Thursday, August 31, 2006
Leave of absence update
I found out from my employer this week that they will only allow me to be away from work for 6 weeks instead of the 12 weeks I originally requested without jeopardizing my job. I am going to take the 6 weeks - it's certainly better than nothing and I'm sure I'll be able to accomplish a great deal for Double Harvest during that time period. And if I need to return at a later date for a week or two, that is an option as well.
As I mentioned, my employer was initially only going to allow me to take 4 weeks but through some discussions with different parts of my organization, they are achieving the additional weeks via a combo-utilization of an existing project manager and a business analyst to cover my job responsibilities. Yes, that was an answered prayer request! Thank you to all who continue to remember me in prayer.
I should have some info about my ability to collect support soon too - and with a shorter trip, I'll have less to raise! Stay tuned.
In the meantime, here's a photo of me from my weekend visit to Haiti in June. If you look closely at my shirt, you'll see that I am not wearing an Izod - that's a baby lizard I caught inside the Spalding's house. I think it liked me.
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Thursday, August 24, 2006
Please pray hard
Friends - I just had a second meeting with my manager prior to the formal submission of my leave of absence request. He has had some initial meetings with the head of our organization as well as our HR manager. Their initial thoughts are that the business can't afford me being away from my position for more than a month. Needless to say, this was not the response I was praying for and am now a bit discouraged.
The good news is that this is only the beginning of negotiations. Tonight my manager will be submitting my formal request for the full 3 months with information about Double Harvest and the work I would be doing in Haiti. As I mentioned in my initial post, the head of my organization has a heart for humanitarian efforts. In fact, she is in India for work right now! Please pray that the poverty she witnesses in India will soften her heart toward my request.
If her initial thoughts on the request are not changed based on my request letter (and even if they are changed), there are other options that will need to be explored within my organization. Please pray that the functional managers within my program are flexible in allowing their team members to be temporarily utilized in other functional capacities. Specifically, pray that a business analyst is allowed to cover many of my project management duties while I am away.
A final option that I am afforded as an employee of this company is to take a leave of absence without job protection. This would likely require that I informally leave my current organization and upon my return can return to my previous organization if a position is open or perform an internal job search. I really don't want to utilize this option so please pray that if God wants me to do this trip, that he "make it work"!
Lastly, please pray that I keep a good attitude and avoid being discouraged in the face of challenges. Thanks, Friends!
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Your generosity is overwhelming
Huge thanks to the many of you who have asked if you can support my Haiti trip! I am encouraged by your outpouring of love and support. I had not previously planned to seek support donations for this trip (and the expenses I'll incur at home while I'm away) but as God continuously proves, he is a faithful and generous provider.
"Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it." - Malachi 3:10 |
I am currently working with a trusted missions organization to gain status as an "apprentice missionary" so they are able to collect support for me. I hope to have some answers on this within the week and will post the outcome here. Stay tuned!
Sunday, August 20, 2006
About Double Harvest
The Double Harvest organization enables Haitians in the surrounding areas to earn a living in agriculture and horticulture in a Christian environment, providing significant lifestyle benefits over what they would normally experience, which is basically nothing. According to one website, the average annual salary of a Haitian national is the equivalent of US$90. I cannot even comprehend what that means.
Double Harvest has a two hundred acre farm where they grow mostly vegetables and grains. In their two acres of greenhouses, approximately two million tree seedlings are processed annually for reforestation programs. But the flowers that they produce for local wealthy residents (which aren't many!) like ambassadors and government organizations are varied and simply stunning! I took so many photos of beautiful flowers and plants on my June trip that I filled up my memory card before I could take any photos of the Spaldings! They are also considering starting a tilapia fishery onsite - tilapia are "durable" fish and thrive well in hot water, and securing quality, healthy meat is difficult for Haitians. This could help fill the Haitians growing demand for protein (other than beans, which are included in most of their meals).
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Double Harvest provides a low-cost medical clinic just outside their main compound. Healthcare is expensive when you don't have any money, so their clinic is very popular. Each day the outdoor waiting area is filled with people to see the two doctors on staff with Double Harvest. They are a Haitian husband and wife couple who have dual citizenship in the United States and are very sweet & polite. Surgeons from the U.S. come down to the clinic twice each year to perform surgeries on those with the greatest needs and the smallest budgets. I can't imagine waiting up to 6 months to get a surgery I really needed but couldn't afford. The onsite doctors want to become trained to perform the most frequently requested basic surgeries - circumcision, fibroids, hernia, and enlarged prostate / testicles. The clinic also has an onsite pharmacy and dentist.
