Our Fun Family

She is her daddy’s Sweet Pea, her Gram and Momma’s Lady Bug, and her Grandma’s littlest Dolly.  She is our girlie girl, with eyes for sparkly shoes, jeweled sunglasses and bright colored earrings.  She is up for playing in the sandbox, as long as she can wear her party dress and a tiara.  She loves Elmo, the Little People and all things Minnie Mouse. She is anxious to start school, and loves riding her bike. And she chose salad as her meal to celebrate her big day. Tonight at the Y, she makes her big move.  No more babies and toddlers, it’s to the Kid’s Zone for her! Evidently all your dreams come true when you turn 3!  Happy Birthday, Hailey!

To be able to glimpse into the future envisioned by Mission of Hope, you have to start by understanding the vision, resolutions and principle tenets that they have adopted.  I am going to paraphrase it here for the purpose of context for my trip to Haiti, but if you would like to read more about MOH and their vision, you can see it here: Mission of Hope Haiti - Vision and Resolution Their vision statement is relatively simple, “As an organization following Jesus Christ, we exist to bring life transformation to every man, woman, and child in Haiti.”   Mission of Hope was established in 1998 as a small mission, reaching into the surrounding community. What became most evident at the start was the need for better education for the children in Haiti.  In 2010, the literacy rate in Haiti was 45%.  This is a tragically low percentage especially if you consider the fact that Haiti has a relatively young population.  Sadly, only 50% of kids from rural villages, like those around Mission of H

I had the chance to join 7 other men from my church on a mission trip Haiti.  Our church has a fantastic relationship with Mission of Hope, an organization that has been doing some amazing work in Haiti for many, many years.  Since the earthquake in January of 2010, the vision for Mission of Hope has expanded greatly, and the answer from the executive team down to the hard working volunteers on the ground has been enormous.  Teams of students from high school and the college level, along with professionals with a heart for missions have joined the locals in villages around Mission of Hope to provide for the educational, clinical, nutritional, and spiritual needs of the people. I experienced so much in the time I spent in Haiti.  It’s too much to try to convey in a single blog post, so I will start with our travel day and arrival at MOH.  Over the next several days, as I get back into my routine at work, I will post more about the things I saw, the projects we took part in, and the ta