Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Good news! As I lay on my bed and write this, I am showered and clean. The men here at the compound have worked so, so hard today to get the system back up and running. That consisted of digging very large, very deep holes all over the ground to the main septic pipe. When we got back tonight, we couldn't wait to get clean. The water is cold and not a lot comes out (makes rinsing shampoo and conditioner out of a thick head of hair difficult), but no complaining here. It felt awesome. It was also awesome to use the bathroom in a toilet rather than....well, I'll spare you the details there. :) As long as you pour water from a big bucket into the bowl, it flushes just fine. We are just glad to have the water to do that today.
When we got to the orphanage this morning, the kids were in school. This teacher got excited to see how they do this. Last time I was here they weren't in school. Under the big tent on the orphanage ground, all of the 100 plus kids were split up into 8 groups. Each group had a chalkboard (of the sort) and a teacher. I told Emily that for their schooling to be so very different from the schooling my students get, I saw a lot of good and similar things going on. Kids were writing on small chalkboards, practicing multiplication facts on the boards, the younger ones were singing, and another group was up and moving around. If only I could understand what they were saying. I wanted to get in there so bad.
As soon as the kids got their break, it was on. Kids all around, just how I like it. We hung out with them for a little while until lunch time. That's when we headed back to the compound...Teacon with us of course...for some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Teacon goes everywhere we go. He's part of our family and it feels so natural having him with us. Falling more and more crazy about that kid by the minute. After lunch and getting a little rest, we grabbed a Gatorade from the gas station down the street and headed out to the land where Hope Rising will be built on. Our friend Fred who is with us until tomorrow had not seen it yet, so we took him there. I get excited about the future of that land.
After spending a few more hours with the kids playing and singing and taking "photos", it was time for dinner. The ladies here at the compound made us rice and goat. I learned that goat is a little bit more tough and chewier than chicken. We ate, cooled off and went back to take the kids juice and cookies. They love treats. :) They sit on their benches and wait so patiently, even though we know they are literally about to burst with excitement. As we hand them their snacks, we hear "Mersi" (thank you) in the sweetest little voices. Enough to melt your heart, I promise you that. Side note-I had some kids asking me tonight about the beach, using their arms to motion the waves. They still remember that trip. Makes my heart smile knowing that that afternoon made such an impact on their little lives. It did on mine too! I am so glad I was apart of that huge adventure. Unforgettable!
The sun left us quickly, and there is absolutely no lights on the ground. I hate how they just run around in the dark at night time. It is all they know though. As we told the kids goodnight, reassuring them that we will see them tomorrow, I grabbed up Egloose. He wrapped his arms and legs around me and squeezed so tight. I didn't at all want to put him down. As soon as I did, the tears began to flow. I missed him before I ever even left. I missed all of them before I even left. Bring on tomorrow.
When we got back we were exhausted. We took a quick, cold shower. Brushed our teeth with our bottled water spitting off the porch, and crawled into bed. This time, Teacon in bed right between Drew and Emily. He gets to stay the night for the rest of our stay, and we are so thankful for that. Especially his Mama and Papa. :) They put some clean jammies on our boy, and he's watching movies on Drew's computer until he falls asleep. All is great in our world tonight. Thankful for God's blessings in Haiti.
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Friday, March 15, 2013
Haiti-Day 1
Monday, March 11, 2013
For the first time I can remember, I had no problems whatsoever waking up before 5:00 am...without even the need for an alarm clock. For me, this can only mean one thing....Haiti. We were all up early. None of us slept great last night. Just very anxious and excited. I am so thankful to be on this trip with my family. I love that my family share in a love for Haiti, missions, and people. If only Josh were here...missing him badly!
We flew out of Dallas and arrived in Ft Lauderdale around noon...just in time to eat a piece of pizza and board our next flight to Port au Prince. At 3:00 pm (2:00 pm your time), we finally arrived in the very sunny, very hot Haiti...shedding jackets quickly. It was just as I last remembered. Lots of noise. Lots of people. Lots of yelling. Lots of Creole. And lots of horns honking. I love it. My energy level was on an immediate high. Our friend Ronald met us at the airport to show us to our car. We loaded up and were on the road to Leogane.
