The journey begins...

We have had many of you ask us what is next in our Haitian adventure and how you can come alongside us and support us in our endeavors to become full time missionaries to Haiti. This blog was created to keep our friends and family up to date on our progress. It's function is also to serve as an avenue to share about all the amazingly cool things God is doing within our families life.

Right now we are seriously considering partnering with an established mission organization that has been working in Haiti for over 40 years and has an impeccable reputation for their work there. We have completed the interview process and have passed a psychological evaluation with them. The next step in our endeavors with them is for our entire family to go to Haiti with them on what is called an “exploratory trip”. On this trip, we will learn more about the work they are already doing in Haiti (medical clinics, orphan care, church growth) and spend some time examining how we could enhance what the other missionaries (several families) are doing there. This week with them will be a crucial part in cementing our relationship with them.

Because zeal without practical wisdom can lead to heartache and the squandering of Kingdom resources…. another aspect of our preparation is missionary TRAINING. We have purchased Rosetta Stone and have begun French language studies in hopes that we will then easily convert that knowledge into Creole once we are in Haiti full time. Another aspect of training that we plan to invest in is the SPLICE training offered at the Missionary Training Institute. SPLICE training is a “three week pre-departure program that is designed to help the entire missionary family develop the practical skills and attitudes that will successfully take us through the challenging and rewarding process of being interwoven with another culture.”

First and foremost we need your spiritual support… we need extra encouragement and covet your prayers as our families begin this new chapter in our lives. Please be specifically praying for discernment in knowing what organization to commit to and that God would use these months of preparation to deepen discipleship and prepare us spiritually, physically, and emotionally.

We also ask you to prayerfully consider if the Lord may be leading you to financially support us. Cost of airfare for our family exploratory trip will cost an estimated $3500. The SPLICE training for both families will be an approximately an additional $7,200. We know that He who called us is faithful and we trust Him to provide for all of our needs. If you might be able to partner with us with the financial aspect, tax deductible gifts can be mailed to Cherokee Hills Christian Church 6601 MacArthur Oklahoma city, OK 73132 with “Lenharts” in the memo line.

"Every new beginning comes from some other beginnings end… Haiti here we come”

As a family in youth ministry for over a decade, the hardest part of our calling has hands down been the times when God has revealed to us it was time to move on and close a chapter with one church family to start another somewhere else. This last Sunday was bittersweet with for us as we shared with our church family the calling God has placed on our hearts to be in Haiti full time. Bitter because words can not express how much we love and adore the students we are serving alongside and can not count the ways this church family has made our lives so blessed. Sweet because we know that God has awesome things planned for our family, our future mission work in Haiti, and the body at Cherokee Hills Christian Church.

In case you were still celebrating the 4th of July and are currently out of the loop… On Sunday, Kurt (our pastor) announced that our family and the Lechtenberg family have felt a calling to become full time missionaries in Haiti and are currently in the process of making plans to do so. We are completely confident in our calling to Haiti yet still unsure as to which organization we would like to serve alongside. We are seriously praying about and considering two organizations in Haiti who do similar work there (lead short term mission trips, orphan care, church planting/support, and medical mission work). Regardless of what organization we end up serving with, we think the preparation (missionary training, budgeting/ fund raising efforts, language study) will take at least 6 months and could possibly take up to 2 years.

Jake and I instantly fell in love with the country of Haiti and the Haitian people on our first trip there in 2005. We joke that “Haiti had us at hello…” but it’s so true. We didn’t know if we would EVER recover from all the things God revealed to us during that trip. Our comfortable life was turned upside down by everything we saw and experienced there. Thankfully, we never did “get over” it… God changed our entire life goals from that point on. We have said that our retirement plan would include serving in Haiti but always saw serving in Haiti as something we would do when we “outgrew youth ministry” or when our kids were grown or at least off to college. Over the last several months, as God has revealed to us his calling over our lives, we have realized that we can not ask God to respect our “timetable” and conditions when it comes to serving Him. We also realized that our numerous short term mission trips there are at times as effective as trying to put a band-aid on knife wound, it may help for a while but if we want to be a part of lasting healing impact on Haiti, we need to be there full time. As God began laying this on our hearts, we tried to reason with him (ever hear the saying “wanna make God laugh, tell him your plan”). In that process, Jake asked God to do three things (if He was really calling us to full time mission work)…

