Where He leads...: 2013

This blog entry is LONG overdue. But better late than never, right?

I've lived in Haiti now for over a year and a half. It has become like a second home to me. I can't explain what it's like to share this place with my family and close friends, but I suspect you can imagine what a special blessing that is!

I wasn't sure if my parents would be able to visit Haiti this year. I think I can speak for them to say that Haiti was never on their bucket list of travel destinations. But by now they all know that Haiti has gripped my heart and I may be settling in for a while, and so they booked tickets to see this unique place their daughter is living. I was blessed to have Dad and Kelly come visit in September and then my mom flew down in October. Her trip was a whirlwind... we packed so much in! But it was incredible and a week neither of us will ever forget! I'll share more photos than anything to give you a peek at our adventures!

It's always interesting for me to see Haiti afresh from the perspective of a new visitor. I continue to see its beauty, the obvious challenges families here face, and the busyness of life. But I also take more notice of the brokenness, the dirty streets, and the poverty. Not that I forget them normally, they just become the "new normal" and you don't pay as much attention to them... or at least not in the same way you do in your first wide-eyed ride from the airport.

I always wonder if the Haiti that visitors see is the Haiti they expected to see... or more... or less... or completely different. Mom took it all in and like any trip like this, I'm sure will continue to process it well into the future.

Mom arrived on Saturday afternoon and by Sunday afternoon we were suitin' up for an adventure in the mountains! I wasn't sure how we would fit it all in, but I made it work. I really wanted her to experience an overnight in the mountains—like the many I've had this year—because I knew that it truly is a unique opportunity!

We packed the bare minimum in our packs, plenty of water, and off we went! Lesly dropped us off at a "moto station" and we hopped on a motorcycle that took us over the river and through the woods to the base of a mountain where we started our hike.

I think it took us about an hour and a half to hike up to Chevrine. We took our time, admired the the view, and snapped a bunch of pictures. Living near the Smoky Mountains, we've hiked many times, but hiking in this area of Haiti is much different. There are very few trees and the trails are rocky and slippery. Normally the hot sun is beating down on you, though we were so blessed that the sun decided to hide behind the clouds while we were hiking!! So timely!

We finally arrived at the home of one of our monitrices, Regina, and received a warm welcome by her family. Mom enjoyed getting to know them. They loved looking through photos on her camera to learn about our family and life in the States. And she loved learning about what life is like for them in Haiti, how they run their household, where they get water, and so on. They fed us well and we woke up to homemade hot chocolate made from real cocoa. Yum! Mom brought down flashlights that require no batteries, just solar power or a hand-crank. They were so excited to receive them and as we were all tucked in for bed, Regina was shining the light across the ceiling looking at every nook and cranny. :)

I chose to hike to Chevrine, of all places, because it was a close and easy enough hike, but also because I love the view from up there! I hadn't spent the night there before, but I could imagine the sunsets and sunrises and indeed, they didn't disappoint!!

I promised Mom that after that intense adventure, we would have time to rest and relax! We headed with Lesly a couple hours across the mountain (by truck this time!) to a town called Jacmel for a few days. It is more of a tourist location and has nice hotels and beautiful views. We stayed at Hotel Cyvadier, which was the perfect place for us and the food was incredible!

Even though we went to Jacmel to relax, I told her that we still had another excursion awaiting us! Bassin Bleu! Mom's trip to Haiti wouldn't be complete without visiting this incredible place! She loved it! (Of course!)

I can't say that I really wanted to keep putting Mom on moto after moto, but we didn't have much of a choice if we wanted to do and see everything on my list! She didn't mind and I just prayed hard for our safety and indeed, God protected us. :) If you didn't know, Mom went skydiving for her last birthday, so adventure is something she is always up for!!

And besides, when in Haiti do as the Haitians do! :)

Like I said at the beginning, my family knows that I've fallen in love with this country and the work that I'm doing here. Mom wanted to come see it for herself and meet the special people she's heard me talk about for months and months. We had a birthday party for Lesly's daughter Joulie so she could meet his family...

...And of course we spent some time at the children's home so she could love on those kids with me. She also went with Lesly and I a few hours away to pick up the mealpacks for the children's home. That was a neat experience for her to see how things get done and to see some familiar faces of some other missionaries from our home town.

We packed it in and she loved every minute of it! I hope to share more of this country with her in the future, but this was a great first trip for sure! Thanks for coming, Mom! It was a blessing more than I could ever describe!

