Just a few sights from Haiti. I still can't put into words what I saw and experienced, but they say a picture is worth a thousand words. Here's 37,000 words.If you would like to see the other 675,000 words, let me know! :)
I personally don't even think the pictures tell the story, but it's a start!
street side market
mass grave. after the earthquake, they could not keep up with burial of all the dead bodies, so many of them were piled here and buried together
the view from my first Haitian bathroom break :) proud to say this is the only outdoor pit-stop this pregnant mama had to make!
playing with the neighbor kids
this is the mission house we worked on while we were there. when complete, it will house offices, missionaries, and work teams. cpr-3.com
mixing concrete
this little girl was actually left with us at our work site by a woman desperate for help. we cared for her until we were able to find her home.
crushing moringa leaves to make them into powder. check out the moringa project
not sure what was in here... it looked like shredded chicken. all i know is it was infested with bugs and flies and they were filling their plates from it.
kids lining up to get some goodies from the white folks :)
homemade kite. the visit to this village was a tough one for me, but the ingenuity of this kid made my day.
beautiful faces of Haiti
genuine happiness
we had the opportunity to plant 1,000 moringa trees
from the top of cpr-3's mountain, looking over Bercy
walking to school. i was happy to learn that a large amount of Haitians do have the opportunity to go to school!
Haitian grocery shopping :)
tent city in port au prince - 2+ years after the earthquake
new shelters being built to replace the tent cities
people are still trying to live in these buildings that were rocked by the earthquake... and people are still dying because their shelters are not stable
this is their palace [our white house] still not repaired from the earthquake
see those little sheds called 'banks'? they are actually lotto stations - they can buy tickets for lottos in the U.S. apparently, even the poorest of the poor are living with the false hope that they will strike it big and all their problems will be solved.
hard to believe this is the same country we were serving in all week! the contrast between the devastation and the absolute beauty of God's creation was almost too hard to swallow.
our tap-tap
the gate to our hotel... almost always filled with kids from the neighboring village!
this canal (along with any other water source in the country) is multi-purpose: drinking, washing, bathing, restroom... you name it, if it used water, this is where the water came from.
Who am I that my God, my Father in heaven, my perfect Savior, would choose to use me to reach his people.
I am broken. I am a sinner. I am so far from 'having it all together'. Yet, He has a use for me. I was made for a purpose. And this is one of them.
In less then 48 hours, I will be leaving LaGrange county and heading to Haiti. Words cannot describe how ready I am for this trip. I have been preparing physically, emotionally, and spiritually for nearly a year for this very moment.
I have no idea what the Lord has in store for me on this trip, but I do know that He wants me there. There have only been two times I can honestly say I have heard God speak to me. One of those times was about this trip. I was praying, desperately pleading with God, to find a way for my husband to go on this trip with us. The Lord stopped everything around me and in me and spoke so clearly, "This is YOUR trip." That's all He said, but that is all He needed to say. At that moment I knew it was time to stop praying for my husband and start praying for me. And so I did. And the result of those prayers is a deep longing and passion to see Haiti and meet the people that live there and, above all else, show them the love of Jesus. I just hope I do a good job. That is my fear. I feel too human.... so incapable of being Jesus' hands and feet. But that is what He has called me to do.
While we are away, I covet your prayers. Prayers for safety, of course. But also pray that we will allow ourselves to be used in whatever ways God has planned for us. Pray for Rob, Carl, Don, Jen, Colleen, Heather, Hannah, Erin, Kyle, Garrett, Ian, Zak, Conner, Ethan, and myself. Also pray for the families (Parents, Spouses, and Children) that will stay behind as we head out to serve.
“Then
I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for
us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’”
Isaiah 6:8
For more information on the organization we will be serving with, visit cpr-3.com
Also... I would like to, again, say thank you to all my sponsors that made this trip possible, financially!! I was so overwhelmed by the support I received!!
as many of you know, i am an only child. so when it comes to understanding the dynamics of siblings, well, i just don't. i love the "theory" of a sibling...a friend that knows you better than anyone else; someone who is always there; someone who drives you crazy one moment and is your best friend the next. but as far as the emotions go, i just don't know what it feels like. i think this may be one of the [many] reasons i enjoy watching the relationship between my two girls grow and blossom. last night my heart absolutely melted because of their sibling love.
eden got scared last night. she wanted to lay next to her door so she could see my room. so, i helped her get out of bed and got her set up on the floor. of course, her little shadow (the one we affectionately call Jada) hopped right out of bed and also wanted to sleep on the floor. she made her bed right next to her big sister. they spent many minutes talking about the important things in life (numbers, cell phones, etc...) and then i heard my sweet Jada's heart speak to her sister. eden asked her why she was sleeping on the floor. simply said, "because i don't want you to be scared."
these girls truly are the best of friends. yes, they fight, but their love for each other far outweighs the bad moments. it's fun to see them be best friends, but it's even better to hear their love verbalized!
