You give credit where credit is due, and Jody Lenz deserves “anpil, anpil” credit.

After the earthquake and the emergence of Cholera several years ago, our workload grew significantly. As God does, He provided an increase in the hands that helped bear this burden with us. Many were moved by God to travel here to Cazale, sweat a little sweat, share a little life, and serve this community with us. With great needs in front of us, the pressures of daily life and ministry made it increasingly difficult to coordinate and manage volunteers. We prayed, and as God has consistently done over the years, He provided exactly who we needed exactly when we needed her. Jody began working alongside us here in Cazale in September 2013.

As those of you who have visited Real Hope for Haiti well know, Jody is like a mother to all. She is patient, kind, earnest, sincere. To be healthy and effective in the type of organization like ours, it is important to be aware of the needs of the Haitians we serve as well as those supporters who make the work possible. We are thankful God blessed us with a co-worker and co-heir with Christ such as Jody, who so sweetly demonstrated a profound love for the Haitian people and a genuine affection for those who support and visit Real Hope for Haiti as well.

She invested years of her life, energy, and effort into our organization and we are grateful for service. We are thankful for each tender touch to those who were ill, kind words to those who were discouraged, and fervent prayers for those who were desperate for it. She effectively communicated the programs of RHFH during tours she would give visitors, and always made volunteers and mission teams feel welcomed and at home. And in the midst of all her responsibilities, she always was generous in her time and attention to the many children who passed through our Rescue Center, who were made to feel precious by her. We are a much stronger organization now because of her presence with us. The village of Cazale is a lot brighter of a place with her in it.

We talked last year about her time with Real Hope for Haiti coming to a close at the end of 2017. However, because of some health issues and circumstances with other RHFH staff members that left us short-handed, Jody graciously offered to extend her commitment to us for another 3 months until we were fully staffed again. This was a tremendous help to us and reminded us of how the body of Christ ought to function, offering our lives to help build up the Kingdom of God as He gives us energy and opportunity.

God has given Jody a deep love for the people of Cazale and continues to be a part of the village life here moving forward. So, visitor who returns, you can still take the opportunity to high five and hug Jody whenever you are in Cazale. I know I will.

If you are interested in volunteering with RHFH in the future, you can continue to email inquiries to volunteer@realhopeforhaiti.org

Also, if you have developed a friendship with Jody over the years and would like to remain in contact with her, you can also email volunteer@realhopeforhatii.org and we will forward your information on to Jody.