oklahoma.

As many of you may not know, there is a big Oklahoma presence here in Haiti especially at Mission of Hope. It’s incredible! We had some OU athletes serving with us here last week and so many of my Haitian friends talked about their arrival for months before they came. Some of the athletes came last year and clearly made a big impact here. If I’m not talking OU sports then I’m talking Thunder basketball which is an extremely great topic right now. My friend Wesly, who is my Haitian counterpart, is one of the biggest fans. It’s so much fun! I unfortunately can’t watch many of the games, but Wesly and friends watch when they have power and keep me updated. We spend the beginning of every morning after a game talking all about it. LOVE it! Who knew I would still be able to talk Oklahoma sports all the time in Haiti. God is good.

THUNDER UP!!

firsts.

This past month has been an extreme amount of firsts. I guess I could say that about the last 4 months, but this last month has been extra unordinary. Most I have loved and a few I would love to never experience again. So here they are in no particular order…

Rockets in Haiti. We had a team bring several rockets for the kids to help build and then set off. Most kids here have heard of rockets but never seen them. The kid’s reactions were priceless. They LOVED it! There was so much laughter and smiles by all ages of kids. It was a beautiful thing.

Visited Norman. Yes this may sound strange, but I’ve never “visited” Norman cause I’ve always lived there until this year. It was the weirdest feeling just visiting for a week. Loved every minute though and am truly blessed by my Norman community.

Got to be a tourist in Haiti. For a 24-hour period we didn’t have a single teams person here, this is unheard of, so naturally we hit the road and explored the places we never get to go. In attendance…Lindsay, Bailey and myself…we deemed it family time. It was truly a road trip of close friends and it was absolutely a blast.

Went to a Haitian wedding. Things I now know about Haitian weddings…when it is scheduled to start at 3p it will most likely start no earlier than 5p. If you have a camera you are free to move about wherever you’d like during the wedding (this includes standing right next to the happy couple to get a good close up). The flower girl and the bridesmaid also wear wedding dresses and dance down the aisle (loved this part the most). It was a blast to take part in a true Haitian wedding. The happy couple is Patrick and Rose (Patrick is the Children’s Pastor at the Church of Hope

Got really sick in Haiti. This is one of those never want to repeat experiences. I was out for a whole week and just now getting back to normal. It was absolutely terrible. I had a bacterial infection in my intestines. Gross. I have to say though my community here totally took care of me and I love each of them for that. So extremely blessed by them.

Nailed up a mouse nest. Yes, we have many problems with mice and rats around here. At our house we mainly deal with mice. Well we found where they like to nest. So being three girls (Lindsay, Maria and myself) we decided to go find a piece of wood, some nails and a hammer and nail up the hole until someone else can help us. Our logic…we don’t want more mice coming in and it smells terrible, but we can’t reach far enough back to see if there is a dead something in there. So why not nail it up until someone can help us right?! We are girls.

rain.

Rainy season is upon us here. Yesterday it rained on and off all day. I have to say I love the rain, but I had a whole new outlook on it yesterday. I love the rain because I have a concrete place to stay where the ground isn’t dirt, where my stuff won’t wash away, where I can sleep comfortably, where I won’t get wet. This isn’t the case for many of my friends here in Haiti who live in tents with dirt floors. I couldn’t stop thinking about them yesterday as I watched the rain fall wondering so many things and wanting to just go and pick them up and have them sleep at my house for the night. I don’t think I will ever see rain the same. Praying for my friends as the rainy season comes.

beautiful creations.

There are many beautiful, beautiful landscapes in this country. The ocean, the mountains, the sunsets, the waterfalls…all of it is simply jaw-dropping. There have been many countless times I just stop and stare at the beauty the Lord has created here. There is something so peaceful and beautiful about it all. Here are some of the pictures of these moments where time stops and I just breathe in God’s beauty. 

    

nail polish.

The last three months have been a whirlwind to say the least. Filled with many incredible moments where I can’t help but stand in awe at people coming together. It’s in those moments I know without a doubt the Lord is shining brightly and showing us glimpses of what His love truly looks like.

One of these moments occurred last week when three little bottles of nail polish were pulled out of a backpack. We were at an orphanage in Titayen that is home to 40 children ranging from 2 to 14 years old. This was the first time we’ve taken teams to this particular orphanage and upon first arrival the kids didn’t exactly know what to take of us. Less than thirty minutes later, every single person there had a smile from ear to ear. We had kids coloring, kicking around a soccer ball, dancing and girls being pampered. Every little girl there was a princess that afternoon. They took turns “going to the spa”. They sat on laps while their hands and feet were cleaned, then their little feet rubbed and their toenails and fingernails painted. They were even fanned too! Who all was doing this pampering…none other than all the dads on the team. These men who spent the two days before digging trenches and planting cactus were now painting nails. It was absolutely beautiful. You couldn’t wipe the smiles off these little girl’s faces as they walked around with their pretty fingers and toes to show everyone. Those men showed these little girls how a father loves his daughters. It was priceless to see.

