La Limyè Ministries

  “why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?” Matthew 6:28-30    Y’all, I saw this bug on my front porch and was beyond amazed. It’s as if God said “I’m going to take a little extra time on this little Caribbean bug that most people will casually walk by and squash and paint a masterpiece on its back."   It literally looks like someone painted his shell. And someone did. The God of the universe that knows every hair on your head, every cell in your body and every thought in your mind. He made this artwork and called it GOOD.    And yet Jesus talks about the wildflowers and the birds and how they are provided for with what they need without al...

Branch: “You don’t know anything, Poppy, and I can’t wait to see the look on your face when you realize the world isn’t all cupcakes and rainbows, because it isn’t. Bad things happen, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”  Poppy: “I know it’s not all cupcakes and rainbows, but I’d rather go through life thinking that it mostly is instead of being like you. You don’t sing, you don’t dance, so grey all the time!” What was the first thing you saw in the picture? The rainbow or the razor wire?  There’s been times when joy would fill my heart like the excitement everytime I see a rainbow in the sky and then within an instant, I am reminded what still lingers... Death, disease, trauma, shame, hate, sin. It’s like the reminder that the rainbow comes only after the dreary rain. It’s like the devil is constantly trying to throw the sharp, dangerous, fearful razor wire into our vision when all we want to see is God and His majesty in the skies.  We want to see cupcakes an...

It was the month of June. A Monday afternoon. The girls were playing outside. It was 3 months into our new normal of staying inside our 4 walls while the mysterious virus raged through our world. There was a “knock” at the gate. From that simple knock, we knew something was wrong. All the girls were rushed into our safe room. I stood on the porch, watching, while texting a friend and calling another. Someone needed to know what was going on in case things escalated. Tensions rose, demands were verbalized, guns were shot. And time stood still, again. It shook me to my core and this instance by far wrecked me more than any other from the past. Or, perhaps, all the rest of the traumatic experiences were finally catching up to me now and my mind was acutually accepting the results of trauma and its triggers. Desperate times call for desperate measures and La Limyè was the chosen target. My name was the target. On that Monday afternoon we received a not so lovely visit from the local gan...

I flew back into Haiti last Tuesday after spending one week in America. It was a much-needed week of refreshment after having ten staff members living on site and keeping the girls inside for several months when the virus first started spreading. Tuesday came and went yet my luggage did not. Wednesday, Thursday, and then Friday went by before finding that 46lb suitcase filled with supplies for the ministry. A trip to the airport is an all-day adventure. Roadblocks from gangs robbing vehicles and throwing rocks, insane bumper to bumper (or hood, or passenger side door) traffic from no one obeying 4-way stops, and police with automatic weapons making sure we have a driver’s license every few hundred meters down Route 9 caused for delay after delay after delay. Finally, I got my luggage and after 4 days back in Haiti, I felt like I could finally settle back in and spend time with the girls like I had just arrived. Little did I know what was in store for the next week. It a weird “what i...

Once upon a time I moved to Haiti. It was August 2013 and I remember that first day like it was yesterday. I had just turned 22. I moved in with a Haitian family whom I didn’t even know their names. They had a two-story cinderblock cemented house. It was beautiful on the outside; a sidewalk lined with seashells to the backdoor with the scent of flowers that overtook the path along the way. The husband, wife, and their two young kids lived downstairs and my quarters were upstairs. That first night was like no other. I had two rooms, a bathroom, and a front and back porch. The back porch overlooked a giant mango tree, the front porch overlooked highway 1, a busy highway that goes North and South along the island of Haiti. Across the street was a junkyard/repair shop and a tire store where you could get air put in your tire for 5 cents. Before moving to Haiti, I grew up sheltered and shy. Danger or risks weren’t in my vocabulary. Third worlds didn’t even exist in the map in my brain. ...

I’ll pour into you the little bit of wisdom I have every second I get, but eventually, you’ll be on your own. All grown up taking on the world. So here is my advice for you: Love entirely. Be so full of love that people yearn to know where it comes from, then show them Jesus. Love like He did. To the beggar, to the prostitute, to the outcast, to the poor. "love each other as brothers and sisters. Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude." 1Peter 3:8 Give until it hurts. We aren’t taking anything with us my love so give it all away. Find that joy in watching others receive. Give when no one is watching. Give over and abundantly to the Lord and His people. "it is more blessed to give than to receive." -Jesus Be Bold against the world. Fight against the injustice. Fight for the poor to have a voice, speak up for the rejected, the unwanted, the oppressed, the orphan, the homeless, the addict. Be bold enough to want to change the ugly in our world and refus...

You've probably heard the story from Luke chapter 16. The one we might just skip because we don’t really want to hear it. The rich man who lived in luxury each day and Lazarus, the poor beggar that lay at his gate. Lazarus longed for scraps from the rich man’s table. He was hungry. He had nothing. Perhaps Lazarus yearned for what the rich man had. It looked appetizing in the “now”. Perhaps the future destiny of this rich man with indifference to the poor wasn’t being taken into consideration by the poor beggar, but for now, the luxury set upon the rich man’s table looked good. To have a rich lifestyle looked exciting, having the fame and the fortune looked appealing. So many of us in the world our aiming for fame or fortune, right? We want the ease, the comfort, the luxury; its attractive. We yearn for more followers on social media. We buy the fancy clothes to make us appear prettier. We try and say all the right words to get the best job climbing the tallest ladder to succes...