To be LOVED...

To be loved. ..

It’s our human nature…we all long to be loved. We all long for that feeling to be cared for and cared about. Even under your tough outer shell...you desire TO BE LOVED. 

I think of the little girl who lost her momma and has no daddy and needs help to pay for school. She longs to be cared for by someone.  She longs to be LOVED.

I think of the elderly who have no one to come visit them and love on them. They long to be cared for by someone.  They long to be LOVED.

I think of the two little girls in Titanyen who are in such a difficult situation and don’t even know what if feels like to be truly loved and cared for. They long to be LOVED.

I think of their mom who has no idea what love looks like or means. Her view of love is so warped due to her circumstances but deep down she longs to be cared for by someone.  She longs to be LOVED.

I think of the orphans. The thousands of children who have no family to call their own. They long to be cared for by someone.  They long to be LOVED.

I think of my own little man. His need for love. His need to hear “I love you” and to have some to say those words to. He longs to be cared for and he longs to be LOVED.

I think of my own needs and my own desires to be loved to be cared for. To know that there is someone that loves me more than I can imagine, that desires me. My longings to be cared for by someone.  My longing to be LOVED.

Sometimes life can be hard. Sometimes life just stinks. Sometimes we don’t feel loved. Sometimes we feel like we are all alone in this big world. Our own friends have turned against us, things don’t go as planned, injustice surrounds us, innocent people around us are dying, children are starving—we just don’t feel or see the love and we long TO BE LOVED.  We all do.

I’m there, I’ve been there, and it’s real and it’s honest. When you don’t feel the love it’s hard.

~BUT~

Our God is greater…

I’m so thankful that even in those difficult times God surrounds us. He surrounds us with the most loving and caring people. Friends who simply just pray with you and listen, friends who encourage you through words, friends who put themselves aside to be with you, friends who bless you with their generosity and go above and beyond, and friends who remind you that you are HIS daughter and that YOU ARE LOVED despite what the world tells you.  

But what about those who don’t have that..what about those who don’t have a mom or dad to love them and simply hold them when they are sad…what about the elderly who are all alone and don’t have someone to tell them they are loved…what about the young mom who doesn’t even know how to be loved or to accept love because all of her life she has been mistreated and basically been a slave…This breaks my heart.

In my need and desire for love and to be LOVED I am called to LOVE others. Despite my pain, my hurts, my fears I have a Father who loves me and because of that I pray that I have the strength to LOVE others because we all long TO BE LOVED.  

We have a Father who LOVES us. We have a Father who desires us. We have a Father who is there for us. We have a Father who cares for us. This world and people will always let you down. They will turn on us, they will hurt us, but in all of that we have to remember in the pain WE ARE LOVED BY OUR HEAVENLY FATHER.

If your there, if you’re in that spot of not feeling loved this is for you, this is for ME.

John 15:13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

Psalm 62:5-8 Find rest o my soul, in God alone, my hope comes from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, He is my fortress, I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honor depend on God. He is my mighty rock, my refuge. Trust in Him at all times, o people, pour out your hearts to Him for God is our refuge.

1 Peter 5:6-7 - Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

Psalm 86:15 - But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.

I am fearless in Your presence..Your all around me...all around me...in my weakness, You are strongest...You surround me...You surround me. 

HE LOVES YOU!

HE IS JEALOUS FOR YOU!

HE DESIRES YOU!

HE IS FAITHFUL!

HE IS YOUR FATHER! 

2nd Grade!!

Bring on 2nd grade!! We are in full swing now of the 2015-2016 school year! We started the school year a few days later than expected due to the elections and the unknown of whether it would be safe or not for students to travel. So we had started on a Thursday and eased into the school year! 

This little man was so bummed though when school got postponed!! 

He was so excited to go back!!

When the day finally came!! He was up and ready to go with a big ol smile on his face!! 

 I on the other hand was still half asleep! I was enjoying summer and being able to stay up later and sleep in!! ;) 

 Loving his new backpack he got for his birthday from Kamala!! 

 All ready to go!!

Bring on 2nd grade!! 

This school year is also bringing new change for me!! I am excited that this year I am teaching Physical Education!! Back in my old groove and I am loving it!! I have PreK-3rd grade and then I also have middle school and high school girls! 

God has been taking good care of us in so many ways and I am so thankful for my new position and for my little man being able to go to Quisqueya Christian School! 

Praying 2015-2016 is a huge success!! 

Baby Steps!!!

We are taking baby steps but we are moving forward!! 

A while back--several months ago actually--we started working on getting his birth certificate and had to get a letter from IBESR (which is like social services) we then had to take it to the mayor of Delmas to get it signed. Well we found out that apparently we didn't have a mayor at the time because he was running for some other office this election season...(election season in Haiti is a whole other issue)

So we waited....

and waited....

and finally we had a new mayor! So of course we went right away to see if the letter was signed.

Well not exactly...apparently the new mayor decided that the lawyer who was working on the case should be the one to sign it because he knew all the details...ok great. 

but it wasn't that easy....because the lawyer was now on vacation and wouldn't be back for a couple weeks...ugh it felt like it was a never ending process! The only thing we could do was to walk out of that office (which we had been in and out of many times!!!) and laugh and trust that in His perfect timing we would get the letter.

FINALLY...last week we were able to walk out of that office with the letter in hand!! It was a such a tiny baby step, but it was a step and we are rejoicing in that!!!

