No Place I'd Rather Be

I've been in Haiti for a little over a week now, I probably should have blogged sooner but internet isn't a constant here and things have been busy.  All that to say......sorry if this post seems a bit scattered :)

I arrived a day later than expected due to weather delays in Miami, but since then everything has gone really well!  I'm all settled in and getting used to bucket showers and infrequent electricity :)  Everyone on staff here is awesome....true servant hearts that love the Lord!

This is a place full of extreme joy, but also full of extreme heartbreak.  I had only been here a day or two when a man came to the house trying to find out if we had any information about his son.  I didn't really get all the details (I wish I could speak Creole!), but basically his son's mother had sold him to an orphanage.  The mother came by the next day and as she spoke with us it didn't seem like she even really understood what she had done.  Someone had apparently stolen some money from her and she owed someone else money so she had taken her 1 1/2 year old child to an orphanage and sold him.  In the meantime the father had found out through some mutual friends which orphanage it was and he basically stormed the orphanage and retrieved his son (Praise the Lord!).  If an orphanage is willing to purchase a child they are also willing to do anything to profit from having that child, I hope and pray that the mother understood the gravity of that situation.  Please please please pray that places like this orphanage will be closed down.

On a happier note, one of the little boys who lives at the house has totally captured my heart!  He is one of the sweetest little boys ever!  I can't even imagine everything he has been through, but to come out of the situation that he has with such an awesome heart is incredible to see.  He hugs all of us everyday like there's no tomorrow, which of course I love because I love hugs :)  He doesn't speak any English, but he knows the song "Set a Fire" by Will Reagan and loves to sing it.  Last Sunday after church we decided to go to the beach for the afternoon since we have teams coming pretty much every week for the rest of the summer.  On the way to the beach we were listening to that song and we all started singing it.  The presence of God was definitely evident in that moment, it was all I could do to keep from crying.
No place I'd rather be
No place I'd rather be
No place I'd rather be
Than here in Your love
Here in Your love
Set a fire down in my soul that I can't contain, that I can't control
I want more of you God
I want more of you God
I pray for that fire in my soul that longs for more and more of God.  There is definitely no place I'd rather be than in His love.

I'm here!

For those that have been wondering I arrived in Haiti safely! I'm all settled in and getting to know everyone. I'll write a longer post soon, but just wanted to give and update :)

FAQ

I've been getting lots of questions lately so I thought I would write a blog to answer some of the most frequent ones.  If you have any others feel free to ask!  I promise there is no such thing as a stupid question :)

Q:  What language do Haitians speak?  Can you speak it?
A:  They primarily speak Haitian Creole which is a combination of French and several African languages.  Starting with 1st grade classes are taught in French, so educated people speak French also, but everyone speaks Creole.  I know a few words in Creole.  I have been trying to learn, but so far I don't know much.  I hope to be fluent by the time I come back.

Q:  Where are you going to live?
A:  In a house with the other volunteers

Q:  Will you get paid to be there?  Does the organization take care of your expenses?
A:  No, I am a volunteer so I will not be paid.  I will be responsible for my expenses (rent, food, plane tickets, etc) so I will be relying on donations.  If you feel led to give please refer to this blog post or contact me about how to donate.

Q:  If I give a donation is it tax deductible?
A:  Yes, Respire Haiti is a 501(c)3

Q:  Will you be able to call home while you are there?
A:  Yes, mostly using Skype

Q:  What are you doing with your house while you are gone?  What about Baxter?
A:  A good friend of mine (Carleigh) is going to rent it and she will also be taking care of Baxter.

Q:  What will you be doing while you are there?
A:  Whatever I am asked to do.  I think my primary role will be mentoring some of the girls at the Freedom House, but I am sure I will be doing many other things as well.  I will just wake up every morning to see what the day holds and what God is leading me to do :)

Q:  What is the weather like there?
A:  HOT.  It's in the Caribbean, so it's close to 90 degrees (or hotter) year round....and there is no A/C where I will be living.

Q:  How long will you be gone?
A:  3 months at a time, because of visa requirements I will have to come back to the states every 90 days.

Meet Respire Haiti

If you want to find out more about what Respire Haiti does here is a great video!  It just so happens that I was there when the film crew was shooting this so there are two brief glimpses of me, but you'll really have to pay attention to spot me :)  Enjoy!

Meet Respire Haiti Video

37 days and counting....

I am very Type A.  I like to be in control.  I like to plan.  I like to plan well in advance, especially when it comes to big life changes.  The last couple of months have been a test of my patience.  I knew that I was leaving for Haiti and I knew that I was leaving in April, but I've been waiting on a specific date and specific flight plans.  Being approximately 5 weeks away from my anticipated leave date you can imagine that I am starting to get very nervous.  I don't have a flight booked and prices are going up.  I'm praying about it, but not really letting it go fully.  This morning in church we were singing and at the exact moment we were singing "make way for the King, make way for His Kingdom, He will bring light, and burn out the darkness"  the sun came out brightly for the first time in several dreary days.  At that moment I realized that I wasn't fully giving all my stresses over to God, that I wasn't making way for the King.  I don't know why I sometimes think that I can handle these things on my own or that my timing is better than His, but He always has a way of showing up and showing me that His ways are most definitely better than my ways.  This afternoon I got an email with the specifics that I had been waiting on....praise the Lord!  Ticket prices have gone back down and I now have a flight!  I might have done a happy dance in my dining room and I'm pretty sure I won't stop smiling for the rest of the day :) 

Proverbs 3:5  Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.

My Mom

The best compliment anyone could ever give me is "you are just like your mother".  Anyone who knows me at all knows that I adore my mom.  God definitely blessed me big time when he gave me the best parents ever.  My mom is the sweetest, kindest and most selfless person.  She is so loving and so lovable.
The most common question I get when I tell people that I'm moving to Haiti is "What do your parents think?"  Well the answer to that is of course it is not easy for them.  I know that the only reason it isn't easy for them is because they love me so much.  It takes a strong mom to be courageous enough to share her child with the world.  Praise the Lord that I have a very strong mom.  Thank you Mom for raising me to be independent, brave and most importantly a follower of Jesus.  I love you very much and I hope you have a wonderful birthday!

5 things

1.  Happy Birthday to my favorite Haitian!  Alex is 7 today.  Please pray that he will have a blessed year and grow in his relationship with Jesus. 

Me & Alex - November 2012

2.  I'm new to blogging and I didn't know that you had to add a "widget" for people to be able to follow your blog, I thought it was automatic.  Anyway, I've added it now so please follow it if you are interested.  I promise to stop sending you emails about new blog posts.

3.  Some of you have asked how you can donate.  I've added a link on the side of the page, but I will put the instructions here as well.

• Go to www.respirehaiti.org/donate
• Use the "Greatest Need" category
• Put my name in the "Note"
• Expect a big hug from me the next time I see you :)

I can't thank you enough for your support!

4.  I ordered some prayer reminder cards, if you would like one and I don't see you regularly please message me your address and I will be happy to send one to you.

5.  Disclaimer:  Before following my blog you should know that I really love my fluffy cat and I have a bazillion pictures of him.  If you don't like seeing fluffy cat pictures you probably shouldn't follow my blog ;)  But he's really cute.....

Baxter