Haiti? Why are you going to Haiti?

Seems to be the most common response I get when I let people know that I am leaving.

For a long time, I have had a desire to help out at an orphanage somewhere.  Every now and then I do some research on orphanages in poor places in the world.  I had one picked out in Guatemala…I was just waiting for the right time to go.

I had been church shopping for quite a while, trying different denominations of Christianity.  I found a group that fit me well in Gretna.  Journey Church.  They met in a public school building gymnasium.  The first Sunday I was there, a couple got up front and shared their plan of moving to Mali, Africa and starting a business with the goal of employing and helping the local people there.  I was getting frustrated at some of the other churches that I went to that thought the best way to help was to bring the poor here to the US and put them on public assistance.

Anyways…I had been regularly attending service at Journey when they had let us know of an opportunity to travel to Haiti for a week to work with missionaries there.  I was excited about it and started raising the money for the trip.

I knew by the second day that I was there that this was a place that I could spend some time.  I love the ocean, I love the mountains, I love warm weather…check, check, check.   My life up to now has involved lots of different jobs at about two year intervals.  I think that was to prepare me for this mission.

Once there, I plan on helping out with the many construction projects.  I would like to help out with some English classes.  I also plan on starting a trade school to teach how to set tile, masonry construction and carpentry techniques.  If there is a need or a desire, I would also enjoy teaching anything else that I have done in my many jobs and experiences.

So, that is the why.  Oh yea, and the kids are great!