yon mwa

Happy one month in Haiti to me. I can hardly believe it’s been a whole month but in the same thought it almost feels like forever ago that I cried my way through the airport and left the states. A lot has happened in this short month, good and bad, new and not so new. I look back on my first week, sick, nervous excited and zero understanding of Creole. Today, I am not sick (praise God) I am still nervous excited (although mostly excited) e m’ap apren anpil Creole (and I’m learning a lot of Creole). My goals for my time here have slightly changed and some have yet to be met. This is a blog not my diary so I am not going to get into my personal goals for my time here. But it is good to stop and look back to see what I need to be more intentional about, areas I need to be focused in. I did manage to learn a little bit about myself about Jesus about Haiti. What I still don’t know YET is what exactly he wants me to do in Haiti but he tells me enough for each day so that is ok with me and probably as much as I can handle.

This month I learned that things aren’t always what/who they seem, that I am braver than I thought, that I won’t die without my daily comforts, that tarantulas don’t run rampant around Haiti- in fact I still have yet to see a live one-, that chickens do run rampant in Haiti, friendship can come in any package, a smile makes all the difference- I don’t mean that in a cheesy way, I mean it sincerely, that a small act of genuine kindness can be all it takes to spread His love especially in a place that is not used to it, God always always always provides and I will forever need him.

I am sure I have learned more, like I now know that mosquitoes in Haiti are impervious to bug spray and its only when the bathroom is a 2 minute outside walk away that your body will wake you up at 3 am to go to the bathroom, 4 nights in a row.

What’s in store for next month, I have no clue. I’m guessing a lot of sticky children, more English teaching, and lots of rice. Things I won’t want to eat when I get home: rice.

I have 3 ½ months left. It seems like a lot and a little. I want to make the most of it- to leave knowing I made an impact, that I am different, that the people I encountered are different. I came across some notes from one of Pastor Josh’s messages the other day. It said “transformed people transform people.” On the same page I had something Michael Woods said “If it is not done in love, it is done wrong.” Well there you go. I want to transform people and I want to do it in love. If I leave in June, I want to be able to say with confidence that both those hold true.

So that’s that. The internet was down at work today again but I was hardly bothered by it. I drank my hazelnut coffee (sigh of joy), taught the cleaning ladies English, played with Jamesley, got engaged to an 11 year old and have the ring to prove it, heard more Jesus English music on the radio, kissed sweet little Haitian babies and ate gummy bears. Successful day I would say.

Dinner tonight was delicious. My South African friend made chicken pie, not to be confused with chicken pot pie, creamy mashed potatoes, veggies and this amazing cream cheese peach dessert thing. I feel stuffed like I do after Thanksgiving.

Demen, mwen pra’ ale nann Greta pou travay anpil. And then it is the weekend ! Hooray! I think we are going to a beach near Gran Guave called Tiano. Its apparently beautiful, crystal clear waters etc. And I will be trying a new church and that is always fun. Pase bonwee tut moun e pase bon joune'!

cinnamon toast crunch

I love cinnamon toast crunch. Oh my gosh. I woke up this morning and I am being honest, my first thought was, I get to eat cinnamon toast crunch today. I raced to the shower, which was surprisingly hot for the first 30 seconds. I knew right then and there it was going to be a good day. A second of hot water and a bowl of cinnamon toast crunch. At breakfast I had “french toast” and my cinnamon toast crunch. (oh ps. Kate- I grabbed the box tops off all our food for you- the mission continues in Haiti…) I packed a big bag of cereal for work and went to Greta. When I got in the car, my driver had the radio on. Enrique Iglesias….typical but welcomed since its English and because its Enrique (lets be real, everybody needs a hero). Then the song changed…… I am thinking, there is no way this is what I think it is. But it was. Sure enough, Tye Tribbett has made it all the way to the wave lengths of Haiti. I asked the driver to turn it up and sang as loud as my dignity would allow me to Son of Man. So to recap: cinnamon toast crunch, warmish water, Tye Tribbett. And its only 9:30.                                               

Work was as usual at Greta. The bag of cinnamon toast crunch I brought was no more by 10:30- I just couldn’t help it and really didn’t try. At lunchtime I wished I had saved it. The menu: an abnormal amount of noodles for one human being, chicken, ridiculously spicy chicken to be exact, a few leaves of lettuce, one tomato slice, KETCHUP, and the big kicker, mayonnaise-                                                                                                                                                      

all in one pile. Oh man. I tried really hard to eat it. I ate some of it. As my lips burned and my gag reflexes kicked in I realized I was being a drama queen and kept eating. I ate lunch with the kindergartners today which was highly entertaining, and messy to say the least.

After lunch the internet was down for the count. I started planning my craft for the week- like a billion toilet paper rolls that have been saved by the cleaning staff for no reason in particular. Without Pinterest as my guide I decided on a Noah’s Ark theme because who doesn’t love animals meandering 2 by 2, a massive boat, and a rainbow to cap it off? I think we will make some tp rolls into animals and some into rain makers and then with our nifty felt board (hands up if you remember those? I will unashamedly admit they were THE best part of Sunday school) we can learn and act out the story of Noah’s Ark. Now to learn it in Creole…..

Random observation- Haiti loves Celine Dion. If you know me you know I am a huge fan, each one of her 90’s love ballads reels me in. Everywhere I go, someone has her song as ringtone, they are playing it in the car or she is blaring in the market.  #celineforever

Tonight I had another creole lesson and am currently sitting in the lounge watching duck dynasty…weirdest show….eating cheesecake….waiting for modern family to come on. The new intern/my roommate arrived tonight with a care package for mwen. I am THRILLED! 2 boxes of hazelnut liquid coffee creamer, a ton of kashi coconut bars, gummy worms, etc. Thanks Mary for all these wonderful things and to everyone else who has sent stuff to SP that is waiting to come my way.

