Hydration and Hurricanes

I have had two days off work. At least what I thought was off work. I ended up having to do a lot of catching up on work and preparing for my next two weeks of classes. We were out for All Saints and All Souls Day.

All Saints is the same thing as All Hallows, and is a Roman Catholic holiday. It is a day to remember all of the saints, known and unknown. All Souls Day is a mostly Catholic holiday and is used to remember the "faithful departed."

I don't celebrate either of these holiday's, but it was nice to have a couple of days off of school.

Dr. Jenny flew in because she wanted to spend some time with Melissa, so I not only had days off of school, but I had a babysitter for 5 days! It was really nice just to have some time to relax and chill out before school geared back up. We also had two new girls come and they are staying here until about December. They are both 18, and it is so nice to have someone closer to my age around.

Everyone in this house has been sick, and I have been avoiding it like the plague. I have been extremely successful in my efforts until a "slip" I had, which I'll tell you about later. Because everyone has been sick, we really haven't done anything this weekend. I have been so lazy, but in a good way.

Sunday, we went to church and it was an incredible service. It was so full, and I didn't get to hear much of the sermon, but just being back at Port-au-Prince fellowship was awesome, and really revived me. Sunday night, I was invited to a teacher's party that was on campus. I was really debating on what to wear because I didn't want to look silly, but this is what I decided on.

Ok, so you can't see my outfit real well, but I was gangster barbie :)

Well, it started pouring down rain, so my costume got a little soaked. But there was awesome food! There were salty snacks, sweet snacks, and freshly popped caramel corn. It was DELICIOUS! I had one of the best brownies I've ever had in my life. Or maybe I say that because it was the first brownie I've had since moving here. Either way, it was the bomb.

So for those of you that don't know.. there is a hurricane coming for us. The weather channel has changed it's predictions daily, so no one really knows what is going on. At first it was going to be really really bad, but now it's not going to be as bad. Any strong winds or heavy rain will devastate this already devastated country. Please pray with me that it will either break up, or go a different direction.

There are so many people living in tents in this country, that any type of strong wind will take away their homes and all their belongings, leaving them homeless once again. Also, as many of you know, Cholera has broken out in this country. The heavy rain will make the Cholera spread more rapidly, and this country does not need that!

Cholera is easily treated, but many people to not have access to the treatment. Cholera is spread though dirty water. We are having to brush our teeth with bottled water, and make sure we have purified drinking water. Also, anything that is bought on the street now has to be washed in purified water before we can eat it. These things are extremely easy for us, but for people living in tents and on the streets, these tasks are impossible. Cholera dehydrates you, and causes fever and diarrhea.

To help these people, we spent a few hours yesterday making rehydration packs for people so if they get Cholera, they can put this mixture into a bottle of water and take a medicine and be fine. We are really hoping this disease doesn't spread, but if it does, we want to be able to help as many people as possible. We made close to 200 hydration packs, so if the hurricane hits and the cholera spreads, we can be active in helping this community.

So please join me in prayer for this country so that it does not have to go through more devastation.

On a different note.. I'm coming home in 6 weeks for a little bit. Words can't express how excited I am. I got to talk to several of my friends that were at a Bible Study on Sunday night and it was so good to hear their voices. I also got to talk to my mom, dad, and sister, which was such a blessing.

God is truly doing huge things in this country, and in my life. I love this country, I love my job, and I love the people that I'm surrounded by here in Haiti.

Until next time...

Christ Compared to a BRA!

Today is Sunday and we went to Pastor Jude’s church. This church is unlike any church I have ever been to. We woke up pretty early to get ready and left to head to church. We got there just in time, but it is 100 degrees inside the church so I stood outside where it was a little cooler. We sang for a little while but it was all in Kreyole, so I really had no clue what they were singing. All of the sudden, a Haitian started singing “Draw me close to you… Never let me go… I lay it all down again… To hear you say that I’m your friend… Help me find a way… Bring me back to You… You’re all I want… You’re all I’ve ever needed… You’re all I want… Help me know you are near.”

