Overflow

HOW GREAT IS OUR GOD!!!

2011-11-16T23:09:00.001-08:00

So tonight as I was doing my Beth Moore Bible Study...she challenged us to reflect on the supreme authority of Christ over all created things after reading Col 1:15-17

15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

As I was journaling God reminded me a blogpost I had written back in April 2009. I went to my blog and loooked it up. I just finished reading it and once again was reminded of HOW GREAT my God is. I wanted to share because I think it will change your perspective of God today. I also encourage you to take time to look up the youtube videos and listen to the teachings...They are sooooooooooo good.

The past few days in my quiet time I have been learning and studying about the grandeur of my God. On youtube there are 2 different 5 segment sermons based off of 2 of Chris Tomlin’s songs How great is our God and Indescribable. The talks are done by Lou Giglio and I encourage anyone to go and listen to these. They will blow you away and make you step back and think and put your life in perspective.

The past few days, I have been blown away by God’s greatness. I quickly have learned how really, really, really big so much bigger than I ever thought or realized is the God I worship. I worship a massive God of glory and grace. A God who is able to hold me together no matter what circumstances may come my way. My God holds the universe in His hands. I used to say this statement all the time but now I have a better understanding of what that means. I have never been much into astrology but there is so much to learn about God in it.

We live in the planet earth and earth is a very small part of the Milky Way Galaxy one of hundreds of millions of galaxies in the universe. The Milky Way is 100,00 light years away and our solar system is the size of a quarter and the Milky Way the size of the continent of North America. The Milky Way Galaxy has billions of stars in it. If we were to count 1 star per second it would take 2,500 years to count just the stars in the Milky Way Galaxy. WOW!!!

Neil Armstrong on his way back to earth after walking on the moon stated “ I remember on the way home on Apollo II it suddenly struck me that the tiny pee figure pretty and blue was the earth. I put my thumb up and shut one eye and my thumb blotted out earth. But I did not feel like a giant, I felt very, very small.” One of the psalmist wrote “I look at your heaven’s and the stars that you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him or the son of man that you care for him.” That is how I feel…who am I a little spec. We are so small but it is significant, insignificance because as small as we are, we are prized by majesty who sent for us and knows us and loves us even though we are teeny, tiny little people, living on a spec floating through the vas cosmos that he created. Just as God knows every star in heaven and has named them and placed them just where he wants them, so it is with us. He knows each of us by name, has placed us just where he wants us and He holds us together. WOW!! It is amazing to think about how big he is that we know his name.

I could go through star after star that I have learned about the past few days and how amazing and marvelous God is and how these stars cry out the glory of God. But, for time and space sake I will talk about 1. The Darling of Astronomy- The Whirlpool Galaxy. It is 31 million light years away and is made up of hundreds of billions of stars. With the Huble telescope they were able to look into the black hole in the center of the whirlpool Galaxy and you know what they found…..the shape of a cross. WOW!!! All creation declares the glory of God. The grace of God is everywhere.

What is just as amazing as looking at the universe and how big and grand it is, is looking at the human body God’s fingerprints are all over it. St. Augustine said, “men go abroad to wonder at the height of mountains. The huge waves of the sea, the long course of rivers, the vast compass of the ocean, the circular motion of the stars, but they pass by themselves and don’t even notice.” How true that statement is. We don’t even realize the miracle of who we are. We are fearfully and wonderfully made by the God of the heavens. There is also so much I learned about the human body and our DNA that blew me away, but the thing that blew me away the most was the protein Laminin. Laminin is a little protein molecule that is a cell adhesion molecule. This protein is like our backbone it is holding your membranes together and it is the glue of the human body. What is so amazing about Laminen is that it is shaped like a cross. WOW! The stuff that is holding my body together is in the shape of the cross of my Lord Jesus Christ. Col 1- talks about how all things were created by and for Him. Jesus is before all things and in him all things are HELD TOGETHER! Do you know that there are millions and millions of micro crosses holding you together right now and 1 giant glorious cross of Jesus Christ that’s holding everyone of us who have trusted in Him! Now we see the little details God put in our body and in the universe to make stand back and stand in AWE of Him. There is so much we still don’t see or know and will never know. But one thing is for sure. We serve a grand, mighty, powerful, gracious, faithful, loving God.

Sin makes us think God is smaller than what he is. The fall tricked us to think we are so important, but maybe we aren’t as important as we thought we were. Maybe our lives are not as grand as we made them out to be. Don’t get me wrong, we are loved unconditionally by God. He breathed life into us and made us in His image and likeness. He even sent His one and only son to die on the cross for our sins. Oh How He Loves us! But, we are but a grain of sand in this huge universe that God holds in his hands. How amazing His love for us. The cross is even more amazing after looking at the rest of the universe. How amazing that long before I decided what I was going to do for and with God. God decided what he was going to do with me and that was to not give me what my sins deserve but to give His son what my sins deserved. Instead of giving me what I deserve instead he offered me a personal relationship with Him to live forever in a bi story all about Him. How amazing that God casts our sins as far as the east is from the west.

Listen to God speaking through his creation. God says I am the universe maker and I am a heart former but I am also big enough to be intimately aquainted with all the circumstances of your life and I promise you no matter what comes in this lifetime, no matter how difficult the road or how dark the night I will hold on to you and I will literally hold you together and carry you through any circumstances that come your way, any moment on this planet.

I challenge all of you and myself to stand in Awe of God and realize just how big he is and how small we are, but at the same time how unconditionally God loves us and how special and important we are to Him, He has called us his sons and daughter that is how intimately He loves us and cares for us. He cares for us as a Father cares for his children.

Protein Laminen
Darling of Astronomy
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Overflow by Brian & Rachel Lusky

2011-11-12T09:24:00.000-08:00

"Lord Bless me so that I may be a blessing, heal me so that I might bring healer, cover me so that I may be a covering to the broken and weak to the weary and meak..." This is the song my blog"Overflow" was named after :-) IT truly is the prayer of my heart.

Things I am Thankful for 4 and 5

2011-11-08T22:02:00.001-08:00

#4- FOOD and CLEAN WATER TO DRINK- It is so easy to forget what a gift access to food and clean water is when we live in the United States BUT not so much when you have lived for extended periods of time in a third world country. I have had countless children come up to me rubbing their tummies asking for food…many it had been over a day or 2 since their last meal. I have seen the bloated bellies and yellowish/orange hair… I held severely malnourished children as my heart broke for them. I have had the gutt wrenching job of turning families and children away when there was no food left to hand out…fully knowing how hungry they were and had no where else to get food. I have lost 5 dear friends to cholera in the past year (cholera is caused by unclean water). I have watched people drink brown water, bathe in dirty rivers. I am so incredible thankful for the fact that I can walk to the faucet and get a glass of water to drink…anytime. That I can take a shower and get clean. Thank you God for this privilege and blessing. Lord I pray for all those who don’t have this privilege that you will protect them from illness and disease and provide food for their hungry stomachs.

#5- SHELTER: I am so grateful tonight to have a warm apartment to come home to. There are many days I look around my apartment and feel guilty for the fact that the size of my apartment is the size of 9 houses in Haiti. Each of those 9 houses would average hold 10 people. My apartment has windows, doors, running water, electricity, a toilet, refrigerator, stove and when it rains the water stays out…The people in Haiti have a dirt floors, possibly some chairs, maybe a bed or 2, a few clothes and when it rains they get soaked. The truth be that the ones who have a house (shack) are the lucky few…many people in Haiti don’t have a roof over their head. Many in Pourt-A-Prince are still living in tents since the earthquake. I don’t even have to reflect all the way to Haiti…I look around Vegas and see how many homeless people there are here in America…so many people who are freezing tonight because they have no where to go and no roof over their head. Thank you God for providing me with shelter. Lord please protect all those who are cold tonight and have no where to go. Be with all those who do not have shelter and LORD until they find physical shelter may they find shelter in you.

Things I am Thankful for 1,2, & 3

2011-11-07T22:22:00.000-08:00

A few of my missionary friends are taking November as a time to reflect on the things they are thankful for. Each day in November they are picking 1 thing they are thankful for and blogging. I have decided to attempt to do the same…I am 7 days behind and therefore will be catching up over the next few days…

1.) SALVATION- Without it I am NOTHING…My life would have no meaning, no drive, No Joy, No peace…No Hope. The simple fact that the God of the universe would send his one and only son to die for me…continues to blow me away. The fact that through Jesus I am forgiven…given a clean slate…seen as a child of God and given a purpose to fulfill on earth with the promise of the reward of eternity at the end...MINDBOGGLING! Thank you LORD for the Free Gift of SALVATION that cost you so much!

2.) My PARENTS- God has blessed me with the most amazing parents who have poured so much into me. They poured their love, their time, their energy, their words, their hugs/kisses, their finances. They sacrificed so much so I could have a Christian education through 8th grade which truly laid a foundation for my walk with the Lord. They sacrificed so I could go to Christian summer camp every year where I accepted Christ for the first time…They sacrificed so I could go to youth conventions/Ralley’s…even when they were tired they took me to youth group…my dad woke up early to drive me to Tuesday morning breakfast/Bible study in high school. They were with me on my first mission trip that sparked my passion for missions. They have been the ones who have supported me through all the big and little decisions in life…even when it hurt them to let me go…allow me to move…Trust me into God’s hands. My parents sacrificed so much to help me grow in the Lord and I am eternally grateful for their outpouring of love and their faithfulness to serving God. I love you both so much!

3.) FRIENDS- God has truly blessed me some of the most AMAZING friends throughout my life. Not just friends to hang out with but TRUE GENUINE LIFELONG friends…friends that have poured into me, helped me through difficult times, friends I have been able to serve the LORD alongside, study God’s word with, and Just have a fun with. Accountability Partners, Spiritual Mentors, Second Parents, House Mates, Bible Study Partners…the list goes on and on. Friends that even though we are separated by thousands of miles and may only talk or see each other a couple times a year now…I know that they are praying for me and I am praying for them. I am so eternally grateful for the friendships God has blessed me with.

God Of Justice By Tim Hughes

2011-11-07T20:37:00.000-08:00

The Race of Life

2011-11-07T10:21:00.000-08:00

The last week God has really laid upon my heart the imagery of My Life as a Race. I was born at the start line and ever since I took my first breath I have been running a Marathon with the end point being Heaven/Eternity with my Savior and Maker. There have been different legs to this race so far (Infant/Toddler years, elementary/middle/high school, college/grad school, Carson City, Nevada, Las Vegas, Nevada), and God willing many more to come. Each leg of my race has had it challenges; each brought new people into my life some as encouragers, some for me to encourage, some to sharpen me and others so I could sharpen them. Most importantly each has enabled me to grow closer to my savior, and grow in my love and desire for a deep intimate relationship with my maker, savior, and best friend!

I had fun the last week and am continuing to brainstorm and put on paper a visual of my life so far (past 24 years). Including: key events, people, trials, lessons, scripture, stages in spiritual growth/life, and challenges I faced. If you have never thought much about it, I challenge you to take some time to reflect…For me it opened my eyes and reminded me of just how BIG my God is and how intimately involved he has been in my life since before I was born planning out the events that have unfolded and will continue to unfold in my life. When I live a life surrendered to the LORD my life will always be an adventure…there will always be challenges…there will always be moments I will want to give up…always be attacks from satan until I reach the finish line BUT When I am living in the spirit with my eyes fixed on Christ I will always have enough strength to keep going…enough peace…enough joy…enough hope…enough faith…

Throughout the Bible our life is described as a race....

In a race all the runners take part in it, but only one of them wins the prize. Run, then, in such a way as to win the prize. Every athlete in training submits to strict discipline; he does so in order to be crowned with a wreath that will not last; but we do it for one that will last forever. 1 Cor 9:24-25 (TEB)

“…. since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.” Hebrews 12:1-3

Not that I have become perfect yet; I have not yet won, but I am still running, trying to capture the prize for which Christ Jesus captured me. I can assure you my brothers, I am far from thinking that I have already won. All I can say is that I forget the past and I strain ahead for what is still to come; I am racing for the finish, for the prize to which God calls us upward to receive in Christ Jesus. Phil 3:12-14 (Jer)

...Keep yourself in training for a godly life. Physical exercise has some value in it, but spiritual exercise is valuable in every way, because it promises life both for now and for the future. This is a true saying, to be completely accepted and believed. That is why we struggle and work hard... 1 Tim 4:7-10 (TEB)

Follow the Lord's rules for doing his work, just as an athlete either follows the rules--or is disqualified and wins no prize.

2 Tim 2:5 (LB)

As for me, the hour has come for me to be sacrificed; the time is here for me to leave this life. I have done my best in the race, I have run the full distance, I have kept the faith. And now the prize of victory is waiting for me, the crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the Day--and not only to me, but to all those who wait with love for him to appear. 2 Tim 4:6-8 (TEB)

...I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me--the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace. Acts 20:24 (NIV)

I wrote this a year ago & stumbled upon it tonight and it was perfect….I feel in the same spot today…a little over a year later…As God has called me into a new city, new job, out of my comfort zone…

“Since I moved to Nevada I have been missing Haiti more than ever. Probably because so much is going on, so many changes are happening, God is moving in so many BIG ways & my heart aches & longs to be there. Maybe because I took this job so that I can serve in Haiti in the summers & that is a huge motivator as everything in my life is changing. This move has challenged me to go to a new level of TRUST in my BIG GOD. I don’t know anyone out here, I am in a new town, new job, first job out of college, so much is expected & frankly at times I feel so inadequate. I can’t help but ask Why me God? I have taken a lot of time to think back on my past & I stand in Awe at the ways God has moved to form me into the person I am today. I could go on & on and list pages of situations that have happened (good & bad) that occurred to prepare me to be where I am today & be ready to keep fighting & traveling along this journey God is taking me on. God has blessed me time & time again in my past & He is blessing me so abundantly here in Nevada. During a hike last weekend as I sat on a Big rock overlooking Lake Tahoe from on top of a mountain I had just climbed, I finally took the time to stop & tune into God. God laid upon my heart this poem. It was such a sweet reminder of how God has perfect plans for each of us, He cares deeply about each of us, He loves us each so deeply, and He is so excited to take us on a journey of a lifetime that ends in His sweet precious arms. I challenge you to look back over your past, to see God’s handiwork in your life. His hand is there…even when we push Him away…He never leaves us, never stops pursuing us, never stops loving us. We are his precious children.

What God Sees

In June 1987 God breathed life into a little girl.

In that moment when the world saw a cute, fragile, precious baby…

God saw into the future and saw the women of God she would become.

In elementary school when she was the shyest person in her class and got homesick when she was away from home…

God saw into the future and saw her being bold & courageous for Him while crossing seas to share the gospel and His love.

When she was in middle school and confused about who she was & not the best in school

God saw into the future when she would be full of God-confidence & graduate grad school with a degree she could use to serve the Lord with.

When she was 12 and went on her first mission trip

God saw into the future and saw the missionary she would become.

As she was growing up & she found her talent to be loving on children & she was always being told when you grow up you should work with children

God saw into the future & saw her working with all kinds of children in the united states & overseas.

When that little girl would get easily upset & her heart would break

God smiled and looked into the future & saw a women who had a compassionate heart that broke at the site of injustice & that drove her to fight for the poor, needy, & forgotten.

And now as her heart aches & longs to be in Haiti, serving as a missionary, using her skills/degree to work with disabled children sharing God’s love to the poor, needy, & forgotten.

She is trusting in God’s perfect timing & believes there is more preparation to take place before she is ready to go.

I wonder what God sees as He looks into her future?

I don’t know what my future holds…but I know the one who does & I can face tomorrow because I know He lives & He is Mighty & He is faithful. I just got done reading the book of Genesis & reading about the journey of God’s people. They had to wait on His timing…time & time again BUT He always fulfilled His promises & ALWAYS journeyed with them. He blessed them even when other plotted harm against them. I was reminded that God works everything for His glory & His good. EVERYTHING. What others plan as harm against us God turns for His good. BUT God as I learned from Genesis PATIENCE is key, TRUST is essential, and FAITH is required. I am learning these 3 things. I am excited to see how God is going to use me now & how He is going to continue to mold me & shape me into the vessel He needs me to be, to go on the next leg of my journey. May I be a willing vessel, open to learn, open to be molded, and open to GO WHEREVER He calls me. Thank you for all your prayers & support. Please continue to keep me in your prayers as I am being stretched in ways I never dreamed but growing at the same time.

I challenge you to take an hour to sit at your maker (coach’s) feet and allow him to tell you His story of the life He has given you…Let Him reveal truths to you and encourage you in this marathon you are running. I am so thankful that God has brought each and everyone of you into my marathon and whether we got to run alongside each other for a few weeks, months, years, or are still running beside each other…I am so grateful for that time because each of you have helped me make it to the leg of the race I am on today…whether you or I knew it at the time J That is just how BIG our God is!

.

Haiti UPDATE :-)

2011-09-19T10:39:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,

Sorry it has been so long since I have written an update about everything going in Haiti (which is A LOT). Things have been rather crazy the last month: coming home from Haiti, visiting family & friends, packing & moving down to Las Vegas where I took a new job, starting my new job and unpacking. Where to even start…
1st Here is the link to the Youtube video I made from my trip this summer. It is an 11 minute video showing pictures, videos, and explaining in words an overview of the therapy I did with the kids.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBiyEeE8-5A

Since I left Haiti a little over a month ago a lot of changes have happened in the Miriam Center. Walls have come down, new walls have gone out, windows & doors have been busted out in the new school room & the play room. A nurses station is in the process of being built, desks have been built for the school…to just name a few.
I have had a really hard time adjusting to life not in Haiti. I miss my kids soooo much to the point my heart aches to be back in Haiti with them. I wish I could just live in Haiti full-time right now…drop everything & fly to Haiti BUT I know that is not what God is asking me to do right now. The past month has been harder than normal due the fact so many of our children have been sick & 2 of our outreach kids have passed away. The other night when I got news that 6 of the Miriam Home children had an allergic reaction to their scaves medicine I lost it. I begged God not to take them, I prayed for their healing…as I was praying God revealed to me that I hold these children too tight, that God has called me to hold them, love them, teach them, pray over/with them, & rejoice in what he is doing BUT most of all He has called me to surrender their lives into His hands, to trust Him, & to hold loosely to them and to realize that a time will come when He will ask me to let go. I then heard the song I Surrender All. God is currently teaching me a really hard lesson to surrender each of the Miriam Home & For Jonathan Sake Children into His hand & his perfect timing.

A Quote that I have treasured the last few weeks…
"Sometimes just surviving certain tasks without falling apart is our best and in those times God isn't ashamed of our performance. He's proud of us for fighting overwhelming human emotions to do His will. God isn't interested in our stellar performance but in our hearts. He loves our willingness and obedience despite our insecurities." - Beth Moore

A friend of mine sent me these encouraging words.
“Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy. (Psalm 126:5) The blessings of watering the soil with your own tears while you sow the seeds of His love, His Word and the Truth are unfathomable. Keep up the good work you are doing right now, even if the pain seems unbearable...the songs of joy you'll reap at the end will be all worth your tears.”
There have been a lot of tears the last month…

LUKE 2:52 SCHOOL
The new Luke 2:52 special education school is up & running. This has been a dream for years. I was so excited when 6 months ago I learned that Stephanie Mosier a special education teacher had given a year to come serve in Haiti at the Miriam Center to start up the school. I had the wonderful privilege of serving beside her for 2 months this summer. She has such a heart for these kids & God has given her an amazing vision for the school. She has worked for months preparing for the first day of school. I am excited to announce school has started & is in its second week of running. I wanted to share a few stories written by Stephanie in her blog. To read more & see pictures you can check out her blog at http://kimmyshouse.wordpress.com/

First Day of School
August 31, 2011, for 27 kids that was the first day ever of school for them. Keeping that in mind today did go very smoothly. The kids were so excited about school this morning. It took about 10 minutes to get them into the school room, and than our day started. We had about 30 minutes of Bible songs and a story, told by Grant one of the missionaries who is here from Le Bia. He told David and Goliath and acted it out, it was so funny because he was Goliath and little Mackenly was David and would not throw a stone at him. From there we went to centers that had coloring, puzzles and letter formation. And there to our interactive board we are teaching colors and shapes. Then the centers switched and we had a water break, worked on calendar and our day was over. Working tomorrow to kill dead time, there was just too much today. A shout out to Evelyn a kindergarten teacher who works at the Miriam Center and now the school. She had a Creole song for everything, from answering a question correct to ending the school day. Love that woman. Also a shout out to Nahum who had a chant for the calendar and helped me walk Lovensky home. I just could not let him walk home. Sad news though with him, I did not know that he had walked to school by himself and told him he had to wait for his mom to come and get him to go home, He burst into tears, because his mom is in tortuga and he thought he was going to be stuck at school, so than we really had to walk him hime. He is only six and seriously his not that far to his house was pretty far.
Than this afternoon, definitely a more animated crew. Bible time and songs went for almost an hour because this group loves to sing, and they are just too cute. So a kid that I was worried about Stevenson, because he never leaves his mom’s side had a cute start this afternoon. So we were all walking as a group to the school room door and he is crying and just not happy as his mom just drags him to school. Well we walked through the Miriam Center and there is a door his mom just pushed him out shut the door and left. He was standing there crying and one of our almost blind boys Olsen tells him something, and Stevenson stops crying grabs his hand and helps him to the school room. It was so cute. The kids just talk all the time in the afternoon and had such a good time. Son son was coloring a picture of a puppy and saying something Nahum was sitting over there just cracking up I asked what he was saying and Son son was saying, little doggy don’t bite me. So cute. Pretty much sums up the day. Got some work done to make tomorrow go smoother. Please pray this is a lot of work. But God is very good to us and our school.

Partial Dream Come True
Well, yesterday was ok at school we still have so many detail to iron out and it seems like everything is trial and error. But something interesting happened yesterday. I had emailed Shannon that one of my dreams for the classroom was that it would become that safe place for these kids that they just love to come to, and well the kids do have fun we are not there yet. But after school yesterday I went down to the classroom to clean it and there was a man at the window just staring in. I recongnized him as a man that people have been talking about wondering why he is always hanging around the mission. He has cerebral palsy and is deaf. I found out his mom cooks for the meals on heels program and just brings him. Back to the story, well he had his hands cupped around his eyes looking in the classroom, so I went up to him and asked him to come in. I told him this room is a school for the kids who live here. He told me that the kids who live here are not smart. I told him they are they just need a little extra help. So he told me that he is not smart, so of course I had to tell him that he was and I pulled out a white board and he started to write the alphabet, by the letter d he needed help but in sign language we made it through the alphabet and than numbers to 20. He was so proud of himself he asked if we could nail the white board to the wall, told him we could not but did find a way to put it up for display. He asked if he could come back tomorrow. So today I waited for him and he did not show up but today at 5 I went down to clean the classroom and he had pulled out a coloring book and was coloring and asked if it was ok to be in there. I told him it was and he said good, I like it here. So the classroom is turning into that safe place for people with special needs, and it could not make me happier.

First Day of School Age 19
Today was the first day of school for a boy named Moline. And yes he is 19 years old. Mentally there seems to be nothing wrong with him. This culture wants to throw him at as an out cast for the mere fact that he has a hunchback and looks a little different and is not even 4 feet tall. But they do not know what they are missing. This man is a man of character, he is eager to learn and kind to those around him. So I am going to take this moment to say, this is crazy, why at the age of 19 was today the first day of school for a person who is absolutely perfect. I makes me mad with righteous indignation of course that I am starting at square one with a student who is 19. I feel like something here needs to change his story is not like that one who slipped through the cracks but one that is not given a chance. I feel like God has something very special for this young man who has been left behind please pray that we find a great place for him in our school. He enjoyed today and stayed for both session, he was not alone either, I had a 17 year old girl with down syndrome whose first day of school was yesterday and there is a 22 year old girl who showed up today. This whole situation boggles my mind. Ok that is my venting for the night, we will start fresh tomorrow and have fun at school, regardless of age or ability. I love that everyone is welcome and has a place here.

PRAYER REQUESTS
1) Gilbert- Gilbert is one of our outreach boys who is living in the Miriam Center temporarily. This summer as we were redoing how FJS was going to run we were contacting all the families who were apart of the program. We were unable to get a hold of Gilbert & Acerla due to not having a phone number. They live a few hours from the mission on top of a mountain. They were 2 of my favorite kids in the outreach program. Both have some type of genetic disorder that causes their bones to grow together & they are very short. Acerla could’nt walk but Gilbert could. I was sad that we could not make contact especially now that we were getting ready to get the school up & running which would have been perfect for them. I remember last summer sending them home with crayons, paper, beads, & anything I could because they were so eager to learn. Gilbert & his mother showed up at the mission a few weeks ago & we got word that Acerla had passed away a few months ago & Gilberts mom was really sick. Gilbert is staying in the Miriam Home for a month or so & attending school. Please pray for this little boys heart as he adjust to a new environment, missing his sister & grieves her loss (his best friend), as he is homesick & misses his mom. It has been amazing to hear & see pictures of the Miriam Home boys taking him in as if he were always there & including him 

2) I received new on September 6 that Lorvens Charles had passed away. He was one of my outreach children. I have known him for 3 years. He was such a joy but was living with a progressive muscle disease that caused him to over the years become weaker & weaker. He fought hard this race of life & finished that race! He is no longer trapped in his body, losing mobility & the ability to use his hands, unable to catch his breath, or losing weight…HE IS WHOLE, in the arms of His father. Though I will miss him dearly alongside many others…He is WHOLE…w/ his Savior…running, playing, dancing, clapping, singing! Please keep his family & all of those who loved him so dearly in your prayers.

3) Luke 2:52 School- For Stephanie as she continues to iron out the details, make lesson plans, train the Haitian helpers. The cool thing about this school is we have combined the younger kids from the deaf school & have the deaf teacher in the room. The kids are learning sing language, English, & in Creole. It is pretty amazing school dynamic. Pray for the kids as they learn & that this school would continue to be a place where children & adults with disability feel safe!

4) Deaf Church- Please continue to pray for this new ministry. As we reach out to the deaf community & provide them a safe place to worship & learn about God. Something they have never had before.

5) Courtney Peirce- as she continues to day in & day out serve and advocate for these children. Pray for strength, encouragement, & rest for her.

6) Me- please pray that I could surrender Haiti to God. That I could clearly see my role over the next 8 months stateside. I know God has called me to fight for these kids from the states, to raise awareness, & gather supplies & people to help. Pray that I could faithfully fulfill that calling. Also pray for my heart as it aches & misses the kids so much.

7) Possible trip into Haiti at Easter- I am praying about taking a trip into Haiti at Easter. It will just be a 1 week trip to tie up some therapy stuff. 1 big thing is wheelchairs we have been working for over a year to get into Haiti should be there & we will be able to introduce the kids to their new wheelchairs. EXCITING. I am also hoping my parents will be able to come down at this time & meet my kids & mission family & see first hand my heart.

Thank you for all your prayers for the sick children last week who had an allergic reaction to their scaves medicine. They are doing well, off IV & back to being kids :-) God sure is Good & answered all our prayers.

Thank you! Each and everyone one of you for your faithful support. May God Bless you!

Occupational Therapy at Miriam Center in Haiti 2011

2011-09-19T10:37:00.000-07:00

This is the video I made about the all the Occupational Therapy work I did in Haiti this summer :-)

My New ADVENTURE = New Job

2011-08-17T11:12:00.000-07:00

Well as many of you know the past year has been a whirlwind of CHANGE for me. I graduated from college, left for Haiti for almost a month & a half, came home & had 3 weeks to study for my boards, took my boards, 3 days later packed up a U-haul & moved from PA to NV. I moved to NV not knowing anyone, started my first job working at a school district (an area I did not do a clinical rotation in), & well pretty much so started a new life in an unfamiliar place. WHY? Well because God made it clear that He was calling me there.

Well God was MIGHTY GOOD…He provided me with an AMAZING church family, 3 Bible Studies that allowed me to grow spiritually & stay focused on Him, met 2 AMAZING women of God who later became my housemates, made wonderful friends, Worked with an AMAZING staff at the school district & fell in love with the kids I worked with. I learned how to write IEPS, how to treat kids in a school setting, learns tons of new things, got to teach others the skills I had learned in school or acquired on my other adventures. I was HAPPY to say the least. I had no intentions of leaving.