(originally posted on CNP's blog)

Three!... that's how many weeks I've got left of the nearly 50 I'll spend with CNP this year. 2014 will bring new adventures in Haiti, but my official time with CNP will come to an end on December 20th. As much as I'm counting down the days until I get to spend Christmas with my family, I'm sad to be saying farewell to this incredible organization. Thankfully, I will only be living minutes away next year and I look forward to staying in touch with my friends here and continuing to join with CNP as I'm able to help raise up a healthy generation of Haitian children!

My internship has been filled with many highlights, successes, challenges, and adventures.

Some highlights...

Getting to know many of our great CNP staff on a personal level. Long car rides to Port au Prince and hikes through the mountains grant you the time to learn about their families, dreams, difficulties, and everything in between. I look forward to continuing these relationships into next year!
Having the opportunity to watch the sun rise and fall over some of the most beautiful landscapes in Haiti!
Learning more about the reality of malnutrition in Haiti and how to help combat it with both clinical and grassroots education programs.

Some successes...

The hundreds of children who have come through our nutrition clinic—coming as malnourished children and leaving as healthy children—are success stories I'll always cling to in the face of the harsh statistics that still exist in this country.
My Creole was good when I started in January, but it has improved even more. We don't use translators, which is great for Creole learners, and it wasn't long before I was off in the mountains by myself, conducting meetings solely in Creole, and depending on it for the majority of the work I do.

Some challenges...

Serving in Haiti is never without its challenges! I've been working alongside many of our Haitian staff members who have been with CNP for over 10 years. I've felt like a newbie and yet I had a lot of responsibility on my shoulders to help push our programs forward. I'm thankful for their patience and for the respect I've been able to gain from them as we work together for the benefit of the families we serve.
As much as I want to see the children in our programs thrive, it's not always easy. There are so many factors involved when trying to help a malnourished child, and it can be challenging to find and address the root problems that are hindering the child's progress. You can will it to happen all you want, but it's a struggle and a fight—though it's definitely worth the effort to be able to see a child come out on the other side.

Some adventures...

3, 4, and 5-day treks through the mountains of rural Leogane with our mobile nutrition clinics, to do surveys, and to just spend time with and learn about the communities we serve. I'll never forget not being prepared (shoe-wise) for a 20+ times river crossing adventure or hiking a total of 7 hours (mostly uphill!) with our nurse on her mobile clinic route or staring down a tarantula in the middle of the night and then waking up the next morning to my fire ant infested backpack.
Milking Port au Prince trips for all they're worth by taking advantage of airport runs in order to eat sushi or pizza with other interns and/or play Supermarket Sweep at grocery stores to buy as many goodies as possible that you can't find in Leogane before your driver gets too impatient.
Spending a couple relaxing weekends away at the beach with the other interns to refresh and rejuvenate in the midst of our busy schedules.

So as I finish out these next three weeks and move on to the days ahead, I find myself extremely thankful for this incredible opportunity to partner with an organization that is doing so much to transform the lives of Haitian families. It takes special people to do the work that is needed here and I have been blessed to be surrounded by so many of them! And thank YOU (readers) for following along with our journey in Haiti and supporting our important programs. We couldn't do it without you and I'm grateful that you have given us all the opportunity to serve with CNP—and more importantly, that you have given these families the opportunity to live healthy, productive, and hope-filled lives!

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven...

Ecclesiastes 3 is one of those passages of Scripture that gets quoted so much you often forget to take time to let it sink in. But as I reflect on the last few weeks and the next several to come, these verses have had and will continue to have significant meaning for me. It's possible that I've experienced every range of emotion imaginable since the beginning of this month. And for those emotions that I wish I could have avoided, I take deep comfort in the fact that God had a purpose for each particular moment and season.

As most of you know, my granddaddy passed away on November 20th. I was blessed to be able to be there as he left this world for his eternal home with the Lord. That incredible man is beyond description. My family had hoped for many more great years with him. I'm grateful I was able to be with them to share this loss and encourage one another.

Things in Haiti are going well enough. It is always filled with its blessings and challenges. The number of malnourished children starts to weigh on me after a while, but I'm glad that The Children's Nutrition Program of Haiti is here and that I've been able to be involved with the great work they do. Smerelda in the photo at the top and Stephania in the photo on the side are two who have especially gripped my heart and who we're trying to help. Thank you for your continued prayers for these precious children.

Next year will begin a new chapter of my life and ministry in Haiti. The end of the year brings the end of my internship with CNP. After much prayer and consideration, I have accepted a position with Family Health Ministries as their guesthouse manager. Their guesthouse is just minutes away from where I live now and it will be a great opportunity to put to use my love of hospitality while hopefully giving me a flexible schedule to be able to pursue other ministry interests... namely, the children's home. (www.hopeforlifehaiti.com) I plan to continue to dig in there and help make improvements in the lives of those sweet kids. And I will keep you posted on how you can help. You can learn more about Family Health Ministries from their website, www.familyhm.org. I'm excited for a new season yet again in Haiti, and I appreciate your prayers as I make this transition. I will be home for three weeks over Christmas and will fly back to Haiti on January 11th.