Let me just tell you about my brother in law, Drew. The boy has Haitian running through his blood, I just know it. Traffic, roads, and driving are a little different here in Haiti. You just go and do as you please. You don't use brakes, you use horns instead. If the left side of the road is open, by all means...drive down it. Just watch out for pedestrians darting out in the road and people hanging out of the back of Tap Taps. Drew was our fearless driver. I love that he drives like a Haitian man, knows where he's going, and didn't hit one pedestrian with our side mirrors. :)
On our way to Leogane, which is about 20 miles and takes a couple of hours to drive (see previous paragraph), we made a quick stop by the market. There, we grabbed some bread, peanut butter and jelly, Pringles, and a few other things to eat on while we're here. I love going to the market. The store is full of food with labels I couldn't begin to read or understand, yet know exactly what it is. I did grab a Dr Pepper. I definitely understood that label. :)
Before finally going to see our kids, we dropped our luggage off at the compound, which is where we sleep, eat, and shower. The people here are so sweet, hospitable, and take very good care of us. Thankful for them! After dropping our stuff off and visiting with our friends here, we headed to the orphanage. It's about a mile down a bumpy, dirty road from where we stay at the compound. I'll be honest, when we pulled up to the gate, I had butterflies. After almost two years, I was about to see my nephew and all the kids I had missed so badly for so long.
As we drove in, all of the kids were lined up against the concrete wall...smiling from ear to ear. I immediately walked over and began hugging them and saying, "Bon swa! Bon swa!" meaning "Good afternoon." I can't even explain the emotion that I felt. I just began crying and cupping their little faces in my hands. I saw some new faces, and recognized the other ones. Same sweet faces, just on taller bodies. I looked over and finally saw Teacon. I literally ran and skipped towards him. He was being held by his momma. I kissed all over his face and just cried and giggled with giddy excitement. Then I saw Egloose. Egloose was a little 5 year old boy who absolutely stole my heart the last time I was here. Leaving him devastated me, and I never really got over it. I hugged him so big...still crying...and all I could say was, "I love you, I love you, I love you!" He just smiled so big and grabbed my hand. He was by my side the rest of the night. We joined the kids on the wall. I had about 4 kids on my lap and 3 or so on each side of me. I also had a few sets of hands playing with and braiding my hair, about 5 hands in mine at the same time, and I was happier than could be.
After spending a couple of hours with them tonight, our friend Roody met us at the orphanage to take us out to eat. Roody is a God send of a friend to us. He loves his country, and he desires so much for the people here to know Jesus. We loaded up, with our main man Teacon, and went to a nice restaurant. We had fried chicken, plantain, and rice, and it was quite delicious. Emily put some food on a plate for Teacon, and he ate it up. He loved everything except for the carrots and green peas, which he picked out and put on Emily's plate. He is already so much fun. It's a good thing he doesn't seem to mind us staring at him...because we just watch him all the time. He's the sweetest most precious, most perfect, most beautiful boy. I love him so much.
We took Teacon back to the orphanage and then went to the compound to shower and crash. However, the showers and toilets are out of service, so we're just going to crash. "Roughin it Haiti" is what we like to call it. I am so happy to be here. My heart is overflowing with joy, and I am going to soak in every moment with them these next few days. But first...sleep.
For the first time I can remember, I had no problems whatsoever waking up before 5:00 am...without even the need for an alarm clock. For me, this can only mean one thing....Haiti. We were all up early. None of us slept great last night. Just very anxious and excited. I am so thankful to be on this trip with my family. I love that my family share in a love for Haiti, missions, and people. If only Josh were here...missing him badly!
We flew out of Dallas and arrived in Ft Lauderdale around noon...just in time to eat a piece of pizza and board our next flight to Port au Prince. At 3:00 pm (2:00 pm your time), we finally arrived in the very sunny, very hot Haiti...shedding jackets quickly. It was just as I last remembered. Lots of noise. Lots of people. Lots of yelling. Lots of Creole. And lots of horns honking. I love it. My energy level was on an immediate high. Our friend Ronald met us at the airport to show us to our car. We loaded up and were on the road to Leogane.
