Who? Our family minus Oso. No worries, Oso will have many sleepovers at Uncle Joe and Aunt DeeDee’s.
Where? La Gonave, Haiti. This island sits at its closest point 12 miles from the mainland in the Gulf of Gonave and is the largest of Haiti’s islands measuring 37 miles long and 9.3 miles wide. Its population is over 100,000. We will be near the largest city on the island, Anse-a-Galets (on sa go lay), which contains about half the population of the island.
What? We will be the field directors for Starfysh (starfysh.org). They focus on education, agriculture, clean water, and provide awareness on basic nutrition, sanitation, and health. We will be overseeing these projects to ensure daily efficiency. These projects will provide the opportunity to share God’s love in a practical way and in turn present opportunities to spread God’s word. Our goal the first year is to build relationships with the locals, government officials, and other missionaries and organizations. We are trying to get a head start with this by taking basic Creole lessons this fall and intermediate this winter. We will be wrapping up the lessons by taking “Haitian Boot Camp” in June which consists of three weeks with three lessons a day of advanced Creole in Haiti while putting what we learn into practice by ministering to widows and prisoners, along with putting on a VBS.
Why? Because God calls us at different times to do different things. We are answering this call He has placed on us. He has made it clear in so many ways that this is the direction He wants us to be moving in. Our prior blog goes into more detail. Isaiah 6:8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
How? With much preparation. Looking back we can see how God has been molding and shaping us for this next step. We volunteer as a family whether it is going on mission trips, assisting a refugee family from the Congo, serving at church, helping at Urban Family Ministries, or sponsoring children through Compassion, we unknowingly were being prepared for something more. Much time in prayer and daily Bible reflection has led us to this point. Going forward with preparation we have been reading many books, talking to missionaries who either currently are in Haiti or have been in Haiti, taking a preparation class, and learning Creole to name a few. We are currently fundraising and preparing our house to be rented.
When? Our goal is June. Of course that all depends on when we obtain our funding goal. That’s where you come in. Please prayerfully consider partnering with us as we need to move this mountain! Donations can be made at Starfysh.org (please mention: Kulfan support) or you can mail the payment to: Starfysh, 6757 Cascade Rd SE #207, Grand Rapids, MI 49546. (Please reference our name on a separate sheet of paper but do not put it on the check if you wish to make it tax deductible).
