Saint-Fidor Family Ministry

   

 In just a few weeks time, Mikken, Nathaniel, and I are due back in Haiti for the beginning of the 2020-21 school year.

 •Our family's goal is to live out the plan God has written on our hearts- to fulfill the Great Commission by making disciples (Matthew 28:19) through transformational education and to always “seek justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with Him (Micah 6:8). 

Here’s what we’ll be doing this year: 

    Mikken will be the lead fifth grade teacher this year and already has eleven students enrolled in his class! He’s excited to start the year as a lead for the first time and is already brainstorming ways to make his class fun and engaging. He’ll also be trying to squeeze in some elementary art classes. 

    My role is very different this year as I will be stepping out of the classroom into the director role of Cap-Haitien Christian School. This summer I have already started on some of these responsibilities that will carry into the school such as our covid-19 response, hiring of teachers, and updating handbooks. I will also be meeting with teachers to review their lesson plans, create pacing guides, and get into the classrooms to work with them as they reach and teach our students. It’s my prayer to use the foundation of the leaders before me to continue on the path to academic excellence, spiritual growth, and making disciples to best serve our staff and families at CHCS.

    Nathaniel will be at home with his Grann (Mikken’s mom) and his fur-siblings. ;)

    In order for us to get back in time, we are in need of some more monthly support. If just 10 people would give $100 a month, we would be fully funded for the year. Would you consider joining our team? No amount is too small. We’d love to sit with you and explain the mission and vision of the school and how we hope to help achieve it as a family.

Thank you! 

Our Support Page:

https://give.teachbeyond.org/support/saint-fidor/

Love is...

Valentine’s Day was quickly approaching and there was one activity I knew for sure that I wanted my first graders to do. Our February Bible verse has been “God is love” so one day, I sat with my kids at station time to ask them a question.

Here’s what I said: “What holiday is coming up?...Yes, Valentine’s Day! What is our verse this month?...Right! ‘God is love.’ But now I have a question for you. If God is love, what is ‘love?’ When we talk about love, what do you think of?”

Here are some of their answers with no additional prompting from me: 

Love is caring for others.

Love is Jesus in our hearts and dying on the cross for us. 

Love is Jesus in our hearts.

Love is kissing goodnight and caring for someone.

Love is peace and helping.

Love is being nice and helping others. 

Love is peace and caring for others and not looking in your own interest.

Love is helping someone. 

Love is being kind and sharing.

Love is sharing food.

Love is peace and helping.

Love is kisses and helping.

Love is Jesus in our hearts.

Love is kissing goodnight and Christ.

Love is true. It is helping others. 

Love is life and Christ.

Love is sharing and giving kisses goodnight.

Love is God loves us.

Love is giving pizza and sharing pizza and playing together.

Love is Jesus in our hearts, sharing, and Jesus loving the world. 

Love is protection and peace.

If God is love (1 John 4: 8) then God is... patient and kind...He keeps no record of wrongs, does not delight in evil, and rejoices with truth. God always protects, always hopes, always perseveres. God never fails.  (1 Corinthians 13). 

                                                   

Beauty

Wow! I’ve been back home in Haiti for eight weeks now and I haven’t blogged once. Sorry about that!

First of all, I need to say a huge thank you to all of you who support me on a monthly basis and those who gave special gifts to get me here. I am happy to say that I am 100% funded until June of 2019! That means that any gifts given now help me stay here longer. J

Yesterday and today are Cowman's days of Fall Break and I had the oppurtunity to go on a long hike with a good group friends. It was beautiful and I wanted to share some of the beauty in my life with you. 

According to dictionary.com beauty is "the quality present in a thing or person that gives intense pleasure or deep satisfaction to the mind, whether from sensory manifestations, a meaningful design, or something else." 

Here is where I find beauty in my life...

I find beauty in a classroom set up using hand-me-downs from my mom's old preschool and from special gifts from loving friends.

I find beauty in rehabilitation. 

I find beauty in a happy, loud, smart first grade classroom. 

I find beauty in birthdays. And lots of them!

I find beauty in God's protection from hurricanes. 

I find beauty in "Look Miss Kacie! Look what we made!" 

I find beauty in my girls who visit and help me whenever they can. 

I find beauty in my big kids helping my little kids learn to read. 

I find beauty in the sunrise.

I find beauty in nature. 

I find beauty in friends. 

I thank God for all of the beauty found in my life and for each of you that has helped me get this far. Thank you! ~ 

Children Disguised as Statistics

If I gave you a list of statistics such as this:

     “There are children all over the world sick, starving, dying, unloved, and uncared for. The truth is that the 143 million orphaned children and the 11 million, who starve to death or die from preventable diseases, and the 8.6 million who work as child sales, prostitutes, or under other horrific conditions, and the 2.3 million who live with HIV add up to 164.8 million children.”

      It would seem overwhelming. Helping them would seem like an impossible task. But there’s a way to change that mindset. First of all, realize that you cannot save the world on your own-for it will be Jesus who does that. Second, realize that these are not just statistics and numbers. They are young children and babies with their own backgrounds, testimonies, and lives. I've had the privilege of getting to know some of these “statistics.” They happen to love being held, rocked, and talked to. Each has a personality that is so different from the rest. Please don’t think of “orphans” as a whole, but realize that every single “number” is a unique gift from God who is worth every oz. of love you can give them.

      In Haiti, I have already fallen in love with all the children. I can't wait to come home and tell everyone all about them. One of the preemies that I had the chance to cuddle often was healthy enough to go home with his papa. I love playing with the toddlers, making the babies smile, and being covered with the young children who climb up my legs for me to tickle them. In just a week and a half I seen the joy of watching babies go home with their families and have felt sorrow for the ones still waiting for a forever family. I do know this though; “God is a Father to the fatherless and a defender of widows…God sets the lonely in families” (Psalm 68:5-6).

     “Though at first glance 164.8 million children look like a big number, 2.1 billion people on this earth proclaim to be Christians. The truth is that if only 8% of the Christians would care for just one more child, there would not be any statistic left. This is the truth and I have the freedom to believe it. The freedom, the opportunity to do something about it. The truth is that He loves these children just as much as He loves me and now that I know, I am responsible.”

So, how do you reach a world with 143 million orphans?

One at a time.