Before I jump into the crazy incredible week that happened a couple of weeks ago, I just wanted to take a moment to dedicate this post to a very special person who the Lord recently called home a little over a month ago. Aunt Betty Jane - you will always have a special place in my heart, and I'm so grateful that we were able to share a passion for travel together. I wish I could share this experience with you in person, but I know you were watching the entire thing unravel from above!
We landed in Port-au-Prince (capital of Haiti) and for some reason I was super nervous stepping off the plane, but that feeling fled pretty quickly as I walked out of the airport to pretty loud and obnoxious cheers from my new teammates :-) We had about an hour bus ride from the airport to our location for the week, and during this bus ride I felt like I was brought straight back to Africa. The sights, the people, the smells (GOSH the smells); everywhere I looked I was reminded of Mozambique. I had such a rush of emotions at my first sight of Haiti because of the wonderful experience I had last summer in Africa. I left a part of my heart at that orphanage in Mozambique last summer, and now I can tell you that another part of my heart was left in Haiti. That may or may not be a dangerous and potentially expensive habit I am forming haha.
I feel like I've been rambling and haven't really told you anything yet - sorry, my bad! I'm having trouble just thinking where to even begin here....... I've been putting off writing this post for about a month now, fearful that I wouldn't have the words to accurately describe such a powerful and awesome experience. SO, let's start with some pictures ---
One of my favorite things to do when visiting a foreign country is to experience their culture. You're probably thinking... "Kath - that's not very hard to do when you go to said country", but there is just something different about an experience when you go and live with the locals. Nothing says let me experience your country more than staying in someone's home. And I just love that. I loved it in Argentina. I loved it in France. I loved it in Africa, and now I can say that I loved it in Haiti. AIM has such great contacts in Haiti, and I am so grateful for that! One of their contacts, John, continues to graciously offer his home as a home stay for the mission teams that continue to pour into Haiti. It takes an incredibly strong and dedicated person to have a constant flow of strangers in your home, so a big thank you to John and his humble family for hosting us all for the week. John also has a really awesome ministry in Haiti that continues to do awesome things for the children there!! Check it out!
To paint you a picture, this was our view every morning from the roof...
I mean, wow. Look at that view, and this picture hardly does it justice.
It was super hot and humid when we were down there. Duh - it was August! But by hot I really mean that I sweat so much in one week that I came back to the US five pounds lighter. But hey, a little sweat is good for the soul! We did a ton of walking up and down what seemed like mountains so the whole week was actually really good exercise. Because it was so hot we ended up sleeping on the roof (see above). **Shannon, I sense you are too close to the edge in this photo ;-)** I can tell you that nothing compares to falling asleep looking at the stars and being awakened by the hollering of roosters. I'm sitting here chuckling at some of the thoughts that were running through my head when I was awakened that first morning by roosters and wondering where in the heck I was! I also saw three shooting stars all in one night. Bucket list CHECK! In all seriousness though, this rooftop was and is incredible, and it was super cool to be able to have such an awesome spot to reflect on experiences and admire the landscape of Haiti.
We also went without running water and electricity (for the most part) for the entire week. Yes, this was definitely a change of pace, but I actually rather enjoyed it (except for the first two days when I was afraid to go to the bathroom, but I will spare you all the details LOL...). We used a bucket of water to shower and a bucket of water to flush the toilet. There was no sink to wash our hands either. Oh, and there's no flushing of the toilet paper - that is a big no-no! Call me crazy, but I am very grateful to be able to experience this for an entire week. There is electricity in the houses, but the government only turns it on during certain times of the day, so unless you have a backup generator you will most likely only have power at certain times during the day. Again, I was unprepared without a flashlight. Haha oops. There was a wonderful man named Alexis that stayed at John's house with us that made sure we never ran out of water. There was a well directly outside of John's house that Alexis would draw water from what seemed like hourly throughout the day and he would carry multiple buckets in and out of the house all day long. Alexis was a joy to be around. I have so much respect for this man as he is a true example of how to serve others in love. He is such a strong and humble person, and although we faced a language barrier he was just a pleasure to be near. No matter the time, Alexis will always greet you with a smile.
Did I mention this week was awesome already? We had the opportunity to do so many cool things, again, I don't even know where to start. Perhaps my favorite experience was the time we were able to spend at a nearby orphanage. It's hard to describe, but I get such a joy out of loving on orphans and spending time with them. It just fills up my heart to see their smiling faces, every one of them. They just really pull on my heart strings. One of the boys reminded me so much of one of Laura's boys in Africa - his smile just melts my heart...
Say hello to Shenidah (or Schneider or however you spell Haitian names..). He is 11 years old and makes his home at the orphanage. He's got a heart of gold, a passion for helping others, and his English isn't half bad! He's pretty crafty with a soccer ball as well. Spending just a few hours with this precious boy made this entire trip worth it for me.
