Right now my family and I live in a home and neighborhood that we absolutely love, Cuyahoga Falls, OH. Josiah, now 6, was born in Elmhurst, IL when we lived in a small garden apartment, but we moved here when he was only 8 months old. Hope, now 4, was born while living here. So naturally this is the only place they've ever known as home. Our neighborhood is full of kids that Josiah and Hope are friends with. Every chance they get to go outside and play, that's exactly what they are doing. Often times you will find a group of 8-10 kids playing kick the can or kickball in our backyard.
Joy and I have built great friendships with most of our neighbors. As a neighborhood we've put together numerous block parties, attended parties together, shared a neighborhood tool shed, and helped each other out in many different ways. We're living in a great community.
We've always felt like we've lived modestly, but must admit it has still been comfortable. We haven't been able to do everything with our home that we would have liked to, but have still been able to do what was needed and a little more. We haven't always been able to take the vacations and spend the money that some can, but we've been able to enjoy each other and the time we have together doing the things we do together.
If you like where you live and have found it to be a place you can call home, why would you leave?
My family and I have decided to leave the place we love. We will be leaving and going somewhere that will be completely different than where we are now. We will be moving to Fort Liberte, Haiti. This is where you say "WHOOAA!" A pretty drastic change huh? After sharing this with one person he said to me, "That's a pretty difficult place huh?" Most people are shocked and immediately have a ton of questions flood their minds questioning the wisdom of such a decision. Trust me, we've had the same questions ourselves. What about your kids? What about the poverty? What about your health? ETC. ETC.
So why would we leave Cuyahoga Falls, OH for Fort Liberte, Haiti? There is a very simple but very complex answer. We are moving because God has called us to minister to the people of Fort Liberte, Haiti.
I look forward to unpacking the complexity of this decision and explaining the Lord's calling on our lives in future blogs as well as sharing with you our progress. I look forward to what this future holds and I invite you to come along this journey with us by staying posted.
