Madam's Monday- Holiday Break

For all of you Madam's Monday readers out there, there won't be a story posted for the next few weeks!! I want to wish everyone a wonderful CHRISTMAS and a Happy New Year, too! Please keep the madams of OLTCH in yours prayers. Remember their stories and know that they are just a glimpse into the lives of these women. May God bless you and yours as you seek His heart and serve His people :)

A year to serve Haiti...

I moved to Haiti in August on a 10 month commitment. No official contract was signed, but I gave my word to teach English at OLTCH. I also gave and am still learning to give all that I am to the Lord to do with as He pleases. I knew this was the next step in my life and I knew it would come with much sacrifice and challenge. Never could I have imagined that this decision to obey the calling God gave me for this year could come with such joy and growth. I started this blog to update friends and family on my adventure, and to journal my thoughts and experiences. I titled my blog address "ayeartoservehaiti" because I was giving my life THIS year to serve Haiti. 

Well, I am very excited to inform anyone reading this that my one-year commitment will be extended until the Lord says otherwise! I will be traveling back to the states at the very beginning of June and will return to Haiti late July. I have no doubt this is what I am called to do at this time in my life, and only God knows how long He will have me serve here. So... while my blog address remains "ayeartoservehaiti", the meaning behind it is even more significant now. It stands as a testimony to how God has given me the desire to return along with His assurance to serve in Haiti for more than just this one year. For me personally, it will also remind me to take this journey one year at a time.

At this time, I humbly ask for you to pray for me as I continue to seek the Lord and HIS heart for my life on this Earth. 

Pray for my family.

Pray for my friends.

Pray for OLTCH and everyone involved in this ministry.

Pray for Haiti and the ones God has in this country. 

Pray for this blog and that it would encourage anyone who comes across it.

At the end of my life, it is God and God alone that I stand before. I want Him to be pleased and honored by all that has been accomplished for Him and through Him in this lifetime. I want Him to tell this child, "No matter what, you followed me."

Madam's Monday- Mimose Montus

"Hello, everyone! My name is Mimose Montus and I am going to share some of my life with you. I have 51 years.

I have 4 brothers. I had 5, but one died. I lived with my mother when I was a little girl. We didn't have any money and we were very poor. My mother was a merchant and we could eat once a day. None of us ever went to school because there was no money for that. When I was 11, my papa took me from my mother's home and took me to one of his friend's house. He didn't think my mother could care for me. A year after that, I dropped a coffee press cloth in the water well and they sent me back to my mother because I was too much of a problem. I went and lived with my mother. I didn't stay there long because one of my uncles came and took me to Port au Prince with him. I lived there for 8 years. I was able to eat once a day and I had to do all of the work around the house. I became a slave child until I was 20. When I was 20 years old, I tried to take some night classes and work, but it was too much money so I couldn't do that. I took another job at a restaurant and made $1.20 American a month. Sometimes I cooked and sometimes I cleaned. I lost that job and tried to become a merchant. I tried selling anything I could get my hands on. When I was 22, I had my first child. Then, I took a job at a woman's house. When I started working there, my mother died. I stayed working there for 5 years. During this time, I had my second child. Both of my children lived with me. 

In my life, I have had 7 children. 2 of them died and I have 5 children left. 

When I stopped working for the woman, I moved into a mud hut with my children. I started selling what I could at my house. 13 years later, my house burned down. We were homeless. Someone took us to live in their house and they helped me and my children. After some time, the person could not help us anymore and I had to go somewhere else with my kids. I found a small shack that didn't have a roof and we stayed there. After a while, we put a roof on it. I knew a few people that lived close by and they helped me and my kids. With the money we were getting, I was able to put some bricks around the house to make it stronger. I still live there today. 

Three years ago, the business I had at my house went bad. I owed a lot of money to people and I needed to make more money to pay them back. I had to look for another job. Someone called my daughter and told her there was a job available at OLTCH. I did not know what it was, but I came to see. I was interviewed and hired as a cook and house keeper. I have been here for 3 years.

I am still helping my children because none of them work and make money. I also have three grandchildren. 

The money I make at OLTCH goes to all of them. 

I enjoy working at OLTCH because I can work hard and not just sit. I like that there is always a chance to make more money and get a better working position here and I need that for my family. 

If I don't die, you will find me working here. 

I would love to be able to stay home with my children and grandchildren, but without work there is no money and we need the money. 

Thank you everyone who reads my story. Thank you for caring."