All in all it was a happy happy Wednesday. I didn’t move in to my hut today as planned but by this weekend I should have a new kay.

Hope everyone had a great day and has a lovely one tomorrow!

week 3

Hello Hello. I know its been a while and for those of you that have been bugging me, I am sorry. There is a lot to update you on so I will try my best.

wednesday- Wednesday included lots of the same things as my last post and at this point I can hardly distinguish my days. We went to a few more schools around the area, sat in the morning devos of one and taught english at another. Something different happened in me that day though. We were at the first school where one of the children I have made friends with in town attends. His name is Watson. He speaks pretty good english and is very mature and sweet. He rides his bike up to our gate and we go outside and play with him on the beach. But anyways, I was walking around his school with the principal looking at the makeshift building they have created. Without thinking I asked the principal, "do they eat lunch here or go home?" He just looked at me. Finally he said, "They dont.They dont eat lunch. Why do you think they are all so tired with their heads down on their desk? They are starving." I lost it. I had been in Haiti for exactly 3 weeks at this point. I had seen a lot of poverty but this was the straw. I cried the whole way to our next school. It is not just that these children are just starving physically, its that this nation is starving spiritually. We will get into that more later but I say it now because that day, that moment was a very defining day for me.

thursday- Thursday, same thing. More english and sitting in on a TGJ class. For those of you unfamiliar with this OCC acronym, TGJ (The Greatest Journey) is the book and lesson children get after receiving a shoebox through Operation Christmas Child- 12 weeks on Jesus etc. I think thats all I did, I cant really remember.

friday- I went to greta that day, worked in the office, played with the kiddies, cut out and laminated like a million little reward dollar things for their new behavior system, spent the whole day saying "li sho, pa touche...."- its hot, dont touch- because when children see something they shouldnt touch they usually want to touch it. Friday night my friend and I made banana bread. He makes banana bread like once a week- and brownies, this week he made brownies. Its so great.

saturday- I woke up, had coffee time on my friends porch swing with like 7 of us, ate the banana bread and watched the ocean. After that I spent the afternoon studying my creole with a few others which is going very well. Its seriously the easiest language. Our pastor has given me 3 months, so 2 now, to be fluent. We will see what happens. Then we went swimming, played on the beach and I think thats it.

sunday- What a day. Sunday was my first time going to a haitian church. This was...something else. I went to a church called Haiti Arise, its in a neighboring city called Gran Guave. The pastor is Haitian and his wife is American so it has a bit of a familiar feel. We walk in and the first thing I notice is that the walls and ceiling are decorated with big red hats. I am not sure why but each corner and post had a big red hat, so there were like 20, complete with purple ribbons hanging from them. Worship started and I loved it. Haitians love to sing. Whether they can or not they all sing at the top of their lungs. And they love to dance. Everyone is dancing and singing and I'm just clapping and trying to figure out the words but it didnt matter. These people were worshipping the Lord. Then came the message. It was in creole with a bit here and there translated. Half of the time I couldnt tell if he was preaching or speaking in tongues. I guess its pretty much all tongues to me anyways. During the service, the guy on my row, who I later learned was 22, passed me a note that said in english "are you haitian?" I have no clue how to be sarcastic in creole yet so I wrote back, "no" and pointed to my skin. I am still confused about that one. After church I spent the day at the beach followed by our base church service that night.
                                                                      see the red hat? right down there on the post?



monday- yesterday I was at greta. Worked, played with the kids, and played with them more. I had my first official creole lesson last night which went really well. M'ap apren anpil.

tuesday- More greta. This little boy below on the left, his name is Jamesley- aka the love of my life. I adore this child. Every day he tells me he is a different age, hugs me relentlessly and without fail has something sticky on his hands that he insists on transferring to mine. You should see his smile. I am smitten.



a few random things:

1. Tomorrow is moving day-I am moving out of the tent!! Woohoo! Never did I think this was a possibility- you have to sign a 1 year contract to live in the bungalows BUT Jesus is Lord. I was told yesterday I am moving into one of the beach huts. Before you picture a literal hut...

 

DONT. Its actually more like a playhouse, a big playhouse.

 

 

But its Haiti so we call it a hut. Its air conditioned, right at the beach and its teal and yellow, my two favorite colors. (The above image is simply an example and is not my actual hut)





 

2. Today, one of the women went shopping, somehow randomly remembered something I said I missed from home, and found it for me in port-au-prince....I now have a box of CINNAMON TOAST CRUNCH. Its the small things people.

 

3. Sean- here are the goats you asked for.   

 

I will work on getting a close-up.

 

4. I know I have been talking about trivial things like cereal and huts but I hope you all know that at the very core of my heart is my confidence in the Lord and my place here. I dont know any of the details yet but "I KNOW whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day." (2 Timothy 1:12) God is teaching me a lot. This is so new for me, all of it. Though I feel settled and familiar now, every day is still different, every day I have the choice to wake up and believe the Word of God despite what I see or not believe it. I dont know what I am trying to say except that some days I want to come home and some days I dont. But its the days that I want to leave where I am strengthened, stretched and fortified all the more. Haiti needs Jesus. They dont need clinics, latrines, teachers, money, more NGOs or aid. They need Jesus. You cannot go an inch without seeing that, feeling it and weeping for them. All those things I just listed are simply bridges to get there. What you have to remember each day is that they are only that. We cannot stop there in reaching people. It takes intercession, intentionality, obedience and the power of the Holy Spirit but it is SO doable. Why? Because Jesus wants them. Acts something or another says that it was His PURPOSE for the nations to seek after him. Not his desire, want or wish but HIS PURPOSE. Something he set out and intended on doing. And you know how he does it? US. You me all of us. At Wal- Mart or in Haiti, his purpose is for people to know and seek him. I dont care if I sit at a desk, play with kids, or learn creole just so I can talk to the kitchen lady- thats what God uses. I just have to remember that on days that I dont want to do those things.

