Day 3&4

These past two days have definitely been my two favorites!  Thursday we led another set of VBS at a local church. Within 10 minutes of being at the church we all broke into a massive dance party with the kids and Haitian leaders. Imagine 100 kids dancing, 23 of us, and about another 20 leaders all dancing, singing and playing instruments in one room, it was a moment that's hard to describe except for that it contained lots of laughter, smiles, and sweat because after all it's Haiti! Going into this day I was praying that God would connect me to at least one kid and that it would feel as if there wasn't a language barrier. It can be a bit defeating when you can't communicate with someone past hello, goodbye, and what's your name and age. The past two days I really tried to embody living out God's love through fun, laughter, crafts and smiles since this really was the only way to do so. Well God greatly blessed me with that on Wednesday and as we were getting ready to leave the church I found myself choking back tears. In the matter of a hour at the end of the day, I had created a super strong bond with this one little girl. All it took was tickle fights, help coloring within the lines, and lots of laughter to break my heart as I was getting ready to leave this little girl.  Up until this point on the trip I hadn't really been able to let everything that I had been absorbing hit my heart, and with her it did. But what I've been learning is that those moments and those kids are how I see God and how he impacts me and my view of the world.  Those moments are the ones that are even more fueling my desire to come back to Haiti. 

After we left the church we had a super awesome experience hiking an area known as 500 steps. Literally you walk up 500 steps (although someone counted and it's actually 505 steps) and at the top you come to this incredible view of the ocean and a good portion of the island. It was super cool to do as a team and all accomplish making it up the mountain and down as well. (If you want a good workout I suggest doing this for sure.) What's also been so awesome about our time here is every afternoon we have the opportunity to step outside our hotel and cool off in the beautiful ocean. After days of sweating, heat exhaustion, and consuming lots of electrolytes, there's nothing quite like a beautiful ocean to relax you at the end of the day. 

Last night we had an awesome opportunity to affirm one another on top of the roof as the rain started coming down. Eventually it started raining so hard we huddled together to pray (after a bit of dancing) and call it a night because for once while being in Haiti we felt cold. Well what was an awesome moment quickly became a not so awesome moment for me. I slipped walking on the walkway back towards the stairs and smacked the back of my head on the marble railing. This lead to a night of having to stay awake, lots and lots of crying on my part due to the pain and shock, but really giving me a good scare and lots of pain. Head injuries in my family are a big and scary deal and unfortunately that fear took over me for awhile after it happened. Luckily I have two awesome roomies who were by my side to make me laugh at myself, give me Kleenex and Tylenol as well as pray for me along with some other leaders. I admit it's been a battle for me today dealing with soreness, pain and not wanting to miss out on this awesome day 4.  What's been so great is that although I'm still in pain and it's been up and down today, I know God's taking care of me and I was super thankful for how he blessed me throughout today. 

One reason I really didn't want to miss out or stay behind today was because it was finally day to meet the kids from the orphanage! It was so awesome the last few months see kids in student ministries fund raising for these kids living areas to be built and I couldn't wait to meet them. And they were so much fun!!!! This morning they met us at our hotel and then we all traveled together over to see the sight where their orphanage is in the process of being built. Immediately my friend Frankie and I connected with these two lite girls so they sat on the bus with us. My new best friend for the day was so sweet and her name was Martina. I really felt like she was such an extension of God today especially on the bus ride. We didn't have to really say anything but smile and hold hands but what was so comforting was at times all she had to do was rest her little hand on my leg and somehow it felt like God placing his hand on me telling me everything and all the pain was going to be okay. She was such a rock star partner all day and so sweet! It was so cool to see the land and pray over it. I'm so excited to see how God is going to develop that land and those kids. It was so cool to be filled with such hope and excitement as how God has provided financially and spiritually and I hope I can come back soon to see the finished product!

We brought the kids back to our hotel for a day of VBS all as one group. It was super fun to watch the drama group tell their story of David & Goliath and see about 10 kids accept Jesus into their hearts including Martina!! Then it was onto crafts and ended up on the beach for sports and all playing together. Little shy Martina became not so shy anymore once we were in the water. It was so cool to just be holding her and hear her laughing and screaming along with all the other kids and students serving. That was definitely a moment where I paused and saw so much of how great a day it was and was super thankful that God took away my pain for about 3 of those hours. It was cool to see so much joy in those kids faces and their laughter sounding all around us. After an awesome day came the time to say goodbye which again hit me so difficultly. I just pray that God would bless Martina with a life of joy, happiness, hope and ability to succeed in whatever she does. I know God has an awesome future planned for all of those kids and I'm glad we were able to be apart of that even if it was for just one day. 

Tonight is our last night in Port Salut which means we got to celebrate with a lobster dinner on the beach! It sounds awesome and trust me it was. We also all got our own individual coconuts to drink out of which were also delicious. Tonight was a night to celebrate alongside our Haitian leaders and hosts in celebration of all God has done here in our time. It was such a cool experience to serve together and blend the global churches as one and know we are serving and loving the same God. I've learned so much from these people, these kids, and fellow students that I'm just amazed by it all.

Tomorrow we travel back towards Port-au-prince and Sunday morning will have the opportunity to attend church and then head over to the airport right after. Please pray for safe travels and for all the people and kids we've come across to prosper and be filled with God's love. Also as we embark on a 6 hour bus ride tomorrow, my head will need some serious help from God & Advil so for that as well. Thanks so much for following along with me with this week and I'm excited to share the final wrap up of my trip in a couple of days!

