Two weeks and $1,700 Short

It has been blessing to be home. It is a time of restoration, rejuvenation, preparation to return, and sharing my story with others. God is showing me so much since I have been home. I was privileged to share my story to Trinity Episcopal Church this past Sunday. They truly blessed me with their interest and support in my adventures in Haiti.

Thank you to all who are reading my blog and supporting me through prayer and donations. As I prepare to leave for Haiti again in 2 weeks, I ask for your help. I need to raise $1,700 by January 3rd (2 weeks from today). Here is the link to my giving page:

https://sna.etapestry.com/fundraiser/IMPACT/impact2011/individual.do?participationRef=2963.0.39229480

Let me leave you with a story about a girl from the Mission names Wilna.

A friend of Kerry mentioned that he had to come see this girl. There was something wrong with one of her eyes. Kerry found eight year old Wilna. Kerry learned that she had no mother or father, both had died. She now worked as a slave girl for three different families carrying water. She is blind in one eye and legally blind in the other. Kerry knew this was the girl that would start his orphanage. Two and a half years later, she is a quiet lively little 10 year old girl. She loves going to school and learning English from all of us upstairs. She brightens my day everyday.

13 Women, Fish, Rice, and Me

On Friday I was blessed with a “teacher work day.” I didn’t have to go to school! I was so excited because my plans for the day were so special. First I walked the kids from the mission to school. They were so excited to show me since I had never been before. 

Then I headed off to the fishing village to help the women with the elderly feeding program that they have on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. We went to the market to buy all the ingredients that we needed for flavoring the rice and fish. Once we were finished, we headed back to the fish house to start cutting and cooking. I stayed in the back with La Mersi and Nanete while they scaled and cut the fresh sail fish. This is a process! They cut it up into pieces and then scale the whole thing. Once it is scaled, they cut it into smaller pieces to be able to cook. This is an art in itself! They use every part of the fish that is edible, even cutting up the head into pieces. What isn’t used is fed to the dogs that wait around for scraps. They cut it in a fashion that makes the fish go a lot farther than what I thought it would. Once they are finished with all the cutting, Geraldene and I flavored the fish with onion and lime juice. 

While the fish is being cut up, the other women are working on cooking the rice and getting the flavoring ready for cooking the fish. Once the fish is all cut up, they dip it in flavoring to get it good and tasty. Finally they cook it up in a pot until it is finished. This week I was privileged to be able to eat the rice and fish for lunch. The ladies served me up a nice plate. It is so delicious! This ministry that we have for these women is such a blessing to them! They were once women who lost their homes in the earthquake or recent floods that have ravished the country in the past few years. They had nowhere else to go and now they are here with us, getting food, our love, and hearing the Words of Jesus. One day, God will change their hearts and bring them home. I pray for that day to come sooner than later.

The Hill of Tents

On the way from Port-au-Prince to Montrous, there is a part where the road comes to a dead end at a mountainside. You either choose to turn right or turn left. before the earthquake, there were no houses. After the earthquake, there is an estimated 50,000-100,000 people living on this mountain. Two weeks ago with a team, we decided to turn right and drive into the tent city to check out their water resources. They have a well at the bottom of the mountain that pumps out sulfur water. The people of the village will not drink the water because it smells like rotten eggs. This means they have no water source. How can you cook without water? How do you hydrate yourself with out water? How do you do anything without water? They walk miles and miles every day to get clean water to stay alive. I think this picture states it all...

While we were there walking around and talking with the leader of the village about the situation, Liz and I had two wonderful little girls hold our hands and walk with us. Dorleen was my little girl. She is the one in the picture above with part of the village in the background. We gave Dorleen and her sister pieces of bread with peanut butter and cookies. With smiles on their faces, they ate it quickly. Who knows when they ate their last meal. My heart broke for Dorleen. I have no idea what her living conditions are but I can guarantee it isn't good by anyone's standards. Please help me by praying for Dorleen and the people of her city.

A Visit to Jacmel

Three weeks since my last post! I apologize! Time has been swiftly passing by without my notice.

I have been to Haiti one time previous to this adventure in Haiti. In May of 2010, 5 months after the earthquake, I went on a short term mission to Jacmel, Haiti. This is where the biggest aftershock from the earthquake hit and did a lot of damage to Jacmel. The destruction almost compared to what I saw driving through Port-au-Prince on the way to Jacmel. This past weekend, we as a staff retreat decided to take a vacation to Jacmel. This made me overjoyed because I have friends in Jacmel and fell in love with it the first time I was there. From Montrouis, Jacmel is about 5 hours south through Port-au-Prince and over a mountain range into the southern coast of the country.

Last Friday, we loaded the bus at 6a.m. to start our treck to Jacmel. Upon arriving 5 hours later, sometimes driving 5 miles an hour up the mountains in our school bus FULL of people, we were ecstatic. The city looked rebuilt and renewed, and the place we stayed at was on the beach. Beautiful. This is a breathtaking picture of the sunrise on Saturday morning. I wish you could have seen it in person.

