Galations 3: 1-3 "You foolish Galations! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly protrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you: did you recieve the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?"
How ture is this passage in my life. I often feel that I have so many things that I need to "fix" while in Haiti. I need to train the teachers, love the children, discover the community and the people, I need to learn the language, I need to give medical attention to people, I need to get clean water, food and shelter to those in tents, I need to share the gospel and make Christ known...etc. But the reality is I am powerless.
When I forget to look to Christ Haiti seems huge, endless and unsolvable. Yet, how foolish am I? After beginning with the Spirit am I now trying to attain any goals by human effort? The Lord is not asking me to solve Haiti's problems by myself; problems will always remain. The Lord is calling me to remain in the Spirit, abided in Christ. He has the power and vision to restore Haiti in his own time. Christ came so that the law would be nullified. He was "clearly....crucified" so that we are freed from the law and are no longer bound to deeds. There is nothing that I can do by my own human effort, I must continue to rely on the Spirit. As I continue my time here in Haiti, I ask that you would join me in praying so that we would never loose focus of this idea. Christ is at the heart of this country and only through Him can we attain a goal.
"Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?"
Galations 3:3
More fun facts of the day. We got stuck in a traffic jam, due to a demonstration of students. I am still not sure what was really happening there. The children we give medika mamba to were all under weight this week, so pray that next week they gain more weight. I tried eating a coconut (kokoye) and avocado (zaboka). I really enjoyed the zaboka but not so much the kokoye. This sunday we are going to cook dinner with Dennis, one of our cooks. We are making Creole. Yum.
I love you all very much and am blessed to have your support.
All my love to you from Haiti (a beautiful land)!
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Monday, June 27, 2011
What's for Dinner?
Hello friends!
I am sure you are all wondering what we have for dinner...well let me tell you.
We eat lots of different types of food, american, creole, french, mexican and others. Some of my favorite dishes are Creole dishes. They consist of rice and beans (the best part), some meat (goat, chicken, beef), vegetables, bread (always), and then this amazing sauce (pretty much the gravy of Haiti...its so good. Another favorite dish of everyone in the house is pumpkin soup. It has a lot of vegetables, potatoes, beef, and some sort of pumpkin sauce. It is delicious.
I often find it interesting how we talk about food as if it is just another days routine. However, it is a completely different mind set for some of the Haitian people. They do not know where their food is coming from next. Last week I worked in a hospital clinic. It was an amazing experience. The team of doctors we had were able to see almost 300 people a day and they worked for four days to help people. One of the nurses came into the pharmacy where I was working and asked me if we had any baby formula. A woman with a baby came in and in order for her to get the medicine into her child she needed food. She was not then going to give her child any medicine. We were able to give her a few crackers that we found so that her child could get the medicine she needed.
At the end of last week and the beginning of this week we were able to do a teacher training. We visited two different schools and about 8 teachers came. We taught the teachers how to use a pocket chart calendars, other fun math materials, a lesson in geography, and more. While we were with the teachers in the morning the students were out in the fields playing futbol (soccer)! They loved playing and the Americans that ran it, enjoyed played with the children. Then the teachers were able to practice what they learned in the morning, later in the afternoon when the students came back in. How incredible it was to watch as the Haitian teachers teach their students alongside me. The Haitian teachers have a passion to teach these children because they want a better future for Haiti.
Haiti, a nation not of wealth but a nation of hope.
All my love to you from Haiti!
I am sure you are all wondering what we have for dinner...well let me tell you.
We eat lots of different types of food, american, creole, french, mexican and others. Some of my favorite dishes are Creole dishes. They consist of rice and beans (the best part), some meat (goat, chicken, beef), vegetables, bread (always), and then this amazing sauce (pretty much the gravy of Haiti...its so good. Another favorite dish of everyone in the house is pumpkin soup. It has a lot of vegetables, potatoes, beef, and some sort of pumpkin sauce. It is delicious.
I often find it interesting how we talk about food as if it is just another days routine. However, it is a completely different mind set for some of the Haitian people. They do not know where their food is coming from next. Last week I worked in a hospital clinic. It was an amazing experience. The team of doctors we had were able to see almost 300 people a day and they worked for four days to help people. One of the nurses came into the pharmacy where I was working and asked me if we had any baby formula. A woman with a baby came in and in order for her to get the medicine into her child she needed food. She was not then going to give her child any medicine. We were able to give her a few crackers that we found so that her child could get the medicine she needed.
At the end of last week and the beginning of this week we were able to do a teacher training. We visited two different schools and about 8 teachers came. We taught the teachers how to use a pocket chart calendars, other fun math materials, a lesson in geography, and more. While we were with the teachers in the morning the students were out in the fields playing futbol (soccer)! They loved playing and the Americans that ran it, enjoyed played with the children. Then the teachers were able to practice what they learned in the morning, later in the afternoon when the students came back in. How incredible it was to watch as the Haitian teachers teach their students alongside me. The Haitian teachers have a passion to teach these children because they want a better future for Haiti.
Haiti, a nation not of wealth but a nation of hope.
All my love to you from Haiti!
Thursday, June 16, 2011
The Start of Something Wonderful
So much has happened since I was last able to write. But I will attempt to cover some of the cool events.