I will close with the first eight verses of Ecclesiastes 3. I hope you will take the time to consider each one as it applies to whatever season you are in. And as we celebrate and reflect during this time of thanksgiving, remember to "rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

"To every thing there is a season,
and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to get, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate;
a time of war, and a time of peace."

Many blessings and Happy Thanksgiving!

A man who was dearly loved and will be greatly missed

Thankful for unexpected time with family

Taking some time to love on little Stephania

The FHM guesthouse

[This post is about a terrible incident I witnessed in Haiti. It is lengthy and spares little details. I know some of you have children who keep up with me here; I trust you will use discretion with letting them read this or with what you share with them.]

"Thou Shalt Not Kill." (Exodus 20:13)

That verse in the Bible takes me back to some of the earliest memories I have of Sunday School as a child. And on Sunday, that verse came alive right in front of my eyes!

It was a typical Sunday morning. About half the time I go to church with Lesly or someone else, and the other times I go alone. Lesly was working so I headed out alone with our friend/main moto driver (I’ll call him Rory). I left the house around 7:45 and headed for the children’s home. I always pray when I’m on motos… I pray for safety and protection for the ride, and that morning I remember also thanking God for the opportunity to go to church here—specifically thinking of my missionary friends and millions of others around the world who do not have the freedom to go to a “public” church service. I remember thanking God for that blessing in Haiti.

Halfway to church, my moto driver slowed down because of some commotion in a field. I asked what was going on and he said people were fighting. I remember thinking that just last week someone had told me that typically Haitians run away from a fight, but people were definitely running towards this action.

We asked a few bystanders what was going on and the story was they had caught a thief trying to steal a horse.

“What are they going to do with them?” I asked, thinking I already knew the answer.

“They’re going to kill him,” confirmed Rory and was the same answer that everyone else around was giving.

Unfortunately I knew this to be an ugly truth in Haiti. A truth that I can’t even begin to grasp. And yet a truth nonetheless. (Though until Sunday I admit I had hoped it was a bit of an exaggeration or at most, a RARE occurrence.)

I can’t explain what exactly went through my mind at that point, but honestly it was simply this, “No, they are not.” Not because I didn't think they would, but because I wasn't going to let it happen.

At that point I told Rory that I wanted to go over there. His curiosity was peaked as well so he agreed, but for him it was more just that—curiosity—while apparently I was on a mission.

We paused briefly to process the giant ditch that stood between us and the field, but some careful steps and a jump solved that one. I don’t know if people were already staring and wondering, I simply made a beeline for the crowd. Another pause to greet a guy I knew (who, ironically, was a security guard with an organization I’ve served with… I’ll call him Vinny). He was happy to see me—like we were simply passing on the street. I was distracted, still trying to process what I was seeing… a man, likely in his late 20s or 30s, was lying on the ground with his hands and legs tied behind him, and maybe about 40 Haitian men were in a circle around him. Loads of others on the outskirts and still more continuing to gather. There was already a lot of talking and shouting that never stopped. Vinny came over towards me and we had a brief exchange. Mostly I asked him what was going on. Same story. “He’s a thief. They are going to kill him.”

“No.” I said, almost laughing with disbelief that this is even happening. “They are not going to kill him.”

I hopped a small ditch and climbed up the side, pushing my way through the crowd until I stood beside the man. He was sweating, not talking, but still alive and conscious—and despite his dark skin, I could already see some bruising and swelling on his head and face. Even when a mob punishment ends in death—often burning them alive—they usually start with a thorough beating.

I can’t write out what happened in five minute increments or anything, not necessarily because it was a blur but because every second was so intense my mind cannot pull out specifics in relation to time. I will say that every second was an eternity and I have an extreme recollection of knowing that throughout the entire event.

The scene is this… I am standing beside a man tied up and lying on the ground. There are likely 100 Haitians all around me, 95% men, all of them heated, some of them steaming with the most anger and hatred I have ever witnessed in person.

And here are the flashes I can remember…

Near the beginning I was asking the same question, getting the same answer, and offering the same response. “What are you going to do with him?” “We’re going to kill him.” “No, you’re not.”

Then questions for me, “What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to stand here and make sure you don’t kill him.”

I don’t remember that anyone ever asked me why, but I offered reasons nonetheless.

“You can’t kill someone!”

“This is not justice!”

“No one has the right to take a man’s life!”

