New Direction

Well, it's been a year & a half since I blogged. You'd be safe to assume that a lot has happened since then. The last year has grown & stretched me as person in was that I really wasn't expecting. Here is the past year or so in a nutshell:

1. I decided to go back to school & pursue & degree in Physical Therapy! I'm am SO nervous as I turned in my letter of intent to GLenn Middle School that I did not plan on returning next year. They already knew as I have been going to night school working on pre-reqs, but it was/is scary that the time is getting close. I will be without a job & still have a house/car payment & bills! I'm taking a leap of faith!

2. In September I welcomed a new neice, Mary Jane, into the family. She is so precious & beautiful!



3. My precious granny went to be with the Lord. I see her singing amazing grace & playing the piano there:)

4. My best friend from college, Jenifer Michelle Minton, passed away on January 27th, 2011. This has been one of the saddest things & hardest to understand. I still don't understand & hardly have words to explain how I feel even now, almost one year later. For those of you how know me & Jen know we were more than friends & more like sisters. Neither of us had a sister so we kinda filled the roll in each others lives, bickering, laughing, truth, & all. Her loss has really challenged me in my faith & I can rarely think about God or go to church without thinking of her. Knowing that someone you were really close with & part of your everyday life is actually there puts a whole new realness to Heaven. I am thankful that there were 3 of us eventually that became bf's & I still have Melissa to go through this with. I don't know what I would have done without her.






There is really so much that I could write but I will leave it at this for now. Words of wisdom: Life is short, you never know exactly how short. So if you are not satisfied/following your dreams/letting those important to you know how much they mean to you, time is slipping away, GET BUSY!

Weather

As many of you know, there is a tropical storm at sea, headed this way. Winds are CRAZY! We did have our tents up on the roof as it is a little cooler up there than inside, but most of us have taken then down. We are lucky to have a place to retreat indoors. Yesterday we helped distribute food to a tent community & I noticed many of the tents & tarps were torn due to the high winds, not providing much protection from the rain, & causing a mess inside what is now home to these people. Please pray for more permanent shelter & high quality tents that can withstand the weather.

After that, we helped bag supplies to take to an orphanage/school. Each bag contained a towel, toothbrush, full tube of toothpaste, soap, shorts, t-shirt, fip-flops & a pencil. We bought rice, beans, & chicken & several Haitian ladies prepared food for us to provide to the children at the school & people in the small community. The bags were loaded up & we were just about to hop into the van when I started feeling sick & had to hurled in the dirt. Gross, I know.....I'm almost positive it's from taking malaria medicine without food as I'm feeling better now 4hours later. None-the-less, I didn't think it would be wise to drive 2 hours down bumpy roads with my stomach being upset. My teammates were sweet to find a bowl & line it with a plastic sack just in case I wanted to risk it, but i decided it was better for all involved for me to stay behind. Pastor Forges has just recently started helping this school/orphanage & today will be the second time we as a team have been to visit. The school building is very small & houses the orphans at night. As of now it does not have partnership or sponsorship with any churches in the states & has contacted Pastor Forges for help. I hope things go well there today & the people catch a small glimpse of God's love, & not just see us as being nice Americans coming to help.

food distribution

The day started out with our 6am run through the dirt roads of Tabarre. The people have become accustomed to this every other day ritual & greet us with Bonjour, I'm sure wondering why the heck we are running! The youngest of Pastor Forges 9 children, only 2 years old, has had many bites on her face, which has been swollen so he took her to the doctor & we stayed behind at the house since we were out of paint & hafd no transportation to get any to continue painting at the church. A friend from a church my uncle used to pastor in Iowa, Steve Scheib, flew in yesterday & we made arrangements to meet up with him. The visit was nice, he will be here, or 90 miles from here, leading 3 teams coming to build a school at an orphanage his church supports & he & his family used to live at for a few years. We are working out details to meet up with him next weekend & leand a helping hand there at the orphanage, I'm excited about that:)

