Love from Haiti

7:00 am.
I'd woken up at 4:30 to serve breakfast, tried to go back to sleep, only to realize my body had switched to Haiti time. I sat outside and read, I journaled, I listened to the morning sounds of Haiti, something Norma talks about often. You hear the cows, the roosters, the shuffling of feet heading out for the day, but above it all you hear the voices of the women singing as they begin their daily tasks.

today there was a stillness, a peace about the country that you could just feel. The view from JoyHouse is always breathtaking, i look out at the beauty and think, no wonder the Lord is trying to so hard to win the hearts of these people. This place is beautiful.

It has been such an unbelievable week, I can't even begin to explain. Kristen and I worked with Daniel almost every morning on "the Daniel Project." Spending 2-3 hours walking around the village to see babies and mommies. So, basically I got to hold babies all morning and love on them....God knows me all too well! I loved it! It really is interesting to see more of the village life this time, last time we were very much at the compound doing construction except for the 2 trips to Grand Savone and Carefour.

On monday we started our women's ministry. WOW. It has been such a blessing to see how the Lord is working in these women. We wanted the main theme to be a Titus 2 approach, so on Monday they are supposed to bring a younger woman to the lesson, I can't wait to see who comes! On Wednesday we decided to teach on purity. This was really difficult and scary at first because in Haiti it is extremely commonplace for men and women to live together and have multiple kids without being married. Even people within the church. It is something Norma has struggled with for awhile and we really felt it weighing heavy on our hearts to disucuss. We have 12 women, and 3 of them are the cooks we work with every day. One of our cooks, Maggie, was the first to open up about her situation, something she has never opened up about before. Many women followed suit after, and before we knew it, we had the names of their men and we sent the pastor from their church, and the pastor from Arkansas to go talk to these men. They only made it to 2 on Friday but the first man was saved! They are now planning on getting married in the next few months. Praise the LORD ya'll this is such a breakthrough!!!

Other than that we worked with the Arkansas team to do evangilism throughout the week, on Thursday there was a revival, and on Weds we registered kids for Living Hope's kids club in a week. I'm excited to see members of our church family a week from today, but am trying not to get too excited because that means my time in Haiti will be almost over for this trip! Today Norma and Joe took the team to the airport so its been me, Kristen...and the Haitians! It's sad without the team here and we don't get another until Monday, but talking with the Haitians is one of my favorite things to do. Today I sat with Pastor Eddie, or as I call him now, "Brotha Eddie" (always followed by a fist pound). It is so encouraging to hear the hearts of the Christians here. He opened up to me about the earthquake, how he and his wife and 2 daughters were all inside their house when it came. He said all he did was say "Lord, let your blood cover this house" in continual prayer throughout. He never feared it because he knew that God was his savior. Now, when people ask why his house stood, He can share with them the gospel. Amazing.

Something funny that just happened right now....we have something called "city power" at JoyHouse. It tends to go off randomly and then we switch to generator power. Well, Charlie is the only one who can do this, so right now I'm sitting in the dark, hearing "chalie!" (yes no r...) being echoed throughout the house by the Haitians. It's moments like these I've grown to love.

It's been incredible how many children I have seen from our last trip, and how many remember me! It's also hilarious how Kristen and I couldn't have 2 more confusing names. They pronounce both the same, basically a mixture of the 2, so we both just respond...to....everything.

Again, I appreciate all your prayer so much, I have been struggling lately with feeling a little homesick, so satan just needs to leave me alone. I'm sick of him!

Here are some things you can be praying for:
the women in our women's ministry- that the Lord can work on the hearts of the men in their life so that they can no longer be in sin, also that they can learn what it means to train younger women in the ways of the Word
for the kids at the kids club in a week- that the Lord can be opening their hearts and minds, calming their spirits (and bodies for that matter) so that they can hear the gospel
th kids cub in general- there are SO many kids that are coming, and again, satan was trying to get at me the other day when i nearly got mobbed for stickers by them! Pray for order, patience and for the Lord to provide the necessary means to get those children to hear the gospel
for me- i need much strength and clarity this week. clarity for a lot of situations I've been praying over, and clarity of what should be taught to the women this week. I also really need prayer for patience...the Lord is revealing to me more than ever how much I struggle with patience and pride...ridiculous things that I can't believe it took me being in Haiti to see. Pray that I can be focused on whatis going on here, right now, and not anything else.
I think that's it for now! I really am so thankful for you all and just want you to know how much your prayer is blessing me and the people of Haiti. I love these people more and more every day, I can't help but wonder what else God is going to reveal to me in the next 2 weeks...

with many thanks and love through His name,
Cristine

everything's right.

Well, that was it.

that was the moment. the moment where everything is right.

this morning i prayed the Lord would give me courage, keep me focused, and keep Satan away. Already I've been seeing how he has been trying to get a foothold in this Haiti trip by distracting me and making me think I am not supposed to be going. Point blank, today I just.....needed encouragement.

I went to have coffee with one of my small group girls, and about an hour into it, came face-to-face with the only thing that has ever truly been a surprise to me. There were Steve, Trav, Zach and Ryan. Here. In the Woodlands? I sat in shock for awhile. Wondering to myself

"this isn't right. i'm obviously dreaming."

And for the next 5 hours, every worry, fear, anxiety, and to-do list i had for the day went straight out the window. Instead happiness, joy, and encouragement coupled with lots of laughter took over and kept me wishing this night would never end. You see, when I look at the moments in life where I've been happiest, its never been by gifts, or awards. Its when someone has done something that made me feel Jesus loving me through them. This was that moment.

And I cried. Finally. After a long while of being completely incapable of showing emotion, i wept. While all 6 of these precious brothers and sisters of mine laid their hands on me and murmured prayers of encouragement and support, I realized this was the moment I had hoped and prayed for since high school. The day I'd know, I made it through the storm...nothing that had happened before Christ mattered, and I DID have beautiful, incredible god-fearing friends for the first time in my life.

As they left, I ran to my mom and did what I knew best. I just wept. Tears of sadness, that this would be one of the last times we'd all be together, that times were changing and I felt like there would never be enough time in the world for me to spend with these people. But also tears of joy. Joy that my friends PURSUE Christ daily, that they encourage me. That they will never be perfect, and those moments bring lots of laughter for sure, but that they are people who show me Christ's love. Joy that I was able to know them, grow with them, laugh with them. Some for 4 years, some for 4 months.

So Jesus, thank you. Thank you for answering my prayers so vividly and purposefully. Thank you for the encouragement that I didn't even know I needed it from. thank you for surrounding me with people who love you. Thank you for every blessed moment in my life. Thank you for the hard times, the times when I never thought I'd make it out, they've made this moment tenfold sweeter.

I leave for the airport in t-minus 27.5 hours. And tomorrow is a day of celebration! My baby sister graduates high school and I couldn't be more proud. I can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for her at A&M.

With prayers abounding in thanksgiving,
ckm