2012 Gift Guide with a Purpose

I'll be the first to admit that the lure of the glittering aisles of Target are almost too luxurious to resist.  Walking the aisles and stumbling upon deals so good that when you get compliments on that cute pair of shoes, you can't help but also offer up that they only cost $4.98.  But more and more I can't ignore the story behind each item we purchase and bring into our home.  Where was it made?  Did the person who made it make enough money to feed his children?  Did the woman who works at this factory give her child to an orphanage because she felt that she could not provide for her?  I cannot separate trying to be more like Jesus with what I purchase.  Will my purchase take advantage of someone living in poverty, or contribute towards modern day slavery of any sort?  It is a heavy burden, to be sure. 

To read more about fair trade and the truth behind the barcode, 

click {HERE}, or {HERE}, or {HERE}

Christmas gifts are a great way to provide for a family AND buy a unique item with a great story behind it.  Here are some of my favorite sources for buying a gift with a purpose for 2012...

{Click on the names of each shop for a link directly to their websites}

Three Cords

3 Cords is a social enterprise founded in September 2010 to train, employ, and empower Haitian women and their families.  Our mission is to provide opportunities for physically handicapped women, and to show them that they are both beautiful and valuable.  We do this by training the women as artisans in a loving, community oriented environment. 

Wallets for Water
Buy a wallet made from upcycled ties, help bring fresh water to communities
without clean drinking water.

The ApParent Project
Amazing accessories handmade by gifted artisans in Haiti.  Buying from ApParent Project helps keep families together by employing parents to earn an income to care for their families instead of giving their children to an orphanage.  Jewelry parties are available to host in your own home.

Noonday Collection
Buy stylish accessories and provide jobs that create a pathway out of poverty for families. A stable income means a family is less likely to abandon their child.  Noonday Collection also offers opportunities for trunk sales you can host in your own home.  

Punjammies
 Punjammies, by the International Princess Project, are created in after-care facilities for women who have been rescued, released or escaped from a life of forced prostitution. Their lives have been marked by a message – you are a commodity – to be used for others' gain. 

Serrv

SERRV is a nonprofit organization with a mission to eradicate poverty wherever it resides by providing opportunity and support to artisans and farmers worldwide.

Serrv

Check out the 2011 Gift Guide With a Purpose 

for more amazing fair trade companies!

To find a Bible study about why Christians should care about fair trade, click {HERE}

First Haiti Date Night

I think it is a true talent, to be able to watch for ways you could go out of your way to bless someone, or even simply meet a need.  I can't say that I have this talent, but I want it.

Melissa and her husband Ryan run the Heartline guesthouse, where we have been staying the past 8 nights.  If you know our kids in person, you know that they came by the nickname "The Crazies" honestly.  They are crazy.  We have been living in communal spaces, so we have been on high alert trying to keep our kids:

1.  contained within the 4 walls of the guesthouse yard

2.  out of other people's bedrooms

3.  from complaining about being hot, hungry, bored

4.  respectful of others during mealtime

5.  from climbing on the roof via the ladder and outdoor balconies

6.  from chopping coconuts with the guards' machetes, unsupervised at least

7. fighting with each other about e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g

All while also teaching them about not using tap water to brush teeth,  bathing with cold water (this is only an issue for Presley), treating mosquito bite itchiness, sleeping in the same room together, allowing the little gal to nap, no access to a car, no access to a TV,  and parenting with an audience.

Thankfully, we're doing okay, but there are moments when I want to poke my eyes out.  

Ryan and Melissa planned a movie night on Friday night for the kids.  They were so excited!  Ryan invited some other families over, set up a projector and couches, and Melissa made cookies.  Plus, it was pizza night at the guesthouse, so everyone was pretty excited.

Hours before the main event, we were totally surprised with an official invitation for a date night out.  I really could not believe it!  Ryan and Melissa's apartment is next door to the guesthouse, where Melissa set up the most beautiful balcony date night.  Back at the guesthouse, they fed our kids, put Presley to bed, and entertained the two biggies at the movie night.

It was so nice to eat uninterrupted, to be able to talk and catch up.  What a gift!  We have been seeing God in the little things, and this was a pretty blatant reassurance from God that He's with us, and not only will he meet our needs, but help us to thrive here as well.  Thank you so much Ryan and Melissa for a wonderful date night, and a chance to feel normal!

