March 21, 2011: Day Three

You know when the Lord calls you to do something and you aren’t 100% sure about it at first? Yeah, that was me coming to Haiti. I was terrified about flying to a level four, third world country with people I don’t know. I hated that I would have no communication with my family, friends, or Daniel. But I kept my trust in Him and here I am. Day three is now over and there are three major (obviously more) reasons why I know beyond a doubt that the Lord called me here. One: being here doesn’t feel unnatural. I feel like I was 110% supposed to come here. Two: this team has become a family. We laugh, we share intimate details, we’re honest, we love the Lord with all we have. It’s awesome. Three: I’ve gone three days without speaking to anyone at home. That’s a record. Yes, I miss them, but I really don’t mind that we haven’t been able to communicate. God has been doing some huge work in my life and I am beyond thankful. Today was long. Woke up, got ready, had some delicious oatmeal (with trail mix). After that, I spent three hours laying pavers. Three words: hot, tedious, annoying. Levels, hammers, sand, wood…words I hope to never hear again. Lunch was sandwiches. Basic, but for whatever reason, delicious. I went to the house after to help put together things for the orphanage. Hygiene bags, hair accessories, candy, cute bags…little things, but all hold big plans created by the Lord. It’s awesome. Varnished the bathrooms when we got back. That was a smelly, sticky, hot mess. Helped with little things around the compound after that. Dinner was spaghetti, salad, and bread…so good. After dinner, we all dashed outside for foursquare, Frisbee, and fun. Unfortunately, we were out no longer than five minutes when a truck full of boys ruined our fun. But not to worry, we played some serious bologna and UNO to keep us laughing. A great debrief led me to finally express my fear of an MS relapse while here. I was prayed over and it brought me to tears. Two months ago, these people were strangers. Tonight, they became more than I asked for or expected. To me, that’s a huge God-thing. These last two days have been difficult because of elections. We haven’t been able to leave to the compound, except to go to the house, for safety reasons. I understand, but I’m ready to see more. God, I don’t know what you’re doing, but I like it! Keep up the good works ☺ I love you!

March 20, 2011: Day Two

First full day in Haiti. It got "cold" last night, which surprised me. But I wasn't about to complain because I knew it was going to get warm later. We slept with the door open to keep it cool. Only disadvantage (besides me being freaked out because my bed is right inside the door) is that when the sun rises at 5.30, it floods the dorm with light. I was up with the sun, so I began making lists. After people started moving, I got ready for Church (love those military showers). I wasn't sure what to expect from Church this morning besides well-dressed Haitians and a three hour service. But whoa. You know how the Bible says "For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them"? Well, God was SO present today. As I watched the Haitian congregation worship in Creole without hesitation, it made me think. These people, who have next to nothing, have all they need because they have God. The shout and clap and sway and don't care who says what. They come as they are. They worship with a child-like heart. Why can't I do that? I'm embarrassed by my bad voice. God doesn't care as long as I'm lifting my voice to Him. During Church, I turned around to say hello to three little giggling girls behind me. As I extended my hand in greeting, they took it and didn't let go. They stared at it and picked at it. My guess was that they'd never seen skin that fair before. I invited them to come sit with me. There were kids surrounding us during service and all of them were little sponges. They loved pens and paper and drew for us or practiced writing. God did some of His best work with these kids. After Church, we socialized. I met five teenage/young adult Haitians who were awesome. Francz (who is 24, was born on Valentines day, and is one of our compound guards), Emanuel (drummer for the worship band and Francz's cousin), Peter, Jerry, and a long French name that starts with F but I can't remember. After that, we headed in for lunch. Work was done around the compound (doors, windows, walkways) between lunch and youth group. Youth group was SO fun. We sang, prayed, and discussed what we'd do if we were scheduled to get married at four but at 3.55, our mother needed to be taken to the ER. We also discussed, by request of the youth, differences between America and Haiti. Traffic and weather came up, as did fast food, which couldn't even be conceptualized by the Haitians. We learned a couple Haitian songs, then it was time to play. That was a blast. Foursquare, soccer, frisbee...I tell you what, they take soccer seriously. Skirts, bare feet in gravel...doesn't matter. I had a blast with them. We got yelled at to come in (bummer), so the Haitians left and we headed in for dinner, hilarious conversation (spin the bottle), and debrief. Bed around 9.30. I love this team. I love these Haitians. I love love LOVE the Lord and what He's doing.

March 19, 2011: Day One

First day in Haiti. As we waited and slept on the floor of the Miami airport after long travels, it seemed almost surreal to think that our next stop would be Haiti. We boarded and discovered we were sitting in first class, which made all the travel seem a little less horrible. As we started the descent, you could see the beauty of God's creation. The closer we got, the more the devastation became apparent. Getting through the airport was crazy. After a luggage mix up and a few "vultures," we loaded up into the van and headed down a road that has NO traffic laws. Upon arrival at the compound, we settled in and spent some time with Haitian students. Lunch and a tour of the compound followed. After that, we spent over two hours sorting out seeds. Hundreds of thousands of seed packets. It seemed like we barely made a dent. We then had our rules meeting, followed by a rousing game of uno and a delicious dinner. By this point, everyone was exhausted and started getting ready for bed. We all cuddled into bed around eight. God is already working big time in me. Though I was a little unsettled and overwhelmed, He has calmly and lovingly wrapped His arms around me, making me more confident and calm then ever before. Wow, Lord. You do some mighty fine work. Thank you.

