The Giver

I wrote this out for an intern devotion and honestly, I'm speaking to myself throughout the whole thing. Maybe it'll be a blessing to you as well.

There's a devotion I've been going through and one day it ended with a phrase that has stuck ever since. "He wants the glory as the giver." It's all through His power as the Giver that we’re able to do anything. (Even our salvation is through His power, Ephesians 2:8-9,  it’s by GRACE that we are saved) I think I have trouble remembering that sometimes. I'm one that likes control, order, productivity, things I can predict. I literally wake up in the mornings thinking about what I need to do, how I’m going to do it, and I start by trying to do everything myself.  But I realize there are lots of “I’s” in that.

Scripture tells us that we can’t do anything alone. John 15:5 says "I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing." Romans 7:18 says "For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out." When I'm believing that I can do everything on my own, then that makes me the star when, in reality, Jesus is. 

So we know that He is the Giver. The Giver of strength, salvation, life, power, peace, ability, thoughts, realizations, even this breath. If that’s true, and we live that out, then He can be praised for what gets done. John 15:8 tells us that when we give Him praise for that, He gets glory and we bear fruit! So it’s a win win. And it always is. Because Jesus is for our good, our joy, and His glory. Its silly that I would chose my power over His power, because His power is the power that raised Christ from the dead. My power is small, but with Christ, our power is infinite, we are able to do all things THROUGH CHRIST! 

So recognize Him as the Giver in everything you're able to do today, be thankful, praise Him, and give Him glory as the Giver. Psalm 50:15 says "call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.” When we do this, it shows the world that we are helpless, and that our God is strong and able because we are asking for His help and counting on Him.

Turpin

This past week I had the opportunity to go with my team to a village in the mountains called Turpin. It was beautiful! It was about an hour ride up through the mountains every day and it was so refreshing to be surrounded by such beauty. [Pictures in previous post]

One day we got stuck in the mud, [Pictures in previous post] and as we’re jumping up and down on the back of the canter to gain some traction, the driver turns off the canter. And at this point, we remember the 25 minute hike we took on Monday [with our 5 gallon buckets of paint, all of our other paint supplies, and water] where he has parked is further away than Monday, and we’re down two people from the day before. Things are looking pretty dismal and attitudes have plummeted. So I asked for someone to pray. And as she started praying, the driver turns the canter back on, we make it through the mud, closer than we did on Monday, and when we park, our translator comes to the back and says, “We’re gonna wait here for a minute because they're sending a donkey to carry the supplies today.” WHAT?! That’s awesome!! Because a. we don’t have to carry all of our supplies, and b. we are in the middle of nowhere in Haiti, using a donkey. [Pictures in previous post]There are just some days here where I laugh and say, I live in Haiti. This was definitely one of those days. Not to mention the sudden change of events was awesome and we were so thankful to the Lord for providing (a donkey, y’all!) for our needs. He is so trustworthy.

Some pictures from time in the village this week:

As I’ve been here for a little over a month and a half now I’m able to process more and see that I’m learning how to trust Him more, rely on Him, and through His gentle grace, learning more about the Holy Spirit. 

Thank you to all of those that were willing to support me financially to be here in Haiti. You are a part of this journey too and through that, you’re loving and serving the Haitian people as well. If you’re reading this and feel led to do so, I would still love your support as I have not yet met my goal. You can go to www.mohhaiti.org/ There is an orange button in the top right hand corner that says DONATE TODAY. Click on that and then fill out the information it asks for. In order for MOH to know that it is to fund my internship, please be sure to put my name in the notes box.

Pase bon nwit, zanmi mwen! That's Creole for "Have a good night, my friend!"

Since the last time we talked...

With the internet going in and out and my pure exhaustion at the end of the day, it's taken me a little while to update y'all. But...since the last time we talked, I've...

Eaten fresh mango and quenepas

Seen some beautiful sunsets

Spent more time with the kiddos

 

Found a few more notes that were hidden by my mom :)

Spent  time in the mountains of Turpin

 

 

 

 

Used a donkey to carry our paint supplies! [Haha. I live in Haiti!]

Got stuck in the mud

 

Celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving

Received a care package from my family! 

There's no denying this is an adventure!

Sweet Afternoons

We get back from our village times and work projects a little after four each day. That gives us around an hour or so of a break until dinner. I normally use that time to catch up with interns and staff from the day, lay down, or sometimes I walk down to the orphanage and spend time at the "baby" room. They're not babies anymore, but they're the smallest. These sweet afternoons most often give my heart more rest than a nap! I think ( or want to think) that some of them are beginning to realize that I've been around longer than a week and I'm not just a team member. Here are some snapshots of sweet afternoon moments with the little ones. Looking at all of these pictures again I can't believe that I'm actually getting to live what I've dreamed of for so long. 

P.s. they love the camera if you can't tell! :) 

Find more posts and updates about Mission of Hope here: https://www.facebook.com/mohhaiti
There are lots of cute back to school pictures on there!  