We were able to drop this letter off last week at another office to get a birth certificate made and are patiently waiting for it to be completed so we can move onto the passport!! 

Little by little we will get this done...with LOTS of patience!! :) 

Thank you all so much for your continued prayers we couldn't do any of this without you!! 

One Great Birthday!!

Well my sweet little mans birthday has come and gone!! I would say he had one fantastic day and felt pretty special! 

We still continue to get gifts and cards in the mail--THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU WHO SENT HIM THINGS AND HAVE MADE HIM FEEL SO LOVED!! 

He even helped make his own birthday cupcakes and loved it!!!

Birthday morning.. he was surprised with decorations and presents and of course wanted to open them all right away!
He got to chose 1!! ;) 

Then it was off to horse camp...where he had to start off his day with scooping poop! ;) He thought he could get out of it because it was his birthday but nope! :) 

He is getting pretty good at taking care of these horses!! 

Love seeing him up there on the horses!
He's always so happy and proud! 

Time to give the horse a bath!!

Such a trooper even helped cut up the fruit and veggies for his party!!
We were on crunch time trying to get everything ready before the kids started to come! 

This woman is AMAZING!! She is like a mom to him and was like a mom to me that day! I seriously could not have made it through the day without her! She even stayed after and helped me clean! She is a blessing and made me feel so loved and like my own momma was there helping! 

Slowly throughout the day he got to open a few presents here and there....such a ham right!! 

We went with a Spiderman theme...Thanks to Karla who sent down decorations and masks!! And Jessica for bringing us more birthday goodies!! :) 

Making their "Super Hero Capes" 

Yummy!! 

What a good looking gang!!
So thankful for Risa and Spencer who were able to stay and help out!!
Who knew birthday parties were so much work! ;) 

Scavenger hunt with their Super Hero Capes!! :) 

Putting on a skit....of course he would steal the show!! :) 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LITTLE MAN!!!

Another amazing woman in his life!
She is such a blessing to us and takes such good care of us!! 

My lifesaver of the day!!
Could not have done it without this wonderful woman!!

So thankful for this mother and son who are so good to my little man! 

Needless to say it was one
AWESOME
birthday party!!! 

Thank you so much to everyone who made it so great!! 

We are so blessed by your cards and gifts!! 

Injustice sucks

That's it, thats all I can say. 

Frustrated, confused, heartbroken, angry and asking myself now what. 

Please pray for wisdom, direction and protection. 
Pray for protection for the poor, meek, vulnerable and for justice to prevail. 
Pray for those who take advantage of those who have nothing. 

For now all I can say is injustice sucks. 

A birthday to remember..

Chances are if you have interacted with my little guy at all in the last month or so you are sure to know that his birthday is coming up!! He makes it very clear to everyone that on July 21st is his birthday and he will be turning 9! He is so excited about it and talks about it all the time!! I feel like I have a lot of expectations to live up to this year! ;)

Although this might not be what the birth certificate from social services says...I can't break a little boys heart who has been talking about July ever since he came to live with me December!! So we are going to celebrate the birthdate that was given to him at Grace Village! July 21st!!

I would love to make this birthday extra special for him! So if you would like to send him a card or anything I just know that he would love it and it would just make his day!! He is a very loved little man and I want him to know it!! :)

Our mailing address is
3170 Airmans Dr
#2029
Fort Pierce, Fl 34946


Thank you for making him feel so special and loved!!

Its amazing the change that places over a couple years!! I always tell him to stop growing!!!! 

When you find what he loves...

Summertime is HERE!! 

We are so excited to have a much needed break to hangout and have time to do fun new things! 

Sometimes I think its funny how God works in our lives. I love it that God has entrusted me with this handsome little boy who I love dearly, but who is also completely different from me! 

**He is musically talented....I on the other hand can't even clap my hands in a steady beat! 

**Give me a ball and I'm gonna make something happen....He on the other hand while enjoys sports most times would rather be the coach or cheerleader. :) Maybe once he learns to control those long limbs of his this will change. ;) 

**He is a complete extrovert....I on the other hand am a complete introvert. This gives me much anxiety at times, but can also be quite beneficial. :) 

As a parent I think you learn that no matter what our desires are or what we desire for our kids to be, we have to let them figure it out for themselves and allow them to do the things that they love, not the things that we love. While I would love for him to be an all-star athlete, he may not want to be. So when you find something that they love you go for it. 

I have been trying to get him to do as many different things as possible to explore all of his talents and find out what he loves. We've done basketball camp, music lessons, horseback riding, and will be doing a soccer camp this summer as well! 

So far I think his favorite thing, which is funny because when we first attempted to ride a horse in the countryside of Haiti he was deathly afraid, but now he loves it and wants to do it every week!! 

I have read so much about the benefits of horseback riding and I am thrilled that he enjoys it so much! 

Although it is quite expensive--as are most activities with kids are! I would love to be able to continue to take him every week if not a couple times a week! 

If you would like to help support this and purchase a session or two we would really appreciate it!! 

Each session cost $25.00. 

You could pay through paypal using the email: jeb1026@gmail.com or make a donation go to: http://www.rce-international.org/support-a-missionary/ 

Simply type in Jessica Burmester

HOW GREAT IS THAT SMILE!!! 

HE'S SO PROUD!! 

LEARNING ALL KINDS OF NEW THINGS!!

OF COURSE HE HAS TO LEARN TO TAKE GOOD CARE OF HIS HORSE!!

We are so excited about this opportunity for him!! 

My little Haitian Cowboy!