Then the best part of the day. We went to help distribute food to one of the tent cities Pastor Forges church supports. We pulled up to a gated area where what seemed to be guards we monitoring who came in, I was a little nervous as I didn't know what was going on. When we got inside, there was a moving truck full of bags filled with food & supplies. People were everywhere, wanting to make sure they would get their share. We were told to avoid even more chaos, families had been told to go to their tents with their I'd cards that stated they lived in the tent community & we would come take the card & give them a bag ensuring that everyone got one. Even with the instructions it seemed crazy once they opened the trucks & started handing us the bags to distribute. People tugged on our clothes as we followed our guides, showing their cards, saying "give me". I wanted to talk to them & tried to point at the Haitian guides that were collecting the I'd cards before we could give them their bags, but all I could do was point. It was crazy, but this is what I had been expecting for my time here. After all the bags were gone a Jesus film was shown to share the story of Christ & what he did on the cross. We didn't get to stay for the film as it was dark & we needed to get back home. We are all excited about the opportunity to go back on Friday & visit with the people as we did not get the chance with all the chaos this evening. Pray for good translators on Friday. After dinner I started thinking if everyone got a bag. There was plenty, 400 total that were ditributed, but I saw several people walk out with 2 bags. I hope & pray that each family got one & these were only extras. I am thankful for the day & posting this from my cellphone hoping it will go through. Thanks for all your prayers & support.

humbled

Internet has been very unreliable & when it's up there are 10 people in line for use so I am just now getting a chance to write this already 1/2 way through my trip.

The first few weeks have been really hard here for me. I didn't think being away from my American comforts would be as challenging as they have. I am from Texas, it's hot, but I am not used to humidity. Sleeping at night sweating, toes swollen from the heat, not even being able to feel dry after bathing bc of the humidity it new to me. American food, my family, my friends, home, seemed to be constantly on my mind the first few weeks. The fact that ministry has not seemed to be at all what I expected hadn't help that. We have been helping out Pastor Forges at his church with the youth, boy & girl scouts, teaching English, some evangelism, & anything else the Pastor asks of us. These are all great things, just not what I expected....

One day last week on a free day we went to down town Port-au-Prince where most of the destruction happened. It was sad to see people's shelter in the median of the street made out of tin scraps from an old roof & anything else they could piece together. Rubble still was everywhere, piles here & there, not much seems like it has been done to clean the streets since January. It was so frustrating! I was thinking, how is this? Where is relief money going? Why?...... Why doesn't the government take action? Designate land somewhere, create jobs, hire people to help clean the streets & rebuild....... it seems like a logical start. These people don't have running water, or even clean water for that matter & their conditions are less than sanitary. I felt helpless. My heart cried as I wanted to do something to help, but what? We talked to a girl 19 years old 2 children, the baby only a few months old, who didn't even have a tent to sleep in. I felt awful being so selfish these first few weeks, wanting AC, missing being able to drive, ice, & every other luxury we have in the states. These people have nothing. Our team gave what little belongings we had on us & plan to go back & leave our tents & other posesions to the people at that location. Even so, how is this enough? These people need real change. The next few days were still hard as I've wondered what God is teaching me through all of this. Through many team pow pows & reading other people's blogs, I am reminded of how small I am & how big God is. I cannot do anything one thing in my own power to change these peoples lives, or hearts. God knows the plan he has for Haiti. Though I don't fully understand it, the plan remains the same. This nation before the earthquake spiritually rested in the hands of vodo doctors. Post earthquake, numbers in Christ based churches have grown tremendously. Rock Solid Church where we serve, has more than tripled in size! Praise God! The hearts of so many are light & full of joy. God IS here & working & we will see what he has in store with time....

I'm here

I flew early Tuesday to Dallas then Atlanta & met up with my teammates in the airport. We stayed in downtown Atlanta at a safe house, headed to the airport at 3:30 am Texas time, and got to Haiti around 4:30pm. As the plane flew over Port-au-prince I could see the blue tarps from tent communities spread in many locatios, it was strange. The airport was caotic! A yellow dog bus picked us up & took us to our hotel for the night. I could have driven for hours around Haiti just watching the people & looking at scenery. There is so much natural beauty here surround by so much trash & poverty.