As interns we met with Randy (our director) on Sunday and we were able to begin talking through our Luly project. Luly is a province to the north of Port au Prince. If you try to look it up on the map you won't find it, we've tried. However, it does exist and that is where our focus will be this summer. Currently in Luly we are connected with a school/church (they are the same building). The Lord has opened up amazing opportunities for us and we are now building a new school with 6 classrooms, that will hold 32 students each. Another exciting project we are working on is the garden. We need 35 families to participate in the gardening project. They will learn how to care and maintain a garden and then they will be able to take produce from the garden to feed their families. There hopefully will be enough produce to sell in a co-op or market, but we won't know that for a few months. The other neat project happening in Luly is the bio-digester. This is a machine created by some of the engineering students at the UofM; it allows people to place their poop in it and it then creates methane gas which can be used for cooking and a soil enrichment product which will be placed in the garden. There is much more happening in Luly and I am excited to continue investing in the people there. Pray for a bilingual female so we can work with her and she can translate. Pray that we can find 35 families to be involved in our gardening project, and pray for safety as we are there for many days.
One of the other places we have been is at a children's home. We have been putting a roof over the kitchen of their home. The team from St. Paul has been working hard on helping the Haitian construction team to get the roof up. It has been a learning experience for both groups. The children at the home are always excited to see us. On Tuesday when we were working there I met a little boy named Wesley. He spoke french pretty well and so I was able to communicate with him-as long as he spoke slowly. He is 11 years old and is always smiling. He told me on Tuesday that he hoped one day he would be my child. It broke my heart. He wants someone to care and love for him. I am not sure if he has a family here or not. Most of the children in the home have families, but their families just can't take care of them. It is sad but in these homes they are at least able to get an education, food and water.
The Lord continues to give hope to the people of Haiti. There is still a lot to be accomplished but God is good and He will continue to love and care for His people in His ways.
Check out this video on: www.povertycure.org It's worth the time.
All my love to you...
As interns we met with Randy (our director) on Sunday and we were able to begin talking through our Luly project. Luly is a province to the north of Port au Prince. If you try to look it up on the map you won't find it, we've tried. However, it does exist and that is where our focus will be this summer. Currently in Luly we are connected with a school/church (they are the same building). The Lord has opened up amazing opportunities for us and we are now building a new school with 6 classrooms, that will hold 32 students each. Another exciting project we are working on is the garden. We need 35 families to participate in the gardening project. They will learn how to care and maintain a garden and then they will be able to take produce from the garden to feed their families. There hopefully will be enough produce to sell in a co-op or market, but we won't know that for a few months. The other neat project happening in Luly is the bio-digester. This is a machine created by some of the engineering students at the UofM; it allows people to place their poop in it and it then creates methane gas which can be used for cooking and a soil enrichment product which will be placed in the garden. There is much more happening in Luly and I am excited to continue investing in the people there. Pray for a bilingual female so we can work with her and she can translate. Pray that we can find 35 families to be involved in our gardening project, and pray for safety as we are there for many days.
One of the other places we have been is at a children's home. We have been putting a roof over the kitchen of their home. The team from St. Paul has been working hard on helping the Haitian construction team to get the roof up. It has been a learning experience for both groups. The children at the home are always excited to see us. On Tuesday when we were working there I met a little boy named Wesley. He spoke french pretty well and so I was able to communicate with him-as long as he spoke slowly. He is 11 years old and is always smiling. He told me on Tuesday that he hoped one day he would be my child. It broke my heart. He wants someone to care and love for him. I am not sure if he has a family here or not. Most of the children in the home have families, but their families just can't take care of them. It is sad but in these homes they are at least able to get an education, food and water.
The Lord continues to give hope to the people of Haiti. There is still a lot to be accomplished but God is good and He will continue to love and care for His people in His ways.
Check out this video on: www.povertycure.org It's worth the time.
All my love to you...
Friday, June 10, 2011
Je suis arrive en Haiti!
I arrived in Haiti last night! It was quite an experience traveling throught the airport. Many people were trying to carry my bags, but we found our driver Alexi and he helped us through. He took us to a white SUV and we piled in and took off driving, or more like weaving through the streets of Port Au Prince. There were vendors lined up on the sides of the streets and vehicles weaving in and out. The "roads" had pot holes everywhere. We arrived in our Village of Theodat and I got a tour of our grand house. The house is wonderful and filled with fun people. For dinner I got to experience real Haitian food: salad, rice and beans, chicken and goat, and other sauces and toppings that I am unsure of. The food was delicious and I enjoyed eating with the interns and staff.
Today I will get to experience a trip through town and to visit my first childrens home. The children are in so much need here, they are malnourished, without shoes, they all lack clean water, their building structures often consist of piles of rubble on three corners a stick for the fourth and a ripped tarp over top.
Continue praying for our team of interns and the team that came in today. The interns will be moving into a new house soon and setting up the main office there. We are just waiting for internet to get connected and the place to be "bug bombed."
My computer is currently broken right now, so I am borrowing internet from a friend. If you want to read a more up to date blog you can follow my friend Breanna's: http://aladyinhaiti.blogspot.com/ . She does a great job of keeping it current and filled with pictures.
All my love to you...
Today I will get to experience a trip through town and to visit my first childrens home. The children are in so much need here, they are malnourished, without shoes, they all lack clean water, their building structures often consist of piles of rubble on three corners a stick for the fourth and a ripped tarp over top.
Continue praying for our team of interns and the team that came in today. The interns will be moving into a new house soon and setting up the main office there. We are just waiting for internet to get connected and the place to be "bug bombed."
My computer is currently broken right now, so I am borrowing internet from a friend. If you want to read a more up to date blog you can follow my friend Breanna's: http://aladyinhaiti.blogspot.com/ . She does a great job of keeping it current and filled with pictures.
All my love to you...
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