Survived the first half of Mile 21

Half birthdays. This is a concept that I learned about while being in college. There is really no point to it, just another reason to get together and celebrate with people you love. Your half birthday is exactly what is says, the midway point between your birthdays. When you can actually add that I am __ and a half years old. For example your birthday is July 4th your half birthday is January 4th. And today just happens to be my half birthday. Don't worry, this post is not to make you feel bad that you didn't wish me a "Happy Half-Birthday" or send me cards, flowers or presents, but just to express what has been going through my mind the past few days. 


If you have been following me from the beginning then you know that this blog was started with the thought to share what life has been like at"Mile Marker 21" (if you haven't then I suggest you go and read my blogs because they are quite good :) but at least the first one). I have slacked off the last little bit, but I will get better. But back to my point. Today is my half birthday, and let's just say it is slightly strange to think about that tomorrow I can technically say I am almost 22. But I don't want to rush things, so let's stick with 21. I survived, with a few bumps and scrapes, but I am here to tell about it. The last 6 months have been a whirlwind of a time, and I wouldn't have it any other way.


I have officially finished my first semester of my senior year! I have one semester left, until I get that coveted alumni status. What the heck?! This should not be happening! I am definitely not old enough to be graduating college. When did this happen? I am sure my parents are saying the same thing, but it is just as alarming to me as my family. Sometimes I am sure excited about the next step, and sometimes I am completely overwhelmed at what a difference life is going to be like after college. Some friends and I have been discussing what he next few months will look like, we have five months with the people we have called family and shared life with for what seems like a lifetime. How are we going to spend it? How do we deal with such a great transition? Senior year of high school you pretty much knew what the next few years would hold, and you each had a very large common ground...your hometown...to reconnect when it has been awhile. After college you don't have that. So how do you enjoy the bittersweetness of the end, and the beginning?  


Over the last couple weeks, I have been looking back at the past 6 months and what the Lord has done in my life. I cannot even put into words the heaps and heaps of blessings he has poured out on me. I have been surrounded with a body of believers in community that has made the entire difference in my college career, with out these women there is no way I would be sane right now. He has put me in a new place with new friends that have encouraged me in new ways. It is beautiful. He has come over me like the waves and drowned me in his love and grace. I feel like a whole new person. I am slowly finding out who I am and who I am in Christ. It is an amazing feeling to know who you are and that you are defined by the great King of Kings. As much as I hate the thought of growing up, growing up in Christ is be far the coolest experience in the world. I am happy with where life has taking me thus far, and am anxious excited about what happens next. 


To update on what has happened this semester since I haven't posted in awhile here are some highlights:
-I live in a wonderful house with 6 beautiful girls next door to a house with 6 great Godly men and the best friends a girl could have
-I have spoken several times about Haiti and what the Lord has done in small crowds as a handful of women in WMU (which I am the most proud of ..click here to find out why) and as big as Sunday morning Big Church and have had the Lord do great things because of it in me and others. 
-I roadtripped to Gainesville with 35 of my friends and then to Tuscaloosa staying with a Crimson tide couple for some Tennessee football. And had the greatest time!
-Went to my first hockey game! Go Ice Bears!
-Had more Christmas parties then a person could dream of having and attending
-Ran a full 5k (Running with Hope) without stopping or walking...and after 12 years of having knee problems, pain, and missing out on fun activities this was the biggest personal accomplishment in the world! then I did it again (Jingle Bell Run) :)
-Dressed as Pocahontas for Halloween only to gain to new nick name "Runs with Squirrels" because apparently I look Native American or something
-Traveled to Huntsville for the memorial of Melissa
-Completed #48 on my list. "Stay up all night" Did it three times in one week.....finals week=no bueno
-Cooked lots of good food, laughed a lot, cried some, grew in heaps, and felt the love of many


Thanks for reading, and can't wait to share again soon about the next marker in Mile 21!

#21 Go to a concert

So, I have kind of slacked and this happened a few weeks ago, but I get mark it off none the less! A couple weeks ago a good friend of mine Nicole and I went to the hippest little joint in Knoxville, The Square Room. The Square Room is a small concert room located in the back of Cafe 4 in Market Square. I have always wanted to go and check it out, but never found the right opportunity. Then when I got back to the states, my brother informed me that the one and only Elliott Yamin was going to be there! I slightly freaked out, and knew I had to go! For those of you not up to date on the entertainment world or are too up to date, Elliott Yamin was in the top 3 on season 5 of American Idol. You may remember the hit "Wait for You" a couple years ago, and that was him. He is brilliant and you should check him out if you don't know his music. I am a huge fan, and could not contain my excitement all week! We got all dressed up, and headed downtown! We got there early and got a perfect table up front! A fella by the name of Mikey Wax opened for him. We had not heard of him before, but he was excellent! A very different but cool sound! Definitely check him out! Because of the small room and number of people there we got to hang out with them after the show! They were really cool! It was a perfect night, ending with a trip to Cookout (of course!). 

Nicole and I waiting for it to start!

 Mikey Wax! Yes he is playing two instruments while singing!

Elliott Yamin and band!

:)

Us with the ever cool Mikey Wax

I was unbelievably excited!

Sweet Melissa

If you have been reading my posts then you may recall my post the mentioned a precious baby girl Melissa. I have mentioned her a few times, but for those of you that are new I will enlighten you.

When I was in Haiti the first time back on March I met the sweetest baby, Melissa. She was 13 months old at the time but looked as if she was 8 or 9 months. She has down syndrome and a severe heart defect, but she is a diva through and through. I instantly fell in love with this child. We weren't around her too much, but I was excited for the chance to see her again as I arrived back in Haiti in July. She was being adopted my a sweet family in Alabama, Jack and Dr. Jenny Chapman. Here is a breif account of Melissa's story.