1. Families, not individuals, are called into ministry/ mission work so Jake asked God to create a desire within my heart and our children’s heart for Haiti~ Like I said earlier, Haiti had me at hello, and even though I am the biggest girly girl and scaredy cat you will ever met, I could not be more on board with this. Drew (our 14 year old son) has always been excited about our plans to be there one day when he was grown but previously was NOT interested in going there full time himself. As Jake began praying through this element, almost overnight Drew approached us about living there full time. He came to us in tears on several different occasions just heartbroken and home sick for the people he met in Haiti last November and desiring to be there NOW. Ashlyn (our 11 year old daughter), although worried about staying connected with her circle of friends here (especially Gentry), is also on board and excited. Jimso (our 7 year old adopted son from Haiti) is as well…. Kurt joked on Sunday about having a sneaking suspicious that Jimso will somehow fit right in.

2. The mission field in a third world country can be a difficult and lonely place, so we asked that God would not send us out alone but would provide another American couple or family to join us on the field~ Again as we prayed through this, we waited on the Lord. One night in particular, Jake and I left a Monday night prayer service at church feeling completely burdened and broken over this calling God was placing on our hearts. We went to Starbucks after prayer to sort through and process some of what we were experiencing. I asked Jake if we could call Mark and Belinda and ask them to join us at Starbucks so they could be praying for us too. He said “no, let’s wait” and then not 5 minutes later… who should “happen” to walk into the very Starbucks we were at?? But Mark and Belinda. As we shared with them where we were feeling lead (nothing about the other couple part), they shared with us that God had placing the exact same call onto their lives. Again God provided what we were asking for in prayer with out us even having to approach people! As God is weaving this team He will be sending out together, I am amazed!! With the background Belinda and I have in nursing, Mark’s background in business/agriculture/ animal husbandry, and Jake’s construction/ ministry background… God is sending us out equipped to meet some of the most crucial needs of the Haitian population!

3. As we have read about serving in full time mission work, we have learned that over 70% of American missionaries are unable to fulfill their commitment and end up coming home prematurely. We also learned that having Godly wise counsel and organizational support PRIOR TO AND DURING can greatly increase the effectiveness of missionaries. So we asked God to send us that from the very beginning~ Remember that night at Starbucks? Kenny and Linda McDonald “happened” to be with Mark and Belinda and “happen” to share the same heart for mission work and Haiti in particular as we do. The McDonalds were a part of the team that went to Haiti with us last February and they were impacted by what they experienced there. Since that meeting at Starbucks, the McDonalds have been an essential part of our team and the planning process. They have been faithfully interceding for our families in prayer and have been giving us a lot of WISE counsel since that night several months ago. We feel so blessed that the McDonalds will continue to be a part of our team, only based stateside, through out this journey. As we have shared the news with our church leadership, they have been tremendously supportive and just an answer to prayer as we try to navigate our way through this. Leaving church on Sunday after sharing with our church family (the people we do life with) our future plans, I have never been more in love with the body of Christ or felt more supported within the protection and refuge of that body.


This decision has not been an easy one and hasn’t been one that we have made lightly or emotionally…. With that being said, we have never been more sure or more confident of God’s leading or calling in our entire lives. As time goes, we will share more about how God called us into this, the many ways He has reconfirmed this over and over, our prayer needs, and how you can help us. But I want to close with this bible verse and an entry from my prayer journal back in April….

Philippians 1:5-7 (New International Version)
"because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God's grace with me.

