Frequently Asked Questions

FAQ -

How did this Haiti-thing all start?
After our adoptions in 2002 we felt a tugging to look into working in Haiti. We ignored it for a couple years. In 2005 we could not ignore it any longer so we "tested God". It was SO SO SO clear that God had made a path for us to come here that it was not some leap of faith to come start working here ... it was only obedience. More on this in questions below.

Missions and NGOs have worked in Haiti forever - nothing seems to change, why are you bothering?
It is our desire to be where we believe God called us. Even if it makes no sense at times. We don't need it to make sense as much as we need to be obedient. We don't believe that you quit just because you don't think you'll "win." This question can best be answered by going to this post.

How long will you stay in Haiti? We moved here in early '06 and we are trusting God to make our future clear, at this point we take it one year at a time and know we want to be here for the next year at least. It seems quite feasible that we could be here long term, but we try not to get ahead of God. Ask us again in a year. :)

Aren't you afraid - we hear Haiti is dangerous. What about illnesses and your kids? Sometimes we are fearful, yes. We're human. Sometimes Haiti is dangerous. Most often we feel very safe. We believe that the safest place in the world to be is in God's Will - and we cannot deny that He brought us here. Could something bad happen? Yes, of course... But bad things can happen anywhere in the world and we don't want to live in fear of bad things, no matter where God plants us. Yes, we do get nervous about Malaria and some of the Tropical diseases, but for those of us who have had them, we have always recovered well after treatment. We do as much preventative care as we can and trust and rely God for the rest. There have been some incredibly challenging things ... our kids have been hurt and sick - we've wanted to run away at times. We fall flat on our face and cry over things that happen (and often cannot share them here) - but God seems to show up and He seems to provide ways to keep going.

How did you know you were you "called" to Haiti?
We met when we were 21 and 24 years old. I (Tara) was a single mom of two beautiful little girls. When we started dating they were 2 and 6 years old.

During that time of our lives, both of us were very much struggling and I would say even running from God. While our reasons for running were different, in some odd way they bonded us together and we tried to help each other figure it out. We were searching for truth, answers, and especially healing together.

Two years later, in the fall of 1998 we got married. Our focus in life was very much all about us. We spent most of our time and energy figuring out how to make more money so we could try to achieve status with new cars, a nicer house, and vacations - the typical things people in our age group wanted. We worked hard and were able to experience a lot of what we thought would bring us happiness. We vacationed, spent and spent some more.

By the time we celebrated our third anniversary we both desired to add to our family. We had experienced two painful miscarriages and had been denied an opportunity to adopt from Columbia. We were hurt and angry that children did not seem to be God's plan for us. (Which is now weird to say looking at all those photos to the left.)

We had never settled into a church, we always hopped around from church to church and refused to call one of them "our church." We did not connect with other believers. We used our anonymity as a way of not having to be accountable. This also allowed us to easily stay stuck in our anger and hurt.

One winter night we were watching TV together and I asked Troy what he thought about getting on the Internet and doing some more adoption research. We spent the rest of that evening staring at photos of orphans from all over the world. God used those photos to stir in us a desire to attempt again to adopt. The next day we made some calls, most specifically to ask questions of an agency that helped place Haitian children with adoptive families.

At the time neither of us could locate locate Haiti on a map with any certainty.

Two months later, in April of 2002 we visited Haiti for the first time. We found it to be a beautiful, sad and difficult place. God made it clear to us that two children in the orphanage were to become OUR children. We began the process of adopting Hope, then three months old & Isaac, who was seven months old at the time.

During the adoption I (Tara) went to Haiti six times. Troy was able to travel three times. Each time our love for the people and the country grew a little bit. We started to feel less nervous and worried about our safety and more excited and at ease. At the same time we began to seek God more. Our faith was tested, we grew. We started looking for a church to settle into and desired the accountability we had run from in years past.

Hope and Isaac came "home" to Minnesota late in 2002. We continued to think often about Haiti and the impact the things we had seen had made on us. We talked about wanting to go back and serve there "some day."

When we adopted our children God also planted the seeds for our future here. We just did not know at the time that the future was not too far off.