This orphanage was a little different from the one I know in Africa in that I mainly noted that these kids didn't really have many toys to play with and that made me a little sad! I know there to be a complete random assortment of toys in Africa that many people from all over the world have donated, but this orphanage in Haiti only seemed to have a few benches and chairs. Granted, we really only stayed in one part of the orphanage when we were there, but I guess I just expected them to have a ball to play with or something. With that being said, the kids were completely ecstatic when we handed out toys and brought bubbles, and etc. Above all though, the children just loved sitting next to you and holding your hand. It brought me such joy to be able to give them that, if only for a few hours. They are all so loving and have such a gentle touch.
Those that know me know how much I love sports. To be able to share my passion for sports with the Haitian children was also very cool for me. We had multiple chances to play soccer, sorry FUTBOL, with them, and I loved every second of it!
The week was also full of opportunities to minister to the surrounding community, which was equally as awesome as spending time with the children. God showed up and guided our walk step-by-step, quite literally sometimes! We spent a lot of time walking around the neighborhood, visiting people's homes, praying over people, and just witnessing God in action. We were very fortunate to have a couple of wonderful translators with our group guiding us around. Billy and Wendell were our two main translators for the week, and they did such a fantastic job the entire time. They didn't miss a beat! I'm still impressed with their ability to not only completely convey all of our messages, but to also convey it with the same compassion and love in which we were trying to convey to the people of Haiti. I realize how much the Lord has blessed me with the ability to communicate in a different language, and I can tell you that it is incredibly difficult to translate, let alone to do it without pause or hesitation. I am so thankful that we were able to work with such gifted translators, who are both also stand up guys! I especially enjoyed getting to know Billy (pictured below) and hear a little bit about his story. I know God has big plans for him in the future.
I have so many stories I could refer back to right now about our time spent out in the neighborhood, but for the sake of time I will stick with two experiences in particular that really left a mark on me.
It was on our first full day in Haiti that we were out on a prayer walk in the morning when Emily noticed a woman waving us back to her house to come see her. My heart immediately went out to her as I turned around and saw the sight of her home -- still missing a complete wall from the effects of the earthquake. There was a tarp half hanging off where a concrete wall would normally be. However, this seemed like the least of her problems. Just take a second and imagine what it would be like missing an entire side of your house. Billy did the introductions and we got to talking to this woman very quickly. Her name is Judit, and we also met her two small children and her niece. Judit is a beautiful, strong, courageous, forgiving, family-driven, God-fearing woman. A quick synopsis -- Judit left her home shortly after a natural disaster struck leaving her home in disarray (It was either the earthquake in 2010 or hurricane sandy in 2012 -- sorry my memory is just terrible sometimes). She came back to her home about a year later to find her husband living in their home with another woman. She came home to a husband that now believed in polygamy and was told that she could either accept it or move on. Things spiraled downwards from there. She has since been secluded to basically one room in her house, which coincidentally is also the room with the missing wall. Her husband refuses to be committed to one woman, and continues to commit to this other woman and allow her to live in their household. He has become violent and abusive towards Judit as she showed us the many scars on her body from him. Even the other woman has become physically violent with her. Aside from the physical violence, she has also had to deal with the emotional warfare between her and her husband and this other woman. I can't imagine what it's like to wake up every morning and feel that you are unworthy of your husband's attention and commitment. That is a battle in and of itself. Now throw in the two small children, whom are both under the age of probably eight, and you've got just a really heartbreaking situation. Not to mention the fact that her husband has been involved with the practice of voodoo, and Judit just will not stand for that. She has tried to reconcile with her husband, but he doesn't want to seem to change. Judit does not have the money to pay for a lawyer to resolve the situation so she has gone day by day in this situation for quite some time now.
After speaking with Judit for about 20 minutes I was utterly speechless. My heart was breaking for her and her children. We then prayed with Judit, and it was a prayer I will never forget. It wasn't long before I was in tears. Amidst all of her struggles, Judit has a fire in her that just keeps fueling her and that fire is the Lord. She is hopeful, persevering, and faithful in the eye of the storm. She is an incredible woman. She is an overcomer. Below is a picture of part of our group with Judit, her children, and her niece.
