I’ve been communicating for several hours since early this morning with my three closest contacts in Haiti. It started with Benoit who always begins each conversation asking about my health and my family and friends. His next statement was chilling. “The bandits are trying to kill me.” Justin confirmed the fear and urgency in Benoit’s …
Category Archives: Heroes
Handyman
Chico is a handyman. He tackles many jobs many people in America will not because the job is below their station in life or because the pay is not enough. Some days, he works with James as a farmhand. Some weeks, he is very busy. Other weeks, he is not so busy. His needs are few. …
Palm Sunday and the Third Fall
The fourth part of my personal credo may be the most important… I am called to emulate Jesus… I am reminded of the magnitude of that aspect of my belief most strongly on Palm Sunday as I prepare to share with millions of people around the world the final steps of Christ’s final journey. Up …
The Alphabet School – A Literacy School for Adult Education
Five years ago, we first wrote about the “education triangle”, and we updated the original post in 2022 when we opened The Barefoot School. Speaking from experience, Mrs. tVM and I spent countless hours at the kitchen table helping our children with their schoolwork and encouraging them to complete it. I say with 100% certainty …
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Prayerful Momentum
Many years ago during a trip to Haiti, I had the pleasure and honor of sharing dinner with Patrice Millet, a CNN Hero of the Year in 2011. As we chatted over dinner, Patrice told me the final thing he did every day with the children and young people he worked with was to pray. …
Water, Children, and Angels
Water is essential for life on Earth as we know it. Yet how many times do we curse it as it overwhelms us with devastating floods… how many times do we raise our fists to the heavens as rain refuses to fall on the hard, sun-parched land? In America, we take so much for granted, …
Living & Learning with Mustard Seeds
Two years ago, I envisioned supporting our work for the children of Haiti exclusively with the agricultural project that I committed to with my friend Dwight. Working in the excessive heat, limited water, and poor soil of the Sonoran Desert, we’ve learned another lesson that supports the ‘easier said than done’ theory. After a brutally …
I Had the Blues
According to a recent report on Haiti from the World Bank – November 2022 – Haiti remains the poorest country in the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region and among the poorest countries in the world. In 2021, Haiti had a GNI [gross national income] per capita of US$1,420, the lowest in the LAC …
A Lesson in Bipartisanism
According to Wikipedia, ‘bipartisanship’ is a political situation in which opposing political parties find common ground through compromise. As an adjective, ‘bipartisan’ suggests the agreement or cooperation of two political parties that usually oppose each other’s policies. In today’s political environment, the word ‘bipartisan’ is tossed about like a cheap dinner salad thrown together as an afterthought with no commitment, no …
Do You Believe in Miracles?
One week after we discussed the value of Abraham’s belief in our previous post, middle son Brad shows up at the house with a special gift. Gifts are funny things. You’re never quite sure how the receiver will take them. With a few notable high-tech exceptions, Brad’s fairly good about giving gifts. He knows that …