Let me just tell you about my brother in law, Drew. The boy has Haitian running through his blood, I just know it. Traffic, roads, and driving are a little different here in Haiti. You just go and do as you please. You don't use brakes, you use horns instead. If the left side of the road is open, by all means...drive down it. Just watch out for pedestrians darting out in the road and people hanging out of the back of Tap Taps. Drew was our fearless driver. I love that he drives like a Haitian man, knows where he's going, and didn't hit one pedestrian with our side mirrors. :)
On our way to Leogane, which is about 20 miles and takes a couple of hours to drive (see previous paragraph), we made a quick stop by the market. There, we grabbed some bread, peanut butter and jelly, Pringles, and a few other things to eat on while we're here. I love going to the market. The store is full of food with labels I couldn't begin to read or understand, yet know exactly what it is. I did grab a Dr Pepper. I definitely understood that label. :)
Before finally going to see our kids, we dropped our luggage off at the compound, which is where we sleep, eat, and shower. The people here are so sweet, hospitable, and take very good care of us. Thankful for them! After dropping our stuff off and visiting with our friends here, we headed to the orphanage. It's about a mile down a bumpy, dirty road from where we stay at the compound. I'll be honest, when we pulled up to the gate, I had butterflies. After almost two years, I was about to see my nephew and all the kids I had missed so badly for so long.
As we drove in, all of the kids were lined up against the concrete wall...smiling from ear to ear. I immediately walked over and began hugging them and saying, "Bon swa! Bon swa!" meaning "Good afternoon." I can't even explain the emotion that I felt. I just began crying and cupping their little faces in my hands. I saw some new faces, and recognized the other ones. Same sweet faces, just on taller bodies. I looked over and finally saw Teacon. I literally ran and skipped towards him. He was being held by his momma. I kissed all over his face and just cried and giggled with giddy excitement. Then I saw Egloose. Egloose was a little 5 year old boy who absolutely stole my heart the last time I was here. Leaving him devastated me, and I never really got over it. I hugged him so big...still crying...and all I could say was, "I love you, I love you, I love you!" He just smiled so big and grabbed my hand. He was by my side the rest of the night. We joined the kids on the wall. I had about 4 kids on my lap and 3 or so on each side of me. I also had a few sets of hands playing with and braiding my hair, about 5 hands in mine at the same time, and I was happier than could be.
After spending a couple of hours with them tonight, our friend Roody met us at the orphanage to take us out to eat. Roody is a God send of a friend to us. He loves his country, and he desires so much for the people here to know Jesus. We loaded up, with our main man Teacon, and went to a nice restaurant. We had fried chicken, plantain, and rice, and it was quite delicious. Emily put some food on a plate for Teacon, and he ate it up. He loved everything except for the carrots and green peas, which he picked out and put on Emily's plate. He is already so much fun. It's a good thing he doesn't seem to mind us staring at him...because we just watch him all the time. He's the sweetest most precious, most perfect, most beautiful boy. I love him so much.
We took Teacon back to the orphanage and then went to the compound to shower and crash. However, the showers and toilets are out of service, so we're just going to crash. "Roughin it Haiti" is what we like to call it. I am so happy to be here. My heart is overflowing with joy, and I am going to soak in every moment with them these next few days. But first...sleep.
Friday, March 8, 2013
Love.
Ha. I really got a kick out of my title for this post. As I typed it, I thought that after my last blog, you all were sure to think I was at it again about love and relationships. Humor me. I assure you, this blog is about a different kind of love. Not the kind of love that leaves you with butterflies and the warm fuzzies, but the kind of love that leaves us serving others, caring for others, and meeting the needs of others. Unselfishly.
