Month: February 2015

No one told me the transition back would be rough.

I had just returned from a different pace of life and a place where people who had the least were the most grateful and then we arrived in New York City…..ugggghhh ( long gasp for air- I can do that since I am a former New Yorker lol). It hit me like a ton of bricks that I was no longer in Haiti. Everyone was in a rush. There were attitudes galore. I just could not handle it. I couldn’t wait to get on the bus and start traveling home.

We finally arrived home and I see my hubby! Yes!! But….now there is silence. Why am I silent!? Hello I haven’t seen the love of my life in days, cmon now! I couldn’t figure out what was going on with me. I walked in my house and I looked around and all I wanted to do was be back in Haiti.

I was going through.

The next day we went to church and I spoke to our other friends that have been on several mission trips and I asked them if what I felt was normal and they said yes that they have gone through the same thing once they come back from mission trips. I was like , ” Oh Thank God!” haha! It took me a good couple of days to get readjusted but I finally did 🙂

Is it really over now? I actually enjoyed being disconnected from the routines of daily life and I was falling more in love with Haiti and the Haitian People each day. At the same time, I was ready to see my husband. I was already thinking that I could not wait until he can come to Haiti with me and experience this with me next time.

I went up to the roof top to spend as much time as possible before they took us to the airport. I was so happy that I experienced this mission trip. I knew then that Haiti would never leave my heart.   Until the Next time Haiti 🙂

I have never seen a place more beautiful.

This was my last full day in Haiti and I felt so blessed to be able to spend it here. I took time to soak up the sun,  reflect over the week and just ….be..

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I could not believe it was the last work day! Before going into the village to work, I went WAY up to the mountains to visit my sponsor child that I have through Mission of Hope.

The car ride up was an adventure to say the least. These mountains were steep man! To know that there are many people that walk up and down these mountains to get to their different destinations had me stunned.

We finally got up to my sponsor child’s school and I finally got to meet her! She is the cutest, sweetest, giving and protective little 5 year old! Seriously, if I could of adopted her I would of in a heartbeat. She didn’t have much but she shared her candy with me, wiped the dirt off of my hands, smiled a lot and tried to keep me to herself ( so many kids kept coming out and were latching on to me and following us so it was hard to be alone). I gave her pictures of me and my husband and she held them close to her and I gave her a  decorative pin I had recently bought that could go on her dress. It was so good to see her in person and know that she was being taken care of.

After I said my good byes, we drove to the village so we could begin working again. Our team helped to rebuild a church that was knocked over during the earthquake and then we also played games with the children that were nearby as well. 

Exhaustion was starting to seep in ( my tired face) and I was thankful that this was the last day of work.

It was such rewarding work though to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ to the people of Haiti and help out where we could and to also bond as a team. It was simply amazing.

Team Devotions that night were great as always. Lots of laughs, love and reflection.

I had been asked to prepare a training on “Recovery from Abuse”,   for those that work at the Orphanage. The training would help them better assist the kids they were working with that came from a background of abuse.

Although I have taught different life skill classes and have done public speaking in the states, I was somewhat intimidated to do so in another country. At first, I declined the offer to teach but then prayed about it and asked them if I could be put back on the schedule to teach. Thankfully I was able to still give this presentation. As I prepared back in the states I just prayed for God to use me and my words in the way he intended to reach the people I would be speaking to that day.

Now I am here in Haiti and today is the day.

I woke up eager to teach.

As soon as I got up I realized something was not right. “Am I really getting sick on the day I am to teach?”.. Yes , indeed! That was the case. I went up to the guest house for breakfast but I could not stay that long because I didn’t feel well. I went back in my room and layed down and just asked God to heal me so I could do the work I knew he wanted me to do that day.

Time went by and it was a couple of minutes before I was to start teaching. I said to myself, “even if I have to lay here and teach, it will be done today!”. I got up and stood there for a moment to see how I was starting to feel. I decided to be on the safe side and just sit down while I teach. I thank God that I didn’t get sick during the time I was speaking. It was so cool to work alongside my translator too in that capacity.

I learned that in Haiti, receiving a certificate for something was a BIG deal! So I made sure to bring some certificates with me and at the end of the training I went around to each person and signed their name and my name and gave them a big hug and thanked them for completing the training. After that, one of the male orphan workers known as a “daddy”, thanked me so much for the training and expressed how much the different points we covered were really good and could help them in the daily work they do with the kids there. That was so encouraging to me! I thanked God that it all worked out!

When everything was finished , I stayed back  with another teammate from going into the villiage because I still wasn’t feeling the absolute greatest. Although I really wanted to get out there and work, I felt God’s presence with me assuring me that it was okay that I had to stay back that day. Take time and rest. It hit me that even in a mission driven life , God does call us to rest too. That was refreshing to feel and know that.

The day was were pretty busy with:

Showing love to the orphan mommies ( these ladies would leave their families for a period of time during the week to tend to the orphans as their job to make an income) through arts and crafts, massages, and painting their nails. We also painted a house in the village, we went to  church and then washed  dishes after dinner. By the end of the day I was empty but empty in a good way. I had given my all to every way we were to minister to someone else that day. Because I was empty and had given my all , I was full. Full of God’s presence and reassurance that we had did a good work. I knew he was pleased.