After that amazing sunrise, we headed out to Bassin Bleu. This is a tourist attraction in Jacmel and I can see why! It is a series of natural waterfalls that you can take a short hike to and be swimming in emerald blue waters...cold water :-) It was refreshing (the ocean is just too warm for me here!) Here is a picture of the staff SOOO excited to be at Bassin Bleu. Do you see the people up on the ledge at the top to the right of the waterfall? Most of our team jumped from the top up there (not me haha but I did jump off where the little waterfall is).


We finished our trip up on Sunday with walking around the little shops downtown and did a little shopping at the unique, little shops. Jacmel is refreshing from most of the cities in Haiti because they have a sewer system that takes away the water and trash from the streets. It was a wonderful weekend but after this weekend, I felt like I needed a vacation from my vacation. I was more tired after my trip than I was before I got on the bus. I loved the trip because I got to share a part of Haiti that the whole New Vision Ministries staff had never seen before. I praise God for that opportunity.

Why am I here? Why are you there?

I get it now. Although I knew I was a Christian and tried to live my life to honor Him as much as I could, I just didn't get it. In a lot of ways. I realized that in the states, I did not honor my time or the fact that I had access to anything I wanted. In the U.S. we have power all the time, TV, available fast internet all the time, ect. at your fingertips whenever you want. You also have access to any store you could ever think or dream of. No wonder I was so busy! I thought I spent enough time with God while at home reading a little, praying for a bit, and trying to bring Him into everything I was doing during the day. I thought that was enough but was I wrong!

Now that I am in Haiti with literally no distractions except for spotty slow internet (when the power is on), two grocery stores 30 minutes away, no way to leave the Mission without someone and my choice not to watch movies, I have had A LOT more time to spend praying, worshiping, doing devotionals, and having fellowship with my seven ladies. What a difference it has made! I have been asking God to speak to me for a while without hearing very much from Him. I am going through a time of changes, repenting of my sins, and obeying God in what He is asking of me and he has opened His mouth! Praise God! He is daily revealing things to me that will day by day change my life and who I am as a person. I am becoming who God created me to be. Alive for His glory...to be used to glorify Him. It is not about me and what I do. It is all about what God allows me to do through Him to glorify Him and further His Kingdom.

I was so distracted but now I see. We are here on this earth to glorify God and live our lives for Him. Why do we just try to fit Him into our schedule? If we minimize God and His power in our lives, we are going to miss out on a true relationship with Him. This is the one thing that we were created to do...be effective in furthering His Kingdom.

I know why I am here. Do you know why you are there?

There is no one like our God

You're the God of this City
You're the King of these people
You're the Lord of this nation
You are

You're the Light in this darkness
You're the Hope to the hopeless
You're the Peace to the restless
You are

There is no one like our God
There is no one like our God

For greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this City
Greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done here

We have a team here this week. They have been blessing us all week with taking us to dinner, bringing us candy, and worship. On Wednesday night we sang this song. I have always loved this song but the other night I realized how it is applicable in all aspects of my life right now.

At this time, God is slowly transforming me and healing me from the inside out. I am so excited that he is breaking a bondage that I have been carrying around for a long time. He is the light in my darkness, my hope in the hopelessness I have felt, and peace to my restlessness. I have been searching for Him truly and completely and God is delivering me. Praise the Lord! Please be praying for my continual healing and seeking Him.

This song is also my prayer for this city, Montrouis, the people of Haiti, and the nation of Haiti. God is the light, the hope, and the peace to all the people here. They are broken, hopeless, and defeated because of their circumstances. God is the only one who can restore their lives and we are here to do his work. While here, I might never see one person accept Christ because Satan is deep at work and Christianity goes against all cultural norms. I pray that the people that we interact with every day here at school or in the fishing village will see our actions and come to Christ. God is the true redeemer and saver of people. Only He can change their hearts to follow Him. Greater things are coming to this city and greater things are yet to be done here. What beautiful words to be sung here in Haiti. I have hope for Haiti. Will you join me in prayer and rejoicing song that God is changing this city, these people, and this nation to glorify Him?

There is no one like our God.

God Moment: Who knew relay races would bring such joy, yelling, laughing, and smiles to thirty 1^st-12^th graders…it was beautiful.

Word/Phrase of the day:

Mwen wè ou: I see you! (love playing with the babies when they cover their eyes and then uncover them)

Faith Like a Mustard Seed

On Friday in my middle school science class we were learning all about seeds. I know it sounds so interesting to everyone and you are ready to hear a lesson on seeds from me. Just kidding. I just want to tell you a small but significant conversation I had with my 7^th graders about the mustard seed. If you don’t know this, the mustard seed is one of the smallest plant seeds. But as significantly small the seed (1-2 mm in diameter), it grows into one of the biggest plants, up to 10-15 feet tall. Jesus uses this in a parable to teach his disciples and the crowd gathered around him.

³¹ He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. ³² Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.” Matthew 13:31-32

My students couldn’t believe that such a small seed could grow to be so big. As I was explaining the significance of the seed, I also discussed with them about how BIG God really is. If he could put that much care and love into a tiny mustard see and make it grow so big, how much more does God love each one of us!