I've said it over and over again that what I love most about my job is that I get to use the Bible as a textbook. It is the ultimate History book. We get to open the Bible everyday and learn from it's complete goodness, which was created specifically for our lives. How cool is that? One of my favorite stories in the Bible is the story of Joseph. We have a lot to learn from him. What an example of faith, trust, forgivness, patience, and love Joseph is. My kids have LOVED it. "Keep reading!" "Can we read the next chapter today?" "Miss Hurt, this reminds me of Joseph!" Not even kidding, it's awesome.
After he saw his brothers again for the first time in years...we are finally to the part where Joseph is reunited with his father, Jacob. Talk about a family reunion. Joseph wrapped his arms around his father's neck and wept. And wept. And wept. He was filled with SO much love for his father and his brothers (the brothers who sold him into slavery and lied about his existance) that he gave them the best land and a plentiful amount of food for themselves and others. Now considering what all Joseph had been through in his lifetime, loving "unselfishly" could have been his last motive. But, when our hearts are so in love with Jesus, it's our only motive.
I'm really sad for you that you were not here for our talk yesterday about how we can love people who are less fortunate than us or handicapped. I'll do my best to share with you from the hearts and mouths of my third graders. I was just really blessed by them. What's new? The Lord never fails to teach me so much through these kids.
Here are some of their responses when asked how they can show love like Jesus:
"I can take a homeless person some food...like canned tomatoes."
"I can give someone money to buy an apartment."
"I'm going to save all of my toys until they become antique. Then I'll sell them for a lot of money, and give that money to people who need it."
"I can help someone who is handicapped with their groceries in the parking lot."
"I can write a card telling someone how much Jesus loves them."
"I can invite the homeless to church. My church doesn't charge to get in."
"I can go hang out with the elderly in the nursing home."
"I can help people cross the street by stopping the traffic."
"I can go through all of my toys and give the ones I don't play with to kids who don't have any."
I'd say they get it. As they were sharing, I couldn't help but think of what ways I show love to people in need. Unselfishly. When was the last time I blessed a homeless person on the street corner with some food or coffee or loose change right by my window. When was the last time I helped someone put groceries in their car. When was the last time I invited someone to church with me...we don't charge visitors either. :) When was the last time I gave my "goods" that I don't need anymore to someone who could use them. When was the last time I just simply told someone how loved they are by Christ. Think with me.
My charge to you (and myself) is to get out, and love more. Unselfishly. The world would be such a brigter place. I have a hard time believing we could go judge, condem, or be hateful after being the hands and voice of Jesus. Give back to God what is God...which is love. Give yourself without reservation. Jesus says in Mark chapter 12 to "love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strenth...and to love your neighbor as yourself." There are no greater commandments than those right there. So, in the words of the legendary Beatles themselves, "All you need is love." Let's do this. Let's share the gospel with our lives and our words.
I've said it over and over again that what I love most about my job is that I get to use the Bible as a textbook. It is the ultimate History book. We get to open the Bible everyday and learn from it's complete goodness, which was created specifically for our lives. How cool is that? One of my favorite stories in the Bible is the story of Joseph. We have a lot to learn from him. What an example of faith, trust, forgivness, patience, and love Joseph is. My kids have LOVED it. "Keep reading!" "Can we read the next chapter today?" "Miss Hurt, this reminds me of Joseph!" Not even kidding, it's awesome.
After he saw his brothers again for the first time in years...we are finally to the part where Joseph is reunited with his father, Jacob. Talk about a family reunion. Joseph wrapped his arms around his father's neck and wept. And wept. And wept. He was filled with SO much love for his father and his brothers (the brothers who sold him into slavery and lied about his existance) that he gave them the best land and a plentiful amount of food for themselves and others. Now considering what all Joseph had been through in his lifetime, loving "unselfishly" could have been his last motive. But, when our hearts are so in love with Jesus, it's our only motive.
I'm really sad for you that you were not here for our talk yesterday about how we can love people who are less fortunate than us or handicapped. I'll do my best to share with you from the hearts and mouths of my third graders. I was just really blessed by them. What's new? The Lord never fails to teach me so much through these kids.