When our entire group reconvened later that same day Judit was still on our minds so we decided to try and visit her again later in the week. After one failed attempt we were fortunately able to meet her again, this time with our entire group. After we had initially spoken with Judit and we had tried to give her the best advice we could think of, she was empowered to go downtown and speak with a judge to see what her legal options are. In Haiti, marriage certificates (the physical paper) are very important and in this case would be enough proof for Judit to win this battle. Judit has her marriage certificate, but the problem is that she does not have money to pay anyone to resolve the situation (i.e. a lawyer). Upon hearing this we recommended that she go speak to a judge to see if the court would appoint a lawyer for her. When we spoke with her the second time around we asked for an update on the situation to see if anything had come to fruition from her visit with the judge. Turns out the judge that Judit saw was unable to help her, but through a string of people she was recommended a lawyer for her to go and see. She then visited that lawyer whom agreed to help her for the sum of $500 USD. Upon leaving Judit knew she did not have $500 to pay this man, but somehow collected about $200 and returned to the lawyer in hopes that he would have the heart to lower his asking price. The grace of God is a wonderful thing. The lawyer decided to help Judit by drawing up a subpoena that would be delivered to her husband by the police. The document basically stated that her husband had two days to remove this other woman from their household or an arrest warrant would be issued. As Billy was translating all of this not only were we all astonished at just how quickly all of this had transpired, but Billy was reiterating the fact that he is all very familiar with the legal system in Haiti and that this indeed is a miracle (which made it all even cooler to hear!). Glory to God. He can certainly move the mountains! I wish I had an update to give you about Judit now. I wish I could visit with her right now to see how she is doing, but I am 100% confident that she is maintaining the right perspective, attitude, and faithful fortitude. I am 100% confident that God will rain his favor upon her and her family and that she will one day be rewarded tenfold. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
One of the longstanding traditions in Haiti has been the practice of voodoo. Sorry - I don't currently have the energy to get into the history of all of that, nor do I really want to. For the purposes of this story, I'll just say that this practice is still pretty popular in Haiti. On this particular day, our group had split into two groups again to go out and reach the neighborhood. It was by far the hottest day of the week. Hot is probably not even the word. The group I was with this day was led by our translator Wendell, who God bless his soul, felt compelled to lead our group up and up mountains as we were walking around. Notice I said up and up. I don't recall ever walking down a hill that day haha. I also almost stepped on a tarantula that day, nbd. Anyway, we met some really awesome people that day, but by the end of the morning I think we were all ready for a nap. Just as we were heading back to John's house we decided to stop by this one house with several people sitting outside. As we approached this house something just didn't feel right. It was as if we were led to this house to refuel our energy tanks and our fire for what remained of the week. There was an extended family of about 10 all congregated outside and working, and we soon learned that they believed in the practice of voodoo and they made that central to their being by worshipping other gods and practicing this witchcraft. I don't even really have the words to describe the feeling I had standing there in the presence of this family. I was really uneasy. It's not that I felt unsafe, but I was definitely ready to flee from this family at the first moment possible. I just got this really dark, unsatisfying, unfulfilling, wicked feeling from this house and this family. God definitely reinforced something to me that day - that satan is very real and that dark cloud that I felt hanging over that house and that family is not even one one-hundreth of the realms of Hell. Satan is the king of lies. The good news is that we have a living God, that through His grace we can be forgiven of all our sins. We tried to help that family to hear the truth that day, but they weren't interested in changing their ways. The strange thing is, is that they knew all about Jesus and didn't deny him, but they were so engrossed in their practicing of voodoo that they just didn't care to know Him. It angers me, it confuses me, but most of all it breaks my heart that some people are just so apathetic when it comes to where they will spend eternity. For me, this experience served as a good reminder to stay focused on the truth. So often we get wrapped up in worldly things that we forget what really matters. My uncle recently introduced me to this video by Francis Chan that I think is really great -- click here. I feel like God used meeting this family in Haiti to remind me to keep my eye on the finish line.
Judit and this other Haitian family certainly made a lasting impression on me, but they were only two of many. I don't even have the words to describe the stories we heard and the sights we saw, the poverty, the sickness, the poorness, the strength, the courage, the happiness, and the joy of the Haitian people. We were also fortunate to be hooked up with an awesome church for the week where we were able to lead multiple VBS lessons and church services. Several teammates shared their testimonies at the church services, and I want to thank each and every one of you for having the courage to reach others with your heart-gripping stories. You know who you are :-)
Another highlight during the week was this really awesome moment we had interacting with one of John's neighbors. As we were hanging out on the roof getting ready to go to church for the evening, we overheard this young girl singing a song in Haitian Creole. Bless the Lord oh my soul, oh my soul, worship His holy name... we knew the song so we started singing back. Then she sang back in Creole. Then we sang back again. Then about a minute passed and she started singing back to us, this time in English. We were in awe. I'm still in awe. God does not need a translator. Can I get an amen!