And I suppose I could have added things like…

“… even if he is guilty…”

“… even if he is not the best person…”

“…and by the way, I am sorry that he stole from you…”

…but the situation was so intense and my “mission” was so purposeful that the bottom line was, “You are not killing this man and I will stand here until I see that you don’t.”

At some points I was standing on the man’s right side. At some points I was standing on his left. At one point I was standing over him, straddling his body with one leg on either side and I remember saying at least once, “If you kill him, you will have to kill me too.”

I don’t remember what everyone was saying. I wasn’t processing all of it. And imagine, with 100 people talking and shouting in a language not your own, even just picking out one voice was a challenge. But I heard a lot of laughter, I heard people repeating back what I said for others to hear or for them to mock me or for whatever reason. I heard people telling me to move out of the way. I know they all thought I was stupid. Rory and Vinny told me that I should leave.

“I’m not leaving. Not until the police show up…” or whatever would bring this to an end. I thought of both good and terrible scenarios of what would bring this to an end.

I tried begging people to end this madness. I tried reasoning with them. I tried preaching to them.

“This is the Lord’s Day… we are not going to kill a man on God’s holy day!”

“Is anyone a Christian here?” One woman said yes. I grabbed her hand and gently pulled, asking her to come stand with me. She laughed and stayed put.

I asked another lady who was encouraging this barbarity if she could actually stand before God one day and be ok saying that she killed a man—or at least stood by there watching and urging it on.

A UN base was not much further down the road. I knew I could go there and convince them to come. But as sure as I knew that, I knew that if I left, I could no longer protect this man. Why I thought I could protect him, I do not know, but I was determined. And there I continued to stand.

While being a foreigner in Haiti can bring a lot of grief, I suppose at times it can have its benefits. And I suppose in my mind I did think that being a white girl in that moment could have some benefits. I suppose I was betting my life on it. I didn’t think the angry mob would turn on me, but I definitely didn’t have a guarantee. They certainly were not happy with me. But in that moment I did not care what anyone thought. I had made my decision and I wasn’t budging.

Throughout the chaos I was praying, pleading with God for protection and for this to be over! The time I stood there seemed like an eternity. I would try to look over the crowd to see if I could see help coming, or a police or UN vehicle passing. Nothing. And when I would turn my head away from the angry men, I would feel a gush of wind and hear the sound of something hard hitting the man on the ground. There was one main man who was the source of these hidden attacks. I didn’t ever see his weapon, I assume it was a big stick like the others I saw. He always tried to avoid eye contact with me, like some little kid knowing he was up to no good and with a silly grin refusing to confess. Except this man’s silly grin was surrounded by an angry, sweaty, crazy-eyed face that no longer seemed like a man. I suppose a savage beast is the nicest way to describe it? Which reminds me, at one point someone asked me if I’ve come to watch an animal, referring to the man on the ground. Wow… I did see animals that day, but they were all standing upright.

Unfortunately for the man on the ground, he did receive quite a beating—both before I arrived and while I was standing there, despite my attempts to stop it. I’m surprised and thankful that I have no marks or bruises. I was putting my body and my arms between the accusers and the accused. There was one angry older man who was repeatedly hitting the man in the face. I reached my arm out to stop him and maybe I softened the blow a little but not enough. At one point when I was focused on his arm he stomped on the man’s face with all his might. The man remained conscious but at times I saw him lying there trembling. He was hearing all of this, seeing all of this, and I have no idea what he was thinking, but I imagine he was facing the very real fear that death was soon coming.

There were some people talking and maybe trying to reassure me that if the crowd was going to kill him, it would have already happened by now. And that the police will eventually come. I wasn’t convinced. Sticks and iron rods were still in the hands of the accusers. And there was talk of gasoline coming. I started to panic when I saw a man with a gallon of oil and seemed to have smelled gas at the same time. It took a while to convince me that it wasn’t gasoline. That was my biggest fear because I didn’t see how I could protect the man from being burned alive.

I mentioned I didn’t have much perception of time, just that it felt like an eternity. But within the first five minutes or so, I called Lesly. I didn’t know who to call or what to do. I just felt that having him there was important. He was at work and would have to leave his post as a security guard, but I called him. I couldn’t hear anything, I just kept saying, “Come!” and then I handed the phone to Rory and told him to tell him to come. Rory did and went by the road to flag him down. I asked Vinny to come stand with me in the meantime. Lesly arrived a bit later. I asked him if he alerted the police but he hadn’t because we hadn’t told him to and he didn’t know from our phone call what was going on. He had panicked the whole way there, thinking I had been in an accident or something. A few minutes later, he left again.

