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Showing posts from 2017

Don't Worry...Be Happy

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This last month has been filled with lots of new adventures, experiences, and more learning. It's been an exciting month. God is constantly showing Himself faithful. He is also continuing to show me that He has a plan and His plan is not always the plan I pictured or imagined for myself.  I've been hanging out at an orphanage in town. This is sweet Wilmine. Over the last month, the kiddos have continued to blow my mind with their hard work. They continue to push through the challenges that I place in front of them and grow deeper in their knowledge of reading, math, writing, and many other things. My heart beams with pride for their hard work. We've done some fun projects over the last few weeks in science. We also held our very own version of a food competition. The kids had to create a recipe for something covered in chocolate. Once they wrote their draft, they were paired with an adult who tried to create their dessert. If something in their writing wasn't qu

Freedom in the Yes

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Isn't he the cutest? Don't mind the mouth full of food...he was SOOO happy this particular morning and was laughing at EVERYTHING! I know it's been a little bit over a month since I got a new post out. It's been quite hectic around here lately. We have a lot of new and exciting things going on around Hope Community Project. Click here to read more about the three big things that we have going on as an organization.  In my own personal life, God continues to be at work shaping, molding, and stretching me. For the last several months I have felt like I've had almost a "driving" word for the month and this month is no different. September and October have been filled with GRACE and PATIENCE.  God continues to put me in situations where I'm learning how to handle raw, real emotions in the face of conflict, homesickness, and new endeavors. The struggle is real, but God is present. I know I've said it before, but there is so much beauty in th

Peace by Piece

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The last time we talked, I was in the middle of a study on Colossians and in the midst of long-suffering. Today, I'm going to share some more truths I've taken out of Colossians and how they apply to the place I sit now ... grace and peace. Like most long-suffering, it was for a time and has begun to pass. [That's not to say there won't be long-suffering ever again in my future.] It's no secret I've been working through some conflict and was working to find the best way through it. I'm on to the next piece of my processing and that is grace and peace. Does that mean all of my conflict is completely resolved and no longer an issue? No...but it does mean that I'm making steps towards the closure that I need on the situation.  Over the last few weeks, I've been able to rely on the Lord to guide me in my next steps and to let Him lavish peace on me...regardless of how the situation turned out -- because God doesn't always work it out like we

Joy in the Long-Suffering

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This wasn’t originally going to be the title of my blog. The original title was going to “My Life is 85 Degrees.” God has a funny way of changing things.   Before I really get into the heart of this blog post, I do want to say that I was able to get to the States for a couple of weeks at the end of June and get a refreshing break that I needed from my Haiti life. Don’t get me wrong, I was ready to come back here, but it was SO good to see my people and spend some quality time with those I love most!   Visited Dad at his new job while I was home so naturally I took a selfie with Baby Barrel Bob! Let me also say, my life is normally about an average of 85 degrees (or more) and air conditioning is cold. I have officially acclimated to Haiti weather. While in America, I had to take a long-sleeved shirt with me everywhere I went! That’s what 11 months in the Caribbean gets you! Coming back to Haiti, I knew that July would potentially be a tough month. If you’ve been keepin

What's Next?

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Bon Swa! [Good Afternoon!] Premye, mwen vle di, “Mesi tout moun!” [First, I want to say, “Thank you everyone!”] Your unending love, prayers, and support (both financially and emotionally) mean the world to me. There is no way that I could have made it through this first year in Haiti without you! First things first… Words cannot even begin to explain all that I have learned and experienced in the last 10 months, but I’m going to do my best. If you’ve been able to keep up with my monthly blog posts, you know that my time in Haiti has been an emotional roller coaster. There have been ups and downs, mountains and valleys, and lots of learning. I think the biggest thing that I have walked away with from this all is that our God is BEYOND faithful . He is always right beside us, taking it all in, guiding us, directing us, grieving with us, celebrating with us, and pushing us. I have grown so much in my walk with Christ since moving to Haiti. These are some of the things that

Seven Month Slump

Seven. The numbered month when I hit rock bottom. Don't fear. There's hope here. The only place to go when you're at the bottom is up. I don't want this post to be a discouragement -- rather, I hope that it's an encouragement. I've sat down a number of times in the last several weeks to write this. I've erased and started over. I've closed my computer and had to walk away.  I've thought about what I would say. How do I share all of the things that I've experienced in the last month? It's been a roller coaster of emotion and I think I'm finally getting to the point where I can step back and say..."God is good. He is faithful. This is what I'm learning." So here it is... The end of month seven was a struuuuuugle. A struggle that unfortunately spilled over into month eight. I think that the heart of my roller coaster can be summarized most simply in these words: Transition. Lonely. Homesick. Selfish. Satan. Let me e

"well, you know there was a time change"

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Chloe and I made pita bread for one of her school projects.  If I had a Haitian dollar for every time I have said, "Haiti should never observe daylight savings time," I would have a lot of Haitian dollars. If I had a Haitian dollar for every time a Haitian said, "well, you know there was a time change right?" I would have even more Haitian dollars. In years past, Haiti has not observed Daylight Savings Time, and now we know why. It messes everything up! Trust me, you thought that the time change was terrible in America because you lose and hour or you gain an hour...that doesn't have anything on a time change in Haiti. Things have consistently run an hour behind because most Haitians rise and set with the sun. That's a lot of how they base their day -- the daylight. Even though Haitian phone services changed the time automatically and people have reset their watches, our bodies are still conditioned for the time we've been on for years. It's

6 months...12 months...then what??

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This is Gonaives. This is my city. I know that it has been a while since I posted. It's been a crazy two months and life isn't looking to slow down. I've determined that no two of my blog posts will ever be the same -- even in terms of set up. I just kind of go with what I feel. I think this blog post will really look like a true update. An update on some things the two months have held. An update of the next six months and beyond. An update on some of the things I've been learning, and an update on some of the lighter things I've enjoyed over the last few months. January and February... I came back to Gonaives on New Year's Eve and we hit the ground running with a team of 45 dental students! We were able to meet some pretty incredible people and a handful of them are looking to come back in August. They pulled A LOT of nasty, rotten teeth while they were here. I don't remember what the final count was, but it was anpil (that means a lot in Creole)