Pure and Undefiled

Tonight I lost a piece of my heart. It’s somewhere in the mountains of Cayes, Haiti in a small, two-story cinderblock orphanage nested into the base of a hill.

I’m not sure how many of you have ever been to an orphanage, but for me, last night was the first. I think we tend to get a picture of what we imagine something to be like in our heads beforehand, which is perhaps why it rocks our world when we see it for real.

As the sun was setting behind one of Haiti’s majestic mountain ranges, the team was greeted with the sound of singing floating on a breeze up the hill to the Cambry mission house. Under the cover of darkness, we walked the short way down to the orphanage where we found ourselves being hugged on and clung to by so many orphans.

Pastor Mike led us all inside to a small concrete room where a few benches lined the walls. And by the light of two oil lamps, we spent the next half hour singing His praises with His precious children.

I’m not exactly sure when, but somewhere between the words of “I’ve got the Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy” and “Jesus Loves Me,” I just lost it. There in the middle of a Haitian orphanage, tears streaming down my face, our voices blending with theirs through the refrains of “Papa, m’adore ou” (“Father, I adore You” – also known as the only song we know in Creole), I was reminded and encouraged by the words James 1:27, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”

So this is what ‘pure and faultless’ looks like. Little, dark-eyed children holding our hands, arms wrapped around our waists, sitting in our laps, dancing and clapping, and falling asleep, their heads resting against our legs. I had to smile as it hit me that while the precious children surrounding us may be orphans to this world, they have a Dad. A very real Dad who loves them and they love so very much.

And so, with tear-stained cheeks and promises of tomorrow, we made our way back up to the guest house where we concluded our day with a devotion about ‘people who make a difference’... to the sound of a hundred hopeful voices praising the One who has made a difference for me.

Crossing the River

You know that story about the Red Sea? The one where Moses lifted his staff above the waters, and all the Israelites crossed over on dry land. I’m saying, Exodus 14ish.

Well, everyday on the way to Chantal (this is the little village where Pastor Chery runs the church and is building the school), there is a river. Haiti has just finished the rainy season. Enough said?

Just in case that image is still a little too vague, I’d like to add some detail to it. We’re definitely not talking about a minor trickle, rather more like a full-fledged ‘you-can-wash-yourself-and-your-family-and-your-laundry-in-it’ rushing river. The kind where after 20 seconds of bated-breath and keeping everything important off of the bus floor, an eruption of cheering and clapping is a must. And today, our trio of guys even decided to ‘surf’ across the river in the aisle of the bus. Tomorrow, the girls plan to show them how it’s really done.

Such is our river. And while we don’t have a Moses (our driver’s name is Philemon – perhaps his parents missed the memo?) and have yet to cross the river on dry land, we have a God who walks on water. (See Mark 6:49).

And that is more than enough for me.

Stay on the lookout for my pictures on Cole's facebook. We are trying to get them uploaded but the slow connection makes this difficult.

“Kanna. Kanna. Poule.”

Or in other words “Duck. Duck. Chicken.” Just one of the highlights of my journey through Haiti. Before I jump to today, though, here are a few highlights from yesterday:

…all our luggage safely arrived in Port au Prince!! Granted, we had to wait about an hour for it at the airport. But still, huge answered prayer!

…the journey from the airport to Cambry (Cayes) was one unlike any other. I think it took us about 5 hours. (Hey, and Mom, our driver had nothing on Dad’s 90/20/90/20 through the mountains).

…after dinner last night, SLEEP. I have deduced, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that our bodies were definitely made requiring more than 7 hours over sleep per 60 hour time frame.

This morning, refreshed and after a delicious breakfast of bananas, eggs, and bread with peanut butter (apparently here, everything is spread with peanut butter), we jumped on the bus and left for Chantal. On the way, we had to stop and get the lumber for building desks.

Perhaps I should have suspected something about Haiti from yesterday’s experience at the airport, but apparently the saying in Haiti is “Hurry up and wait.” That said, the stop for the wood was not very short. After the Haitian men had loaded over half of it into the bus, Dad realized that instead of 16’ boards, they were only 14’. And thus began the un- and re-loading… this time with the correct dimensions.

The church and school at Chantal is like nothing I’ve ever seen. The kids were waiting for us when we got there, and as we entered, we were greeted by some of the loudest clapping, most beautiful singing, and widest grins on this planet. Let me assure you – our attempt at a Haitian song was much less impressive!!

After Greg taught the Bible story through our interpreter, Barbara, we took the kids outside to play. Soccer. Chase. Frisbee. Jump rope. You name it. Rachel and I (again with the help of Barbara) taught the kids how to play duck, duck, chicken. I don’t think I’ve ever felt like such a target… or heard the word “poule” combined with a pat on the head so much. But it was wonderful. Second only to the children’s contagious laughter.