The entire week really flew by, and it seemed like we were saying goodbye as soon as we got there and got settled. On our last full day we ended up having a really nice team lunch at a beautiful resort about an hour from where we were staying. We also got the chance to go to the beach later that day. Love me some turquoise water!!! Would it be a vacation if I wasn't sick at all? Probably not. My body timed it perfectly so that I wasn't feeling well the day we went to the beach (ha - go figure), but nonetheless it was still an awesome time! All I have to say is God bless the person's soul who invented pepto bismol! The beach was WAY different from what I expected, mainly that there really was no beach LOL. Picture a large concrete platform with picnic tables and music (music was bumpin BTW!) and lots of people. There was an opening with a couple of steps and boom you were in the water. No sand :-)
I would be remiss if I didn't mention the fact that our group had a fantastic leader for the week in Shannon. I've talked about this topic before, but I am going to say it again. It takes a really special person to dedicate their life to mission work, and for the past few years Shannon has done just that. I've learned that it's hard, nearly impossible rather, to understand all of the sacrifices that are involved with being a missionary until you actually go and live it out. I still don't even really know what it's like, and I've done it a few times; the difference being I take a couple weeks off from work here and there and then return to my job, whereas people like Shannon make this their life, trusting the Lord to provide for them financially 24/7. Shannon, I am so thankful that you are so faithful in listening and following God. I am so thankful that you so freely share what God has put on your heart. I am so thankful that I was led to Haiti to meet you, and I am so excited to see what will come to fruition for you next! You are also the only person I know in this world that knows every word to every verse to How Great Thou Art. Rock on girl! You are a superstar.
I was talking to one of the pastors at my church a couple of weekends ago about the upcoming missions trips, and he said to me, "You better be careful. God keeps spreading you out everywhere, you might not come back!" I laughed, and in my head I was thinking, "Yea, you're probably right." Just yesterday morning a different pastor was talking about the book "Don't Waste Your Life" by John Piper (which I also recommend!) and as he dropped down his copy on the floor he said, "Here's a free copy to anyone who promises to become a missionary." Needless to say, it took every ounce of energy in my body to NOT stand up and go grab the book. Coming back from Haiti, it's just very clear to me that my heart is in missions, and missions is where I want my life to leave a lasting imprint. I think it's definitely only a matter of time before I'm signing up for the World Race, but until then I will continue to keep my eyes open for short-term mission opportunities because it just feeds my soul. That sounds so corny haha but it's totally true. I've been very antsy since returning from Haiti simply because as soon as I returned I was already ready to go back and do it all over again. Immediately. I also had to pull in the reigns recently as I had a near "sign-me-up" moment to go to Cambodia the last week of October, but the timing just didn't seem right. For now, I am trusting that the Lord will lead me to the right opportunities, spiritually and financially. God's timing is perfect in anything and everything. Serving the poor and loving on sweet sweet orphaned children is infinitely more satisfying, fulfilling, and enjoyable than anything I've ever done in my life.
To my fellow team members - Emily, Dave, Brittine, Jessica, Lyndsey, Shekina, Reilly, Bryanna, Charla, and Shannon - what an absolute pleasure it has been to be able to do life with you all for a week. We had so many great conversations and so many laughs together. I will always remember all of the precious moments we shared - the awesome conversations and time we spent on that incredible rooftop, playing with the Haitian children, doing home visits, hearing your amazing testimonies and life stories, and really just enjoying fellowship with each and every one of you. I have some really special memories that I will always hold near and dear to my heart! Thank you for being such a big part in making this missions trip a special one for me. I am so thankful the Lord brought us all together for the week, and I am excited to see how He will use our time together in Haiti in each of us going forward. Love to you all!
A couple of weeks ago I went on a missions trip to Haiti with an organization called Adventures in Missions (AIM for short).
As I look back on the timing of everything now, I am so grateful how everything just rapidly unfolded in perfect timing. I was familiar with AIM because I know a couple of people that have gone on the world race (11 countries in 11 months), and I just figured one day at the end of June that I would browse the website not thinking anything of it. As I was about to exit my browser, this one trip caught my eye. Normally when I go on a trip somewhere I research everything like CRAZY and take a substantial amount of time to make any decisions. This time was very different - as soon as I saw it I knew I wanted to, needed to go. I barely even read through everything on the AIM website before deciding that I would be there. I think I ended up signing up on the very last day to sign up, so AMEN for great timing. I can't imagine now not having had this experience!!
As I look back on the timing of everything now, I am so grateful how everything just rapidly unfolded in perfect timing. I was familiar with AIM because I know a couple of people that have gone on the world race (11 countries in 11 months), and I just figured one day at the end of June that I would browse the website not thinking anything of it. As I was about to exit my browser, this one trip caught my eye. Normally when I go on a trip somewhere I research everything like CRAZY and take a substantial amount of time to make any decisions. This time was very different - as soon as I saw it I knew I wanted to, needed to go. I barely even read through everything on the AIM website before deciding that I would be there. I think I ended up signing up on the very last day to sign up, so AMEN for great timing. I can't imagine now not having had this experience!!
