"Michael Haiti"

Some days around here are crazy and fun.  Others are sad.  Yesterday was one of the latter days.  It was a busy day of language school all morning, catching up with all the day-to-day work that has to be done on our compound during the afternoon, as well as hosting two different groups of visitors that stopped by throughout the day.  

At one point, we received a phone call from IBESR (Haitian social services) saying that they had a "2-year-old" boy that had been abandoned in a gutter that morning.  They asked if we would take him because they had no place to bring him.  We said to definitely bring him over when we heard he had nowhere to go.

In the afternoon, IBESR arrived with the little boy.  He definitely was not 2-years-old, it was obviously just a guess.  Our best conclusions are that he is around 4-years-old. We noticed right away that he has some serious mental and physical disabilities. His teeth are all rotted out, and he can't talk, stand, or walk - potentially a reason his mother/caretaker abandoned him in a gutter.  IBESR tried tracking down anyone who knew of him for any information, but had no luck.  Without a question we took him in and had temporary custody signed over to us(Hands & Feet) so we could take some time to figure out what is best for him and what his needs are. "Michael Haiti" was the name they wrote down for him on the paperwork as they had nothing to call him.  Let me tell you how much it breaks my heart that we didn't/don't even have a correct name to call this precious child by.

What happened next melted my heart.  I watched about 5 or 6 of our girls take in the child who smelled awful, and change his soiled diaper, bathe him, powder him, put him in some clean clothes, and feed him without being asked. "Li ka dòmi nan kay nou! Li  

                                              

ka dòmi nan kay nou!" (He can sleep in our house, He can sleep in our house!!) is what they kept shouting. I wanted to cry, as our girls saw this boy just as God sees him....not a smelly, useless kid for the gutter.....but truly, truly precious.  Tamara named him, Michael.

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." Psalm 139:13-14

We did find him a great home today.  The friends taking him are well-prepared to take on a child with special needs and get him any tests, assessments, and medical care needed to provide him with the best home possible.  So in preparation for them to take on custody, Stephen went into town today and applied and received a birth certificate for him (yes, in the same day!). They also got TB and HIV tests done.  The good news is that he was HIV negative!  Tomorrow, our fellow missionary Matt and I are taking him over to his new family.  Our girls are sad to see him go, but we're confident he is going to be very well-loved!

A thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." - John 10:10

To all our faithful supporters, family, and friends,  I apologize for the lack of updates from us.  We have had an intense and trying first 3 months in Haiti.  A lot has happened, and every time I sat down to write an update, I just couldn't get anything out.  What do I really want to say?  What am I "supposed" to say?

Well, in my last post I stated that the Lord prompted us to send our children home for a while after a string of armed robberies were happening to (mainly) missionaries in our area.  Friends, was I ever thankful for this prompting and protection from God!

We feel that we need to share some details, as to accurately give due credit to the power of God and his protection over our family, friends, and the entire Hands & Feet Project, and what He has delivered us from.

A couple days after I returned to Haiti, my worst fear happened.  At around 1am, a group of 7 armed men broke into our compound.  They started in one of our girls' houses.  It was a house that I happened to be sleeping in that night.  About an hour and a half before that, I went up to sleep with one of our fellow missionaries, Stacie, because I couldn't sleep and I felt it would be a safe house to stay in if anything did happen. After all, the robbers were after money and electronics.....things that weren't really in that house...

It started with a loud crashing noise and Stacie and I flew off our bunk beds and scrambled into the shower where a lot of little girls poured in, and with trembling fear in their eyes, clung to us.  We knew exactly what was happening the moment we heard the crash.  It was our turn.  The next thing we knew, there were 3 armed men, standing there demanding that the "white girls" come with them.   They were leaving the children alone, so we immediately surrendered and with immense fear went where they drug us.

To be honest, the next hour was the scariest hour of my life.  The men took us at gunpoint through our compound, demanding all the money we had, and stole anything else of value in sight.  After us, they broke in and got Stephen.  Later they took 2 very close friends of ours who flew in that day to help us put up additional security on our compound, and finally involved another fellow missionary shortly before leaving.

The scariest part was that everything we gave them never seemed to be enough.  Visions of fellow missionaries' robbery reports flashed across my mind, and I was waiting for gunshots to start firing.  Would it be me, my friends, my husband?

