Much to be Thankful for!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

"Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples!" 1 Chronicles 16:8

Here it is! 

What I am thankful for this year.. although I don't think I can truly cover all of the things I am thankful for, but here's a scratch!

I am thankful for a cozy couch to sit on with my mom. watching american football games with family. surround sound to make it that much better. a heater for the house on a cold day. a computer to create masterpieces. internet to communicate with the world. telephones to wish greetings and share some love. perfectly brewed coffee in my own kitchen. electricity to make those things possible.

I am thankful for moist baked turkey. green bean casserole. cranberry sauce. delicious bread crumb stuffing. sweet potato casserole. warm bread rolls. mashed potatoes and gravy. southern sweet tea. fruit salad. pecan pie. lemon squares. chocolate chip cookies. pumpkin pie. enough food to go around.

I am thankful for coupon clipping. chatting about fast food customer service. telling stories of random odd things. exchanging thoughts foreign foods. grandma's neighbors all knowing my name. joking about black friday sales. everyone gathered around the living room hanging out. family to spend the holiday. with.

I am thankful for flushing toilets. toilet paper. clean water. ice. family. shoes on my feet. clothes to keep me warm. roads to drive one. police that i can trust to be just. american football! a bed to sleep in. health providers i can rely on. clean air. running water. carpet. the privilege of growing up in the western world where there is plenty and thankful for the opportunity to live amongst true poverty, that i can now have greater appreciation for the little things.

But most of all.. I'm Thankful For a Savior who sacrificed His own life to give me a life worth living! Thankful to live as an ambassador for the God of the universe's heavenly kingdom! Thankful to have an intimate relationship with an Almighty God!!! Thankful that my God is great and mighty, that He is worthy to be Praised, and that He is alive and active in our lives each day!

Thank you Lord for choosing me among many to have spent this summer with the Haitian people. 

I am humbled.

"Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; 

for his steadfast love endures forever!"  1 Chronicles 16:34

Love Always

A Living "Where's Waldo"

As my friend posted on my wall just the other day, I have been everywhere in the last month!

On November 4th I took the team back to Haiti for a week of reunions, DTS graduation and goodbyes. It was a great week talking about what the Lord had done for them in the last 5 months and how they could continue pressing into His presence as they went on from Haiti. I have to say, the people in that group are some of the most phenominal people that I've ever met! They have gone through an incredible season of change and are all passionately seeking after what God is calling them to next. Some of the students needed to return to high school to finish their primary education, others are planning to develope an orphanage ministry there in Haiti, one of my tet-on-tets (one-on-ones) is staying on Hispaniola (which encompases both Haiti and the Dominican Republic) until mid February. All of them are truly rising world changers!

As everyone said goodbye whether they left by truck, tap-tap, walking, or by plane I too became teary eyed as my heart swelled with pride and a sadness that I wouldn't be with everyone again. It's one of the few downs to YWAM, you cultivate incredible friendships and relationships and then 5-6 months later the family scatters back into the world where it is highly unlikely that everyone will be together again. Some of them felt this to be harder than others, but everyone was sad to be leaving.

Praise God for His grace in allowing 80-100 people to live in one house, overcoming cultural differences, communicating through 2 different languages, and still walk away completely in love with eachother. I am so honored and humbled to have been apart of such an amazing group of people! Thank you Lord for chosing me among many to witness Your Awesome Power in the Port-Au-Prince, Haiti DTS this summer! I am forever changed.

November 15th I flew with 2 staff friends, Nathanael C. and Faith C., to New York where we spent the next four days enjoying the city. It was a HUGE adjustment to make and going from rugged Haiti to glamorous Times Square. While there we got to meet up with friends from old times, from our DTS in Kona and meeting many more. I was able to visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the World Premier Dead Sea Scroll Exhibit, Central Park, and many of "the best food places" as my friend Dayne took us around. One of my favorite nights however was spent visiting the YWAM Cornerstone base in Flushing, NY. It's mainly a Korean base with one sweet foreign young lady on staff; I had a wonderful time ministering/being ministered to a few of them! Praise God! After spending the later part of the weekend at my sista, Candice's, home in Pennsylvania, I am now home in Texas with my mom and sister!! It's been a crazy month of traveling, exploring, and building relationships, but I am thrilled to be at home for this next season!

