Impossible things become possible when the dream God gave you grows legs.

Four years ago, I set out on a quest to give jobs to 8 former street boys in Haiti.

In honor of our 4th anniversary, I want to share with you how this journey has transformed the way we view the world.

Crazy to think that it started with a group of Haitian young men. Watch this video.

March 7^th, 2015 was the first day of a soul-wrenching, tear-jerking, heart-pumping journey that has grown my faith, strength and abilities more than I ever could have imagined. 

The stories of these young men became MY story and it took me to places so dark that I could barely breathe. It gave me glimpses of life that plagued me with doubt, cynicism and heartache. Early on, I allowed the hardness of Haiti to settle into my bones and it caused me to wrestle with my 1^st world life.

I’m sorry for that, friends. I may have offended, deflated, or horrified you at what you thought would be a casual lunch. Instead you got an earful on how we’re all living the easy life while the rest of the world is starving. True story.

But I quickly learned that God could do nothing with me if I stayed in this dark, cynical place. He didn’t call me into this work to burden you with the problems of the world and drag you through my miry pits—especially when I know you have your own pits to climb out of, no doubt! 

And man did this dream grow legs! We hit the ground running and pursued a dream that one day the forgotten generation of orphaned young men in Haiti would lead their communities for the glory of God.

Our team has been stretched and transformed in wonderful ways through the efforts of this ministry. We have learned so much and we would love an opportunity to share our lessons with you.

For starters, I think all of us are called to pursue a dream that grows us into generous people who put people before our ambitions.

You see, HandUp evolved into more than a story about Haiti. It is a story of what happens when we give each other a “handUp”. A story about using fashion as a TANGIBLE way to fuel change in Haiti and beyond.

I’ve also gotten to hear the stories of beautiful women who want to be part of something so much bigger than themselves. Women who have given of their time, talents and resources because they catch the vision of what it means for the world when young men are equipped with Jesus and jobs.

Thank you for inspiring me. Each time you purchased, prayed and volunteered, you encouraged me personally to keep pursuing this dream. 

Now here is the BIG news—HandUp Global Goods is now HUGG Mission Market. We want to invite you to engage in the #fashionfuelschange story and inspire you to effect change within your own sphere of influence.

Want to learn more about HUGG Mission Market? Follow us on IG and stick around for our next blog on Thursday.