For the last half hour, we were surrounded by the armed men in the middle of our compound, while others were in looking for more money.  Nowhere to go.  Nothing to hide behind. We had never been in such a vulnerable state.  Ever.  Stacie started to get a little panicked at this point as her foot (later we found out was broken) was throbbing from the fall off the bunk, and we were feeling a super defeated and helpless.  We were praying constantly since the first minute, but at this point of desperation, I started to pray out loud.  At one point, I just started whispering Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus is right HERE with us. Jesus.


Let me attest to the power in his name alone. In those moments I felt the presence of God in a way that I can't even describe.  I literally felt this force-field type hug around my group of friends.  Psalm 34:7 says, "The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them."   We all are confident that the Lord sent angels to to "encamp around" us that night in the courtyard.  Eventually the men let Stacie and I go, and we fled up to the girls room as fast as we could.  A few minutes later, Stephen came up to tell us that all the men were gone.  Not a single shot was fired, and not one of us were physically harmed directly from these men.

While I was praying in the middle of the compound that night, the thing that kept going through my mind was, "All we have is the armor of God."  I will never read these verses the same again.

Ephesians 6:10-18  "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.  Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.  Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.  In addition to all of this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.

Now, don't get me wrong, we were terrified and felt super hopeless at times.  But that night, I feel like God handed each one of us that shield of faith to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.  Somehow, we each had this peace from God that passed all understanding.  This peace that allowed us to stay calm in such an unfathomable situation.  No matter what the outcome.

Moving forward.....the next day, under the direction of our director and board, we moved all the children off our compound and to our sister site in Grand Goave.  We stayed there for about a month.  Grady, Ella, and Mikah remained in the states with my parents during this time.  Stephen and I got the opportunity to go home for about six days for some counseling and rest during this time period as well.  When we returned, we worked on sprucing up our compound, had an amazing group from Washington come and help re-paint each of our houses and build new lockers for EACH of the 66 kids at Hands & Feet.  We got some full time security, the robberies died off (we've heard positive reports this group has pretty much been caught) and a couple days before Christmas, all our children returned back home, to new houses and Grady, Ella, and Mikah returned with my parents!

Yes, that was the extremely SHORT version of what happened after the robbery :)  It was a difficult process to work through, and we're still working through it, but we have strongly felt the Lord's hand on us throughout ALL that has happened.  He took our children out of the situation, and also protected us and the rest of our staff and children.   In all honesty, we've wanted to run back to perceived safety in the States, but we cannot deny God's presence walking along side us here.  This is where He wants us, and He continues to show us this every day.  We've experienced many arrows thrown at us, but our battle is certainly not against flesh and blood, but against the evil one.  And the Lord has already claimed that victory for us.

So for now....we continue to walk out one day at a time.  God has turned this awful event around and used it for GOOD and his purposes!  More on that to come in a different post!

A HUGE thank you for all you that have continued to walk along side us in prayer and support....even with a lack of updates.

And I promise to keep you all more informed of the every day adventures in our lives and how God is moving at the Hands & Feet Project :)

the move, transition, and the unexpected...

I need to apologize to all of our amazing supporters, family, and friends that I am just now getting around to making a post since our arrival in Haiti.  We arrived close to three weeks ago, and it feels like we've lived in Haiti a year already!  It's been a whirlwind and there is so much to share, so I will break it down:

The Move:

We had four wonderful friends travel over to help us with our initial move.  Curt, Nancie, Kyle, and Katie.  We cannot thank them enough for their sacrifice of time and money to support us in this move.  From luggage problems in Miami, almost not making our flight to Port-au-Prince (ohhh boy), unpacking our stuff, cleaning our apartment, watching our kids, bathing our kids, entertaining our kids, doing projects around Hands & Feet.....they were such a blessing and gave some amazing moral support!  From the bottom of our hearts we thank you guys!!

The Transition:
It hasn't been an easy move.  As we've stepped into our position there have been inevitable challenges....and let's face it: we're directing an orphanage with close to 70 children - there's going to be tons of challenges!  Days are long and there's always lots to do: from bringing sick kids to the doctor (and another doctor, and another all in one night to get the child accurately treated)  to getting supplies, to payroll, to staff meetings.  We also must not forget stopping in the middle of business to love on a kid who's having a rough day.  It's crazy, but we're loving it.  We already love each and every one of the Hands and Feet kids (we've seen quite a few of them grow up over the last five years too) and we're beginning some good relationships with our Haitian staff.

