Life lately

We are plugging right along over here.  I think we are at about 5 weeks before we leave.  I really can't even put my mind around it all.  In some ways it doesn't even seem possible and I can't imagine living anywhere but my cozy home on Port Sheldon and living our normal comfortable life.  Very soon every thing I know and my family knows will drastically change.  Kevin and I often talk about if we are prepared for this.  Its hard to fully prepare yourself for a move like we are about to make.  We have prayed, thought about every different scenario, and we continue to just move forward in faith.  We are excited, scared, nervous, peaceful, fearful, and joyful.

Kevin finished working a few weeks ago.  We are sorting through our new normal.  Its been nice to have him home but also different that what we are used too.  Its been more of a change for him and in some ways its preparing him for life in a Haiti.

We traveled to Minnesota a few weeks ago.  It was a great trip. We surprised the kids and took them to a hotel at the Wisconsin Dells.  It was great to spend time just as a family.  The weeks leading up to our trip where a bit stressful, it was good to just have fun together.  We enjoyed our time spend with the Groen family and we were blessed by the many people that we met who are passionate about the work of COTP.  We even had the opportunity to visit with dear friends in Iowa on the way back.

Thank you to all who  purchased items off our "list."  We feel so loved and blessed by all who love and support us.  We were able to send down 40 some totes, mattresses, our trampoline, and some furniture.   We really could not do this without all of you.  We defiantly were feeling overwhelmed and God used so many of you to encourage us and to remind us that God is in control and He is has every detail.  I wish I could list all the God moments, all the random acts of love that others have shown to us.  Dear friends, God is good and so very faithful!!  Thank you for being the hands and feet of Jesus to our family.

Our fundraiser at Crazy Horse was last week.  Thank you to all who came out that night.  It was so fun seeing so many of you.  We were able to raise $2,040 that night.  Amazing!!!  Thank you to Crazy Horse for the love and being such a blessing to our family.

I don't talk much about our fundraising on our blog.  But I do want to thank all of you who have given in some way to help us get to Haiti.  We are completely humbled and blown away.  When we started fundraising I thought there was no way that we could do it.  Boy, was I wrong.  God has shown over and over that He will provide and although we have not met our goal we never thought we would be were we are today.  By God's goodness and love we are doing well and we are so thankful for all who have donated on our behalf.  If you still would like to give or would like a copy of our support message please email me at 7mokmasinhaiti@gmail.com

As many of you know, we sold our house last week.  Crazy!!! We put it on Craigslist and Zillow and within 2 hours we had 5 showings scheduled for the next day.  The first couple that went through but a offer in the very next day.  This is totally a God thing.  He has shown over and over again that we are exactly where we need to be.  He is defiantly paving the way for us to get to Haiti.  The best thing is we don't even have to move twice!  Praise the Lord!

Prayer request:
 - Our kids: Although they are excited there is fear too.  Pray that we will have the right words.
 - Family: As the date of gets closes the sadness becomes real.  Pray for their hearts as they prepare to send us off.
 - Saying Goodbye is exhausting.  We have several "last" that will be happening.  It is tiring and good at the same time.  Pray that we will do life well these last several weeks and that we lean on God to get through these hard days.
 - Kevin and I as we try and learn Creole.  Pray that God would work a miracle in our minds!!!! We have never learned a second language!  We need all the help we can get.
 - The Willis' family and the entire Grace House.  They are going through some challenges right now. Please pray for them.
 - For Kevin and I:  That we will fix our eyes above.  That when doubt and fear creep in we will remember the one who has called us to do His work.  Pray that our communication remains strong and in the stressful moments we will lean on each other.

We are having 2 open houses coming up.  One is on May 13, which is for our church family.  The other is on May 15 at Noordeloos CRC from 6:30-8:00.  Friends and family are all invited to come.  We would love to see you all!

Blessings and love friends,
Sarah

Crazy Horse Fundraiser

For the last 4 years I have worked part time at Crazy Horse Restaurant in Holland and it has been a blessing to be part of the Crazy Horse family.  It is a great place to work and has been a blessing to me and my family.  I worked only 2-3 nights a week.  It was a good out for me and also helped pay for Christian education for our kids.  The owner of Crazy Horse is an incredible, generous man.  Crazy Horse is known to host many fundraisers throughout the year and donate a portion of the proceeds of the night to different organizations.  