As I’m typing this, I’m up on the roof of the Mission House with most of the team looking out across the fields and mountains of Haiti. Beautiful. Majestic. And a testimony to our gracious Creator. Bondye.

P.S. Mom, Dad says “hi.”

3 hours. 180 minutes. 10800 seconds.

Those numbers would be the amount of time before we leave for Haiti. In a mere 3 hours, the mission team will congregate in the parking lot of New Covenant Presbyterian Church for prayer and a send off from family and friends.

We'll travel through the night to Atlanta (huge "thank you" goes out to Nathan's dad for being our driver), and fly out of that airport at 6AM. After landing in Miami, our next stop will be Port au Prince, Haiti!!! If all of our luggage makes it that far, we'll grab it from the airport and pile into a Haitian van for a 90 mile, 4 hour, super bumpy trip to Les Cayes. Upon arriving at the guest house, our first task will be to unpack all the bags of supplies - which could take a while, as each bag contains very diverse items. (This was our attempt at strategic packing. See, this way, if a bag gets lost or stolen, we won't lose all of any one supply.)

Alright, so now that you have a pretty good synopsis of how our next 24 hours will play out, I'd like to take a moment to share a few ways you can be involved with our trip as we go.

1. I'm a strong believer in the power of prayer. And God has shown in so many ways over the past months that He is very much into answering prayer. Love what James says.. that "The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." So we would love for you to join us as Prayer Warriors. Know that we covet (but not in the "Thou shalt not" way) your prayers, and consider you, as prayer partners, to be going with us.

2. Internet is limited (sometimes practically non-existent) in Haiti. However, on the off chance that we do have it one night, I will attempt to blog a few pictures or stories.

3. Pastor Mike will be sending email updates out to our families. For us, that means that my mom will recieve them from him and, in turn, send them out to friends and family. If you would like to be added to her forwarding list, Facebook her your email address, and she'll be glad to add you.

Hmm.. now it's even less than that. Guess I should get to making the hugest, chocolatest (yes, that IS a word), and most extreme waffle cone ever - since those things melt... in Haiti.

Packing. Packing. And more packing.

One word, three times. Enough said.

Next to the whole idea of flying or no chocolate for the duration of the trip (because chocolate melts in Haiti), this has definitely been one of my greatest concerns.

For years, my dad has smiled and chuckled to himself at the start of every family vacation. Consequently, I am very familiar with comments such as “Did you remember the kitchen sink?” or “Are you going on the same trip as we are? I thought it was only for a week?” But before I sell myself too short here, let me take a moment to explain.

Even on vacation, I love to be “doing” things. Sometimes this might just be reading a book. Other times, it could be playing a game with the family, scrapbooking, making hemp jewelry… the list goes on. Simply put, those things take up space. I am not known for underpacking.

At one of the team meetings, each of us was given a sheet outlining the quantity, size, and weight limits for our bags. This translates into: all of our personal belongings have to be packed in two carry ones: one is a bag whose length, width, and height (all added together) don’t exceed 45 inches. The other is a backpack. Technically, we’re each also allowed two checked bags; however, those are filled with supplies for Haiti, so we don’t get to use that space.

At that same meeting, we were each also given a packing list for the trip. So, after multiple trips to Goodwill to search for skirts and shirts with sleeves (which will all be left there, since the Haitians need them more than we do) and hours scouring the travel size aisles at Walmart and Target, I had basically everything on the suggested list. And by “had,” I really mean that it was all in grocery bags covering the floor of my closet.

Alright, enough background. So this morning at 9ish, the team gathered at New Covenant to pack our duffel bags (these will be our two checked bags) with almost a wide variety of supplies – things ranging from notebooks and construction paper to backpacks and markers, from Frisbees and soccer balls to medicines and Bandaids. As we spread out through the bottom floor of the church, you could feel the excitement and anticipation rising. We’re all just so thrilled for what’s coming!

The piles of supplies only lasted about an hour and a half before they had all been successfully crammed into one of twenty-four rolling duffel bags, listed on the inventory sheet for its respective bag, and weighed to ensure that the bag did not exceed the 50lb limit imposed by the airline.

And with that mission successfully accomplished, I set to packing my carry on luggage - which is where the real fun began.

With too many different items to name, I think I’ll just highlight a few of my favorites and let the picture speak for itself (it IS equal to like 1,000 words or something, right?)

- Bible, devotional, journal, and iPod: lifelines for the trip
- Mr. Reindeer: I’ve had him since I was one, and yes, he really is coming
- 4 pairs of shirts and skirts: The trip is actually 9 days, but due to limited space, we will be attempting to wash and re-wear… multiple times. *Also of note: they say don’t worry about matching in Haiti… well, Miss OCD here is matching.
- Plastic grocery bags: because we can’t flush toilet paper down the toilets there, it messes up the plumbing. I promise I’m not making this up.
- Peanut butter crackers and cereal bars: I hear that we’re going to live off of these at night.
- Fuzzy blanket: because I’m always cold. We’ll see if this changes when we get to Haiti.
- 300+ Silly Bands: for the kids.