Well…God had other plans. About 8 months ago I got a brochure in the mail about a therapy clinic in Las Vegas. It was an outpatient pediatric clinic. I read the brochure & told myself it was my dream job…BUT I quickly put it away & reminded myself that I am perfectly happy where I am at…I am making a difference…I am growing spiritually…Life is good. I didn’t think much of it after that. I moved out of my apartment into a house with my 2 new roommates, I began helping start a disability ministry at my church, etc.

Well…with all the budget cuts my job at the school district was up in the air. They did not know if they could pay my contract next year. The company I worked for had a couple other pediatric options but all of them involved moving. I began praying hard about what God wanted me to do. God gave me piece that the job would come through at Douglas.

BUT as the time for me to leave for Haiti came nearer I began looking. If I had to move I decided maybe it was God saying that now I could move to Oklahoma to be with No Boundaries International (where I wanted to move last year but God said not now). I thought it must be now. I applied for 6 jobs out there but all fell through or were not what I wanted. The whole time I prayed that God would open doors He wanted open & close doors He wanted closed. Well He closed all those doors.

A nights later God woke me up at 4AM & kept pressing the Las Vegas Job on my heart & how I should apply. I kinda came up with a list of excuses of why I would never get the job & why I didn’t want to apply BUT He wouldn’t let me fall back asleep. I finally got up & wrote an email that basically said that outpatient pediatrics is my ideal treatment setting but because of what I do in Haiti I would need 2 months off so I understand if you are not interested (it was better worded I am sure but that was the gist of it). I got an email back a day or so later that said that they would be stupid to pass up a good therapist just because I would need 2 months off a year. I began talking to them more & even flew down to Vegas for an interview before I left for Haiti. I loved the clinic & thought it would be an amazing place to work. I would be able to offer a lot but at the same time learn a lot. I did not like the city at all…that was my big turnoff…we all know I am a country girl. Born & raised in the country. I left with a lot to think about.

I left for Haiti still not knowing what next year held. I prayed a lot…discerned where God was calling me…selfishly I wanted to stay where I was at…with my church…my friends…my roommates…I wanted nothing to change BUT I am not called to live a comfortable life…often times God calls us out of our comfort zones to grow us & teach us new things…I had to be willing if God called me to move.

Well a few weeks ago God told me to move to Vegas…To take that job. He affirmed it multiple times. So after all that is said I am moving to Vegas & start my new job Aug 31st working for My Left Foot Therapy Clinic. They have agreed to give me 2 months off a year to be in Haiti with my kids & mission family. EVERYTHING is changing again…once again I moving to a new city where I know no one, once again I must find a church, I have to learn a new job, & I am waaaaaaaaaaaay out of my comfort zone.

With all the changes I was brought back to the book that I read 2x last summer as I prepared to move “The Dream Giver” If you have not read this book it is a Fantastic Book & would highly recommend it. It is an easy read but so insightful. I wanted to share a few quotes that have been an encouragement to me….

“Our Heavenly Father never takes anything away from His children unless He means to give them something better.”

“Great things will happen when you put God first and make Him owner of all you care about.”

I feel that God is taking a lot away from me by asking me to move to Vegas & take this new job BUT I believe that He has something even better in store for me!!! I know great things will happen as I keep God first.

“The single best way to develop leaders is to take people out of their safe environment and away from the people they know, and throw them into a new arena they know little about. Way over their head., preferably. In fact, the more demanding their challenges, the more pressure & risk they face, the more likely a dynamic leader will emerge.”

Well…I think this pretty much describes what God just did…I guess He is developing me to be a leader…

“I’ve noticed the bigger the Dream, the longer the time of preparation…But like Joshua, Joseph, & David passed the tests of the wilderness & emerged prepared for their Dreams. You can to.”

God has given me some pretty BIG Dreams for Haiti & for helping disabilities children in general. He has given me a passion for the least of these & a vision for making the Invisible…Visible through Christ, Children, Community.

“Therefore you need to make the decision. Will you give God permission to do His work- for as long as He wants. In the ways that He wants, to change you as deeply as He wants- to prepare you for your BIG Dream?”

My prayer is that God would make me into the person I need to be to do the Dream He has created me to do…NO matter what that will cost me or where it will lead me or what I have to do to get there.

“Looking back now, I see that I was holding far more tightly to the gift of my Dream than to the Dream Giver Himself.”

I find this to be a constant battle…as yes my Dream is mission work & working for God but I must not get so caught up in pursuing my Dream that it affects my relationship & pursuit after knowing God more!

So there you have it. God is calling me onward to the next leg of my adventure to reach my BIG DREAM. I do ask for you prayers as I don’t like change. I ask that you pray that I could find a good church in Vegas, that I could find a good group of friends, that I would quickly learn & excel at my new job, & that I could grow closer to my Savior every step of the way.

Reflection Back Over The Summer

2011-08-17T10:39:00.000-07:00

As I tried to figure out how to explain my summer in words…I decided it would be better if I instead made a videos with pictures & video clips from the summer. I have made 2 videos with plans to make 2 more in the coming weeks.

The first video I made was a Thank You video. It is full of pictures of me & the kids. The second (and longer) video is of all the therapy work I did this summer & it explains each piece. These videos don’t go through everything…obviously…since I took over 3,500 pictures & 120 videos but I think they give you a good taste & hopefully a better understanding.

When I left Haiti I felt like I hadn’t accomplished a lot…BUT when I finally sat down & got to reflect on my summer & everything I was able to accomplish I was blown away…I couldn’t believe that it all got done in 2.5 months.

List of what I was able to accomplish this summer
1. Visibility Boxes
2. Wheelchairs
3. Hand Splints
4. Occupational Therapy Evaluations & Treatment Plans
5. Train Naham
6. For Jonathan’s Sake Handout’s & Folders
7. Feeding Schedules & Feeding Plans
8. Helping develop Miriam Home Rotations
9. Introduction & training on how to use assistive technology
10. Positioning picture rings

The question how do I explain all of these projects to you. Well I made an 11 minute video that explains & shows each project. I will post it on youtube as soon as I get fast enough internet & post the link. All my facebook friend I will post it on their as well.

I then decided to list as many fun activities as I could remember doing with the Miriam Home kids. It was a fun exercise that brought back so many wonderful memories.
-Bubbles
-Playdough
-Painting
-Face painting
-train rides
-going to get Sapebones
-Ice Cream
-File Folder Games
-Games (don’t Break The Ice, Elephant game, etc.)
-Trips to the playground
-Wheelchair soccer
-Baking Cookies & Cakes
-Playing guitar for them especially Our God is an Awsome God!
-Shaving Cream
-Dancing
-Singing & Musical Instruments
-Movie Nights
-Saturday Cartoons
-Crafts
-Pretend 4 wheeler rides
-soccer
-Playing on old Cardboard boxes
-Hammock Time
-IPAD Time
-Puppet Shows
-VBS
-Going to church
-Night Routine of singing worship songs with my boys & Praying together
-Glow in the dark night

As you can see from the list above I had A LOT of fun with my kids. I have not had a chance to make a Miriam Home video. It will probably be a few weeks since I am back in NV & my computers video making program is not working. I will have to wait till my family comes out to help me move so I can use my mom’s computer.

So as I reflect back over the summer I stand in Awe of my BIG GOD & all the ways He worked in the lives around me as well as in & through me. I am humbled by all that God equipped & allowed me to do (much I did not feel qualified to do & could have only done with his guidance, strength & help). I feel extremely blessed to have had the opportunity to work alongside some of the most AMAZING people. To watch my Haitian staff pour out God’s love over the children. To watch my kids learn new things & just grow. I really do not know how to encompass in words this summer. One thing I know for sure after this summer…NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR GOD! Thank you for all your prayers & support!

What Now...Now that I am back Stateside

2011-08-17T10:37:00.000-07:00

This Summer I have committed to being more involved when I am not in Haiti fighting for the kids & helping with things stateside. Last year I took on the roll as Miriam Center Therapy Coordinator. I spent a lot of time last year when I was not in Haiti writing therapy companies for donations, going around speaking & sharing what God was doing in Haiti, creating new evaluation forms to be used this summer Haiti, researching assistive technology, researching how to help our kids more, & raising money to buy supplies to take into Haiti. I will continue to do this from the states again.

I have also decided to take on the role of being in contact with groups before they come to Haiti if they are going to spend anytime at all in the Miriam Center. My plan from the Nevada is to be in contact with every group that plans to visit the Miriam Center & based on how big their group is provide them with a couple specific kids (both higher functioning & lower functioning) that I would encourage them find a few group members from their team to commit to spending 30 minutes at least 1x during their stay at the mission. I would also attach the children’s bios so that they could start praying for the children & have the opportunity to start making a connection with them.
I also want to be able to provide each of the groups with a bunch of different group activities they could do with the kids (shaving cream, cornstarch, face painting, painting, finger painting, wheelchair races, glow in the dark nights, take the kids for ice cream, go to playground, take the kids for sapebones, take the kids to the beach, etc.) & allow them to plan for what activities they want to do. So they no longer come the Miriam Center & ask to do an activity but have no idea what they want to do. This would allow them to plan for what they want to do & walk in ready to engage & interact with the kids. I am so EXCITED for the potential this has.

For Jonathan Sake Update

2011-08-17T10:02:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don’t know For Jonathan’s Sake is our outreach program to help families who have disabled children in the surrounding towns & villages around the mission to not only survive but thrive by providing them with the resources to provide for & take care of their disabled children. Most of these children come from single parent families because after they have a disabled child they are seen at fault for this disabled child…even cursed. Children with disabilities are looked down upon…seen as worthless, cursed, possessed…These children are often hid away, abandoned…FORGOTTEN…INVISIBLE. The mission of the Miriam Center is to make the INVISIBLE…VISIBLE through Christ, Children, Community.

“I will rescue the lame & gather those who have been scattered. I will give them praise & honor in every land where they have been put to shame” Zephaniah 3:19

As I look back on the summer & the plans I thought God had for this program & the ones I prepared for…I have to laugh because very little of those plans happened. When I was originally planning for Haiti I had no plans of doing much with the FJS program. I had spent a huge portion of last summer pouring into this program. I was planning on focusing on Miriam Home. Well, God had others plans. He revealed to me about a month before I left for Haiti that I was suppose to write a Bible Study based on the names of Christ & share it with the FJS parents & that I was to focus on training those parents in therapy techniques. Well, I listened & began planning for this…I went into Haiti ready to share this new Bible study & with all the supplies needed to make each FJS parent a folder that would have handouts & evaluations in them to help then help their child. When I arrived in Haiti I walked into the Miriam Home Children having chicken pox & having to cancel FJS for 6 weeks. At that point I decided that I would still do the first 4 weeks of my Bible Study with the parents & try to make some handouts. Shortly after that I had a meeting with Janeil where we decided we needed to get each of the kids sponsored (which involves a lot of paperwork) in order to keep this program running. The first 2 weeks of FJS was full of gathering information to get the kids sponsored & I did not get to start my Bible Study or do any training. God had huge plans for my last 2 weeks that I could have never dreamed of (read below)

1. SPONSORSHIP

Earlier this summer I wrote a blog about my heavy heart over some BIG…Hard decisions that we had to be make for this program including no longer being able to feed the families. We had the hard task of restructuring this program to take it from being a dying program to a thriving one.

So the question then became where do we start? SPONSORSHIP... All the programs at NWHCM run off of sponsorship & we realized this is a huge piece we had been missing. The last 3 weeks I was in Haiti I sat down with each FJS family & gathered all the information we needed to make sponsorship packets for each child. I evaluated each child, figured out their diagnosis, wrote a summary of what they could & could not do, had a translator who helped gather family history & other important information from the parents & had a photographer get a picture of each child with their parent. We basically acted like we were starting this program over. We re-entered every family back into the program. We grouped each child in 1 of 5 categories & gave them 1 day a week that they will come to the mission from 1-4.

There is something quite beautiful about sponsorship…not only does it provide financially for that child to receive care & the message of Christ shared with them & their family BUT it also opens doors for relationships to be formed. Someone else called by God takes a step of faith & obedience to God’s call…sacrifices financially so that one of these children who has been INVISIBLE to the world can become VISIBLE…that person becomes an advocate, prayer warrior, faithful partner to that child & their family. HOPE is restored…CHANGE begins…VISIBILITY happens. I am so excited to see these relationships begin to be built over the next few months. Also…please pray about whether sponsoring one of these children would be something God is asking you to do…maybe you can’t do $75 a month …maybe financially you cannot sponsor a child but you could become a prayer warrior for 1 or multiple of these children & their families. God has blessed us so that we can be a blessing to others.

2. Handouts & Folders

I had originally hoped to make each FJS family a folder with some basic handouts on positioning & stretching but with all the events that happened & with sponsorship I decided to wait till next year. I was already overwhelmed with everything I needed to finish up before I left (at this point in like 2 weeks). Well, one day at FJS one of the parents confronted me on the fact that last year I had promised handouts to help them work with their child & they had never received any. I felt bad & so set out to create a generic stretching handout. Well that handout led to me making one for how to use the therapy brush, one for how to use the therapy ball, & one for how to use the bolster. In the end I was able to provide each family with a folder that had 6 pages of handout (some front & back) that were all in picture form with English & Creole translation on them. I trained a Hatian, Presidue who will teach the parents how to stretch their children, brush them, & massage them. I am so excited for the potential these folders have. Each of the handouts was laminated, 3 hole punched & placed in their folder. Their folder was then placed in a 2 gallon ziplock bag to make it waterproof.

3. Sewing
I have always had a dream of starting a sewing program with the FJS mothers. I feel like it would be awesome to be able to teach them a trade that they could then use to support their family. Last summer I took in tons of material & sewing supplies with the intentions of beginning to teach sewing. Unfortunately last summer it never got off the ground. Well, 2 of the mothers who are in my Thursday group confronted me the fact that I told them that we would begin to learn to sew last summer & never did. It was a God moment because as my heart broke as I realized I was going to have to tell them that it wouldn’t happen this summer either. BUT then I realized that Cara was standing behind me. Cara was the one who first brought me to Haiti back in 2007. She just graduated from OT school & passed her boards prior to coming into Haiti this summer. Her main purpose in Haiti this summer was teaching the women in the town of La Fordge how to sew & how to make various other crafts that they could learn to make & then sell at Market. I asked her if the next week she would be willing to teach my FJS mothers how to make something. She agreed. It was a joy to see how excited these mothers were. I still believe & hope that one day this will be an aspect to the FJS program.

4. School
We are tremendously blessed to have Stephanie Mosier a special education teacher in working in the Miriam Center for the next year. Her goal is to get our special education school up & running. She is well on her way which is super exciting!!! Originally the plan was that this school would be for the Miriam Home children but after seeing about 15 kids in the FJS program that would benefit tremendously from having access to education & very capable of learning & growing it was decided that in the afternoon these children would come to school. So in the morning the special education school with run for the Miriam Home children & in the afternoon it will run for the 15 or so FJS children. These children will not come 1 day a week but instead they will get to come to school 5-6 days a week. This is HUGE…considering that in Haiti many kids without disabilities never get the opportunity to go to school because you have to pay not only to go to school but also have to buy uniforms. In Haiti if you have any type of physical disability or mental handicap even if you could afford to go you are not allowed. So these 15 children would NEVER have gotten the opportunity to go to school if it were not for the Luke 2:52 getting up & running. Please pray for the school, pray for Stephanie as she continues to prepare to start the school.

5. Bible Study On The Names Of Christ
I was so excited to be able to do the first 2 weeks of the Bible Study God gave me with the parents. The first week I did the name ELOHIM = Creator. I started all the way in Genesis 1:1 where His name is first used. I then spent most of the time studying Psalm 139:13-14. I copy & pasted a piece of my study to give you idea of what we discussed.

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mothers womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”

-God created you…he knit you together
-Have you ever seen someone knit of weave something? How much effort and time goes into it…tremendous attention to detail…none look exactly alike.
-God knit us together…he put much thought into creating you and creating your child…he looked at every detail & planned it out. That’s what makes us special
-Look around at everyone here….do any of us look exactly alike….NO because each of us has been created unique in God…made so we each can uniquely bring God glory.
-Your Child Version of Psalm 139:13-14
-“For God created your child’s inmost being; He knit him/her together in your womb. praise God because your child is fearfully and wonderfully made; God’s works are wonderful, know that full well.”

Then I studied 2 more scriptures of what the Bible has to say about disabled people/children. I told them that we constantly here what others around us think about disabilities & we know what society thinks but really the only opinion that matters is what Christ thinks.

Exodus 4:10 Remember when “Moses said to the LORD, ‘Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither recently nor in time past, nor since Thou hast spoken to thy servant; for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue’
Exodus 4:11- The Lords reply…”Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes him dumb or deaf, or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the LORD?”

John 9:2-3 when Jesus’ disciples saw a man blind from birth, “and His disciples asked Him, saying, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he should be born blind? How did Jesus answer…”It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was in order that the works of God might be displayed in him.”
It was amazing to be able to open up scripture & teach these parents about what scripture has to say about their children! Pretty amazing!

The second name we studied was El Roi- The God who sees. The scripture that we studied was Rahab. Here is a glimpse of what we talked about….

Story Hagar (Gen 16)

“She was Thrown out! Like a soiled, worthless rag! Used for another’s pleasure and then mistreated. It was too much; she couldn’t handle it. She felt like an outcast…She was Hagar, the one who bore the son of Sarai’s husband Abram.

Can you relate? Have you ever been thrown out, cast away? You fulfilled someones pleasure then you weren’t wanted anymore? Or were you unjustly cast out?

Sarai (Abrahams wife) was unable to have children… God had given Abram a promise that he would be the father of many nations yet they were old in age (past child-bearing) & still no children. Sarai had an Egyptian maidservant

so she made her maidservant Hagar have a child for her…Hagar didn’t have a choice she was a slave…she was obedient and did what was asked of her.

Hagar became pregnant & began to dispise her mistress…Sarai had done this too her…Sarai ended up blaming Abram for doing this & he was the reason her mistress now despised her.

Hagar ended up running away

Genesis 16:7-10, 13
“The angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring in the desert, it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur. And he said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?” I’m running away from my mistress Sarai, she answered. Then the angel of the Lord told her, “Go back to your mistress & submit to her.” The angel added, “I will increase your descendents and they will be too numerous to count.”
She gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her. “You are the God who sees me (El Roi), for she said, “I have now seen the one who sees me.”

Great news…God see you…He sees your pain, He sees your troubles, He sees the trials you face everyday as a parent of a disabled child. HE sees your disabled child…and as we learned last week he is not surprised that they are that way…He made them exactly how they are to fulfill his purpose and plan through them. He sees… He knows its hard…He knows at times you want to run away, give up…

But just like Hagar I believe He is calling you to stick with it…God called Hagar back to the very situation she had run away from…He saw the situation…He knew it was hard…But that was God’s call for her life. God has called you to be a parent of a disabled child…He is going to do amazing things in your life & your child’s life if you let him…If you trust him…He you SEE who he really is…and His names reveal His character

I wish I would have had more time to do more of the names of Christ with the parents but am very thankful for the 2 weeks I did get to share with them. I truly believe God spoke to the parents through these first 2 names to help them see better how God see them & their children.

Visibility Boxes

2011-08-17T10:01:00.000-07:00

If I could sum up my summer or the goal of my summer it would be to Make the Invisible…Visible through Christ, Children, Community, which is our mission statement for the Miriam Center. Everything I did was to accomplish further our mission statement. All the therapy, all the training, all the paperwork, all the love I poured out, all the trials I faced, and all the frustrations I dealt with was to make these children & their families Visible in a country that does not see them & that does not see their worth. Probably the biggest way I was able accomplish this goal was through the development of the new Visibility Boxes.

I did not go into Haiti planning to create this system nor did I even have an idea about or for this project. The idea for the Visibility Boxes was developed out of a conversation I had with Janiel Owens during a meeting which triggored a memory of a project Courtney & I had talked about trying a few years ago but never got around to. Truly the Visibility Boxes were developed throughout the entire summer. They started out as just a box of toys with the child’s picture & name attached. They quickly acquired multiple dimensions as the weeks rolled on.

Where Did The Name Visibility Boxes Come From?

(Written by Courtney Peirce)
What do you do in a country that sees those with limitations as an obstacle to survival? What do you do when a culture sees through the eyes a belief system that deems those with disabilities less than human? What happens when a percentage of your population, due to physical or mental limitations, isn’t seen at all –– is invisible? The answer is simple –– make them visible. Open eyes to their presence; their needs; their value and show the world just how BIG our God is. Open any dictionary and you’ll find a myriad of definitions for the word “invisible.” The simplest form, of course, is “that which is not visible.” That may answer the “what” question –– but it doesn’t answer the “why.” The definitions I have found that get more to the root of the issue are:
• Withdrawn from, or out of the site of people
• Not perceptible or discernible by the mind

People are not naturally “invisible.” God created each of us to be seen –– to be loved. In order for someone to become invisible someone had to withdraw them from the site of others. In Haiti these children are often hidden away by their parents –– hidden from the site of those who might hurt them, reject them. They become locked in their own world –– denied the opportunity to interact with others, to learn, to contribute. But sometimes the invisible is right in front of us and still we do not see. Why? Because too often we ignore the things we don’t understand. What we can’t perceive/discern becomes invisible to us and we simply live our lives ignoring it –– even when it’s a human being living with a disability. The Miriam Center operates around the simple belief that everyone deserves to be seen. By caring for those with special needs; by training and assisting parents to care for their children; by bringing them out into the world we are making the invisible VISIBLE.

Even the idea of “community” is an often invisible factor in Haiti –– survival is an utmost concern and people must watch out for their own needs and the needs of their immediate family. But as neighbors come alongside our families, as they learn to love and be loved by these children, even a spirit of community is restored and becomes quite tangible and visible. And perhaps the most invisible presence in all of this is Christ Himself. The people of Haiti have sometimes placed their trust –– their faith is misdirected places. But they are seeking –– searching for answer that will give them peace and a hope. Here at the Miriam Center we serve a mighty God who is bringing about mighty change in a hurting place –– and so, as we go, as we serve, the greatest blessing we can pour out is to make Christ visible to these people. To meet their needs as we can, but more importantly to introduce them to the One who can meet all their needs and more. Christ • Children • Community... together, and with God’s help, we are making the invisible VISIBLE! Praise God!

So the name for these boxes came from idea that these boxes help make the Miriam Center children more Visible to our Hatian staff & to the hundreds American’s that come through the Miriam Center doors every year was to create a way that they could easily & comfortably step into these children’s world. The Visibility Boxes allow for this.

What Exactly Are Visibility Boxes?

The visibility boxes are full of toys specific to each child to help them meet their goals. Attached to the outside of the box is a ring with the child’s picture; their biography; their Occupational Therapy & Educational Goals; pictures of each toy with a description of the different ways to use that toy; a card with pictures of the most appropriate ways to position the child that will help for people to fully see them; and a packet of communication pictures (PECS) to allow the child to more fully communicate their needs & wants.
Visibility boxes allow you to walk into these precious children’s world and know exactly what how to interact with them, engage them, and at the same time help them make progress towards their therapy and educational goals through purposeful play. To see the invisible as VISIBLE.

How Exactly Do Visibility Boxes Work?

The Visibility Boxes contain everything you need to walk into the child’s world. It is so simple that I had the privilege of watching a 4 year old & a 6 year old utilize the boxes. Multiple times throughout the summer these 2 precious children would find me & excitedly ask to pull boxes for certain kids. I got to watch barriers fall as they had a blast playing together.
Right when you walk into the Miriam Center there are 2 big wooden cabinets that are labeled VISIBILITY Boxes. 1 is labeled Higher Functioning with pictures of each child that has a box in that cabinet. Each of the children in this cabinet has their own box. The children in the low functioning cabinet share 4 boxes & a variety of equipment to help with positioning. The cabinets are labeled with pictures so you can easily find where the child you want to play with is.
It is very simple…if you have a specific child in mind that you want to work with you simply have to find out what cabinet they are in, pull their box, read their bio, look at appropriate positioning, pull any positioning equipment (if they are lower functioning), & find a place to interact/play with that child.
So many people have told me they feel overwhelmed when they walk into the Miriam Center…They don’t know how to interact with kids…they don’t know how to position them…How to play with them. These boxes break all those barriers.

The Results…

I had the privilege of watching the boxes get used throughout the summer. I had such joy watching people walk right into the children’s world & have so much fun doing so. I had multiple people tell me how much easier it was for them to interact with the kids, how they felt like they new how to play with the kids, that they felt they were making a difference. I am so excited for the huge potential these boxes have in making the Invisible…Visible.

My Hope For The Future With The Boxes

I hope to be able to expand in the variety of toys in the boxes. I hope to get some specific therapy equipment to put in the boxes that can be used with specific kids. The goal is that every 2 months that toys are rotated so that the kids have new toys in their box.
My plan from the Nevada is to be in contact with every group that plans to visit the Miriam Center & based on how big their group is provide them with a couple specific kids (both higher functioning & lower functioning) that I would encourage them find a few group members from their team to commit to spending 30 minutes at least 1x during their stay at the mission. I would also attach the children’s bios so that they could start praying for the children & have the opportunity to start making a connection with them.
I also want to be able to provide each of the groups with a bunch of different group activities they could do with the kids (shaving cream, cornstarch, face painting, painting, finger painting, wheelchair races, glow in the dark nights, take the kids for ice cream, go to playground, take the kids for sapebones, take the kids to the beach, etc.) & allow them to plan for what activities they want to do. So they no longer come the Miriam Center & ask to do an activity but have no idea what they want to do. This would allow them to plan for what they want to do & walk in ready to engage & interact with the kids. I am so EXCITED for the potential this has.

Sick Kids

2011-07-23T19:25:00.000-07:00

Sick Kids
We have been fighting some nasty viruses & illnesses in the Miriam Center. It is the hardest thing to watch your kids be sick especially when they are battling death. There were nights this week I really thought I was going to be woken up & told that we lost a kid. There has been no point this week that we have not had less than 4 kids in our sick unit. Currently as I write we have 5 kids up there. We actually had to turn one of the baby bungalo’s into a sick ward for our kids so we could isolate them.

Job
I will start with Job…Job is my boy. I fell deeply in love with this child 2 years ago when we almost lost him to aspiration pneumonia…everyone call him my kid. We have a special connection & I love that boy so much. He came down with a fever for 2 days before we realized how sick he was. He was placed on an IV because he was severely dehydrated. He seemed to start feeling better & was taken off of IV 2 days later. I was in their feeding him dinner but he refused to eat it (grits) He would clench his teeth shut & when I finally would get some food into his mouth it would take him a few minutes to finally swallow it before choking & being too weak to cough it back up & begin wheezing no matter what position I would try to put him in while feeding liquid or smooth solids. I let it go for a day hoping he would get better but he only got worse & I then realized he was on his way towards aspiration pneumonia. At 10:00PM Thursday night I finally told the nurses they needed to put an IV back in but after 5 attempts they were unable to get a line. Courtney & I made the decision to put an NG tube down into his stomach so we could bypass swallowing & his lungs & try to get him well again. He is doing much better but still trying to figure out a feeding schedule…how often, how much. We are in the process of getting pediasure & formula from the Dominican republic from our friend Heather. This is an unexpected exspense of about $400. We are so blessed to have this connection though & this opportunity. The plan is to do a 2-3 week all liquid diet & see how he improves. It is really hard as Hatian Culture is not accepting of feeding tubes very well. I am having a difficult time teaching my nurses…I walked in today to find them shoving ground up beans down his tube (big risk for clogging). Really trying to trust God…praying for wisdom as I do not feel qualified to make life & death decision, not qualified to make feeding schedules BUT I serve a God who is & I know will give me wisdom & guidance. My boy has gone from looking like death with a sucken in stomach to a puffed out stomach & will smile again when I touch his stomach. I feel that we are on the right track.

