It’s Sunday afternoon at Caroline’s House. Our church service finished awhile ago, it seems long, perhaps longer to a transplanted Minnesotan with a still limited understanding of Creole. That is, an understanding certainly not capable of keeping up with Pastor Rena and his passionate, maybe you could even say aggressive style. But now we relax for awhile, later will be the preparation for school tomorrow, but right now everything seems to be moving a little slower.
My sweet mother-in-law has just come by as she does most days with some Haitian hot chocolate for papa Steve. “Pitit mwen” she says softly as she gives me a hug. “My little one”, her pet name for me.
Venite’s mother lives in a small house of bamboo with a rusty tin roof. This is the very house where my beautiful wife Venite grew up. It sits on a hilltop just beyond the next valley past Caroline’s House. I have sat in front of this house many times, picturing in my minds eye, Venite as a little girl running up and down these trails, no one knowing at that time how God would use her one day to serve the very community where her family struggled to get by.
But this story is about my Mama, more specifically her heart for the people of our mountainside village and the children of Caroline’s House. She is “grandma” to many and spends many hours each day at our house fussing with details that may otherwise be left undone. She clearly loves all the children here, but seems particularly happy to have her two new granddaughters to love and care for. Mama has been a widow now for more than ten years but continues to be full of life, carrying for others and being very involved in our church
I’ve heard it said before that if you want to understand your wife a little better, take a look at her mother. This may be scary to some, but I see over and over again in Mama how blessed I am to have my sweet wife Venite.
Steve Vanoss - Director of Voice of Angels
Caroline's House, built by his hands, to serve his very own.
612-500-1995 US. / 011-509-3194-4949 Haiti email@example.com
I have been back in Minnesota for three weeks now, away from my wonderful wife Venite, our twin baby girls and all the children I love so much.
An unexpected week in the hospital last recently has made this time away even more difficult than usual. Thank you to all those that reached out, helped out and prayed for me through my stay.
It was tough. The time apart is always a challenge for me but this was different. Despite all efforts to bring Venite to Minnesota from Haiti during my hospitalization, it seems that our government is not yet ready to receive her when I needed her most. That was the hardest part.
As I have said before Venite and I count our family very blessed to be called to this work and to this small mountainside village in Haiti. The blessings are great, but the challenges can be great as well. The responsibilities that come from caring for so many come with significant costs and there are always the inevitable, sometimes expensive complications that arise as we reach out to our local community and so many in need.
So today we ask you, our friends, those of you who are touched by these children and this work to care for His very own, to partner with us financially in providing for the needs of these little ones and the families of our community.
Please consider making a gift today to Voice of Angels to help us in this work. It would be a great encouragement and put to important use! We also ask that you would support our family, these children and our village in prayer.
Voice of Angels
Serving his very own in Fon-De-Nèg Haiti
Steve runs Voice of Angels, a mission to the children of Haiti. Caroline’s House is an orphanage he founded in 2016 and is one of many projects he envisions to lift children out of desperation and into Hope.