A change of plans?

So again we find ourselves at a point where we are just rolling with it. We've been working our tails off getting food out to the people-- but the requests just keep coming in. Faster than the food. Much faster. Today, unless we're able to locate another source of food (which we may be able to do as we have a few leads), we will be able to contact about two more churches and distribute food to them. And then we're out.

But, believe it or not, our hearts are not really discouraged by this. There actually IS plenty of food in Jacmel right now. Sure, a lot of it is sitting in warehouses still-- tons and tons and tons. But it is there. And larger organizations are beginning distribution on larger scales. It was never our desire or intention to switch our focus to being a disaster relief organization. Don't get me wrong, we're so glad to do it. I feel like God positioned us uniquely in the community for this time to meet many of these critical immediate needs. But now we find ourselves in a place where we're finally able to contemplate the long term. We're finally able to plan for the future and think about rebuilding our city. We've got so many ideas swirling around in our heads-- ways to provide HUNDREDS of jobs for newly unemployed people. Ways to empower the community to clean up the rubble and provide food for their families. Ways to move forward on making a plan to educate the thousands of newly school-less children in Jacmel.

It's all really exciting. And it's neat because we're finally at the point where we can start taking the big picture into account. The big picture of what we're here to do-- first and foremost, be houseparents and raise the 8 children God has given us. And hand in hand with that-- building our community to have strong families. It's exciting and life-giving at this time of great crisis to know that we can respond to this disaster well-resourced because of your previous and present faithfulness in giving. And we're excited to be brainstorming and discovering ways we can accomplish this well within the parameters of what Joy in Hope was created to do, but more importantly, well within the parameters of how God has shaped us to work. I. am. so. excited.

As a part of trying to return to normal, today Leann and I are going to drive around town and make ourselves SEE the things we've not really seen much of lately. We've been holed up in the airport first, and then the food distribution depot for the last two weeks. Pray for us as we do this. All of our trips into town lately have been just running out here or there to pick something up or drop something off. We're taken aback by the things we see "accidentally" along the way. But today our mission-- for an hour or so-- is to just go look at these things. To face the new reality we live in so that we don't have to be taken by surprise as much over and over in the next days and weeks to come. We know it won't be easy. Would you be praying for us?