Henry Claude
Henry Claude is one of our kids in Rou’s Corner (Terminally ill portion of the Miriam Center) He is in this category because of how malnourished he is. He has been unable to keep food down for months. He gags himself with his hands because he is so oral seeking. A few weeks ago we made arm braces that prevent him from getting his hands to his mouth but he finds other ways to gag himself & is so orally seeking that he bit another child’s butt & has licked multiple kids & anything he can get his tongue on. This is a hard enough battle as we strive to figure out how to get nourishment into this kid BUT then he came down with a stomach virus that he had bad diarrhea & got extremely dehydrated & looked like death for 4 days. He is still up in the sick unit. He is fighting hard & I just pray that we could get nourishment in him & that he would keep it down. That he would gain strength. For wisdom & guidance as we try to figure out how to help him

Anestasia
Our second newest member to the Miriam Home, she came to join our family from the baby orphanage 3 days ago. I fell in love with the precious angel 3 weeks ago when someone from a short-term trip who was a nurse came to find me to tell me about a little girl in the baby orphanage with a cleft lip & possible other physical problems. I went over to evaluate her. I went up to find this precious little girl who as I held her could tell she had aspiration in her lungs. She was tiny but could tell that she had to be over a year old & possibly closer to 2 by the fact that she can sit up on her own & has a full mouth of teeth but is the size of a 2-3 month old. Today we put her in preemie diapers & they were big on her. We knew in the next couple of years we would acquire her into the Miriam Center family but had no intention anytime soon. Courtney had some cleft lip bottles & so I provided her with one for the workers in the baby orphanage to feed her with. $ days ago Courtney was up in the baby orphanage looking for old equipment I could use to turn into wheelchairs (will post later on my wheelchair Mania). As she was telling our nurse from the Miriam Center about Anestasia’s problems & how one day she would join our family the baby orphanage nurse told us to take her. We had the doctor look her over & found out she is much sicker than we thought. She had been fighting a lung infection for 3 weeks that has not responded to antibiotics & they were worried it may be more serious like TB. Many tests have been done & still don’t know. She is really sick…fighting hard but super malnourished with a serious lung infection. We are told she may not make it long. Today we made the decision to put a NG tube into her that will like Job allow the food to bypass her cleft palate & lungs to hopefully allow her lungs to heal. Please pray for God’s healing touch in her little body. Peace for us as a staff especially Courtney as today marked Sara Rou’s 3rd Birthday (which we celebrated hard core with the kids). Sara Rou was a little baby with a cleft palate who only lived 42 days but made a huge impact & stole Courtney’s heart…she really was her kid. A tough day to have a child that reminds her so much of that sweet little girl be so sick. Pray for her heart please.

Lounide, Moise, Jimson, John Kerry
These 4 children all had the stomach flu…diarrhea & throwing up. Lounide & Moise have recovered but Jimson & John Kerry just came down with within the last 48 hours. Please pray for their recovery & that the virus would stop spreading…& if it doesn’t for healing & protection for our children with compromised immune systems.

Please pray for our nurses & staff as they have been non-stop on call & basically here at the mission the past 2 weeks. It is so easy for me to get frustrated when things are done the way I want them or to my standards or when the language barrier affects the children’s quality of care but I must remember they are exhausted, they have training, they love these kids, & I have to let God…surrender…let God. This is so hard. So thank you for being prayer warriors with me as we fight for these children through prayer to our Healer & Great Physician.

Trip to Ansephalor

2011-07-23T19:16:00.001-07:00

I finally took a day to get off campus & go for a trip. I went for a couple reasons…1. to get off campus & get back into culture, I can caught up in my own little world of the Miriam Center & lose perspective…2. to spend time with my fellow missionaries since so often I am in my own little world…3. I wanted to go to Ansephalor since I had not been their in a few years. I wanted to be reminded of the spiritual warefare we are up against & spend some time in prayer for this country.

I had a wonderful day. It started off with an hour tap-tap ride there…which call me crazy but I love tap-tap rides. I put on my MP3 player with worship music hopped in the back of the truck & enjoyed the very scenic off-roading trip. We were going to 2 different Vodoo places that I had never been before.

1. Twin Basin
It was about a ¼ mile trail to the cave that had a 15 foot drop off inside that at the bottom was full of water. At the beginning of the trail they believe you have to stop at this one rock…light a candle & ask that spirit if you can enter the path to the Twin Basin. Once you reach the opening to the cave you have to climb up in & lower yourself down into the basin of water 15 or so feet below. This was a place that people go when they need to deep cleansing. They believe a snake with 2 heads that is rainbow colored is the spirit snake that lives there. They go into the dark hole of water & scrub their entire body down cleansing themselves. They then must leave the clothes they wore in & put on new ones. They usually go from here to the monument then to the temple. We were unable to go in the cave to look down in the hole because there were so many people there.

2. The Monument
After Twin Basin, 4 of us decided to hike up to the monument as one of our staff had never been their & since it has been since 2007 since I have been there. On the way up to the Monument we saw a lady on her way back down who we saw leaving twin Basin. All the way up the mountain to the monument there are little stops to give burnt offerings to the spirits. At the top of the mountain is the bottom post to what used to be a huge cross. IT is believe anywhere from 100 to 200 years ago during a lightening storm the cross beam was struck down by lightening & at the same time is when the doll they worship in the temple fell from heaven. They took this as a sign Satan defeated Christ. The bottom of the monument has a place carved in the rocks to do burnt offerings. People come up here to pray for a variety of things anywhere from healing or help to asking the spirits to curse or even kill someone. It is really heartbreaking to know it used to be a cross that sat on the top of a huge hill that looked out over the entire city. It is sad that people have been taught this their entire life…that this is what they perceive as truth. It is sad to think that they see all these ritualistic practices as freeing when really they are so enslaving.

3. House of Spirits
When we got down from the Monument we headed to the house of spirits which is a hike up a very steep loose rock mountain…that as you climb rocks crumble down on the person behind you. You climb up…over then down in these amazing caves. The adventurous side of me got really excited & went down in these dark crawl space caves with some other mission staff. We explored for about 20 minutes before we all met in the center of the big cave where we had a picnic lunch followed by each of us reading a verse or 2 from our Bible on Spiritual Warefare, God’s conquering power & victory of sin/death. It was really powerful as their were grown men their with dolls obviously before we got there praying & worshiping Voodoo. I was just reminded of how real this battle against Satan is especially in a country so caught up in Voodoo. It is so heartbreaking to know the truth that sets you free & see so many people who think they know the truth but live in bondage & a religion that is a list of rules that enslave you.

4. The Beach
We ended our day by going to the beach for a few hours. I forgot my bathing suite so chilled under a tree & read my Bible & did my Ruth Bible study, then took a walk. When I got back from my walk a few young men came up & wanted to listen to my MP3 player & asked if I would read from the Bible for them. So they gave me passages they wanted read & I read them to them. It was fun.

Trip to Ansephalor

2011-07-23T19:16:00.000-07:00

For Jonathan's Sake

2011-07-17T18:07:00.000-07:00

For Jonathan’s Sake is our outreach program to help families who have disabled children in the surrounding towns & villages around the mission to not only survive but thrive by providing them with the resources to provide for & take care of their disabled children. Most of these children come from single parent families because after they have a disabled child they are seen at fault for this disabled child…even cursed. Children with disabilities are looked down upon…seen as worthless, cursed, possessed…These children are often hid away, abandoned…FORGOTTEN…INVISIBLE. The mission of the Miriam Center is to make the INVISIBLE…VISIBLE through Christ, Children, Community.

“I will rescue the lame & gather those who have been scattered. I will give them praise & honor in every land where they have been put to shame” Zephaniah 3:19
My heart continues to hurt as many BIG decisions & changes are having to be made to this program. The way it is running right now is not God-honoring or sustainable. We are called to do everything for the glory of God. This program has gotten big fast. 3 years ago we had 4 children and now over 80. It is hard to face the hard truth that there is no money to sustain this program…no food available to feed…and we are unable to be the face of Jesus to these families when we say 1 thing but are unable to provide. Is a change necessary…YES…Is change easy…NO.

How do you look at a program that started out with the vision that it would be a program that would provide food to each of these families for the entire week, provide educational play/therapy 1x per week, training for the parents to continue therapy & education at home, Bible study for the mothers, & a place where they could build community.

It was very hard to look at what we said we were going to provide & see that we have not been consistent in any of these areas over the past 3 years. Have we provided all these at some point over the last 3 years…YES! Some more than others BUT with no consistency...which I feel has broken trust with the families. God revealed to me that it is better to provide 1 or 2 areas consistently & be the face of Jesus than to try to provide all the areas & fail to be the face of Jesus. The Miriam Center team has felt called to relook at how FSJ runs…relook at our vision for this program. We have been deep in prayer about where God is calling us to take this program. Would we eventually love to be able to provide everything listed above…YES! BUT right now that is not possible.

So the question then became where do we start? SPONSORSHIP... All the programs at NWHCM run off of sponsorship & we realized this is a huge piece we have been missing. This next week we will be sitting down with each FSJ family & gathering all the information we need to make sponsorship packets for each child. There is something quite beautiful about sponsorship…not only does it provide financially for that child to receive care & the message of Christ shared with them & their family BUT it also opens doors for relationships to be formed. Someone else called by God takes a step of faith & obedience to God’s call…sacrifices financially so that one of these children who has been INVISIBLE to the world can become VISIBLE…that person becomes an advocate, prayer warrior, faithful partner to that child & their family. HOPE is restored…CHANGE begins…VISIBILITY happens. I am so excited to see these relationships begin to be built over the next few months. Also…please pray about whether sponsoring one of these children would be something God is asking you to do…maybe you can’t do $75 a month …maybe financially you cannot sponsor a child but you could become a prayer warrior for 1 or multiple of these children & their families. God has blessed us so that we can be a blessing to others. One of my favorite songs & the song my blog is named after is Overflow…the lyrics are as follows…

As you call me near, I come
Drawn with holy fear and awe
Into heaven’s doors to see u as you are
You who formed the earth with your hands
Sun and moon shine at your command
Who can know the vastness of the Lord most high

Bridge 1
As I draw near I offer my life to my Jesus
Who fills me with mercy and grace
As I go out I will open my eyes and awaken
You will be a blessing through me

Chorus
You’re the overflow
The sustainer of my soul
Pouring out of me
Living water for the weary
Bless me so I might be a blessing
Heal me so I might bring healing
Cover me, so that I might be a covering
For you

Vs.2
Its because of you, I must go
Sent to tell the world and to show
Friend or enemy, the love I com to know
Where confusion reigns I will be peace
Where there are bondaged chains bring release
Where there are tears and pain, may I be the joy of the morning

Bridge 2
Heal me with your love o Lord, pour out till I overflow (4x)

”Defend the cause of the weak & fatherless, maintain the rights of the poor & oppressed.” Ps. 82:3
What do we do until the children get sponsored?...How else do we need to change the program to make it sustainable & God honoring?...What changes need to be made now even if they are temporary?... We are still praying & discerning God on this. We have ideas of where God is leading but they involve some hard steps & choices to be made now. Please continue to pray for wisdom & guidance for all involved. Pray that we could hear clearly God’s voice & know His will. Pray we could see His vision for this program…that we could trust Him & His plans.

“My ways are not your ways declares the LORD…Neither are my thoughts your thoughts.”

“Many are the plans in a man’s heart but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” Proverbs 19:21

Fun With Kids Last Week

2011-07-17T18:06:00.002-07:00

The past few days I have had many quality…fun moments with the kids…from just sitting with them & singing songs with signs with them, cuddling with them to going for walks outside the gates for walks. 2 highlight moments for me were going for Sapebon’s with Den-Den, Joseph, & Mackinely. We walked downtown to find a vendor to buy enough Sapebon’s so that each child in the Miriam Center could have one (or some of one for the lower-functioning kids). I was a little nervous taking Den-Den as you have to walk down this steep, rocky hill & therefore back up the hill on the way back BUT he did amazing with Nahum’s help holding under his arms to help. We even walked around for about 30 minutes downtown before coming back. My favorite part though was once we got back. The boys handed each of their brothers & sisters Sapebon’s & I had helped feet the lower functioning kids. Den-Den kept telling me his “Moma’s” the workers didn’t get any…My heart broke because this boy did not want his Moma’s to be left out. So I snuck back out & bought enough for all the workers to have one & Den-Den proudly found each of his Moma’s to give them one  PRICELESS Moment.

Another moment for me was Saturday when I was evaluating Thamara… I was just blown away by how much she could do. Thamara I always thought was at a 2 year level all around mentally, emotionally, etc. But NO she is so bright. She was able to trace over shapes & letters, lace independently, color independently, stay seated on fine motor tasks unattended, & the list goes on & on. She was so excited to sit down & work together.

Kenderson is still fascinated with the back depot closet & since the past 4 days I have been super busy & focused on finishing the visibility boxes which involves tons of printing, cutting, laminating, hole punching & Stephanie has been busy using the Cricket to cut out stuff to make teaching materials to develop a curriculum we have spent a lot of time in the Luke 2:52 room. We have been letting Kenderson just hang out with us…or should I say hang out in his favorite spot in the closet. This boy fascinates me…I can’t wait to figure out what is so fascinating for him in that closet.

I have been drowning in paperwork as I try to finish up Miriam Home evaluations, OT sheets, Visibility boxes, & create an evaluation form for For Jonathan’s Sake so that I can start that process next week. Courtney & I just finished creating Nahum’s job description, making expectations, making him a binder with each child’s OT Goals, treatment plan, & evaluation all in it. He has a detailed schedule of what day he sees each kids so that each kid gets seen 1x a week. Courtney & I are now beginning to develop Presidue and our 2 nurses job descriptions & schedules. Please pray for wisdom & guidance as we do this. A lot of other changes are in the process as well that we would love prayers for wisdom.

This whole week we are having a staff retreat & today we did a SWAT analysis as a mission staff…during that time Courtney & I on the side did one on our Miriam Center programs. A little depressing that we had more weaknesses than strengths in most programs but excited because we have vision for many of these weaknesses & it confirms our need to revamp many of the programs. Please pray for the rest of this week that we are open to learn & open to hear from God.

Deaf Church

2011-07-17T18:06:00.001-07:00

This past Sunday we started a Deaf Church. In Haiti Deaf people are not seen…they are not accepted & are not accepted into church. We have an amazing deaf community & were so excited to give them the opportunity to join together in corporate worship. Courtney spent 2 weeks at Deaf Missions in Omaha Nebraska & had the wonderful opportunity of collecting resources for this new ministry. It was a huge success last Sunday with 9 Deaf community members present & 4 Miriam Home Children. We watched 4 sermons & had a time of prayer. The thing that I loved watching the most was how hungry they were for the gospel. I am so excited to see this church grow. Please pray for this new ministry.

Today was week 2 of Deaf Church. Only the deaf teacher showed up this morning because a church in La Pointe was having a special speaker that was going to sign so they all went down there. We still had a great church with 8 of the Miriam Home children attending & watching a children’s deaf sermon after we watched the Adult one. The kids were so engaged & focused. I am so excited that we have videos to share with the children as well  Please keep this new ministry in your prayers.

Hand Therapy Clinic making Splints

2011-07-08T07:52:00.000-07:00

The past 2 days have been amazing working in the Hand Clinic with Ann (CHT who came in for 10 day mission trip). It is truly a blessing because I had 3 kids I had to make hand braces for before I left this summer & truthfully I was putting it off because it is beyond my comfort zone & was going to very challenging…FUN…but challenging & with limited resources & amount of splinting material I was afraid of messing up & wasting splinting material. So having Ann here has been truly a blessing.

So we went around to all my kids in the Miriam Home & I told her all the kids that I wanted to have hand braces…In total their were 8 kids & in total 14 different braces. So far we have splinted 5 kids & 10 braces. It has been so much fun & I think we both agree that so much more so with the 2 of us working together & bouncing ideas off of each other. Most of the kids it took 3 people…1 to hold the child, one to hold the hand open & the other to mold the splint. I learned a lot from working with Ann…Ann sketched out all the splints for the kids & got the splinting material ready. Ann said splinting for these children has been really challenging for her because at her clinic at home it is mostly adults & so it is much easier to splint, the splinting material is old so harder to mold, & at home you have pre-fab splints or patterns that work but these kids are each so unique that we had to start from scratch with each. We had a lot of fun being creative & on 4 splints today I even got to use DUCTAPE & loved it!!!!! I was in charge of the ductape piece of the splints. As many of you know I love ductape…it is a necessity for therapy in Haiti…I make wheelchairs out of it, I make bolsters out of it…. I have to say we made some of the coolest splints I have ever seen before today. It was so much fun!

So yesterday there was a child I met in our For Jonathan’s Sake (FSJ) in our high functioning group who was born with congenital amputation of all fingers & toes. We did not get to interact much with him but Stephanie (our special education teacher) had the idea of bringing him back in today so that we could try to make him a splint that could hold different writing utensils so that he could color, write, etc. So we called his mom & she brought him in today. We were amazing to find out as we worked with him that he not only can he hold a crayon but color within the lines, he could hold a pencil & his mom has taught him to write his vowels. He was able to do a stacking activity with small pieces, he could put on & off his shoes, & pretty much so anything we asked him to do, He was able to do with his little stubby fingers & his thumb. He is the happiest kid & very bright. In Haiti many children never get the opportunity to go to school & if you are a child with disabilities it is almost unheard of. It was so exciting to sit down & talk to his mom & tell her he does not need hand braces to help him, to tell her how bright her little boy is & how much potential he had (which she got a look of relief on her face). I was excited to see that his mom has been working with him & she has such a desire for him to learn & has taught him how to count to 11, obviously how to color, & has tried to give him as much as she could. It was so wonderful to tell her how sometime soon we will be able to give him an education through the Luke 2:52 school & to provide her with a little baggie of goodies to take home to continue to work with her son including a dry erase board of Alphabet & number to trace then space to practice, markers, crayons, coloring book, & a pencil. The mom was just so excited. I really felt that no we did not make him a hand brace but we gave him & his mom so much more :-)

I was really sad to see Anne go…she was an amazing hand therapist & I learned so much from her. In total we made 18 splints & got new straps for 3 of the kids that already had splints. We had so much fun taking on this challenge together…many moments of laughter over our use of ductape to make parts of splints & our creativity to make these splints. I have been checking the splints the last 2 days on the kids to make sure no pressure areas & so far so good. The challenge now comes on training my staff how to care for these splints, put them on, developing wearing schedules, & facilitating follow through. Please pray for this aspect.

Trip to Bonneau to the new playground

2011-07-08T07:47:00.000-07:00

So pretty much so since I arrived in Haiti a month ago I have been itching to go on a field trip with the kids to the new playground…today was a spur of the moment trip that was AWSOME! Since it has rained so much many of the groups were unable to cross the river over to the orphanage at Salines Mayette or go to the Bay. This left 4-5 groups that needed something to do. We decided to take a trip this morning to the playground. I had the wonderful opportunity to break the news to Den-Den in the hall of the Miriam Center. He proceeded to squeal really loud & try to jump up & down :-) which spread to 2 of my workers running over to find out what’s going on…when they found out we were taking the kids to Bonneau they began screaming & running to tell the other children. We got 18 of the kids ready to head out…all the kids got their shoes on, wheelchair were loaded into the bus, extra diapers were packed, plans to get water on the way through the market were made, the kids were loaded onto the bus with American buddies for each child & the 45 minutes off roading bus trip began. I was almost as excited as the kids to go see & play on the new playground. We arrived & it was a fun adventure getting the kids & their wheelchairs down the massive steep hill to the playground…our land in Bonneau is at the bottom of a very steep hill. THEN THE FUN BEGAN…kids were on the swings…other kids were being help up the ramp to get to the big roller sliding board, other kids were going down other slides…HUGE SMILES, Laughter, Joy was all over. I don’t even know how to express this priceless moment in Words…and internet to slow to upload pictures on video…so patience please & I promise pictures & video will come. A few highlight moments were kenderson going down the roller slide with me holding him upside down which he loved and then swinging with kenderson with him flipping himself upside down while I pumped the swing. That kid cracks me up with how sensory seeking he is. I also loved watching Den-Den climb the stairs up to the side & Moise having a blast playing in the dirt…watching Steven throw himself sideways down the roller slide, & the list could go on & on.

Changes…Frustration…Learning to Trust

2011-07-08T07:39:00.000-07:00

Tuesday….
As I sit down to write this blog post my heart is hurting…part of me is angry…frustrated…worried…confused. I want to be able to change a situation that I can’t. I want to play God & make everything better & I just can’t with this one. As I sat with 2 amazing missionary friends I was reminded that I need to let God be God. That I need to TRUST my BIG GOD is really what I just said BIG…I need to trust that He is El Roi the God who sees. I need to surrender & release control…I need to lay my heart, my desire, my will, my problems, my fears, my everything at His feet…I need to lay my burdens down & let him lift them up. I am not ready to talk details about this situation but I do ask for prayers. I ask for wisdom for all involved in making some huge decisions for many programs in the Miriam Center. I ask for peace...ability to surrender…guidance…a fresh filling of the Holy Spirit…and the ability to be the face of Jesus.

“Committ your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.” (Psalm 37:5)

Wednesday…
So after some long talks with Courtney, Heather, & lots of prayer over the past 24 hours followed by a 3 hour meeting with Janiel, Courtney, Stephanie & I my heart still is hurting but with great Hope & some huge visions for the Miriam Center that include re-organizing For Jonathan’s Sake completely & narrowing the focus of that program because at this point that program is not thriving & in fact is really plundering if you really look at it as we have it defined now. There is so much potential for this program with some practical changes. One of the practical changes is making FSJ their own space a building that we will be able to run FSJ all day long. The hope is to eventually make each child their own visibility box like what we have been doing for each Miriam Home the past few weeks. We are looking at re-organizing how the Miriam Home runs both staff wise, kids schedules through rotations, & expanding space. We are looking to add an outdoor play area for the kids that the kids can go outside get sun, have an area to run, climb trees, play in a sandbox, have swings, & a place to kick/throw balls around. It will be like a big birdcage without a roof. Then off the back of the Miriam Center we are looking figuring out an area where Nahum can go to do 1:1 therapy with the Miriam Home kids & a place where the Americans can take the kids for 1:1 time to use their visibility boxes. We are having a huge response in the past week of Americans taking advantage of the Visibility boxes. The past 3 days 2x I have gone down & 6-8 boxes were out at a time meaning 6-8 kids were receiving 1:1 time working with a new friend. In order for these visibility boxes to be fully beneficial & used to their full potential we need to find a safe area for the American’s to take the kids to have good 1:1 time.

We also spent a lot of time talking about the new Luke 2:52 school & brainstorming what that is going to look like. We are so blessed to have Stephanie join out Miriam Center team with her special education credentials & experience. I am so excited to get this program up & running. So many of our Miriam Home & For Jonathan Sake children are so eager to learn & have so much potential.

For the new play area & a place for For Jonathan’s Sake we are in need of raising around $20,000 dollars. We are trusting in our BIG God who always provides for our needs. We are so excited for the huge potential these 3 projects bring to improve the quality of care of the kids, allow potential for huge growth physically & mentally as well as make progress toward their educational & therapy goals.

So as you can see above we are on the verge of many huge changes that I believe are going to open up so many new possibilities & potential for these kids. These changes are going to make huge leaps towards making the Invisible…Visible. I covet your prayers as we continue to make many big decisions & implement new strategies over the next few weeks. I ask that you pray for wisdom & guidance for all involved. That we would not run ahead of God but wait patiently on the LORD & his perfect timing. Pray that our staff will have open hearts to all the changes. Most importantly pray that God will be glorified in all we do.

Night of Fun

2011-07-08T07:36:00.000-07:00

Most of my day revolved around paperwork but ended with lots of fun activities with the kids. It started with glow in the dark sidewalk chalk that the kids had helped make earlier in the day. After night devotions we went down to the bird cage & the fun began. The kids had a blast scribbling with the chalk. After about 20 minutes we turned the lights off to see the results. A few of the kids wanted to go outside the gates which turned into everyone wanting to which proceeded to lead to a soccer game. It was so much fun to see Den-Den fully engage walking around kicking the soccer ball, Mackinley & Joseph running trying to steal the ball & John, Owens, Joshua, Kem being pushed around in their wheelchairs using their wheels to kick around the balls. We ended this 4th of July by picking 2 of our kids to introduce them to pop-rocks. Our 2 victims…I mean lucky children were Kenderson (very sensory seeking & Autistic) & Moise (sensory Seeker). Kenderson had no response to the Amazing action happening in his mouth except wanting more of it…Moise on the other hand had the best facial expressions that were always followed by a HUGE smile. I can’t wait to slowly introduce all of our children to the Amazing creation of pop-rocks.

Busy few weeks

2011-07-01T05:39:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone…I am sorry it has been so long since I have written in my blog or sent an email update. The past few weeks have been extremely busy and once again my plans for the summer changed… Relying on the verse… “For I know the Plans I have for you declares the Lord…” He is El Roi the God who sees…and I don’t know why he keeps changing my plans but I TRUST Him & know His plans are better than mine.

So a little over a week ago I had a meeting with Janeil Owens the executive director of NWHCM whom I work for and the Miriam Center is apart of. I went into the meeting just to discuss my vision & plans for the Miriam Center, my plans for the summer, & to just make sure we were on the same page. We had an amazing 3 hour conversation that lead to great brainstorming & a new plan of what my summer will look like. A plan that we feel will have greater follow through & sustainability throughout the years to come.

So as we were talking through things…we realized the most important thing for me to focus on this summer is a plan that will enable the Miriam Home Children to receive therapy/educational play throughout the year. I had started working on this by training Nahum who is going to be our OT for the Miriam Home but I have been having some difficulties with follow through on what I am asking & following a schedule. And truthfully 1 person trying to do therapy on 32 kids that all need therapy multiple times a week just is not feasible. So Janiel & I came up a plan that will incorporate my workers purposefully playing with the kids all throughout the day which consequently means working on their goals and setting up individual children box’s that will allow Americans who come in for a short-term trips to pull a box with the kids name, picture, biography, most appropriate positioning, there goals, & a variety of toys to help meet those goals all in one place. This enables a non-skilled person to now engage a child in purposeful play. It breaks down the barrier of I don’t know how to engage a child or how to play with a child down in the Miriam Center…I don’t know how to position them…All these barriers will be broken which will result in more Americans coming to play with the kids. This also allows the workers to have 1:1 time with kids & pull boxes as well. This has been my big project of the week. It is almost completely finished & ready to have its trial run later this week. I am so excited. We are also looking at expanding out the back of the current Miriam Center where there will be a big version of the current bird cage that will allow a space for these 1:1 to occur.

We have set up a rotation for the workers based off the rotation Courtney’s mom & Amelia set up during her 3 months here in Haiti. The kids have “mom’s” that travel with them through 3 rotations throughout the day. This makes sure the kids get moved & repositioned & get to spend an hour & half in 3 different environments. What I added to this rotation was that I made bins of appropriate toys for each group that will be dropped during each rotation & next week plan on going in & teaching the workers how to purposefully play with the kids to help each child grow & make progress toward their goals. So often only when American groups come in do the kids get to do fun activities & the workers sit back & watch. I feel like so often they watch the fun then have to clean up after it. I wanted to make it so that it is the “mom’s” who get to do fun activities & through this I believe deeper boding with the kids will happen & I pray a new excitement to work with the kids will also surface.

From previous blogs & emails you know that God changed my plans & really gave me a heart & vision for For Jonathan’s Sake (FSJ) this summer. I have been working on writing a Bible Study on the names of Christ to share with the parents to help them love God more & in return love their children more. Well…during my discussion with Janeil it was clear that I really needed to focus on getting the toy bins for the kids & training of the workers grounded so that all throughout the year the Miriam Center children will be progressing towards their goals. I am still going to run FSJ everyday but have decided not to make each an individualized home treatment plan as was my originally plan. I will still run Bible Study & teach the parents positioning & stretching. I will be providing the parents with a handout on stretching & teaching them how to stretch their kids everyday. I will also be sending them home with a plastic mat that they can lay their child on to get them out of the dirt as well as a homemade bolster out of big cans to allow them to position their children on their stomachs. At first my heart ached because I was not doing as much for this program as I wanted to but through other people God showed me that this is huge! Over the next year if they stretch their kids everyday, their kids are not lying in the dirt, & they can position their children on their stomachs that this is a lot. Also, I have set up a toy drop where one day a week they will have access to toys even when I am not here.

So here is my analogy of what we are doing with the Miriam Center. It is like building a DELICIOUS Sandwich. The last 3 years we have spent creating the “bread” for the Miriam Home and this summer we are filling our sandwich with the meat. Over the rest of this year we will be adding condiments like special education (Stephanie) and OT (Naham) and PT (Presidue). It is really excited to think of how DELICIOUS this sandwich is going to be. I have to be alright with right now that we are still at the bread stage of For Jonathan’s Sake & next year the goal is to lay the meat which looks like individual boxes for each kid that the parents come in & can pull their box to work with there child…pretty much so the system we just set up for Miriam Home children. So over the next year my goal will be to raise money & buy the supplies to form these boxes.

My role when I am not in Haiti will continue to be writing therapy companies for donation, going around speaking & sharing what God is doing here, & learning new therapy techniques to bring into Haiti. This year it looks like I am really going to focus on being in contact with group prior to them coming into Haiti. I want to set up with groups ahead of time & help them plan what their interaction with the Miriam center will look like. I want to give them specific kids that our “their groups” kids for the time they are here & send the kids bio ahead of time & have them begin praying for those children. I want to explain the boxes. I also want to give them a list of big group activities they could do with the Miriam Home children & have them plan for that. So if they want to do shaving cream parties they will prepare like they do for VBS & bring in the supplies. I also want to encourage groups to do VBS’s with the Miriam Home children. I am really excited to see what my role will look like in the states but really feel that God is going to use me while I wait to be full time in Haiti.
Stephanie our special education teacher has arrived & has been busy helping with the projects & we have been setting up the Luke 2:52 school which has been quite the job but extremely exciting as well.

Today we have been busy finishing everything up as Courtney has arrived back Home in Haiti. It was so fun to see the children prepare. They made a sign that said welcome Home with drawing of the sign language to spell Courtney’s name. Ju-Ju & Den helped me make oatmeal chocolate chip cookies which was a blast. I have a whole new picture of licking the bowl…lol They both after helping push each cookie dough off would lick their fingers & then re sanitize their fingers before the next one….It was a blast. Then this evening we had movie night & cookies. It was so nice to take the day to finally be with the kids. The past week & a half has been full of work & not so much play. The next 3 days till the next group comes in is all play with the kids…..AND I am super-duper pumped.

One of my highlights today as well was that Janeil & the male interns came down to test out my box system for the kids & it was such a joy to see them interact with the kids & have fun!!!! I am so excited about the box system.

So of course, since I haven’t written in a week I have left a lot out BUT quick overview…Plans have changed again…lots of new plans came about…many have already been implemented…God is BIG!!! YUP! EXCITED!

Thank you for all your prayers & support & I will get back on blogging every other day. Sorry for the big lapse.

Busy few days

2011-06-20T05:52:00.000-07:00

The past few days have been pretty good…not too eventful as I have really been focusing in on the paperwork aspect & finishing up performing evaluations. It is Sunday night & I did not get quite as much as I was hoping done but still A LOT. I am back on schedule at least.

I have finished performing 11 out of 13 OT evaluations that still needed performed. All 30 have been typed into the computer. 27 have treatment plans written for them and 15 have the picture evaluation sheets completed. God really blessed me with sending a mother who is here on a short-term trip. Her daughter & her came back from a trip early due to her daughter being sick. She typed about 7 hours worth of paperwork including 10 out of 20 PT evaluations that needed typed into the computer. Needless to say I feel like I am in a pretty good place to be starting this coming week.

The plan for this week is for Naham to take the picture evaluation sheets & start doing treatment on the kids. I will watch & teach as he goes. I will also at this time give him more ideas for activities. His homework this weekend was brainstorming 10 activities for hand strengthening, 10 for bilateral hand coordination, 10 fine motor activity ideas, etc. I am excited to see what he comes back with.

Last night I had a movie night with the kids. We watched an Elmo movie which was fun. It was nice since I did not see the kids much at all yesterday since I did 7 hours of paperwork in the office.

Today was a much needed relaxing day to rest & be in the presence of God. I slept in till 9ish…well got up at 6 went down stairs because didn’t think I could go back to sleep & put some music on & laid on Courtney’s bed. Next thing I know I was asleep & woke up at 9. I went to Church across the street at the mission & an American Pastor spoke on God’s will in suffering & talked about job’s life. I came back & ate lunch followed by watching a Louie Giglio video on GRACE. I typed about 4-5 treatment plans before we had staff Bible study. We started a 6 week Bible study series by Andy Stanley on Satan & his workings. It is really good & makes you really think! It is called Twisting the truth. Today was all about how Satan is the Father of Lies & a murder from the beginning & he rules through deception. Really good to remember that Satan is active…He is out to destroy us. Ate dinner then we had evening devotions & worship up in the new chapel on the roof. It was a wonderful time of worship followed by Shawn King sharing a talk on MERCY. It was a wonderful day.

Sorry this is short & a little choppy. I know I left lots out from the last 3 days but I am drawing a blank. Thank you for your prayers. I do ask that you continue to pray for me as I train Naham. That God would give me the words to say & show me what to teach & how to teach. Pray for God to continue to progress each of the Miriam center children in their therapy goals. Pray that I would be completely surrendered to HIS will & allow Him to be my guide everyday. I want to be Christ hands, feet, & face to all I come in contact with here in Haiti. Pray for peace for me as there are a few things weighing heavy on my heart right now that I would be able to surrender them to God & trust fully in His perfect timing & plan!

Blown Away AND Full of JOY!

2011-06-16T21:20:00.000-07:00

Tried to come up with words to describe the past 2 days…all I could come up that sums my past 2 days up in 1 sentence is “Blown Away AND Full of Joy.” I have had 3 specific moments in the last 2 days I never thought I would see or would be/have been years in coming.

First- Den-Den Kicking a soccer ball
Many of you know the miracle story of Den-Den starting to walk 3 months ago. For those of you who don’t know. Den-Den is one of the older higher functioning boys in the Miriam Center. He is the most determined boy I have ever met. When he sets his mind on doing something…he does it. He has Ataxic quadriplegic Cerebral Palsy. Basically He had limited control over any of his limbs. When I first started out working with Den-Den years ago he had very little control of his hands so he used his mouth & toes to color & paint. He soon realized He was different & wanted to use his hands…so we made Den-Den special crayons (really big)…He was so excited…but soon realized others used little crayons & he wanted to do the same…somehow he figured out how to hold his body so that he could color with little crayons. Last summer we got AFO’s (braces to help kids walk). Den-Den did not get any and was upset…he kept trying to stuff his foot into a little baby AFO he found lying around. That afternoon we had a meeting with our workers and one asked if Den-Den would ever walk & we said no…He overheard & was crushed…he began crying. He set out to prove us wrong. Before I left last summer he had figured out how to stand up & prop himself against the wall. Before I left I sat him down & said Den-Den I expect you to be walking when I come back next summer. That little boy set out practicing and about 4 months ago I got a video of Den-Den taking his first steps without any support…no walker…no braces. MIRACLE. He had managed to figure out how to hold his body & muscles to be able to walk. Thinking about it I tear up. Well yesterday Den-Den saw some Deaf kids playing soccer and decided He wanted to play. I was busy in working in the treatment room & he yelled to get my attention & told me he wanted a ball. I went & got him a little textured ball and he said no. He walked right into the room straight to the soccer ball in the corner turned around & started kicking it across the room!!!! WHAT!!! I couldn’t believe my eye. That boy hasn’t stop asking for that ball the past 2 days is kick around that soccer ball. He is getting so good. Wish the internet was fast enough to post video & pics but when I get back to the states I will post 

Second- Gildean sitting Independently for 5 minutes 3x
We have a new girl in the Miriam Home that came a few months ago. She is super low tone has poor trunk control & I thought poor head control till today. She is also fully blind. I had the opportunity to work one on one with her today & evaluate her. I used tons of vibration with her (all stuff I was able to carry in this summer). I started out with the vibrating bolster have her lay over it…having her sit with it on her lap leaning over it…then I started rubbing the vibrating frog down her back…gave her the vibrating Vibe critter for her mouth & hands. After about 20 minutes of vibration. I sat her on the floor & wrapped the vibrating snake around her waste. I slowly backed my hands away and she sat independently. Not only that she was moving her hands around & being very curious. A little bit later I took her out to the platform swing & sat so her feet were hanging over touching the floor. She was able to sit on the edge of the swing independently as well. This was such a priceless moment & I am so excited for the new opportunities this skill of sitting opens up for her!

Third- Walden & kem using switches to play the switch adapted game Lucky Ducks
So yesterday has been a moment that has been years in coming for me. Walden & Kem are 2 of my brightest kids but they are trapped inside their bodies. Both have spastic quadriplegic Cerebral palsy. Walden has no functional use of either his upper or lower extremities due to increased tone. I have been trying for years to figure out how to make it so Walden could interact with toys. This past year I have working really hard & learning about different assistive technology I could get to help him. Last summer I brought 1 switch in & adapted 2 batter operated toys. This worked for Kem but not for Walden. Kem has functional use of 1 of her arms & is able to activate the big switch. This summer I brought in 4 different switches. One I bought specifically for Walden called a grip in puff…it can work by squeezing down on it in palm or blowing in straw placed in mouth…Really thought this would work & was very disappointed when it didn’t work. I had ordered this one switch on accident thought it was a different on…or worked different. Well this is the switch that I was able to adapt to attach to Walden’s head where when he pushes his head against his wheelchair it makes the toys go. It was amazing to see the Joy & excitement. The most precious moment though was when I set up their wheelchairs next to each other at a table. I switch adapted lucky ducks so that they could play together. I would switch the cord so they could take turns making the ducks go around. When they stopped Kem would pick up a duck and when it was her turn look at the color underneath…when it was Walden’s turn it to show him. It was a priceless moment. So excited to see all the potential this door opens up for Walden.

Other Fun the past 2 days
This morning was a super fun morning. It started out at 9:00 with a music party down in the Miriam center with one of the American Groups. We all went out into the bird cage & I pulled out all the instruments & I brought the guitar down & we had so much fun. We sang songs, danced & had a really joyous moment. This was followed directly by train rides. This kids heard the four wheeler coming up & knew what was happening. They got so excited & all started screaming in excitement. For those of you who don’t know we have a train made out of 50 gallon barrels that have been turned into train carts with wheels attached & a steering wheel in each. We hook them all together then to a 4 wheeler where the fun begins. The kids had so much fun & so many smiles were had & joy was just overflowing. I had so much fun as I got to sit on the back of the four-wheeler & switch out holding all the low functioning kids & babies. My favorite moment was probably Isaac was sitting next to me on the back of the 4-wheeler screaming in Joy the for a good 20 minutes & everytime he screamed I screamed with him & then we would laugh & scream…laugh & scream. The other one was Kem…I would tilt her & over exaggerate the bumps & she would laugh & left. I also always love watching the older higher functioning kids sit with the younger ones & make sure they stay in the cart. I have to say train is one my favorite activities with the kids. Once again wish I could post video & pictures.

Exciting God Incidences…
1. As many of you know I like to go for walks in the afternoon as this is usually my only time to get off campus and into the streets of Haiti & it is a great stress reliever…time to refocus/think. Well for the first time yesterday I went on a walk with Heather Owens & her kids. It was so much fun & enjoyable. I just love watching her kids & seeing them interact with each others & the Hatians we passed. When we got back to the compound I was talking about the 2 shaving cream parties we have had at the Miriam center in the last week. She said next time I have one let her know because her daughter Ruby LOVES shaving cream & anything messy. I told her she sounds like a sensory seeking child. This lead to a long conversation that has lead to my being able to meet a need their family has which is to help them with their daughter’s sensory issues. It is amazing how God placed me here to meet that need after I have spent the last year growing my knowledge & understanding of sensory & this is a high interest area for me. I love helping others better understand sensory.

2. So as many of you know it is HOT in Haiti…but you may not know that recently it has been hotter than normal for this time of year…IT IS HOT. Luckily right now Courtney is not here so I have been using her Ryobi fan at night. I was gonna be sad to give it up when she got back (though excited for Courtney to come back & to dance beside her here in Haiti). Well this one family overheard me talking about the fan with a friend & how I was going to email a group coming in to see if they would buy one & bring it in & I could pay them back. Tonight they left me their fan and their last name was Marshall which was written in permanent marker…they said it was just perfect they wouldn’t even have to cross it off and had added my first name on top  It truly was a blessing.

So yes…I am Blown Away AND Full of Joy as I look back over the past few days. I know I am right where God wants me & so thankful He has chosen to use me & allowed me to see all this progress… In 2 days!!!! Excited to see what the rest of the summer has to hold!

Paperwork Frenzy :-)

2011-06-14T19:10:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven’t written in a few days. I have been sick & not feeling much up to writing at the end of the day. I can’t even remember when the last time I wrote was but I will try catch you up.

First off… update on chicken pox: The kids are doing great…they are all feeling better & no new kids have gotten the chicken pox. All the ones who had it have scabbed over.

The past few days have been very busy & focused on training Naham on each part of the evaluation low functioning & school forms. I had originally thought that the OT & PT that came in, in April had completed forms on all the Miriam Home children…but as I have gone back to type them into the computer, I found that they had completed 20 kids but that leaves 13 that still need evaluated. This week I am going to try to complete all 13 evaluations. Yesterday I got 2 done & Naham performed his first half of a school evaluation on his own (with me by his side) and this morning He finished. He did an amazing job. Today I completed 1 evaluation before going to deaf camp. Performing the evaluations have been rather time consuming taking about 2 hours each because as I am performing them I am training Naham & explaining each step. Hopefully the process will speed up as we still have 9 to do this week.

I already feel overwhelmed with all the paperwork. Doesn’t seem to matter if I am in the States or in Haiti the Paperwork follows me…lol. The 20 evaluations completed in April still need to be typed into the computer (actually 40 because there is a PT and OT one for each child) along with the 13 new ones I am doing this week. Each evaluation takes 30-45 minutes to type in. Once the evaluations are done & typed in I need to create a treatment plan & then turn that plan into a picture treatment plan that can be laminated for Naham & the workers to Reference. 3-4 hours of everyday so far have been paperwork on the computer & the rest performing evaluations. A little stressed that this all needs to be done by June 30th as when July rolls around I will be completely focused on For Jonathan’s Sake 4-5 hours a day. Which will involve creating 70 treatment plans, picture treatment plans, & training the parents how to be their child’s therapist.

I am seeing God’s purpose already for me since FSJ was cancelled till July due to the chicken pox outbreak. If I were doing FSJ right now I would not have this much time to train Naham or do any of this treatment planning for Miriam Home. I am excited for these treatment plans & evaluations. The past 2 years I have done evaluations & treatment plans but have never been able to finish & though tried from the states it was just to hard to get all the pieces back to Haiti & implementation when I was not there. Some ways it is frustrating to look back & know all that work was kinda in vain but not this year!  Naham will be here to carry it out, he will be trained, and will have individual sheets for each child to reference!

Some highlights from the past few days…
1. Den-Den who heard me say he would never walk last summer set out to prove me wrong & 3 months ago started walking completely on his own. Not only that but today He wanted me to go get him a ball…so I went and picked & got him a little textured sensory ball…He quickly told me no & got up & walked into the room to get what he wanted. He walked straight for the soccer ball. I went to help him pick it up & once again got told NO…which he proceeded to KICK it all the way across the floor & out the door! I am so proud of him
2. T-Willy after working with him for about 20 minutes & making him use his spastic arm (there were lots of crocodile tears) to swing, hold toys, hold vibration, etc. He allowed me to raise both his arms above his head & other people hold his spastic arm. It was awesome
3. Walden saying my name. He has been practicing. He babbles all the time & wants to talk so bad. Even now I can hear him across the way babbling!
4. Watching Owens play with the switch toys. He loved the vibrating pillow & would press the switch to make the pillow vibrate behind his back. I have never seen Owens smile or be interested in a toy for that long.
5. Kenderson my sensory seeking child (I have never seen a child seek so much vestibular & proprioceptive input as he does). As soon as he sees me he runs to me with arms up in the air to go spin him in the deep pressure swing or bounce him on the therapy ball…His favorite is when I hold him by his feet upside down and bounce him off the side of the therapy ball. This would so make me puke  I just love this kid.
6. Watching Kem receive a Barbie from a guy here on a short-term trip. His daughter sent a Barbie with him to give to a little girl in Haiti. He asked if he could give it to one of the Miriam Home children. It was pretty amazing & priceless 
7. Performing evaluations & just seeing how much progress my kidss have made & how much potential they have!

I know I am leaving a lot out…that is what I do when I do not blog in a few days…I forget so many good stories.

Please continue to keep me in your prayers. First that I would start feeling better this is the third day of not feeling well…Me & the bathroom have had too much quality bonding time. Also for my time management & that I would not stress about all the paperwork or feel overwhelmed by it but take 1 day at a time & trust God with the rest.

Satan has really been attacking me & reminding me that I am not worthy of this job & not qualified to be training Naham & so not the most qualified person to do so many of the things I am doing…He has been pointing out all my weaknesses. Pray that I would continue to remind myself…that yes I may not be qualified but God is qualified & He will guide & lead me…He is giver of all wisdom and He desires to be glorified in our weaknesses! He brought me here…He will use me…He will provide…He will make a way when their seems to be no way!

Thank you!

The Battle to Trust God…In ALL Things

2011-06-10T18:29:00.000-07:00

So the past 2 days have been extremely challenging on so many levels. As many of you know from my previous blogs that a little over a month ago God took away almost everything I had worked 7 months to plan for Haiti & revealed to me a new vision for the summer. It was extremely hard to surrender to His new will & about a week and a half ago I had finally accepted & was excited for what God had in store…He really revealed to me His heart for the For Jonathan’s Sake Parent’s and How it was through His names which reveal His character that I was going to be able to change the way they view their children & eventually change to view of disabled children in Haiti. I had already 3 weeks of Bible Study, had the folders bought & brought into Haiti to do give each parent an individualized treatment plan and had already planned on taking pictures of each child and giving each family a key chain with the picture & the main scripture…I manage to pull everything together in 3 weeks & had a new plan…God’s plan…So I thought.

When I arrived in Haiti a few of my kids were sick with chicken pocs…I felt horrible because they were miserable and there was nothing I could do…I wanted to help…I wanted to make them better…I wanted to make them smile…BUT I couldn’t  They have been spreading and now 10 kids have them. I was not going to let this stop my…I was still full force preparing for For Jonathan’s Sake. Thank goodness God has placed Courtney in Director roll because she quickly reminded me how dangerous chicken pocks can be for children with compromised immune systems and made the executive decision to cancel all programming at the Miriam center till beginning of July to make sure we limit the spread. I totally agree with her decision but my heart doesn’t…WHAT…WHAT about YOUR plans God…What about your vision for FSJ? I know I heard from God but WHY…Why would He give me this vision…provide all the resources to fulfill it & then take it away again!?!

All day yesterday I struggled…I struggled with the fact I didn’t know what God had for me this summer, I struggled with the fact I was helpless to help my kids…I busied myself in the morning cleaning the Luke 2:52 School…organizing it…and deciding we needed a table so pulling out the new power tools and with the help of Naham & Presidue, we created built an awesome table. The afternoon I worked on going through Miriam Center charts, teaching Naham how to do the evaluation form and teaching him vocabulary, etc. I kept busy…that is not a problem…There is always tons to get done…but just had a heavy heart and a pounding headache.

At devotions after dinner I was reminded that God does not expect us to change the world…He does not call us to Heal…He does not expect us to do it all…He only calls us to TRUST HIM…Scripture tells us He holds us in the palm of His hands…He has perfect plans for us…He sees the Big picture…He sees the past, present, & future. He is Jehova-Rapha the Healer, He is the comforter…He is El Roi…The God who sees. I was reminded that I was not going to change the For Jonathan’s Sake parents heart even if I wrote & gave the most wonderful Bible Study…Only GOD CAN CHANGE them. I could not Heal my kids not even if I had the best medicine available…Only The Great Physician can do that….God really broke through to me & told me I needed to LET GO…LET GOD…and TRUST HIM.

“For your thoughts are not my thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. As the heavens are higher than the earth so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than yours.” Isaiah 55:8-9

After Bible Study I went to ask Heather Owens a question about if we should inform teams about the chicken Pock’s outbreak incase some of them have never had them before. That conversation turned into an hour long conversation as I broke down & began to cry. Then God gave me the opportunity to share the vision He gave me for FSJ & the Bible study…which lead to going all the way to the beginning & the journey to now. I was reminded of just how GOOD God is & how faithful He is. He has always provided me exactly what I needed to walk in His will, He has always given me encouragement, wisdom, strength, love, etc. to do what I do. He has opened so many doors, given me so many opportunities to share just how amazing He is through what I do in Haiti. He reminded me that everytime He has asked me to surrender my dreams to Him…It is because He has something bigger & better.

So I sit here tonight I am excited to see what God has in store. God has given me back part of my original plan. I am currently typing up Miriam Home evaluations (which another OT performed in April using my new evaluation forms) and developing individualized treatment plans for each child with pictures. I am also training Naham to do the therapy. God has truly blessed me a wonderful therapist to train for these children. Naham has blown me away by the knowledge base he came with & his eagerness to learn. He called me his professor (which I quickly asked him not to call me that…I don’t deserve that title) and has asked for homework multiple times. He is so good with the kids & has a heart that is and will continue to change these children’s lives through his willingness & eagerness to help. I can already see a glimpse of God’s plan. If He did not post-pone FSJ till July I would not have had time to do anything with Miriam Home & not nearly as in depth training & quality time with Naham.

I expect God to do great things this summer. I have Faith that His plans are so much greater than mine. Now I will wait patiently on His timing & do my best to walk each day down the path He has for me this day.

The following song is my prayer…

Where you go I’ll go,
Where you stay I’ll stay
When you move, I’ll move
I will follow you
All your ways are good
All your ways are sure
I will trust in you alone
Higher than my side
High above my life
I will trust in you alone
Where you go I’ll go,
Where you stay I’ll stay
When you move, I’ll move
I will follow you
Who you love, I’ll love
How you serve, I’ll serve
If this life I lose, I will follow you
Light unto this world
Light unto my life
I will love for you alone
You’re the one I seek
Knowing I will find
All I need in you alone
In you alone
Where you stay I’ll stay
When you move, I’ll move
I will follow you
Who you love, I’ll love
How you serve, I’ll serve
If this life I lose, I will follow you
In you, their’s life everlasting
In you, there’s freedom for my soul
In you, their joy, unending joy
And I will follow you

The prayer of my heart is that I would be willing to follow God wherever He takes me…That I would have a servants heart…that I would see & believe in the depth of my heart that true Joy & freedom comes when I surrender my entire life & all my plans & trade them in for His.

Our God is an AWSOME God He Reigns from Heaven above with WISDOM…POWER…and LOVE our God is an AWSOME God!!!!

Highlights from the past 2 days….
1.Building the table for the Luke 2:52 School
2.Finding out that evaluations have been done on all the Miriam home kids so I for once get to focus on treatment planning
3.Walden has learned to say my name…and won’t stop. He says it “AU-TUM” and wait for me to say “WALDEN” and then laugh & laugh…I will walk to another room & hear him yell my name. It melts my heart everytime & I am so proud of him. He wants to talk so bad & babbles constantly. I know some day that boy will talk.
4.Den-Den is healing & definitely feeling better. I walked in today to find him holding a vibe critter with a huge smile…this afternoon he stood listening to the worship service for over an hour smiling and working on strengthening His muscles
5.Owens & I had quality time today going for a walk (well he rode in his wheelchair) then stopping by my room for quality IPAD time…I just love his laugh & how his whole body shakes.
6.My time with Naham & being able to share my knowledge and teach him hands on techniques for T-willy, Job, and Gildene today. T-willy when we were finished working with him for about an hour was willing to let other hold his spastic hand and tried crawling :-) Gildine loved the vibration & couldn’t stop laughing & smiling as we worked on strengthening her core. So many priceless moments happened with these kids
7.Seeing the encouragement God has brought me through His word & placing the right people in the right place at the right time to share encouragement with me.

Please continue to pray that I would daily be able to surrender to God. That I would trust Him wholeheartedly with my life & my time here. That I would grow in my love for Him & my understanding of His love for me. That I would remember that God does not care what I do here in Haiti…all He cares about is if I love Him & accept His love for me. Pray that the kids would continue to heal & that the chicken pock’s would stop spreading. Pray for my training with Naham that God would give me wisdom on what to teach & when to teach it. Pray that I would hear from God daily & make daily time to spend quality time with God.

Thank you for all your prayers & support as I serve God here in Haiti!

Some Scripture God used to speak to me

" When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze." Isaiah 43:1,2

" I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you." Psalm 32:8

" I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them, I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them." Isaiah 42:16

" God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble." Psalm 46:1

A Fun Filled Busy Day

2011-06-08T19:43:00.001-07:00

Had a wonderful but extremely busy day full of fun! I started out my day in the Miriam Center helping Mary Beth give the kids their Christmas Presents &P take their Christmas pictures…Let me tell you I learned how hard it is to get a good picture of some of our kids on demand…50 shots later for some & still not 1 good picture…lol It was so fun to see the kids enjoying their new clothes and toys.

I then had the joy of introducing the Miriam Home children to SLIMY GAK. I started out by putting it on Job’s arm (He is blind) and He got the biggest smile. I then went around and let each kid and worker touch/hold it. The kids & workers were amazed!

I then headed down to the Gran Moun to give them each a mask & have a dance party. It was so great to see them all…their joy for the Lord is so contagious & I love how they are so like kids when given a gift :-) We also taught them how to blow bubbles.

I then came back up to blow bubbles with the Miriam home kids. They were so excited…jumping up and down and squealing for joy.

After lunch I had some 1 on 1 time with Job. I introduced him to the new vibrating bolster & Vibe critter. When I laid him prone over the bolster he was able to lift his head up for over 10 seconds & look around with a smile on his face. We spent a good 45 minutes working together. I then brought Rachel in but she was not a fan of the vibrating bolster but did love the VIBE critter. I really worked on stretching her neck muscles and having her hold objects with both hands. Last but not least I brought Galdine in who absolutely loved the vibrating bolster. During this whole time I had the wonderful opportunity of giving a first year OT student some hands on experience & teaching her how to use vibration to help children.

I had a group ask to do an activity with the kids and they said they did not mind getting messy. So I pulled out the shaving cream & stripped all the kids down & the fun began. This was probably the best shaving cream fiesta yet. We were all covered head to toe. To start it off Ju-Ju grabbed my head and smeared it all over my hear…soon following 4 of my boys tackled me & started smearing it all over my face and arms. This went on for a good hour. I got so much shaving cream stuff into my ears, up my nose and into my mouth & eyes it was ridiculous :-) I then went to shower the kids but realized we had no electricity & it just happened to be raining and so we took the kids out to play in the rain and wash them via the excess rain running our the rain spouts :-) It was so much fun. I was soaked but clean.

I then went inside to check to make sure all the kids were dry & dressed when Jimson came over and lifted his hands for me to stand him up. He quickly began to hop around (He wanted to dance). Jimson & I danced around until the water dripping off of me started to make puddles and we began to slip & slide all over the place. I then started spinning him in circles on the floor which he totally caught on & did it independently…That’s right I taught Jimson to BREAK DANCE!!! YEAH!

I had a meeting with my workers sharing the new schedule and praying with them. It went well and I am so excited to work side by side with them again!

After dinner we had devotions. Their was a time of sharing and 2 people shared about specific special moments they had with children at the Miriam Center. It was very touching!

All day the kids kept asking to watch a movie so I declared a movie night. The movie CARS :-) Well the kids did not really watch the movie because too busy eating popcorn & playing with the Americans. The kids were CRAZY…I have never seen the kids so hyper & excited. My head was spinning in the Chaos. The kids had a blast and the Americans did as well interacting. Issac and me danced together, Walden & I had another giggle fest, many of the kids took turns in the body sock swing…Kenderson thinks it is only his swing and began jumping on top of others & climbing the swing to try to get in. Owens was so excited to show his books off, Isaac busied himself playing catch & bouncing balls, Ju-Ju was pretend cooking with the GAK, Hope searched the room high & low to find anything plastic to chew on…It was a blast.

I am exhausted after today but so thankful for all the wonderful moments I had & the memories I formed. Please continue to pray for me as I prepare to get FSJ fully up & running my goal is by next week :-)

Another Wonderful Birthday in Haiti

2011-06-07T19:55:00.001-07:00

Well today is day 2 of my trip in Haiti and for the 4th year in a row have celebrated my birthday in this amazing place. It has been quite a day filled with so many great times and times I facing my fears and seeing God come threw.

