In a previous post I mentioned an orphanage God is calling me to help to a greater degree. I still am not totally clear on what that will look like... Will I need to come back to Haiti for an extended period of time? Can I help from a distance? For how long will I need to be involved? So many questions. I'm the kind of person who when I commit to something, I really commit. And I'm the kind of person who will not commit to something unless I have complete confidence that I can follow through. So... this partnership will probably begin slowly as I pray through and seek answers to what this little gal from Tennessee can do to help 40+ kids in Haiti.

Here's a bit of the back story...

When I came to Haiti for the first time last August with Samaritan's Purse, I became fast friends with Kalebe, the director of the Lamb Center Orphanage in Leogane. On a couple of occasions I headed with Kalebe to Port-au-Prince. Once was to deliver a sick baby to his mother, an American missionary in Haiti, and another time was to shop for shoes. On that shopping trip, he had to run an errand to Water Missions International, an organization out of Charlotte, NC that helps provide sustainable safe water solutions around the world. Kalebe had a water sample that he needed to take to WMI for testing. He introduced me to Julio Paula, the Country Director in Haiti for WMI. Julio is a passionate man who loves children. We hit it off instantly. But what drew an even stronger connection is that Julio is originally from Angola, which neighbors Namibia! In fact, he was an orphan from Angola. He told us about the difficulties of his childhood and even how he was ten years old before he ever owned a pair of shoes. He mentioned an orphanage he helps here in Haiti. I told him about my heart for orphans. I always enjoy talking to others who share my passion for helping the least of these. As we left, I grabbed one of his business cards.

When I was packing to come back to Haiti in November, I put his business card in my wallet to bring with me. I didn't really know why, but figured it didn't hurt to have an extra contact. And I was, after all, heading to Haiti to gather information for God's Planet's Christmas project for orphans. Though it wasn't until a few days into my second trip to Haiti that I thought about the orphanage Julio spoke of as a possible recipient of the Christmas bags. As it turned out, we did have room to add another orphanage to that project. I called up Julio, reminded him who I was, and he said I could meet him the next day to go to the orphanage. It was great seeing all the kids, taking their photos for the Christmas project, and meeting the lady who runs the orphanage.

The orphanage is called Family of God. It is run by a woman in her early 30s named Judy. Judy has an incredible testimony and I'll share the short version of it with you now. In her early 20s, Judy went to work for the State Department in Haiti as a correspondent. She quickly worked her way up the ladder and soon found herself with her own personal bodyguards. To her, she had already reached the height of success. She was having lunch with presidents and social royalty. Then when President Aristide was removed from office in 2004, Judy lost her job. Life as she knew it was over. In fact, she truly believed life itself was over and was considering suicide. During this time of despair, she felt God say to her, "Help the children." She questioned Him. "Me?" she thought, "What do I know about helping children? I'm a superstar. I live the high-life. Help children??" But she felt that it was really God leading her so she decided that she would try it out. She would help one child. Or at least she would make an attempt. In her mind she believed she would give it a valiant effort, she would fail, and she would send the kid back.

That was eight years ago. Now Judy has 44 precious children in her care. She calls them her angels. When the earthquake happened in January 2010, the orphanage collapsed trapping the children inside. Those who were able rushed to help pull the children out. Many had minor injuries but only one child died. "That's one too many," I said. She also told the story of a 60-bed orphanage her friend had in another town. "They all died. They all died," she repeated with tears in her eyes.

Anyone who visits Family of God can see the love Judy has for her children. It takes a special woman to be a mother. And it takes a very special person to choose to be a parent to dozens of kids who are not her own. I don't know why God has called me to help this orphanage, but I'm excited that He has. It's hard to explain how my heart gets pulled to this need or that need. I'm surrounded by so many needs at any given time, but it's in the moments when I am truly gripped that I know there is a greater purpose at work. As I felt the tug on my heart sitting with Judy this last time, I knew that it wouldn't be my last visit and that this was only the start of my involvement to help her children.

So here's where you come in. For now, starting with my slow beginning as I mentioned, there is what I will call one need and one luxury item that I would like to help take care of as soon as possible.

The Need: Judy is struggling to have enough food for her children. Julio graciously provides meat, milk, and eggs for the children on a weekly basis. But unfortunately, another donor has recently withdrawn their support. That donor was providing rice, beans, oil, corn, spaghetti, etc. Staple foods and items for a Haitian diet. I want to find sponsors to provide at least $200 per month for Family of God through the end of this year. That could be 10 sponsors each providing $20 per month, 20 providing $10... I'm not concerned with the details as long as the results are the same = $200 per month to help feed these orphans. I know this is a lot of money to ask for, but $200 a month to feed 40+ kids is actually a very conservative amount as you can imagine.

The Luxury Item: Twice a year, Judy takes the children to the beach for a special treat and day of fun. With the food crisis her main and current priority, the beach trip is getting bumped to the back of the line. To rent a bus that can take all of the children to the beach costs $175 round-trip. I would like to find a sponsor or sponsors to make that trip possible. The trip was originally scheduled for mid-March.

Will you please pray and consider how you could help these orphans? Feel free to contact me if you would like further information about Family of God and how you can get involved.

On my own, I am just one person with limited resources. But I have had an incredible team of people praying for me and supporting me throughout my journey. I know that together God's church can unite and bring healing and comfort to children and families across the nations who suffer daily to provide for even the most basic of needs. I hope that you, my friends--both old and new--will read of this need and respond generously. Thank you for praying for me and thank you for praying for Judy, the workers, and the children at Family of God.

This is Jayne, one of the volunteers from Archbold, with Juan. Juan is around five years old and has a disability that resembles cerebral palsy. He is full of life, but mostly confined to the plastic box below, for his own "comfort" and safety. There are so many unique needs at Family of God. Juan being one example.