Over the next three years our conversations often brought us back to Haiti and God's will for us. We had a surprise baby (Noah) in 2004 and determined that we would probably be smart to wait until our kids were grown before we could even try to visit Haiti again.

Each time something would stir up the Haiti discussion we would simply tell each other that parents of five children do not belong in ministry in Haiti. We would also reason that we really had no formal training. Troy is not a pastor, neither of us had done any sort of cross-cultural coursework in college. We talked about trying to take some classes that would help us in the future ... Because certainly God could not use a telephone man/Dad and a sales manager/Mom in Haiti.

We thought our excuses were very solid -- and honestly they were, but God made a point of getting our attention and at least asking us to test Him on our rationale for waiting.

One day I got an email from a friend, this friend had no way of knowing anything about our desire to go to Haiti OR our excuses for not going. Her email said, "Hey check these people out. They are moving to do ministry in the Ukraine with TEN kids."

I forwarded the email to Troy. He reluctantly said that yes, maybe if that family could drag ten kids across the globe, we could at least test God on our "Haiti thing."

Slowly but diligently we started researching ministries that might need help. We sent dozens of emails to different agencies on the ground in Haiti. We asked what they needed, what sort of training they required, what sort of specialized degrees we might need. We wrote to families that were already serving in Haiti, especially if they had more than a couple of kids. We asked 100's of questions of many people.

I was training for a marathon at the time and was involved in a on-line running group. I had been reading the posts from that running group for months. One day during that time a lady posted about running in the heat. She said, "I hear you - that you're experiencing lots of hot weather this summer in the USA and that makes training difficult. I have been training for marathons in Haiti for many years. Our weather here is only hot."

I contacted the woman who wrote that post, I told her that we had been praying about Haiti and that we had a connection through running too. She was excited to hear from someone who loved running and Haiti. She said she had never posted a comment on the running group before. The connection was instant between us. She invited us to meet them and stay overnight with them if/when we decided to come to Haiti.

All of the research led to a fact-finding trip to Haiti in the fall of 2005. We saw the mission where we now work and we met the marathon runner, Beth, who God placed in our path for a reason. Our friendship has been a blessing since day one. Lydia is named after Beth.

When we returned home we knew God would need to clear some pretty significant obstacles if we were going to move. We wrote a list of those obstacles. It was a LONG and complicated list. We said, "If God clears these things, that means we are supposed to go." We fully expected most of them would not happen. We never thought He would make it possible. We actually thought it was dumb to even move on the first few things because to us some of the middle things seemed totally out of the question.

In the next four weeks, one after another, the list began to dwindle. In less than 60 days we packed, sorted, and cleaned. Our house rented for the full payment amount, our small credit card debt was paid off, our oldest two daughters got on board and wanted to go, we got permission for them to move from their biological dads, our stuff got moved and stored, and the full dollar amount we needed to live in Haiti each month was raised. All of this happened in 58 days.

At that point it was hard to deny that God's timing was not "when our kids are grown" but rather "now." The list of obstacles had nothing left on it. The only remaining obstacle at that point was our own fear of stepping into the unknown. We knew we needed to do it afraid. For us it was less about some great leap of faith and more about being obedient to what was so clearly a "God thing" --- we're not all that faithful.

We moved to Haiti in January of 2006. It has not always been easy, at times it has been terribly daunting -- but it has been exciting and it has been filled with God's provision.

The number one thing each one of us can say - God is stretching us - individually and as a family. We have all grown and changed a lot in the past three years. We have much more learning to do and we're glad to be where we believe God wants us for this season of our lives. We're excited to see where He will take us next. We feel privileged to be here, it is no sacrifice to be where God places you.

How much did you have to raise to move?
We originally needed to raise about 2K per month. Our expenses were far less our first two and a half years here. Currently our budget is closer to 4,500 per month. The cost to live here has gone up. Groceries have almost doubled in cost in the last 10 months. For example, a box of cereal here is often $8 to $11. A pound of cheese is $12. There is often no electricity and you need to run a generator. Diesel is $4 to $5 per gallon. As we transitioned to a new ministry and a higher cost of living in Port au Prince, we're watching God bring new people along side to partner with us and keep us here. Please contact us with questions about joining us as partners to love and serve Haiti. We are in need of monthly partners -- if you have any questions please write to us.