Reimagine Haiti....Imagine a New Haiti

i read this book about knowledge awhile ago.....it was a good book. the author talked about two types of knowledge....the kind that we know intellectually....that can be measured and proven... and then the kind that we know on a spiritual level....the kind of knowledge that can not be measured...tested or proven....but that you just know.

the later is often times more compelling than the former.

no matter who we are...what our belief system is...we hold things to be true that we cannot prove....yet we would say we KNOW.

...beyond a shadow of a doubt.

i have spent a large part of my life either living under or rebelling against such knowledge.

i do believe, however, that i have come to a point in my life where i have stopped rebelling and am now letting this type of knowledge guide and dictate my steps....

this is where it has gotten me...

many lives were changed the day of the earthquake in haiti. mine was changed the morning after....

as i woke up in my over-priced, yet oh-so comfy apartment in the yuppy suburbs, i flipped on my favorite news station. immediately i was bombarded with the horrific images that would ravage the hearts and minds of the developed world for weeks to come...

...in that moment I knew, Haiti would one day become my home. 

i didn't know how or why or when but i knew it with such certainty, that not only did i start living my life under that assumption but every moment that i was not in Haiti, i felt unsettled, homesick and out of place....

....before i had even taken my first trip.

long story short, two and a half years later...i accidentally moved to Haiti, started directing a small job creation program and adopting our son.

a year after the move, my job ended and our adoption was no where near being finished....

what i knew in my heart was that haiti was our home...what i knew in my head was that i was scared and tired and didn't know what to do or what would happen.

on this crazy ride, i have learned that when you are doing what you were put on this earth to do...it will not always be easy....in fact, a lot of times you will be tested and will come up against seemingly unbearable opposition....often times from the most surprising places. 

it will be painful.

it will be trying.

it will be a battle.

you. will. want. to. quit.

but....

it will also be freeing.

it will be beautiful.

it will be defining.

you. will. make. it.

the fight is always worth it....everything worth anything in this life is always worth fighting for.

so, where are we at??

our sweet family...

seven months later, we continue the adoption journey with our son and have begun the same journey with our daughter.....we are in love with our sweet babies!

in the midst of our growing family, we feel the pain of separation from and are in a continued fight for carson (jason's son in the states) but continue to believe that truth, love and light will prevail in the end....while we do not know why so many doors have been shut, we stand firm in the knowledge that jesus holds carson closer than we ever could and that in his perfect time, a door will be blown open for our whole family to be together.

on the work front....

i don't remember the last time i actually had to make a decision...our days have been that clear.

we are not walking through open doors...we are not even running....

we are being catapulted...head-first through doors that we never could have even imagined existed. the best part is, we just keep landing on our feet....

only to be launched through the next crazy door.

when something bigger than yourself hurls you down a path that you never dreamed of...that you do not feel equipped for...yet somehow you always end up having the right tools...you know you are doing what were put on this earth to do.

beyond a shadow of a doubt....

no matter what kind of outside opposition you face.

we are so excited to say that we have landed in a "home within our home," here in haiti. we have begun to work and will soon be living in a beautiful and long neglected territory called bélans. bélans is a fishing and farming community and encompasses six other surrounding villages along the coast and into the mountains. having always been a free territory, the people of this region possess a spirit like nothing we have experienced in haiti...despite their circumstances.

we are so excited and so honored to be working along side them and look forward to seeing them create a better future for their community and their country.

with three of our amazing and talented friends, jason and i have founded reimagine haiti..translated to creole as....

"imagine a new haiti." 

we have very quickly turned into a community development and advocacy organization....

huh??

it means this:

we are committed to working with the people and leaders of bélans to create sustainable solutions to their most immediate needs, as well as bringing current and accurate information to people like you, so that you can support and help developing countries in the most productive....and non-harmful ways.

our focus may seem narrow...one community...but over time, we are becoming part of that community. we are laying down roots and allowing them to grow deep...in order to make the greatest impact...

one that can only come from personal connection and relationships.

we believe that while we may see small, immediate results, the work that we are doing today will take years to show it's full fruit...we are truly working to help this community create a better tomorrow for their children and grandchildren and the many generations to come. It has taken haiti over 200 years to get to the place she is....she will not change overnight. 

the knowledge we hold in every cell of our being....that we know beyond a shadow of a doubt...is that this will be our life's work.

we cannot measure it...we cannot prove it...but we know it....and we are committed to it.

we ask you to follow our journey...to see the fruit grow....to walk with us through a lifetime of change.

help us imagine a new haiti