Haiti Adventures (Jan 2015) Day 6-7

Thursday was very productive! We traveled to Helene’s village and passed out buckets to some of the people there! The people will use the buckets for mainly carrying water to their houses, so they’re very helpful! It was great to see the joy on their faces as we passed out the buckets and it was amazing how thankful they were. Can you just close your eyes for a second with me and comprehend this? (Please proceed to close them after you read the rest of this paragraph and picture all the things I name.) Look at your house, look at your car, your kitchen, its contents (the food, silverware and cooking utensils…) look at your family, your husband/wife, your kids, your pets. Now think really hard, in the midst of your one or two story house how many buckets do you have? Think of what we use buckets for, maybe to store dirt when gardening, wash our cars, build sand castles, put fish in when we go fishing and so much more. They’re something that every american owns, and many of us have large quantities of them. Now think of the people of Haiti, picture them smiling as they're handed a bucket. Something that we take for granted is something that they treasure and rely on to help keep their families hydrated….crazy right?!

     I’m hoping you've opened your eyes now to continue the blog.  After we were done handing out buckets we rode down to Helene’s house and they served us a homemade Haitian meal of rice, beans and seasoned chicken. It was so good, I can’t even describe it! Lunch went by quickly and then we traveled to a nearby waterfall and had some fun there! It was beautiful! At the end of our journey we returned to the complex and had an amazing communion service! It was great to worship and praise with the team members and the interns, all of whom I've come to call friend very quickly! Finally, I ended my day rocking baby Dely to sleep and singing to him, which I absolutely loved.

Friday wasn't quite as full, but still meaningful.  I went with Chelsea and Jean-Philippe to drop one of the mission teams that had been here for the week off at the airport. We stopped and prayed for some people on the way and then stopped at a cute little boutique in Cabaret. Then I returned to the complex, watched the village boys play soccer, hung out with them after and then had a Haitian sandwich called a paté. It was yummy! I ended my day with the interns, Tyler, Jessica, Chelsea and Aggie. We all got together and had a mini worship time. Words cannot describe how much I will miss all of them, I've bonded with them so much this past week and have loved my time spent with them serving the people of Haiti. I’ll miss them and this place so much. I can hardly wait to go home and fill out my application for a year long internship after graduation. It was a great last day, spent with friends and kids. I’ll miss this so much, but am thankful God gave me an opportunity to come back!

Haiti Adventures (Jan 2015) Day 5

Today was quite an interesting day! In the morning we walked around the village for a bit and then came back to the complex while some of the team members walked to someone's hut to pray. Upon their arrival back, Aggie, Jessica and I had been told that they had brought back a baby. Aggie and I jumped up immediately to go inspect the situation. We met him and deeply fell in love. He is about 3 months old and is only seven pounds. His mother became sick sometime after he was born and gave the baby to the father to care for while she was resting. A few weeks went by and the mother’s sister told her that the father had left the baby on her step and that she needed to come get it. When the mother got the baby she began to feed it boxed milk, supposedly. When we received the baby he was super tiny, extremely malnourished, and would not keep the formula down we were giving him. He was vomiting, sometimes projectile and was gagging. After a bath, some attempts at feeding, some new clothing, and some decisions were made, we knew this baby needed help. The mother has no place to go now since the father and the mother’s sister have both said she cannot stay with them and we weren't sure if the baby would survive through the night. After much discussion it was decided that the baby would be taken to Real Hope Hospital (the place we visited just a few days ago.)  Unfortunately, the mother would not consent to letting us take the baby there. We have no idea why and we are very nervous that the baby will not make it through the night. So, that was kind of a down side to the day.

    The bright side was that we enjoyed a great dinner on the ocean at a resort.  We didn't swim, but I did sneak over and stick my feet in. It was very warm and I enjoyed the few short minutes of it! We then all piled into “the kia” which is made for 6 but because it was raining and we couldn't sit in the bed of the vehicle we piled 10 people into it, which was extremely funny! All in all today was pretty good and I can’t wait until tomorrow when I can blog about the awesome adventure I’m going on!!! Bonsoir!

Haiti Adventures (Jan 2015) Day 4

Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you. (James 1:27 NLT)

“….That tunnel, so dark, I could not see

Where I was going, where I should be,
But there You were, so suddenly,
You picked me up, You restored me…
That torment, that despair, that endless war,
Was suddenly so much easier to fight than before,
I looked to my left; then I looked to my right,
There You were standing, the beautiful Light.
There was a light, at the end of my tunnel,
A termination of what seemed an endless struggle,
Now I have faith, I can suddenly stand,
And my grip will only tighten around Your hand.”