I hopped on a plane and went to Haiti on August 24th knowing very little about anything that the week would bring and with basically no expectations, but expectant that upon arrival something awesome would happen. And it did, and it didn't take very long either. No surprise there! We were blessed with such an awesome group of people all around - from the AIM contacts in Haiti, to our group leader, to the members of our team - everyone was really great. We had a group of 10 people (me, Lyndsey, Charla, Shekina, Reilly, Bryanna, Brittine, Jessica, Dave, and last but certainly not least Emily). Y'all rock!!! And special thanks to our group leader, Shannon, who because of her, I can't stop saying the word "y'all". It's no secret that I love, love, LOVE to travel, and everywhere I've visited has for the most part been with different groups of people. I love the bond of friendship that experiences like this can build, and I feel so blessed to have come home with some wonderful new friendships.
We landed in Port-au-Prince (capital of Haiti) and for some reason I was super nervous stepping off the plane, but that feeling fled pretty quickly as I walked out of the airport to pretty loud and obnoxious cheers from my new teammates :-) We had about an hour bus ride from the airport to our location for the week, and during this bus ride I felt like I was brought straight back to Africa. The sights, the people, the smells (GOSH the smells); everywhere I looked I was reminded of Mozambique. I had such a rush of emotions at my first sight of Haiti because of the wonderful experience I had last summer in Africa. I left a part of my heart at that orphanage in Mozambique last summer, and now I can tell you that another part of my heart was left in Haiti. That may or may not be a dangerous and potentially expensive habit I am forming haha.
I feel like I've been rambling and haven't really told you anything yet - sorry, my bad! I'm having trouble just thinking where to even begin here....... I've been putting off writing this post for about a month now, fearful that I wouldn't have the words to accurately describe such a powerful and awesome experience. SO, let's start with some pictures ---
One of my favorite things to do when visiting a foreign country is to experience their culture. You're probably thinking... "Kath - that's not very hard to do when you go to said country", but there is just something different about an experience when you go and live with the locals. Nothing says let me experience your country more than staying in someone's home. And I just love that. I loved it in Argentina. I loved it in France. I loved it in Africa, and now I can say that I loved it in Haiti. AIM has such great contacts in Haiti, and I am so grateful for that! One of their contacts, John, continues to graciously offer his home as a home stay for the mission teams that continue to pour into Haiti. It takes an incredibly strong and dedicated person to have a constant flow of strangers in your home, so a big thank you to John and his humble family for hosting us all for the week. John also has a really awesome ministry in Haiti that continues to do awesome things for the children there!! Check it out!
To paint you a picture, this was our view every morning from the roof...
I mean, wow. Look at that view, and this picture hardly does it justice.
It was super hot and humid when we were down there. Duh - it was August! But by hot I really mean that I sweat so much in one week that I came back to the US five pounds lighter. But hey, a little sweat is good for the soul! We did a ton of walking up and down what seemed like mountains so the whole week was actually really good exercise. Because it was so hot we ended up sleeping on the roof (see above). **Shannon, I sense you are too close to the edge in this photo ;-)** I can tell you that nothing compares to falling asleep looking at the stars and being awakened by the hollering of roosters. I'm sitting here chuckling at some of the thoughts that were running through my head when I was awakened that first morning by roosters and wondering where in the heck I was! I also saw three shooting stars all in one night. Bucket list CHECK! In all seriousness though, this rooftop was and is incredible, and it was super cool to be able to have such an awesome spot to reflect on experiences and admire the landscape of Haiti.
We also went without running water and electricity (for the most part) for the entire week. Yes, this was definitely a change of pace, but I actually rather enjoyed it (except for the first two days when I was afraid to go to the bathroom, but I will spare you all the details LOL...). We used a bucket of water to shower and a bucket of water to flush the toilet. There was no sink to wash our hands either. Oh, and there's no flushing of the toilet paper - that is a big no-no! Call me crazy, but I am very grateful to be able to experience this for an entire week. There is electricity in the houses, but the government only turns it on during certain times of the day, so unless you have a backup generator you will most likely only have power at certain times during the day. Again, I was unprepared without a flashlight. Haha oops. There was a wonderful man named Alexis that stayed at John's house with us that made sure we never ran out of water. There was a well directly outside of John's house that Alexis would draw water from what seemed like hourly throughout the day and he would carry multiple buckets in and out of the house all day long. Alexis was a joy to be around. I have so much respect for this man as he is a true example of how to serve others in love. He is such a strong and humble person, and although we faced a language barrier he was just a pleasure to be near. No matter the time, Alexis will always greet you with a smile.
Did I mention this week was awesome already? We had the opportunity to do so many cool things, again, I don't even know where to start. Perhaps my favorite experience was the time we were able to spend at a nearby orphanage. It's hard to describe, but I get such a joy out of loving on orphans and spending time with them. It just fills up my heart to see their smiling faces, every one of them. They just really pull on my heart strings. One of the boys reminded me so much of one of Laura's boys in Africa - his smile just melts my heart...
Say hello to Shenidah (or Schneider or however you spell Haitian names..). He is 11 years old and makes his home at the orphanage. He's got a heart of gold, a passion for helping others, and his English isn't half bad! He's pretty crafty with a soccer ball as well. Spending just a few hours with this precious boy made this entire trip worth it for me.