Then Sings My Soul

October 2nd

It's another night, brushing my teeth with the water from my water bottle that has a hint of orange Gatorade I was drinking earlier to replenish electrolytes. And as I slip into my covers (Which isn't just a sheet but also a blanket now!) I'm thankful. Thankful to be here in Haiti, learning from other believers; team members and staff members. Thankful to be able to serve people in need spiritually and physically. Thankful to have community with interns doing the same thing as me. Thankful to get to love on precious children. Thankful to get to be a part of God's movement in this country. Thankful to get to laugh with friends. Thankful to eat good food. Thankful to get to experience a sponsor meet their child for the first time. Thankful that I get to give of myself I'm so tired by the end of the day. Thankful to lay in bed and look forward to the taste of coffee the next morning. Thankful to listen to stories of God's faithfulness in healing someone from an allergy to UV rays who is now on staff doing full time ministry in Haiti where you can't escape the sun. Thankful to sit on the roof and watch lightning fill the sky. Thankful to carry a sleepy two year old up the hill after worship along with staff, interns, and other kids that live in the orphanage. This is Haiti. This is God's love. Humbled to be here.


My God how great Thou art!

Haiti in Pictures

After the length of that last one, I'm trying to break up all of the writing because I know that's a lot. But I'm tellin ya, I have so much to share with you guys!! A picture post this time! 

Rest at Wahoo Bay

Bercy Campus

Traditional Haitian meal: Jugoo(drink), chicken leg(always the leg, you never see the wings here?), rice, beans, potato salad, fried plantains, pikliz(spicy cole slaw), and this meal had potato chips. 

Amanda and me with coconut milk and coconut water in the village of Turpin!  

250 gallons of paint in the canter to take to a container near our work project!

My frisbee friend in the village!  

Helping with Christmas Cards to child sponsors!

My phone gets hacked by these friends a lot! 

 We like to bake!

Pharmacy at the Mobile Clinic 

I'm Finally Posting!!

Hey you guys!

I’m in Haiti! All thanks to you guys!! I’m really thankful for your financial and prayerful support. I’m doing really well and Mission of Hope is an incredible organization. I have so much respect for how MOH is doing so much to change the face of Haiti for Christ and I’m truly honored to be a part of His work here. Along with that, the executive team was here a couple of weeks ago (or so, days run together) and the interns had the privilege to sit in on a staff hangout where the President and COO of the organization talked and we went around and got to say our name, what we do with MOH and what God’s been teaching us in the past 48 hours. So cool to see God’s work in each others lives and the humility and obedience in the heart of the leaders.

I’m sorry that it has taken me this long to update you guys on this journey! I'm so busy here, learning new things all the time, and still processing this transition for myself! The task of telling you about everything that’s going on here is such a daunting one and the longer I put it off, the further along I go, and the more there is to share! Haha. I’ve tried a couple of times but Word crashed once and the internet was down another time. But here we are! I pray this is a God-honoring update that gives you an idea of what I’m doing and how you’re impacting the future of Haiti and its people!  It has been an amazing first three weeks and I’m still processing the transition and all of the change. As interns we laugh about how drastically our daily lives have changed and that it feels like we’ve been here for much longer than three weeks because we pack so much into one day! What a great three weeks it has been. I hope to write about more aspects of this adventure and post soon.

My first week here, we transitioned into the new lifestyle by learning to carry around a washcloth for sweat, constantly drink water, not flush toilet paper, and only drink water from the coolers. :) We did training where we learned about the organization, the country, the people, the villages, and what our roles would be. My second week here I had my first team and they were from North Carolina! What a blessing because no one here is from anywhere near South Carolina, so they gave me a taste of home. The team leaders had been to Haiti before so they were a great first group to have. It’s so refreshing to get new teams because they’re excited and ready to go which renews my excitement as well. And I've really enjoyed getting to know Christians from different backgrounds. So not only is this experience broadening my horizon through learning about another country, but I'm also getting to learn about different styles of Christianity, if that makes sense.

During their week, teams do two work projects, two village times, and a beach day. During the month of September our work projects have been in the village of Leveque painting houses for the Blue to Block project and painting the school which will open in October! (It’s almost time for school to start, which is so exciting!) MOH partners with eight different villages; Titanyen, Minoterie, Source Matelas, Simonette, Leveque, Bercy, Turpin, and Cabaret. In the villages we pray for people, share the love and hope of Jesus, and play with the kids. This time is a little less structured than a work project as it is a time we let the Spirit lead.

We go out into the villages with Village Champions and translators. Village Champions are missionaries for their villages and communicating needs of the village to MOH so that MOH can provide resources to the church to be able to advance the churches. Gabriel, my translator during my second week, was such an encouragement for us that week and has such a hope for his village. He has complete faith that God is doing work in that village, and He believes without a doubt God will change it. His faith is such an inspiration, he told me one day that he wakes up at 4:45 to go to the mountain to pray every morning!

This week my team was from Oregon. They were troopers because they had to spend the night in the airport both ways! This team was the first team to work with food packing which is such an exciting thing! MOH is taking rice and beans from local Haitian farmers, packing it using Haitian workers, and giving out the food packs to Haitians. So that supports the local farmers, empowers the Haitians, creates more Haitian jobs, and nourishes hungry Haitians! It’s a win win win! ANDDD my team had the privilege of being the first team to help with packing! Super cool!

In between having teams, I’ve had the opportunity to work with other staff around campus and help Brooke with child sponsorship, I got to help Amanda get her classroom ready for her first day of teaching three children who’s parents are on staff, and I got to go with the high schoolers of the orphanage on campus to help put on VBS for an orphanage in another village.I have been so thankful for these different opportunities!

I don’t really remember my expectations before coming anymore because I’ve quickly adjusted to life here, but something that I wasn’t expecting is how beautiful it is here. I have gotten to post a few pictures to social media, but here are a few more. Haiti is beautiful! 

From my backyard: