I’m excited to say that we have a confirmed date for a Haiti Benefit Concert which will be held at the school gym in Roseau, MN on Saturday, March 5th at 7 pm and an additional concert will be held at 2 pm. Please join us for a night of great music by my sister, Ashlee Hewitt, and her Nashville Band! One hundred percent of ticket sales and donations will be used to rebuild a Ruuska Village orphanage building, which was destroyed during the devastating, January 12, 2010 Haiti earthquake. We are also excited to have my dear friend, Barbara Walker, who is the owner of Ruuska Village and adoption facilitator as a guest speaker. You may feel like you already know her, if you have been following my blog! :) If you are interested in making a donation or purchasing tickets please call the North Country Inn and Suites: 1-888-300-2196. Cost of General Seating is $10 and Reserved Seating is $25. Our goal is to raise $14,000, which will completely cover the cost to rebuild a two-story building that will be used to house children and orphans waiting to be placed in forever families!
I’m happy to announce that through Barbara’s hard work and dedication, 84 children were placed in permanent homes in 2010! I am planning to return to Haiti this April along with two of my sisters, Ashlee and Mallori Hewitt, and our friend, JoyAnn Pankratz! It is so hard to believe exactly one year has gone by since the Haiti earthquake - it seems like just yesterday. As the thoughts of the earthquake flood my memory, I can hear cries of children, the roar of the earthquake, and I can still feel the tremors. It has been a day filled with overwhelming emotion for me. Going to Haiti was an experience I will never forget, and I am still in awe of the fact that God chose to protect me and all the children and workers within Ruuska Village.
People have said to me on several occasions, “You know, Lacey, it takes a special person to do what you did over there. I could never do that!” But, I don’t look at it like that. I am just an ordinary person whom God chose to use for something special. I had fears, reservations, and anxiety, just like anyone else would have experienced. In fact, doctors, missionaries, and humanitarian workers, have been volunteering in third world countries for years and years. It depends on how you look at it; I spent six months living in Haiti - that is a far cry from living 30 years in Haiti, such as Barbara Walker has! My stay was definitely challenging at times, but I would not trade that experience for anything in the world! It changed my life, opened my cultural eyes to both the diversities and commonalities between peoples, and it enabled me to stop thinking only about myself. I truly believe that when we put others first, it allows us to experience true happiness, thus it is not a “selfless” kind of love. To see an infant that has literally given up on life smile for the first time in days, develop an appetite, or feel love for the first time because both his physical and emotional needs are being met, is an amazing and very overwhelming experience, which I cannot begin to explain. Please mark your calenders for an event that will make a lasting difference for the children at Ruuska Village. I hope to see you there!
I’m happy to announce that through Barbara’s hard work and dedication, 84 children were placed in permanent homes in 2010! I am planning to return to Haiti this April along with two of my sisters, Ashlee and Mallori Hewitt, and our friend, JoyAnn Pankratz! It is so hard to believe exactly one year has gone by since the Haiti earthquake - it seems like just yesterday. As the thoughts of the earthquake flood my memory, I can hear cries of children, the roar of the earthquake, and I can still feel the tremors. It has been a day filled with overwhelming emotion for me. Going to Haiti was an experience I will never forget, and I am still in awe of the fact that God chose to protect me and all the children and workers within Ruuska Village.
People have said to me on several occasions, “You know, Lacey, it takes a special person to do what you did over there. I could never do that!” But, I don’t look at it like that. I am just an ordinary person whom God chose to use for something special. I had fears, reservations, and anxiety, just like anyone else would have experienced. In fact, doctors, missionaries, and humanitarian workers, have been volunteering in third world countries for years and years. It depends on how you look at it; I spent six months living in Haiti - that is a far cry from living 30 years in Haiti, such as Barbara Walker has! My stay was definitely challenging at times, but I would not trade that experience for anything in the world! It changed my life, opened my cultural eyes to both the diversities and commonalities between peoples, and it enabled me to stop thinking only about myself. I truly believe that when we put others first, it allows us to experience true happiness, thus it is not a “selfless” kind of love. To see an infant that has literally given up on life smile for the first time in days, develop an appetite, or feel love for the first time because both his physical and emotional needs are being met, is an amazing and very overwhelming experience, which I cannot begin to explain. Please mark your calenders for an event that will make a lasting difference for the children at Ruuska Village. I hope to see you there!
Marie Grace (now with her family in Argentina!) and Me
Emanuel, Justus, and Jennika 
Tearing down a building at Ruuska Village after the earthquake.
Ruuska Village before the earthquake. 
Barb and the MN crew.
Nannies of Ruuska Village
Lacey, I am so happy you will have an opportunity to return to Haiti and the Village. How long will you stay? I pray the concert is a tremendous success. God bless you!
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