Light At The End Of My Tunnel -Jillian Ann Cameron

Yesterday, as many of you know, I posted on Facebook asking for prayers.  I also messaged some friends of mine requesting them to pray as well and talked to a lot of people here. I did not want to disclose why until now and I’m sure you will understand why after you've finished reading this post. Monday around lunch time I was pulled to the side and was told the story of a baby (known as Edison) that the directors had taken in when the child’s mother died and the dad could not take care of it. I was then retold the story of the twins (Dely and Denau) and how Aggie took them in when their mother had died and the father couldn't take care of them. I was then told of a new 2 month old baby, one whose mother had passed away that very morning and whose father could not take care of it. All at once it hit me and I realized that they were going to ask me to help. They did so much more, they asked me to watch the baby until February 17th, be it’s temporary momma, and care for it until the directors came back from the U.S. on the 16th of February. Second after second my heart pounded with excitement and without knowing it I said yes on instinct. Of course, after talking for a while more about it, I stepped back and asked them to give me some time to pray and speak with my parents. After much discussion and prayer with my mom and dad, we decided that I should stay and care for this little one. We were told the baby would arrive Tuesday morning so I slept through the night and woke up in the morning to butterflies in my stomach.

       I was anxious all morning, nervous, excited and so many other emotions. I was wondering if it was a boy or a girl, if he or she was healthy, if we would accept it (sometimes they turn babies away because the situation can be helped in another way) and if I was actually capable of being a caregiver to this child. Well, the answer came yesterday afternoon. After a meeting with the directors and Aggie, we have decided not to take the baby. It’s a girl named Jesumine who was extremely healthy, only had one other sibling the dad had to care for, and had many aunts who were able to take care of her. I was heartbroken, I held her for a while and immediately fell in love with her. She was so little and so cute. I was really upset that I wouldn’t be able to call her mine- even if for just a few weeks, but accepted the decision for what it was.

       I was taught a big lesson, one that will stay with me for a while. Sometimes, things happen that only God understands and that's ok. I've always wanted to be a mom, I was so ready to jump in and help that I jumped ahead of God and assumed this baby would soon be mine to care for and love for a short while. But God had other plans, and even though I was heartbroken I was happy that the baby had a good home she could go back to and that she was healthy. Sometimes we walk through a tunnel, but just like in the poem above, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Mine taught me a lesson. I don’t always need to know what’s going on, and I need to be patient. God knew this situation would not turn out like I anticipated, but He did know that I needed a big sign to show that. It may not be time now, but in the future, if I’m called to it, I know God will grant me it when it’s in His good time, not mine. Thank you everyone for your prayers today they were much appreciated! Love you all!

Haiti Adventures (Jan 2015) Day 3

   Today was my first big day of the week, we traveled to a hospital in Cabaret, Haiti known as Real Hope for Haiti. They have clinic throughout the week and today was HIV and TB day. The facilities are amazing and the kids are all well taken care of! The kids were so happy to see us and we loved playing, singing, and doing crafts with them! They have an ICU there that is full of malnourished babies, some of them were extremely tiny and it broke my heart. We also ventured over to their other building two houses over to play with some babies and toddlers. There were two children that particularly caught my eye. The first one was a little girl that one of our members picked up, we were told that she wasn't wanted by her parents and relatives because she had CP (cerebral palsy) and was considered “too handicapped” to take care of. This spoke to me on so many levels! My own sister is handicapped and can you just imagine what might have happened to her if she had been born here instead of the United States? I was crushed, and promptly took pictures to take back home and show my family. Another child that connected with me did not talk. He came up and offered his hands up so that I would pick him up. I held him for a while then we sat down and he ran to another member. Shortly after, he returned to me and I held him and kissed him and played with him. He said nothing to me, no word, no giggle, no baby noise….nothing. The only speech he had was that of his smile and his eyes. We connected through our souls and he could tell I loved him with every ounce of my heart. Isn't it breathtaking when you can see that Christ’s love is pouring through you! Unfortunately when we left he was the only child to scream. After we left there we returned to the complex and spent the rest of our night fellowshipping, getting things ready for other stuff this week and hanging out with Haitians. Many nights after school about 6-10 Haitian boys come to hang out along with 1 girl. The girls of the village are usually too busy doing chores and helping with the little ones to come spend time with us, but we have formed friendships with many of the teen boys in the village. They’re so amazing to watch! They joke around with each other, act like they're all siblings and watch out for the twins as well! They’re so good with kids it’s amazing! Haitians will never cease to amaze me! Today has been a great day and I’m so thankful that I've returned to this amazing place!