Our children (as in Grady, Ella, and Mikah :) have done amazingly well in the transition.  Even better than we anticipated.  They were of course a little reserved at first, but a couple days into it I started having a hard time getting Grady to come inside for supper.  He would rather play with all the boys outside!  Not a bad problem for this mommy to see! He loves playing with the older boys - and it probably helps that they are the ones that have some good English-speaking skills.  I heard him speak his first Creole word without prompting in the second week.  He opened up the front door and our dog, T-Bone, came up to him.  Grady said, "T-Bone, Alé!"  (T-Bone, Go!)  It cracked me up.  The girls have done very well, too.  They love to go upstairs with one of our nannies, Francine, to play!

The Unexpected:
Some of you may know that there have been some unanticipated events in the first 2 weeks of our move.  The area we moved to has been a very peaceful and safe area.  Unfortunately, there have been a string of armed robberies in the past few weeks.  American missionaries have mainly been targeted.  We've been on it, trying to "up" our security even though we live in a fairly secure compound.  After the third armed robbery (to missionaries in the area we know) happened last week, we started getting quite a bit more concerned.  They've appeared to be getting more frequent and bold.  After a bunch of prayer and talking with our director, we decided it was best to send our kids home for a while.  It was a very, very tough decision.  We decided that they needed to be in a safe place while we get some additional security measures in place, and even wait to see if the dust settles with this group of intruders.  The UN has started a night patrol of the area, and the town police have shown up when called to the robbery situations.  We're praying that these men are found and pay for their crimes, but even more importantly that somehow their hearts would turn toward God.  I brought the kids home last Thursday, made it all the way home on Friday, and leave early tomorrow morning to return to Haiti.  I (along with Stephen) am going through some pretty raw emotions right now as we will be apart from the kids for a while.  They have loved Haiti, the kids, and are doing sooo well.  We don't want to confuse them or anyone else that will be rattled by this situation, but are very comforted knowing they're safe while we figure situations out in Haiti.  After all, we've only lived here about 3 weeks.   We're hoping for them to return in a few short weeks...but will play it by ear.  We will not bring them back until we're confident to do so.  In the meantime, it's very hard on us as we have a job to do in Haiti and a bunch of very special kids to take care of.  We're praying for things to be settled as soon as possible.

SO........we're calling out for some huge prayers over this situation.  For us, our kids, Haitian kids, staff, and all area missionaries.  We almost didn't want to share this crazy news, but know that Satan likes deceit.  We want people to know the truth and how to specifically pray for us!  Pray for safety, for our kids and family back home, for peace in the hearts of those who have been robbed and are fearful as they try to move forward, for the men to be caught and arrested, as well as their hearts - we know they need a savior just as we do!

I've struggled as we've dealt with this whirlwind JUST as we got to the mission field.  WHY, God?  That's been a pretty common question in my heart these days.  I was reassured this weekend, by the book of Isaiah:

⁶ Seek the LORD while he may be found;
   call on him while he is near.
⁷ Let the wicked forsake their ways
   and the unrighteous their thoughts.
Let them turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on them,
   and to our God, for he will freely pardon.

 ⁸ “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
   neither are your ways my ways,”
            declares the LORD.
⁹ “As the heavens are higher than the earth,
   so are my ways higher than your ways
   and my thoughts than your thoughts. 

In my mind, this situation is ridiculous.  Why now?  Why would God allow this to happen?  Right as we moved our family down?  But God's thoughts are not my thoughts, His ways are not mine.  No, God is not responsible for the evil-doing, but I'm confident that He has a way in which to work this situation out for His glory!  I'm not sure how yet....but I know it will be done.  I'm confident.  Until then......we appreciate all your prayers!

if we are faithless, He remains faithful

If I could find a book entitled, "Moving Your Family to a Third World Country for Dummies" I would buy it.  Strangely enough, I haven't found one.  Ok, I'm sure even if it existed, it wouldn't make the process any easier!  Instead, we'll keep plugging away, making a new 'to do' list each day, and pray that everything is miraculously taken care of by next Tuesday!

One week left.

Have I mentioned how stressful this process has been?  Have I also mentioned how throughout all the stressors, God has remained faithful and shown up in His perfect timing to work out details from big to little.  He's shown up just when we need him to give us encouragement. To take something off our plate. To calm our fears.  

I was reading in 2 Timothy tonight.  2 Timothy 2:1 says: "If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself."  How poweful is that? Even when I'm faithless, God is still faithful!