Double Harvest also has a K-12 school, with a vocational training school beginning in 9th grade. There will be two ex-Purdue guys volunteering in the school this year - one who will continue teaching computer and electricity courses and the other teaching English (in a country that speaks mostly Creole, plus a little French!) There are presently around 350 students sponsored to attend the school - sponsorship includes a hot meal served each day to students and staff. For many of the students, that is their one meal a day! The Double Harvest church meets in the school and has 2 services on Sunday - the morning Creole service is the most heavily-attended and the evening English service is fairly wimpy, but worshipful, consisting of the Spalding family, a few of their full-time employees and some local kids just looking to fill their time.
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The Spalding Family, stationed out of Florida, are in charge of operations at Double Harvest. Arthur and Becky are wonderful people with a heart for God and consider Haiti their home, even though they have only lived there 3 years. Their 5 kids are a huge help as well, assisting as needed in all parts of the organization. About 80 full-time Haitian employees are currently employed at Double Harvest, plus many day workers between their agri-business, school and clinic. Double Harvest's focus is on evangelism and Christian education through the above avenues.
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Here's the lowdown
Hi Friends! As many of you know by now, I will be going to Haiti for a few months to do short term missions work! It's all very exciting (and a little scary) and the story goes like this...
I have been contemplating going into business for myself for a few years, attempting to determine how God could best use both my skills and passions. He has answered by placing a slightly crazy (if you know me), but lucrative, business idea on my heart. It could potentially allow me to work with missions organizations in underdeveloped countries but because I had never participated in a missions trip, I decided to get some experience in this arena.
I contacted a Christian missions organization in Haiti that has a long-time partnership with my church group from Purdue and asked them if they needed any help in their business office, not knowing that there was a huge need. Turns out they can really use my help getting much of their business operations in shape - they are so busy running their core business functions (agriculture and horticulture plus medical clinic & school) that they don't have time to focus on process improvements.
I went down there for a long weekend in mid-June to check it out and see how I could be of help and saw a lot of room for improvement. It is a totally different world down there - a beautiful land with smiling people but in a chaotic environment with severe poverty everywhere - a big lifestyle shock for sure. Haiti is the least-developed country in the Western Hemisphere and one of the poorest in the world, and it shows. I have to confess that after my initial trip down there, I wasn't hopping to get back, but the need is real and I believe that God will also use this experience to provide additional experience for someday running a business of my own. My current plan is to leave mid-September and return mid-December.
The name of the missions organization is Double Harvest and here is their website: DoubleHarvest.org (While this website gets their main points across, I plan to tackle a website redesign project while I'm there!) I will tell you more about the organization in future postings. Here are some photos I took during my June trip.
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Speaking of mid-September to mid-December, everything is falling into place and all road-blocks are being removed. I got an email last Friday from a gal from my old church group at Purdue who has a friend that needs a place to stay for 3 months during her occupational therapy internship in Chicago... during the EXACT time period that I was considering leaving (mid-Sept) and along the Chicago El Blue Line (where I live). When I got the email I didn't even realize it at first - I was trying to figure out who she could stay with until it hit me in the face - THIS EMAIL WAS FOR ME. Whoa - signal received. I had not even prayed about this but what a blessing to have someone pick up some of the slack on my mortgage while I'm gone. Crazy, huh? Please pray for this divine appointment to get firmed up soon.
Please also pray that my employer allows me to take the time off! My employer has a generous leave of absence policy but I can only take up to 3 months off before some of my benefits expire - so I am going to request 3 months off! Some employers provide partially subsidized leave of absence policies for employees taking time off to work for charitable organizations. I am not aware of a similar policy at my employer, but you never know - the head of my organization (who needs to approve my time off) is a major supporter of charitable organizations and has a heart for the needy. Why not go ahead and pray that she responds generously towards my request? God is good and can use anyone for his amazing purposes!
I do not know how God will use this Haiti experience, or if the original business idea will ever come to fruition, but I ask that you please pray for God to use my life in all the perfect ways he has planned for me.