There is so much to be thankful for in the last year alone, but I'll have to share my thoughts on that another time. Until then, may God bless and encourage you with His grace and peace!

Love Always

Goodbye Haiti, mwen renmen ou anpil!

Where to start? I know it’s a lot to read through, but bear with me as I try to wrap up this time in Haiti. There will be many more posts about my time here but as for now this will have to do.

HAITI. I am head over heals for this country… 

Coming back from leading an outreach in Jamaica with my team I honestly did not want to come back to Haiti.  As we loaded our tiny little plane the excitement grew though as I looked upon the thrilled faces of my students, a huge smile spreading all throughout the team as we came to realize we were going “home!”

CHANGE. Flying in to Port-Au-Prince we came in over City Solei and were able to point out both water tanks that the DTS built over the summer. Home to one of my girls, I was reminded of the great privilege it was to be apart of the lives of so many incredible brothers and sisters in Haiti, as I watched what is known to be the largest and most dangerous slum in the western hemisphere pass us by.  It’s true - their lives have forever been changed. Three of the 4 Haitian students on my team haven’t even finished high school yet! And to have had such an amazing encounter of God’s love, to have walked in the opposite spirit of the land, preaching, traveling internationally, living among a different culture and language, and having people who genuinely care and are all about championing them in the pursuit of their dreams – I can hardly imagine what God is going to do with them over the next few years!!!

This nation is beautiful and I have become captivated by it.  I spent my last evening on the roof at Belville, watching the sunset, and couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed by the awe and beauty if it all. Looking upon the mountains with sun rays spotlighting the mountain side, covered with concrete houses, metal shacks and tents propped up between the two; a sunset of brilliant gold clouds morphing into a dusty navy with molten orange and pink behind it… The city is quieter since we left.

It’s something that we have spoken about frequently in the last week as a school. Nearly everyone, upon returning to Haiti after outreach, felt that the atmosphere here in Port-Au-Prince is exponentially lighter than when we left. It’s an interesting topic as we believe that it has to do both with the fact that we all came back having left fears, strongholds and doubts of who God is behind us – walking in confidence that our God is greater and we are above the spirits of the land; and also the really the spiritual atmosphere of the city has changed since the beginning of the school. There is peace here now. Where once one used to be on edge walking the streets, driving through densely populated alleys; hearing and seeing fights, gun shots, the cat-calls and rude comments poured over you when out in the city… now it’s as if most everyone has found peace.

FEARLESS. The streets are so calm that at first it was eerie driving back from the airport; when going to the grocery one feels totally comfortable walking in an with everyone; I’ve watched as students, once shy to talk to the Haitians, now initiate conversation (in Creole) and end up praying for them on the spot – believing that God will provide exactly what they need.  I am not at all kidding when I say that our students are fearless now. We graduated 46 of them on Friday having only 2 that we started with in June not graduate with the rest for their own reasons and since then most of them have scattered through Haiti over the weekend, some going several hours away and some just adventuring it in City Solei for a day… It’s amazing to me the amount of boldness and love they are walking in now!

Leaving tomorrow for a few days vacation in New York City before heading home to Texas, it is a bittersweet mix of emotions.  It has been an amazing 6 months immersed in the Haitian culture and language and I will truly miss it. Going back into a society completely driven by consumerism from a 3^rd world country is going to be hard I know, but I am trusting in God to continue providing the grace and compassion to walk day by day wherever He leads me to. 

After being in YWAM for well over a year now with a 7week break in the middle, I am very tired and rest is very much needed. I have felt for a couple months now just the deep need to process through all God’s taken me through and finally am feeling the release to take the next few months to rest and recover physically, emotionally, and spiritually. There is so much more to learn from my experiences working in the red light districts of Thailand, slums of Haiti, communities in Jamaica tied in false doctrine and lust, and even just with these incredible DTS students… there is so much to grasp and process through. 

THANK YOU for standing with me as I have served this nation for the last 6 months, I am honored to have seen the change first hand. I will miss these people so much and am already looking forward to the day that I can return someday. Thank you for praying with and for me as I've taken on greater roles as a sister, friend, and leader to the nations - I couldn't have made it without your love and support.

Love Always