This past week has especially been a roller coaster for us.  Let's just say that a few short nights ago, we were so discouraged that we didn't think we could go to Haiti.  I ashamedly admit we were nearing that faithless point.  "If God wants us in Haiti, how come our house isn't sold/rented?  There's only one week left! Should we really go? There's a lot of issues to work through in Haiti once we get there. It would feel safer and more known if we just stay in the US. Can we do it? Can God really use the Mulligan family for these tasks and His purposes there?"

Doubt. Fear. Faithlessness.  It all crept in.  We sat on our (empty) bedroom floor praying that God would answer just ONE of our unknowns right now.  Just one. Then, a day later God revealed His faithfulness when my faith was almost gone.  A perfect renter came to us, signing a year lease with the potential of adding a second year.  An older couple that needs to move closer to family from out of state.  God had this planned all along, and it wasn't just about US needing to rent our house, but about THEM needing to find a place this past week.  Funny when you get reminded how life isn't all about ME! :)  

The verse in 2 Timothy was written by Paul (in a letter to a pastor named Timothy) when he was in prison in Rome.  At the time he was expecting that in a short while he would be executed for his faith.  He wanted Timothy to know that trials and hardships are a normal part of life.  He encouraged him to stand firm and faithfully follow Christ even through those hardships.  Something that Paul was such a testimony to.  Did I mention Paul was expecting to be executed for his faith while he wrote this???....."God remains faithful"  

I'm so glad I have that nugget of truth to hold on to. We've been scared....but we're surely not facing execution (as Paul was) for serving orphans in Haiti. Yet Paul stood firm in His faith in God.  You see, all the "roller coasters" we've been on over the past few weeks have served a purpose.  I truly believe God has wanted us in a place where we can't do any more in our own powers or manipulations.  Where we depend solely on Him to provide what we need next.  We're not accustomed to that dependency in the US.  We can do a whole lot on our own with our resources and create a false little bubble of security.  Haitians know that dependency, though.  They depend on Him daily as they lack the resources to create a security bubble.  God has wanted us to look to Him FIRST and trust in the him for everything we need.  We've been in that state of dependency.  Badly.  He has remained faithful, and I love the place it has left us. Craving him more. Loving him more. Depending on him more - for everything!

What a refining process it's been.  I know there's a lot more refining to do, as always, so please pray for us in the roller coasters to come!  We're excited as we enter our last week in the states with energy and confidence in our new journey.

We're excited to get rolling in Haiti.  Please pray for our staff in the coming week.  Our Haitian staff and American staff.  That we would all click as a family and that we can work together for the common purpose of caring for the orphaned and abandoned children of Haiti with the love of Christ, and to ultimately Glorify God.

Countdown Begins!

It's official.  We are IN the month that we leave for Haiti.  It all seems a little surreal at this point.  We move on October 25th.  I have to admit, I haven't changed over our family calendar to October because it makes me so sad!  Don't get me wrong, we are super excited for our move....but with it comes some inevitable sad goodbye's.  We are blessed with some amazing family and friends who will be extremely hard to leave. Anyway, moving forward......

Two weeks ago, we packed up our house (or at least a few items from our house that will fit in our apartment!) and loaded them on a truck being shipped to Haiti!  We were so blessed by the people that donated this moving truck to ship over supplies to our H&F sites, and that we were able to use some space on the truck to send over stuff for our apartment.  We also had a great lunch with Drex and Jo (H&F's trip coordinators who originally started the site we will be the directors of) who were driving the truck across the country.  It will soon be in Florida and then on it's way across the Caribbean!

We are pushing through our last few weeks here in the states finishing up our fundraising.  Before the update, I need to do a little 'shout out'.  God has extremely blessed us with a wonderful team of sacrificial ministry supporters who are partnering with us financially.  A very sincere THANK YOU to each and every one of you that have joined our team with a one time gift and those who are giving monthly/yearly to our ministry.  We couldn't do this without each and every one of you.  You truly are a huge part of being the Hands & Feet of Christ to our children in Haiti.  We are praying for all of you.

