I made it safely to Christian Light! All my preparation over
the past several months have led me here. Over the past few months I made
homemade jam and granola to help raise money for my trip; I was very surprised
how well it all turned out! With the help of many people I was able to raise
all the money for this trip, so a big thank you to everyone’s support
throughout this entire process. The Lord has truly blessed me by surrounding
myself with loving, compassionate people. Yesterday morning my parents and I
headed to the Atlanta airport bright and early. I did not sleep at all the
night before, having a mixture of excitement and nervousness all night. It was
nice just being with my parents for the last few hours before my plane ride
because I know I’m going to miss just hanging out with them on a daily basis.
Moving back home at the end of my spring semester gave me the ability to hang
out with my family as much as I could before I left. I am the definition of a
homebody and so being away from home for 6 weeks is completely out of my
comfort zone. I know the Lord has great plans for me here and my relationship
with Him will grow as well.
Saying bye to my parents at security was hard, but with the
wonderful technology we have today, it will be no problem communicating with
them throughout my trip. I was alone for the next few hours as I walked through
the airport and road the plane to Haiti. It was a good time for me because I
just simply needed a little time to myself for a little while. On the plane I
spent time with the Lord and just prayed to Him that I will try my hardest to
keep my trust and faith in Him not only here in Haiti, but back home as well. When I stepped outside the airport, I was
greeted by Edmund, who drove me to Christian Light. I was so surprised when I
pulled into the courtyard and heard kids yelling my name. I just couldn’t
believe that some of these children really remembered me and were excited to
see me! I unloaded my things and spent most of the day hanging out downstairs
with some of the children. They were the crazy, funny and sweet kids that I
remembered. We played with a soccer ball, I helped girls clean some clothes,
and I even got my hair braided by some of the girls. It was a fun afternoon
spent with amazing people. By the end of the day I was exhausted and went to
bed a little early, but I slept like a rock. It was a great feeling to wake up
this morning feeling refreshed and ready for the day.
This morning we woke up and went to Port au Prince Fellowship for their early morning service. Today is actually Haitian Mother's Day so happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there! At the beginning of the service the pastor read a tribute to all the women out there. The tribute was not only to the women who gave birth to children, but also to the women who cared for and loved children as well. I am going to post the tribute at the bottom of this blog post so y'all can read it for yourself! The message was great as well, talking about the mother in Matthew 11:21-28 whose daughter had been possessed by demons. She needed Jesus' help and so Jesus tested her to make sure her faith was there. When she passed the test he cured her daughter from being possessed. It was a really cool message because it could relate to anyone. We need to make sure our faith in the Lord is real. That it is not just a front we put on for others, but that we genuinely have faith and trust in our God. I am not as good as explaining it as the pastor was, but I really enjoyed the message he brought to us. Now we are all back at Christian Light and today we are just relaxing and getting ready for the school week! Tomorrow morning I will be going out into the ravine with CLS' Baby Feeders Program. In my next post I will talk in greater detail about that, but what it basically is is where we go out into the ravine and feed the babies who will go to school here one day. It helps to ensure they are not malnourished and was growing well. It is an awesome program and I am so excited to be doing it tomorrow afternoon! I hope to post about twice a week to give y'all an update on my trip!
Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me,
and do not hinder them, for the kingdom
of heaven belongs to such as these."
-Matthew 19:14
A Mother's Day Tribute
To those who gave birth
this year to their first child,
We celebrate with you.
To those who lost a
child this year,
We mourn with you.
To those who are in the
trenches with little ones every day
and wear the badge of food stains,
We appreciate
you.
To those who
experienced loss this year through miscarriage,
failed adoptions, or a child
that ran away,
We grieve with you.
To those who walk the
hard path of infertility,
fraught with pokes, prods, tears, and disappointment,
We walk with you.
To foster moms, mentor
moms, and spiritual moms,
We need you.
To those who have warm
and close relationships with your children,
We celebrate with you.
To those who have
disappointment, heartache,
and distance from your children,
We wait with you.
To those who lost their
mothers this year,
We grieve with you.
To those who were
encouraged to have an abortion,
We cry with you.
To those who lived
through driving tests,
medical tests, and the overall testing of motherhood,
Thank you.
To those who will have
emptier nests in the upcoming year,
We rejoice and grieve with you.
And to those who are
pregnant with new life,
We anticipate with you.
We have in our midst perhaps the greatest warriors in our culture—
women in whom God has placed in the spirit of motherhood.
To all of you, we honor you.
(http://victoriasramblings.com/a-mothers-day-tribute/)
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