 

I think I am just rambling at this point. Thank you all for praying- keep praying for 1. rain 2. godly leaders to be raised up in Haiti 3. for our staff to grow in their knowledge of God, to become more intimately aquainted with Him and to keep going on days when we just dont want to.

 

You guys are changing this place by praying for it from afar. It is a team effort and it cant be done without you. Mesi anpil e pase bonwee tut moun.



comfort zones

Tuesday-

Remember yesterday when I said I was really excited about today because I would be ministering to high school students? Do you also remember that time that Jesus was really funny and asked me to do something I know nothing about that was entirely out of my comfort zone and not on the schedule? I do, it was today, you know, when I thought I was doing one thing and ended up doing another.

This morning we made our way out to the local high school. Side note- in Haiti, there is no such thing as public school. All schools require a tuition. This means a lot of people cannot afford to go OR you find schools that dont want to turn them away so they suffer the costs and have teachers that dont get paid. All my teacher friends, think about that one for a second- working in a "building" with students all day and not getting paid.

Anyways so we made our way to the school. We were led in by the principal who is from Haiti and started the school with his wife. When we arrived in the first classroom I was handed a piece of chalk and told I had a full 2 hours for this english class. That was it. He left. I stood there. I am thinking wait, what? I have to teach them? Because Jesus, principal man, I am not a teacher. My roommate, my friends, actually a lot of my friends, they are teachers. I dont know anything about this except I speak english and that doesnt really count, are you not coming back for real? 30 seconds later the students are still looking at me. Luckily and when I say that I mean Jesus, South African Jennifer had decided to come with me that morning. She is not a teacher either but has some training in something related to education, (I didnt quite get the entire jist of it). So we winged it. And it was really actually great and a lot of fun. I knew some creole and she knew some teaching so we worked together, teaching them pronouns, verbs, sentence structure (relating it all back to Jezi of course). And it worked. They walked out of class knowing more english than they did when they came in.

Here is the thing. It was great for me to be stretched, to do something that scared me, to try something new and to impact them in that way. But the reality of the day is that I was opened up to an education system that I had never witnessed before. As I stood in the classroom, I thought of Kate, of Christi of Martha, all the teachers I knew that worked so hard and had the privelege of teaching in America. I am not going to bad mouth the education system of Haiti. What I will say is that you should pray for it. I should pray for it. In one classroom there were students with ages ranging form 15 to 33. 33. That is ridiculous. Why is he in school at 33? It says to me that he didnt have that opportunity when he was younger for whatever reason but is now more determined than ever to get a good education. And that is what Haiti needs. I realized today it is this age group that needs our devotion, our dedication. They are the ones growing up to be politicians, police man, engineers and doctors. It was overwhelming if you cant tell by my sporatic writing. I was frustrated, excited and just a bit discouraged if I am being honest. I dont know where I am going with this except to say that I am so blessed. I am blessed I went to school for 21 years of my life. I am blessed that my parents paid for all 21 years of that school and all the things that come with it. 

I am not sure what to do with my day except pray for those students and for all those involved in educating the people of Haiti. It is a giant job that carries so much weight. To all my teacher friends, I carry a new found appreciation for what you do every day, just be thankful you speak the same language as your class :)

Tomorrow I will be at it again, so not exactly sure what to expect! Ps- pray for rain! We really need rain!  Pase bonwee!

mondays

Bonwee tut mon. Today was a wonderfully tiring day so I'll just get right into it so I can go to bed. I spent the day at Greta with 2 volunteers organizing a giant outdoor storage thing full of school supplies, crafts and clothing. It's like the size of a semi truck literally. If you know me, you know I love to organize so I had a lot of fun minus the heat. After that I tried to teach some of the kids a board game. Explaining the rules in english when they dont speak english became a bit of a roadblock so we pretty much just played it the way they made it up, no rules or anything. I struggled a bit.

After that we left and returned from a full day. I had dinner with my lovely South African friends and then we chatted over cups of coffee by the beach. From then on is when I did my new thing for the day. I have not been as consistent as I had hoped with that goal but thats ok. My thing today wasnt actually new but it was something I dont really like to do- I played a sport, on a team, with other people. This usually terrifies me because ultimately I am afraid of looking like a goon and disappointing my teammates. But here, I have realized, 1. I will probably do that 2. they really arent that much better than me and 3. If I want to hang out with people, volleyball is pretty much the activity so I have no choice. Abbi made me do it and for some reason the British just seem so much more persuasive.

Anyways so we played for a good bit and now here I am, exhausted and ready for bed. All in all it was a wonderful day. One of those days where you are aware of the Lord, singing over you, delighting in you, strengthening you, all of that. He is so wonderful, so sweet and so merciful. Like I said yesterday, He is doing something. I realized I needed to wake up with that on my heart and mind everyday.

Tomorrow- I am very excited about. I will be going to a high school to minister to the students. I am really excited. Pray for our team, pray for new strategies as we hope to not just tell them about Christ, but to invest long term in their relationships with the Lord. We want to cross that line, moving from just salvations to discipleship. Its what is needed here in Haiti. I said it yesterday, people here know who Jesus is and they will tell you they are a Christian. Its the after part, the abundant life, the love and joy and grace and holy spirit etc part we want to teach and show them.

So thats that. I used a lot of spanish today. I love it, its such a surprise. I asked Jesus several times before I came why I studied spanish my whole life only to move to a french island. Turns out, whenever I get frustrated and have reached my max on creole for the day, I just say "hablas espanol?" in the middle of a group conversation and someone always says yes. It is wonderful. So thanks Jesus for that.