Haiti Adventures (Jan 2015) Day 2

Well, after my tiring journey yesterday I can officially be thankful for this relaxing day! I will admit that in the morning I was supposed to be ready at 6:40, my alarm went off at 6:15. I rolled over, turned it off, and then fell back asleep until 6:50. Oops! In the end it worked out fine because everyone got a late start, so we eventually made it! It didn't really matter that we were late, we’re white so they would've stared anyways. After the church service my day was spent hanging out with Aggie and the twins. Dely and I have become instant buddies, I've been playing with him a lot, feeding him, rocking him and we even took a nap together in the afternoon! Denau, unfortunately has malaria and during the day is perfectly fine, but at night is very fussy and can’t sleep very well because of his high fever and discomfort. Aggie has done so well with both of them! She’s getting a break tonight as another intern stays with the babies, but she truly inspires me! She is a great mother to both the twins and loves them with all of her heart! Please pray for her as she continues to watch them both until Lifeline orphanage opens up. That she will have the strength to keep on through the sleepless nights and the sicknesses, and that God will watch over her health as well! I’m sorry this blog wasn't as long as last night, but not much happened today! Bonsoir my dear friends!

Haiti Adventures (Jan 2015) Day 1

 As I sit here on the plane ride from Georgia to Port Au Prince, I’m still unaware that this is really happening. Ever since I left Haiti in August I have wanted, with all my heart, to return to it! For a while I did not think it could be done, but God sure had plans for me, and now here I am on my way back! I can’t help but think of how much I've grown over this past year. Last year at this time I was writing repeatedly in my personal journal with many questions and much confusion. Asking God to guide me, questioning what He wanted me to do, questioning what I wanted to do and who I really was. Little did I know that last year would be the beginning of the rest of my life! Since last January, I have been on 2 missions trips, I have made countless friends around the world, I have taken care of children both local to villages in Africa and in Haiti, I have fully depended on God to protect me and lead me, I have grown stronger through independence and separation and I have been able to live my dream. Who would've known that a childish fantasy of mine was actually going to come true many years down the road? People always speak of fairy tales, happy endings and dreams coming true, and here I am living all of those at this moment! God is so amazing!

     Today as I traveled I came across many amazing people and many different missionary groups. Sitting on a plane to Haiti you can most likely presume that all of the white people present are either vacationers or missionaries (more missionaries than anything.) Through this you begin to share stories and learn of other amazing Godly people feeling called to the same place as you. I have met countless people today and have heard of great things being done in Haiti, and I've also been able to share with others what I’m doing as well! As an 18 year old white girl, many people are surprised that I am traveling alone and doing things without parents present. I have been called countless things today, blessed many times, and inspired some people along the way. It’s so great to engage in conversation that fully revolves around my faith. Throughout the past couple of days, while getting ready for my trip and while traveling today, I have been able to witness to several people and it has been amazing! I haven't even arrived at my destination yet and God is already proving to me He is in control of it!

     When I first took off at Akron Canton Airport it wad really hard to separate from my family, and at that point my anxiety began to kick in. I may have traveled countless times, but quite frankly

 airports majorly stress me out! My mom always finds it funny that I’m more anxious about security, customs, and finding my flight than I am of actually going to Haiti alone. All that to be said, going through security after saying farewell to my family was no amusement park. It started out fine, but then my bag was confiscated and sifted through as I had set something off. Add 5 anxiety points. Then as people are rushing around me to get things off of the conveyor belt my laptop is deciding it doesn't want to fit back into my bag, and people are waiting for me to move so they can get there things. Add 2 anxiety points. While all of this is going on there is someone going through my bag and I’m internally freaking out about what happened. Add 4 anxiety points. So at this point my stress level is pretty high, and if my mom would've taken Mia’s equipment and checked my pulse it probably would've been a little high. After what seemed like forever, but was in reality only a few minutes, I was told that my 24 Oz. of Nutella was to be taken. This of course was something specifically asked for, but was over the Oz. limit. (I took a chance not knowing if it counted as a liquid or not.) Fortunately, the security guard also loved Nutella and did not want the precious bottle of goodness to go to waste. So he graciously walked me back out to my parents to return our giant jar of Nutella. Subtract all of the anxiety points. In that one small act of kindness and humor that the security guard shared my stress was relieved and I knew God had this no matter what. After that episode some other things happened, a blistered foot, a gate change and a flight delay, but throughout the day I've pretty much been at peace. I will admit to some fears of the Haitian customs, but that's natural right? 

