Our Story
Tass Souza writes...
"I love Missions. Not the missions we think of when living in California, those historic buildings that everyone does a report on and visits for a field trip in 4th grade. I love the concept of taking the knowledge and resources we have from living in a wealthy and privileged culture, and sharing them with those who do not have access to such things. I love the idea of taking power tools and a team of experienced workers into a village and assisting the locals in building something in a week that would have taken them years to do on their own. I love to see the relief and joy that comes over a person’s face when the pain and sickness they or their children have suffered with for years is gone with simple medical treatment. I love the hope that comes from establishing a school in a community where for so long education was nothing more than a dream. I love seeing babies who were abandoned and on the verge of death, come to life with something as simple as a loving embrace, and a bottle of infant formula.
For years I watched these events from a distance, or was part of a one week team team that would come in and do what we could, give what we could, and then go home and hope for the best. Yet there was always a desire in my heart to do more. Unfortunately along with that desire came a lot of doubt. What more could I really do? I’m just one person. I don’t have a lot of money or tons of experience. How can I do more? And so I tucked away the dream. I got a job working at a church because that seemed like the next best thing. I met an amazing girl, fell in love, and some days I still can’t believe that she loves me in return. We were married in June of 2006, and Sheena and I began our life together. We were young, 20 and 24, and couldn’t wait to travel the world and experience new cultures. Yes we wanted kids, but at least 5 years down the road because kids and traveling are not usually the best combination. Living near family was important, and we both had a desire to do “God’s work.”
Five months into our marriage we found out we were pregnant. Now I know even the best laid plans can often go awry, and ours were not the best laid plans. Our sweet and precious Ellie was born in August 2007, and as children do, she changed the dynamic of our family and the course of our future. I had just changed jobs, continuing to work in the world of church tech, making a living and doing ministry. While a little different than originally planned, our life seemed to still be going as we thought it would. But what about missions?
In 2010 we were blessed with two more additions to our family. Lilah was born in April, and Nary (an incredible 16 year old from the foster system) joined our family in October. Now many people would say that there is a great need for good parents for children who are in the foster system, and they would absolutely be right. I don’t know if Sheena and I would be classified as good parents, but our hearts are attached to Nary and we love her so much. She needed a family pretty suddenly and we did our best to be that for her. Even though she is now grown and on her own, to us she will always be our daughter, and to our girls she will always be their sister.
In nine years we had grown from a couple, to a family of three, then five, now four. We had been involved in our local church, reaching out to our community, feeding the homeless, supporting missionaries and non-profits, and enjoying the comforts of California suburbia. But what about missions? The answer to that question started to unfold in January 2014.
That month, Sheena went on her first ever mission trip to the nation of Haiti. Our church had been connected with a ministry there called Mission of Grace for a few years, and Sheena was asked to go on an upcoming trip with a team. This team was a little unique in that it was a hand picked team of primarily men with a construction background, who were going with the express intent of building and repairing the facilities at the orphanage. Sheena was, in some sense, coerced into going. "Don't worry Sheena, there's a Nordstrom there... you'll be fine" she was told :) Sheena had travelled all over the world as a young girl with her family, bet never truly in a serving capacity. She had been a Christian her whole life practically but never had gone on an actual serving/missions trip. She recognized that she needed to get out of her little California bubble and go serve, even if it was just for 5 days. I agreed, and so the day before Sheena’s 28th birthday she boarded a plane for Haiti.
Over the course of that week a miraculous transformation happened in her that began with a hesitation to go on the trip, to being overwhelmed and wanting to come home after the first day, to being willing to tough it out for a few days, to not wanting to leave when the time came, to the first words out of her mouth when I welcomed her home being “I want to move there.”
I am familiar with the “high” that comes from going on a mission trip, especially your first one, and while I didn’t want to dampen her excitement, I did think moving there was a pretty extreme next step. However, over the next few weeks and months as we continued to dialogue her experience, the excitement and desire to move never went away. We decided the next step should be us going together on another trip to see if my heart connected in a similar way. That opportunity did not come until the following January, during which time we spent a lot of time in prayer and discussion on what a transition of this nature could or would look like.
In January of 2015 the two of us went with a team from our church, and I would have to say it was probably the best mission trip I have ever been a part of. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that it was our first trip together as a couple, and our purpose and passion was so united in serving the people of Haiti. Couples bicker, make mountains out of molehills. We're all guilty. But something happens when you are with your spouse, on foreign soil, serving and helping people that could never repay you. Something shifts in you and things that once seemingly mattered, fall to the wayside. (Side note: if you are having a difficult time in life, whether personally or within a relationship, going and serving in an impoverished nation somewhere may do something in you in a matter of days that could have taken years of professional counseling. Just our two cents, quite possibly speaking from experience :)
Before we even left we were planning our next trip back. We agreed that a key factor in this process would be if and how our girls would adapt to life in Haiti. Our next trip would have to include them, and so we set a tentative return date for mid April.
