And we're BOOKED!!!

Our plans are made...our chapter now has a final page...

We finalized our tickets tonight!  We are officially heading back to the States on December 22, 2014 and will no longer have a house in Haiti; however, our hearts will forever feel at home on this island!

We have SO many emotions about this!  But more than anything God is just really showing us his faithfulness and his care for us!  He continues to soften our hearts daily, and just really show us His desires for how we end our time here.  We have been doing our best to really invest in those who will take over roles that we have filled these past two years.  Both Rob and I couldn't love those people anymore and really pray that God will provide us the opportunity to continue to be a support and encouragement to them.  With the kids, we have been taking every opportunity to "take a picture in our brains" of the things we love, people we adore, and God's creation here in Haiti.  This has been so  fun!  Toby walks around now often making camera noises as he looks all around the compound for things he wants to remember and loves.  For all the kids, but for him especially, I pray that God will store those photographs in their minds and hearts that they may remember and always have glimpses of their time here at such a young age!

Family and friends have been taking advantage of scheduling trips to Haiti for our final days here to see and glimpse the place we have lived these past two years and just to be able to relate to our stories.  We are so grateful for "our people"...people who have supported, encouraged, visited, and loved us all along this journey!  Man, there just are not words for the amount of love and gratitude we feel toward you!!!  A special shout out to those who visited us here on the ground too!  Many of you stepped far out of your comfort zone to do so and gave of your time and finances to make that happen!  We are so grateful that are kids have that handful of ppl to share their stories and their home with who have seen for themselves!  Others of you have followed the blog, Facebook and pictures and have just been so intentional to love and support us!  You too are SOOO very close to our hearts!  We LOVE you and appreciate you just the same!

God is also providing for us a time of rest and respite before we head home.  Our last day at COTP will be December 17th.  At that time, we will head to Puerta Plata in the DR and spend 5 nights at a resort there.  We are going to be slightly emotional ppl when we leave COTP--heading straight to the States and into the throws of the holiday season is probably not wise for us ;)  We are hoping out time in the DR will help us to grieve our departure together, embrace each other, cry together, remember our days, laugh lots, and dream about what lies ahead.  Umbrella drinks, our own swimming pool, all-inclusive meals and teal blue ocean water can solve A LOT!  So, pray with us that our moto and a couple other bigger items we have here sell so that we are able to make this happen!

In these final months, we hope to be able to continue to share our hearts and our home with you, while all the while bringing light and glory to God for this part of our journey!  Stay tuned as I try to stay on top of the blog (I am fighting so many emotions, and struggle to put them all out in a blog post as they often feel intimate and personal), and make sure to follow our Instagram hashtag #vlfinalchapter for daily glimpses into our final days!

Finally, we are still looking for about 10 families to support us these final 4 months at $50/month each.  If you, or someone you know, are interested in partnering with us in that way please email me at erinvandelune@gmail.com.  THANKS!