 In Luke 12:7, Jesus says, “Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”

My students had a very hard time comprehending this. When God is shared with them, God is not someone who loves them unconditionally and they can have a relationship with. I went a step further to try and get them to understand this concept of how special each one of them really is. We talked about how God is so big, we are so small and there are so many people on earth, and yet God knows how many hairs are on our head, who we were before we were formed in the womb (Jeremiah 1:5), and what we are going to say before we say it (Psalm 139:4). How special we are! At the end of our conversation in class, all the kids were thrilled and had huge smiles on their faces.

God Moment: Moments like this one in my class are why I am here. God is revealing that I am a teacher and that I can show love to my students through the subjects that I teach. I am making a different in my students. Praise God!

Word/Phrase of the Day:

Li cho: It’s hot (this is what we tell the workers when we are referring to a poopy diaper with one of our babies...haha)

If I could only become a bird

Let’s ponder this…

“American radio broadcaster Paul Harvey once told a modern parable about a religious skeptic who worked as a farmer. One raw winter night the man heard an irregular thumping sound against the kitchen storm door. He went to the window and watched as tiny, shivering sparrows, attracted to the evident warmth inside, beat in vain against the glass.

Touched, the farmer bundled up and trudged through fresh snow to open the barn door for the struggling birds. He turned on the lights and tossed some hay in the corner. But the sparrows, which has scattered in all directions when he emerged from the house, hid in the darkness, afraid.

The man tried various tactics to get them into the barn. He laid down a trail of Saltine cracker crumbs to direct them. He tried circling behind the birds to drive them toward the barn. Nothing worked. He, a huge, alien creature, had terrified them; the birds couldn’t comprehend that he actually desired to help.

The farmer withdrew to his house and watched the doomed sparrows through a window. As he stared, a thought hit him like lightening from a clear blue sky: If only I could become a bird-one of them-just for a moment. Then I wouldn’t frighten them so. I could show them the way to warmth and safety.

At the same moment, another thought dawned on him. He has grasped the reason Jesus was born.”

The Student Bible, NIV by Zondervan, pg. 1039

Sometimes we read without reading. I don’t know many times I have passed over this little devotional in my Bible. Today God’s still, quite voice asked me to read it. Now I know why. To give me a new perspective to Jesus that I hadn’t considered and took for granted. God loves us so much and knows us so well that He sent his Son so that He wouldn’t frighten us and show us the way to warmth and safety. I thank God that he is so gracious and loving to send Jesus to us.

God Moment: We had literacy lessons in the fishing village today. Jean Beny was sitting next to me and I was helping him write the ch sound in the Haitian alphabet. CH, ch, chita, sit. At the end of the time, we went over the new vocabulary sheet they got from Kerry this week. The whole group was going too fast for Jean Beny and I wanted to make sure that he pronounced everything correctly. I started working with him one-on-one. When we finished, he called a translator over to him and proceeded to tell me that next week he wanted me to go through the list with him again. Of coarse I agreed right away. We got up from the table, shook hands, and he asked, “Samdi?” (Saturday?) I replied “Wi!” (YES!) I wanted to tell him YES times one million. I think I’ve found my literacy buddy. I will share more of his story soon and share a picture of him J

Word/Phrase of the Day: The thing the men struggle with the most when writing is letter proportion. They don’t understand the difference between capital and lower case letters. I constantly have to remind them how to write in the lines and where capital and lower case letters start.

Gwo: big

Piti: little

Mwen vle we gwo “CH”: I want to see a big “CH”

Mwen vle we piti “ch” : I want to see a little “ch”

Burning Bush

Thursday was one of those off topic days with my 7^th graders. Even in the first week, they have the most interesting and best questions I have ever been asked in a classroom. (That may only be because I’ve only taught math before.) Thursday started off with the best question yet. One of my students, Erin, started science class with, “Miss, can a tree be on fire without burning?” If I got that question in the states at a public school I would have had to reply no. Since I am working at a Christian school, I got to explore the one time in history that a bush on fire did not burn. I questioned them to see if they knew when that happened. After some leading questions, one of my students got it. Moses and the burning bush. We read the story out loud in class. We discussed about what Moses was asked to do. We talked about how Moses responded to God when He spoke to him. The students shared how they would have felt and said to God if they came across a burning bush. Would they have been willing to stand up to Pharaoh to let the Israelites free? Or would they have, like Moses, told God that they were not capable to do that with excuse after excuse. We talked about how God can give us the power to do anything if we put our trust in Him. This all came from learning about plants in science class. How lucky am I?

God Moment: One of my students who struggles with school came up to me on Thursday and started talking to me about banana and coconut trees and their leaves. Trees! The same student was asked by one of the staff members what he had learned that day. He said he had been waiting for someone to ask him that all day! He proceeded to tell her about sugar cane and other grasses for 5 minutes. God has been giving me encouragement, showing me that I am teaching these kids in a way that is working.

Word/Phrase of the Day: Taught the men in the fishing village A and B today.

Anana: pineapple

Bagay: thing (usually used in context tut bagay: everything)