I say it was tentative because we had just saved and spent $2400 for the two of us to go on the trip in January. Coming up with twice that amount in less than three months did not seem very likely on a church staff salary. But we were determined and God seemed to be for us. We cut back our spending everywhere we could, and extra income opportunities came our way. Before we knew it we were back on a red-eye flight bound for Haiti with a 7 year old and a just turned 5 year old, wondering if we were maybe just a tad bit crazy. That wonder turned out to be completely unjustified as it was such an incredible trip. Our girls were amazing travelers, they loved being in Haiti, they loved everything about the mission, and just like their mother, they too did not want to leave when the time came.
In the following months we said goodbye to our jobs, packed up our lives, and moved our family to Haiti in January 2016. We spent the first 6 months of 2016 joining with Mission of Grace in reaching out to the community of Carries. Like many of the towns and villages in Haiti, Carries is plagued with poverty, lack of education, and unsanitary living conditions. Mission of Grace seeks to meet the needs of these people through love and compassion. Everything about MOG, from reason it was founded, to the vision for the future, to the heart of the team leading it, resonates with our heart for missions and is a work we desire to continue being apart of. The doubts I had years ago have disappeared, and the questions have been answered. I am no longer just one person, I have a family. We still don’t have a lot of money, but we have grown in knowledge, experience, and education, and that growth will continue. Yes other questions have come up. The primary one is “what can you really do with a family of 4?” But it is not a question of doubt, because I know the answer. We are not just a family of 4. We are a family of hundreds, or perhaps thousands. The number depends on you.
We, along with you, have the opportunity to make a significant impact on the people and future of this community and others. We want to invite you to join us in one of two ways, financially or physically. Or perhaps you would like to join us in both.
Our first couple years in Haiti we were dependent on the financial support of family and friends because obviously the work we do down here is voluntary. We are so so grateful for those who have supported our family's expenses so that we can serve Haiti. As both Sheena and my stateside businesses have grown, however, we are grateful to say that those revenue streams are enough to support our family's personal expenses now. All funds given to Live to Give now go straight to necessities and items for the community, resources, projects, and the needs (often medical) that come our way. If you would like to partner with us in this way, you can do so by clicking here:
"I love Missions. Not the missions we think of when living in California, those historic buildings that everyone does a report on and visits for a field trip in 4th grade. I love the concept of taking the knowledge and resources we have from living in a wealthy and privileged culture, and sharing them with those who do not have access to such things. I love the idea of taking power tools and a team of experienced workers into a village and assisting the locals in building something in a week that would have taken them years to do on their own. I love to see the relief and joy that comes over a person’s face when the pain and sickness they or their children have suffered with for years is gone with simple medical treatment. I love the hope that comes from establishing a school in a community where for so long education was nothing more than a dream. I love seeing babies who were abandoned and on the verge of death, come to life with something as simple as a loving embrace, and a bottle of infant formula.
For years I watched these events from a distance, or was part of a one week team team that would come in and do what we could, give what we could, and then go home and hope for the best. Yet there was always a desire in my heart to do more. Unfortunately along with that desire came a lot of doubt. What more could I really do? I’m just one person. I don’t have a lot of money or tons of experience. How can I do more? And so I tucked away the dream. I got a job working at a church because that seemed like the next best thing. I met an amazing girl, fell in love, and some days I still can’t believe that she loves me in return. We were married in June of 2006, and Sheena and I began our life together. We were young, 20 and 24, and couldn’t wait to travel the world and experience new cultures. Yes we wanted kids, but at least 5 years down the road because kids and traveling are not usually the best combination. Living near family was important, and we both had a desire to do “God’s work.”
Five months into our marriage we found out we were pregnant. Now I know even the best laid plans can often go awry, and ours were not the best laid plans. Our sweet and precious Ellie was born in August 2007, and as children do, she changed the dynamic of our family and the course of our future. I had just changed jobs, continuing to work in the world of church tech, making a living and doing ministry. While a little different than originally planned, our life seemed to still be going as we thought it would. But what about missions?
In 2010 we were blessed with two more additions to our family. Lilah was born in April, and Nary (an incredible 16 year old from the foster system) joined our family in October. Now many people would say that there is a great need for good parents for children who are in the foster system, and they would absolutely be right. I don’t know if Sheena and I would be classified as good parents, but our hearts are attached to Nary and we love her so much. She needed a family pretty suddenly and we did our best to be that for her. Even though she is now grown and on her own, to us she will always be our daughter, and to our girls she will always be their sister.
In nine years we had grown from a couple, to a family of three, then five, now four. We had been involved in our local church, reaching out to our community, feeding the homeless, supporting missionaries and non-profits, and enjoying the comforts of California suburbia. But what about missions? The answer to that question started to unfold in January 2014.
