LESSONS

“Father I abandon myself into your hands, do with me what you will. For whatever you may do, I thank you. I am ready for all, I accept all, let only your will be done in me, as in all your creatures.” -Charles de Foucauld

God help this be the prayer of my heart.

Happy birthday to Paula today!! Didn’t do alot today and that was just fine. A quiet morning led into a restful afternoon, followed by a trip to market and birthday dinner with friends.  We shoveled the yummiest cupcakes in before heading off to Wednesday worship with all the staff, kids, and team members. (some of my best moments here are in times of worship with these sweet people) It was a great evening that only got better with the spontaneous dance party that ensued with the kids when the night’s events were through! So much fun :)

Anderson and Jeff walked us home and Andy even did the dishes for us! What a birthday present for us all. Now I am laughing so hard while Brooke dances to YoutTube videos for us, hahaha.

Here’s some of my journalling from yesterday that I didn’t get around to posting: Such a good day… not too busy or exhausting. Even had time for an afternoon siesta and journalling on the roof as the sunset. After everyone went back down, Brooke, Paula and I laid on the roof talking until dinner. Bible study with the girls tonight was awesome, emotional, worshipful, and refreshing. We were all reminded of how much God loves us and how deserving he is of our worship above all things. Its so easy to let me and my worries get in the way, when the point of it all is Him.

There is a new addition to the boys home named Ti-Junior… a sweet heart and helpful spirit who knows no English. And he got to spend the morning with me and Paula, who know very little Creole… but it went great! And we’ve officially decided we love him :) He’s 10 years old and he helped us unpacked stuff in the clinic and make up some first-aid kits. Ti-Junior patiently walked with us from place to place and proudly carried his responsibility of the bag assigned to his care. Soon he will be enrolled in school though, and his free mornings spent with two silly Americans will be gone :) Please pray for him as he adjusts to his new life off of the streets. Pray that he thrives in his new environment, appreciates the new boundaries, and feels so loved by God and the people here. Continue to pray that all of the kids benefit from the blessings they are given and learn what it means to be loved by God. Pray that they work hard, and that God grows in them a passion to impact their world.   

There is a precious girl I’d like to tell you about. Her name is Ensa, she is 4 yrs old, and as you can see from the picture above, she has the sweetest smile ever and a personality to match it. Brooke, our nurse friend here, took us to meet her today at a hospital nearby. Yep… a hospital :( She has spent the last 2 wks staying there and more than 7 wks battling fevers. She also continues to have bone pain and inflamed joints.  During her stay at the hospital, she has had many tests done and received various medications. Still, answers are unclear and the symptoms continue. She is receiving quality medical care where she is and it is necessary for her to remain inpatient while they work to find out what is wrong.

Little Ensa has the amazing parents, who I also had the privilege of meeting today. Despite the challenge of having a small baby at home, one of them is with Ensa constantly. It is obvious that they love each other and their children, and honestly that is not overly common around here. Both parents are unemployed, which unfortunately is pretty common around here. 

Here’s where I ask for your help. Child Hope has been doing there best to help this family out, but the medical fund is running low and our sweet friend needs more medical treatment and testing. Each night Ensa stays at the hospital costs $60 US, which is adding up quickly. So, my first request is for money. If you would like to donate to her care, please follow the link posted at the end of this blog. My second request is for prayer. We want so much for Ensa to be healthy and be home with her family, so please be praying for answers and healing. Thank you so much for reading!

Child Hope Medical Fund

written Friday, June 10th…

It’s become a pretty normal occurrence… all shapes and sizes, perched on a ledge, climbing a wall, falling from somewhere above you to land in front of your feet. No big deal. Ha. Today we had a lot of sun… it was glorious! We soaked it up over lunch and then walked up the river that runs behind the house to go swimming. It may have been my favorite part of the week. Surrounded by beauty and friends, playing in the water.

The week has not all been fun and games though. It has brought its fair share of challenges and unmet expectations. (which I realize I shouldn’t have had in the first place). We spent most of our time in the pharmacy reorganizing, cleaning, labeling, sorting, etc. It needed to be done, we came here to serve, so what was my problem? I don’t know… I asked myself that question many times this week. I think part of what was happening was that I felt isolated. We didn’t interact much with people here, and I missed that. That’s where my heart is. The other bigger piece was that I wanted a different experience for our friend, Grace. I wanted her to love every moment, and I felt bad that I had brought her here. How horrible right? But here’s the thing. I’m glad we spent the week here. We all struggled, but God met us there. The three of us had great conversations and prayer time, and learned a lot about ourselves and each other. I was able to spend some really sweet moments working through my negativity and unmet expectations with the Lord. It’s amazing to me how many times, on this trip alone, that God has had to remind me about surrendering my plans and expectations to him. Maybe someday I’ll get it.