Once we got back to MoH, I found out another huge way God worked that afternoon. James, one of the men who painted nails and pampered the little girls, had one of the nail polishes. It was one of those tiny bottles that would last about two uses. Well that nail polish was used all afternoon and never ran out. James said each time it was empty he would close the bottle, shake it up and when he opened it the bottle was full again. I was left speechless, holding back tears as I remembered every girl’s face. It’s amazing to me how God works through everything even nail polish. He shined so brightly that day and everyone there felt His love!! As we continue to partner with this orphanage and take teams there, I will forever remember this day as the Journey team allowed God to use them in mighty ways. I love sharing this experience with them and I loved having them here in Haiti for so many reasons.

God multiplied the nail polish…it still leaves me speechless. God is good!!

4 hearts.

It is certainly spring break. This week we have 150 people serving with us at Mission of Hope. That amount of people can be overwhelming at times, especially for those of us working with teams, but it’s also absolutely incredible to have so many with a passion to serve. Our dinning center is packed every meal and we have teams going in all directions during the day doing different projects.

The most incredible thing…Monday afternoon 4 Haitians became believers. One man in Minoterie and three people in Bercy are now in our family of believers. The team in Minoterie painted a house in the morning and then did house to house evangelism in the afternoon where they came across a man who was one of many here in Haiti who practice voodoo. After much conversation the man gave up his old ways and accepted Christ. In Bercy, the team played a big game of soccer, spoke about Christ and made balloon hats for the kids. We had a man named Wesley from the Mission of Hope church (Church of Hope) come with us on this outreach. He is part of the Compassion Team at the church. This team oversees all donations the church gives out. As the team loved on the people and taught about Christ, Wesley furthered the teaching with several individuals and three of them accepted the Lord. It was beautiful to see Haitians ministering to Haitians along side teams. As I introduced our new sister and two new brothers of Christ to the team everyone clapped and yelled in celebration with them. Pure joy. 

life in Haiti.

Let me start with this…there is no such thing as a “typical day” in Haiti. Every day holds something unexpected. Plans can be in place the night before…where we are taking teams, times we are leaving, what we are doing, etc…and by the morning plans are completely different. As challenging as that is, especially for the planner in me, it is also a huge reminder that God is in control and not us.

I’m in shock that it is March already. Time takes on a whole new speed here especially when working with teams. It seems we are always welcoming new teams in and saying good-bye to others. Days are filled with construction projects and village outreaches. It is fun getting to know teams from all over and seeing the various strengths they bring as they serve with us for a week or two. One of my favorite parts of working with teams is getting to know the kids and their families in the villages we visit. Leveque especially is one of my favorite places (this is where Mission of Hope is building 500 homes). I’ve posted about two little girls that live there in previous posts, Mia and Francis (the little girl that had the burn on her leg). These two girls and their families have made a huge impact on my heart and I am excited to see our relationships continue to grow. Mia’s mom especially has become someone I love to spend time with. Her name is Maria but I mostly call her Mama. I know I will talk about these two families a lot over this year so be expecting many updates on them, especially as my Creole increases. I can’t wait for the day they move into their new permanent houses that Mission of Hope is building. I guarantee there will be laughter and tears and tons of pictures.

Two weeks ago, we had a big appreciation event…or goat roast as we called it…for all the men who are building the houses at Leveque. John, who is one of the North American Mission of Hope staff members, organized the event. We called it a goat roast because goat was served along with rice and beans.  Luckson, who is the “boss man” or supervisor of all the men on site, paraded the goat around the whole day before. He walked it right to me with a huge grin on his face and it was the funniest thing. The event was amazing. A few people spoke, encouraging them, sharing Christ with them and thanking them for all their hard work. For those wondering, we have 70 paid builders for the site these are the men who are building the homes and then we also have men that put in the door, plant the cactus (which is kind of like a fence showing where the property line is), etc. The event was for all these men. It was a beautiful time as teams served these men food and showed them the love of Christ.

I have been taking pictures along the way. Here are just a few of them from the past two months…

Francis and Mia! 

Goat Roast

My first day at Leveque before houses were built.

Two weeks ago at Leveque (same view as previous picture).
There are now a total of 32 houses built. We are hoping to start moving families in soon!

Samaritans Purse houses at Leveque. All temporary houses constructed after the earthquake. The houses are supposed to last one year. Homes are wood frames with trap wrapped around them and a tin roof. Almost all the families living in these homes will move into one of the new permanent homes. 

Mia and two of her sisters.