On April 14 they have graciously set aside that evening to host a fundraiser for our family and Children of the Promise.  

If you aren't busy and you don't feel like cooking please come out and enjoy a yummy dinner and support a good cause.  They will also be selling hand prints for a $1 and pinning them to the walls.  Join us and help us fill the walls up!

"Be strong and very courageous"

We are entering a time of change.  We knew this it was coming.  Last August when we were asked to serve at COTP we thought June was forever away and Haiti was just something we talked about and dreamed about.  We knew we were going but it seemed so far off.  Life seemed normal.  We went about daily life, doing the "normal" things we always do and nothing was really changing.

Well, dear friends its March and before we know it we will be boarding an airplane and on our way to Haiti.  Let me tell you, nothing about our life seems normal anymore.  I feel as though we are living in 2 worlds.  Part of our life is right here in Michigan but part is in Haiti and all the preparations that are involved in moving our family.   Change is not easy and can be a very unsettling feeling.  Our heart is in two place.  We love our family and friends dearly.  We love our "normal comfortable" life here in Michigan, but our heart is also in Haiti with our friends and the kids there.  Haiti, a place that we clearly feel God calling us too and has been making a way for us to go and serve.

I have been learning that I have a choice.  When we have what seems like mountains of things to do, when we have to clean the house for a showing, when we have to say "goodbye," when I have to figure out what to take with us and how to get it with us, when I am trying to decide what is a need and a want, when I am trying to make the best of the time we have left in Michigan, when I am dealing with the ever changing emotions of 5 kids that are very aware of what is coming.  I have a choice to rely on my own strength and selfishness or am I going to completely surrender everything over to God?  Yes, it's going to be stressful and hard, but God is teaching me that He is in those hard moments and it's not going to do me any good to sit around and get stressed out and frustrated.  My faith is getting stretched in more ways that I ever thought imaginable and I am sure its just the beginning.  My prayer is that our family will walk daily knowing ALL areas are held in His hands, the good, the bad, and the ugly.  I pray that we will be rooted in His word. I pray that we will rest in His strength and not our own.  I pray that His name will be glorified through this transition time that we are facing. I pray that in those hard moments that I will get on my knees and cry out to God in complete dependence on Him.

I love these words from Joshua 1:9, "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and very courageous.  Do not be afraid, do not be discouraged,  for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."

Will you pray for us too?  Will you pray that we will embrace these next months with joy and peace and complete surrender.  Will you pray for our family? Pray a for Kevin and I as parents.  Pray that we will have wisdom as we make our kids feel safe and loved during this time of transition.  Pray for our marriage that our communication remains strong and that in the stressful times we are able to stand firm in God and His promises.  Pray for our hearts as we prepare to care and love 5 more kids.  We talk daily about our little Haitian kids and our prayer is that God will equip us to meet all their needs!  Pray for our families.  It is going to be hard to let us go.  They are so supportive and such an encouragement to us but its hard to watch us go.  Many tears will be shed over the next months.

I love these ladies, how I will miss them!

I think I might frame this picture and take it with us so when we are sweating and wishing it to be cooler we can remember beautiful Michigan winters!  It is crazy to think that we won't see snow for at least 2 years!

Almost 3 months...

It is hard to believe that we are almost 3 months from our big move.  Tickets are booked for June 4 and preparations are in full swing.  There is a lot going on right now.  We are planning and preparing for a pretty awesome dinner on Saturday that will help promote Children of the Promise and the work they do.  Although planning a event like this is not my thing,  I am excited about it.  I have great friends that have stepped up to help me with decorations, setting up, buying food, being there to help serve, and also with the clean up.  It will be a great night.  I know God will work in the hearts of those that will be there.  There are some pretty amazing testimonies that will be shared.

Children of the Promise will be building a new child home in the near future...the Hope House.  Kevin has been working with several of the COTP staff getting building supplies for the house.  He has a list of things that will be needed and we will be taking a trailer down to Minnesota during Spring Break and everything that has been collected will be put on a container and shipped to Haiti.

We will be able to bring some of our own things to Minnesota to put on the container too.  We have been busy making list figuring out what to take and have shipped to Haiti.  Its a pretty overwhelming job.  You find out that you really "need" and what is just a "want."

