At the beginning of March, volunteer photographer, Tina Erdmann, and I went to visit our ministry partners in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

While in Haiti, our plan was to visit 4 of the 6 school locations in our Haiti child sponsorship program. Since my last visit to Haiti two years ago, I hoped to see changes for the better but it seemed as though the people were more disheartened and frustrated than ever. We were unable to visit any of the schools in our Haiti program due to the fact that the religious sisters are being targeted by unscrupulous robbers and thieves who think the sisters have money coming out of their ears. Particularly when the sisters are visited by foreigners, the thieves assume their visitors are leaving behind donations and loads of money. These vandals keep an eye on the sisters and if they have visitors, they come armed and demand money or any valuables. Some of our sisters have been struck or slapped when they resisted.