Hello friends! I had the privilege to start the new year in Haiti with our staff and children. We also were able to focus on some significant changes to LRH. Before diving into those changes let me first share how everyone is doing.
Our staff had a good year and are doing well. We are blessed to have wonderful, diligent staff that love the Lord, love each other, and love our kids. It has been customary when I visit for us to have a staff meeting as well as individual discussions on how our staff is doing and how we can do better. These one-on-one interactions as well as our time together are rich in prayer and development. Phanor, our first staff member, remains in Croix des Bouquets and continues to keep an eye on our old place. By God’s grace the gangs don’t mess with him, and he is able to walk freely in the area. He always likes to come up to Cap Haitien when I visit and our time together is special for both of us. He is the only staff member not in Cap Haitien.
The children are doing well, and we are blessed to have all nineteen of them. Every time I visit, I’m amazed to see how they are all growing physically, emotionally, and spiritually. They continue to advance in school and like kids here in the US some of them love school and some of them don’t. Our visits are always full of laughter, games, and wonderful memories. To be part of their group devotions is liking having a nugget of heaven.
This trip was very intentional with one big task that needed to be accomplished. Although our heart is to reunify children with their families we have always known we could do that for some but not for all of our children. Last year we began to plan for the reality that four of our kids were turning eighteen. In Haiti by law when you are eighteen you are to be separated from the younger kids as you are now an adult. This is a harsh truth for many kids that age out. For us we embraced this challenge. What did God want us to do for our kids that age out? Certainly, we could not abandon them and hope they make it.
We created “Life Academy” to be the answer for our kids that age out. In simple terms, Life Academy allows us to walk alongside these young adults to help bring them from being mature children to being well prepared young adults. Life Academy is a three-year program that will train up the next generation of Godly Haitian young adults. We will keep them in school and allow them to progress as far as possible. They will be presented with vocational school and apprentice
opportunities allowing them to learn valuable skills needed in Haiti. These skills will allow them to stand on their own feet by the time they are 21. I’m so proud to tell you Beoda and Netdjie (brother and sister) that were raised in an orphanage will lead Life Academy. They will be the house managers, big brother, and big sister. They will lead, guide, and direct these young people in close partnership with Antonio, our LRH Director.
We began looking for another house to rent near our current place. God provided a rent house just one street away. On December 31st we paid the $5,500 rent for one year and received the keys for the house. We immediately started buying supplies and began working to clean and prepare the new house. Our four new students of Life Academy worked hard for several days to prepare the home.
On January 5th we had a dedication of Life Academy and recognized the four new students in a ceremony to honor them. This was such a special time as our staff shared stories and memories of each of these students. We presented them with a bible, keys, and other gifts. Each student spoke about the importance of the staff and LRH in their life. It was truly a powerful moment full of tears, laughter, and memories. We prayed over each of them and over the house they would live in. I’m so excited about Life Academy because it allows our kids to remain part of their LRH family while becoming young, independent adults. For many of our kids this is the only family they have known.
Let me close by sharing with you the best news of all. Three of these four young adults came to the place where they asked Jesus into their hearts while I was with them in January. The fourth had already made that decision. We celebrate their decision to follow the example of Christ Jesus. We are expecting all four will be baptized in the coming months.
With Life Academy starting we are taking on additional costs and need to expand our support. Our 2026 budget is $200,000. Please help us continue to make a difference in the life of the children we serve in Haiti, the staff we provide jobs for, the community projects we do like water wells and food programs. Please continue to pray for us.
We are currently planning for a medical team to visit Cap Haitien in October 2026. Reach out to me if you are interested in going. This will be our first team to go to Haiti in several years. Please pray for this.
Thank you and God Bless!
Sincerely
