As we come to the close of the year, we thought it would be a great time to reflect on the amazing journey that was 2017.  In our 9 years at work in Haiti, this year was by far the most fruitful and encouraging. God has blessed Travay Bondye and Grangou in so many wonderful ways.  We are certainly still a work in progress, but the future is bright for the kids!  Some of the year’s highlights include:

• In January we were able to purchase a large tap tap that allows us to transport the children to school and church.  This is a huge blessing and allows us to transport them safely as needed.
• February and March brought awesome training for our staff.  Teams came in with nanny training and management training that is allowing our staff to become better and better!
• Summer brought another team of wonderful people to share the gospel and some fun with the kids at Travay Bondye, Maison des Enfants de Dieu and hundreds more at our annual VBS.  This is always a highlight of the year for our kids!  With very little to do during the summer for most kids, the VBS brings a little escape and a lot of joy!
• September was the launch of our TNT (Teens in Transition) home.  Our third group of kids aged out of Travay Bondye and this time it was 10 at once!  To keep this large group focused, we partnered with HandUp Global Goods to get an apartment, hire a house manager and institute house policies to get these kids on the path to adulthood.  They are also attending church, devotions, school and trade school.
• October brought one of the most awesome blessings we have seen in 9 years!  A new home!  We have lived in several homes over the years and none have been a very good fit for 70 children.  Finally we found a large piece of land with several small houses AND the owner has agreed to sell it to us!  This is a huge answer to prayer and we could not be more thankful.
• December closed up the year with our annual Christmas trip.  November was a month of collecting a nd working with volunteers in the states to make sure all kids received a special gift.  Then in December, a group of 16 traveled to deliver the gifts and throw parties to celebrate the season!  Cake, music, beach, crafts, pizza, dancing, gifts and more!  It was a GREAT way to close the year!
• This year also brought a special new ministry to us.  Some of our Travay graduates started an outreach to kids who live on the streets.  It is called Be the change!  They try to do a monthly gathering with food and lessons and also visit the kids as much as they can.  They are trying to pool their own money to make this happen.  We have had the privilege yo partner with them for a few of the monthly visits and for a Christmas party with the kids.  It has been an absolute joy to see our kids give back!

This list certainly doesn’t exhaust all of the good stuff!  School, new director, new supporters and so much more could be shared.  It really has been a great year!  Please continue to pray for the kids and jump in where you can!  We appreciate all of our friends, we thank you for joining us in this work and we wish you a HAPPY, BLESSED 2018!

It’s that time again!  We are in full swing preparing for our annual Christmas program.  It is an exciting time of the year and the kids look forward to the Christmas week all year!  Parties, delicious meals, beach trip, games, gifts and the Christmas story… what’s not to like?  We will be doing collections for Travay Bondye, Maison, TNT and for children living on the streets.  It’s a great way to get involved with Grangou and to touch a child in need!  Email: [email protected]  Shipments can be sent to:  701 Winding Bend Circle, Highland Village, TX 75077

SUGGESTED COLLECTION ITEMS:

• Small Baby Dolls
• Small Toys (i.e. yo-yos, marbles, tops, playing cards)
• Hair Bows/Barrettes
• Sunglasses
• Deflated Soccer Balls/Bouncy Balls/Frisbees
• Toy Cars/Trucks
• Hard Candy, Treats (i.e. candy canes, granola bar, no chocolate)
• New T-shirt or Underwear
• Flip flops, Athletic Slides or Crocs
• Jump Rope
• Notepad/Stickers/Markers
• Hygiene items (i.e. lip balm, toothbrush, bar soap – no liquids)
• Small Blankets

VBS 2017 with TRAVAY BONDYE

We just returned from an amazing trip to Haiti with one of our best teams yet!  We had friends fly in from Tennessee, California, Texas and Louisiana to put on our annual VBS.  It’s hard to know exactly how many kids came but we definitely fed over 900 people per day!  Several kids came to Christ and hundreds heard the gospel and left the event with full bellies and happy hearts!  We used a pirate theme and taught the kids that Jesus is our treasure.  We’ve been doing VBS in Haiti for many, many years but it never gets old and the children always pour in.  It is important to remember that most kids in Haiti don’t have access to activities, camps or even anywhere to play.  This program is something that kids look forward to and we are so happy to partner with awesome Haitian friends to make it happen!  We had well over 50 Haitian leaders participate as group leaders and they did an amazing job with their groups.  Every year has gotten better!