There were so many other things going on that day to process as well. Multiple team members were getting sick and we so prayed for their healing. When you walked deep through the village there people around with not much clothing on, small children that may have been in their homes by themselves, rough housing and some houses that had the covering on them from the time the earthquake happened ( which was only suppose to be used for a few months has been used for years).

  

It was great when we would have devotions every night as a team to debrief on our day. What were our highs and lows? How were we touched or inspired? The conversations were so good among all of us! This and reading letters from people back home encouraging us truly helped to wrap up the day in a healthy way.

 (This is how we would wrap up every night. A giant circle, candy and good stories. The best time ever!)

Who knew planting a tree could be such a life changing experience?

We walked through the village of Levesque and we walked into peoples yards, asked for the owner

and asked them if it was okay to plant a tree. Everyone said yes and after we planted it where the owner wanted it to be planted we asked them if we could pray for them. It was amazing what some of them wanted prayer for. They didn’t ask for a house or car or more clothes, etc, they asked for God to help them get a job to provide for their family or they prayed to get closer to God, etc. It was humbling.

Weather wise it was so hot! You just got used to the sweat pouring down your face and body all day long but we kept working and we kept ministering to others.

There is a deaf community that live within the village of Levesque. There was a lady that was deaf that stayed with us the entire time. I had a scarf over my neck that helped me to wipe the sweat off of my forehead when working but I felt God telling me to give it to her. She was sweating and she didn’t have anything to wipe her sweat. She was grateful to have it. By the end of the day she called me friend and she wore the scarf around her neck every time I saw her throughout my duration of being in Haiti. That touched my heart.

Sandy, rocky ground.

The kids didn’t have much of anything to play with yet they found joy in playing kick the can with some of our teammates.

There was a mentally challenged girl in the village that I was drawn to. I wanted her to know that God loved her too despite if people called her crazy or anything else  she was still a prize in the kings eyes. She danced and twirled around and waved at me. I finally was able to go by her with one of my teammates along with a translator and I prayed for her.

I cried. Out of everything I saw in Haiti, that was the only time I cried.

She touched my heart. I think it’s because the least of the least of these, the outcast, the misfits, the unfortunate….they have a special place in the heart of God therefore they should have a special place in our hearts as well.

Here I am, sitting at the breakfast table with the sun beating on my back and I am thinking…what am I supposed to learn from being in Haiti. Why am I here?

I believe anytime you go to a place or you’re in a season that is so God ordained, you stepped out on faith to be there, it comes with the daily question “what am I suppose to take away from the season or event?”.

One of the missionaries that are stationed in Haiti( but she is from back home) and I struck up a conversation. I was telling her the questions I had and what I was wrestling through and she said ” This is a mission trip but after this we are sending you back home to your mission field. What can you take from the trip that you can use back home?”

Mission Trip vs Mission Field.

Such a great way to put it! That thought definitely changed my perspective on the rest of the trip.

We were in church and although things were being spoken in a different language , the worship was amazing and I could somewhat understand the message that was being preached. There was a young man that sat next to me too and we struck up a conversation. During the service I let him read my bible and he would sometimes translate the service for me.

My book bag down by my feet , I suddenly got this urge to check my bag. The front of it had been opened and I couldn’t find my cell phone. “Darn! They stole it!” . I was so mad. I felt like I let myself get too relaxed and now my stuff was gone and I had a pretty good idea who took it and yup..they were gone too. I Couldn’t find the young man that was originally sitting behind me.

I rushed back up the mountain to my room and dumped my bag. To my surprise, although I had multiple electronics on me ( which I will never do again), only my phone was missing. My mind and emotions struggled between being happy that nothing else was stolen to being mad that regardless, my phone was stolen.

One of my teammates helped me out and I was able to call my husband and have everything shut down. I felt better knowing my phone was shut off but boy oh boy did I pray that the person who stole my phone would feel convicted and turn it in.

I never got my phone back.

My teammates encouraged me in how I handled the situation. I appreciated that but at that time I was struggling with a distaste in my mouth for the place I was now in to do ministry. It’s the beginning of the trip and this happens! Can you see the inner toss and turn my emotions were doing during this time?

I hoped the next day would be better. I hoped to fall back in love with the Haitian people and to not allow this one act to change my interactions with the those in Haiti. I didn’t want to miss out on the reason God sent me here.

I was journaling and realized that in a previous journal entry I talked about being disconnected. Having my phone but not being tied to it while I was here in Haiti and then the one thing that got stolen was my phone…..hmmm interesting.

Was God trying to send me a message?

I never thought of myself as materialistic or anything but maybe I was distracted and part of the distraction came by way of the phone. I realized then that God was going to get my attention and have all of me during this trip. During this journey I was going to be tested but would I choose to stay stuck in my feelings over mere things or serve God and the mission he put before me at this present time?

I chose the Mission!