I hope yall are enjoying the cold and snow, I am enjoying my tan- sorry thats bragging. :) Pase bonwee. Oh, did you get that book I told you to get? You have to get it!

great expectations

God is up to something. I have no idea how to articulate that thought but I do know that he is doing something. You know that expectation you get when you feel him moving, when your spirit cant sit still even if nothing is physically happening around you? That is how I feel. After a week of intense homesickness, counting down the days to my first hearty meal in the US of A, I think Ive managed to gain a lot of perspective. I was reminded the other day in prayer that all the things I was missing from home did not satisfy me when experienced on a daily basis. Yes, I of course am already thinking about my first meal that will take place at Mellow Mushroom but my focus has shifted from myself to what He is doing. I am sorry to admit that out loud, that for a few days I was thinking about myself but its true. I think I have covered about every emotion in the 18 days I have been here. And last week was hard, that is for sure. But Jesus is faithful and He is helping me (duh) to see the greater picture, well maybe I cant see that yet but he is reminding me that there is in fact a bigger picture. Its called his Kingdom and its the reason why I was created, birthed, placed on earth and currently placed in Haiti.

I wish I had some crazy story to tell you that would wow your socks off and you would say man Jesus is doing something in Haiti. I dont have that yet. I dont even have the in demand pictures of the goats yet. But what I do have is the expectancy that Jesus is active in Haiti. That he is assembling men and women filled with the Holy Spirit to be his hands and feet. I love that I get to be one of those people. I will tell you about 2 of those others- they are a couple from South Africa and are quite incredible even beyond their wonderful accents. Max came down first as a fleet mechanic. I met him during his orientation in the States back in Decemeber and instantly liked him. His wife Jennifer just arrived this week and had me at "Youre reading a Norvel Hayes book, Max and I used to be under his ministry...have you ever heard of Kenneth Hagin?" I was sold.  Then we prayed together for a couple leaving Haiti on Monday and I was sold even more. They are incredible people that believe in the authority of Jesus and his heart for people around the world. They have already been the most encouraging people to me and I am excited to see our relationship grow. (It kinda feels like a South African Sean and Gracie, 30 years from now :) )

There really is no point or theme to what I am writing currently. I actually had a rather adventurous weekend filled with village trekking, playing on the beach and my first hit by a tap tap. (Dont worry, I am ok. We just pushed our side mirror back out and kept right on going :).) Anyways, I ask tonight that you pray for Haiti-  the Word says if we ask for a nation its ours. And let me tell you there are lots of things the Word says to ask for that can be ours we just dont ask but anyways I actually have a list. Join me in this prayer

1. That all people in Haiti would be saved ( 1 Tim 2:4)
2. Pray for all leaders, government, teachers, people in authority in Haiti (1 Tim 2:1-4)
3. Pray order, peace, love and unity into families here
4. Pray for them to grow in their knowledge of Christ, that they would have eyes to see and ears to hear  (Ephesians 1: 15ish) (people here know about Jesus, they just dont know Him)
5. Pray that they would know the depts heights and widths of His love (Eph 3)

That is all I have for tonight. Oh I forgot to tell you- answered prayer request! I got bananas last week! AND not only did I get bananas, I woke up this morning to fresh baked just out of the oven banana chocolate chip bread and it was AMAZING- thats a great example of the exceedingly and abundantly more than we could ask promise isnt it? So that was great AND get this- there is a hot water nozzle in the showers and I am a total idiot. I have no clue why 1. I didnt know and 2. people heard me talking about my cold showers and didnt spread the wealth but either way now I know. Its solar heated so at 6 am I think I am still in for a cold-ish one but I did take a hot one this afternoon and it was LOVELY.

Ok now that really is all. Thank you for your prayers- I promise they are working and I am grateful for them everyday. This week I will be going out with our ministry program doing evangelism. I am thrilled beyond words and have no clue what to expect but salvations. I think we are going into the highschools and university this week. Its going to be fun.

**Grammy- I had spaghetti tonight, it wasnt as good as yours but it made me think of you :)

Love you all, sweet dreams!

observations, part 2

hiya all. happy hump day. today marked my first day out of quarantine. it was lovely. no more isolation. monday night they discovered i had somehow over the course of being sick, developed tonsilitis. i was started on antibiotics and instantly felt better. from what i understand antibiotics dont work that quickly, my response was that jesus does. so praise God, i am doing much much better. i was advised to only work a half day today so i stayed here at the office and then took a nap. since i have been sitting in a room by myself since friday, i dont really have a whole lot to report. but i do have more observations i have accumulated and those are always fun so here we go.

1. spaghetti is a breakfast food here. isnt that bizarre? and unlike home, lunch is the biggest meal of the day. they heap what i would consider an entire box of rice meant for a family and then some onto my plate and tease me for being tiny and american when i cant finish it. lets be real. that is enough rice for me for a week.

2. tap taps. tap taps are these buses or trucks or basically any vehicle used to drive a seemingly impossible amount of people to their desired destinations. its like a taxi combined with a bus. it picks up people along the way and stops when they, you guessed it, tap on the side. these things are basically the mode of trasnportation here unless you want to walk. the problem is, they are quite dangerous.often times people hang on top of the giant bus or stand on the oustide of the truck.  imagine this equation- you have 1 windy unpaved small mountain road plus the day to day "normal" flow of traffic that exists here plus 1 truck plus 24 people placed precariously wherever they may fit. often times it equals disaster. 3 weeks ago two tap taps collided and killed 20 people. i get nervous everytime one drives towards us. yikes.

3. the sunsets here are some of the most beautiful i have ever seen. i am not much for taking pictures and i havent taken any as promised yet but i will eventually. i just hate being that person with the camera ya know?