Sot his morning I got up at 6:00AM and got ready for my day followed by devotions & breakfast (sausage gravy & biscuits). After breakfast I started a new Beth Moore Study called Believing God. It was exactly what I needed to start out my day as I was overwhelmed thinking about all I had to do with absolutely no idea where to start…everything was out of my comfort zone & I was feeling very under qualified. I needed to set up Miriam Home schedule, work on For Jonathan’s Sake stuff & talk to Presidue (my Haitian who hands out the food & basically runs the program when I am not here), needed to talk to Naham ( my Haitian hired to train to be an Occupational Therapist) about his schedule, etc.

Day one of my Beth Moore Bible study focused in on what it means to have active faith that is alive & moving. It talked about the great power that comes when we have this kind of faith…We have access to the same power that conquered the grave. Then it asked the question what are you currently having trouble trusting &/or having faith in God with…well lets see…lets start with the list up above  First thing this morning I had to surrender ALL to God & remember God does not call the qualified…He equipts the unqualified in order to show his power & glory.

I went down stairs to get all the kids files (Miriam Center & FSJ)…which surprisingly only took me 15 minutes to get my point across without a translator  Thanks to God! I then went up stairs to start looking through files…made it halfway through one before got side tracked. It was really cool to see the evaluation forms I had spent a month creating from scratch had been used & with success .

Naham & Presidue came up to see me & we ended up meeting & talking for over 2.5 hours. I got filled in on how things have been running in the Miriam Home & FSJ Program. I sat down with Presidue & together went over his new schedule, I got ideas for the new Miriam Home schedule, and am in the process of making Presidue’s new schedule and Presidue is on getting everyone in FSJ back her so we can hopefully get fully up & running next week. I then spent an hour typing up the new schedules and then reviewing it with Naham to make sure he thought it could work. I am really excited for the rotation that we created so that throughout the day the children will be exposed to different environments and activities. They already had a great rotation going and I just tweaked it so a lot will stay the same. I also introduced both of them to all the assistive technology I brought in teaching them how to use the switch toys, how to switch adapt battery operated, how to use the IPAD and other communication devices.

I then started talking to Naham who asked if I was qualified to teach…basically he was asking if I could train him to be an OT…I said yes, that is what I am here to do  He is soooooo eager to learn and that turned into over an hour conversation of me sharing my passion and vision for FSJ and for all disabled children & their families. I then introduced him to the 20+ textbooks I brought in and he already asked to take one home to read it tonight. I am starting with training him in sensory as I believe it is the base to all else . It was so refreshing to see how excited he is to learn & really wants to gain the knowledge base to help these children. We actually started talking and lost track of time & missed lunch…ooops.

The beginning of the afternoon was spent organizing supplies and the Luke 2:52 school…and trying to adapt some battery operated toys (which was unsuccessful). It was so much fun to see some of my workers eyes light up as I unpacked…to see them play with the toys like kids on Christmas morning. I had one worker pick up a phonics game and for about 30 minutes worked on learning the alphabet in English and words on the one communication board.

At about 3 I decided I was going to go play with the kids with the IPAD. I began taking the kids 1 to 2 at a time out to the Bird Cage for some quality time together. It was so much fun to see their eyes light up, to hear their laughs, their smiles, and the eagerness to learn. I saw more then ever the potential the IPAD has…it open a whole new world for these children. We played straight up till dinner 

Dinner was amazing spaghetti with homemade rolls turned into garlic bread, chocolate cake, and SWEET TEA!!! MMMMMMMMMM… Yes I filled my entire water bottle up with sweet tea to last me the rest of the night…probably why I am on a sugar high.

After dinner I had the wonderful opportunity of sharing the story of the Miriam Center with a family that arrive today and jumped right in helping feed the Miriam home children before dinner. I learned it is their 19th time in Haiti but first time at the mission. They have a daughter who has an orphanage on the other end of Haiti and they have some disabled children and a deaf school. It was so wonderful to share where we have come from and what a reminder of just how BIG GOD is.

We then had devotions and since we had a new group of over 70 arrive today had introductions and rules time. I then ran to get a quick army shower and then went to give out goodnight kisses. I would have to say this may have been the highlight of my day. I go in and start giving kisses…I get to Walden who starts giggling uncontrollably and turns it into a game…Markinely runs up and jumps into my arms and lays his head down on my shoulder to go to sleep. I started playing games with Walden who was laughing so hard he could hardly breath and when I would stop he was say start rambling on and say HEY…HEY.. and try to say my name…Moise was getting so excited he was jumping up and down with a big smile…this went on for a good 10 minutes before Joshua and Joseph came in for the tackle. It was a joyous moment. Job began crying and would not stop so for the past hour as I have been writing you he has been on my lap & we have been having some great bonding time. He fell asleep about 10 minutes ago and is snoring 

Please Pray for Den-Den who has chicken pocks…many of our children had it but are better…Den-Den is miserable and just does not feel well…I finally got him to smile today while playing on the IPAD but tonight he was crying. So please pray that he would be free of itches and pain & that he would heal quickly.

Funny side note…or not so funny…I thought I got the chicken pocks from them today as when I woke up I had no bug bites and now have red dots all over my back and arms…progressively getting more all day. I have been told it takes a week after exposure to get them and mine are too big and swollen like to be chicken pocks…so I guess I am too sweet and got eaten ;-)

Thank you for all your prayers!

My adventures into Haiti

2011-06-06T19:13:00.000-07:00

I had quite the adventure into Haiti. It all started Sunday morning at 8:00AM when the internet both at my house and at the church was down and I had no way of getting my ticket information…thank goodness for Starbucks internet. Then while backing the car up so we could completely open the doors to fit suitcases in…I forgot to move my backpack (which had all the electronics in it) and backed over the front edge.

Prayed the whole way through security and getting on the plane that my carry-on’s would fit in & they would not say anything…And we were good

My first flight from Reno to Texas was very enjoyable. I sat next a women who’s husband was a Rescue worker from Texas in Reno for a training. Her husband helped me lift my 40lb & was making fun of it…lol I said well it won’t be heavy on the way back from Haiti. So halfway through our trip she said…”did I hear your going to Haiti?” Which launched a 30-40 minute conversation about Haiti  She asked…. On the way off the plane she handed me a snickers bar & a donation for Haiti which was really sweet.

On both my flights I began reading the book the DREAM GIVER again. Yes, this is like my fourth time in 2 years but this book so reminds me of why I do what I do and puts my struggles back into perspective. (I will share more details in another blog post about what God has been speaking to me the past 2 days)

When I arrived in Texas I had about an hour to make my flight but the airport is so big I barely made it which means I got no food…was a little bummed since all I had was cheerios and carrots since 8:00AM. Then they ran out of room for overhead carry-on’s and made me check mine. Then said I would have to retrieve it at baggage claim (which I thought I was going to be able to avoid since my bags were checked straight to Haiti) . Well once again God sat me next to a lady that we were both able to bless each other. For the entire 3 hours flight we talked and shared about the work God called us to. She insisted on buying me a snack pack on the plane…which in the end was a really big blessing since when I landed in Miami no restaurants were open. My carry-on came rather quickly and then came the obstacle of getting a shuttle to my hotel.

I thought I would be able to pull up the internet in Miami and look up the number for my hotel but the internet costs money and would not let me. I ended up texting my friend in Oklahoma to look up the number for me and called. Once again God blessed me…just as I got a hold of the hotel and asked how to request the shuttle it pulled up in front of me 

I got to the hotel and said they did not have a reservation for me. I called and texted Jody in Haiti. Her husband Jose called 3x before we finally got it worked out. But God is faithful and I made it up to my room by 11:30PM and got 3.5 wonderful hours of sleep.

In the morning the earliest shuttle to the airport was 5AM and my boarding started at 6AM. I got down to where the shuttle leaves from 15 minutes early and at 5:15 I was still sitting there. When I asked at the desk the guy said your driver is right over there (watching tv). I finally convinced him to take me to the airport and luckily a short line for security and was at my gate by 5:45. I was super excited to find a coffee shop open to get a smoothie and bagel as I was pretty hungry since I did not get lunch or dinner the day before.

My flight into Haiti was smooth and arrived in Haiti by 8:30 and was through customs by 9:00 and all my bags were waiting for me  A Hatian I did not know came up and asked to help me….I told him I was waiting for someone and he said “Jacque?” And I said “yes” He proceeded to take me outside and down a nice new long PAVED walkway where I met up with someone who showed me ID from the mission who proceeded to take me farther to a group of 3 guys with mission staff shirts on. From there we proceeded to catch a Tap-Tap to the little airport where I then had a 3 hour wait for my short flight on the prop plane to Port-A-Pey. I met some nice Hatians in the airport but I quickly got frustrated with my limited Creole and the staff from the mission who were helping me get on my plane gave me a hard time that this is my 5th trip to Haiti and I still can’t speak Creole…lol. One Haitian said he knew Spanish so I tried to communicate via espanol but I have forgotten so much in the past 6 years. I decided as I sat in the airport I need to learn more creole! It’s a new goal.

On the small plane ride I met a group of about 8 from a church in Florida headed to do mission work in Port-A-Pey. They were asking me all kinds of questions about the plane…tried not to scare them but reassure that the planes were safe and warned them about landing on dirt runway, that it would be loud, and sometimes the fly with the window open. It was probably one of the best Tortuga flights I have ever been on. When we landed I quickly learned none of my luggage made the flight…not even my carry on. So all I had was my book bag that had my electronics and Bible.

I got into a Tap-Tap to make my way up to NWHCM…once again my limited Creole frustrated me. So instead of riding in the back of the tap-tap since it was just me I got to ride in the cab…some of you may be thinking this is better…NO…For over an hour I got to watch my driver play chicken with all the other vehicles on the dirt narrow roads….I prayed A LOT and wished I was in the back where I could be oblivious 

I really did enjoy the ride though…it is so good to be reminded of the culture…so many emotions ran through me during that drive. It began raining shortly into our trip and I was reminded how blessed we are to have houses with roofs, that we have cars to drive in…most everyone was walking, tap-tapping, or on mopeds. We work in buildings and are protected…most sell things on the streets in Haiti. Halfway into our trip we picked up about 10 teenagers who had just got out of school and would have had to walk miles in the rain home. I never realized how far many of these children had to walk for school…and these children are lucky. The majority of the children in Haiti do not go to school because they cannot afford it…not only do you have to pay to go to school in Haiti you have to buy uniforms and supplies. I just really got thinking about how blessed we are in America to have access to a free education.

As we were driving along I was watching the people and how they reacted to the rain…children playing in the rain and laughing, others trying to cover with anything they could find or find shelter under a tree, but MANY running to grab buckets to collect the rain water so they could have clean drinking water.

I could go on and on telling about all that went through my head in that short hour ride to the mission. When I arrived at the mission I met the interns and said hi to many from my mission family before quickly heading down to see the kids. It was about 1:30ish and so the kids were getting ready to nap.

When I walked in it was so good to see the workers faces light up and get hugs and kisses from them all. I then headed into the boys room. Steven was on the potty and when he saw me was so excited he almost fell off  Joseph ran up and gave me a hug and quickly told me to sit next to him…Den-Den was half asleep, Moise got really excited and started rocking, Isaac quickly called me over, John waited to make sure I caught sight of him and said hi…Walden quickly tried to roll over to see me and gave me the cutest smile, Owens gave me a high five. I then proceeded to the smaller kids and got to see my boy Job who I gave tickles and snuggled with for a while, we have a new little boy who is adorable and I played with him for a while… over He has the cutest laugh. Kenderson has gotten so tall and is walking all I then went over to the girls room where Natalie proceeded to run and jump into my arms and refuse to get down for about 10 minutes, Mary-Julie and Kem gave me the biggest smiles, Tamara was laughing and was wearing an awesome shirt that totally described her personality…It was along the lines of I didn’t do it! Lol…Hope had managed to rip plastic off her diaper cover and trying to devour it (she likes anything plastic and I swear can sniff it out.) I could go and describe each of the kids but overall they are all doing well and I am so excited to be back and to start loving on them and working with them.

I managed to lay down and take a nap and then My bags arrived shortly before dinner soak and wet but luckily all my electronics were dry  We had dinner, devotions, and now I am chilling in the staff lounge with the interns who are watching a movie.

There is so much to do tomorrow but I am excited to get started. Please pray for wisdom and strength at I work on schedules, talking to staff, and get things organized.

ps. sorry if this does not all make since I am really tired but did want to write :)

On my way to Haiti

2011-06-05T10:16:00.000-07:00

I am currently sitting in the Reno then I will fly to Texas...to Miami..spending the night tonight in Miami fly out 7:00AM to PAP Haiti and then make my way to the mission :-)

I played the packing game yesterday after unpacking and packing my suitcase 3x...I won the packing game and got both of my suitcases to weigh 70lbs my bookbag at 30lbs and my rolling carry on at 40lbs. Got almost everything to fit that I bought and just had to do a victory dance because it was only by God's power!!!

I realized halfway to the airport that I forgot the book I was writing my Bible study off of...so I am going to try to download it onto the IPAD. Please pray God would give me wisdom as I continue to write this 9 week Bible study for For Jonathan's Sake

Please keep me in your prayers for safe travels and that God would just prepare my heart and give me peace about everything I did not get accomplished before I left.

"Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid for the LORD they God is with you WHEREVER you go!" Joshua 1:9

Here I am LORD...SEND ME!

6 days till Haiti!!!!

2011-06-05T10:14:00.000-07:00

I can’t believe how fast time has been flying. It is exactly 5 days till I will be on my way to my favorite place in the entire world…HAITI! I have a lot to share with you all as God has really been working the past few weeks.

As many of you know from my support letter I had my trip all planned out…I even had a detailed color coded schedule of every fifteen minutes of my day. I was ready….I had spent months preparing supplies so I could complete what I wanted to…THE PROBLEM…MY plans were not GODS plan. God has really been sifting me & taking away MY plans and revealing to me HIS BIG PLANS. It has been a hard few weeks as I try to surrender, switch gears, & prepare for HIS Plans.

So what does my summer look like now?

I will no longer complete evaluations on Miriam Home children or be able to do tons of the activities and training I had planned INSTEAD God has called me again this year to focus on For Jonathan’s Sake (my outreach program). This was the hardest area of surrender for me. I wanted to really focus on Miriam Home because last summer my focus was on For Jonathan’s Sake.

What are HIS plans for For Jonathan’s Sake which has grown from 38 to 100 families since last summer!!!
1. First that I develop a 9 week Bible Study based on the names of Christ to do with the For Jonathan’s Sake Parents. He has revealed to me that it is through the names of Christ the parents will learn to first love God and through their love for God learn to love their children and therefore have the motivation to learn how to care for their children. I have seen these families come a long way last summer as I worked with 38 families BUT we are not quite there yet and I am so excited to see How God uses this Bible Study he is writing with me. I have already complete the first 3 weeks. Elohim- the creator and El Roi- the God who sees. The first week is going to be about the importance of names in scripture.
2. My second goal with For Jonathan’s Sake is to develop home program folders with treatment plans that the parents can do daily at home and a different one they can do on their day in the clinic when they have access to supplies. Each will have a folder to take home that is in a BIG ziplock bag to protect it. This folder is how they will receive their food for the week by bringing it every week showing they still have it 1 and demonstrating they have been working with their children.

Many of you know that I had been planning to train NAHAM to be an Occupational Therapist (OT) all summer…Well…God has changed those plans as well. We are really focusing on getting our Luke 2:52 special education school up and running this summer and this coming year. God has blessed us with a special education teacher Stephanie who is taking a year to serve in Haiti with the school. We have also hired a Haitian who is going to be the teacher and learn all year alongside Stephanie. God is leading us to have Naham be the Aid/therapist inside the Luke 2:52 school. My focus has switched from training him everything I can about OT to how I can train him to use specific OT skills within the special education environment to help increase these children’s education. I do not think it is a coincidence that God has had me working in the school system as an OT this whole year.

When I am not training Naham and not doing Luke 2:52 school, I will be training on all the assistive technology I have been able to get for Haiti. Some of the pieces I am most excited about include:
1. IPAD- I am so excited for the many possibilities for the kids for education and communication through this piece of equipment. I have bought the proloquo to go application which turns the IPAD into a communication device which will open a whole new world to many of these children who have never been able to communicate. I have also got many educational applications that will help with teaching basic math, increase fine motor/visual motor skills, and help with teaching writing skills.
2. I am bringing in 3 other types of communication devices CheapTalk4, Sydspeak100, and 3 button communicator. These are all going to allow the children to demonstrate their knowledge of what they are learning by verbally showing it and allow them to communicate their basic needs and desires…like I have to go to the bathroom or I want more please….
3. I have 2 programs I got that will help with communication and develop reading skills called boardmaker and writing with symbols. These programs are going to be able to be utilized in so many ways for all of our programs and I am excited to see how God uses them
4. Final one I will share with you is I purchased tons of adapter and different switches to turn any batter operated toy or electrical plug appliance into a switch operated one. This is the coolest thing since many of my low functioning children cannot play with any of the toys we have in their. This will teach cause and effect and allow them to interact with their world. I plan on hooking the blender up and allowing these children to help make a meal or make a smoothie. I am so excited for the possibilities.

God has truly blessed me with the ability to purchase so many exciting supplies to take in this summer and I am so thankful! Thank you to each and everyone of you that made that possible and to all you who gave me advice on what to get.

On Saturdays I will be working with the Miriam Home children on learning to do chores, being able to do more activities of daily living like dressing and bathing. I also want to do a cooking project 1x per week. I actually sent money to a church group who is going to pick up supplies to make 8-9 different cooking projects over the summer. I have even adapted the recipe’s to be in picture form with the pecs from the board maker program. I am really excited for this.

So as you can see…although God has changed all my plans at the last minute and gave me His…He is helping me get everything ready & organized. He is also giving me peace about the direction He has taken me. He has provided 2 interns who will be working with the Miriam Home children…they have not been forgotten but if I were not to work with For Jonathan’s Sake they would have been. He is BIG and I am so excited to dance with HIM!

Please pray for me as I have so much to finish before I leave at work, at home, and then for Haiti. This may just be the hardest transition yet into Haiti because I am leaving with so many unknowns and changes for when I get back. Pray for packing…I have so many supplies to take in and there is a summer embargo in place right now which says I can only have 2 bags at 50lbs…well American Airlines yesterday told me well maybe they can be up to 70lbs. I freaked at first but God has been faithful & I have 3-4 church groups helping me out by buying supplies to carry in for me or letting me ship boxes of stuff for them to carry in. God will make a way when their seems to be no way!

Promises from scripture I am leaning on:
1. God will never give me more than I can handle
2. God will never bring me to something He will not bring me through
3. When I come near to God… He will come near to me
4. His divine power has given me EVERYTHING I need
5. When I trust in God with all my heart and lean not on my own understanding…I will have a peace that transcends all understanding.
6. NOTHING is IMPOSSIBLE with GOD
7. I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me
8. God has a call on my life and a perfect plan

Song lyrics that are just my hearts cry….

Today is the day by Lincoln Brewster
I'm casting my cares aside
I'm leaving my past behind
I'm setting my heart and mind on You
Jesus

I'm reaching my hand to Yours
Believing there's so much more
Knowing that all You have in store for me is good
Is good

Chorus:
Today is the day You have made
I will rejoice and be glad in it
Today is the day You have made
I will rejoice and be glad in it
And I won't worry about tomorrow
I'm trusting in what You say
Today is the day
Oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh
Today is the day

I putting my fears aside
I'm leaving my doubts behind
I'm giving my hopes and dreams to You
Jesus. We are sisters and brothers in Christ.

I'm reaching my hand to Yours
Believing there's so much more
Knowing that all You have in store for me is good
Is good

I will stand upon Your truth.
(I will stand upon Your truth)
And all my days I'll live for You
(And all my days I'll live for You)

Thank you again for all your prayers and support as I prepare to Dance Hard in Haiti.

I also wanted to share a picture of the painting my friend Ben Hubbard did at the Haiti night I did at my church here in Nevada. I spent an hour talking about the view of disabilities in Haiti, How God sees these children, and then went on to show videos and share stories of what God is doing in Haiti through the Miriam Center. Ben started out throwing black paint onto the campus and smearing it around with his hands…He wanted to make it look like a mistake since this is how all these children are seen as. Well...in the end it was really powerful as people saw that He had a plan…He took great time, thought and detail to complete this painting and as psalms says “God knit us together in our mothers womb and we are fearfully and wonderfully made” My ending point was that God spent just as much time creating you and me as He did these children and he took much thought in each detail of their life and appearance and they are not mistakes but they have been made with a plan and purpose. God is GOOD! The painting is a painting of one of my children T-Willy 

El Roi- The God Who Sees

2011-05-14T21:07:00.000-07:00

SO...I am still in the place of waiting...place of uncertainty...place of limbo. for months now I have been discerning whether God is calling me to stay here next year and work or if he is calling me somewhere else...time is running out and now the decision is no longer in my hands as now the school district does not know if they have the finances to hire me back. I have no clue where else God is calling me...Truthfully I am scared, I dont' want to leave, I don't want to start over and I have been struggling to the point of being stressed. The past week I lost my fruit...I no longer had patience, I lost my joy...my peace was gone...I was saying and doing things I never do...I was stressed to the max! On top of decision with moving...I leave for Haiti in 3 weeks with so much to still prepare. God completely changed my plans a week ago (which I will explain in another blogpost) and everything possible has gone wrong... I was empty, hurting, frustrated, and confused. As hard as I was trying to trust in God...rehearsed verses in my head...was surrounded by people reminding of God's plans and purposes for my life...I was failing.

This evening I came upon a post I had written back in August when I first moved here and it has a poem I wrote. It was perfect for where I was at and I wanted to repost. My prayer tonight was that I could be in the place of Trust I was there and beleive with the depths of my heart that El Roi See's...He sees the path He has for me to walk down and it is a good path that will grow me closer to him and prepare me for the future places He has for me to serve it. I must be willing to step out of my comfort zone again...trust Him daily and Go!

Post from August
Since I moved to Nevada I have been missing Haiti more than ever. Probably because so much is going on, so many changes are happening, God is moving in so many BIG ways & my heart aches & longs to be there. Maybe because I took this job so that I can serve in Haiti in the summers & that is a huge motivator as everything in my life is changing. This move has challenged me to go to a new level of TRUST in my BIG GOD. I don’t know anyone out here, I am in a new town, new job, first job out of college, so much is expected & frankly at times I feel so inadequate. I can’t help but ask Why me God? I have taken a lot of time to think back on my past & I stand in Awe at the ways God has moved to form me into the person I am today. I could go on & on and list pages of situations that have happened (good & bad) that occurred to prepare me to be where I am today & be ready to keep fighting & traveling along this journey God is taking me on. God has blessed me time & time again in my past & He is blessing me so abundantly here in Nevada. During a hike last weekend as I sat on a Big rock overlooking Lake Tahoe from on top of a mountain I had just climbed, I finally took the time to stop & tune into God. God laid upon my heart this poem. It was such a sweet reminder of how God has perfect plans for each of us, He cares deeply about each of us, He loves us each so deeply, and He is so excited to take us on a journey of a lifetime that ends in His sweet precious arms. I challenge you to look back over your past, to see God’s handiwork in your life. His hand is there…even when we push Him away…He never leaves us, never stops pursuing us, never stops loving us. We are his precious children.

What God Sees

In June 1987 God breathed life into a little girl.

In that moment when the world saw a cute, fragile, precious baby…

God saw into the future and saw the women of God she would become.

In elementary school when she was the shyest person in her class and got homesick when she was away from home…

God saw into the future and saw the her being bold & courageous for Him while crossing seas to share the gospel and His love.

When she was in middle school and confused about who she was & not the best in school

God saw into the future when she would be full of God-confidence & graduate grad school with a degree she could use to serve the Lord with.

When she was 12 and went on her first mission trip

God saw into the future and saw the missionary she would become.

As she was growing up & she found her talent to be loving on children & she was always being told when you grow up you should work with children

God saw into the future & saw her working with all kinds of children in the united states & overseas.

When that little girl would get easily upset & her heart would break

God smiled and looked into the future & saw a women who had a compassionate heart that broke at the site of injustice & that drove her to fight for the poor, needy, & forgotten.

And now as her heart aches & longs to be in Haiti, serving as a missionary, using her skills/degree to work with disabled children sharing God’s love to the poor, needy, & forgotten.

She is trusting in God’s perfect timing & believes there is more preparation to take place before she is ready to go.

I wonder what God sees as He looks into her future?

Have you ever taken time to ask God what He sees when He looks back over your life? Don't be too hard on yourself remember we serve a God of compassion, love, forgiveness, mercy, & grace. He was willing to send His one & only son to die for us so that we might be His precious child. He wants an intimate relationship with you more than anything.

I don’t know what my future holds…but I know the one who does & I can face tomorrow because I know He lives & He is Mighty & He is faithful. I just got done reading the book of Genesis & reading about the journey of God’s people. They had to wait on His timing…time & time again BUT He always fulfilled His promises & ALWAYS journeyed with them. He blessed them even when other plotted harm against them. I was reminded that God works everything for His glory & His good. EVERYTHING. What others plan as harm against us God turns for His good. BUT God as I learned from Genesis PATIENCE is key, TRUST is essential, and FAITH is required. I am learning these 3 things. I am excited to see how God is going to use me now & how He is going to continue to mold me & shape me into the vessel He needs me to be, to go on the next leg of my journey. May I be a willing vessel, open to learn, open to be molded, and open to GO WHEREVER He calls me. Thank you for all your prayers & support. Please continue to keep me in your prayers as I am being stretched in ways I never dreamed but growing at the same time.

Miriam Home 2010

2011-03-29T22:20:00.000-07:00

Miriam Center Vision Tour

2011-03-29T22:18:00.000-07:00

For jonathan's Sake, Miriam Center, Haiti DVD.wmv

2011-03-29T22:17:00.000-07:00

Miriam Center JOY

2011-03-29T22:16:00.000-07:00

Haiti Disability Facility- The Miriam Center

2011-03-29T22:15:00.000-07:00

Everything by Tim Hughes

2011-02-19T12:19:00.000-08:00

The past month can be summed up in a few words EMOTIONAL HERMIT. I got so overwhelmed with life (dealing with my granpa’s death, moving with a short time to pack & all that comes with that, huge decisions about the future, dealing with health issues, trying to catch up for missing a week at work, and other little things) that I seriously went to work...came home…went to my room…and became and emotional Hermit. Not a God-centered emotional Hermit…Just an emotional Hermit. I cut myself off from the few things that could/would have helped…I didn’t go to Bible Study, cut myself off from my housemates, and didn’t answer phone calls. I look back on the past month and ask myself REALLY?? Now did that do you any good??? I never felt less spiritually, emotionally, or physically drained after being an Emotional Hermit for the night I always felt worse…with a headache on top of it all ;)

I was catching up on my missionary friends blogs yesterday and read one from Jody Castillo that really gave me a wake up call. She posted…

6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. I Peter 5:6-8 NIV

“It makes so much sense to me now; you can’t cast your cares on Jesus if you think you can do it on your own! Duh! But the real ugly comes in after you have cast your cares upon Jesus… 1 Peter 5:8 reminds us to be alert and ready for Satan—he is looking for his next kill! This now makes so much sense to me—of course the Devil wants to get us when we are down—when we are at full power he doesn’t stand a chance. It is only when we are burdened by a heavy load that he can truly catch us!”

I seriously have been the perfect prey for Satan the last month…Like a sheep among the wolves! AND instead of calling out to my Shephard (who would have come to rescue and comforted me) I allowed Satan to catch me. And after he caught me he filled my head with lies that I would dwell on, made me an emotional hermit to isolate me from truth, and attacked my health. Satan knew I was down…He knew that, that was the time to attack…and I had no energy to fight back. I allowed Satan to tear me apart.

Jody also wrote… “If you want to know how big your God is – take a look at your worry list! The longer the list – the smaller your God!” Well, I know I say all the time WOW…I serve a BIG GOD! But this month I sure have not acted like it…My worry list has been so long…One night I didn’t fall asleep for 3 hours because I was worrying about things I had absolutely not control over!

Courtney Peirce had this as her facebook status- ☆ Stop telling God how big your storm is. Instead, tell the storm how BIG your God is! ☆

THATS IT! I AM DONE BEING AN EMOTIONAL HERMIT! I AM DONE ACTING LIKE MY GOD IS SMALL…MY GOD IS SOOOOO INCREDIBLY BIG AND I WANT MY LIFE TO REFLECT IT! THERE IS NO STORM IN MY LIFE THAT CAN COME MY WAY THAT IS BIGGER THAN MY GOD.