“Lord my head is spinning right now with the things you have been pressing on our hearts and the new things you are stirring within us. Over and over you are confirming this calling to Haiti in a million random and unrelated ways. Now that we are indeed confident in the calling, there is a sense of deep peace mixed with chaos and fear. There are a million reasons why logically this is ridiculous and just plain crazy. I could come with an endless list of “cons” against moving my family there and there is more than enough evidence to justify not going BUT making this decision all comes down to this…. YOU HAVE CALLED US AND CREATED US TO DO THIS WORK! And all the fears and “cons” could never outweigh the calling and our desire to be obedient to you. THERE IS NO PLACE I WOULD RATHER BE THAN AT THE CENTER OF YOUR WILL FOR MY LIFE. At times I am overwhelmed with fear when I refuse to take captive every anxious thought. Yet I am secure knowing that the God who calls me is faithful. You have entrusted these three amazing and precious children to me and as a mom I want to protect them with every fiber of my being. But as much I love them and treasure their little hearts, my love for them is just a drop in the bucket compared to your love for them. And even more than wanting to protect them, I want to instill in these children a love for you and their fellow man. I can think of no better way to teach them this than to devote our entire lives work to serving others. Taking my family and packing up to live in a third world country is CRAZYINESS in the eyes of this world. But being disobedient to you and ignoring the needs that exist outside my comfortable life is even crazier to me. And even if that mean walking away from everything and everyone I love in this life, I will. I believe with all my heart that you have placed me in the position I am in (as a citizen of one the wealthiest nations, as an American educated nurse) for a reason and “for such a time as this”. I want to use all the resources you have given me to love on the “least of these” and to pour out my life as a drink offering to you. Jake and I prayed a dangerous prayer when we prayed that you would “break our heart for what breaks yours” and we do not want to waste our lives chasing after temporary things that do not matter in the end. Take my life and make it matter! The greatest tragedy in my eyes would be coming to the end of my life and realizing that I didn’t make a mark and living only for myself I did not impact your kingdom in the way I could have. I have been singing/praying these lyrics over and over “I don’t want to spend my whole life asking, what if I had given EVERYTHING, instead of going through the motions?” Lord today I am letting go of everything and surrendering completely to you and your calling over my life”

the gospel according to Michael Jackson

I am slightly annoyed by the way our society rushes to push "sainthood status" on famous people upon their untimely deaths... but the recent coverage of Jackson's death has given me a trip down memory lane as I have been reminded of some brilliant lyrics the legend Michale Jackson introduced us to. So here is my version of the gospel according to Michael Jackson for what it is worth.

GOSPEL ACCORDING TO JACKSON- PART ONE:"MAN IN THE MIRROR" (my personal fav) was a number-one hit for singer Michael Jackson when released as a single in the spring of 1988. It is one of Jackson's most critically acclaimed songs and it was nominated for Record of the Year at the Grammy Awards. The message of it's lyrics speak for itself....

Gotta make a change
For once in my life
It's gonna feel real good
Gonna make a difference
Gonna make it right

As I turned up the collar on
A favorite winter coat
This wind is blowin' my mind
I see the kids in the street
WITH NOT ENOUGH TO EAT
WHO AM I TO BE BLIND
PRETENDING NOT TO SEE THEIR NEEDS

A summer's disregard
A broken bottle top
And a one man's soul
They follow each other
On the wind ya' know
'Cause they got nowhere to go
That's why I want you to know

I'm starting with the man in the mirror
I'm asking him to change his ways
And no message could have been any clearer
If you wanna make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself and then make a change,

I've been a victim of
A selfish kinda love
It's time that I realize
There are some with no home
Not a nickel to loan
Could it be really pretending that they're not alone

A willow deeply scarred
Somebody's broken heart
And a washed out dream
(Washed out dream)
They follow the pattern of the wind ya' see
'Cause they got no place to be
That's why I'm starting with me

I'm starting with the man in the mirror
I'm asking him to change his ways
And no message could have been any clearer
If you wanna make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself and then make a change

I'm starting with the man in the mirror
I'm asking him to change his ways
And no message could have been any clearer
IF YOU WANT TO MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE
TAKE A LOOK AT YOURSELF AND THEN MAKE THAT CHANGE!