This orphanage was a little different from the one I know in Africa in that I mainly noted that these kids didn't really have many toys to play with and that made me a little sad! I know there to be a complete random assortment of toys in Africa that many people from all over the world have donated, but this orphanage in Haiti only seemed to have a few benches and chairs. Granted, we really only stayed in one part of the orphanage when we were there, but I guess I just expected them to have a ball to play with or something. With that being said, the kids were completely ecstatic when we handed out toys and brought bubbles, and etc. Above all though, the children just loved sitting next to you and holding your hand. It brought me such joy to be able to give them that, if only for a few hours. They are all so loving and have such a gentle touch.
Those that know me know how much I love sports. To be able to share my passion for sports with the Haitian children was also very cool for me. We had multiple chances to play soccer, sorry FUTBOL, with them, and I loved every second of it!
The week was also full of opportunities to minister to the surrounding community, which was equally as awesome as spending time with the children. God showed up and guided our walk step-by-step, quite literally sometimes! We spent a lot of time walking around the neighborhood, visiting people's homes, praying over people, and just witnessing God in action. We were very fortunate to have a couple of wonderful translators with our group guiding us around. Billy and Wendell were our two main translators for the week, and they did such a fantastic job the entire time. They didn't miss a beat! I'm still impressed with their ability to not only completely convey all of our messages, but to also convey it with the same compassion and love in which we were trying to convey to the people of Haiti. I realize how much the Lord has blessed me with the ability to communicate in a different language, and I can tell you that it is incredibly difficult to translate, let alone to do it without pause or hesitation. I am so thankful that we were able to work with such gifted translators, who are both also stand up guys! I especially enjoyed getting to know Billy (pictured below) and hear a little bit about his story. I know God has big plans for him in the future.
I have so many stories I could refer back to right now about our time spent out in the neighborhood, but for the sake of time I will stick with two experiences in particular that really left a mark on me.
It was on our first full day in Haiti that we were out on a prayer walk in the morning when Emily noticed a woman waving us back to her house to come see her. My heart immediately went out to her as I turned around and saw the sight of her home -- still missing a complete wall from the effects of the earthquake. There was a tarp half hanging off where a concrete wall would normally be. However, this seemed like the least of her problems. Just take a second and imagine what it would be like missing an entire side of your house. Billy did the introductions and we got to talking to this woman very quickly. Her name is Judit, and we also met her two small children and her niece. Judit is a beautiful, strong, courageous, forgiving, family-driven, God-fearing woman. A quick synopsis -- Judit left her home shortly after a natural disaster struck leaving her home in disarray (It was either the earthquake in 2010 or hurricane sandy in 2012 -- sorry my memory is just terrible sometimes). She came back to her home about a year later to find her husband living in their home with another woman. She came home to a husband that now believed in polygamy and was told that she could either accept it or move on. Things spiraled downwards from there. She has since been secluded to basically one room in her house, which coincidentally is also the room with the missing wall. Her husband refuses to be committed to one woman, and continues to commit to this other woman and allow her to live in their household. He has become violent and abusive towards Judit as she showed us the many scars on her body from him. Even the other woman has become physically violent with her. Aside from the physical violence, she has also had to deal with the emotional warfare between her and her husband and this other woman. I can't imagine what it's like to wake up every morning and feel that you are unworthy of your husband's attention and commitment. That is a battle in and of itself. Now throw in the two small children, whom are both under the age of probably eight, and you've got just a really heartbreaking situation. Not to mention the fact that her husband has been involved with the practice of voodoo, and Judit just will not stand for that. She has tried to reconcile with her husband, but he doesn't want to seem to change. Judit does not have the money to pay for a lawyer to resolve the situation so she has gone day by day in this situation for quite some time now.
After speaking with Judit for about 20 minutes I was utterly speechless. My heart was breaking for her and her children. We then prayed with Judit, and it was a prayer I will never forget. It wasn't long before I was in tears. Amidst all of her struggles, Judit has a fire in her that just keeps fueling her and that fire is the Lord. She is hopeful, persevering, and faithful in the eye of the storm. She is an incredible woman. She is an overcomer. Below is a picture of part of our group with Judit, her children, and her niece.
