Be an Encourager

In the last week God has been speaking to me about my attitude (along with my wonderful fiance, I love how they can point out your weaknesses). It's been easy here to get caught up in the difficulties. To focus, on the hardship, the sufferings, the trials, and the work you don't feel called to do. I've been stuck in a rut. I've been choosing to focus on the things that are hard for me, instead of the the blessings.

Yesterday I started reading through 2 Corinthians and I was so encouraged by Paul's words in chapter 1, verse 7...

 There is a reason for the suffering, for the trials and for the comfort...that way we can share with our brothers and sisters, we can extend grace and mercy and comfort them when they are going through sufferings, because we too, have been through them.

Yesterday, I was praying through what God wanted me to do with this, how to use my sharing of the suffering. I was convicted that I wasn't being a person of encouragement. He wants to use me to encourage His saints. Today as I read in chapter, I came across verse 15....we are called to be the aroma of Christ...

 My prayer today is that Christ will use me to encourage others and that everywhere I go, I will let off the aroma of Christ.

Picking up on my One Thousand Gifts...

55. Sun blisters from a relaxing day at the beach.
56. The smell of the Caribbean waters.
57. God's perfect creation of the ocean, it's simple beauty.
58. The fragrance of the rain.
59. Elaise's sweet smile of thanks everyday.
60. God sending people of encouragement at the times we need them most.
61. Book of letters from my family.

62. Mom's drawing of the farming, making me less homesick.

63. Notes from the children at the orphanage.

He Answers

One of the many things I loved about coming back and forth to Haiti was that I could clearly see God at work in so many ways. It was the bright light in the darkness. I still love having those moments. Today, I saw God work. We have been having protests in Carrefour, because a congressman killed a police office and the people are protesting. Which has made it difficult to travel to Port Au Prince.

We knew there were going to be protests today, but they could happen all week and we needed to get our solar equipment out of customs, so that the team who flew in to install the solar would actually be able to work. We set out this morning at 5:30, hoping to get through before they started protesting. We prayed that we would be able to pass through.

We got to Carrefour and some demonstrations had started, but we were able to drive on some backroads and get through. Town, was so quiet, it was eerie. The tap taps weren't driving, so it was just people walking. After driving through Port Au Prince we arrived at Chatelain an hour early. When they finally opened, we were informed that all of our paperwork to get it out of customs was with one of their employees who was stuck in Carrefour, so we wouldn't be able to get it out today, but they would see what they could do. I prayed...They came up with a solution that one of them would go with us, and try to talk with customs and see if they could find a copy of the paperwork showing we had paid and we could get it out. I continued to pray and 2 hours later, we had our solar panels.

 After a 2.5 hour long shopping experience at the appliance store, we left to go to the airport. We picked up Allen and proceed to drive home. We prayed before driving and were hoping it would rain (maybe they would stop protesting). We had heard that there were protests on Delma, Martesan, and Carrefour. At this point we had to drive through all 3 of those areas. God heard our prayers, it started to rain and the people started clearing and we were able to pass on some backroads.

I am so thankful that the Lord had us in His hands today and that He answered our prayers. We serve a faithful God and I am continually learning that I need to continually rely on Him.

He Called Her Into His Arms

6 weeks ago, I wrote you about this little girl.I wrote about the love I had for her and the opportunity God had given me to connect her with someone that could give her help. A couple weeks ago, I updated and told you how happy she was and how much improvement she had made.

My heart is grieving, because the Lord has called this precious into His arms. She touched my heart and my life...Because of her, my life won't be the same. Even though she did not have a good life here on earth, she had smiles, she had grace,  she touched many lives in the 6 weeks that she was at OLTCH and now, I rejoice for her, that she no longer is in pain, but  she is enjoying her time with our Lord.

Thank you Ella Grace, for touching my life, for bringing me joy and showing my God's grace!! I love you!!