Although Jackson might have been just adding a spin to Gandhi's "Be the change you want to see in the world", theses lyrics have an undeniable biblical theme coming from James 2:22-24 that says, "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does."

the giant in YOUR backyard... foster care

“Let me introduce you to the giant standing in YOUR backyard…”

The last few days, the fatherless of our society has really been on my heart. On Thursday night, a friend and I attended a dinner/ informational meeting sponsored by DHS and the Office of Faith Based and Community Initiatives. The “Change a Child's Forever” campaign hosted a community meeting to discuss how faith congregations can become involved in foster care ministries. As a foster parent and a disciple of Jesus, I was challenged by what I heard and learned to do more. Let me introduce you to the giant (named OKDHS) in YOUR own backyard….

•114,492 children were reported as alleged victims of abuse and neglect in the state of Oklahoma last year alone


• 11,714 of those children were confirmed to be victims of child abuse and neglect last year

• In 2008, there were over 11,000 children in foster care in the state of Oklahoma and over 40% of those children were under the age of 4.

• In Oklahoma county, there are 1,685 children in DHS custody and ONLY 300 foster care homes (“the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few” Matthew 9:37)

• 60% of confirmed victims of abuse are 6 years old and younger (in OK)

• 64% are white, 17.6% black, and 16.8% Indian (in OK)

• The perpetrator of abuse is usually mom (45%) or dad (30%)- 75% of all cases (in OK)

• The type of abuse in Oklahoma can be broken down as follows: Neglect=84%, Physical Abuse= 12%, Sexual Abuse= 4%

• Top 6 reasons for neglect are as follows: substance abuse= 19.17%, threat of harm= 18.9%, failure to protect= 17.7%, exposure to domestic violence = 9.52%, inadequate or dangerous shelter= 9.52%, and lack of supervision= 7.53%

• This means that the typical child in the Oklahoma foster care system is a white 6 year old boy neglected due to parental substance abuse such as meth

As a foster mom, I leave almost every family court date and almost every encounter on my foster baby’s behalf juts completely frustrated and overwhelmed at the brokenness of our system and the ways it seems that these children are falling through the cracks. I kinda feel like David facing Goliath but without even one stone to throw. My heart hurts when I face statistics like those listed above that support the reality that MANY children are part of an epidemic that could be classified as a giant in our own backyard. So where is HOPE in statistics like these?

Throughout scripture, God’s tender heart towards the fatherless and orphaned is a recurring theme. He commands us as believers to care for and defend the poor and fatherless among us (Psalm 82:3, Psalm 10:17-18, Isaiah 1:17, Jeremiah 5:28, Zechariah 7:9-11, James 1:27). When I first moved to the great state of Oklahoma, I was taken back by the way there seems to be a church on VERY corner. But the way our state is flooded with believers actively involved in local church is where I believe our hope in defeating this giant sized problem can be found!!

Becoming a foster parent is not for everyone… but I believe we all can do something to love on the fatherless among us. Today on father’s day, think about what you can do to serve the giant in your own backyard….

Top 10 Things You Can
Do For A Foster Child:

10. Pray for the children in foster care and their families.

9. Collect birthday gifts for the foster children in your community.

8. Have a baby shower to collect baby essentials.

7. Collect luggage for foster children in transition (most children are forced to use trash bags when they move into new placements, what message does this send about their value and worth?)

6. Create toddler toy boxes.

5. Mentor a foster child.

4. Be an alternate caregiver for a foster family.

3. Contact your local OKDHS foster care specialist about specific needs in your community.

2. Host foster children’s visits with their birth families, support groups for foster parents, free child care nights out, or other events that support foster parents at your facility.

