memories

A few small snippets from my journal:

June 2nd: What am I doing here? -my honest, exact thoughts after stepping out of the airport.

June 3rd: I was feeling discouraged today but going to Leveque was just a mental ‘yes! this is why I’m here!’ for me.

June 12th: Went to church and it was so cool because the rain started POURING so hard at such a cool moment in a song. I didn’t even care that my laundry was out drying because it was awesome and worth the wet laundry.

June 14th: Got my Haitian phone today at dinner!!!

June 15th: So here I am on Evangeline’s porch and hot tears won’t stop coming out of my eyes. Then I hear Doc say ‘You got to be strong.’ I walked away to cry in peace for a bit and my heart said ‘Jesus, where are you?’ I was so overwhelmed with emotions at lunch, I sat on the ledge of the PTC facing the ocean and reading my bible, I flipped to a random page- Jeremiah 1:5, a verse that I read every day at our intern house, yet I never READ it until today.

June 16th: We talked with a man who said he was not ready to know Christ and wouldn’t even pray with us. Planting seeds can be discouraging sometimes but the harvest will be worth it.

June 17th: Froot Loops for breakfast. Whoop whoop.

June 19th: Prank war is now on. Jenna put a goat in the boys’ room haha.

June 22nd: Went to a school in Bon Repos, the kids did little presentations talking about bananas, carrots, and reciting bible verses. It was so cute.

June 30th: This morning I got to see Evangeline and Love again and it was awesome!!

July 1st: I had a tour this morning, it was great because I finally felt like I knew what I was talking about haha.

July 2nd: Today we went to Fovo for SVT! AND a man named Herral got saved!!!!!!! So amazing.

July 6th: Well, I fell off of the staircase at the intern housing and that was a terrible experience hah.

July 11th: I love it here. I love the people. I’m going to miss it so much. But I am excited for Austin because it will force me to apply what I’ve learned and learn how to minister to people in the US better.

July 12th: I hung out with Esther at the basketball court. It was funny because she kept calling some of the boys kilot (underwear) and koden (turkey) haha. I’m going to miss everyone so much. I miss Haiti already, and I’m still here!

July 13th: Wow. Today was a tough one. My heart is breaking and wanting to hug my friends in Haiti so bad.

July 14th: I have to remind myself to not be Martha. To just sit and appreciate Jesus moments and to not get caught up in whatever I’m doing.

July 17th: It is super cool that these Europeans are here to minister to the US and that they train others to be missionaries here too.

July 23rd: Today I made phone calls in the office. It was so cool because one lady I called said she received a sponsorship letter from MOH and she started tearing up. It was so cool because I helped pack and address those letters!

July 26th: I walked down a little path just to see a pretty stream and two perfect trees to set up my hammock. Then I hear a rustling on my left. A deer. Then she hops into the stream, and she looks around cautiously and then waves her tail as if to say “it’s clear.” And then this little baby deer hops into the stream and crosses it following her. It reminded me so much of scripture where God says He will lead us by still waters. I thought about how creation points to the creator and His characteristics. That deer reminded me that God is going before me, it was just really comforting and incredible.

July 31st: This evening we got to do some ministry at an apartment complex and it was SO cool! We literally ran into 0 people that were rude or hateful. AND we met a Haitian family. It was so cool getting to speak creole and tell about this summer and just reminisce on Haiti with someone who fully understands and loves it!

August 3rd: Today at the Washatopia we got to talk with 2 Christian ladies. They really encouraged us and spoke tons of truth and wisdom, they reminded us to dig into Gods word. We all got to pray together, holding hands in a big circle at the laundromat. It was awesome.

August 6th: Wowie. I love it when we go somewhere and the people always say “this would’ve taken us months and you guys came and did it in a few hours!” So awesome.

growth

• AUSTIN, TEXAS

 

Wow! My time in Texas has been so impactful. It’s been amazing to see how God made everything work out for us to be here. We have so many amazing leaders pouring into us here- whether it be through discipleship in the mornings, leadership sessions on Friday’s, or mission-centered training. We’ve been surrounded by so many incredible families who have opened their homes for us to have pool parties at, so many people who have brought us amazing dinners, and an awesome staff that has brought service projects together and welcomed us in as family.

We’ve spent time in the MOH office, making personal phone calls to our Mission of Hope family or writing thank you notes. We’ve gotten to come alongside local churches and organizations and be able to serve them in any way we can. We’ve gone to a ranch, a food pantry, schools, and a European missionary training center. It’s been truly amazing to see what serving looks like here in the US.

One thing we’ve done that has stuck out to me is Gospel Conversations. We have been able to go out with a local church to communities and apartment complexes and ask the people how we can ask God to meet their needs through prayer. One thing that startled me was this: of the countless people we encountered, none of them reacted badly to us asking if we could pray with and for them. The worst response we got was “My family is actually doing pretty well right now, thank you though!” and THEN they let us pray that God would continue to bless, provide for, and protect their family! How incredible. It seems so simple now but I would have never thought that people in the US would accept prayer so quickly!

