Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty!

I’m trying to be better about blogging more often. I was doing good for a while, but I know I have slacker tendencies, but I’m going to try to stay on top of things. I’m just going to leave off where my last blog ended!

So, I have been looking for different places to serve while I’m here. I have been to the orphanage at Thomazeu, I have helped in mobile clinics, and done other various things. As much as I have loved doing both of those things, I knew that God had something bigger for me. The kids started school at Quisqueya Christian School. The director of the school told Greg and Michelle (the missionary couple I live with) that there might be an opening for a teacher’s aide position. I scheduled an informal interview with the school director and prayed that God would do what he wanted with this opportunity.

So off to the interview I went. I was more nervous than I had been in a long time. I didn’t know what to expect or what God was going to do. I just prayed that whatever the outcome, that God would be the center of the decision. When I went in I was as nervous as nervous can be! Mr. Hersey, the director of the school started out with the regular questions… what is your degree in, what do you feel competent to teach in, what are your hobbies, explain your spiritual walk, etc. I breezed through those questions and Mr. Hersey told me that there is a lot of need at QCS and if I would commit to staying until May, then I could teach a speech class and a Bible class. My mouth dropped open at the thought of staying until May. I knew that I would have to pray hard core about this and talk to my family before I could make any decisions.

So I prayed. A lot. I talked to the missionaries about it then talked with my parents, and truly feel like God is totally opening doors for me to stay here until May. So I’m staying til May! I’m going to start teaching sometime soon.

Surprisingly, my parents were totally okay with it. I mean, they were sad that I wasn’t coming home to stay, but also excited for me.

I’ve always wanted to be a teacher, but decided not to pursue it. This will be a great indicator or whether or not I want to make a career out of teaching, and possibly get my Masters Degree in education. So yeah, I’m super pumped!

God is doing such great things in Haiti. Last Saturday we did a mobile clinic with World Orphans. I have blogged about them before. When Chelsea and Hannah were here, we did a mobile clinic with World Orphans (Chelsea gave me a tetanus shot). We went back to the same location to finish looking over all the kids with Dr. Jenny Chapman. We saw about 40 people all together, which was incredible. Most of the kids had either worms or a cold. Dr. Jenny was excellent with all the kids. Her passion totally showers through all of her work.

I’m going back to Quisqueya School today to talk to Mr. Hersey more about teaching there. I’ll try to blog some more tomorrow between taking care of a six month old and preparing for English class tomorrow. Sorry for such the delay, but I will blog again VERY soon!

Thank you for your prayers and support. They are truly amazing, and God is at work in this place.

Two More Days In Paradise

What a whirlwind of a week we have had! I could not have asked for a better week to start here in Haiti! I already told you of my first two days in Haiti so I’ll fill you in on the rest of the week so far.

Greg and Michelle (the missionaries that I live with) wanted to take their niece and her best friend to the beach while we were here, so Thursday was set-aside for that. We traveled about an hour away and went to a place called Club Indigo. It was a super nice resort. We got there around 1 that afternoon and checked into our rooms and got some lunch. We played at the beach for a while and at the pool for a while and just relaxed completely.

I ate a hamburger for lunch, and it was DELICIOUS! I had a hot dog for dinner and a coke, which tastes way better here than in America. The water was absolutely beautiful and the temperature was perfect! I couldn’t help but stand in awe of the sunset Thursday night at think about how awesome our God is.

Friday morning we woke up and went to an awesome Haitian breakfast buffet. I had boiled eggs and French toast and boy was it good! We haven’t really eaten just an awesome breakfast, so it was nice to eat some “American” for breakfast. Lunch was pretty delicious too. I had a hot dog with cheese. It really is the little things in life that you miss like something as simple as a hamburger.

We played at the beach for the day then came back home for dinner. After dinner we came back up to the house and I wanted to continue reading “The Shadow Of The Almighty”, which Ms. Janet Shrum so graciously lent me while I came to Haiti. I read quite a bit then got pretty sleepy so I popped a movie into my laptop and tried to drift off to sleep. I was watching the movie when all of the sudden my Skype made a noise to tell me that it turned on. We hadn’t had Internet since Tuesday so I couldn’t believe it was working! As soon as it turned on, my son from Super Summer, Caleb, chatted me to see how I was doing. Our chat soon turned into a phone call, and I got to talk to him for a while. It was so good to hear a familiar voice and see a friend!

My sister and brother in law then called me just to chat and give me Big Brother updates. I know that I’m an addict to crappy reality TV. I’m just itching to know what is happening, so they filled me in on the details.

After I got off the phone with them, Adam West called me and it was so good to see him and John Mark. Even though I’m having such a blast here, it is hard to leave my friends behind. They have been such a huge part of my life for the past two months, so I want to share with them every detail of my life and what I’ve been doing here in Haiti.

I talked to Adam and John Mark for about 15 minutes, and then decided we should conference call with Adam Fox!! The Tripod was reunited! And it did feel good! I finally got to catch up with both of them for a little while, and by the time we were done chatting, it was time for bed!

So once again, I turn my light off and restart my movie and try to drift to sleep, but of course… ANOTHER phone call! I felt so important and popular!

This time, the call was from my dear friend Jared Shingleton. I told him about what I had been doing here and then out of nowhere, he pulled out his guitar and started singing me a song called Wagon Wheel by Old Crow Medicine Show. We both really love this song so it is funny when both of us listen to it because we tend to think of each other when we hear it. It was so good to catch up with him and see how he was doing. We came up with an awesome business plan that we would both LOVE to make reality one day, so I pray that the Lord would have His way in that.

After I talked to him for a while, I finally lay down, but was WIDE-awake! I finally drifted to sleep around 1 and had to get up around 7:30 the next morning to get ready for a mobile medical clinic.

We left the house this morning around 8:30 to get ready for a medical clinic out by the airport with World Orphans. We saw 64 children today with a range of issues, from worms, to scabies, to colds. I fell in love with a little boy named Sam, and still can’t get my mind off of him! He was the cutest little thing, but ended up leaving the clinic in tears because he didn’t feel good.

We started out the day dividing vitamins into bags so the children could take them home. Mary, one of the nurses on the team, began giving Tetanus and Diphtheria shots, and my friend Chelsea wanted to try. Mary talked her through it, and before I knew it, Chelsea was giving shots to little kids! Another member of our team decided she wanted to try, so she started giving shots as well. Then they asked me if I wanted to try. I was super hesitant, but Mary talked me through it, and I gave my first T/D shot! The boy didn’t even flinch or cry or anything!

It was so much fun that I gave a bunch more! We gave a ton of shots to children over 7 that had not been vaccinated, and it felt so good knowing that those kids could be healthier from a simple shot that I so often take for granted.

So now I have sorted pills and given shots… I think Walgreens would hire me in an instant! Haha! Today was such an awesome day watching so many children be treated of whatever they were dealing with.

Right as we were packing up, the members of our team began to ask me if I had had a Tetanus shot, and of course I said no… I HATE shots! I hate doctors, hospitals and needles. I probably should have got one before I came, but I just really didn’t want to before I left the states because I knew they hurt for a few days. Chelsea, who just started giving shots, decided she wanted to give me a shot, and for some reason, I let her!!! What was I thinking??!?!?? She did a great job though, and even though it hurt, I know that I am now safer having been treated for Tetanus.

Things are going so great here, and I’m so excited to go to church in the morning and see what the Lord has there. I know He is working so much in everything here, and especially in my life. It has been so great to see so many faces light up just from getting a simple vitamin for other medicine, or just from having their belly tickled, or a little massage. It has really been such a great experience, and I can’t wait to see what else He has in store for this week!