1. Become a foster parent or forever family for a child!!

YOU MAY NOT BE ABLE TO CHANGE THE WORLD, BUT YOU CAN CHANGE THE WORLD FOR ONE CHILD!!

Transition from WHERE there is no doctor... WHY there is no doctor??!!

"Let us be the ones who say we do not accept that a child dies every three seconds simply because he does not have the drugs you and I have. Let us be the ones to say we are not satisfied that your place of birth determines your right to life. Let us be outraged, let us be loud, let us be bold!" ~actor Brad Pitt


"You can not comfort the afflicted without afflicting the comfortable." ~Princess Diana



On my very first medical mission trip to Haiti and fresh out of nursing school, I was introduced to this handy dandy book called "Where There Is No Doctor". Over the last several years, I have gotten a lot of invaluable information from that book that has helped us as we have navigate our way through numerous medical missions trips since that first trip back in 2005. Many consider "Where There Is No Doctor" their health bible when doing medical mission work. I carry it with me on every trip I take, and refer to it often. The information provided in this book is simple, straight forward, and easy to read. The finest academic medical preparation can not prepare an American health care workers for medical mission work in developing countries... we rely too much on our equipment, advanced technology, and almost indisposeable and readily available resources that when we are overwhelmed and struggle, to say the least, when we are throw into an environment without the comforts of our health care system. So books and resources like "Where There Is No Doctor" have attempted to bridge that gap and help ease the transition from modern medicine to the primitive medicine that exists in third world countries like Haiti. But as awesome and helpful as this book has proven to be... lately I have been thinking short term medical mission trips are as helpful as trying to put a band-aid on a sliced open pulmonary artery. And I am feeling that instead of relying on "Where There Is No Doctor" we should start asking "Why There Is No Doctor"??!

Our church and the teams we have sent have sponsored three medical clinics in Haiti in the last six months. We have seen over 300 patients in our make shift clinics (many who had never been to a doctor and who willing to wait all day to be seen). We treated a variety of ailments from bladder infections to malaria to severe malnourishment to tuberculosis.

The purpose for our most recent trip was an emergency tuberculosis clinic. We tested over 100 people in one community and had about 17 positive tests. In the course of trying to find follow up care for those who tested positive, we traveled one day to a hospital about 2 hours away from the orphanage where we worked. The road to the hospital is ROUGH terrain.... but worth every bump along the way because I have been forver changed by what I saw that day.

Anyone who has watched any amount of late night TV has surely seen the commercials for organizations like Christian Child Fund depicting what life is like for starving children with swollen bellies promoting child sponsorship programs... and although through our travels to Haiti, I have seen some children who could be classified as severely malnourished, NOTHING could have prepared my heart for what I would see in that pediatric unit in that hospital! We saw children who were completely emaciated and literally wasting away. I watched a father painfully feed his almost unconscious lethargic son a protein fortified formula with tears in his eyes and I have have never prayed so earnestly for healing in my life.

As a nurse, as I watched auxiliary nurses move from patient to patient with no hand washing or gloves, it almost killed me to see the lack of infection control that existed in that ward. I think our beloved Florence Nightingale would be turning in her grave at some of the practices there. As a mom, my heart broke in a million pieces, as I saw the looks on worried parents faces at the children's bedside. But as American, I felt a kind of indescribable shame, as I watched children dying of COMPLETELY PREVENTABLE AND TREATABLE CONDITIONS.

Coming home and trying to process what we saw and experienced has left me with more questions than answers. Like why are some American actors more active is fighting the diseases and injustices of extreme poverty than some American Christians are? And what is my piece of this puzzle and where is my responsibility in it? But most of all why is there no doctor? And how can we right the wrongs of health care in developing countries?

"When a poor person dies of hunger, it has not happened because God did not take care of him or her. It happened because neither you nor I wanted to give that person what he or she needed." ~ Mother Teresa

"It's the greatest poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish" ~ Mother Teresa

Haiti Flag Day... National Pride in the Midst of Extreme Poverty

Here is another snapshot of our last trip to Haiti....