4. when you live in country where electricity is scarce, the only plus i have found is the stars. they are magnificent. i cant remember a time i have seen this many. sometimes i just sit out on the helicopter pad and stare at them. i am still waiting to see a shooting star.

i hope as i have blogged over the last two weeks you have been able to see the good amidst the bad that exists in haiti. what i have discovered is only the surface level of all there is to find here. some of you still may be on the fence or even still against my decision to come here. but my hope and prayer is that as you read this and as my time here continues, you will catch a glimpse of the Father's heart towards haiti. because that is why i am here. i know right now there isnt much to report but its just the beginning, and i was sick for half of it lol. so hang in there and keep reading- so many beautiful things, lives changed (mine included) are on the way.

on that cheesy hallmark note, i am going to talk to my usa roommate and then go to bed. pase bonwee!

joy set before us

Good morning everyone. I hope you had a nice weekend :)

Since my last post on Friday, things got a little crazy. Saturday I felt the opposite of better so no OCC distribution for me :(. They were afraid it was viral meningitis so they took me to a doctors without borders clinic in the city. I spent the entire weekend in bed, but luckily was moved to a bungalow which meant a room to myself, a bathroom in that room and the best thing ever- a    hot shower. Saturday I took my first hot shower which would have been heaven except that I had my first real spider experience during that shower. But anyways, I finally made it out of my room today- A lot of you have emailed asking if I have malaria etc. I do not- praise Jesus. The doctors could never figure out what I had but it hardly matters, I stand in the healing that I know is mine, just by being a daughter of God. I woke up this morning with no fever which is great, first day since Thursday. I am still having a hard time swallowing and talking and I have a bad ear infection as random as that is so continue praying for me, that I will continue to heal and be up and out of my bed in no time!

Confession time: this may come as a shock to some of you but for me, it is easy to get discouraged when I am sick. Crazy, right? I know it makes me a human to confess that I get discouraged at times, but its true. I wouldnt say that I was questioning my purpose here or Jesus but I began to lose perspective. When all you are thinking about is the pain in your body you can hardly see "the joy set before you". I am so glad Jesus still went to the cross, endured everything he did, spent 3 days in the grave, FOR US. He did it because of the joy set before him. I am not Jesus and I am not saying that this mystery disease is equivalent to the cross. What I am saying is that I am so thankful I can look to him as my example, as my confidence, that I can feel really crappy and miserable but still have a quiet strength that knows 1. My God is in control 2. He has promised to never leave me 3. I am healed 4. No weapon formed against me shall prosper 5. Its for my good and His glory.

Was I thinking all these things as I sat in a Haitian clinic on Saturday? No, I was thinking oh my gosh if they try to stick me with anything I am going to run away except I physically cannot run. (I was not thrilled about being there). But the Holy Spirit, as promised, is always faithful to comfort, to bring to mind the word of God, to strengthen, to intercede on my behalf. What a promise and what a reality.

John 16: 33 " I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace and confidence. In the world you have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration; but be of good cheer [take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted]! For I have overcome the world. [I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you.]

He has conquered it for us. Already. Its done. What Good News. What hope giving news.

Your prayers, emails, tweets, etc meant so much to me and I am beyond thankful for your partnership in faith. I know some amazing things are going to happen in the next 5 months and no sickness, heat, hunger, or whatever will prevent that. But praise God for the Bread of Life because I aint eating too much other than that around here lol. Join with me in faith today that they will buy bananas in port au prince :) I really want a banana. Love you guys!

peanut butter and promises

First things first. I learned today that the correct spelling of shoo shoo is actually chou chou. So there you go.

Today was probably my least favorite day since I have been here. I woke up this morning and thought I was dying. I know thats a bit melo dramatic but its true. I was leaving for GHA around 9:30 so I asked my boss if I could lay down until then. Once I described my symptoms to her she insisted that I not go to work because to her, it sounded like I had malaria. Yikes. I was not happy.

** Side note- Gracie assigned a book to me called Worship by Norvel Hayes. I implore you all to read it- its life changing. I have been reading it all this week and its incredible. Because I had been reading it, I knew exactly what to do.**

I came back to my tent and started worshipping. I just worshipped and prayed and worshipped and prayed, believing in complete faith that malaria or whatever this was would not prosper against me. I wanted to pass out but I kept praying. I think every believer has times in their life when they do exactly what the word says and it "doesnt work". This was one of those times for me. I was frustrated that the enemy had been bringing so much sickness against my body since moving to Haiti. I even did the math. I had been sick more days than I had been not sick. That is not ok. Not when I am here trying to tell other people about the healing power of Jesus, not when I know the authority that exists in his name that is inside of me. You know, the same power that raised Jesus from the dead is inside of us (Romans 8:11 I think) This means that at the very least I can raise people from the dead. So why did I still feel terrible?

Eventually I decided to lay down and sleep. Unfortunately, I could not sleep, the pain in my neck was so unbearable. I decided to keep praying, to keep thanking Jesus that he loved me enough to give me everything he had, healing included. Around that time one of our staff members who is a nurse came to check on me. My fever was 101 and I " looked very pale"- people always think I am sick when I dont wear makeup. I tried to tell her it was my natural color but anyways.... She ran a malaria test that was supposed to take 20 minutes to show results. 30 seconds later I had malaria. Not cool.

This is when I think the faith comes in. We do after all live by faith and not by sight. It is easy to say that before the diagnosis but harder and more vital afterwards, regardless of the situation. I contacted some people back home and had them praying for me. And I started speaking. Just speaking what I knew was true. 30 minutes later, I find out that the test was wrong, I dont have malaria. Look at that. Should I be surprised, absolutely not. But I am incredibly thankful.