About the guys standing near me. I didn’t know who the good guys were, if there were any. I tried to look people in the eye. On two separate occasions there were two big men who stood near me. I looked them each in the eye and asked them to help me. They didn’t verbally agree to anything, but I can say that I felt a tinge of security with them there. They were big, and they weren’t doing anything bad to this man and seemed to be neutral. I felt that if nothing else, they might protect me. The older of the two did mention he thought the police would come and it would be over. Before them another man had been standing across from me next to the man on the ground. He never said a word but didn’t seem to want to hurt the accused man. I felt a hint of camaraderie there and then he tried to deflect a beating and the attention turned towards him and the next thing I knew there was an uproar and someone put him in a headlock and started beating him saying he must also be a thief. At that point I was screaming hysterically for them to stop. Thankfully that was my only moment of hysteria. And thankfully they eventually stopped beating him. Vinny stood with me for a while and seemed to help me fight them off. He said “No” a lot and was using his arm and body to help as he could. But then I worried they would start beating him too. Thankfully they didn’t.

I continued to pray—to PLEAD, “God protect me! God protect this man! God send help! Let this be over!”

Like a dream I saw Lesly in the distance, and a policeman. The time it took them to reach where we were was another eternity. Finally, Lesly was at my side. And the policeman was standing in the middle of the crowd. (We now estimate that from the time I arrived until the time it was over was about 45 minutes.) The policeman asked for the man to be untied. It took a while and there were jokes being said about how “someone sure knows how to tie knots!” Then the policeman asked to stand the man up. He placed handcuffs on him, asked for the owner of the horse to come as well, and led a procession of bystanders back to the police truck. Our moto was the other direction and the other direction was exactly where I wanted to go. And I did.

But one thing remained…

Obviously the man had seen me there. Obviously he had heard everything. He knew what had been going on. And I am sure he had feared for his life, and was in the right mind to fear for his life! But did he know that God had saved him? Because I knew that. Even in the midst of all of it, I knew with certainty that God was present and that I was standing there because of God and that God had protected us both. But did he know that?

I had to tell him. As much as I wanted to leave and not go anywhere near that crowd again, I had to tell him. I told Lesly I needed to talk to the man and crossed back over to where everyone was. I told the policeman I needed to speak to the man and leaned into his ear.

“Do you know that GOD saved you today?”

He nodded.

“You know that if I had not been here, they would have killed you.”

More nodding.

“I am praying for you that you change your life. Know that you can accept Jesus as your Savior. Know that all you have to do is ask Him into your heart. To change your life.”

And I don’t remember what all I said, I’m sure I was not very eloquent as I was probably still shaking from everything that happened and in moments of intensity, my Creole is at its worst. But when I started to talk about Jesus, the man began to sob. That sobbing lasted maybe 3 or 4 seconds and he cut himself off—understandably so with the crowd still pressing around him. I will never forget the sight of those tears, thinking of all that was behind them.

And that was that. I got on Rory’s moto, Lesly got on behind me. And I told them to take me home. Sunglasses on, I cried the whole way there. Thankful, exhausted, shocked, drained, thankful. Oh, so thankful it was over. After hugging Lesly and thanking him, I walked over to see my friends who live nearby. It was a safe place to cry, tell the story, begin to reflect, and pray together. More thankfulness for those dear friends and sisters in Christ.

I knew I wanted to write this story out for myself. Writing helps me process and remember what I experience. I knew that I would blog about it to some extent as well. You ended up getting the "full" version. Is it a story for people to read and why? You see my answer is yes, though I’ve never claimed that I have all the right answers. So if you disagree, I’m ok with that. But this is the reality of this country. And this experience is now the reality of my life. And I typically share the realities of my experiences for others to read. But most importantly, I want you to hear this… I did nothing—God used me and protected me to save that man’s life in that moment. I don’t have a guarantee that those angry people won’t find him later and kill him. I pray they don’t. (And it seems he was from another area so there is some anonymity there.) But I believe and trust that God had me there at that moment to do exactly what I did. And looking back on it, I would not do anything any differently. But again, all glory goes to God. I am not a hero. I am not extraordinarily brave. I stood up for what I believed in and I believe that people do not have the right to take justice into their own hands and take someone’s life like that. I am completely baffled about that being such a common occurrence in Haiti. If you see me as brave, then God put that bravery in me and made me the kind of person to do what I did. But without God divinely intervening on behalf of that man and to protect me, the outcome would have been different. Every Haitian I’ve talked to about this says there is no doubt the man would have been murdered. And they also say that if a Haitian would have tried to step in and do what I did, they would have still murdered the man and likely would have murdered and/or beat up that person as well.