That month, Sheena went on her first ever mission trip to the nation of Haiti. Our church had been connected with a ministry there called Mission of Grace for a few years, and Sheena was asked to go on an upcoming trip with a team. This team was a little unique in that it was a hand picked team of primarily men with a construction background, who were going with the express intent of building and repairing the facilities at the orphanage. Sheena was, in some sense, coerced into going. "Don't worry Sheena, there's a Nordstrom there... you'll be fine" she was told :) Sheena had travelled all over the world as a young girl with her family, bet never truly in a serving capacity. She had been a Christian her whole life practically but never had gone on an actual serving/missions trip. She recognized that she needed to get out of her little California bubble and go serve, even if it was just for 5 days. I agreed, and so the day before Sheena’s 28th birthday she boarded a plane for Haiti.
Over the course of that week a miraculous transformation happened in her that began with a hesitation to go on the trip, to being overwhelmed and wanting to come home after the first day, to being willing to tough it out for a few days, to not wanting to leave when the time came, to the first words out of her mouth when I welcomed her home being “I want to move there.”
I am familiar with the “high” that comes from going on a mission trip, especially your first one, and while I didn’t want to dampen her excitement, I did think moving there was a pretty extreme next step. However, over the next few weeks and months as we continued to dialogue her experience, the excitement and desire to move never went away. We decided the next step should be us going together on another trip to see if my heart connected in a similar way. That opportunity did not come until the following January, during which time we spent a lot of time in prayer and discussion on what a transition of this nature could or would look like.
In January of 2015 the two of us went with a team from our church, and I would have to say it was probably the best mission trip I have ever been a part of. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that it was our first trip together as a couple, and our purpose and passion was so united in serving the people of Haiti. Couples bicker, make mountains out of molehills. We're all guilty. But something happens when you are with your spouse, on foreign soil, serving and helping people that could never repay you. Something shifts in you and things that once seemingly mattered, fall to the wayside. (Side note: if you are having a difficult time in life, whether personally or within a relationship, going and serving in an impoverished nation somewhere may do something in you in a matter of days that could have taken years of professional counseling. Just our two cents, quite possibly speaking from experience :)
Before we even left we were planning our next trip back. We agreed that a key factor in this process would be if and how our girls would adapt to life in Haiti. Our next trip would have to include them, and so we set a tentative return date for mid April.
I say it was tentative because we had just saved and spent $2400 for the two of us to go on the trip in January. Coming up with twice that amount in less than three months did not seem very likely on a church staff salary. But we were determined and God seemed to be for us. We cut back our spending everywhere we could, and extra income opportunities came our way. Before we knew it we were back on a red-eye flight bound for Haiti with a 7 year old and a just turned 5 year old, wondering if we were maybe just a tad bit crazy. That wonder turned out to be completely unjustified as it was such an incredible trip. Our girls were amazing travelers, they loved being in Haiti, they loved everything about the mission, and just like their mother, they too did not want to leave when the time came.
In the following months we said goodbye to our jobs, packed up our lives, and moved our family to Haiti in January 2016. We spent the first 6 months of 2016 joining with Mission of Grace in reaching out to the community of Carries. Like many of the towns and villages in Haiti, Carries is plagued with poverty, lack of education, and unsanitary living conditions. Mission of Grace seeks to meet the needs of these people through love and compassion. Everything about MOG, from reason it was founded, to the vision for the future, to the heart of the team leading it, resonates with our heart for missions and is a work we desire to continue being apart of. The doubts I had years ago have disappeared, and the questions have been answered. I am no longer just one person, I have a family. We still don’t have a lot of money, but we have grown in knowledge, experience, and education, and that growth will continue. Yes other questions have come up. The primary one is “what can you really do with a family of 4?” But it is not a question of doubt, because I know the answer. We are not just a family of 4. We are a family of hundreds, or perhaps thousands. The number depends on you.
We, along with you, have the opportunity to make a significant impact on the people and future of this community and others. We want to invite you to join us in one of two ways, financially or physically. Or perhaps you would like to join us in both.
Our first couple years in Haiti we were dependent on the financial support of family and friends because obviously the work we do down here is voluntary. We are so so grateful for those who have supported our family's expenses so that we can serve Haiti. As both Sheena and my stateside businesses have grown, however, we are grateful to say that those revenue streams are enough to support our family's personal expenses now. All funds given to Live to Give now go straight to necessities and items for the community, resources, projects, and the needs (often medical) that come our way. If you would like to partner with us in this way, you can do so by clicking here:
The other way you can join us is by coming to Haiti or perhaps another country to work with us. Maybe for a week, maybe for longer. We are just one family of 4, but when you or your family joins us, the impact grows exponentially.
Whatever you decide, we are grateful that you took the time to read this and we hope that you will continue to follow along as we experience what it’s like to be His hands and feet extended, wherever we are in the world.
Whatever you decide, we are grateful that you took the time to read this and we hope that you will continue to follow along as we experience what it’s like to be His hands and feet extended, wherever we are in the world.
Join Us in the Journey from Tass Souza on Vimeo.