Day 1 & 2 of VBS/Evangelism

Day 1 & 2 of VBS 

The past 2 days have been SO great! God has been showing up in so many awesome ways it's been too amazing. We spent the past two days in two different villages spending half of the day doing VBS and the other half of the day going with translators and local church leaders to talk, pray, and evangelize to people. At first kids were shy doing the crafts but as we tried our best to communicate and mainly failed, slowly but surely kids were clinging to all of us unable to stop giving hugs and loved. It was such an image of how I believe God loves us and wants us to cling to him. Even though they're young kids and we don't know how to communicate with one another, smiles and love are feelings and emotions that can be communicated no matter what the language barrier is. Another thing I loved watching was how excited kids got when we would take pictures of them and with them and they couldn't wait to look at the final product of the picture. I loved seeing how something so simple brought so much joy to these kids! I loved their spirits of just wanting to participate and be the one kid who clung to our sides. I met one girl named Berlandia who just loved repeating my name every time she saw me. It was something so infatuating and loving that I felt as if I could listen to her repeat it time and time again. 

When I heard we were going to be going to people's homes evangelizing to them I will admit I was nervous. That's something in the US that is uncommon and seems to be frowned down upon. But as soon as our groups got sent out a calmness and peace came over me. The first day was awesome getting to pray for people who all new Jesus. What I didn't expect was people to not be praying for the typical things I thought they would ask for, but rather wanting courage and endurance when it came to following Jesus and wanting to commit entirely to him and not be halfhearted. These are people in the midst of everything wanting God to be closer to them and a healer to them. (It also was pretty rad to be trekking through the jungle and be able to pet donkeys along the way!)

Today was a bit different in regards that most people weren't believers of Christ. It seemed that most people wanted to accept God but were waiting to accomplish certain tasks or weren't happy with the choices or decisions they were making in their lives at the time. We started out with a woman who was a believer and we got to pray a prayer of healing for her because she kept having miscarriages. It broke my heart when she said that and how she so badly wanted to be able to carry a baby full term and not have stomach pains. What I loved after we prayed for her was that she shared that she had a vision yesterday that outsiders were going to come and bless her and mean it when they prayed for her. I loved hearing that because that to me is God at work and evidence of him and his power. (Be praying that God does heal her and take away her pain!) After that we had some people who weren't believers and weren't ready to accept God even after much attempted persuasion by the Haitians and some of the girls in our group sharing who God is to them. It was a bit defeating but I loved seeing how God used different times and different people in our group to be courageous and outside of our comfort zones. But at the end of the day we went to one last house and the woman there ended up accepting Christ! It was so incredible to witness and be apart of and see et face just radiate after we prayed for her. Even if just one person came to accept God today, that is a major success and was super fun to celebrate!

These last two days have been so encouraging to watch so many awesome people around me be doing such awesome work. We've had bus ride sing alongs, dance parties, held hands worshipping together, and have laughed A TON. I feel so blessed to be apart of this team and all God is doing here and through us all as individuals. 

We have arrived!

After almost a full 24 hours of travel, we have arrived in Haiti! It only took two flights and a 6 hour bus ride but we're here! In some aspects it felt surreal that this trip I've been planning on going on for so long was finally here. But as soon as we were exiting the Port-au-Prince airport and were surrounded by chaos it became real and for me finally being on Haitian soil was a surge of energy. Our bus ride was one of diversity, seeing absolutely gorgeous ocean views at times and others complete devastation of people living in complete devastation, makeshift houses, and no where near sanitary conditions. It was situations that you hear about in statistics and learn about, but seeing the faces of people living this out as their reality is a difficult sight to witness.

But as we finally arrived at our hotel in Port Salut we were met with our home for this next week! After we unpacked and got settled we all hit the beach to enjoy the stunning view, warm and extremely salty water. As dinner passed and the exhaustion set in, it was great to have a little devotional time together and get organized for our first day of VBS tomorrow. I'm so excited to see how God will use us and have these kids impact us as we begin our numerous crafts, dramas, and games we've prepared. One thing I know is God has been here beside us the entire time and he's blessed us with a great voyage here and can't wait to begin tomorrow even if it's at 7 am. Thanks so much for your continued prayers!

It's The Final Countdown

You know that feeling you get on Christmas Eve as a kid? That ridiculous excitement where you feel like you can't sleep and all you want is it to be morning so you can open your presents? Well with less than 24 hours until my plane takes off from LAX that's the exact feeling I have right now: Haiti edition. In fact I've had it for a solid two weeks. Yes I'm a tad bit nervous, I haven't packed yet and so much unknown lies before me with stepping into my first missions trip, but really all I'm feeling is excitement.

Over the past six months God has really had me on an exciting journey. One that has been full of growth, learning and new opportunities. It's been a season where I've chosen to live with my hands open to God and using what he's placed in them day by day. Of course I never perfectly execute it as I wish I could, but God has been consistently providing and helping me grow and figure out what it means to love and follow Him day after day.

So even though I don't speak Creole, I'm a Southern California girl who barely knows what humidity feels like, and I may not be an expert on going on missions trips, I know God has placed in my hands and my heart this amazing adventure. He's placed 20 rock star students and staff members around me, is continuing even up until today to bring in funds for my trip that are still needed, and a heart for this country and these kids we're going to be interacting with.

I'm no extraordinary person and most of the time I don't have all the answers on how to be a perfect Christian, but I do know God's teaching me to love people in the best way possible and I'm trying to live that out to the best of my abilities. So I'm not even looking for what I'm going to do in Haiti or how I'm going to effect people there, because it's God's work, love, and smiles that I'm going to ooze out.  Instead I'm looking to see how those kids and those people around me are going to help me learn to love and serve and how their stories and what I see through my eyes, will have a lasting effect on me. I know when I go there and I experience everything God has planned, it's going to be amazing to see what God teaches me. So with my hands and my heart wide open, an attitude of excitement, and being faithful in how God will use this trip to further shape my story; God I'm ready for all you have in store!