{Friday Favorites} - April 13

1. Time Away - For the last couple weeks, I have had some much needed time away. I have spent quality time with my Fiance and my family; and I did a lot of wedding planning :)  I feel reprieved and refreshed. On Sunday, I leave for Haiti and will be leaving my fiance with my family for 6 weeks!!

2. Family - I seriously have the best family ever! I am so thankful for them!! I have enjoyed spending time with them and some time playing with my nieces and nephews.

3. New Lense - I am in love...Thank you Kelly for the recommendation. This isn't a great picture, but I was testing out with the lens could do...It has a 1.8 ap...awww..I'm in love :) Can't wait to use it in Haiti.

 4. Play time: Who doesn't love it... I love their laughs and giggles, their little voices!!! I am so blessed.

Photo by Kelly Schmidgall

 5. My Fiance: I love him so much! He has been so good to me. I love that he is continually pointing me to Christ!! I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with him!! June 22nd, hurry up!!!

Prayer Update

The Work Continues - http://eepurl.com/kvK7P

{Friday Favorites} - March 16

Well....maybe Saturday favorites :) You could say that we have been quite busy here and I haven't been able to blog or give an update like I would like to!

1. Cross of Glory

Last week a team from Cross of Glory in Minnesota came to visit and help work. Boy did they work hard. They were able to finish a SECOND school building for Maxo's School! Now the kids won't have to be in the horrible concrete building that looks like it could fall at any moment!! The team members were rockstars!! 

2. Les Cayes - Centre Lumiere - I didn't take a picture of the center, however Claudy, Bethany, Lindsay, Steve and I were able to travel to Les Cayes for a day. We visited the Center that our good friend and his wife run :) They teach women how to sew, crochet, cook, clean, etc. so that they are more skilled for a job, all the while teaching biblical principals. I was able to purchase some wonderful items to sell here at the house. 

3. No trip to Les Cayes is complete without the beach and cost...Here are some great pics I got. 

4. Willna - Now named ELLA GRACE: I wanted to give an update on how she is doing. She is growing :) Smiling, etc...she really is one of the sweetest things I have ever seen. Thank you Lauren for taking such good care of here!! Here are some pics of her. (In the one picture she is next to Elijah, Laura's son, he is 4 months :)

5. Pre-Marital Counseling: Ok..I love it :) I love Dave and Cherie and there testimony and their love for each other. What a great example to us! The counseling has been so great and given us so many great things to talk about and discuss :) 

6. VISA!!!!!!! If you don't follow facebook, I have good news. Claudy was given a 5 year visa :) I'm so excited for him!!! I can't wait to travel together :) (I posted this picture because he is so cute in it :)

Hope you have a great Friday!!

Helping the least of these....

I was walking to OLTCH today...I hadn't even had a chance to get the group set, to say hi to my friends or play with the babies...BUT I got a call from Sally, a Nurse Practitioner who works at HHM. She asked me if I knew of a place to bring a little girl, Ella Grace. She proceeded to tell me about Ella Grace. She is 16 months old and weighs 10 lbs. One of her ears has not formed correctly and looks like she has some other disabilities. I told of course I could find her a place, that I would take her or potentially OLTCH would. She told me to come to the clinic and pick her up. Since, I was at OLTCH already, I asked Jasmine if they would take her, and she said absolutely!! I grabbed Rhyan, who will be working at OLTCH soon, and asked her to come with me to get this little girl.

It took us two trips, but the mom was finally there and this beautiful girl was with her. We brought her and the mom with us to the orphanage. In the car, we were talking with the mom, and came to find out that Willna also has a 6 month old sister at home. The mother has been trying to breast feed both girls.

I'm so thankful I'm here. That God has allowed me to be part of all of this. By no means did I do something special, I just was in the right place at the right time and had faith that God would provide a place for this little girl. I'm thankful that I was able to make the connections happen. That's why I'm here....to help the least of these, to help those that have no hope...to bring hope to the hopeless. Thank you Lord, for providing an opportunity to be your hands and your feet.