During our last trip to Haiti, we got to experience our first flag day there. May 18th is a national holiday in which Haitian people celebrate their nation and their flag which is indisputably a symbol of great pride. If a picture is worth a thousands words.. I'll let these pictures speak volumes about the pride that exists within Haitian hearts and keep this blog post short and sweet.

The children at the orphanage and school in Fedja celebrated by making flags and participating in a parade in Mirebalais. Before the parade, Jake preached a sermon about freedom in Christ and the significance of being free from bondage of sin.


I am reading some books on Haitian history and community development there... and have learned so much about the people who have stolen my heart. Haitian was founded in 1804 by former slaves after an extraordinary revolution against their French oppressors. Haiti once stood as a beacon of hope and inspiration for colonized people but is notorious in today's society for the desperate poverty of its people and the violent instability of its state. I have seen a survivor mentality exist among some of the sweet brothers and sisters I have meet there as they daily make gut wrenching decisions that I will never be faced with. One sweet woman shared her heart as her children were given the opportunity to go school and have their uniforms, books, and tuition paid for... yet she was torn because she was unsure about her families livelihood as going to school meant having less help working in the families farming fields. Their land is eroding, their bodies are exhausted and malnourished,they disease stricken from many preventable and treatable conditions that have been long eradicated from developed nations, and YET THEY HAVE A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF HOPE AND PRIDE IN THEIR NATION!


As someone who has spent time serving the precious people of Haiti, I am blown away and humbles by their pride in their fragmented country and their indomitable spirit is contagious!

Girl effect... THIS IS MY GIRL!!

Do not read any more until you have finished watching the video below....



I saw this "girl effect" video at the medical mission conference I went to this weekend. When the video asked you to imagine a girl in a poverty, I immediately thought of this precious girl named O'Chelley. If I had a suitcase large enough, I definitely would have brought her home with me a long time ago.

Let me introduce you... she's pretty much amazing!! She lives at the orphanage we work with in Haiti. She is shy at first but once you get to know her, you will soon discover that she has one of the most sweet, gentle, and precious spirits ever. She is one of the older girls at the orphanage and is definitely the mother hen of the group. She ALWAYS has a little posse of girls following her around wherever she goes... not just because she is a natural born leader but also because she is so attentive to their needs. In the morning, she starts her day early with helping the younger girls dress,making sure all they get their teeth brushed, and their hair done(and everyday there is a HUGE line for her hair styling services). At meal times, she can be found feeding one or even two babies on her lap. The only time she is not focused on caring and loving her "baby chicks" is the 3 or 4 hours a day she attends school. I have seen her on several occasions with a lap full of children reading them "Amelia Bedelia" or a torn up "Beginners Bible". In the evenings before bed, she leads ALL of the girls in the most beautiful and precious song time. While GVCM employs nannies to care for the children, O'Chelley works equally as hard (if not harder) at the daunting task of caring for all 57 children. Although she is an orphan herself and has never been given the gift of a nurturing mothering role model, at the tender age of 9, she is the "momma" to more children than you could imagine. Like I said, she is pretty much amazing!

Driving back from Kansas City,my friend Belinda and I were talking about our some of the kids who stole our hearts in Haiti... and she has this brilliant idea of sending our little O'Chelley to nursing school one day.

A few days ago, I blogged about my first Haitian wedding and the heart break I felt watching the bride require assistance signing her marriage license because she was unable to read and write. And honestly I felt numb and overwhelmed... some issues in life are too big for one person to tackle. I can not teach millions of illiterate women in Haiti to read! But I can profoundly impact one girl's life who can profoundly impact another girl's life and so on and so on.

Knowing what I know about developing nations and having seen the devastation of extreme poverty with my own eyes, it easy to become overwhelmed at the magnitude of injustices. But there is so much hope for nations like Haiti because of girls like O' Chelley!!

Who is you girl? Who will you invest in? Don't have one.... it's no big deal, JUST HUMANITY!