Please continue to pray for the accused man. Pray for his salvation and for continued protection. Pray for Vinny and others who stood near or beside me. Pray for Lesly and Rory. Pray that there will be no negative repercussions for the decision that I made. And pray for me as I continue to process this experience. It has made an impression on me to my very core and I don’t know what all that will mean. I think it will mean good things, but I think that at times it will also make it difficult to serve in an already difficult place. It’s hard to see good and hope and peace in this nation after seeing such evil and despair and violence. It’s hard to have faith that God is transforming Haiti when so many Haitians profess to be Christians and yet I think some of those professing Christians were in the crowd, stone in hand. But I have to believe there is hope. If there’s no hope, I suppose I should pack my bags. And I think the devil would love for me to do just that. But by God’s grace, His strength, and your prayers, I’m not going to do that. I will fight for those who need someone to fight for them… and by God’s definition that numbers 10+ million Haitians who live on this island, and every soul to the ends of the earth.

The past several weeks have been busy and have flown by! While there have been lots of highlights--including securing an incredible grant for a breakfast program for Hope For Life Children's Home--I was hugely blessed to have my dad and stepmom down here last month! They came with three guys from their church, Dotson Memorial Baptist--Sean, David, and Don. We had a wonderful time together!

I felt like a travel agent and event planner scheduling their days while they were here. We were able to see a lot and get quite a bit accomplished during their trip. I think a highlight for everyone was the time spent at the children's home. They knew that those kids have my heart and so I know my parents especially were eager to meet those special kids. The other guys fell in love too. Little Olrich quickly became Don's buddy!

The guys wanted to try and knock out a construction project and Kelly was excited to do some crafts with the kids. The activities pavilion including the storage area have had a bit of a makeover already this summer--with money raised from many of you to put a floor down and build up some walls. The floor and walls still needed finishing so they sent down some funds before their trip to get that done. Thank you! And then while they were here they built some great and helpful shelves that my dad designed especially for the storage area space. They knocked those out in just a few hours and had Pastor Jean Marc's Haitian buds working right alongside them. Such a beautiful sight! Meanwhile, Kelly did a number of crafts with the kids including some adorable picture frames with custom photos of each of the kids to put in them and a bag with buttons she sewed on for them. The guys also took turns telling Bible stories and had the kids act out the story of Abraham and Isaac. And as if that we're enough, they also built an outdoor shade space area that I think the pastor is now turning into an outdoor classroom! :)

We attended two churches while they were here. One was the church on the children's home property and the other was Pastor Benois' church. Pastor Benois has been a friend of mine for over a year now. He's an incredible man of God and I've been blessed to get to know him even more since being back this year. He has such a heart for evangelism and discipleship and I thought my dad's group would enjoy spending some time with him and learning more about his ministry. Indeed they did. Church with him was a bit interesting as our tender ears are not exactly used to the blaring sound system of some Haitian churches, but we shared a sweet time with him on their last day, prayerwalking around his neighborhood, sharing about Christ with those who were interested, and encouraging the believers we met.

We also visited two other organizations, Family Health Ministries and myLIFEspeaks. And they spent a day seeing CNP's programs--our nutrition clinic in Leogane and then we took a wild ride up the mountains to see our fixed clinic in Ti Harpon and a Hearth session in Belloc. They loved being up in the mountains--I thought they would. The air was cool and breezy. And they found a bunch of young boys (and one girl) and took the opportunity to share some Bible stories with them. They had them acting out a skit about Zacchaeus wanting to see Jesus.

It was a great week and a special week! My only complaint is that it went by too quickly! It is always a special blessing to me when those closest to me are able to come and experience a bit of where I'm serving and meet the people and see what I see on a regular basis. I think this goes without saying, but I love Haiti and those I'm working with and trying to help and so to share this country and these people with the people I love most from home means a lot to me. It's an encouragement and it also means that from now on when we email and talk on the phone and I mention this or that or this person or that person, they know what and who I'm talking about... and that's such a nice connection to have with my family and friends back home. So THANK YOU for taking the time and more to come down here and meet and experience Haiti and the special people here! I hope you'll have the opportunity to come back soon!!

So glad they were able to come down for a visit!

Sean was quite the game master!

The kids always love learning new games and get very competitive!

Kelly and the kids had a blast with the special crafts she brought!

Using the Bible storying cloth to tell Bible stories to the kids

Olrich and his new buddy Don

David is an incredible harmonica player. He played some special songs for both church services--and just about everywhere we went in Haiti! He also taught a great class with the kids at the children's home and several of them really picked up on it!

Let the construction begin! Doesn't the finished floor look great?

