Week TWO in the Mountains, Day One…Ryna bought a Machete…

Week TWO in the Mountains, Day One…Ryna bought a Machete… Day one of week two…we passed a good and restful weekend. It was a bit tiring as many people come for little chats (need something), gets a bit exhausting, but try to embrace each one in remembering patience and love. Got to cook corn with Jean Kelly in the woods yesterday…Ryna and I said, if ever a time that we were going to get cholera it would have been yesterday because Jean Kelly was cooking on the ground and dusting the dirt and ashes off the corn with his hand..hahah, guess you let go. A couple of nights ago, woke up feeling sick and feeling like vomiting might be in my cards. Prayed my heart out…Lord, if I get sick this week is going to be brutal. Prayer is a beautiful thing here. You become completely dependant on the Father. In the states it is so easy to loose sight of praying and a deep need to ask God for prayers because everything is at the tip of your fingers or easier to orchestra for yourself. Haiti, if you re hungry, without a garden, and many children, you pray. If you are sick, without a doctor and medicine, you pray. There is a scripture in Ecclesiastes 4:1 Again I observed all the oppression that takes place in our world. I saw the tears of the oppressed, with NO ONE to comfort them. The oppressors have great power, and the victims are helpless. I see the oppressors and they have great, great power and then I see the children trying to fight with what little energy, knowing, of strength they have. I see tears of children that are oppressed by hunger in Haiti, oppressed by the poverty of his/her situation, oppressed by an elder, oppressed by slavery, oppressed by lack of education, oppressed by not have the opportunity to worship in a church, oppressed. Feel like God is giving me a heart that wants to go deeper and deeper with children that are this verse…go deeper in prayer and deeper in asking for the impossible and opportunity to be a comforter to these children. To be someone to be a comforter to the oppressed children of this world, but more than that demonstrate and have the opportunity to show and share God’s love with the prayer that God’s love can begin to break a piece of that oppression and expose beauty and opportunity to a child. Week two begins and so grateful for the workers. We started workshops this afternoon, have 3 workshops and was expecting them to have errors, teachers not show up…but once again the Lord proved me wrong, it went great. No errors, teachers were on time, and exceeded all my expectations. Love when God shuts you up…felt shut up today. Loved it. God continues to provide the right people and supplies and things to demonstrate to the children. We are tired, but holding strong. Today was so neat. We broke out the drums with the children. First time all week, it is another level with this group. You could see that everyone was tired, the counselors, us, the kids. The drums came out and it was another level. End of the day, it didn’t even matter. The girls and some boys are in the middle, running around in a circle with the maracas and singing, “Jericho, walls crushed, Jericho, Jericho.” The boys are sitting on the outside banging the drums with such rhythm, you have to think they are born with that kind of rhythm because it appears to come so naturally. About 10 minutes into the drumming, it almost seems like the beat and the energy is dying off, but it picks up in a way that is hard to explain. The drums get louder, the children laugh harder, the feet move faster, the voices get louder, and the energy increase, it is so contagious that it makes you laugh harder and move faster. Clearly it is the spirit moving thought the drums. I think of the verse in Jeremiah where it talks about running with the horses. Feel like the drums are the sound of the horses storming through the fields. Love it, love the energy, and love what the music does for the children’s hearts and joy. So hard to explain, but my favorite part of the week so far. Love when God breaks through and how he breaks through. Ryna and I are fighting off the rats…haha. Today I come home to a machete on the kitchen table, with a post it on it that said, “Dear rats, the battle is on.” Hhahah, laughed so hard…that is right Ryna, the battle is on. Going to the machete…grateful for all the hands that the Lord has equipped for this trip. He has truly ordained every piece of this trip. A blessing to serve in Haiti, serve our God, and be open to how he wants to move. Love you all, continue to pray for people that are coming in next week and the week after. Pray for the children and the camp, pray that God would continue to move and receive all the glory. Lvoe you all! Thank you for walking in this with us.

Week 3 is Done and the Battle with the Rats is Still ON….

For all the moments that seem to suck the life out of you…like rats or backed up drains…there are so many precious moments that capture you heart in this place. Tonight I headed down to play soccer, really feeling tired and just thinking I was going to deliver the ball and sit and watch. Got there and it was the little boys. We had three on three…all kicked off our flip-flops and played. Love those moments, taking in them having fun, laughing, and heckling each other. I love observing the culture, taking in the language, seeing Haiti for its sweet beauty and richness. Love thinking about how we are on this small island just embracing a game of soccer together. It is those sweet moments that get your through the moments that sometimes make it so challenging that you feel like throwing in the towel. Week 3 is done. Good week, ended it with a party for Jesus and a piñata. Hahah, always makes me laugh how the children love it with great great smiles. We got blessed with a free gift, kind of crazy. The pastors were really hoping to send children home with bibles. As I was budgeting it appears that we had enough for some, but not all three weeks. The pastor called a friend in the city and he said he had 45 he could give to us for FREE. I laughed because I have never been given anything free here, crazy. We got to hand out bibles yesterday to the children, which was pretty neat in itself, onto of it God giving us 45 free bibles. Next week we are going to try camp and workshops in the afternoon. We found three teachers that are going to come teach the children certain trades that are in the community. Could totally blow up in our faces and not work, but excited to give it a chance and see what happens. Some of our youth workers have done all the leg work for the afternoon, so it has been fun to turn more leadership over to them and have faith in them budgeting for it, talking with the teachers, finding the equipment, and teaching it with the teachers. You never know til you try…I have learned to let more go in Haiti. Fully knowing that it could all fall apart, but have gotten to a sweet place in life that I have learned to fully let it go. There is a verse in the bible that says, “Who can know enough to be his counselor?” Love it for so many reasons, but mostly because just challenges to always know and remember that God is all knowing, all powerful and all I can do is be faithful and know that he will show up in his timing. Today we got to kick it in the woods and cook corn with the boys. Love those times. Jean Kelly is 11. He makes the fire and cooks away. Bare footed and hands in the fire, makes you almost laugh. He talks away and cooks. Just fun to spend time with the kids when they are in their element and embracing Haiti. Thankful for today. Thankful for relationships that we have in Haiti. Thankful that we have a God that is all knowing and always present. Thankful for a God that can bring beauty in the midst of suffering and hardship. Thankful for a God that knows all of us by name. Love you all. Thanks for following us. Such a BLESSING to have you all here with us. Will post pictures when we have more internet in two weeks…until then….love you.