        Some friendships I've formed have been quite amazing and I intend to share some of them with you now. I met a husband and wife on my first plane ride, and after answering where I was off to the wife, with her eyes wide says “Haiti! What in the world are you going there for?” Door one opened! I went off on my story and she seemed satisfied after. During my layover in Atlanta I boarded a train that would take me to my terminal. A beautiful college girl boarded at the same time as I did and we both had to stretch to reach the hanging handles. This, of course, was followed by giggles from us both and ideas as to how the train could have built the handles either lower, or retractable, for us short girls! When I finally reached my gate I had about two hours to sit and relax, which was much needed after carrying around my heavy bag with a sore shoulder and a blistered foot. While sitting I observed a somewhat large group of adults come and sit down. One of the couples read my shirt which reads “Mission Lifeline. Helping Haiti’s Children,” and began to ask questions. We exchanged what we were traveling to Haiti for and I learned that they were a big group of doctors going to work at a local hospital. (I later found out that my grandma actually knew the group I talked to!) Upon boarding the plane I have made friends with the two people beside me. Rusty, who is here with a group of miscellaneous people that will be working on outreach, and electric work, and Valerie who is here with a group of girls going to work at Mission of Hope. Neither of them believe I am 18 and are quite impressed with the work I am going to do! It’s great meeting people from around the U.S. who have their hearts set on the same thing as you!

     During one of my conversations a husband briskly said “you are one brave woman!” After pondering on it a little further I've realized that in all honesty, I don’t even have an ounce of bravery in me. Ask my friends at home and they’ll tell you I’m a shy introverted girl who only speaks when she feels it’s needed. During my trips, I am extremely outside of my comfort zone. Bravery is not in me, but trust is. Trust that God will watch over me, take care of me, lead me, love me, support me, and speak to me. I am not brave, I am weak, I am shy, I am introverted, I am afraid, I am anxious and I am sometimes lonely. But I know my God is with me, and no matter what kind of state I am in, He will hold me up. Any bravery seen in me is from God and God only!

   As I end my blog post for the day I leave you with this blessing my dear poppy emailed to me the night before I left. 

“May the sun shine warm upon your face; may the rains fall soft upon your head; may the winds blow gently at your back; may the road always rise to meet you; and when you leave your earthen berth, may God hold you safely in the palm of His hand.”

Adventure is out there!

"God was pushing me, well....someone was pushing me, but no one was behind me...."

This quote was said just this past Sunday by someone in my Sunday school class. It made me think of the wonderful journeys I will be going on this year and how God has really orchestrated everything in my life to lead up to where I am now.  As some of you may or may not know I will be going on another trip to Haiti in a few weeks and shortly after I will also be choosing where I will be for my year long mission trip after graduation!
        I embark for my next trip to Haiti on January 24th and I will be returning on the 31st. I am so looking forward to this wonderful adventure and cannot wait to return to Children's Lifeline! (To learn more about Children's Lifeline click here) Unlike the trip I took in August, I will be going alone and will not have a team with me. I will be able to focus more on the aspects of the trip I liked, work with the people who live at the mission to help better their community, be one on one with others and most importantly focus on building Christ-like relationships with the children and adults there! Since I was there last I have come into contact with some of the other missionaries there and have built tremendous relationships with them, I look forward to being with them and serving with them!
       I will be doing pretty much as I did last trip, serving the nearby village, helping out at the mission, visiting orphanages....so on and so forth. It may be a little different when I get there just because I will not be there with a team. Fortunately, there will be another team present while I am there so I will be able to share my story with them and help them serve the people of Haiti as well! I'm not sure in detail what all I will be doing, but rest assured I will try to post a blog page daily so that you know all that I am doing!
       I look forward to sharing my journey with you! Please pray for me as I travel alone to Haiti and as I think about what my future holds at Children's Lifeline! For more specific prayers please check out my Haiti Prayer List! Thank you all for your continued support and I can't wait to contact you next time when I'm in Haiti! God Bless!

2 Timothy 2:10 NIRV

"So I put up with everything for the good of God's chosen people. Then they also can be saved. Christ Jesus saves them. He gives them glory that will last forever."