Haiti Journals

When I was in Haiti, I wrote in my journal every day (I've never done this in my life, I'm terrible about journaling). But I was convicted to because I wanted to always remember every moment that I was there. I wanted to capture my feelings, or at least attempt to. Some pieces of my journal are personal, but I feel like God called me to share everything anyways. So...I'm going to do a new post for each journal entry. They'll all have at least one picture from that day.

Stay tuned...

Mwen Renment Ayiti!

One week ago, I returned from Haiti. Since then, I’ve been trying to figure out how to sum up the trip, which is border-lining impossible. But I have…humbling.

I spent eight days in a level four, third world nation who was and still is the poorest country in the western hemisphere. I’m sure you can only imagine what it’s like after the earthquake.

There are four major parts to the trip that I want to touch on…the Lord, the place, the people, the children. Bare with me as I go through it all.

The Lord: I know the He’s the same no matter where you are, but for whatever reason, He felt like a different God in Haiti. At Church on Sunday, the people were praising God like I have never seen anyone praise Him in my life. On Tuesday night, at the beginners English class, never in my life have I seen someone sing “Jesus Loves Me” with so much conviction. On Thursday night, when the women’s English class sang “Because He Lives” in Creole, I started crying because these women (and man) sang at the top of their lungs, giving EVERY OUNCE they had to the Lord. If the people in the US had the same conviction, Church would be wildly different.

The Place: Haiti is beautiful. Even in its destruction, it’s beautiful. People live in tents or in shacks that are surrounded by garbage. But they have sunsets that are beyond measure and sunrises that remind you of just how amazing God’s creation is. The buildings that are still there are gorgeous, some of them covered in amazing graffiti, most showing their love for their country. It’s hard to ignore the beauty of this nation, even when you see the devastation.

The People: Oh, the people. They are kind, beautiful, God-fearing, priceless, loving people. They adore the Lord more than anyone I’ve ever met. When I was at Church on Sunday, there were at least 100 “thank you Jesus” shouts throughout the two hour service. These people sang with conviction. It didn’t matter if you had the worst voice in the world (which bodes well for me), the song was for the Lord and He thinks your voice is perfect. When we finished our women’s English class on Thursday, so many of the women came up to me and hugged me, kissed me on the cheek, and told me that they loved me. And I loved them, too. On Friday night, I was saying goodbye to Francz, one of our security guards who I had become close with. He gave me his necklace because he wanted to give me a gift, but that’s all he had to give me. They have bigger hearts than anyone I’ve met and I hope to someday have a heart like theirs.

The Children: MELT. MY. HEART. They are beautiful and perfect and precious and adored children of the Lord. They take your hand and never let go. They raise their arms up to you to be held and once they’re in your arms, they never want to be put down. They’re fascinated by blonde hair and fair skin. They smile at you and you smile back because your face doesn’t want to do anything else. When you have to say goodbye, a little piece of your heart goes with them because you just can’t help it. I love them to pieces and still do. They’re so easy to love. They love easily too. They love soccer. They love sidewalk chalk. They love hand-clapping games. They love snuggling in your lap. They love cameras. They love sunglasses. They love telling you they love you. I’m surprised that none of them ended up in my suitcase. When I go back, they probably will.

I want to go back. No. I have to go back. Haiti changed me. And I am thankful.

Five.

Tonight, I had my final meeting for Haiti. We went to the Sunday evening service after where the congregation prayed over us. As all of us were leaving, instead of saying "see you in a couple weeks" like we usually did between meetings, we said "see you on Friday." That's because we leave on Friday. It blew my mind.

This week is far too busy. I'm going to pack when I get the chances, but who knows when that will be between class, work, and homework. I'm going to be needing prayers as I go through this week, especially on Thursday night and Friday.

Okay, Lord, here we go...

Ten

I leave for Haiti in 10 days. It's wild to think about that. 10 days from right now, I will likely be too nervous to sleep any later so I'll be up double and triple checking my suitcase, making sure I have everything I need. I'll be praying for the team, asking for safe travels and that the Lord would continue to work in all of our hearts. As the next week and a half passes, I seek your prayers as I prepare to leave. I'm full of nerves, just unsure of what to expect through all of this. Plus there is a lot of travel involved (23 hours on the way there, 20 on the way back) and three flights to and from (meaning three take-offs...yikes). I'm more than ready to go and see what the Lord has prepared for my life, but there's always going to be those nerves. I'm beyond thankful for all of the prayer and support that has come so far. The Lord has provided beyond what I expected so far and I haven't even left yet. But that's my God...He's amazing.