One night, we were out at an apartment complex and we met a Haitian family! It was so awesome and I loved getting to say “Como ou ye?” (how are you) to someone again! We talked about Haiti, their family, and finally asked if we could pray for them: this was one of the very few instances where someone didn’t want prayer, yet it was still an awesome conversation. Getting to see ministry in the US and how many people are looking for and open to Jesus’ hope has been amazing. Serving alongside these awesome interns stateside has really encouraged me. I hope that we all come home ready to TKG (take kingdom ground) in our own state.

goodbyes

Well, hello America! I’ve returned to the States to finish out my internship in Austin, Texas. I plan on making a post about what’s happening here but this one will be reflecting on my last day in Haiti.

The day before I got the news I would be leaving Haiti, I went to VBS to help out! I met a super sweet, sassy 5-year old named Chalanda (probably butchered that spelling, but I tried haha). She had an older sister at VBS too. It was great because I finally felt like my creole was decent enough to have a conversation, or at least decent enough to talk with a 5-year old. She stuck with me the whole day. Towards the end of the day, we were holding hands and walking along when all of the sudden she let go and sprinted off towards the bus! I didn’t get to say goodbye and it bothered me that night.

The next day I went to VBS again and guess who skipped out of the bus? Chalanda! She ran up and grabbed my hand. That day I was working with the older kids, so I wasn’t able to spend the day with Chalanda, but every time my group passed hers she ended up by my side. At the end of that day I was standing in the church, and I saw tons of kids running to the bus, and assumed Chalanda would be with them. Then I saw Chalanda running right towards me! She gave me the biggest hug and kissed my cheek and said goodbye. It was so sweet and I was so glad I got to say goodbye. Later that day they told us we would be leaving Haiti. That made our final “goodbye” so much sweeter!

I miss Haiti a lot, but I can rest in the fact that the Lord knew I would be leaving Haiti and going to Austin before this summer even started. Austin has been bittersweet- but man the Lord is working (in Haiti AND Texas!) and I’m so grateful to be along for the ride.

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( I would also like to disclose that I did not leave Haiti for safety reasons. I was perfectly safe at the Mission of Hope campus, however- due to desire to keep our Haitian staff safe, MOH made the decision to move us stateside!)

ayiti cheri

Hello all!

I just wanted to let everyone know I am completely safe and doing great here in beautiful Haiti! There have been protests, but all is well here at the Mission of Hope campus. Please be in prayer for the government of Haiti as they face difficult decisions. Please be in prayer for the Haitian people to feel their voice is heard.

I’ve been deeply saddened by the news reports and countless articles portraying Haiti negatively. This country is a beautiful one full of luscious greenery, incredible sunrises, and most importantly- sweet friends. My heart aches to fill the gap between the shattered view of Haiti and the Haiti I know and love. I am surrounded by the Haitian people and overwhelmed by their resilience! They are loving, welcoming, and kind-hearted people who would give you the shirt on their back in a heartbeat!

So… don’t look at burning tires and be closed off to this wonderful country full of caring people. Here’s some pictures I’ve taken… the things the media won’t show you. 😉

Christaline, Lexonica, and Jennifer! I met these sweet little girls at a kids club.

Emmanuela has some kind of magic touch with babies! She got Embree to fall asleep SO fast.

These girls were so excited that we came to visit their school! They had a little dance recital for us and they did SO good!

This is my wonderful home away from home. This is the sound of beaded hair bouncing as little girls run up to hug you. This is warm smiles followed by “Bonswa!”. This is hard working families, sacrificing in order to send their kids to school. This is small boys running around, playing soccer and laughing. This is sweet cheek kisses from the elderly at church. This is a loving welcome and a seat offered for a front-porch conversation. This is Haiti.

This place is full of love, full of beauty, and full of people that deserve better representation than news headlines will offer.

LOVE

I was going to wait to share this story but it’s been weighing heavily on my heart so here goes!

On Thursday I went out to the village of Laboderie with Guiv’s team. We spent the morning planting trees and getting to know families. In the afternoon we did a kids club and SO many kids showed up! It was incredible… and also incredibly sweaty and crammed and hot.

I was sitting on a bench that was stuffed full of small children and we kept squishing together to fit more. Just when I thought the bench reached its maximum capacity, a 7 year old looking girl and her small (probably 2-4 year old) sister came skipping towards us. As they squeezed down the aisle I was thinking “Yay, I can hold the little sister!” But as soon as the 7 year old reached me she plopped down on my lap. She snuggled up to me and then a team member nearby told me that she had scabies on her forehead (which is very contagious). I was already uncomfortable because she was heavy and made my lap super sweaty, but then I also had a huge fear of getting close to her and getting scabies.