Since I dont have malaria, their second guess is the flu or strep throat. I am already feeling better than I did this afternoon and believe that I will keep feeling better! If everyone could just agree with me on that, say a prayer for me, I would really appreciate it. I hate being sick, being sick in Haiti is probably my least favorite thing.

Positive things:

1. I got to see how much people really care about others and felt very loved today- I am not alone the way I felt I was.

2. I got to eat m&m peanut butter cookie dough- even though it made me feel worse, it tasted so good

3. I dont have malaria. That is always a plus.

I hope you all actually read that book. I also pray that the Lord will keep teaching me about faith. I dont have the answers. I am not sure why I wasnt and still am not better instantly. I guess I am realizing that it is not my job to analyze the word and promises of God based off my situations. My job is to believe him. Regardless. His word says that his promises always prove true. I have to go by that no matter how I feel or what the thermometer says.

So anyways, that was my friday- pray that I can still go on the distribution tomorrow. That is honestly my biggest concern right now!

observations

Bonswa tut mon. Today was another day of MCH training in Petit Guave so not much to say there. Instead I think I will share with you some interesting cultural observations and or other facts I have made or noticed in my short time here.

1. There are goats everywhere. Livestock in general really but mostly goats. About every 20 feet youll see another one tied to a stick by a rope and its like wonder where that one came from. There never seems to be any sign of an owner. Just a row of goats on the side of the road. And pigs. They have lots of pigs tied up here too. And of course the rampant chickens running about. ( I am discovering that I am a bit scared of chickens, I am not sure why)

2. In Haiti, they have what is called a shoo shoo. Im not sure if you spell it that way or this way- shu shu. But nevertheless it is the equivalent to what we would call a boo. Everywhere I go, people want to know if I have a shoo shoo. I say no, mwe pa gen shoo shoo- No I dont have a shoo shoo. Which leads to a series of questions on why I dont have a shoo shoo. Pooquisa is how you say why. I learned because is paske so it gets quite redundant going back and forth. I do think it would be nice to have one, if nothing else just to introduce him as my shoo shoo lol.

3.  Squatty potties exist in haiti. And by squatty potty I mean that I asked where the bathroom was and they handed me a bowl and pointed to a shack. Luckily I have been trained from my time in India on these. Unluckily, when they dont have a bathroom they dont have toilet paper. I made a mental note on Tuesday to remember to bring toilet paper when I found myelf in a similar situation but somehow managed to forget and once again was up a creek.

4. We have 2 kitties on base and I love them! One of them is named Kitty, I am not sure which one so I just call them both that. I think about you Kate everytime I pet them and how much you would hate them :) I love them, they are just what I needed to have here. Apparently though, cat is a delicacy here, only the rich eat it. I could cry.

5. Driving here is another world. Its like India- which car is going to give up first and pull off the road before being hit. They kinda drive like I do, irate because the car in front is too slow. Instead of getting mad in their head like I do, they race around them before the massive mack truck coming towards them creams us. Its been very fun to drive every day- it feels like mario kart. I have also noticed that honking is universal. I am not sure why this is a lost art in the states but every where else it seems to be a functioning form of communication.

6. There are lots of mosquitoes. Period. Everywhere.

There are many more things I have observed but its so hard to keep track in my brain and its like 8 pm now and body is ready for bed. I have to fold my laundry- yes I did laundry today. And before you go picturing me in a river with a rock, we have washing machines and dryers:)

I hope everyone has a wonderful night and a great weekened! (It is a 4 day weekend for me, yay for Haitian holidays!)

Haiti is beautiful. Imagine everything you have ever heard or thought about it and now immediately disregard it. Every day the Lord shows me more of himself, in the people, the nature, everything. That is not to say that the heart ache isnt real and obvious, it overwhelmingly is. But more than that I see hope. My job, Im learning, is to show the people who live here, who call Haiti home, that this hope exists and is found in Jesus.

I have so many things to catch you all up on. I will try to be concise but Im going to be honest, I have never really been great at that. So, lets see, Saturday is where we left off. Saturday morning started off slow, a nap in a hammock on the beach complete with a breeze, shade from the palms and distant music. That afternoon the children from GHA (the Greta Home) that accepted Jesus came to our beach to be baptized. This was my first interaction with them and I was thrilled. They are all so outgoing and loving, each one of them wanting to play and get your attention. After the baptism one of the kids decided to run into the ocean clothed and all. The rest instantly followed suit. 50 kids jumping and splashing like crazy. I stood there and watched-wanting to get in but deciding on all of the grown-up reasons as to why I couldnt. Not long into it, a little boy came up, grabbed my hand like he knew what I was thinking and led me into the water. I was wearing jeans and a light colored shirt, so you do the math- my pants weighed a ton and my shirt was see through. But I DIDNT CARE. I dont think I have had that much fun in my entire life. We were splashing and jumping on each other and several children tried to baptize me. I assured them it had already happened but that wasnt good enough. I got dunked. Not to make this more than it was but I am going to anyways- this was super freeing for me. Something I never do and needed to do. I needed to loosen up, have fun and not worry about my hair being wet or my pants being full of sand. That was Saturday afternoon followed by really yummy oatmeal coconut cookies.

Sunday because of some security restrictions due to upcoming Carnival I didnt go to church. We usually have it on base Sunday nights but it was canceled because of the Super Bowl. I spent the morning in the kitchen baking with the girls all sorts of yummy American things like peanut butter cookies. Some neighboring children came by the base so we played a movie- French Bernstein Bears :) ate peanut butter sandwiches and painted the girls nails. It was adorable to watch them look at their nails and see a toilet flush for the first time. Its the little things we take for granted. Then came the Super Bowl party- my oh my- such good food, familiar food. And my new favorite dessert thanks to my new British friend Abby who I adore- Banoffee pie. Its banana and toffee. Banoffee (said the britt way).