One thing I have been worrying a lot about the past few weeks is where I will be next year and what I will be doing. Am I suppose to stay with Douglas County School District as their Occupational Therapist…I love my job (the people I work with, the kids I work with, and just everything I do) and I selfishly do not want to move again…I do not want to pick up my life again and start over. It was the hardest thing I ever did moving out here not knowing anyone… I have about 5 possibilities floating in my head…I even spent an hour crunching number yesterday to see if one would work…It is RIDICULOUS how much I have worried over this the last few weeks. If I had spent half that time surrendered in prayer I guarantee I would have a better idea of where God wants me. I was reminded last night of a saying “If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans!” Right after I heard that…I could just see God laughing…I was reminded that I can worry for hours and days…I can plan everything out so it looks perfect from my wordly view BUT God’s plans are ALWAYS better than mine and his will SUCCEED.

I mean SERIOUSLY if I would stop and look back on the last 7 months of my life and all that God did and how he has blessed my steps in Nevada…He has been soooooo good to me! He has given me peace that surpasses understanding…He has blessed me with an amazing church family…He has lead me to amazing friends and ministry opportunities here in Nevada, He has given me the ability to do a job that I am not qualified to do…Shouldn’t this be enough evidence that MY GOD IS SOOOOO BIG…That He loves me so much and that He is going to lead and guide my every step!?!

Romans 8:28- “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” The key to this verse is those who LOVE HIM and who have received his spirit. I look back on the times in my life God said NO! to my plans because He had other plans. His plans were always better than mine…His plans always brought Him more glory and blessed me more abundantly. BUT at the time it was not easy…it was frustrating and I didn’t always react the way I should have. His plans were NEVER what I would have chosen…They were never the easiest road BUT they were always the BEST! SO WHY DO I WORRY??? WHY DO I WASTE PRECIOUS TIME WORRYING when it gets me NOWHERE?!?

Last night at Bible Study (yes, I finally went & figure this one out…God spoke to me in mighty ways ;) we studied about the life of Joseph. Talk about a powerful...intense story that went nothing like Joseph would have planned. AND This is a TRUE story proven not just by the fact it is in the Bible but multiple historical documents have this story in it! There is so much to learn about God, his perfect plans & timing, and the character we should have. This is a long story going from Gen 37-46. I am going to just hit on a few points….

1.Joseph was only 17 years old when his brothers sold him into Slavery. And right before they sold him into slavery he had just received 2 Dreams that revealed his brothers and family would bow down to him AND he had just received a special robe from his father. He was feeling on top of the world! I can see Him being excited about his future! Then BAM! He is sold into slavery by His OWN brothers and went from living in a rich family to being the SCUM of the earth…I can’t even imagine what was going through Joseph’s head as he walked with chains, an empty stomach, while being mocked for days…I think I would be pretty BITTER at God and the world by the time I reached EGYPT.

2.We learn that when he got to Egypt he was sold on the auction block to Potiphar one of pharaoh’s officials. We learn that THE LORD WAS WITH JOSEPH AND GAVE HIM SUCCESS IN EVERYTHING HE DID. After probably years of being a faithful, honest, hard-working, God’s loving servant…Joseph found favor in Potiphar’s eyes and He entrusted Joseph with everything he owned and the Lord blessed everything in Josephs care.

3.TEMPTATION COMES (Potiphar’s wife tries to get Joseph to sleep with her)…HE REFUSES (even though day after day she tempted him)…BUT even though Joseph never gave into temptation Potiphar’s wife lied and got Joseph thrown into Prison…Once again He has gone from being on top of the world to the scum of the earth.

4.Joseph was thrown in prison BUT even while in prison it says “THE LORD WAS WITH HIM, He showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison guard…gave him success in whatever he did.” While in prison Joseph didn’t become bitter or hard-hearted…we see that he had empathy for the fellow prisoners, that he looked for opportunities to show kindness and help others. He even interpreted dreams for 2 of the prisoners that came true and because of this a few years down the line is what got him out of prison…We know the prison was not a nice place because scripture says “I have done nothing to deserve being put in a dungeon.” We need to live every moment for the glory of God no matter if we are on top of the world or in a place that seems like the scum of the earth because God works ALL THINGS together for good of those who LOVE HIM! We may not deserve to be in the place we are in BUT God has us there for a reason!

5.Joseph finally gets out of prison probably when he is around 30 years old because He is called to interpret one of Pharaoh’s dreams…but how did Pharaoh know about him…one of the prisoners he had interpreted his dream remembered Joseph and told Pharaoh about him. Joseph is called before Pharaoh and when asked to interpret his dream says, “I cannot do it, but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.” Look at his HUMILITY…After years in prison and finally a chance to get out and the first thing Joseph does is give glory to GOD!

6.Once again Joseph is blessed because the Spirit of God is on him and Pharoah puts him in charge of the whole land of Egypt!

7.EVERYTHING above had to happen in order to set up for the original 2 dreams he had before he was sold into slavery to come true…BUT everything also had to happen to prepare him to be in a place that was all about God! And be able to take on the responsibility of ruling over all of EGYPT. As you read on in the story you see everything had to happen to prepare for the EXODUS later on…It is amazing to see the rest of the story unfold and I challenge you to take time to read it sometime.

8.A few last thoughts…

•Was Joseph’s Life all Good?...ABSOLUTELY NOT! He had many trials to face, his life seems like a rollercoaster ride.

•Was Joseph Alone in this journey?...ABSOLUTELY NOT! All throughout the story we see that GOD WAS WITH JOSEPH…The Lord in the midst of all that He went through was with him and was blessing him and was guiding his every footstep. God wants to do the same thing for us. God wants to unfold his plan for our lives…He has a perfect plan and those plans include to prosper us NOT to harm us…to give us a hope and a future BUT it is conditional. The only way He will do this is if we keep HIM first in our life If He becomes our EVERYTHING! The following is my PRAYER!!!

EVERYTHING by Tim Hughs
God in my living
There in my breathing
God in my waking
God in my sleeping
God in my resting
There in my working
God in my thinking
God in my speaking

Be my everything
Be my everything
Be my everything
Be my everything

God in my hoping
There in my dreaming
God in my watching
God in my waiting
God in my laughing
There in my weeping
God in my hurting
God in my healing

Christ in me
Christ in me
Christ in me the hope of glory
You are everything

“Consider it pure Joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kids, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete not lacking anything. If any of you lacks anything you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.” James 1:1-5

Last night after Bible Study I listed to a talk on DREAMS by Phil Visuer… I just wanted share a few quotes
•“God could have but…He didn’t”- God could do anything…He could audibly tell me what he wants me to do next year…he could open doors for me to be in Haiti today…He could have prevented the earthquake in Haiti…prevented cholera from happening in Haiti…etc. BUT HE DIDN’T…Why because His thoughts are greater than ours and He see the BIG Picture!

•“God wants to know what is more important to us…our dream or God” OUCH! I have been putting my dream of doing good for God in Haiti above GOD!

•“He who has God plus many things has nothing more than He has God alone.” God can take everything away in a moment just like He did from Joseph 2x…would you be ok if EVERYTHING was taken away except God?

•If you don’t know what God wants you to do…WAIT ON HIM!- I need to WAIT UPON THE LORD! He will show me what He wants me to do…BUT only in HIS TIMING!

•Focus passion on walking with God then God will be able to fulfill dream through you. WALK with GOD and WAIT on GOD- God can only call people when they can hear him…If I am too “busy doing” that I can’t hear God’s voice I am useless to him…Most important thing is to make God #1. I do not want to be useless to God…I want to be his instrument to change the world BUT 1st I need to have an intimate…deep relationship with God that is rooted in KNOWING GOD 1st before working for God.

My Challenge for us all today is to “Hold everything loosely except God himself!”

So in conclusion…nothing has really changed from the beginning of this blogpost to the end except my perspective of GOD and my attitude… BUT PERSPECTIVE is EVERYTHING! God is worth pursuing with my WHOLE HEART…He is worth BEING MY EVERYTHING! He knows the plans He has for me…He has me right where He wants me and I have to be willing to live full of Joy, in His presence…under His grace in THIS Moment in time. Scripture says when I seek him with MY WHOLE HEART that I WILL FIND HIM! Joseph never knew God’s plans…He could not see the future to see that it would turn out ok YET He didn’t get bitter…He remained trustworthy, Noble, Humble, Caring, and a man after God’s own Heart! May We no matter what are circumstances are right now…even though we cannot see the future and what lies ahead…MAY WE TRUST in GOD…The God who created EVERYTHING…The God who knows us INSIDE and OUT! The God who loves us UNCONDITIONALLY…The God who was willing to send His one and only son to die for us…May we be willing to Accept His love and face each day with the HOPE of ETERNITY with Him! May God bless you abundantly today AND May we hold EVERYTHING loosely except God Himself!

Please Pray for me as I discern my future and where God is calling me...As I strive to GIVE HIM my EVERYTHING and as I fight off the Devil!

When everything falls apart haiti video

2011-01-20T11:26:00.000-08:00

I video I made as I remembered 1 year later the devestation that happened on January 12th. The video is made using fellow missionary friends pictures from NWHCM & OMS. Please continue to pray for Haiti!

Finding Peace In The Midst of So Much Death & Tragedy!

2010-11-20T15:35:00.000-08:00

The past month I have had to face dealing with death more than ever before. Within a 3 week period I have been faced with the fact that 10 friends and family members went to be with the Lord. 2 that were extremely close to my heart…

-Do I know they are in a better place? YES…

-Do I know they are worshiping the God of the universe, free from pain, free from suffering, free from this corrupt world? YES

- Is there a selfish side of me that is still struggling with all this? YES

- Is there a part of me that is still breaking over what is happening in Haiti with the Cholera and the fact that these people are still suffering from the earthquake that happened almost a year ago and the hurricane that happened a few weeks ago? YES

-Is there a part of me that is breaking for the children and people of America who have never had a chance to succeed, never felt loved, gone hungry, live in broken families, have been abused physically/sexually, who have never laughed, never felt peace...? YES

These past few weeks I have felt sorrow like I have never felt sorrow before, I have wept for society and what our world has come to. I have been forced to ask God many questions including WHY? I have longed to be at home in PA…I have longed to be at home in Haiti BUT I have also seen God reveal himself to me in Mighty ways, I have felt God’s arms wrap around me, I have see God give me peace that surpasses understanding and strength I did not think I had within me. I just want to share a few things God has been teaching me and ways he has revealed himself to me.

3 weeks ago I lost 2 relatives in 1 week. My mom’s aunt and my uncle Don. My uncle Don passed away from a heart attack that took his life before he even made it to the hospital. A complete shock to all. Just the weekend before he was up at camp with the rest of my family (what they do every weekend) joking around, hanging out with the 3 amigos/stooges (my dad and my other uncle Walt). 3 days later he is gone…I struggled with this…It was a reminder of how short life is…only God knows the day of our last breath. Am I living everyday as if it were my last? I really struggled with the fact I could not go home, that I could not go to the funeral, that I could not have a mom/dad hug…It was just a really tough week. After 4 days of pain, frustration, sorrow, regret, etc. God gave me peace that surpassed all understanding that I just woke up with on Sunday morning. I was driving to church (which is 45 minutes from my apartment) and up in the sky I see the biggest, brightest rainbow stretching from 1 mountain range to the other. I just knew it was a gift from God.

This past week was also a very tough week. On Sunday I found out that one of the little boys Daniel (5) in the Prince of Peace Deaf School had passed away from Cholera. It really hit me hard because it was the first death related to the Cholera outbreak in Haiti that hit close to home. I don’t know why I thought everyone in my life would be free from this epidemic…My heart breaks because this is a disease that has a simple remedy of clean water, sugar, salt BUT is not easy at all in this country where there is a lack of access to medical care and supplies…where parents have to walk hours to get help and with cholera you could be dead in hours… I was angry that this country kept getting hit with 1 tragedy after another…my heart ached that death has become a norm in Haiti…that children dying is the norm, that malnourishment is the norm, that hopelessness is the norm. The God of hope is knocking at the door of so many hearts in Haiti. My prayer on Sunday was that God would be glorified in the midst of this cholera outbreak…that people would come to him, that those who know him would not be tempted to turn away even after the loss of a child or family member. I woke up Monday morning with peace that God is in control. That God has a perfect plan…that God sees the future. I was reminded of the feelings I had after the earthquake and now 8 months I can look back and see the good that came from the earthquake.

I know that the first voice Daniel heard was God’s…I know the first music he heard was the choirs of heaven singing praises to their Lord. I know Daniel will never be hungry again, never feel pain, never cry alone, never be scared, never be looked down upon or rejected for his disability.

Monday night I watched a movie entitled Fighting the odds…A movie about an epidemic in America. The epidemic of the number of children who have parents in prison and how man of them follow in their footsteps. It opened my eyes to what a sheltered life I have lived. I am thankful for the life God has given me, I have been blessed beyond measure. I have never been beaten, never been sexually assaulted, never gone to be hungry, never had to worry about being safe if I went to sleep, never had parents in prison, never been involved in gangs or drugs…but the truth is…this is not true for the majority of the children in America. The movie was based on a true story and a women who was a parole officer who was paroling 2nd generation families. She knew something needed to change and started a program in a high school where 50% of the population had a family member in prison. 1 period a day they would go to this class on their own choice…it was amazing to see the changes in these teens lives. (If you want to watch the movie it is on hulu.com for free). Though the movie had a wonderful ending and since 2001 when the program started more than 200 kids have been helped…my heart was aching for these children and the children of America. Earlier that day I had sang the song “Give me your eyes” By Brandon Heath and God definitely had opened my eyes more…but what can I do to help these kids….

Lyrics
Look down from a broken sky
Traced out by the city lights
My world from a mile highBest seat in the house tonight
Touch down on the cold black top Hold on for the sudden stop
Breath in the familiar shockOf confusion and chaos
All those people going somewhere Why have I never cared
Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me your love for humanity
Give me your arms for the broken hearted
The ones that are far beyond my reach
Give me you heart for the ones forgotten
Give me your eyes so I can see
Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah
Step out on a busy street
See a girl and our eyes meet
Does her best to smile at me
To hide what’s underneath
There's a man just to her right
Black suit and a bright red tie
Too ashamed to tell his wife
He's out of work, He's buying time
I’ve been here a million times A couple of million eyes
Just move and pass me by
I swear I never thought that I was wrong
I need a second glance
Give me a second chance
To see the way you’ve seen the people all along

Wednesday, afternoon I got word that 6 more of my friends had died from the cholera outbreak in 1 day. 5 from the Gran Moun and 1 baby from the baby orphanage and 2 more babies were really sick. As I read the email I could feel my heart breaking…I didn’t know what to do, what to think, and all I felt myself doing was questioning God…WHY!?! I had to stop myself…I had to remind myself that he is a good God, that he a plan, that he sees the big picture. I forced myself to go to Bible study because I knew I needed to take my mind off of the situation and stick it on God and focus on him and worship him. I cried threw most of worship and on the way home in the car. My heart was just breaking for Haiti…It was pitch black out and as I was almost home I saw a big white cloud (the only cloud in the sky) and it was shaped like a heart. In that moment I felt God tell me I am holding your breaking heart together and I love you! Just moments later the song Held by Natalie Grant came on the Radio the one line that really stuck out was… “This is what it is to be loved and to know, That the promise was that when everything fell…We'd be held”

Held By: Natalie Grant
Two months is too little
They let him go
They had no sudden healing
To think that providence
Would take a child from his mother
While she prays, is appalling
Who told us we'd be rescued
What has changed and
Why should we be saved from nightmares
Were asking why this happens to us
Who have died to live, it's unfair
This is what it means to be held
How it feels, when the sacred is torn from your life
And you survive
This is what it is to be loved and to know
That the promise was that when everything fell
We'd be heldThis hand is bitterness
We want to taste it andLet the hatred numb our sorrows
The wise hand opens slowly
To lilies of the valley and tomorrow
This is what it means to be held
How it feels, when the sacred is torn from your life
And you survive
This is what it is to be loved and to know
That the promise was that when everything fell
We'd be held
If hope if born of suffering
If this is only the beginning
Can we not wait, for one hour
Watching for our savior
This is what it means to be held
How it feels, when the sacred is torn from your life
And you surviveThis is what it is to be loved and to know
That the promise was that when everything fell
We'd be held
Later that evening I heard the song Hold us Together by Matt Maher which says It's waiting for you, Knockin' at your door! Every moment of truth, When your heart hits the floor. When you're on your knees then... Love, will, hold us together, Make us a shelter to weather the storm. And I'll, be, my brothers keeper, So the whole world will know That we're not alone. After much prayer that night I woke up Thursday with a peace. The day went well…of course Haiti was on my mind and in my prayers all day but I had peace…until…

I got word Thursday evening of the names of the 6 friends that had passed away on Wednesday from the Cholera. I found out the 5 Gran Moun were Seno Semelise, Kubonn Jacques-Cius, Anaise Louis, Cledanord Petit-Frere, and Madam Monfort Mesidor and the baby was Isaiah Joseph, 2. My heart dropped as I read the last name Isaiah. He was the baby I was closest to. Isaiah was born 3 months premature. It was a miracle that he was alive. That summer everyday I would lay down with Isaiah on my bed and take a nap (well he napped sometimes I just listened to my MP3 player). I held Isaiah while I ate, he went down to the Gran Moun with me. That summer I had Isaiah most afternoons and evening. I remember praying over this boy, praying for God to use him in mighty ways. Praying God would help him grow up to be strong physically and to rely on God and draw his strength from God. To hear that Cholera had taken my precious boys life just ripped at my heart. I lost it all over again. Later that evening I was IM’ing my friend Beth a missionary in Haiti who had also been very close to Isaiah. She told me something another missionary had told her earlier that day. She said picture the 5 Gran Moun waiting in heaven for Isaiah…picking him up and carrying him to Jesus. This put a big smile on my face. That precious boy is sitting on his daddy’s lap…this little boy never had a daddy before. I know he is smiling and laughing up in heaven. I also picture my 5 amazing gran moun in heaven dancing there way into Jesus’ presence singing praises the whole way J. God is GOOD and ALL THE TIME God is GOOD. Not just when things are going good…not just when I am happy and full of joy…BUT ALL THE TIME!

This morning I heard the song What a Friend We Have in Jesus… The words to this song hold such truth. I definitely beared needless pain because I refused to carry it Jesus right away and let him have it. But I also felt in a deeper way what a friend I have in Jesus and what peace he has for me…He wants us to carry everything to him and He wants to be our refuge!

What a friend we have in Jesus,
all our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit,
O what needless pain we bear,
all because we do not carry
everything to God in prayer.
Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged;
take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful
who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness;
take it to the Lord in prayer.
Are we weak and heavy laden,
cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge;
take it to the Lord in prayer.
Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?
Take it to the Lord in prayer!
In his arms he'll take and shield thee;
thou wilt find a solace there.

I also read a devotion by Beth Moore which fit my circumstances perfectly…
"Don't worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses every thought, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:6-7, HCSB)

We live in times of great strife and unrest—from the war on terrorism at home and abroad, crime and dissension in our communities, to family traumas in our own homes. Every person has their share of concerns. Peace is the yearning of the heart—a dream unfulfilled. Yet, according to the Bible, peace is possible even in the midst of troubles.

Jesus said in John 14:27, "Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. . . . Your heart must not be troubled or fearful." Jesus did not promise an untroubled life. He said, "In the world you have suffering. Be Courageous! I have conquered the world" (John 16:33). This peace of which Jesus promises is God's gift to His children. It fulfills the yearning in our hearts.

I do not believe it was a coincidence that this whole week my Beth Moore study has been on Peace…

This evening I just sat down to read the end of day 4…It was on the story of Raising Lazarus from the dead John 11…In this story alone there are several truths about peace
1.Christ purposely timed His absence from Lazarus during his critical illness. Consistently throughout God’s word, illness and infermity arise as opportunities for God’s work. Check out John 9:1-3. Why was the man born blind?
2.Christ had glory in mind when He tarried so long before responding to Mary and Martha, too. Christ waited 4 days before He returned…long enough to accomplish at least 2 goals
A.)a prevalent belief existed at that time that the spirit remained close to the body for 3 days after death. By waiting past that point, Jesus left them void of other explanations
B.)He waited until a crowd gathered at Mary’s home so that many would “put their faith in him.” Christ was peaceful in the wait. He waited thousands of years to become flesh and dwell among us. He waited 30 years to begin his ministry. He waited until Lazarus was cold and decaying before He raised Him from the dead. And we must learn to wait as He does. What profit is there in the wait…God actos on behalf of those who wait on him (Isa.64:4)
3. Christ experienced peace in the midst of tears. Why did Christ Jesus Cry? Because He saw the tears of His loved ones (vs.33-35). He “demonstrated His own love” with tears of anguish, yet all the while His peace remained. Please understand this vital point of peace: peace means the absence of fear and turmoil, not the absence of pain and grief. It greatly concerns me when I fail to see those who have lost loved ones shed tears in the name of “peace” Christ, Himself grieved over the separation of loved ones as shown here in John 11, in the garden of Gestnemane, and finally on the cross as He saw his mother’s pain and suffered the separation from His Heavenly Father. We can be filled with sadness and still possess a wonderful sense of God’s peace. Perhaps it is at that moment beyond all others when the peace of God transcends all understanding. God is not a proponent of emotional annihilation. But He gives us specific instructions about our emotions. “Trust in God at all times, O people; pout out your heart to him, for God is our refuge.” Psalm 62:8.
4. Our Goal is not the absence of sorrow in our grieving, but rather that we refuse to grieve “as one who has no hope” (1 Thess. 4:13). Perhaps right now you are walking through a time when the obvious actions of Christ in your behalf seem inconsistent with His professed love for you. Oh, Beloved, can you see today that it is quite consistent with our Savior:
-Go for the greater glory?
-Have us be void of all other explanation?
-wait until many surround us who may put their faith in Him?

CHRIST HAD PERFECT PEACE IN THE TEARS

The Verse of the day on K-Love:

"Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance." 1 cor 13:7

I want to end asking for continued prayer for Haiti…For those infected with cholera, those working the clinics, the families of those who lost loved ones, and that God would be glorified in the midst of such tragedy/loss…for those still living in tents…for those without food and clean water….for those who don’t know God and/or are worshiping false god’s…for those who are hopeless…

Please also pray for my heart…for me to rely on God…That even when I don’t understand that I could trust and hope in the Lord…that I could to continue to be open to His word and His will for my life…that my eyes would continue to opened to what He sees and the needs of those around me…that I would accept his peace!

Thank you for your Prayers and Support!

URGENT PRAYER REQUEST HAITI!

2010-11-17T21:41:00.001-08:00

As many of you are aware there is a Cholera outbreak in Haiti and over 900 have lost their lives in Haiti to date. NWHCM the mission I work with has 3 clinics set up in the Northwest part of Haiti. Even with all the efforts people are losing the battle. Earlier this week we lost one of hte deaf children to cholera. It really hit me hard when it hit so close to my heart. Sunday afternoon I went for a walk and talked it out with God. I was reminded that the first voice Daniel ever heard was God's and the first music he heard was the chiors in heaven. I know Danieal is in Heaven dancing with the Lord...that eases the mpain some but my heart is just breaking and aching for my brothers and sisters in Haiti. They have been threw so much. I just read the following posted in one of the missionary blogs. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE be praying for the Haitians, for the mission staff, for those sick, for the families who lost loved ones. For wisdom and guidance for the nurses and doctors working around the clock. Pray that the needed supplies will arraive and for peace over all involved.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010 — NWHCM staff are reporting that five people have died of cholera-like symptoms in the mission’s gran moun home, a residential care program for seniors in Saint-Louis du Nord. In addition, one baby in NWHCM’s baby orphanage has died and two more are sick and under quarantine.

At this time, NWHCM is personally contacting any sponsors of people in its programs who have died. Staff are working to investigate the possible causes of infection in its programs. Meanwhile, program staff are using water filtration systems and continuing to boil all drinking water as a precaution, as they have been since NWHCM first opened its cholera treatment centers. NWHCM is also continuing mission-wide cholera prevention education and hand-washing campaigns that have been underway since before cholera was detected in the Northwest Department.

NWHCM will continue to post updates as they become available. This has been an emotional and difficult time for NWHCM staff both in Haiti and the United States. Please continue to pray for them and for the people of Haiti as they battle this ongoing epidemic. -Andy Olsen, NWHCM media director

Thank you for all your prayers!

Open Hands - Haiti 2010 (version 2)

2010-11-15T18:47:00.000-08:00

The group that is at our mission now helping with the Cholera outbreak...this is one of their videos from their work right after the earthquake. What a beautiful video :) God makes us new and makes beautiful things out of dust and dark!

Haiti cholera clinic faith 3

2010-11-15T18:43:00.000-08:00

Haiti - cholera clinic faith 1

2010-11-15T18:42:00.000-08:00

Mission Staff caring for victims of Cholera outbreak and praising God in the midst of the storm :) what a BIG GOD we serve!

Haiti cholera clinic faith 2

2010-11-15T18:41:00.000-08:00

This is the mission staff singing to the patients at the cholera clinic. :)

Sydspeak Thank you!.from Miriam Center wmv

2010-11-11T21:15:00.000-08:00

The kids learning to use the sydspeak this past summer :)

Thank you Sydspeak

2010-11-11T00:30:00.000-08:00

Sydspeak has been an amazing company that donated 2 communication boards last summer. Since then they have created a new revised versoin & just sent me 3 new ones to take into Haiti. I am really excited to have 2 whole months this summer to work with the children & teach them how to use this device to increase their ability to communicate. I have so00000 many ideas floating around in my head and am just sooooooooooooooooo excited. This is a thank you video I made to sydspeak! I will also post a video of the kids using the device from last year

Thank you Sydspeak!

The kids putting the devices to use this past summer

PRAYER REQUEST

2010-10-22T07:11:00.000-07:00

This is from an email I received from Courtney this morning.

So I come with a heavy heart but the understanding of where God is in this. He is BIG. There is a Cholera outbreak in the North zone of Haiti- last 2 days 135 dead and thousand or so infected. Pray for ALL involved. Pray for healing.Pray for comfort. My heart is wrapped around the disability population and there already incredibly weak immune systems. Pray for protection. BIG God.

PLEASE PRAY! Haiti has been threw so much already this year...Pray that Christ would be seen and glorified in the midst of this. I know that God can use anything for his glory and that nothing is impossible with GOd!

For jonathan's Sake, Miriam Center, Haiti DVD.wmv

2010-10-14T19:13:00.000-07:00

Miriam Center Vision Tour

2010-10-13T19:04:00.000-07:00

aHomeInHaiti.org - Rebuilding Haiti One Home at a Time

2010-10-13T18:50:00.000-07:00

LIVE Design Group_the Miriam Center.mov

2010-10-13T18:48:00.000-07:00

Rest In Peace with your King

2010-09-21T07:02:00.001-07:00

I know I am posting alot of other peoples words and stories but since I am not there first hand I want you to see and hear the amazing stoies of serving our King. The following one is written by Ariana Lee who spent half the summer in Haiti. She got there right after I left so I did not get to meet her face to face but I really got to see her amazing heart threw facebook and her blog :) Last night was a rough night. I got news that Walensky went to be with His maker. If you look a few posts before you will where I wrote about him being so sick. He is one of my For Jonathan Sake kids. He had some type of degenerative disease and has a sister who has the same one. How hard for a mother to lose a child and knowing that her other child is on the same path. Please pray for this family. Pray for God's presence and peace and love to surrond them. The following is a blogpost Ariana wrote....It is Just Beautiful! Thank you Ari for shairng your heart and the truth of where Walensky is. Thank you for loving on him when I couldn't and for carrying Him to the king!

Today, I was met with a difficult, but blessing of a truth: Walensky is Home!
It was probably a week or more ago, Walensky left the arms of his mommy to be with his Jesus.
It hit me a little bit harder than I expected it to. And, oh, how my heart longed to be there again! Simply stated, though, part of my heart will always long to be in that home. For today, I am learning to be content where I am and with where he was.
Walensky was with his mommy.
And I’m battling pieces of my own belonging and of my abilities, or lack there of. But my heart, though aching, is at peace. This is so much bigger than me! This little boy just got to meet his King, his Perfector, his Creator, his Lover… his God!
He isn’t hurting. He can BREATHE. He can move. He is whole and safe. He is Home. He is God’s.

This is the blog I wrote on June 29… What a fighter!