Krulls Have Landed

I have wanted to post an update for several days now, but just couldn't find the words.  I'm going to be brutally honest here, but I don't want this to scare you away from obeying what you feel God is calling YOU to do.

October 26th came, and we loaded six trunks, four suitcases, one carseat, and our precious Crazies onto a plane headed for Port-au-Prince.

I was so sick with fear.  I could not sleep, I could not eat, I burst into tears in the middle of the Miami airport Chilli's (just to name one of the many places I burst into tears).  

We made it to Haiti and battled our way through customs and baggage claim, and fortunately, all of our luggage made it out with us.  Our kids were champs.  We were picked up by Ryan and Josh who work with Heartline in Haiti, and they took us to the guesthouse where we are still sleeping as of tonight.  That night I was in a daze.  I was pretty useless to poor Gary.  The next morning we went to our new church home, Port-au-Prince Fellowship, and I just cried through each worship song.  I missed my friends and family and church family.  The thought of being away for so long was too much to bear.  

I felt like I was in a really dark place.  I felt trapped and lonely.  The emotions were so overwhelming, I felt so weak and broken.  There was nothing left for me to do but pray.  I prayed for the strength to make it through one more hour, one more afternoon, one more night.  I prayed almost constantly, in between caring for our three.  I could not eat, yet I was hungry.

Gary and I prayed together a lot.  I prayed alone a lot.  Friends and family from all over lifted us up in prayer a lot.  Emails and facebook messages of prayers and encouragement poured in.

Two days ago, while sitting at the table in the common room at the guesthouse, I was fighting tears and praying through the moment.  An overwhelming peace just washed over me.  It was not gradual, but all of the sudden.  God graciously lifted me out of that place of discouragement.  I felt better, normal, full of hope.  I knew God was with me, here.  With us.

Honestly, I knew I was growing, being stretched, being molded.  I thought I would be in that place for longer, but am so glad I'm not!!!

It is very scary stepping out into a really uncomfortable place, whatever that place might be, that God has called you to be in.  I'm learning that I cannot let fear and discomfort hinder me from obeying God. Asking God to meet ALL of my needs is not a sign of weakness, but of surrender.  The prayers from many were real to me.  I am a real person in need of a Savior.  I do not take lightly when someone says they have prayed for me.  If you were one who joined in prayer for me, and my family, please know that your prayers were heard, they were important, they were needed.  I am thankful for you.  Please continue to remember us when you pray, this is only the beginning!

We're going into this next week hopeful that we will be able to move into our house, hopeful that we will find a car, hopeful we will have the money to purchase a generator so that we will have power to our home when the city power goes out (at least several times a day, if not more).

Tomorrow I hope to blog about our first date night in Haiti!  It was amazing!

Heard Around the House: October 2012

I think all three of my Crazies are hilarious, but for some reason this month I only remembered things The Boy said, enjoy!!!

"For Uncle Michael's birthday, can you make a video of me doing something dangerous?  Uncle Michael likes dangerous things, so I'll do something really dangerous in honor of him."

"I've had like a million great days in my life."

"Mom, thank you sooo much.  And dad, thank you sooo much.  You're equally thanked."

"I drank from a real coconut today.  It's official, I'm like an explorer"

The Most Stressful Game of Tetris

Last night I woke up no fewer than ten times thinking about how there was just no way we were going to fit all that needed to fit, inside our 4'x4'x8' shipping crate.  We have spent the last five months since moving out of our house whittling down our possessions until they all fit in this space.  Each time I took a load to Goodwill, I thought, "okay, that is it... we only have the most important stuff.... there is nothing left I can part with."  And then we whittle again.  And again.  Culminating in today:  Crate Packing Day.  

We made it!  Actually we made it with room to spare and a trip home to gather a few things from suitcases to add.  It was amazing!  The next hurdle is to actually receive the crate, WITH all the contents in Haiti.  Getting through customs unscathed seems to be the tricky part.  Yes, we can live without any of these items, but they sure would make our lives much easier, and our kids much happier if everything makes it all the way to Santo 11.  

This will be my last post for a while.  We leave bright and early on Friday morning, but won't move into our house until after the 1st.  We will need to figure out our electricity and internet situations... along with about a dozen other important things such as eating, drinking clean water, and trying to get our children not to drink the bath water.  

Holding onto this truth tonight as the nerves are really starting to set in:

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your needs to God.  And the peace of God, which goes beyond our understanding, will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus."