We are getting so close to having our full budget raised!  Our monthly need is $5800.  When all of our current pledges come in, we are about 10 people at $100/ a month away from being 100% supported!  If you would be interested in joining our team, please let us know.  Of course, it doesn't have to that specific amount.  You can check out our page on the website at:  https://handsandfeetproject.org/stephen-and-carrie-mulligan/  You can sign up online from that link, or we can send you a form to fill out and send to our stateside office which is in Franklin, TN.  All contributions go through The Hands and Feet Project (a 501(c)(3) organization) and are tax deductible.  Our email is csmulligan@gmail.com.  Please feel free to contact us with any question you may have and we will be happy to give answers :)

OK, I promise we won't be using this blog in the future as a way to fundraise, we've just recently had many questions about how the support raising is going.  It is truly a necessary part in enabling us to do our job, which is ministry to the orphaned and abandoned children of Haiti. We are praying that God will close the last gap in fundraising and bring us the needed supporters to be fully funded by the time we depart on October 25th.

With that, as I said, we're counting down.  Our final days are being scheduled to the max to get everything accomplished.  No day taken for granted, enjoying every moment with family and friends before we move across the sea!

Please pray for safety for our family in the move.  For us as we transition into a new culture.  For our kids as they transition into a new culture. For the huge task we have ahead of us as the directors of a children's village that is responsible for nearly 70 children.  For the current Haitian and American staff down at H&F as they care for our amazing children.  For the children that they are given the best care and family possible. For peace for our family back home as we leave the country.  That God would take some very imperfect people and accomplish His will in Haiti.

Thank you for all the prayers and support!

I have to leave you with a picture of the kids in a wedding a couple weeks  ago!  Aren't they precious?  Congrats Melissa and Andy :)

eye of the hurricane

Life has been a bit overwhelming for us lately.  That could even be a bit of an understatement.

It has been a daunting task to get all the details together to move to a third world country, fundraise a large sum of money, raise our family, try to sell our house, as well as Stephen working many hours a week on a big project that is currently paying our bills "in between" jobs.

Then there's the drama in between it all.  Doing life with a bunch of imperfect humans wouldn't be complete without it.  I'll admit it, we have felt very defeated over the past few weeks.  Physically, emotionally, and spiritually defeated.  We're getting ready to head out on an exciting adventure in Haiti the Lord is sending us on.  We're confident in the calling and many details are falling into place, but we've been caught in the chaos of life around us.  Wednesday a bunch of issues and disappointments all got the best of me and let's face it......I was perfectly content in the land of a personal pity party.

Then this song I've never heard before came on the radio as I got in my car that evening  (here's the first couple verses):

Feels like the hurricane has come,
Feels like this ship is sinking,
These skies seem they are empty of your mercy tonight,
Sometimes the mystery of grace runs deeper then I am thinking,
In the dark I find your light,

(Chorus)
When I am over my head yeah,
I am waiting for a miracle,
I am fighting the wind and the waves,
Then the weight of this storm drives me straight to your arms,
You hold me I know that I am safe in the eye of the hurricane,
In the eye of the hurricane.

Sometimes I am crying for relief,
God let this night be over,
One word if you would speak could silence the storm,
Instead your mercy has a way of turning heart ache to faith,
So that hope will be reborn,

The phrase just made me instantly melt in my Father's arms: "Then the weight of this storm drives me straight to your arms."

I knew that's exactly where I needed to be.  Pity parties never really get me anywhere!  God reminded me that we're ALL imperfect and I can't put my complete faith in any person other than Him.  Just as nobody could ever put their faith in me as I will surely let them down.  So I rested in the Lords arms that night.  When I got home, Joshua 1:9 popped out at me from something I was going through in our fundraising tasks: "Be strong and courageous.  Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."

It's amazing how refreshing that is.  How can I lose sight of that so easily?  I'm so thankful I have a God whose arms I have to run to "wherever I go".

What's your hurricane?  We all have them going on.  My "hurricane" probably sounds silly to the storms facing others right now.  I encourage you to run to your savior's arms today and rest in the "eye of the hurricane."  It's a great place to be!

funny of the day

Conversation of the day: (to set the scene, we were driving past the courthouse, aka: Ella's castle)

Ella: I'm going to have a wedding at my castle.....and Jayden (cousin) is going to dance with me....and I'm going to wear a princess dress and be a princess just like you were mommy.....and Grady's going to be a prince.

Grady: Noooooooooo (in disgust)!  I'm NOT going to be a PRINCE! I'm going to be SPIDERMAN!  And I'm going to have a wedding at a basketball game!!!

Enough said, I guess. We couldn't have twins with more of a girly girl and a completely opposite "all boy" boy!