She eventually bounced off my lap to go play a game and a 10-year old looking girl came to sit down beside me, she was carrying her baby brother who was 1. They began passing out food so I offered to hold her brother so she could grab the plate. Then she asked me to feed him. As I looked down at this baby boy all I could see was the snot smeared all over his dirty face. All I could hear was the deep, raspy cough he had. I thought about feeding this rice to him and I was honestly disgusted by the thought of touching his snotty, sweaty face.

God met me in that disgust and lack of compassion. As I picked up the spoon and crunched over to feed him, I could audibly hear “I love them.”

Wow. What a privilege I have to be able to love on the very people that God loves. The very people that God’s heart aches for are right in front of me. Jesus would be running towards the girl with scabies, swooping her up in his arms. Jesus would be wiping the little boys nose with a smile. I cannot wait to go back out to these villages and love people better.

Grace

Hello!

I had my first team this week and I have tons of thoughts and emotions swirling in my head right now.

This week God moved in incredible ways. I had been super anxious and excited to meet Donley, my sponsor student. Donley is deaf though so I started feeling overwhelmed and unequipped to meet him since I had forgotten a lot of my sign language from the class I took. But God sent Lexie as a member of my team this week. Lexie is hard of hearing and helped me refresh my sign language skills. It was incredible to see her help translate and get to know the people in the village as we ministered to the deaf community in Leveque. This past week has made me SO excited to meet Donley!!! I don’t know when that will be this summer but I am pumped to see how God moves through that.

During SVT in Leveque we met a woman named Evangeline. She had the sweetest, most beautiful baby named Love. She was also pregnant with a second child. She shared about her struggle to feed Love and her husband’s struggle to find a job. Due to this lack of money and ability to empower her children, she shared that she wants an abortion. That absolutely broke my heart. Picturing a child like Love being killed broke me. We shared about the plans Jesus has for her, Love, and her new baby. The pastor in my team, named Mark, told Evangeline that she should name her next baby Grace (or Grayson if it’s a boy). I didn’t think about it at the time, but putting a name to that baby hopefully made it real to Evangeline. I hope that our interaction left her personifying her child. I’ve prayed over baby Grace and all of her family and I’d like to ask you all to join me in that. I hope to visit Evangeline later in the summer and follow up on her pregnancy, her husband’s job status, and Love’s health. After SVT that morning we went to our Bercy campus for lunch. As I sat in front of the ocean reading my bible, a specific verse stuck out to me, it’s a verse that I see everyday in the intern housing- yet I never truly read it until that day.

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart, I made you as a prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5

How amazing. Before we were formed in the womb God knew us. He knew our personality, the sound of our laugh, the dimples we would have, our passions, our purpose. That’s incredible. And that’s why Grace’s life matters so much.

It’s been an awesome week serving alongside some awesome people. I’m excited and expectant to see how God continues to move in and through Mission of Hope this summer and so grateful to be a part of it!

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Haiti 2015

On this trip we got to focus on one village, which was really awesome because we got to form relationships with all of the kids and adults we met. While we were in Source-Matelas, we got to pass out hygeine kits, pray for families, hang out with the kids, pass out goats to families, and have a kids club (which is basically a one day VBS).

 
Source-Matelas

While we were handing out hygeine kits, I met a little girl named Yolanda. She was the sweetest thing. It’s so hard not to look at all of the negatives in these children’s lives, but I have to believe that their faith will be stronger than anyone who’s never had to fully rely on God for the simple things.

 
Yolanda and Me

We also were able to pray for individuals. My friend Lizzy and I had the opportunity to pray for a woman who was a seamstress, she had pain in her side and asked us to pray for healing.

  

I really enjoyed the kids club. It was crazy how many children showed up! 120 kids (Yes, we counted!) crammed into this tiny school building (about the size of a small bedroom in U.S. standards). We sang songs, acted out bible stories (which included David and Goliath and Jonah and the Whale) and passed out food after. Our friend Wiltson showed up! He seemed to always be around when we were hanging out in the village and I thought it was really cool to see him at kids club too.

  Kids club!

On the last day, we went to Wahoo Bay for beach day. Lizzy and I were hanging out and we happened to walk past the stairs. I noticed two women looking over an American Sign Language book. So, I went over and introduced myself. One of them is deaf and works as an interpreter for Mission of Hope! I was able to interpret for her as she was talking with the other woman. And after, we were able to talk and I️ learned more about her. Her name is Berthida and her husband is the pastor of the deaf church in Leveque (a village with the largest Haitian deaf community). It was an amazing experience and I loved getting to talk with, interpret, and pray for Berthida.

I truly believe that meeting her was a “God-thing.” It’s so amazing how God orchestrates such intricate plans for our lives! This past year I took a sign class and got involved with the deaf community, and I’m so amazed at how God put everything together.

 

Wahoo Bay

Also during this trip, I met some amazing people! I’m so happy I met Emalee and Lizzy, they’re great Christian ladies and I hope we continue to be friends!