Few things are more meaningful than being hugged by someone you've helped. It's a common scene as we make our way across this island of need. We have learned that the simple act of showing up, of ducking through the doorway of their tiny home, of holding their children…is a ministry in and of itself. This is the essence of Starfysh. The message behind all our projects and good deeds is that someone…that Someone…sees them and knows them and loves them.

I hope you can join us on Thursday, November 21 at the Prince Conference Center on the campus of Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Join us for great food, entertainment, and to hear an amazing story of how Starfysh has been bringing transformative change to the island of La Gonave, Haiti.

For the second year in a row, our vacation bible school (VBS) has chosen to help support the wonderful people who live on the Island of La Gonave.

We received this letter from Dori Rothenthaler, an RN from Grand Rapids, MI who recently returned from her first trip to La Gonave. She has kindly given us permission to share it (we added the pictures). We think you will enjoy it. Here it is, unedited, and in its entirety…

A few weeks ago, eighty-five children way up in the mountains of La Gonave completed their very first year of school. Ever. They started with nothing, essentially. To house it, we found a dilapidated and abandoned, tiny old church building that was pretty much unsafe.

Looking out my office window, I watched some workers open up a fire hydrant and walk away. For the better part of the day I watched a 50-foot gusher of water land uselessly in the road. Must’ve had their reasons. “Cleaning out the lines,” I figured. Someday I’ll ask them.

I sit in my green Adirondack, book in hand, but dozing off. Sensing something, I don't know what, I crack one eye open to see an inchworm just inches from my face, having descended from one of the tall oaks in my backyard.