In coming to him with the challenges of the week, he provided us with joy and peace and sunshine and swimming time in the river. I came here to love, serve, and care for people. And I did that… this week too. It just looked differently than I thought or wanted. But it’s not about me. Lesson learned. The pace of this week has been slower which has allowed me time to think and process, and I welcome that. I also appreciated spending time with the family that runs the ministry. They have lived here 20 years, working to build and grow churches and church leaders, as well as treat medical issues among the Dominican people. What a privilege to hear about their experiences and know how to pray for them as I leave here. The Klein’s pour so much of themselves into other people, my biggest prayer is that they are able to get filled back up and feel supported and loved. There was a lot of purpose in this week even though my vision was blurred at times. And maybe some of it I’ll never see, but that’s okay. Another lesson learned.

On Wednesday we got to take a drive out to one of the churches up in the mountains. The beauty of that area took my breath away. Amazing. I loved our time of singing with the kids at the church, even when Paula, Grace and I were forced up front to lead a song… it was actually pretty fun. We walked around the town, shared Coca-Cola with friends, were welcome into homes, and fed delicious food. I think that particular evening and swimming today were the highlights of this week for me. Pictures can’t capture what we experienced and saw around us in those moments, but the three of us will carry the memories with us forever. And that is pretty cool.

God is good all the time, and all the time God is good… This is the day that the Lord has made, rejoice and be glad in it… Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these… For I know the plans I have for you…

So home I go. And I’m actually excited. The month has flown by, but I miss my family and friends, my church, my car, and warm showers. I look forward to sharing my experiences and catching up on life (over coffee of course). Once home I’m sure I will continue to process all that has happened in this month and will blog some of those thoughts as they come… there’s just no way to get it all down in the moment. And there will be lots of things that will probably never make it into written word, but I will share my heart and stories with anyone who asks. In leaving here, I reflect on the memories and lessons that this trip has brought into my life. In returning home, I weigh the decisions that have been placed on my heart and gear up for pace of life to change quickly. To deal with stress, busyness, work, bills and bad sleep schedules. I will hit the ground running, jumping right into the hecticness of summer, graduations, weddings, etc. And I just pray that everything I’ve gained in being gone for a month isn’t left in the dust. “Lord, help me bring these lessons home. Grow in me a love for you and others that shows itself constantly, no matter where I am or what I am doing. Continue to teach me and mold me into who you want me to be.”

The lights are out. I’m laying in my bed under my mosquito net so I don’t get attacked by bugs while holding my phone or a flashlight. Oh life without consistent electricity…

A quiet morning led to long day of seemingly endless projects. We worked on two things today, and it’s discouraging to barely see a dent at the end of your work. But… There is a dent. And I guess sometimes you just don’t know how big a project is until you start it. So we’ll do what we can do, and be ok with that :) The roof over the deck upstairs is unfinished and it has been raining… Alot. So we spent our morning bailing water off the roof while singing Disney songs haha. There’s still lots of water up there, but we made a dent. I think. And provided some great entertainment for the local workers fixing the roof :) Hopefully the rain that is sure to come tonight won’t undo everything.

The next many hours were spend on the overwhelming task of organizing medications and supplies in the pharmacy. Gary, the director of CDMM, sees patients at the ministry base aswell as at other locations, and has a crazy amount of stuff that has been donated over the years! Looking at it feels daunting. Pulling it out off of the shelves feels even worse. We worked for hours, until the power went out, and got about four cabinet shelves done. Out of about 45. Oh lord. I am praying for a supernatural ability to accomplish something in that room!

Even so, the day was good. We had music all day, we were fed well, and enjoyed a few minutes sitting in the scarce sunshine at lunch. Aahhh so nice :) I am happy to be helpful, and am excited to see more and do more throughout the rest of the week. And I might even be getting a little bit excited to head home… Maybe :)

I was reading Revelations today. Jesus was taking to one of the seven churches saying that he noticed all of these great actions they were taking. Good works, serving, discerning false teaching, suffering for the sake of Christ, etc. But then he said that they were lacking in something… They had stopped loving each other and God as they once had. And this is the biggest of problems… He says that if they don’t repent and return to love, he will in a sense, take away their ability to be affective! So without love, all the “things” that we do are for not. Wow. This is such an easy distraction. It is so easy to get caught up in doing… I pray that I am always much better at getting caught up in loving :)

Two wonderful things: we had pizza for dinner last night! and we got the afternoon off today! So nice to have some time to breathe before we are off to the next place tomorrow. Things have really settled down at the CTC… lots of patients still, but less chaos. We considered changing our plans and staying here an extra week, but have decided to leave as planned. We are excited for the new and adventure and for Paula’s friend, Grace, to join us. But once again, I am also a little bit nervous. No longer sick though! Yay :)

I wanted to write about some pretty neat observations and lessons from the cholera clinic. I feel like God has taught me a lot through the Haitian people as I have been caring for them. One of them being that I am often wrong… I was convicted of my know-it-all stereotypes as I watched amazing dad’s take such great care of their sick children. And while I do think that it is a very common thing for Haitian fathers to be absent and/or disengaged, it made those moments all the more sweet to witness. Some of these parents are just awesome! I was also blown away everyday by how well the families took care of each other. Sometimes family members would rotate being at the bedside (well, on the cot with the patient) and sometimes it would be one person for the whole stay. But almost every patient had someone who would empty their buckets, bring them meals, walk them to the showers, etc. The families did everything for the person who was sick, and did it with such care and concern. It was incredible… and beautiful. They trusted us to treat what was wrong with them, trusted that we knew what we were doing. You know, the two weeks here were long, the work was hard and so not glamorous, but we really did have a lot of fun… our medical team members were great, the Haitian staff at the clinic were a joy to work with, we had so many funny conversations with our lovely translators, the chaplains covered us with love and prayer everyday, and the patients always made me smile. I’m really glad we were able to experience all this.