When our entire group reconvened later that same day Judit was still on our minds so we decided to try and visit her again later in the week. After one failed attempt we were fortunately able to meet her again, this time with our entire group. After we had initially spoken with Judit and we had tried to give her the best advice we could think of, she was empowered to go downtown and speak with a judge to see what her legal options are. In Haiti, marriage certificates (the physical paper) are very important and in this case would be enough proof for Judit to win this battle. Judit has her marriage certificate, but the problem is that she does not have money to pay anyone to resolve the situation (i.e. a lawyer). Upon hearing this we recommended that she go speak to a judge to see if the court would appoint a lawyer for her. When we spoke with her the second time around we asked for an update on the situation to see if anything had come to fruition from her visit with the judge. Turns out the judge that Judit saw was unable to help her, but through a string of people she was recommended a lawyer for her to go and see. She then visited that lawyer whom agreed to help her for the sum of $500 USD. Upon leaving Judit knew she did not have $500 to pay this man, but somehow collected about $200 and returned to the lawyer in hopes that he would have the heart to lower his asking price. The grace of God is a wonderful thing. The lawyer decided to help Judit by drawing up a subpoena that would be delivered to her husband by the police. The document basically stated that her husband had two days to remove this other woman from their household or an arrest warrant would be issued. As Billy was translating all of this not only were we all astonished at just how quickly all of this had transpired, but Billy was reiterating the fact that he is all very familiar with the legal system in Haiti and that this indeed is a miracle (which made it all even cooler to hear!). Glory to God. He can certainly move the mountains! I wish I had an update to give you about Judit now. I wish I could visit with her right now to see how she is doing, but I am 100% confident that she is maintaining the right perspective, attitude, and faithful fortitude. I am 100% confident that God will rain his favor upon her and her family and that she will one day be rewarded tenfold. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
One of the longstanding traditions in Haiti has been the practice of voodoo. Sorry - I don't currently have the energy to get into the history of all of that, nor do I really want to. For the purposes of this story, I'll just say that this practice is still pretty popular in Haiti. On this particular day, our group had split into two groups again to go out and reach the neighborhood. It was by far the hottest day of the week. Hot is probably not even the word. The group I was with this day was led by our translator Wendell, who God bless his soul, felt compelled to lead our group up and up mountains as we were walking around. Notice I said up and up. I don't recall ever walking down a hill that day haha. I also almost stepped on a tarantula that day, nbd. Anyway, we met some really awesome people that day, but by the end of the morning I think we were all ready for a nap. Just as we were heading back to John's house we decided to stop by this one house with several people sitting outside. As we approached this house something just didn't feel right. It was as if we were led to this house to refuel our energy tanks and our fire for what remained of the week. There was an extended family of about 10 all congregated outside and working, and we soon learned that they believed in the practice of voodoo and they made that central to their being by worshipping other gods and practicing this witchcraft. I don't even really have the words to describe the feeling I had standing there in the presence of this family. I was really uneasy. It's not that I felt unsafe, but I was definitely ready to flee from this family at the first moment possible. I just got this really dark, unsatisfying, unfulfilling, wicked feeling from this house and this family. God definitely reinforced something to me that day - that satan is very real and that dark cloud that I felt hanging over that house and that family is not even one one-hundreth of the realms of Hell. Satan is the king of lies. The good news is that we have a living God, that through His grace we can be forgiven of all our sins. We tried to help that family to hear the truth that day, but they weren't interested in changing their ways. The strange thing is, is that they knew all about Jesus and didn't deny him, but they were so engrossed in their practicing of voodoo that they just didn't care to know Him. It angers me, it confuses me, but most of all it breaks my heart that some people are just so apathetic when it comes to where they will spend eternity. For me, this experience served as a good reminder to stay focused on the truth. So often we get wrapped up in worldly things that we forget what really matters. My uncle recently introduced me to this video by Francis Chan that I think is really great -- click here. I feel like God used meeting this family in Haiti to remind me to keep my eye on the finish line.
Judit and this other Haitian family certainly made a lasting impression on me, but they were only two of many. I don't even have the words to describe the stories we heard and the sights we saw, the poverty, the sickness, the poorness, the strength, the courage, the happiness, and the joy of the Haitian people. We were also fortunate to be hooked up with an awesome church for the week where we were able to lead multiple VBS lessons and church services. Several teammates shared their testimonies at the church services, and I want to thank each and every one of you for having the courage to reach others with your heart-gripping stories. You know who you are :-)
Another highlight during the week was this really awesome moment we had interacting with one of John's neighbors. As we were hanging out on the roof getting ready to go to church for the evening, we overheard this young girl singing a song in Haitian Creole. Bless the Lord oh my soul, oh my soul, worship His holy name... we knew the song so we started singing back. Then she sang back in Creole. Then we sang back again. Then about a minute passed and she started singing back to us, this time in English. We were in awe. I'm still in awe. God does not need a translator. Can I get an amen!