Today, we went to the hospital.
We took in Walensky, a little boy from Rou’s Corner.
I’ll introduce you to him:
His eyes are dark and deep, as deep as the ocean. Within them, there’s an untold story and incredible amount of pain. But soon, they’ll see an amazing glory.
His ears are merely there, nothing spectacular. They won’t be spectacular until they hear the chorus surrounding the Throne.
His limbs are thin and of no use to him. He won’t use them until he is on his knees before the King.
His feet, at the end of his legs are pointed. It’s as if they know they are destined for a place greater than this one. They know they’ll carry him on streets more gentle than ours.
His heart beats. Only until it’s time for him to be Home.
His chest rises. His chest falls. Only once more.

We’re okay. The four of us? Yeah, we’re okay. I can’t account for Courtney and Michelle’s. Only Walensky’s and my own.
I’m okay. It’s a merciful place to be. We got to love him. We cared for him. We never left him alone. And when he left us, he found mercy. His mercy is in the arms of the King. In the Good. In the painless breath, the easy beat.
He’s okay. He’s standing in the Courts of the King. In the presence of the One that is Good. He’s living painlessly, dancing wholly.

Rest, my child. Rest easily. I’ll see you soon.

…
One last goodnight, Walensky.
I love you.
I thank God for you.

GOD IS MOVING

2010-09-20T19:00:00.000-07:00

The following is a post from my good friend Melonnie who has been called to the prison ministry at NWHCM and just a few months ago called to start a Brothel ministry. I know I have posted about the amazing work that God has been doing threw her but this blog post just brought chills to me as it testifies to the BIG GOD who is moving in BIG WAYS in Haiti right now. It was not until the earthquake that Melonnie was weven able to get into the Big prison in Pout a Pey and that was 1 day a week and the guards only allowed her. To now hundreds have accepted Christ, the guards have become Christian, the inmates have been baptised, clean water and food are provided, basketball hoop, sewing program, education....Only God could orchestrate all this. Please pray for the prison ministry and the Brothel and for Melonnie as she pours out her life as a sacrafice everyday!

was so excited to get to go to Port de Paix today. I’ve been in the states for the last three weeks with my family and was really looking forward to seeing everyone. Through emails and phone calls I was able to keep up (mostly!) with what was happening at the prison and brothel while I was gone.

Ivenor went to the prison every week and Jessica was able to go a couple of times too. Dennis and Lori still went and did clinic so it was business as usual. I missed them all like crazy and couldn’t wait to get back. The sewing classes started while I was gone… Ivenor delivered the new treadle machines and the ladies had all kinds of little skirts and things to show me. It was so sweet! They were so proud of what they had learned so far and I was SO happy for them. They were thrilled when we brought all of the fabric and other sewing supplies from TCC. They will hopefully have enough to keep busy for a while!

A great big surprise was that the hallway in between all of the cells had been scrubbed clean and painted. It looked and smelled SO much better! They were also using the big blue barrels we brought them to hold water for each cell. The men can reach into the barrel and fill their own personal containers. They used the buckets of white paint we had bought them right before we left… it was neater and cleaner than I had ever seen it! It was a wonderful surprise and I made sure to thank the guards and tell them how amazing it looked.

Three of the prisoners accepted Christ today. It was very cool. For our devotion today, I shared a letter from a father who’s son had been murdered. He was writing to one of the men on death row that had been convicted of murdering his son offering forgiveness and the opportunity to adopt the man as his child. You have probably guessed that the Father was God and the Son was Jesus. It was pretty powerful. It was the perfect opportunity for these three men to confess their sins and accept God’s offer of forgiveness. Love it!

Ivenor and I met with one of the guards afterwards and I have some pretty amazing updates. The UN has agreed to help with the water tanks we had been talking about so that the prisoners can have plenty of clean water. This is a HUGE deal. They have asked that we try to help build a small enclosure to protect the new tanks that are coming. I’m not sure how much this will cost yet but will try to get numbers together for anyone who is interested in contributing. I’m hoping that hubby can oversee this project while he’s here (hint, hint).

Even better than that…. we are going to be starting classes for the boys that are in the prison. Right now there are eleven underage boys all in a cell together. The guards have agreed to let them continue their studies and take the government tests. Not only that… but the teachers will also offer classes to any of the other prisoners that do not know how to read or write. Unbelievable! They have already been trying to teach each other but this is an awesome opportunity for them to really learn and better themselves. I need to build benches for the classes, buy a chalkboard and enough notebooks and pencils for all of the prisoners. Notebooks will be an ongoing need so feel free to start collecting! ;)

Moving onto the brothel… this is the big news. ALL of the girls that were there when I left are gone. They all packed up and left in the middle of the night a few days after I left. I am so excited for new beginnings for them! I pray that the work we had been doing and God’s Word we had been studying sunk in and they have truly left this business for good. I have to admit (selfishly!) that I am pretty sad about not getting to see them again. Those girls truly became my friends and I love them more than I can tell you. Please pray for them as they try to start fresh somewhere new.

Ivenor had called me and Jessica had emailed me so this wasn’t a surprise… but it’s still an odd development. The girls that Papa Yo replaced them with are all from the Dominican… meaning they all speak Spanish! Lol…. great! I can barely speak CREOLE and now we are throwing something new into the mix?!? Today was hysterical! We were trying to just get to know each other… I would speak in English, Ivenor would translate into Creole and one of the girls (who sort of knows Creole!) would translate into Spanish for the others. It was really pretty funny but it worked.

They all seem really nice and are VERY excited about this Bible study. None of them have ever done one before or have been part of a “small group” so they are really looking forward to it. They all have a basic understanding of the Bible so I just need to get copies in Spanish for them and I think we will jump right into Romans. Hubby is hoping to come down in a couple of weeks so I am hoping he can find some for me and bring them.

God certainly has a way of keeping me on my toes and always reaching for more than I have to give. I love it and am so grateful for that push. Coming back into Haiti was especially difficult this time. It gets harder and harder each time I say goodbye to my family. I thank God for giving me this new challenge and reminding me why He has me here to begin with.

Miracles Happen

2010-09-20T18:57:00.001-07:00

The following is a peice from my missionary friends Matt and Stacey Ayers blog who work with OMS in Cap Haitia at the Seminary. They are amazing Godly people with a heart for the gospel especially to share it with there brothers and sisters in Haiti. I have a link to their blog over on the right hand side. This is a HUGE MIRACLE AND JUST A REMINDER OF HOW BIG OF A GOD WE SERVE!

BUT, the most exciting thing to report is a miraculous (aren't they all!) conversion! There is (well, there was) a witch doctor living in Vaudreil (where the main OMS Haiti compound is) named Innocent. Over the past years, the Lord has put Innocent on the hearts of many, and countless foreign and national Christians have met with him, prayed with and for him, and given him countless opportunities to accept Christ.

While he is always open to discussion, and even asks for prayer, ect., he has never been willing to accept, losing to his greatest slave, money. "If I didn't do this, what will I do for money? How will I take care of my family?"

Last Tuesday, Lucner and Jerry went to see him again, picking him up at a local bar and shared with him salvation once again.

"I know that it is a simple decision," Innocent said, "It is simple. But it is BIG. I can't do that."

They left a little discouraged that once again, Innocent had been so open, but so unwilling.

However, on Friday, Jerry got a call from Innocent, saying that he needed to see him. Matt and Jerry drove back to Vaudreil, hopeful, but not confident that he wasn't just needing money or wanting to debate.

When they arrived, they found Innocent a different man. "I cannot stop thinking about everything you keep telling me, and I'm ready. I'm ready."

"What will I do for money?" he asked them. "How can you help me?"

"I leave tomorrow," Jerry told him. "I can't do anything to help you. But God WILL provide for you. Do you want to trust him to?"

"I'm ready."

Matt and Jerry led him to the Lord right there, and when it was time to leave, Innocent made them a promise.

"Come back tomorrow, and I promise that all of this stuff will be gone," Innocent said, nodding to the talismans, trinkets and ceremonial items in his temple. "I'm done. I have a new life."

The next morning they stopped at his place on their way to the airport to drop off a few books the Seminary has helped translate on the foundations and beliefs of Christianity.

"I slept WELL," Innocent said, showing them his empty temple. "I have peace. I don't know what I'm going to do. But I have peace."

THIS IS EXCITING STUFF! It is the FIRST time since we've been here that we have seen a witch doctor convert, with so many being unwilling to give up the "business" for possible poverty. For YEARS different visitors, missionaries and national friends have asked for prayer for Innocent, and last week, all these prayers came true.

No one, not even God himself, could MAKE Innocent leave a life of serving Satan. NO one could convince him to follow Christ. The God of the Universe can't MAKE us love him. We have to choose to. Simple. But BIG. Because it's not just a choice like what to have for lunch. It is a choice that changes EVERYTHING.

Innocent's choice on Friday changes EVERYTHING. HOW exciting is that! "Changes Everything" is exactly what Innocent, me, Haiti, needs.

Jesus, who had NO sin, took on sin so that we, who had NOTHING holy, could be, and therefore be in relationship with a holy God. Changes EVERYTHING.

Praise the Lord! Please be praying for Innocent as a new Christian making a giant leap of faith.

Does it seem like there are a ridiculous amount of miracles taking place lately? Yay! It is just AWESOME to be a reporter for the Divine Events Coordinator.

TWITChange Video from Eva Longoria

2010-09-15T21:33:00.000-07:00

This is the current fundraisor going on for the new Miriam Center in we broke ground for in July. This is all because we serve a BIG GOD

All proceeds from the TwitChange celebrity auction will provide aHomeInHaiti.org the means to ﬁnish rebuilding the Miriam Center. The Miriam Center houses, educates and loves on Haitian children with cerebral palsy, severe autism, and other major life challenges and is one of the only facilities of its kind in Haiti. The current facility houses children in the earthquakeʼs aftermath and is extremely overcrowed. These kids need and deserve a permanent home.

aHomeInHaiti.org has provided over $1.5 million in tents to homeless Haitians since the earthquake. They have created a movement of tens of thousands of people across the globe to provide more tents than nearly any established organization or government in the world - all through the power of Social Media.

Now, in the ﬁrst project of Phase 2, we look to break more records! We know that together with YOU, the Miriam Center, the largest and best center of its kind in Haiti will be built!

You can visit there website at http://www.twitchange.com/

ALSO Check out this CNN interview with the pastor from Florida leading up the fundraisor. He has a BIG heart for Haiti and especially my kids :)

http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/world/2010/09/15/nr.shaun.king.mission.possible.cnn.html

Feeling Unqualified

2010-09-08T21:51:00.000-07:00

The past few weeks learning my new job has not been easy in the least bit. There have been many times I have pushed waaaaaaaaay to far out of my comfort zone...I have felt unworthy/unqualified...and 1 or 2 questioned God a little bit. BUT WHY? Why would I doubt the God who answered my prayer to show me where He wanted me, who opened every door to lead me to this job, who has helped me along every step of the way during the journey. This journey has brought me closer to God than I have ever been. It has forced me to rely on Him more than ever to make it threw every minute of my day. Everything is new, everything is harder than before but God has given me strength when I needed it, wisdom when I needed it, Confidence that could only come from him, a peace that surpasses all understanding....and the list could go on and on.

Tonight was one of those nights that I was just empty. I had given my all today, been challenged, I was brain dead...tired...and just wanted to curl up in bed BUT I didn't I went to Bible Study & had an amazing time of worship and got to dig into God's word in Nahum & was reminded of the character of the AMAZING God I serve. After the service the women I work with that invited me to this church spoke words of encouragement to me reminding me that what other people at work who are advising me don't realize is that God called me to this job! SOOO TRUE! (thanks Lila). I then came home and read a blog post from my dear sister in Christ in Haiti who put into words exactly what I was feeling (thanks Beth!). I could not say it better myself so I am going to post it below

“Not that we are in any way confident of doing anything by our own resources-our ability comes from God.” 2 Cor. 3:5 (phillips translation)

“As we yield our lives to Him we discover He exchanges our self-sufficiency for His all-sufficiency. He makes us the person He wants us to be and prepares us for the task He has for us to do.” stamm

Today I was reminded that I can only rely and be confident in the one who created me…who knitted me together in my mother’s womb, who knows the number of my days and who equipps me for everything He desires me to do. I am not always confident that I can complete a task or finish the race as strong as I think I should. I don’t always feel I have the right to do what I am doing. I don’t always believe others think I should be doing what I am doing or have the credentials or diploma to do what I am doing. In essence I feel a lot like Caleb. “He didn’t follow what others thought he should do Caleb longed to see God work in power and he knew he would be less likely to rely on God if he dwelt in the easy places.” (swindoll?) Caleb didn’t ask questions like ” what do the experts say” or “what do my friends say?” He was seeking more of the question, “what would God say?” God called him a man with a different spirit and he followed him wholeheartily (Numbers 14: 24) I want to be more like Caleb. I don’t want to always think to myself ” what will others say?” or “what do others think?” or do as I did today and believe I am not qualified. God reminded me today that he doesn’t call the qualified, but qualifies the called. I desire to seek the mountains so that I can witness God doing things through my life that can only be explained by His mighty power. I desire to see Him glorified.

What God Sees

2010-08-28T22:48:00.001-07:00

Since I moved to Nevada I have been missing Haiti more than ever. Probably because so much is going on, so many changes are happening, God is moving in so many BIG ways & my heart aches & longs to be there. Maybe because I took this job so that I can serve in Haiti in the summers & that is a huge motivator as everything in my life is changing. This move has challenged me to go to a new level of TRUST in my BIG GOD. I don’t know anyone out here, I am in a new town, new job, first job out of college, so much is expected & frankly at times I feel so inadequate. I can’t help but ask Why me God? I have taken a lot of time to think back on my past & I stand in Awe at the ways God has moved to form me into the person I am today. I could go on & on and list pages of situations that have happened (good & bad) that occurred to prepare me to be where I am today & be ready to keep fighting & traveling along this journey God is taking me on. God has blessed me time & time again in my past & He is blessing me so abundantly here in Nevada. During a hike last weekend as I sat on a Big rock overlooking Lake Tahoe from on top of a mountain I had just climbed, I finally took the time to stop & tune into God. God laid upon my heart this poem. It was such a sweet reminder of how God has perfect plans for each of us, He cares deeply about each of us, He loves us each so deeply, and He is so excited to take us on a journey of a lifetime that ends in His sweet precious arms. I challenge you to look back over your past, to see God’s handiwork in your life. His hand is there…even when we push Him away…He never leaves us, never stops pursuing us, never stops loving us. We are his precious children.

What God Sees

In June 1987 God breathed life into a little girl.

In that moment when the world saw a cute, fragile, precious baby…

God saw into the future and saw the women of God she would become.

In elementary school when she was the shyest person in her class and got homesick when she was away from home…

God saw into the future and saw the her being bold & courageous for Him while crossing seas to share the gospel and His love.

When she was in middle school and confused about who she was & not the best in school

God saw into the future when she would be full of God-confidence & graduate grad school with a degree she could use to serve the Lord with.

When she was 12 and went on her first mission trip

God saw into the future and saw the missionary she would become.

As she was growing up & she found her talent to be loving on children & she was always being told when you grow up you should work with children

God saw into the future & saw her working with all kinds of children in the united states & overseas.

When that little girl would get easily upset & her heart would break

God smiled and looked into the future & saw a women who had a compassionate heart that broke at the site of injustice & that drove her to fight for the poor, needy, & forgotten.

And now as her heart aches & longs to be in Haiti, serving as a missionary, using her skills/degree to work with disabled children sharing God’s love to the poor, needy, & forgotten.

She is trusting in God’s perfect timing & believes there is more preparation to take place before she is ready to go.

I wonder what God sees as He looks into her future?

Have you ever taken time to ask God what He sees when He looks back over your life? Don't be too hard on yourself remember we serve a God of compassion, love, forgiveness, mercy, & grace. He was willing to send His one & only son to die for us so that we might be His precious child. He wants an intimate relationship with you more than anything.

I don’t know what my future holds…but I know the one who does & I can face tomorrow because I know He lives & He is Mighty & He is faithful. I just got done reading the book of Genesis & reading about the journey of God’s people. They had to wait on His timing…time & time again BUT He always fulfilled His promises & ALWAYS journeyed with them. He blessed them even when other plotted harm against them. I was reminded that God works everything for His glory & His good. EVERYTHING. What others plan as harm against us God turns for His good. BUT God as I learned from Genesis PATIENCE is key, TRUST is essential, and FAITH is required. I am learning these 3 things. I am excited to see how God is going to use me now & how He is going to continue to mold me & shape me into the vessel He needs me to be, to go on the next leg of my journey. May I be a willing vessel, open to learn, open to be molded, and open to GO WHEREVER He calls me. Thank you for all your prayers & support. Please continue to keep me in your prayers as I am being stretched in ways I never dreamed but growing at the same time.

The Struggle

2010-07-11T12:02:00.000-07:00

This is a mixure of posts I have been meaning to post but they all relate...

I come with a heavy heart asking for prayers for the Miriam Center. Specifically for 2 little ones who are sick and struggling. Walensky used to be in For Jonathan’s Sake our outreach Program and he was progressively getting worse and we took him into our Rou’s corner. He went from being able to walk and developing normally to slowly losing mobility to the point he can barely move on his on and now has trouble breathing. He has a sister who is younger who has now started down the same path. We believe they have some kind of genetic disorder but not sure what. Mom love them both so much. Everytime she brought the daughter in for For Jonathan’s Sake she would go see her son and make sure I remember that Walensky was her boy. Walensky took a turn for the worst 2 weeks ago. It is a miracle he is still here. He has been fighting hard and the whole time being loved on by the workers and mission staff. His mother went to visit family in PAP and has been unable to get back. Please pray for Walensky for peace and comfort and for God’s presence to be known as I know God is holding him right now. Pray for the mission staff as they take care of him and for their hearts as they are loving hard and holding him tight but knowing they will soon have to release him into God’s arms.

A few days after getting word about how sick Walensky was I got news that one of my outreach girls Solenjinnie had been brought into the mission with a 105.7 temperature and was not doing well. My heart was still breaking for the fact I was here and Walensky was there but now Solenjinnie to? I had the amazing opportunity to watch Solenjinnie’s mom learn to love her daughter and interact with her on a new level the 5 weeks I was in Haiti working with them. This was her mom’s only daughter and she loved her so much. Thank you for all your prayers for this little girl. She went to be with Jesus last week. Please pray for her mother as she mourns the loss of her only daughter, for her extended family, and for all those who took care of her while she was sick and loved on her. Pray for healing and that God would be at the center or this!

A few days after Solenjinnie passed away I got news that another one of my little boys from For Jonathan’s Sake was brought in with a fever and was very sick. The next day I found out just how sick he was. He had a black tongue, a blister that was covering his top lip, and they had no clue what he had. They said he had been like this for weeks. I know you are not to have favorites but this little boy and his mother were one of my favorites to work with in the outreach program. I watched his mothers eyes light up the first time she got her son to laugh. I watched her learn to interact and play with her son. His mom was one of my favorites to watch her face when I did devotions. To see her eyes light up to the truth of God’s word. My heart is breaking for Paul Frantz’s mother. I pray for comfort and peace for her in this time. I pray for wisdom for the doctors as we sent him to the hospital in La Pointe hoping they may be able to help him because we did not know how to help him at the mission. I pray for comfort and healing for little Paul Frantz body.

At this point I truly don’t know how much more I can take. I keep asking God…”God don’t you remember I was going to go to school to be a NICU nurse and decided to become an OT because I could not stand losing children….I was suppose to be safe in this position…” That is the conversation I had with God the other night…lol I am really struggling with the fact I am here and my children are there….I am struggling with the fact that I have to love them afar and what does that mean when I really want to be there holding them, rocking them, singing Jesus Loves them, and speaking truth to their parents. God’s plans are bigger than mine and his ways better than mine and I am trying to trust. Please pray for me as I am struggling with handing and surrendering everything over to God.

The last few weeks have been a struggle. I felt like a juggler trying to juggle about 10 heavy weights…is that possible…how long could I keep this up? Especially when some of the weights were ones I have never juggled before like moving across the country, preparing for and taking the national board exam, preparing for a job you have no idea what to expect, losing children you love in Haiti. Yesterday was one of those days where everything just seemed too much. You know…one of those days where when I loose my keys sends me to the floor crying…that’s right something so simple set me off. All day long on and off the tears came…I was more emotional than when I am PMSing. Yesterday I remember falling to my knees and telling God its too much! Too much change, Too much hardache, Too many things to get done…Just TOO MUCH!

I sat down last night and opened my Bible and read Psalm 145 and the footnote said
“Soemtimes our burdens seem more than we can bear, we wonder how we can go on. David stands at this bleak intersection on life’s road and points towards the Lord, the great burden bearer. God is able to lift us up because:
1. His greatness is unfathomable
2. He does mighty acts across many generations
3. He is full of glorious splendor and majesty
4. He does wonderful and awesome works
5. He is righteous
6. He is gracious, compassionate, loving, and patient
7. He rules over an everlasting kingdom
8. He is our source of all our daily needs
9. He is righteous and loving in all dealings
10. He remains near to those who call on him
11. He hears our cries and saves us
If your bending under the burden and feel that you are going to fall, turn to God for help. He is ready to lift you up and bear your burdens”

“Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you fill find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11.28-30
Footnote:
A yoke is a heavy wooden harness that fits over the shoulders of an ox or oxen. It is attached to apiece of equipment the oxen pulls…Jesus doesn’t offer a life of luxurious ease- the yoke is still an oxen’s tool for working hard, But it’s a shared yoke, with weight falling on bigger shoulders than yours. Someone with more pulling power is up front helping. Suddenly you are participating in life’s responsibilities with a greater partner.

Then God laid the following song on my heart to go listen too….

Everything Falls- by Fee
You said You’d never leave or forsake me
When You said this life is gonna shake me
You said this world is gonna bring trouble
On my soul, this I know

When everything falls apart
Your arms hold me together
When everything falls apart
You’re the only hope for this heart
When everything falls apart
And my strength is gone
I find You mighty and strong
You keep holding on, You keep holding on

When I see darkness all around me
When I see tragedy has found me
I still believe
Your faithful arms will never let me go
Still I know

When everything falls apart
Your arms hold me together
When everything falls apart
You’re the only hope for this heart
When everything falls apart
And my strength is gone
I find You mighty and strong
You keep holding on, You keep holding on

Sorrow will last for the night
But hope is rising with the sun
It’s rising with the sun
There will be storms in this life
But I know You have overcome
You have overcome

When everything falls apart
Your arms hold me together
When everything falls apart
You’re the only hope for this heart
When everything falls apart
And my strength is gone
I find You mighty and strong
You keep holding on

When everything falls apart
Your arms hold me together
When everything falls apart
You’re the only hope for this heart
When everything falls apart
And my strength is gone
I find You mighty and strong
You keep holding on, You keep holding on
This morning during breakfast I opened the book I have been ready, Living a Mary life in a Martha World the section I read was entitled “When bad things happen”
• We are given a promise “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” Rev. 21:4 Because we live in this world, trapped in the old order of things, tragedy will touch our lives. That’s simply a fact- for Christians and non-christians alike. We will all lose loved ones. We will all eventually die.
• “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?....For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neighter angel or demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:35, 28-39
• Trials are real. Bad things happen-to good people and bad people alike. And we who are Christians do not escape life, Paul says. We overcome life “in all these things we are more than conquerers through him who loved us.” Romans 8:37
• This promise anchors our all-too-shaky world to his unshakable kingdom. God’s love is that dependable anchor. The love Christ has for us is one we can cling to, because it will hold us threw anything. Though we may not understand God’s methods or why things are happening that doesn’t change God’s love.

I serve a Big God who is bigger than my pain, bigger than my confusion, bigger than my hurt and sorrow.
I serve the God who holds the world in his hands, is creator of all and who conquered sin and death.
I serve a God who intimate enough to wipe my tears, strong enough to carry my burdens, loving enough to hold me and whisper sweet truths and words of encouragement in my ears.
I serve a God fights for me when I am too weak and tired to fight and prays for me when I don’t know what to pray for
I serve a God who takes my broken, damaged, hurting heart and with great precision stitches it back together with his amazing love needles. Yes, you can still see the scars that are healing but my heart after meeting with my Abba is at least back together.
Will I still have to face all the weights I have been juggling…YES…BUT somehow in this moment they seem a little bit lighter…they seem bearable…Because I have a BIG GOD who is helping me carry them.

Thank you for all your prayers and support as I strive to follow GOd with my whole life!

My Future Plans

2010-06-27T11:42:00.000-07:00

As many of you know my life lately has been full of change and transition and many unknowns including what my first job will be and where. I have been wrestling with God over this big decision for over a month now.

The week before leaving for Haiti I flew to Nevada for an interview at a school district out there. The interview went really well, the job was offered and I went into my Haiti trip praying about it and leaning towards this is what God was calling me to. What is better than being able to work with kids at a school district during the school year but still be able to be in Haiti in the summer working with my kids. Seemed like a perfect plan and God did open the door for this job opportunity.

Well, God shortly after arriving opened up the door and possibility of working with another mission organization call “No Boundaries International.” It would be an amazing opportunity to do what I love in Haiti on a global scale. I would move to Oklahoma where I would find a full time OT job to pay off my school loans loans. I would still be able to continue being the Miriam Center Occupational Therapy Coordinator and I would also be working for No Boundaries International to help develop what I have been doing in Haiti on a global scale. I would write articles to be published letting people know what is available for therapist and therapy students to do outside the US, I would help create videos to be sent to therapist and therapy schools educating them on what is available. I would also be helping develop a blueprint of what a rehab technician program looks like in a 3rd world country and developing a curriculum for it. I would be trying to set in place opportunities that therapy students can do their level 2 fieldworks in developing countries. Those are all things I would be helping with related to my field of practice but I would also be growing spiritually by going through missions training, growing spiritually in daily worship times, and serving in the inner city and globally with No Boundaries. I would be working with a group of people who are spiritual leaders and spiritual role models to me. I would be helping develop a new program called In Their Grasp which is a new program No Boundaries, Courtney and I have begun developing while in Haiti together.

After weeks of prayer and discerning God I have made a decision about my future for the next year. It has been the hardest decision of my life with much wrestling with God, tears being shed, conversations with Godly people, time in His word, as well as Him speaking to me threw His word, other people, Christian books, songs, and in his still small voice.

I had 2 amazing options that both had there perks. The decision was hard because both would take me out of my comfort zone, both would allow me to continue to pursue my passion for missions and continue working in Haiti, both would challenge me to go deeper in my faith. I kept going back and forth.
My 6 weeks in Haiti were instrumental in making my decision and preparing me to be in a place to make such a big decision. God really broke down a lot of barriers and walls I had put up and provided some pretty amazing people to walk me threw this process (THANK you to each and every one of you!). I can sit here tonight and tell you I am a very different person today than I was 6 weeks ago. I am much more aware of my weaknesses, my struggles, and my fears that hold me back from having a deeper relationship with God. I have seen God move more in the last 6 weeks and seen just HOW BIG OF A GOD I serve than I could have imagined.

One thing God really revealed to me was how prone I am to business and how I don’t know how to slow down a lot of time…or what that looks like. It is very hard for me to just rest in the Lord and take time away to do that. God has been revealing to me how integral that is for my walk with Him and for me to be able to serve. When I got home from Haiti I was drawn to the book “Having a Mary Heart in a Martha world.” It opened my eyes even more to the danger of busyness and how that looks in my life.

I came home from Haiti already with a broken and shattered heart for the fact I had to leave the place I love being the most in the entire world, the children I love, the work I love…to come home to so many unknowns, so many To-Do-Lists waiting for me, so many big decisions to make, and so many big life changes. NOW to continue to wrestle with this BIG Decision. I know the Dream God has given me, I know the path to it will not be easy. I know there will be twists and turns BUT I also know there is a lot for me to learn along the way. Sense being home busyness has already been a struggle…that mile long To-DO-List is always staring me down as I try to pray and sit at God’s feet. The burden of studying for my national board exam and the overwhelming amount of information to store away in my memory…as well as the idea of sitting threw a 4 hour test!

A sermon I always come back to with BIG decisions is one I heard a few years ago and it was given by Andy Stanley. He said every decision we make can be made by asking this question “What is the wise decision based on you past, based on your present, and based on your future hopes and dreams?” If the decision is not wise in all 3 then it is not a wise decision. Well, I have been asking myself this question for weeks now, comparing my 2 options and they both seemed wise…until I looked at them in the view of business….my struggle.