This is a before shot of the unfinished floor and walls and the lack of organization

And a finished shot of the floor, wall, and beautiful and sturdy shelves the guys and their new friends made!

We spent a little time at CNP's nutrition clinic. David buddied up with this sweet girl who was waiting to be seen.

Making some new friends up in Ti Harpon and taking the chance to tell some Bible stories and hang out with them.

It's like a different world up in the mountains! The fresh air and incredible mountain views! We had a great time!

It was such a blessing sharing Haiti and my special friends with Dad and Kelly!

You can read my latest update and prayer letter below. I covet your prayers during this important season of ministry. Some new changes are on the horizon and some big decisions will need to be made in the coming weeks. I will share more specific details once God directs my steps one way or another. In the meantime, please join me in prayer as I listen for His voice.

Thank you for your faithful support, encouragement, and prayers!

If you would like to receive these by email, send me a message at hannahsterling@live.com.

Stanley is a man you can count on! He loves helping people of all ages and teaches an adult Sunday School class at his church. He spends a lot of time mentoring the kids at Hope For Life Children's Home and when he was asked by Pastor Jean Marc to be a teacher for their community school this coming school year he accepted without hesitation. We are blessed to have him join our team but we still aren't quite ready to ring the school bell...

This is where YOU come in!

We need YOUR HELP to sponsor Stanley and other teachers for the Fall semester! Hope For Life Children's Home has a school on their property for their kids and around 135 others from the community. This school is a ministry to the community and is offered at NO COST for students other than a small fee for students in the highest grade levels. But we need your help to cover the teacher salaries of $100/month. You can go to the DONATE page on their website to sponsor one teacher for one month ($100) or one teacher for all three months ($300) this Fall semester, www.hopeforlifehaiti.com. (Or message me for other payment options.) We need sponsors for several more teachers in order to re-open the school in October!

YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE in the lives and futures of these children who can one day transform a nation!!

Today was a unique day at our PTA/PNS clinic. In May I had the opportunity to meet a physical therapist from Texas named Rhonda Nisbett. Rhonda comes down to Haiti a few times a year to volunteer with an organization that specializes in helping physical handicapped children called myLIFEspeaks. I had made contact with them concerning a handicapped toddler in our program and they have been working with her these past few months. Rhonda was there that day to provide the initial evaluation for Cindi. She and I discussed the possibility of her coming to our nutrition clinic during her next trip to see some of the children we know of in Leogane who have mobility issues. Today we made that happen!

Rhonda and an intern named Jenn spent the day at our nutrition clinic and she did evaluations on around nine kids. She was able to offer advice and encouragement to the mothers and she showed them exercises they could do to help their kids progress. With assistance and initiative from the mothers, some of the children have hope of walking one day. Always good news!

While it was a blessing to meet these special kids and their mothers, it was also heartbreaking to once again realize the realities of Haiti and the limitations this country has for medical care. These children have needs ranging from special chairs, to braces, to operations and procedures. The best we could do for them today was simply offer advice and encouragement. There's really no place to refer them to. We are going to follow up on a couple leads to see if we can find further assistance for some of them, but we weren't able to make any promises to the mothers.

For now, I hope the mothers take action with the advice and instructions Rhonda shared with them. We will try to keep up with the progress on these kids, which will be easy for some because they are current patients in our nutrition program. One little boy was likely admitted today, which will be great for him to receive our treatment and gain weight and strength to become more active and have a better ability to do the exercises.

Thank you, Rhonda, Jenn, and myLIFEspeaks for the great work you do! And thanks to all of you who support our nutrition clinic and help make it possible for these important days to happen!

This little girl is in our nutrition clinic but does not have mobility issues. She was just there for her appointment and wanted to sit in my lap. Fine by me! :)

My favorite part was seeing the mothers really listen to the instructions Rhonda gave and practice the exercises with their kids.

Does God really ask us to sacrifice—and to sacrifice everything?
Do things always work out for those who are obedient?
Is God at work in the hard places? And does He expect us to join Him in those hard places?
Isn't it possible to love God and to pretty much keep living the life I already have?

These are some of the exact questions Nik Ripken* asked himself as God began to radically change his life and ministry. He writes about his remarkable journey in his book called "The Insanity of God: A True Story of Faith Resurrected". (*He writes under a pseudonym in order to protect himself and those who's stories he shares throughout the book.)

The basic point of me sharing about this book on my blog is because I want you to read it! Do whatever it takes to get your hands on a copy, and then pass it along to someone else and let's get it circulating! Why? It is life-changing, faith-rocking, thought-provoking, soul-challenging stuff. And every believer needs to wrestle with trying to understand the heart of God and how knowing and experiencing God's heart will revolutionize his or her life and ministry.

