T-9 days!

We are incredibly blessed to be heading to Haiti with this group of people…

1.  This entire crazy wonderful adventure begins with the adorable Scott and Lori Schlecht family in the top left pic! They adopted Eli (now 10) from A New Arrival in 2005.  He was 1 1/2 when he arrived in MN.  Lori is Sara’s sister.  Their beautiful daughters are Avalon (18- and attending Bethel in the fall I must add :), and Faith (15).  And their other studly son is JP (15).  They adopted JP from ANA in 2010- he got here about a month after the earthquake hit.  This trip will be the first time back to Haiti for both boys so that will be extra special!  Scott’s parents will also be coming with us.

The other family joining us from their neck of the woods, Sartell (NW of the cities), is the Georges.  Scott and Jill are long time very close friends with Lori and Scott.  Lori and Jill teach pre-school together.  They are bringing their oldest 2 kids, Mitchell and Makayla.  Jill is also a Kozefò board member.  And, Mitchell is dating Avalon Schlecht :).

2.  Sara and Breelynn Lein.  If you aren’t sure who this special mother-daughter team is yet, you best go back to the beginning of my blog and start there :).  Sara is our fearless team leader, Kozefò co-director with her sister, and a bestie of mine.  Bree has been a mentor, role model and babysitter to Cali and Will (when they were little, of course).  I was a small group leader of hers at church from 5th-12th grade! She kept coming, so that’s a good sign. She loves and knows Vinny already. Bree is on her way to being a life-changing social worker. She is engaged to Kyle (who came to Haiti with us last June) and we love her to pieces!

3.  Doreen, Megan (19), and Anna (17) Haroldson.  Again- see previous blogs.  This is our adopted family! The girls have also come up through our small group and are both so witty, fun-loving, and real. They will be bringing Stanley home soon and we are so excited about the shared times ahead! We for-see lots of sleepovers for the boys, lots of chaperoning youth group events, and lots of mischief and laughter (lead by one papa David Haroldson).  Doreen’s sis-in-law, Peg Benson (David’s sis), is coming, too!  Peg is so fun to be around and will add a lot of personality to our team.  She is the mom of 3 boys all within a couple years of Stanley! He is in for some fun cousin time.

4.  Another mother-daughter team: Penny and Sarah LaVick.  These crazy ladies attend church with us and we were neighbors for 5 years. Penny is married to Steve.  Steve was my dad’s assistant golf pro when I was growing up (now he’s a Delta pilot). They are dear friends of all us Pearcy’s.  Their son, Stephen (attending UND in the fall), has been a lifelong buddy and role model to Will.  Sarah and Cal have grown up together- at church, in the neighborhood, playing soccer, and now attend HS together.  We are so glad they are coming with us!

5.  Laura Nygren.  Laura has been in our lives forever, too.  She grew up at our church.  She was in Jr. High and Sr. High small groups with Sara, Amy and me as her leaders.  She is going to be a bridesmaid in Bree’s wedding next summer.  She is our Kofezò design and marketing intern, too! She is one talented girl. She will be a sr. at the U of M next year. We’re hoping she gets lots of great pictures and video in Haiti :).

6. Rachel Bauman.  Rach is our cousin (her mom, Nancy, is my first cousin).  She’s also been a lifelong friend of Cali and Sarah’s (they will all be sophomores).  She has a heart for orphans and missions and is so excited to be joining us!  She will be awesome with the kids.  She is also a cousin of Laura’s (her dad, Jim, is also a first cousin of Nancy’s- on the other side of her fam)! She also attends our church with her mom, dad, and brother, Matthew.  She’s in our Sr. High small group, too.  Such fun connections!

7.  Last, but certainly not least… the Rodriguez family!  Amy, Richard, and their son, Will.  Amy is a very dear friend of both Sara and me.  She hails from the East Coast and has taught us much about the finer culinary tastes out there.  She’s a our foodie, boot camp instructor, lovingly sarcastic friend who throws great parties.  I’m still waiting for her to bring me to North Carolina. She is dragging her family on this trip just because she loves us and wants to experience a taste of what has taken hold of our hearts.  Her son Will is 13 and a buddy of our Willy.  He will be the comic relief of the team and I’m excited for how he will make us all laugh. I think Vinny and Stanley will enjoy all the boys coming with us!

That’s it! This got longer than I thought it would- but, as you can see- all these people hold a special place in our hearts! I just want you all to know them, too!