God revealed to me yesterday that it would be a real struggle for me to balance everything in Oklahoma right now. I would still be working as the OT coordinator for NWHCM, then working with No boundaries and on top of that having a full-time job. I struggle with balancing things as it is, and feeling guilty when I can’t poor 100% in everything I do. Selfishly I wanted to take the Job in Oklahoma. I was trying to figure out how it could work, I was alright with sacrificing a pediatric job for the opportunity to pursue missions more deeply. I could see myself growing in leaps and bounds in my faith working and serving with No Boundaries in Oklahoma. I know they would force me out of my comfort zone, teach me new things, and we would be able to do amazing things for God threw His power and leading.. BUT the more I prayed about it the more I heard Him say “Not now”… Really are you sure God because I can see how this could work, look at all we could do, it seems like the perfect time, all the pieces are falling into place, the doors are opening. Again “Not now”….Alright so what exactly does “Not now mean?” you are not to move to Oklahoma right now…. BUT you can work with them. “Trust me, my child. I have your ultimate good in mind”

In the book “Living a Mary life in a Martha World” I came to this paragraph
“What is it about us women that creates such a desperate need in us to always “know” to always “understand”? We want an itinerary for our life, and when God doesn’t immediately produce one, we set out to write our own. “I need to know” we tell ourselves. “No” God answers softly, “you need to trust” OK GOD I GOT IT….You are not going to give me every detail…I am not going to have everything in order before I make my decisions….the unknowns are ok. “Trust me, my child. I have your ultimate good in mind”

Over the last few weeks God revealed to me how even though He has called me to take the job in Nevada and he has opened so many doors there already and sent me confirmation even in the first few hours after making a decision. when I finally made the decision…in the back of my mind I was worried, what if I fail my boards, then I can’t take the job...well, God took that fear away when I found out in Nevada even if I fail I can still practice while I study to retake my test on a temp license. What a huge relief, I don’t have that extra pressure or stress. BUT there are still so many unknowns, so many things I just don’t know how they are going to work out…Fears….BUT I MUST TRUST…I must do what like Hebrews 11 says I will go BY FAITH.

Just as I began to settle in with the reality that I made a decision (because many of you know I don’t do that very often) and that I was moving across the country to Nevada…just as I felt like I was getting this Trust thing with God down…I received an email that the job in Nevada fell through. That the school district in Fallon no longer was going to hire an OT but wanted to hire a COTA because it would cost them less…BUT…God had already opened another door. A neighboring school district had a position open. BUT that job I would be the only full-time OTR in the district…”God I can’t do that, I am not qualified…I have never worked in a school-district…I don’t know the paperwork, how to write an IEP, how any of this stuff works….” FEAR began to grip me…I was overwhelmed…what do I do??? Finally I heard God saying STOP! MY CHILD STOP! I closed one door but opened another door…Yes, you are not qualified but who is qualified?...Do I not qualify the unqualified?” After spending sometime in prayer and talking to some family and friends I realized God closed the door in Fallon for a reason and opened the door in Douglas County Schools for a reason. I don’t know what they are but I know I serve a BIG God with bigger plans than I will ever know. A God who has gone before me to prepare the way for me…A God who will walk every step of the way with me…A God who has my ultimate good in mind.

“He knows the journey is difficult, He knows life is rarely fair. Jesus fought the same frigid winds of distraction, discouragement, and doubt that keeps us from knowing God’s love. But like the Father, he longs to gather us in his arms. He longs to trade the flimsy blankets of our one self-sufficiency for his all-sufficiency. The Lord Jesus invites us to cast our doubts, our fears and anxiety upon him, to discover how much he really does care. Trust me, my child, he whispers. I have your ultimate good in mind.”

Trying to Trust GOD! Hear his whispers…Cast my cares upon Him, lay my fears at his feet, Trust the unknowns to Him and RUN HARD this path he has opened up. I am excited to see what the next year brings, how I grow, where I go, what he teaches me, who I can serve. Thank you guys for all your prayers and support as I sought God to make a decision.
My analogy for life has been life is a dance and God is constantly teaching us new steps to dance with Him. Not only am I getting ready to learn tons of new dance steps but I am also going to a new “unfamiliar stage”…The audience is all new (what a huge responsibility to shine God’s love)…My support system is not sitting in the audience but instead they are sending flowers, encouragement letters, and prayers from afar. I know they wish they could be here. I also know that my dance instructor never leaves me that I can always look to Him if I get nervous, if I get scared. If I mess up I know He will be there to gently correct me, to show me my mistake and walk with me threw it. He is willing to work with me for hours till I get each step down…And just as I perfect that dance…well, I know He is eager and waiting to teach me a new one! My BIG GOD also LOVES to DANCE A LOT! I have the best dance partner ever.

2 songs that really spoke to me yesterday….

Unbreakable- Fireflight
Where are the people that accused me?
The ones who beat me down and bruised me
They hide just out of sight, can?t face me in the light
They?ll return but I?ll be stronger

God I want to dream again, take me where I?ve never been
I wanna go there, this time I?m not scared
Now I am unbreakable, it?s unmistakable
No one can touch me, nothing can stop me

Sometimes it's hard to just keep going
But faith is moving without knowing
Can I trust what I can?t see to reach my destiny?
I want to take control but I know better
God I want to dream again, take me where I?ve never been
I wanna go there, this time I?m not scared
Now I am unbreakable, it?s unmistakable
No one can touch me, nothing can stop me

Forget the fear it?s just a crutch
That tries to hold you back
And turn your dreams to dust
All you need to do is just trust
God I want to dream again, take me where I?ve never been
I wanna go there, this time I?m not scared
Now I am unbreakable, it?s unmistakable
No one can touch me, nothing can stop me

God I want to dream again, take me where I?ve never been
I wanna go there, this time I?m not scared
Now I am unbreakable, it?s unmistakable
No one can touch me, nothing can stop me

I’m Letting Ago- Franscesca Batistelli
My heart beats, standing on the edge
But my feet have finally left the ledge
Like an acrobat
There’s no turning back
Chorus
I’m letting go
Of the life I planned for me
And my dreams
Losing control
Of my destiny
Feels like I’m falling and that’s what it’s like to believe
So I’m letting go
This is a giant leap of faith
Trusting and trying to embrace
The fear of the unknown
Beyond my comfort zone
Chorus
I’m letting go
Of the life I planned for me
And my dreams
Losing control
Of my destiny
Feels like I’m falling and that’s what it’s like to believe
So I’m letting go
Giving in to your gravity
Knowing You are holding me
I’m not afraid
Feels like I’m falling and that’s what it’s like to believe
Feels like I’m falling and this is the life for me

Thank you for your prayers and support and for joining in my dance of life! Please keep me in your prayers as I continue to try to Trust…as I study for my boards and take them July 23rd…and as I prepare to move to Nevada the last weekend in July! A LOT of change occurring but focusing on my BIG GOD who NEVER CHANGES!

Pictures from Nevada where I will be living :)

My Last Night :(

2010-06-15T20:45:00.001-07:00

My last night I had a blast with the kids. I went down after dinner and we played hard for about 4 hours.
1. pulled out playdough and all the fun accessories. We played for a good hour. One of my favorite moments was when I smashed playdough on John’s freshly shaven head and began rolling it with the rolling pin. All the boys thought it was the funniest thing and so I had to do it with all of them.
2. We then read a few books and worked on our sign language and counting.
3. I blew bubbles for them to pop
4. We had a snack (treat) of popcorn
5. We then made paper bag puppets
6. opened glow sticks and turned the lights off sat in a circle and sang Children’s Bible Song. I started out doing songs I knew the sign language to and taught them to the kids like Jesus loves me and Our God is an awesome God. Courtney joined us partway threw and sang for a good 40 minutes and did all kinds of songs with motions and without. We had a blast.
7. We had picture time and I got pictures with all the kids.

I have to admit playing hard, loving tons my last night really helped bring closure to my trip. I would have to say last night was the best quality time I got to spend with the kids my entire trip.

I purposefully did not tell the kids I was leaving because I knew they would get upset. I think some of them knew but I kissed them all goodnight, we said our I love you and I walked out. I made it out of the center before I broke down. My heart hurt so bad! I had 28 very good reasons to stay. I had 28 smiling faces I WANT to wake up to. I have 30 other reasons in my outreach program why I want to stay. It is hard to leave something you have poured your heart and soul into…to leave family and not know when you will see them again. It is hard to leave and head back home to so many unknowns and hard decisions. So please pray for me as I try to make the transition from having a specific God-centered, God-fufilling purpose to going home to confusion, questions, decisions, and searching for God’s plan and purpose for sending me home.

Deaf School

2010-06-15T20:13:00.000-07:00

This past year the Miram Center took over the Deaf School. While I was in Haiti Courtney and I conquered organizing the Deaf school supplies. We pulled out all the boxes of books and supplies they had and organized them into cloth boxes that would fit on a shelf. We were also able to give them many more supplies including art supplies, toys for the kids to play with outside, education supplies, etc. We spent 2 days getting everything organized.

I had the wonderful opportunity getting to know the deaf teacher this trip. I had a few really good conversations with him. One day I got to sit down with him and have an hour and a half conversation. At first I shared with him about the DVDs I am working on making and showed him clips of what I had finished so far, I also gave him 2 sign language DVDs I had bought for him to use in the classroom. Then we started talking about the kids, his family, my family. Then my favorite part of our conversation was getting to talk about the future plans in Bono, the potential for the kids, and about what a BIG God we serve. By the end of our conversation I was exhausted. I do not know sign language very well but God allowed us to communicate and share our passion for these chidlren and for serving God. :)

I also got the opportunity to go over to the deaf school one day and meet the deaf children and take some pictures. I formed a really good relationship with the oldest child in the deaf school Wesley. Wesley everyday comes over to the Miriam Center and help transport the kids over to school. He got so excited the first day we met and he found out I knew a little bit of sign. Everyday we said hi and would have a little conversation. He is an amazing young man.

The pictures below of the individual kids are them showing there name signs. Wesly gave me a name sign the very first time we met. It is amazing to see my kids at school. They love it so much and are little sponges wanted to learn all they can. It is awsome because it gives them a way to communicate as well.

The plan in Bono is for the deaf teacher to move his family out to Bono and the deaf school will be a boarding school where the deaf kids will live at Bono during the week but on weekends go home and be with there families.

My Kids finding there way to Haiti

2010-06-15T19:54:00.000-07:00

One sudnay morning Courntey and I were getting ready for church and our children found there way to our room to spend some quality time with us. I love these chidlren so much :)

Busy...Busy...Busy

2010-06-15T19:52:00.000-07:00

The past few days I have been busy trying to finish up all my evaluations for both the Miriam Home and For Jonathans Sake, finish wheelchair modification/evaluations, developing AFO schedule, developing a way to thicken liquids with cornstarch for the children who have aspiration problems, come up with special education curriculum, love on my kids.

The evaluations have 2 parts to them. The original evaluation portion that I type into the computer and then add on goals and a treatment plan and then a separate 2 page document that will have the kids name, pictures of the most appropriate toys, list of toys on 1 side and on the other side the treatment plan, goals, and pictures of positioning for each child. I was able to completely finish 28 For Jonathan Sake Evaluations and the picture portion for the parents. I finished 24 part 1 of Miriam Home Evaluations and developed a system that I can finish the picture parts from home with Courtney’s help .

I have 9 children who have been having problems with aspiration and 1 little girl Rachel who has been aspirating really bad. The pediatric physical therapist and me sat down and were videotaping how to position Rachel for feeding. We quickly realized that it did not matter how we positioned her that she as going to aspirate and that we needed to come up with a plan. Ideally Rachel needs a G-tube but in Haiti this is not sanitary or possible. Another option would be a trach but also not possibility in Haiti due to sanitation. The only idea we had was to thicken all liquids and all food continue to be pureed. The PT had heard of using cornstarch which we actually have in Haiti. So the last few days I have been playing with and developing a recipe for how to mix it up so we can teach one of the workers to do it everyday for all the kids that have aspiration problems. I am still trying to get my workers to understand that it is water (there liquids) not food and to not give them water.

We have a special education teacher coming in for a month or so to work with the children. I set up a schedule of what children I wanted her to spend 1 on 1 time with everyday and what ones I wanted her to spend time with 1-2x a week.
I also developed a daily stretching program so that all my kids would get stretched everyday. It will take 4 hours for all my kids that would benefit from stretching to get stretched for 10 minutes a day. I developed a video that goes threw a basic stretching regime that is in English and creole. So that Americans can stretch them or a Hatian can be taught to. We are still working on who will do this and exactly how it will look.

The last few weeks the language barrier has been rather difficult. It is very hard when you need your workers to understand something related to the kids health and not be able to communicate it then and there because you don’t have a translator. Also when your workers are trying to ask you a question and you don’t understand. I really need to learn Creole. I also need to keep working on my sign-language. I have not finished my sign-language, English, creole, picture DVDs yet but plan to in the next month or so as I study for the my boards.

I had a meeting with my workers on Friday to debrief them on what I have been doing the last 6 weeks in Haiti. It ended up being a 2 hour meeting but went amazingly well. They took everything really well even though I totally overwhelmed them with tons of information and changes BUT Courtney reminded them that everything we were doing was to make the children’s life better and that we would make it as simple and easy as possible for them. I talked about the children’s new AFO’s and how excited I was for the children and the potential they bring. I said when I come back I believe that Ju-Ju and Steven will be walking. I talked about how there will be a schedule of when they are to wear them and I would be sitting down and educating on how to put them on. I talked about the importance of feeding the children in an upright position & the reason why I am so strict about it. I introduced the new thickened liquids for 9 children to try to prevent aspiration pneumonia. I also wanted to encourage them and tell them how great of a job they do. Because of Courtney and my workers I have so much more peace coming home because I know my kids will be taken care of when I am not there.

Bob's 80th Birthday Party

2010-06-15T19:25:00.000-07:00

While I was in Haiti, Bob (one of the guys in on a short-term trip) turned 80 in Haiti. He has been to Haiti many many times and for his birthday he wanted to have a party. All the Gran Moun, Miriam Center workers and children were invited as well as all the missionaries there long-term and short-term. It was so much fun! My kids had a blast interacting with everyone and eating great food. Here are some pictures for you to enjoy

The CATS...Yes 14 of them

2010-06-15T18:33:00.001-07:00

Meet CHAMP. I was in charge of making sure Courtney did not keep any more cats. She already had 14 and got rid of 4 while I was there. So we were down to 10 but 4 of those were kittens that the plan was to get rid of. Well…I fell in love with this one kitten, it is the runt. He is so friendly and was the first to learn to get out and want to be loved on. One night Courtney and I were sitting on my bed and were trying to figure out how to name it so we put our initials together and got CHAMMP (Courtney, Heather, Autumn, Marie, Marshall, pierce). That same night we decided to name the other 3 Batman, Cantalope, and Butler. We are now up to 14 cats again because one of them had more kittens.lol…Courtney is known as the crazy cat lady. I thought I would share this part of my stay in Haiti with all of you who are cat lovers like me :P

Funny story…the first day I moved in Courtney had another roommate and it was her last night there and she was talking to the cats….I was like I won’t do that. YEAH WRONG. I found myself having conversations with the cats, trying to figure out what they were thinking. These cats were really Courtney and my entertainment late at night. I quickly learned her cats turn into gremlans when you feed them…it freaked me out the first time, then I just thought it was hilarious.

Another funny story is that one day one of workers (who knows we have tons of cats) tied a chicken outside our apartmant. Well it did not take long for it to be surrounded by cats.

Job

2010-06-15T18:13:00.000-07:00

As many of you remember last summer I helped take care of and nurse back to health a little boy named Job. He had aspiration pneumonia, 106 fever, and was malnourished due to not being able to swallow correctly and not getting the right nourishment. He was also blind, has severe club feet, and cried all the time. Job became my boy last summer. It was so hard to leave him. He slept with me, we napped together, I helped put a tube down his nose into his throat and developed a feeding schedule and monitored it. It was the hardest thing to leave him and trust him in others hands. It was so amazing to walk in this summer and see him smiling…to hear him laugh. He has a tickle button and if I touch his stomach he laughs and smiles….and even snorts. He will always be my boy and I am so grateful God has given Him health, joy, and people to love on him.
During my meeting with my workers the other day I used Job as an example of why we need to use thickened liquids so other kids don’t get sick like that. Tezzi one of our workers told us the story of Job. It was so great to hear his story but also to hear how much Job meant to my workers. I have such wonderful workers, who love the children but also love God and that shines threw in how they care for the children 

Orthopedic group = Help for my kids & Many others :)

2010-06-15T17:33:00.000-07:00

The past week I had the amazing opportunity to watch and work with the orthopedic team that was at the mission. God really opened a BIG door with them when He closed the door for me to go to PAP. I received the BEST birthday present ever…some of my children receiving AFO’s and the hope/potential to walk . It all started when Courtney said maybe I should see if they would come look at some of our kids (she was headed off to PAP and it was more of my area than hers). So I headed over to the surgery wing where they were set up at and asked.

I informed them that I had a big box of donated AFO’s in my storage depot and that I would love if they would be able to remold some of them to fit some of the kids. About a year ago I bought all the supplies needed to do it and spent 1 afternoon with an orthotist who showed me the basics but my supplies never made it to Haiti. Gretchen the orthotist agreed and that afternoon came over and evaluated my kids. The next morning she came and picked out AFO’s she thought she could remold. The kids were so excited. The following 2 days she worked on custom fitting them.

By far the best day was the day the kids received their newly fitted braces. I have never seen my kids eyes light up or have such big smiles.
Steven was the first one to receive his new braces and shoes. He could hardly wait to get up and try them out. He was able to walk with some assistance for balance and safety with a walker. All week sense then every time he sees me, he signs for me to either put on his shoes and braces or to help him practice walking.
Ju-Ju was next and she was able to stand by herself for a few seconds and take a few steps independently and walk with a walker. All week she has been pulling herself up on me so she can practice walking.

T-Willy got 2 AFO’s and a hand splint. He was not as accepting (he is only 4) and the first day I had his splints on he cried for 2 hours straight. The next day he only cried when I put them on and now he is fine….he does not even cry. After having the hand splint on for 4 hours when the brace was taken off he held his hand open :)

Job also got a hand-splint and Tamara got an AFO for her 1 foot and they took a mold to take home and custom make one for her other foot. Tamara can walk about 6 or 7 feet independently but refuses to most of the time unless noone is looking. Gretchen took molds for Owens feet as well to take home and custom make AFOs and bring them back in October when they come. She was going to try to get molds to make chest braces for Rachel, Job, and T-Willy but she did not have room to take them home in her suitcase. So she is going to bring back generic ones to can fit when she comes back in October.

The prosthetic team also saw 2 of my outreach kids (siblings) who have some genetic disorder that deforms the bones. My first though was Arthrygroposis multicomplex congenita because they had multiple contractures. The team looked at them so when they go home they can come up with a game plan of how to help them when they come back in October. SO EXCITING!!!

As Excited as I am though my heart HURTS over the fact that 2 of my boys realized they did not get any. Den-Den over heard one of our Hatian Staff ask if He would ever walk and we said no. He was crushed. I caught him the next day with a pair of baby AFOs trying to shove them onto his feet. How heart-breaking to tell them they won’t fit and I don’t have any for you. I took away the AFO’s and went back to organzing the therapy/playroom only to hear him yell for me. I turned around and he had pulled himself up and propped himself against the wall to show me HE COULD STAND. It took everything in me not to break into tears. I LOVE THAT BOY! He works so hard in everything he does. The next day I walked in to put the AFO’s on the kids that have them and Den-Den pulled himself to stand by a worker and I could see in his head he was saying “Look I can stand and I will walk…I will find a way!” Later that afternoon I put a belt around his waist that helps me assist him to walk and He tried sooooooooo hard and did amazing! He even walked up the stairs. Courtney and I decided we have to get him braces to help him walk. He wants it so bad. John saw me praising Den-Den for his hard-work. John used all his upper body strength to pull himself to stand (well he has contractures in his knees and so he was not really standing but in his mind…He was!). I have the most determined children in the world. So as you can see my heart hurts for my kids who feel left out but rejoicing in the fact they are determined to find a way and I am determined to fight with them to help them find a way!

I also had the wonderful blessing of being able to see the other wonderful work the orthopedic/prosthetic group was able to do. I personally got to witness 5 amputees walk with their new legs the group made, fitted, and taught them how to walk on. They changed so many lives in the short 4 days they were in Haiti. They worked so hard.
During devotions one night one group member who had been sick and was staying in the surgery wing while he recovered came up and interrupted devotions and said we all needed to go down to the court yard. A man is walking for the first time in a long time and he is praising Jesus and we need to be there to encourage him. So we did and it was amazing to have 100 people there cheering him on all the way to the gate and seeing him stop to raise his hands in praise.

The groups last day they were only there for half a day till 12 because they had to catch there flight and that morning they fit 4 people for new legs and I got to see them walk out and show off there legs. It was very touching because these legs changed these 4 people and there lives forever. I am not sure how many people they helped in those 4 days but I am sure it was over 30. Many of them were victims from the earthquake. In Haiti if you have a disability (including losing a limb) you are seen as worthless. You are seen to have done something to deserve it. These people weren’t just given the opportunity to live but HOPE and not just Hope in a limb but hope in Christ as well.

I had the opportunity to have a few conversations to talk with the group about building them a place that would be there space when we move to Bono. The next closest clinic to do what they were doing temporarily is in PAP the Hanger facility there across from the Albert Schweitzer hospital. The group that was in working at our facility was a branch of Hanger.
It was really awesome because I was hoping while I was in PAP to go visit the hanger clinic and even though God closed that door he opened the door to still make connections with hanger, learn from them, and possibly build a partnership to help not only the Miriam Center but the whole northwest zone of Haiti. I am telling you everyday I see my God being BIGGER and BIGGER!

Malinda post 1

2010-06-08T19:27:00.000-07:00

I have returned from Beaucamp. What an experience. Imagine the Australian Outback. Also the roads to and from were like a dried up river bed with ruts as deep as the tires. The Church group I went with, the church in Nebraska, sent money to build the Church in La Plane. It was a very beautiful church. An other women and I worked in the sewing room organizing material and working on treadle sewing machines. We got 6 up and running. We taught 5 women how to crochet. They caught on quickly too. That was on Sat.on Monday one woman brought back the afigan she made. She did a very good job.
Saw Chuck Graham today. He was tired. He said he has had very little sleep since arriving. I am tired , we slept under the stars each night. The sun rose a 5:00 am and set at 7:00pm.

Ice Cream

2010-06-08T14:54:00.000-07:00

So all I wanted for my birthday was to take my children for Ice Cream. And we got to go. IT was so much fun!!!!! Some of my kids have never been off campus let alone had ice cream. It was amazing to see there faces and smiles.

My Birthday

2010-06-08T14:33:00.000-07:00

Today I had a wonderful birthday. It did not go as I had planned but God had bigger and better plans. My morning started out with Courtney popping her head up to my top bunk and wishing me a happy birthday  A great way to wake up! Then they made my favorite breakfast in Haiti pancakes. I spent the morning adapting a baby bath tub into a positioning seat for one of our children in Rou’s corner our terminally ill child orphanage. I used lots of ductape. I finished the morning with sitting in on the pediatric PT that is here adding onto my evaluations of the children. Courtney spoiled me and made me mac-n-cheese for lunch with chicken in it. MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM :p and Melissa bought me a dark chocolate milkyway candy bar.

In the afternoon the plan was to load up my 9 higher functioning children into a tap-tap in their wheelchairs and take them to get ice cream BUT it downpoured and so we are going to try to go tomorrow. Instead God opened up a BIG door. I found out that we had a team of orthotists and prosthetics here. I went over and talked to them about coming to look at a few of my children. I also told them that I have a big trunk of AFO’s do they have the equiptment that we could remold them and try to fit them to my kids. They said YES! And they Gretchen an orthotist came over to the Miriam Center and spent 2 hours helping me evaluate my 7 or 8 of my children and the next 2 days we will work on making and fitting different devices to help them walk better, prevent contractures, and to prevent skin breakdown. I am super excited that Steven, Tamara, and Ju-Ju may be able to walk, that Job and T-Willy are going to get hand splints. The team is also going to go home and try to make 2 chest vests for Rachel and Job to help them breathe better and help correct their scoliosis and prevent it from getting worse. It was one of the best birthday gifts, the hope of seeing my children walk and the ability to prevent contractures! Thank you God!

I spent the beginning of my afternoon loving on my For Jonathan Sake children for a little while and then loving on the Miriam Home children. Their smiles melt my heart. This evening Courtney and I had dinner on the roof and looked out at the amazing view. Courtney made me amazing double chocolate fudge cookies and they were AMAZING! I am so glad that today did not end up being my last day here at the mission and that I have 6 more days to love on my children and to continue laying a foundation for the rest of the summer and the year. I have so much to still get done and a lot of paperwork to finish up. I really need to buckle down on the paperwork part of things.

Devotions tonight really touched my heart. In the middle of the devotion a man came forward and said he needed to interrupt devotions that a man was walking for the first time in a long time. He came to the orthotists this morning with an amputated leg. Today they made Him a new leg and taught him how to walk and he was walking out praising God. We all went down to the court yard and cheered him on. We watched and cheered him all the way to the gate. It was a very touching moment. I saw that man in early this afternoon and he was just being fit for the leg.

It was a great day!

My next post will be taking the kids for Ice Cream

Making Sugar Cookies with the Kids

2010-06-06T18:54:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had an amazing day with the children making sugar cookies. I brought 4 of the medium functioning children up to help mix the cookies, then I had all the children hlep roll out dough and cut out 2-3 cookies each. I baked them before lunch and then after lunch the kids helped ice them and put sprinkles on them. We then ate them!

Some priceless moments...
-Owens Big smile helping mix and stir the dough
-Watching Kem scoop the flour into the bowl to make the dough
-Steven icing his cookie...licking the icing off...then re-icing the cookie
-Hope dive-bombing the table to get a cookie then later dive-bombing another over the table to eat Joshua's cookie
-getting T-willy to use 2 hands to help roll out the dough

Emily post 3

2010-06-06T18:53:00.000-07:00

Since my last post there has been a lot going on. There have been a lot of people coming and going but mostly just coming the mission is starting to flood over with people. Many people from many different places, it has been very warm and I would like to sleep outside however I do like the convince of a bed so I will keep it until at least Tuesday when mom gets back. Speaking of they did get to leave on Thursday to go to beaushamp all I have heard from a few people to come back early is that she is still alive and is kinda spoiling them she made them homemade cinnamon rolls this morning for breakfast when we all got the pleasure of cold cereal! And that they are sewing away! I on the other hand have been very busy going on day trips we went to Tortuga on Thursday it was amazing to see the kids and the adults faces light up when we got there. We had a great VBS and a lot of very attentive and well behaved children. We then got to swim with them and enjoy each others company they children here are just always happy and blessed for what they do have. Some other excitement of the trip was we got to see some dolphins on the way over and when we were swimming I found a huge starfish which gave us a great chance to tell kids the starfish story. All in all a pretty amazing day except for the continuation of the sunburn...haha… On Friday we were on campus and I decided to spend the day in the Miriam Center I got to help some of the boys as they went around and around and around on their new bikes. I spent most of the day trying to figure out where they got all of their energy from because I know I was tired and they just kept going. But a great time to spend w/ the boys and their smiles make all of it worth it. On Saturday most of the people that were still here on campus took a very very very long journey to the waterfall. They kinda warned us on how long it was but I don’t think that many us knew how it would be walking 9 ½ miles in this kind of heat it got the best of some and we ended up putting an IV in one of the girls from another group because she was dehydrated. Interesting stuff got to use some of my nursing skills.. Today was mostly day of rest we all just hung out on campus and did some little things it gave time for those who were sick to recuperate to be back to activities tomorrow. We did get up early and go to church quite interesting to say the least, but also very inspiring to see that after all the trials these people have been through they still trust in the Lord. After lunch today a few of us went to the Gran Moun and did feet washing with them, they were very happy and excited. Then we hung out in the Miriam Center and played with all of the kids out in the courtyard. My plans for tomorrow are to hang out in the baby orphanage or whatever I can find to do then we are heading out for ice cream for Autumns birthday and taking some of the kids with us… should be very interesting!!!