What I loved when reading about Nik's defining moment in his faith and call to ministry is how the simplicity of the Gospel impacted and challenged him... and yet it is something so many of us miss. "I saw no separation or distinction between accepting Christ and surrendering my whole life to Him to do what He wanted me to do. All I really knew was that the Bible was God's book and that if I really believe that, then I needed to do what it said. The more I looked at [the Great Commission in Matthew 28], the clearer it seemed to me that Jesus gave that command to every one of His followers. It wasn't a separate call or a special call for some of His disciples. Rather, it was the last lesson Jesus wanted to get across to every one of His followers. Go ye into all the world..."

Nik's journey serving the Lord took him to the Horn of Africa during an indescribably difficult and combustible time. The stories he shared while trying to "do some good" there are hard for us to even try to wrap our minds around. The realities of this world--outside our comfortable bubbles--are such a dreadful contrast to most of our lives. And yet, they are indeed the realities for billions of men, women, and children throughout the globe. Reading Nik's accounts of his time in Somaliland will challenge you whether you are serving the Lord in your hometown or trying to "do some good" on a foreign mission field. And as Nik reminds us, "God may have to give instructions about the location—the where. But there is nothing to negotiate the command to go—God has already made our primary task perfectly clear." Meaning, every believer should realize the calling placed on his or her life that once you become a Christian, you are given the responsibility to tell the world about your Lord and Savior!

Returning to the States from Africa, Nik and his wife sensed God was not finished with their ministry overseas. After serving in such a difficult area, they began to wonder what it was like for other believers in similar persecuted areas throughout the globe. This question took them on a journey they never imagined—and into the hearts of some of the most inspiring believers I believe have ever walked this earth!

You will have to read the book for yourself to learn about these stories of faith, obedience, and the miracles that God is still performing today! These stories will challenge your own walk with the Lord and it is my prayer that we will ask the hard questions necessary to make sure that our faith and actions are on track—and if they are not, that we will be obedient to make the necessary changes that God wants us to make.

I was challenged by believers in these persecuted areas who have memorized entire books of the Bible so that they can recite them to others while they are imprisoned. I was challenged by the house church movement in China, where believers do not have climate-controlled sanctuaries and comfy seats and the freedom to walk in and out of the doors without the fear of being arrested for singing hymns to the Lord and meeting together with other Christians. I was challenged by a group of 100+ Chinese pastors who risked their lives to meet together for a conference. Only seven of the leaders there had their own copy of the Bible and so they went around tearing out books of their Bibles and handing them out to other pastors so that each one could have at least one book to go back and teach to their communities. Can you imagine?! How many copies do we have in our homes that just sit and collect dust?! And these pastors were tearing out pages so that another could have just a piece of the precious Word of God! I was challenged by the believer in Eastern Europe who told Nik, "I took great joy that I was suffering in my country, so that you could be free to witness in your country. Don't ever give up in freedom what we would never have given up in persecution!" There are brothers and sisters in Christ who have been and who are still being tortured and murdered because of their faith in Christ and their refusal to be silent about Him. If for no other reason, we should relentlessly share the gospel in honor of those men and women who would expect no less! Not to mention that it is what Jesus (who bled and died for us) expects and commands of us!

What I appreciated about Nik's journey is that while he had set out to learn how he could help the persecuted church in other parts of the world, he ended up learning so much more!... "about how to follow Jesus, how to love Jesus, and how to walk with Him day by day."

Church, it is time to wake up! We have no excuse anymore. We have the ability to know what is going on in the world around us and often we choose to ignore it. We live in our bubbles, we pursue the American dream, and we conveniently forget that believing in Christ is not simply a golden ticket to Heaven—it's a call to live (and die!) for Him.

Let me close with a few paragraphs from the book. And then please go read it for yourself and let me know what you think!

"It's not enough to feel grateful for the blessed circumstance in which we live. It's not even enough to do a better job remembering and praying for the suffering believers around the world. It's not even enough to identify with the other parts of Christ's Body around the world.

"Ultimately, the problem is one of emphasis and focus. Instead of recognizing, thinking about, remembering, praying about, identifying with and focusing on the suffering of fellow believers around the world, we would do well to shift our focus. Quite simply, we would do well to ask ourselves whether or not we are being obedient to Jesus. He is asking us—He is expecting us—He is commanding us to share Him wherever we go. He is commanding us to do that wherever we are today.

"It is a simple matter of obedience. If He is our Lord, then we will obey Him. If we do not obey Him, then He is not our Lord.

"Perhaps the question should not be: 'Why are others persecuted?' Perhaps the better question is: 'Why are we not?'"

Click here to watch a short video introduction.

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