And, drum roll please... it all fit!!

It’s actually quite amazing how much you can cram into a mini-sized suitcase and backpack.

"Bondieu Li bon."

If you ask almost anyone who really knows me, they’d likely tell you I am pretty laid back, go with the flow, and don’t plan too far ahead… most of the time.

However, in a mere two days, on Monday, July 26th at 12AM, I will join 10 fellow Aikenites on a mission trip to Haiti. An endeavor we have been planning for the past seven months. (Can I just pause to scream for a second!? AHHHHH!!!)

Alright, so the basics. The team is being commissioned from New Covenant Presbyterian Church in Aiken, South Carolina. There are 11 of us going – 5 guys and 6 girls. As I said, we’re leaving Monday, July 26th and returning Tuesday, August 3rd. We’re staying in Les Cayes, Haiti, but our main work will be done in Chantal. As things stand now, the guys will be doing some construction for the new school down there. It looks like about 50 desks for the students, a couple for the teachers, and maybe some blackboards. They sure have their work cut out for them. The ladies will be spending most of the time teaching VBS, playing with the kids, forming relationships with the women, and just loving on the Haitians.

I made plans to join the team back in January and have been looking forward to Monday ever since!! These past months really have seemed to fly by… tons of things to bring together before we leave the States. However, after receiving advice and instructions from our fearless leaders (Cole and Pastor Mike), special guest appearances from those who have gone before us to Haiti, nine team meetings over the past three months, and SO much prayer, I think we’re about as ready as we’re ever going to be.

Maybe a few highlights from the past couple of months are in order here…

- Sending out support letters. Since my dad, brother Greg, and I are all going as part of the team, we had the not-so-small task of raising $4800. God is so good!! (To date we raised a little over $4900)

- Mastering “how” and “what” to pack. Basically, our clothes and supplies for nine days have to fit in a carry on and backpack. I’m actually going to try this for myself for the first time in the morning.

- Getting the required shots and meds. Definitely one of the most fun doctor’s appointments I’ve ever been to… not! Actually, it wasn’t too bad. Thanks to Dr. Gordon and his nurse, we should survive Typhoid, Malaria, anything requiring Tetanus, and whatever Hep A is needed for.

- Becoming fluent in Creole. Well, not quite. You see, as my brother refers to it, Creole is the “poor man’s French.” And everyone in Haiti speaks it. I took Spanish in high school and German in college, and I assure you that neither of them is anything like Creole. Needless to say, I’m still working on this one… and probably will be until we step off the plane in Haiti.

There is still much to do, quite a few loose ends to tie up. But God’s gotten us this far, and He surely won’t leave us now.

As they say in Haiti, “Bondieu Li bon tout tan.” (God is good all the time).

"It's easy, and only takes a minute."

Yeah right. Or maybe it is, and I'm just blonde. Either way, I sure wasn't expecting an intense workout this late at night (or should I say, this early in the morning).

See, here's the deal. For months now, I've toyed with the idea of starting a blog and several people have encouraged me to. Until this past year, I had kept a daily journal (perhaps a little OCD) since January 2003. That's a really long time to write in something every single day.

But I love to write, so blogging just makes sense. And since it's supposed to be quick and easy to start, I decided I'd try to set it up tonight. In my head, I already had my blog named, my URL picked out, my password decided on... you get the idea. I'm thinking this should take, oh, about twentyish minutes. So, I pulled up Google, good 'ol faithful Google, and submitted a search for popular blogs. You guessed it, "Blogger" it is.

And that is where everything started getting interesting.

Still quite enthused with the prospect of making a blog to call my own, I started entering information in the required fields to create an account. Come to find out, I already have a Google account, but of course I don't remember my password. Hurdle #1: get Google to email me directions about how to change my password.

Mkay, so now I need a picture. Should be easy enough since I only have a couple thousand on my computer. Or, maybe not... (that was Hurdle #2).

Hurdle #3: This is the one that really got me... the dreaded URL. Just in case anyone was wondering, there are thousands upon thousands of possible URL addresses both in existence and waiting to be used. Yep, you guessed it, I probably went through a couple hundred of the ones already chosen before I found one that was "available." Grr...

Setting up the layout of my blogging profile was actually kind of relaxing after the URL frustration. And while it was also much simpler than the aforesaid disaster, Hurdle #4: the design still consumed some time. Then again, I suppose most things do.

So, finally, I get to start writing! What a welcome relief!! But I just can't bring myself to proceed without reflecting on the irony of the catch phrase that made me decide to start blogging tonight in the first place: "It's easy, and only takes a minute."

Actually, Blogger.com, it took me slightly longer than a minute... try 119 more.