Home Is Where Your Heart Is

     After over a month of waiting, we're finally settled into our Haitian home! In the days leading up to our big move, I felt the burden of Satan's fearful opposition as I drew closer to God's calling on my life. While I had no doubt this was where God had asked me to be, nearly everything that could have challenged us did! An unfinished wall, crumbling floors, a cracked water resevoir, a broken stove, and the list goes on. We faced opposition through isolation and unkept promises. The discourager tried to undermine God's peace and authority...and very convincingly so!
     However, we were not alone. :) With a little bleach, sweat, rescourcefullness, and Lacrae, our house became a home! God remained faithful to His promises, yet again. He is a Provider, as I had enough finances to creatively replace the things we couldn't have planned for. He is Sufficiency, as Kelsea and I took turns battling the temptation of disappointment in unmet expectations. He is Comfort, as we often felt abandoned by those we expected we could count on most in our time of need. Most of all, my God is Love. The kind of Agape Love that never leaves, never gives up, and never fails. Our first night in our home, we invited dear friends of mixed nationality to join us for intentional worship and prayer. God loved on my heart by reminding me that my house was His house; His space, to be a place of worship. Every room, every meal, every conversation within...intented for His glory.
     Every day is filled with new challenges, new adventures, and a renewed understanding of the character of God. I've learned to fetch water from the community pump, though I've yet to master the art of balancing it on my head. ;) I've learned to bathe with a cup, while standing in a basin...and I've learned to save that dirty water, so that we can flush our toilet at the end of every day. I've learned how to burn our trash in the yard, which I jokingly call our "bonfire." I've learned not to enter a room without a lantern, as we've made many spider, cockroach, ant, and centipede friends in the lat week. I've learned to prepare dinner for more than 2, as we've yet to have an evening without surprise visitors.
     By the grace of God, this transition in lifestyle has been refreshingly effortless! The normalcy of my days makes me laugh. Not a day goes by that Kelsea and I don't share a chuckle over some little joy God sprinkled throughout our chaos. Though Satan continues to try to discourage our weary hearts, may I never forget that, with God, I lack nothing. With every trial, I've found even more beauty and joy to keep me where I've been called. God continues to love on my heart in a big way! I've known in my head but I'm beginning to understand in my heart that, since we were created for His glory alone, our hearts will remain restless and dicontented until we fulfill our purpose. Whatever God's asked of your life, obedience to your purpose is the only place you'll find true joy and peace. Wether you are in your personal office, caring for your children, teaching, cleaning, coaching, cooking....WHATEVER He has asked of you today, His glory is your joy. Obey.  

"The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." 

Ephesians 31:8

"But this command I gave [your ancestors]: 'Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people. And walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you."

Jeremiah 7:23

Please, join me in prayer, for:

     *The women previously employed by the feeding program; We are currently beginning a new, more independent, self-sustaining beading program that will provide them with housing and job. More information to come! (We'll need your help later to spread the word!)

     *The children's home; Kelsea and I, as well as the other missionary family that was previously living at the orphanage have relocated (not far) in the last week. We are trusting God's provision and protection for the children by the Haitian staff in our absence. Above all, I want the children to never doubt their worth and that they are loved.

THANK YOU FOR DOING YOUR PART, CHURCH!

Two Weeks...But Not Too Weak With Christ!

     Let's be honest here folks...as I sat down to write you tonight, a tear fell. Yep, just one, but it was a sneak attack! It's been exactly 2 weeks since I moved back to beautiful Montrouis, and my heart has never been more whole in my entire life.
    Yet, I'm not enough...never have been. Still, by the grace of my merciful God, I am filled with the One who is. Most people might argue that God never gives us more than we can handle. I humbly disagree. I think that God always gives us more than we can handle, on our own, with the promise to never leave us alone! The Truth is, I am weak. Apart from Christ, I am just a girl. Just a 22-yr-old, single, white, English-speaking girl, called to a country very much the opposite. I have no idea what I'm doing! :)
     Now, for those of you thinking, "wait...did I just burn my tax refund?!" Keep reading! It brings God no glory to tell you what I'm not, without also reminding you of who He is;

"But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you."
 (John 14:26)

*I love Haiti, but there is still so much I DON'T know here. Every day, I've watched my Teacher soften the hearts of those I encounter as I continue to learn and grow. I am a learner. A forever student of the most patient Teacher. As I stumble through each day, God sends the Spirit to go before me and with me, gently guiding my clumsy steps. I am yet refined, but I am holding to His promise to continue His work in me, all the days of my short life.

"Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable."
 (Isaiah 40:28)

*I'll admit, every night I fall into my bed, absolutely dead. It's not that my days aren't filled with indescribeable beauty, joy, and sometimes even a nap, but I'm spent! Decaying flesh and weary bones....that's all I have to offer. Yet, as I offer my bag of bones to a God who's everlasting, the God who has more than enough energy for the whole herd of us, I find strength. Even now, as I struggle to keep my eyes open long enough to finish this blog, I realize I don't have enough left in me for the things I know I have to do tomorrow. His beautiful promise? It's not tomorrow yet :) So why try to muster the strength in me today, when I'm promised God will renew me with the morning sun? My God has the answers to questions I haven't even considered yet, and that's relieving! He'll have the right words for the people who will need words tomorrow, and He'll have refreshing silence for those who will need peace. He knows where I'll go and who I'll meet.....so for tonight, I get to rest. I don't have to be anything more than my weary self. He is everything I'm not tonight.

"Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.
(1 John 4:8)

*This Truth, which adorns my bible and played a heavy role in the inspired ink on my wrist, is even more powerful to me than the previous truths. I would dare to confess that Love is the only reason I am in Haiti tonight. Love is what's filled my heart, in the absence of family and familiarity. Love, in all of His patience, kindness, selflessness, humility, trustworthiness, and honor are enough, in me. Love is my protection, my hope, and my perseverance. 
(1Corinth. 13:4-7)

I am nothing. I am weak...But in my weaknesses, I am made strong. He is enough. Is he your enoughness? That's my prayer for you today.

The Best Is Yet To Come..

     So, today I "learned" how to de-scale a gutted Wahoo with a dull knife. Needless to say, my shoes will forever smell like fish...but the smiles on my friends' faces will outlast a pair of $10 Walmart shoes anyway, so I'd do it again. Life in the fishing village is simple; everyone knows everyone (including the skeletons in their closets!) and they just live life, one moment at a time. There is always struggle, but some challenges weigh heavier on the heart than others. The feeding program ended today, leaving most of the women in the village without work. As nearly all of them are single mothers of many, trying to simply survive, lack of work in Haiti makes "unemployment" checks in America look like a dream well-lived. The one-room houses they've depended on all year will soon be given up, as rent is due this month. Yet these are just 12 women in a small village whose stories I happen to know.
     There is much brokenness in Haiti; Just today, I passed 4 who roam the streets as "those without a mind." Living as outcasts, intentionally ignored, you can find them sifting through the trash dump next door or talking to themselves as they sit in the sun, dressed for a Missouri winter. A life of solitude, just waiting to die. In just one short week, I've brought medicine to my friend's sick grandma, learned of another friend's little brother who had malaria, another friend has a sick mother and a sister on an IV, and heard of 2 fatal car/moto accidents. There is so much hurt here.
     But hope remains. As I hopped a moto to the fishing village this morning, I saw hundreds of school children flooding the streets of Montrouis with medical gloves on their hands. Realizing I was the only one who found it odd, I asked my driver why they weren't in class today (a field trip to the market isn't exactly a norm here!). He explained that, once a year, all the schools send the youth out to "beautify" the streets. Working with pride, I watched as Montrouis became hopeful, one piece of trash at a time. It was beautiful. Not because I could see the sidewalk, or because I kept my fishy shoes dry on the walk back....no, it was beautiful, because I saw Haiti help Haiti, and it had absolutely nothing to do with me. God just empowered the people I love so much and then allowed me to watch in humility. No matter how much hurt and brokenness is in this world, Hope can always be found. Today, it found me.

Would you thank God?
     *for the hope that envelops this nation; may it be deeply rooted in Truth.
     *for the youth of this nation, to be empowered to greater things, for a higher purpose.
Would you surrender to the Lord?
     *the hurt that has scarred many who live in the community of Montrouis. That they would be washed with Agape Love and the hope of Christ's coming.
     *the sickness that has touched many whom I love, and even more I've yet to know. We serve a Healer, let's come before Him, friends.

THANK YOU 

for your continued partnership and investment in what God's doing here in Montrouis! Be the body, be the Church....exactly where He's called you. I'm praying for you too!