I was suddenly reminded of how amazing the Lord is and how good He is to me. I was a little discouraged because I couldn’t understand any of the songs that were being played, but as soon as that song came on, I was completely humbled and put in awe of my Savior once again. It was such a good reminder to know that He is near and that He loves me more than I can ever know. I’m reminded of the song “I’ll never know how much it cost to see my sin upon that cross.” And it is so true! I all the time take for granted all that He has done for me, and being here in Haiti makes me never want to take anything for granted again!

Our sermon at church was about making Christ the stronghold of your life. I was taken aback when all of the sudden, the pastor took out a bra from the pulpit! He held it up to his chest and compared Christ to a bra!! He was talking about how a bra secured a woman and protected her, and said that Christ should do that for us. Christ is our light and we must stay in the light! It was unlike any sermon I have ever heard in my life, but strangely, made a lot of sense! Hahaha! I’m sure I’ll never hear another sermon like that again!

After church we went to eat at this wonderful little restaurant and I had a bacon cheeseburger and French fries! Who would’ve thought! But it certainly didn’t compare to my last cheeseburger in America at the Shingletons!

Speaking of the Shingletons, they are probably having Bible study right now. I miss that! If you went, holla at me and let me know how it went!

I’m pretty sure that Church of the Cove is livin’ love for the homeless tonight too. Faye let me know how it went!

Anywhoooo, sorry I am getting so distracted! After lunch we came back to the house and everyone took a nap. I tried so hard to fight it, but when I started reading, I got so sleepy and passed out. When I woke up it was time to take the tour of Haiti and see some of the damage that the Earthquake caused. What an experience that was! There is still so much destruction in Petionville, which is where the epicenter of the quake was. I took lots of pictures and I hope to post them soon! As we were going through the city, we saw houses destroyed, businesses destroyed, and tons of people living in tents on the side of the road. We saw the president’s house too, and it was still really destroyed even though they had started cleaning up some of the destruction. I couldn’t help but pray for all the people that were killed and orphaned and abandoned. They showed us where a hotel collapsed and still had dead bodies of UN members under the rubble. It was heartbreaking to see that. I can’t even explain what my heart was feeling as we were looking upon all of it.

I don’t think I’ll ever experience it again.

We ate Domino’s, yes DOMINO’S after the tour! Who would’ve thought that I would get to eat American style pizza in HAITI! It was a good slice of home… no pun intended. I lied, there was totally a pun intended hahaha!

Now we are watching Michael Jackson’s This Is It. For those of you who don’t know, I’m a HUGE MJ fan. This movie is making me so happy. It’s the perfect end to an awesome and gut wrenching day. Tomorrow we are going to the clinic to help out there. Pray for the people that we will be seeing, and pray for us to be like Christ and show His love to them.

Thanks for all your prayers. They are much needed! I love each and everyone one of you!

My Haitian Paradise!

I cannot even begin to explain how amazing Haiti was. I'm going to try to recall everything that went on because it was such an awesome experience!

On Wednesday morning, very early, we woke up and went to the airport and boarded a plane to Atlanta. We arrived safely in Atlanta, and I even got to fly first class! Lots of pretzels and SunChips! So we land in Atlanta and immediately board the plane to Miami. We spent the night in Miami because we wouldn't have been able to make an earlier flight to Haiti. It was also Michelle's birthday, so we rented a convertible and drove around Miami and went into South Beach and walked up and down the strip. It was really fun, even though I was really tired for some reason.

The next morning we woke up and went to the airport and got on the plane to Port-au-Prince, Haiti. As soon as we landed we headed outside and tons of men in red caps came barreling towards us speaking a language that I thoroughly did not understand. We met with pastor Jude, and his wife, pastor Joenemed, and a few other people. We had to rent a car, so we stood outside in the 100 degree weather until we got the car. While we were waiting, I got to play with Pastor Jude's grandson, Isaiah, who is the CUTEST little boy ever! This is him.