During this trip we also participated in two outreach events that were lead by former Travay Bondye kids.  They have transitioned out of our house but they are still focused on giving back.  A visit to a small village called Canaan and a program at Pastor Pierre’s church for street kids served another 200 kids.  We are so proud of our big boys and want to support their efforts however we can!  What a joy to serve alongside our own kids!

We were able to organize the depot at Travay Bondye and start getting kids registered for school.  New shoes, underwear, sock and backpacks sent in by sponsors and friends loaded up our storage space and we loved it!  Thank you to those who donated.  Getting 80 kids shoed up and outfitted for school is not as easy task so we appreciate it!

We wrapped up the time with a day to chill and relax with kids at the beach.  They swam in the ocean and a pool and also enjoyed basketball and yummy food!  They had an absolute blast on their special day and it was the perfect closing for our team that worked tirelessly!

Outside of the team activities we had teacher meetings, staff meetings, looked at new property and started getting ready for our next group of 10 transitioning out of the house.  They are getting ID’s, enrolling in school, trade school and moving into a new apartment.  It is an exciting time but they are also nervous.  Please pray for these sweet boys as they continue in their growth and development as young men.  We know God has great plans for them!

Thank you for loving the kids and for the support!

Naming your organization after a word in a foreign language is a bit of a gamble.  Mispronunciations, questions, “huh?” are typical responses from most people. I’m not mad – I get it.  It’s a tough word!

But, it is a word that is meaningful to me.  It takes me back to the very first time I traveled to Haiti.  I didn’t speak any Creole and I hadn’t been on a mission trip.  Suddenly I was in a remote village passing food and visiting homes – trying to process everything I was seeing.  Really desperate conditions, extreme poverty, sickness.  It was on that village tour that a little girl followed me around for about an hour saying the same thing repeatedly.  I couldn’t really make it out but she said it enough times that I caught grangou.  I didn’t know what it meant so I just smiled and went on with the visit.  At the end of the day I asked a translator what she way saying.  He said Grangou means hungry, she was telling you that she’s hungry.  Stop.

That was the first time I ever had heard a person who was actually hungry, try to tell me so.  I thought about the fact that people on my trip were praying in this village and sharing the gospel but that we were trying to fill empty bellies with words.  It broke my heart.  These people perhaps needed the gospel, but they also needed food.  They needed the very basics first.  How could we ignore their physical need, expecting they would listen while they were literally starving?   It struck me that we are called to minister to people however they need to be ministered to, not how we want to do it or how we think it should be done.  Sharing a meal with a hungry child can be just as impactful as preaching a message.  We need to meet people where they are.

So flash forward and my husband and I were walking the loop where we lived a few months later trying to think of the name of our new organization we were starting.  And my husband says, “What about Grangou?  What about that little girl?”  And I was like “done”!  So, we settled on Grangou immediately with absolutely no further thought and the rest is history.

Grangou is the Haitian Creole word for hungry and the name of our ministry dedicated to raising awareness about the extreme difficulties of life in Haiti as well as feeding the hearts, minds and bodies of Haitians in need. Our desire is to reach a nation hungry for hope and change; one child at a time.

It is pronounced gron-goo btw.

This picture is from that first trip.  This is that little girl.  We did everything they say you aren’t supposed to do on mission trips on that trip.  Every single thing.  But it changed my life and now the lives of many, many children for eternity.  God uses open hearts for His work.  More on that later!