God is so good. On each leg of this trip so far, he has given bits of clarity to me. Just a little bit at a time, but I trust him to show me just exactly what I am to know and learn, exactly when I am to know and learn it. In this time with Samaritan’s Purse, God has constantly revealed to me how necessary it is to depend on him, and just how worthy he is to be trusted. When you trust him, when you surrender… he shows up.

Tomorrow we head to the Dominican Republic… never been there and we’re not sure what exactly we’ll be doing. Looking forward to learning more about the ministry we are visiting though. Pray for us as we embark on our last week on this lovely island! We want to finish strong, becoming more and more of who God wants us to be, and learning lots about love and life. I love you all, thank you again for your support and prayers! When I read your words of encouragement or the prayers that you’ve shared with me, it does my heart good. As much as I love being here, I get a lot of joy out of hearing updates from home. Thank you, thank you.

“Jesus give Paula and I strength, endurance, and a happy heart. Grant us the ability to be okay with change, and to know that we should never count on our own plans. You are in charge, not me. God you are sustainer, comforter, healer, giver of life. and joy… I do not have to rely on my own abilities, so help me not be discouraged. These patients do not have to rely on their bodies or us to recover from sickness, so help them rest in your arms. I pray for wisdom, organization and deep, restful sleep when it is granted. Please heal me and fill me up so that I have more to give. I take a deep breath and give this week to you… and I will continue to surrender over and over, everyday. I love you. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for loving Haiti. Thank you for sending me here for such a time as this.”

Today began our week at the general clinic in Citi Soleil.  After seven 12-hour days at the CTC, we were burnt out and ready to be done. Working at the general clinic means an extra hour of sleep and an end time of 3 o’clock. We planned to have a more relaxing second week involving more free time, getting a tan, and making connections with other volunteers and staff on base. God had something else in mind. When we left the clinic this afternoon, the van delivered us to the CTC. Unaware of why we were there, we sat in the vehicle until someone informed us of the situation.  Apparently, a cholera center about an hour away had an influx of patients over the previous night and today. From 20 patients to 400.  With only a 200 bed capacity, they were needing to transfer patients to our CTC. So the end of our workday became an afternoon of setting up cots and moving patient, to prepare the compound for a lot more patients! We left after a couple hours of work just as patients were arriving and we will be up early in the morning to return. We will most assuredly be spending the rest of our week treating cholera. Please join me in praying throughout the week. We are so thankful for multitude of Haitian staff that will put in many extra hours this week, please keep them in your prayers too.

Jesus is Healer. Lets join together and ask for an end to this outbreak.

I’m writing this while watching Enchanted in the midst of a major downpour and thunderstorm. The internet is out because of the storm so I won’t be able to post this until tomorrow, but I figured I’d get the writing part done. The rain here in Haiti is nothing like the rain us Seattlites are used to! In most cases, when you walk out into it you are immediately drenched from head to toe, it lasts anywhere from twenty minutes to a couple hours, and then it’s gone. Not a cloud in the sky. We’re coming into rainy season, so it’s been happening almost every night, along with the intense lightening and thunder. For us it fun, crazy running from place to place, and a little annoying when the internet goes out. For the Haitians it’s a different story. It means flooded tents, walking miles in the rain, and rise in cholera and other water-borne diseases. Pray for them tonight.

Today was our one precious day off, and much needed! Actually, I’ve had two days off as I have been pretty sick the last couple days. The fever yesterday really took me out. Forgot how awful a fever can make you feel. I was in bed until about 2pm yesterday afternoon. Because of your prayers the fever is gone and hasn’t returned, but I’m still being plagued by a nasty cough and cold. I am going to have the doctor listen to my lungs later to see if I need to be on any antibiotics, so please keep praying that I make a full recovery quickly. I hate feeling like I’m being kept from what I came here for.

We were able to spend some time in Port Au Prince today doing some shopping and site seeing. Posted some pictures earlier. So if you click on the title of my blog you can see the previous posts.

Tomorrow is our last day at the CTC and then we’ll spend the rest of the week at the general clinic. I’m excited for the change and the shorter days, but the CTC has given me memories that I will not forget. Fun times with our great translators, a woman who convulsed every time we prayed for her or her son, the largest goiter I have every seen, a young girl dying and the drama that ensued with her family, and many more. Now it is time to try and sleep away this sickness, an early morning awaits me. I am so thankful to have talked with my family tonight because the internet come back on just in time! And so now I will post this blog and head to bed… love you all!