Philippians 4: 6-7

This Girl

Miss Presley, you are TWO years old today!  You are a little piece of sunshine, truly, and I am so glad God gave you to our family.  It doesn't hurt that Mama is your favorite, and you give me endless "kith-ez" and "huggies".  No fewer than four people cater to you daily.  You're taking after your Sissy's sweet tooth, and your Brother's wild streak.  "Prilly" dresses, Mickey Mouse, shoes belonging to other people, and the color orange are some of your favorite things.  You're pretty much just sweet sweet sweet.  And funny.  Really funny.  You have a huge vocabulary and always shock us with what you say and remember.  You've started asserting your opinion about what you wear, and it usually involves you picking out a dress and bow, then making the rounds to Noah and Daddy for compliments.  Oh boy, I'm not sure what this means about your teenage years, but you'll be getting lots of love and self-confidence from the first two special guys in your life.  So that means you won't have to seek that approval elsewhere, got it?  You are the friendliest little gal I've ever known, and you can get a smile out of just about anyone when you tell them, "Helloooooo".  Because of this, I hear by nominate you as the Krull Family Ambassador to all we come in contact with.

We love you Sweet Baby Girl!  Can't wait to see who you grow into this year!

More Like George

It's been a while since I've posted.  It wasn't because we have been so crazy busy that I couldn't find the fifteen minutes in a day to jot down an update.  We were busy, but not that busy.  It was that there wasn't any new news to write.  I didn't want to write.  We felt discouraged, in a rut.  We didn't know what to do next.  I know that isn't a problem unique only to us.  Lots of times a task seems so supremely humongous, that it's hard to even know where to begin.  Much like how I feel when I clean out my kids' closets, times a billion.

So here's where we left off on September 26th...

We were unsure of where the money from a vehicle in Haiti was coming from.  We didn't know how we were going to get our shipping crate from Arizona to Port-au-Prince.  We didn't even have a shipping crate.  The house we were going to rent fell through, and Gary was scheduled to leave for Haiti the next day to sign that lease.  We were living with my parents.  Marital tensions were running high.  We didn't have a departure date.  The Crazies were at constant odds with one another (the biggest two at least).  We were burned out and we hadn't even left.  We were praying weak prayers of "hey God, what gives?"

So here's where we are at today...

Our shipping crate is being built on Wednesday, then packed and sent off next week.  We have plane tickets to depart on the 26th.  On Gary's short four day trip to Haiti, the one where he was originally set to simply pop down, sign a lease, spend some time at Good Neighbor, then fly home, turned into a four day whirlwind of looking for a new house.  Thanks to the help of a new friend and fellow missionary, he was able to find a new house that is even better than the other option, and signed a lease.  As of today, several truly generous people have answered our prayers in providing the money for a car.  Gary and I have been able to grow closer, and even work out some better communication with one another.  We both know that without a strong marriage, centered on God, we don't have a chance in Haiti.  This has been a priority for us, to grow stronger and closer, not divided.  We've been rejuvenated in our walk with God.  Our faith has been tested.  It has been rough and icky, and there were days that I just wanted to fast forward through the rough patch.  

Gary and I try to spend time in the evenings, after The Crazies are asleep, doing devotions together, reading the Bible, praying together, and generally debriefing about the day and making a plan for the following day.  A few nights ago, Gary reminded me of George Muller.  He is a wonderful example of a life lived by faith.  George had a home for orphans.  He prayed for God to provide everything, and trusted God completely to actually provide it.  

My favorite story of his complete trust was how he fed the children in his care.  One morning, there wasn't one piece of food in the entire house.  Not even a slice of bread.  There was no food, and no money.  All of the children were waking up and beginning to come down to the breakfast table.  The nannies were beginning to freak out.  They didn't know how they were going to feed them that day.  George simply prayed.  He asked God to provide breakfast.  Now, this is the part in the story that cracks me up.  The ladies were all running around, panicking, and probably wondering why the dummy George was just praying and not actually doing anything to help.  George was calm, he just told them to set the table.  Have the children sit down.  And was completely confident that God would provide them breakfast.  So that's what they did.  The table was set, the children were seated, and then there was a knock at the door.  Someone arrived, with breakfast in hand, telling George he got up that morning and just felt like he was supposed to bring breakfast over.  Hello folks, that was God at work!

So Gary and I are trying our best to set the table.  We are inviting and trusting God to show up.  Even in the eleventh hour.  

And He is.