Here are some of their responses when asked how they can show love like Jesus:
"I can take a homeless person some food...like canned tomatoes."
"I can give someone money to buy an apartment."
"I'm going to save all of my toys until they become antique. Then I'll sell them for a lot of money, and give that money to people who need it."
"I can help someone who is handicapped with their groceries in the parking lot."
"I can write a card telling someone how much Jesus loves them."
"I can invite the homeless to church. My church doesn't charge to get in."
"I can go hang out with the elderly in the nursing home."
"I can help people cross the street by stopping the traffic."
"I can go through all of my toys and give the ones I don't play with to kids who don't have any."
I'd say they get it. As they were sharing, I couldn't help but think of what ways I show love to people in need. Unselfishly. When was the last time I blessed a homeless person on the street corner with some food or coffee or loose change right by my window. When was the last time I helped someone put groceries in their car. When was the last time I invited someone to church with me...we don't charge visitors either. :) When was the last time I gave my "goods" that I don't need anymore to someone who could use them. When was the last time I just simply told someone how loved they are by Christ. Think with me.
My charge to you (and myself) is to get out, and love more. Unselfishly. The world would be such a brigter place. I have a hard time believing we could go judge, condem, or be hateful after being the hands and voice of Jesus. Give back to God what is God...which is love. Give yourself without reservation. Jesus says in Mark chapter 12 to "love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strenth...and to love your neighbor as yourself." There are no greater commandments than those right there. So, in the words of the legendary Beatles themselves, "All you need is love." Let's do this. Let's share the gospel with our lives and our words.
Monday, March 4, 2013
The Bachelor and Katie.
The Bachelor. Ahhhh. After reading those two words I'm sure there were many thoughts like, "Those girls are crazy" or "I just don't know why anyone would think they could find love like that" or "My goodness, Tierra is a mental case." You know it's true. No one talks about the show and admits to it being a legit way to find your soulmate. Maybe a legit way to find some fame and attention from random strangers who you will never meet, but no way to find love.
I'm guilty and watch the show. You're shocked right now. I know! In fact, I haven't missed an episode. I haven't missed many in the past seasons either. If you know me, you already know this and accept it. Thank you. :) Is it because I'm such a sucker for a good love story and think it's the most romantic thing in the world? Nope, not at all. Don't get me wrong, I do love love stories (shout out to Nicholas Sparks), but that's not what I find interesting about The Bachelor. I pick a girl, and then I watch to see if she's the final one. I get into it. It's a game. And that is why in the back of my mind, I can't help but feel sad for these girls.
I'm single, so I somewhat feel like I can relate. Minus the ridiculous drama! Just like me, these girls obviously desire and look forward to finding someone to love and do life with. I get it. What makes me sad is that they get to such a hopeless point in their "singleness" that reality television seems like the only other option left. Never mind the fact that their hearts, which are so treasured by God Himself are put out on the table to not be treated with care the way Christ desires...and more than likely by someone God never intended on them marrying in the first place. See where I'm going with this? Girls...we can't be so impatient and vulnerable.
This is the point where writing my thoughts and heart on the subject matter can become cheesy and cliche. However, God has better plans that are totally worth waiting for. It's just how it is. As a believer, I don't have to feel the need to take this area of my life into my own hands. I don't have to feel hopeless, or lonely, or unloved, or even single. I get to be married to Christ, and He protects my heart way better than any guy out there. I get this time with Him as He prepares me to meet and adore and love and respect my husband with my whole heart. That's just exciting stuff right there. And let me just add that I think my guy will be way hotter than Sean Lowe. ;)
The Bachelor is entertaining, I'll give it that. But I hope and pray it doesn't paint an unrealistic picture to young girls out there of what falling in love looks like. Let's focus on falling in love with Christ and our relationship with Him, and He promises us the desires of our hearts. That being someone who will pursue God first, us next. Someone who's heart for the Lord trumps any amount of muscle on his body. No games. No competing for attention. No doubts or questions. Don't settle. Don't take the search into your own hands. You might miss something during the wait. :)
#teamchristine
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