Christmas morning walk
Walking the canal road by myself early morning on Christmas Day I enjoyed a quiet time, no children, no one...
Walking the canal road by myself early morning on Christmas Day I enjoyed a quiet time, no children, no one...
The four family members, Dickie, Sandra, Jim and Irene arrived the same day Liette and team, who accomplished a great...
One of the greatest gifts you can give someone is what HATS calls a ‘Love Gift’. You can give the person...
This is my 15th trip to HATS and it has always been a pleasure to be here. The heat, crazy...
Irene wrote about our trip here, and Jim about his and Dickie’s jobs. Irene and I have been busy too.Irene...
A THANK YOU Photo Blog to Liette, Rob, Mariah, Yvette, Heather and Mercy All our children, employees, students, teachers, school...
Hello from Pont Deschapelles. Jim here. This is my 11th visit to HATS and I never get tired of the...
Irene here. I started my first trip to HATS-Haiti on Nov 27. The first thing to go wrong was that...
We arrived home safely from Haiti late last night. Well, most of us did! Heather ended up on a different...
Yesterday, Monday, in Haiti was a good day. We had so much fun with the kids and we were so...
Today was another quiet day in the Artibonite Valley. Despite large political demonstrations in Port-au-Prince, life is continuing as usual...
Despite the school being closed, it was still an eventful day for the team. Things got going early, with a...
Wednesday, Nov 21st This morning the school photos and letters were started. There weren’t a lot of students in school today...
We are so grateful and happy to have arrived safely at Hands Across the Sea! Mercy, Rob, Heather, Yvette, Mariah...
Are you wondering what to buy this Christmas for that loved one who has everything they want or need? This...
If you’ve ever considered sponsorship, now is the time to do it. Your donation truly does make a difference!
A huge thank you to aunt Karen, who always seems to be doing something with her children and the HATS mission. The only time she takes for herself is long enough to spread some almond butter on a banana that she eats on the run. Thank you so much for all your hard work and unwavering dedication. Thank you for being an inspiration to me and so many others. We love you and our Haitian family very much. The longer I spend at HATS, the bigger piece of my heart remains. Take care of yourself and our kiddies until we see each other again.
It’s going to be impossible to put my thoughts into words about this experience, so I’d say this – if you can get here – do. I think most people probably think they’re coming to help others. To some extent, that’s true (at least this temporary blogger thought so). To a larger extent, you’ll leave Haiti a better person than when you arrived. Nelson Mandela once said something like “Everywhere I go, I wear you”. It means that none of us is our own person entirely. Rather, we’re the culmination of the people and experiences we have had. I leave Haiti wearing 16 HATS children, 10(ish) Haitian staff members, a Calgarian, 2 Winnipegian’s, and a Newfie. And I couldn’t be happier about it. Until we meet again my friends.
I had anticipated that I would enjoy spending time getting to know the children and being a part of Karen’s daily life in Haiti but I had not anticipated that it would capture my heart like it did. I will miss spending time with the children and Karen but I am hopeful that I’ll be able to see them all again in the not too distant future.
Thank you Karen for everything you do, all the hard work and dedication that you put into this place, all of the work behind the scenes. Thank you for putting up with all the craziness that we bring when we come to your house for the week, just thank you times a million and one for everything Karen. I can write about my week until I am blue in the face (maybe not write that long but if you know me I can definitely talk for that long), and can sing about kit kat bars until my voice gives out, but I cannot even begin to try and articulate in song, dance, or other random art forms how thankful and blessed I am to have been given this experience not only once but twice! Thank you – thank you – thank you – thank you!!!!!!!
I spent a week in Haiti at HATS in November 2017 and it was a wonderful experience. Karen is an amazing woman and is doing amazing work. She is dedicated to the children in her care and is changing lives. I would love the opportunity to visit again and help out where I can.
It is our last day and there is always a certain amount of sadness and joy when we come to the end of a trip . We look forward to our homes and loved ones but there is a part of us that wants to stay and be near these dear dear children. They open their hearts and arms to you when you enter the front gate. They give you laughter and tears all week long and then they cry and hug you when they know you are going away. Being near that kind of unconditional love effects us all very deeply. So we leave part of our hearts here and promise to return.
I have learned much about Haiti in my short stay here, much about generational, entrenched poverty, and much about hope. We can only be part of the bringing of hope if we become one small actor on the huge stage that is poverty. Thank you, Lynn Clark, for inviting me to share this life changing experience with you, and thank-you, Karen Huxter, for investing so much of your life in a work designed to bring hope to those who need it more than any Canadian could ever imagine.
This is my first time traveling outside of Canada and I am proud to say it was for a mission trip. I have always wanted to go on one and see what it like in other parts of the world and do what I can to help out. Haiti is a terminus life change for me and how I look at things. Seeing these kids and how they have such a passion for each other and for us is truly inspiring. I look back to what I was like at that age and I don’t think I was half as kind or generous as they are. This morning we did devotions and as I was speaking about what an impact they had on me only in one day I started to tear up…it was very emotional to talk about.
They call Karen “the helicopter ” and after spending three days by her side I know why. She propels through life!!! If you want to get on the ride you better start running. It is an amazing work that the Lord is doing here through so many many dedicated workers…literally hundreds of children impacted every day with the love of Christ…but the task to do so is enormous. The dedication of staff is invaluable…they NEED US ALL!!
Such important work done with LOVE and commitment!
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