Monday I was at  GHA. I spent the morning in our office and the afternoon walking around and talking with the kids. They are all precious. My first assignment is to develop a discipleship/mentor program for the community to connect with them. I started my work on that and then went home to a wonderful taco dinner which I later found out was a wonderful GOAT taco dinner. Something I have learned here is if you ask what is in every meal, you will starve. I dont ask. I just eat. Its a new concept for me but its keeping me full, well kinda full.

Tuesday and Wednesday I was assigned to go out with our MCH program- Maternal Child HealthCare. As an intern I have to spend some time with every program we have in Haiti which has been really interesting and impactful. Part of what this program does is train pregnant women and mothers on how to take care of themselves and their children. The information they share would seem so sex ed 101 to us but it is amazing the things we, once again, take for granted. Yesterday we started our early morning treck up the mountain and when I say up I mean up.  The further up we went, the more I prayed and spoke life to our tires. I couldnt believe we actually made it alive except for I believe in Jesus but other than that it would be impossible. And to prove my case, we passed one overturned bus and a broken down one. We were probably the only 3 cars traveling up to this remote area that day and shocker- my car I am sure is annointed and therefore we were the only ones who made it. After a very long drive we got to a church/school where we did the training. They asked me to lead a mini devo at the beginning and then we got right into the basics of pregnancy. I had no clue what was being said so I watched a kindergarten class that was going on in the same building. I hardly speak any creole and they were not very interested in talking to me either way. So I told them my name and decided to tickle them. Tickling I have learned is univeral. All children love it and it requires no words and produces all smiles. They eventually ran off and finished their school. After the session one of our trainers handed me a written note in english on a scrap piece of paper. It said "Dieusika, I love you so much. Do you love me? Love Wilmise." One of the girls I tickled had asked her teacher to write it for her in english and hand it to me. I could have bawled. I had no clue which girl it was but I prayed that she would know that I do in fact love her.

We left the school after killing almost every chicken in sight. Fun fact: chickens are to haiti as squirrels are to the States. They are everywhere, all the time, right in front of your tire. In Haiti they dont swerve so I squeal and look back to make sure we didnt just make dinner for someone. Anyways so we left there , drove all the way down the mountain which by the way overlooked the ocean, it was beautiful. Lunch took place on the street- it was your typical Haitian drive through lunch, equivalent to chic fil a-a little woman with like 4 pots in a tent. They filled up our to go boxes with rice beans chicken fried plantains and on we went. My friends proceeded to eat this in the car- I couldnt figure out how to do it with all the swerving so I waited.

Today we went up the mountain outside of Leogane called Troo Shoo Shoo. This place is off the beaten path- for real. These "roads" are the kind you see in Dodge Ram commercials and something you would hike, not drive in the States. 2 hours of intense bumps, trenches, more chickens and almost killing motorcyclist later we made it to the clinic. I spent some time attempting to interact with the women and children who were lined up already at 9 am just to see the doctor- such a difference from the States. I think they all thought I was this weird white girl who spoke some creole so not too many of them wanted to talk to me. But once again, I made sure to tickle the children. After that I went on to work with the staff. I think the MCH people forgot I am not a dr because they proceeded to give me dr tasks that required 1. creole and 2. medical school. After attempting and failing to take someones blood pressure or ask them for information beyond their name and age they realized I was not in fact a doctor. It was actually a rough moment. For the first time there I felt pretty inadequate. They needed me to be Haitian and a doctor, but I wasnt and I couldnt help it. I felt really useless and disappointing. I was then told my new task was to alphabatize and organize all their medical records. Files upon files of patient forms in complete random order. These were sifted through everyday when patients came in to see what they had done with them before and I knew it took them forever. 5 hours later they had a filing system and I had a farmers tan (It was my first one so I am pretty excited about it). As we drove home I realized soemthing about my task. At first it seemed meaningless to me, oh great I spent a day alphabatizing in Haiti. But then I realized that this was a big deal, for many reasons. Not only was it so needed in order to create a flow and ease for them but only the head doctor knew how to alphabatize. I had a skill that I didnt realize was a skill. I got to show them how to put the documents in order so they can continue it on with new patients. Just another way Jesus shows us that who we are EXACTLY is who we need to be. They didnt need me to be a doctor, they needed me to know my abc's.

I know that was a lot of information. Now that I have a computer I can update you guys more frequently and not have so much to say in one time. Tonight we are all watching Modern Family in the common area which I am pretty excited about even though I am definitely missing my church family right now.

Several of you have asked what you can send me- cards and encouragement are always welcome, food- kashi coconut dark chocolate bars, nature valley almond granola bars, candy- gummy bears, anything sour...I mean I will eat anything really. Oh and you know those mini individual creamers the international delight ones that dont have to be refrigerated? I could kill for some of those in hazelnut :)

That is all for now- thanks so much for staying up to date with my life, for your encouragement, and your prayers. Grier- I got your package yesterday and it was wonderful! I loved it so much! Read it and cried in my hammock :).  John Ross- I saw a guy with a machete today. I almost asked him if his name was Sante.

Oh PS- I am so excited I could pee my pants. They heard I used to work at OCC in the States so I have cordially been invited to an OCC distribution this Saturday!!!!!! I am supppppperrrrr excited! Pictures of that will definitely be posted! Oh and check out samaritanspurse.org and you might could find the pictures and video of the baptism on there, though it they may not be up yet. But keep checking and look for me!

Pray for me as I continue to learn creole. I have discovered that it is vital to being effective here. I will say though that in only a week I have picked up a lot-when Jesus wants you to learn something, you will. He gives you grace in every way and it is easy. Also pray for creativity and knowledge as I start to work on my projects for GHA. Oh and pray for Haiti- pray for the men and women of God who are in fact faithful to start a change in this nation. Pray for the government, pray for us, pray for the hearts of the people- that they would truly know the love of God, grow in their knowledge of Him.