I learned that our team of 45 is broken into 5 teams & we will be working at one specific location the entire month. My team, a group of 10, will be staying here in Port-au-prince. There is a local pastor we will be working with who reaches several tent communities, totaling over 20,000 in number, which is a little overwhelming. There is also an orphanage we will be helping at & doing some light construction. We will be staying at the pastor house & probably not sleeping in our tents, which surprisingly I am bummed about. As most of you know, I'm a mess & trying to keep things organized in 2 backpacks is hard work, especially when there are other people in your room & you need something from the bottom of the bag! However, there is another team who will be setting up tent on a concrete slab & one girl did not bring a sleeping pad, so I have volunteered mine to her, I know she is thankful!

I tried to upload pics as I know a blog with out is a little boring, but to no avail. I will try to post something at least once a week if not twice to give some more interesting stories.........

Adios!

Well everyone, the time has come! My flight leaves in a little less than 2 hours & me being the procrastinator i am, am trying to put one last post up before i head out! I'm not so great at this blogging thing:)

All of my stuff for the month is packing into one large internal frame backpack & a regular sized school backpack....a little strange to be living out of this for a month! My tent & sleeping pad are strapped to the outside of my pack & I am praying someone will be around to help me put all of this back into the bag & restrap when I have to come back! I wouldn't have me it without experienced travelers giving me tips......& strapping it down for me! Thanks guys!

My expectations for the next month.........this is unlike anything I have ever done before. Not knowing anyone, living out of a backpack & tent.....I know it will be very humbling & enlightening experience to say the least.
As far as ministry is concerned I know we will be helping out a pastor at his church & a clinic he runs, working with several orphanages & possibly rebuilding one, but mainly building relationships with people in a opportunity to show God's love to them. Please pray for my team & the people we encounter.

I don't think I will have access to a computer or even a phone, but the organization has a website where they will be sharing our stories & photos for everyone. i posted a few months ago how to get there. If you can't fiind it google adventures in missions Haiti, or even my name & you should find it. I hope you all have a lovely June & will be back July 1st to share with you my experiences! Peace:) Check facebook for an uploaded picture from my phone today:)

7 weeks seems so far away & around the corner all at the same time! AIM has shared some of our agenda as I know many of you have been a little confused as to what we are doing. This is what I know from AIM:

We are currently networking with a man named Pastor Profete who has a church and clinic. We may serve alongside him and the people who work there or are being treated there -meeting physical needs, but more importantly bringing hope.

We also have a community of refugees that we have adopted. We have committed
to them - to helping them rebuild their lives. So we could be working in
that community, building relationships and bringing hope to them.

Last, we have a network of churches that we are partnering with. The pastors
of Haiti believe this is an opportunity for them to step up and rebuild
their country on a Christian foundation. We want to support them, to come
behind and encourage them as they step out and lead.

Basically, our plans are not set in stone, but are flexible to where the greatest need is among this network during our time in Haiti. A girl from Cali posted a note the other day about not feeling prepared. It made me think am I really mentally prepared to do this? I'm not sure, but I appreciate the scripture she shared & recall it's relvance to so many trials in my life. 2 Corinthians 12:10, "Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. Every trail that has taken place is my live has been an opportunity for growth; a time to be made strong. But even more importantly, it's a time to show God's grace & power, during a time while we are weak.

The verses right before this state: "a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, to harass me, to keep me from being too elated. Three times I besought the Lord about this, that it should leave me; but he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness
The counrty of Haiti is experiencing a "thorn in the flesh" a devastation beyond their control. Pain deeper that I can understand, but God does. It is my prayer that His "power is made perfect" as resortation is made in the lives of Haitians & as they face challenges as they work toward their future.