The entire week really flew by, and it seemed like we were saying goodbye as soon as we got there and got settled. On our last full day we ended up having a really nice team lunch at a beautiful resort about an hour from where we were staying. We also got the chance to go to the beach later that day. Love me some turquoise water!!! Would it be a vacation if I wasn't sick at all? Probably not. My body timed it perfectly so that I wasn't feeling well the day we went to the beach (ha - go figure), but nonetheless it was still an awesome time! All I have to say is God bless the person's soul who invented pepto bismol! The beach was WAY different from what I expected, mainly that there really was no beach LOL. Picture a large concrete platform with picnic tables and music (music was bumpin BTW!) and lots of people. There was an opening with a couple of steps and boom you were in the water. No sand :-)
I would be remiss if I didn't mention the fact that our group had a fantastic leader for the week in Shannon. I've talked about this topic before, but I am going to say it again. It takes a really special person to dedicate their life to mission work, and for the past few years Shannon has done just that. I've learned that it's hard, nearly impossible rather, to understand all of the sacrifices that are involved with being a missionary until you actually go and live it out. I still don't even really know what it's like, and I've done it a few times; the difference being I take a couple weeks off from work here and there and then return to my job, whereas people like Shannon make this their life, trusting the Lord to provide for them financially 24/7. Shannon, I am so thankful that you are so faithful in listening and following God. I am so thankful that you so freely share what God has put on your heart. I am so thankful that I was led to Haiti to meet you, and I am so excited to see what will come to fruition for you next! You are also the only person I know in this world that knows every word to every verse to How Great Thou Art. Rock on girl! You are a superstar.
I was talking to one of the pastors at my church a couple of weekends ago about the upcoming missions trips, and he said to me, "You better be careful. God keeps spreading you out everywhere, you might not come back!" I laughed, and in my head I was thinking, "Yea, you're probably right." Just yesterday morning a different pastor was talking about the book "Don't Waste Your Life" by John Piper (which I also recommend!) and as he dropped down his copy on the floor he said, "Here's a free copy to anyone who promises to become a missionary." Needless to say, it took every ounce of energy in my body to NOT stand up and go grab the book. Coming back from Haiti, it's just very clear to me that my heart is in missions, and missions is where I want my life to leave a lasting imprint. I think it's definitely only a matter of time before I'm signing up for the World Race, but until then I will continue to keep my eyes open for short-term mission opportunities because it just feeds my soul. That sounds so corny haha but it's totally true. I've been very antsy since returning from Haiti simply because as soon as I returned I was already ready to go back and do it all over again. Immediately. I also had to pull in the reigns recently as I had a near "sign-me-up" moment to go to Cambodia the last week of October, but the timing just didn't seem right. For now, I am trusting that the Lord will lead me to the right opportunities, spiritually and financially. God's timing is perfect in anything and everything. Serving the poor and loving on sweet sweet orphaned children is infinitely more satisfying, fulfilling, and enjoyable than anything I've ever done in my life.
To my fellow team members - Emily, Dave, Brittine, Jessica, Lyndsey, Shekina, Reilly, Bryanna, Charla, and Shannon - what an absolute pleasure it has been to be able to do life with you all for a week. We had so many great conversations and so many laughs together. I will always remember all of the precious moments we shared - the awesome conversations and time we spent on that incredible rooftop, playing with the Haitian children, doing home visits, hearing your amazing testimonies and life stories, and really just enjoying fellowship with each and every one of you. I have some really special memories that I will always hold near and dear to my heart! Thank you for being such a big part in making this missions trip a special one for me. I am so thankful the Lord brought us all together for the week, and I am excited to see how He will use our time together in Haiti in each of us going forward. Love to you all!
It's amazing how one week can just rock your world. Grace like rain falls down on me. As I am readjusting to life back in NJ, I can't help but feel a tremendous sense of gratitude, peace, and trust. Gratitude for electricity and running water and the simple daily privileges I so easily overlook, peace in knowing that I am exactly where I need to be, and trust in knowing that the Lord is constantly at work and is putting together the pieces of the puzzle for this thing called life! I have absolutely NO IDEA where my next travel adventure will take me or for how long, but that has me excited as I know wherever I end up, it will be nothing short of amazing! Okay - maybe I have a slight idea, but that's for me to know and y'all to find out :-)! I don't know what my future holds, but I do know who holds my future and there is no greater comfort than that.
As I quote one of my favorite songs...
"But I can say without a doubt, I never had it figured out. Lord, you've opened every door I've stepped through. And I've tried to keep my head about me; so thankful for the friends around me. I'm thankful for you."
Un abrazo fuerte y hasta la próxima!
So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
As I quote one of my favorite songs...
"But I can say without a doubt, I never had it figured out. Lord, you've opened every door I've stepped through. And I've tried to keep my head about me; so thankful for the friends around me. I'm thankful for you."
Un abrazo fuerte y hasta la próxima!
So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
This blog post has really touched my heart. Not only are you an exquisite writer, but you are an amazing human being. I thank God that He gave us the opportunity. Lol I loved my time with you and I love th e fact that you laugh at the things that I say. However, I was serious shannon was to close to that edge. I love you and appreciate you so much Kathy. I can't wait till you sign up for the world race so I can follow your journey just as you follow mine! Continue to make a ripple and plant the seed wherever you go. Love you always. Yours truly. Brittine
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