Kevin is busy putting finishing touches on our house and in the next few weeks we will be putting it on the market.  We are praying that God's timing is perfect.  We really don't want to move twice.  We are trusting Him with that detail.

The next months are full and I am sure will fly by.  Our calendar is filling up quickly with so many good things.  Dinner with friends, family gatherings, school events, church events, a trip to Minnesota, a fundraiser, going away parties, and many goodbyes.  These good things are hard too, they remind us of the things that we are leaving, the people that we love and have to say good bye too.

I became a aunt again a few weeks ago and it makes me sad that I will miss out on most of his first year of life.

This week was a big week for Kevin and his business.  He has been busy working on building the last home he will do for awhile.  This house has been a huge answer to many prayers and has been such a blessing.  The timing could not have been better.  Things have gone so smoothly for him and he has been ahead of schedule.  This week they (Tyler and Kevin) finished trimming and yesterday was Tyler's last day working with Kevin. (Don't worry John and Jen..your house will still get done.)!  We are so thankful that God provided a new job for  him and that he and is family are taken care of, but it is so bittersweet.  Tyler and Kevin have worked together for 10 years.  Tyler was right out of high school, Kevin trained him and they have made a pretty good pair.  Not only did they work together every day, they were best friends. Tyler is so dear to our family and its just not going to be the same without him around.  Its a strange feeling when you are 37 and you have been working for so long and a business that you worked so hard at building  is coming to a end.  We daily remind ourselves that God's way are so much bigger than our own!

This is a picture of Tyler and Kevin in Colorado this past September.  I am so thankful that they could do this together! It was such a great trip!

Please pray for us the next few months and weeks.  It will be a emotional time filled with joy and excitement but also fear and sadness.  We rest in God's sovereignty.  He has called us to this and He will walk beside us, but it will not always be easy.  

Pray for the Grace House.  The Willis' family as they finish their time up in Haiti and look forward to moving back to the states.  Pray for the nannies and the kids as they will have to say goodbye to a family they love so dearly.  

We can not say thank you enough for the financial support, prayers, and words of encouragement that we have felt and experienced.  We have been blown away by the love that you have shown to us.  God has affirmed our decision in so many ways.  Sometimes daily! He is good and His provision has been amazing.  

Many of you have asked how you can help get us to Haiti and supplies that we will need to take with us.  I have put together a list of things and if you would like to help out let me know and I can email it to you.  Also, if you are interested in seeing the supply list for the Hope House let me know too.  Please email me at 7mokmasinhaiti@gmail.com

Haiti

We had the opportunity to take our boys and spend a week at COTP.  It was a great trip and God answered many prayers throughout the week.  We had many reasons for going but a big one was for the boys.  We wanted to give them a glimpse of what life will be like when we move there in June.  I was very anxious going into the trip that they would panic and never want to go back.  That was not the case and I am so thankful that we went.  They had a fabulous time! They loved being outside all day catching critters and playing with the other kids on campus.  They loved the kiddos in the the Grace House and it was so fun watching them interact with them.(their pictures are below)  They asked if they could stay and not come back to Michigan! It was a success!

We were able to spend a lot of time talking with Dan and Holly who are currently in the Grace House.  We shared meals with them and many conversations.  They opened up their home to us and gave us a small picture of what their lives look like.  It was a blessing to spend time with them and the other long term staff.  We had many conversations about the struggles living in Haiti, but also the joy and peace they have living there.  What a blessing it will be to be a part of the COTP community.

Although I may have struggled with fear while being there, God totally took that fear and gave me complete peace that Haiti is exactly where God is calling our family to serve.  He taught me that it is not me that can do life in Haiti.  I will fail pretty miserably if I rely on my own strength.  God is bringing us there and HE will carry us through.

We humbly thank all of you who have not only supported us through prayer but also financially.  We are blown away by the support we have received.  God is good and so faithful!  We are just so very grateful and feel so loved by our family and friends that are standing beside us on this journey.

Beach Day

The Grace House

Children of the Promise has given explicit permission for the posting of photos on this site.  Photos taken of children in the care of Children of the Promise are not to be posted publicly without explicit permission given by Children of the Promise

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.