When we got the car, we found out that one of the tires was bad so we had to go to the Avis office and get the tire changed. Being the nice woman she is, Pastor Jude's wife, Yanick let me sit in the front seat. Bad idea. They drive like CRAZY in Haiti. There are no traffic rules, you just go and honk your horn and hope you don't anymore. Those of you that know me know that I have a weak stomach, so I was having to keep it all in. Once we got the car fixed, we went to the grocery and it was really exciting. It was just like being back in America. We bought a few things for the hotel, but I of course always pack a ton of food with me because I don't want to starve, being the picky eater that I am! After the grocery, we went to the Karibe, which is this amazing hotel. It's kind of sad because the hotel is so nice, and you step out on the front porch and remember the poverty and destruction of the country. For some reason, I was more tired than I've ever been in my life. We had planned on taking a short nap before getting up for dinner. We checked into the hotel around 3:20, and by 3:30 I was crawled in the bed asleep. Michelle came in around 7:30 and asked me if I wanted to eat some dinner, but I was so tired that I just wanted to stay in bed. I ended up sleeping until 8 o'clock the next morning. Unfortunately, this was a common theme among the week, but I tried to stay strong and remember what I was there to do. We woke up Friday morning and ate breakfast at our wonderful hotel, then headed out for the day. Pastor Jude and Yanick came to our hotel and we went to this place run by American missionaries to see if they were available to house the group that was going down the next week. It was a beautiful place, and it ended up working out great for the group the next week.

After we went to that place we went to a baby orphanage. It was a 5 story building with a playground on the roof. They had so many young children, and we didn't get to stay for long but here a few pictures of some of the kids we saw.

This is the playground on the roof

Sweet child

He cried the whole time

After we left the orphanage we drove around the streets and it really made me realize how much need this country is in. Here a few pictures of what goes on in the streets of Haiti.

This is a dip on the side of the road where water should be flowing through, but it's completely filled with trash.

These trucks are called tap-taps. They are like taxi's but they pile as many people in there as they can to take them where they need to go. They drive like crazy and you have to honk to let them know you are right beside them so they don't run over you! It's so scary!

This is where my days get completely mixed up. I remember everything that happened but I have no idea as to what order they happened in. Haha.

One night we went out to eat in a Haitian restaurant with Greg's friend, Anne McDonald. She's an awesome young lady. She works at Gheskio, which is the first medical center in the world exclusively dedicated to the fight against HIV/AIDS. She has been all over the world, but has been living in Haiti for a few months. Her story is awesome, and she gives all the glory to God.

One morning we met with Joan, who works with the Restavek Foundation. There are 300,000 children in Haiti living as Restevek, which is a child slave. Joan and her husband talked to us about what they do, and it was very powerful. This quote from the Web site sums up the Restevek Foundation and what they exist to do.

"The Restavek Foundation exists to bring an end to child slavery in Haiti. We're here because we believe that a broken system can be fixed. We believe that education and love will replace the physical, emotional, and sexual abuse that comes from ignorance. And we believe that if we give these children a voice, we can give them hope for a better future."

While we were there, we also went to an orphanage that was far away, up a mountain, and down some pretty rough roads. We even saw a pay phone hanging on a tree! I wish I could find the picture of it, but its no where to be found. Bobby runs the orphanage and he houses 15 kids ranging in age. They are so adorable. They loved having their picture taken! Here's a few of those sweet sweet children!

My favorite little girl ever! I want to adopt her SO bad. She is precious.

This is her brother. He's funny too. He was playing with a little truck and he accidently knocked the wheels off of it, and when I put them back on he was so excited. Talk about super cute. I'll adopt him too.

For some reason this little boy loved having this sticker on his head. He was hilarious and was trying to put it on my head! He was super sweet!

This little girl loved having her picture taken too. I would love to adopt her too.