Fini! I love you all! Pase Bonwee!

first days

I have to write rather quickly- the internet here is less than reliable and I want to give you all an update while I can!

So far, so good. Soaking in everything a new country has to offer can be quite overwhelming and exciting all at once. Wednesday I bawled like a baby, got my last starbucks and ate a giant cheeseburger for my last meal in the States. We arrived at base around 8pm (after plenty of near death experiences on the road- if you have been to india its a lot like that minus all the cows) which in Haiti feels like midnight. (we seem to operate on the same schedule as the sun...ill go into that later) As I predicted, so far the most terrifying part of the journey has been the port au prince airport. I think it may have been easier if I were not with 4 people each with like 3 suitcases but nevertheless I thought I may not make it to the base lol. But we did because Jesus loves us. Anyways so dinner was waiting for us- steak, wonderfully tender well seasoned covered in pico steak. It was quite the welcoming meal. I was taken to my tent and started to settle in. Before you start picturing a tiny camping tent I will describe it for you. Its a big tent. Each tent is separated into 4 quarters. My quarter has 2 beds, 2 "book cases", 2 lights and in our case 1 chair. Its quite cozy and I lived in Gardner Hall for 4 years so I can easily do this. I dont have a roommate currently but from what I understand she lives at the other base and comes here twice a month which wont be bad.

So thats my tent, its air conditioned which is nice. I have actually been cold the past few nights. Thursday and Friday have been orientation days. I woke up yesterday around 6- when you are in a tent, you wake up when your tent mates wake up. Someone in our tent has an alarm that talks- "It is time to wake up, it is 6:11." And she says it until you wake up. This anonymous person did not wake up from 6 am to 6:14am. These are the times I must quote scripture in my brain about being clothed in love etc. Now if you know me at all, you know I am absolutely a mess in the morning and the last thing I want to do is see people. Here, the showers are outside. About a 1 1/2 minute walk from my tent. I walked as quickly as I could, avoiding eye contact with everyone I saw. Im guessing I will get used to it, although I think its more them needing to get used to morning me.

The showers are COLD ( and just like the dressing rooms at belk in boone if you have ever seen them. I am pretty sure at this point everyone has seen me.). At 6am the sun hasnt been able to heat the water up yet which reduces my shower routine to about 3 minutes every morning. There are outlets and I could blow dry my hair but with this humidity it is absolutely pointless. I have been looking very "natural" for the past 2 days. I did get my first mosquito bite yesterday, and my 2nd and 3rd and 15th. There are lots of mosquitoes and they seem to enjoy me. Oh and get this- I am getting some sun. Right now I just look a bit pinkish but I am hoping that after a weekend in my back yard - aka the beach- I will be a bit on the darker side.

So anyways- sorry this is so long- for orientation each program operating in our Haiti office spends about an hour telling us what they do. To my surprise yesterday I got to go right to the Greta Home and Academy. I was not expecting this at all since that aspect of my job doesnt start until late February. I was ecstatic. We pulled up to the front and I could not believe how beautiful it was. As we walked up the sidewalk a small boy about 5 or 6 started walking towards us. He walked right up to me and stopped. I looked down and he was reaching his hands up for me. I picked him up and he clung as tightly as he could. I could have cried. This lasted for about 10 minutes and all I could think was wow I must really be called to these children. He needs so much love, I cant even begin to imagine what he has been through. He then began to try to kiss me, on the lips. I turned my cheek to him but that wouldnt do so several failed attempts later he jumped down. -Now, I could stop the story here and you would be like oh my how beautiful is that blady bla, but....he then made his way to every woman in the group wanting to be held. This lasted the entire 2 hours we were there and come to find out, he has autism which is why he could not talk. I didnt feel special anymore but I still loved him and needed to feel that touch from a child.

We spent the rest of our time there taking a tour of the grounds and that is when I saw my first spider. Oh my gosh- luckily it was dead but this "tiny" tarantula could eat have eaten a lizard. Apparently there are quite a few of those running around over there. I dont want to jinx it but so far, no live ones near me. Lots of lizards, lots of really loud birds that sometimes sound like people and lots of mosquitoes.

I have been trying to make friends, everyone is really nice. I have been sick since we got here though so any free time has been spent taking a nap or sitting on the beach. I heard boone is a flood- hope you all are making it. Its quite beautiful here. Tomorrow morning I will take a picture of my view when I open my tent door. Its the most breathtaking thing I have seen.

Keep praying for me. If you wrote me a card before I came down here its with me now and has been re read many times since arriving. Here are some specific things you can be praying for me about:

1. For this sickness to go away!
2. For friendship, godly women I can connect with, be poured into by and pour into
3. Relationships with the locals. They are wonderful people that I think it is essential to connect with
4. My learning of creole- its going pretty well and one of the guys here is offering lessons every wednesday night that I will start taking
5. Exactly what Pastor Banks prophesied- that I will find what God has for me, be open to it each day.

I will go ahead and confess that just by being sick and the new person that doesnt have everyone encouraging them, in 2 days I was like hmmm do I really have a purpose here? I feel like I'm not really important. Well that is a lie and I have a specific purposeful God ordained role here and I dont need others to tell me that in order to believe it.

I love you guys so much and I miss you already! If you want to send me stuff down here you can mail it to Samaritan's Purse in Boone to the attention of Terry Harmon- just make sure you write my name and Haiti on it. And you should send me stuff- like food :)

Tomorrow we are having some children from the Greta Home baptized at the beach so pictures of that are sure to follow! Mwen fatigue! Good Night!