to all the kids at the Grace House" YES!! That's what is all about buddy!!  The kids can't fully understand what is coming, but I hope and pray that they understand that God is with them, and that through this I will not ruin them, but that they will learn to love deeply and serve others with compassion.

Friends: We knew that when we move to Haiti there would be other families living among us with kids, but they were boys similar to our boys age.  I worried about my girls.  I wanted them to have someone.  Well, again God said "Sarah, stop worrying, I got this to." There is another family moving to COTP in just a few short weeks and the have 4 girls!!! Better yet they are all close to our girls ages. 11,9,5,3.  Perfect!  The best  part of this is that the Doorlags live in Kalamazoo and I was able to meet with Amy and we were able to get the kids together.  Amy is wonderful and made me feel so comfortable when I drove too her house.  We had chatted over FB, but nothing more than that.  We connected right away and so did our kids.  God in His perfect ways brought our families together to serve at COTP together. Awesome!!  Please pray for Joel, Amy, Heidi, Maggie, Rosie, and Katie.  They leave on October 16.

In so many ways, God is giving us confirmation.  I am so thankful and I find myself in awe of how He is working.  All Glory to Him!

"But I trust in you Lord, I say your are my God.  My times are in your hands."  Ps. 30:14-15

God's Story

Haiti.....one word, one place that will change our family forever.  God has placed before us an opportunity to serve at Children of the Promise in Lagosette, Haiti. In June 2015 we will be moving our family there.   It really is difficult to put into words what God has been doing and how He has been working in the hearts of Kevin and I over the last several years.  But I will try and give you a small picture that will help you better understand why we would be so crazy and move our family to another country.

We were living the American dream.  We had a really nice house, a neighborhood that we loved, a perfect place to raise our family, Kevin had a great job that provided for our family, we were able to send our kids to a Christian school, we had a very nice trailer, 2 cars, we bought and did what we wanted whenever we wanted.  Life was good, it was comfortable.  But through all this God was working on our hearts.  There was so much more than our comfortable, American dream.  We began to want more, so we began to pray.  "God use us." 

In February Kevin, Megan, and I went to COTP with our church.  Can I just say I fell in love right away.  COTP is an amazing organization with an amazing mission.  We felt so at home there.  I found myself dreaming of living there.  I wondered if God would ever call us back and if so when.  We came home again wanting more, so we kept praying for doors to open.  We sent emails to COTP expressing interest in serving there if ever a position came available.

In June doors started to open.  COTP contacted us and said there was a possibility of a house parenting position coming available in 2015.  This summer was spent praying and seeking God word for direction and discernment.  It was the up and down of wanting to go but being completely terrified.  Would we hurt our kids, what if they get sick, what about Kevin's business, we would have to leave our dear family, our friends, our comfortable life,  Through all the fear and doubt I knew that if we were asked to go, I could never live with myself if we walked away.  In the middle of all the fear there was peace knowing we were being obedient.  A dear friend kept telling us, if the door keeps opening then you keep walking through them.  August came and that was when were would find out for sure.  I was praying for a distraction.  God gave me one...when we received the call from COTP we were being discharged from the hospital with Keagan after breaking his arm.   I love how God works.  

I can not explain the peace I felt after receiving the call.  I really thought I would be flipping out.  But God has filled me with such peace, joy, and excitement.  Although are kids can not fully grasp all that is going to happen, they are excited and talk about Haiti all the time.

 Many of you are wondering what we will be doing.  I will share a briefly, we will be House Parents in the Grace House.  Our main responsibility will be to care for and love 5 sweet Haitian kids who will someday be adopted.  So yes we will have 10 kids living in our home!!! We are crazy, but fully confident that God equips those he calls. 

Please pray for us as we make decisions and plan for our future.  Pray for our kids as they process this all.  Pray for our hearts as we will have to leave so many people we love.  Pray for the sweet family in Haiti, living at the Grace House.  Pray for strength for them, joy, and wisdom as the prepare to come back to the states.  Pray for the precious little ones living at the Grace House.  Pray that the adoption process will move quickly and they will soon be united with their forever families.  Most importantly our prayer is that God would be Glorified.  This is not about Kevin and I doing something great, its all about God and what He can and will do when you humbly surrender to Him.