The last place we went was in the middle of the dessert. For real... We went up a mountain on these bumpy roads, then drove on sandy gravel for about 20 minutes before we reached this village. We pulled up and there were only a few people out. All of the sudden, a ton of people came running out. We were SURROUNDED by tons of little children. They live amongst cactus and things that can rip your skin apart. I got scraped by a couple of these things, but they are so accustomed to it that they have no idea that they are living in these conditions. No one ever visits them, they have no running water, barely any food, and struggle to stay alive. Most of them were naked and without shoes. It was probably the most powerful thing I've ever seen in my life. I literally wanted to pitch a tent and stay right there and tell them of the Savior's love and everything that He is and that if they drink of His living water they will never thirst again. But sadly, we had to leave. My heart is still in that village, and one day, I will be there. I was flipping through my pictures and you can just see the sorrow on their faces. I wish I was there right now. My friend just came in and was talking to me and I couldn't help but smile while I was talking because I'm writing this blog and remembering all the awesome times I had there. Hopefully he doesn't think I'm too weird. Haha. I just know that my heart is with them, and one day I will be with them too. Here's a bunch of pictures from that village that warm my heart every time I see them.

They have no shoes, so their feet are often dirty and scarred.

These three faces tell so many stories of what these girls have gone through.

This little boy is SO cute! He was standing on the side and was never noticed, but he caught my eye. What I wouldn't give to take him home!

I love this because it really shows the sadness this little girl has.

I love this picture. This little girl just wants attention and to be loved.

The girl in the red LOVED having her picture taken. Model in training?

We were walking down this rocky and cactus-y path with all the kids.

This is no where near the whole group, but it was impossible to get all of them in one shot.

Sunday morning we went to an English speaking church, and let me tell you, it was some awesome worship. The Haitian girls sitting behind us were singing their hearts out to the Lord, and His presence was definitely among us. It was actually Anne's church, who I talked about earlier. It was really really great. We then went to Pastor Jude and Yanick's house to eat a traditional Haitian meal, and for those of you who know me, know that it was a bit of a struggle. We had goat, 3 types of fried vegetables, rice, salad, macaroni and cheese, pasta salad, and some other Haitian coleslaw type dish. Sooooo it was definitely a struggle. I didn't want to be rude so I had lots of rice, some macaroni and cheese, and pasta salad. The rice and macaroni and cheese were extremely spicy! I ate as much as I could, but it was definitely hard to keep eating. I don't normally eat any types of pasta salad, so that was a little nerve racking to eat, but I got it all down. Sunday night we just stayed and relaxed down at the hotel bar and learned some Creole from some of the waiter's. I'm pretty much a pro now. Ha! I did pick up the language pretty quickly, so I think I could definitely adjust to a longer stay there.

I'm sure I've left out so much of our stay in Haiti. I learned so much about my self, and I've never questioned myself so much in my life. Those kids that I met and played with broke my heart. I want them to feel LOVE, real love. I can't help but be sad to think about how they live, and how I live my life. I don't always do the things I need to do. But, I'm living my life for the Lord, and following where he leads me.

So where do I go now?

I've been praying and meditating and be still and quiet, and honestly, I can't say that I know. What I would love to do is this: In May, when I graduate from the University of Tennessee, I would love to spend some time in the States in cities like Seattle, Chicago, Portland, and a few others doing ministry work and preparing myself for what could come next. I would then like to spend some time out of the states, not permanently though. I want to go to the Philippines for sure, Uganda, Chile, Belize, and China. Who knows though. I just want to follow wherever the Lord leads me.

I'm definitely having to learn about obedience right now. It's a hard lesson to learn, but I'm doing everything I can to listen to the Lord and do His work. I know He has big plans for me. I'm going to leave this blog with some awesome pictures of Haiti. I'll write again soon!

This is the road to the dessert village.

I love the mountains in the background. God is so good.

This is the beach. They have the beach, dessert, and mountains in Haiti.

This is on the plane to Haiti. Me, Michelle, Greg

Precious Moses!