 My favorite picture of her! I took this one of the first few days back in Haiti. Such joy

Melissa was found malnourished and sick, by a team of doctors back last fall. Jenny was on that team. Melissa desperately needed heart surgery, and her birth mother lover her so much and knew she could not provide the care for her she needed and let her be taken in. When nothing was working out Jenny talked with her husband (who had never been to Haiti) about adopting her. So the process began.

Not long after she was found

Jenny would make several trips to come spend time with her daughter and work on the legal part of the adoption. If you are unfamiliar let me just say it is crazy insane to adopt from Haiti! While Jenny was in the states Melissa stayed with the crazy cool and amazing lady, Wilna, and the ever charming and hilarious Stanley!  Not only is Wilna a two time Olympian, translator, legal fandangler, she is an outstanding caretaker and mom for Melissa. This couple have been with Melissa since the beginning and was apart of the adoption process with the Chapman's.

Wilna and Melissa

 Melissa's two moms! Wilna and Jenny!

 While I was in Haiti we stayed at the permanent missionary couple Greg and Michelle's house. They were stateside for most of the time I was there and Wilna and Stanley were staying there, which meant Melissa was! I was able to spend everyday I was in Haiti with this precious child. From the first day back, and Wilna put her back into my arms my love continued to grow for her. You probably have heard me say that I never knew how much you could love someone until I went back to Haiti. She was one of the prime examples of this. I almost hated sharing her with the other interns (haha). She was so beautiful and full of joy. She would make the craziest faces at you, and just laugh. She is by the biggest diva. She knew just how to milk it. But we saw through that and helped her get stronger and stronger. The interns even had a spa day with her, doing her hair and nails. I love her so much. 

Just hanging out with Lissa

As I mentioned earlier Jenny made several trips down, but Jack didn't have the opportunity too until the end of July. I had the unbelievable opportunity to meet both Jenny and Jack and witness the most beautiful interaction of father meets daughter. Wilna and I went to the airport with Melissa to pick up Jenny and Jack. this would be Jack's first time to Haiti and meeting his daughter. I have never seen anything more beautiful than when Jack met Melissa for the first time.  Their time in Haiti was brief but full or productivity. Jack met Melissa, Jenny got to hang with her daughter, and more adoption stuff went down. Getting so close tot he goal of Melissa in Alabama!

Family pictures taken right before they left for the states

Melissa had a severe heart defect that was incurable, surgery would only help her live a little longer, but Jenny didn't expect past 15 medically. And Jack was a firm believer that the heart problem would just go away. Because of her heart problem her oxygen levels stayed lower than most children. So when it dropped significantly it was time to get it checked. A few days ago she was taken to a hospital and put on oxygen. The Chadasha team frantically searched for a doctor in the states that would preform surgery. All the while her O2 would get better and better. Yesterday morning it was looking so good she was going to go home, but they kept her on oxygen just in case. Then as if an angel picked her up as she was sleeping her little heart gave out.  She went on to be with her heavenly Father yesterday afternoon.

Melissa touched many peoples life. Every team that got to meet her was instantly in love and praying for her adoption to speed up. She brightened everyone's day. Though her earthly life was cut short at 18 months, her purpose on this earth was filled to its potential and she got to go home. Her little lungs breathe more deeply than ever before. It is extremely hard to be here and not there. I loved that little girl more than anything. I know that she is with the Lord and that she is in a more glorious place.

Please remember to keep the families in your prayers:

-her birth mother, she hadn't seen Melissa in a long time. The team took some pictures to her today so she could see her beautiful baby

-Wilna and Stanley, they have been with Melissa for so long and lost a child yesterday

-FeFe Melissa's nanny that helped out Wilna and Stanley

-Jack and Jenny Chapman and their kids, they lost their child, there are no words

-Greg and Michelle, John, and Sara, the missionaries there in PAP

-Chelsey, my dear dear friend who is there as an "intern" for the semester. She is a nurse and was there with Melissa as she passed

-all the wonderful people who were touched by this precious girl

the surreal life: from haiti to america

At this moment a month ago, I was attempting to board a plane to Nashville from Miami. I cannot fathom that I have been back to Tennessee for one whole month. It feels like eons ago, and yesterday all at the same time. The past month has been a blur. I spent the first few days back at home in Camden doing the small town thing, county fair and all. Then I head back to Rocky Top to get ready for school. I have gone through a lot of emotions over the last month. 

First it was so surreal it seemed as if it was a dream. It didn't click that I was back, and to some extent I still don't think it has. I got back to Knoxville late one Friday night and the next morning we were to help the freshmen move in (be reminded I had not been in the country a week yet). I was excited, but had Haiti heavy on my heart. When it began time to help I just stood there and watched. I almost burst into tears of anger as I saw the heaps of money and wasteful items that people were bringing in. I could not understand why people were so wasteful, when there are starving and dieing people in the world. They didn't need half the stuff they had. The longer I stood there the more upset I got, so I just walked away. In the midst of my processing I realized that this was their/our culture. Just like I had spent all that time in Haiti soaking up culture and learning about the people, this is part of the American culture. They know no different than the Haitians do pertaining to how they were raised. I have no right to get angry because I once was the same way, and probably will have those tendencies sometimes. This was a big realization that helped the process begin. I finally was able to jump in and help. As I help take my first load I round the corner to see a dear friend Katherine standing at the elevators. As soon as I saw her I immediately had to control myself because the tears began to well up. Katherine had spent the first half of the summer in Haiti as well being a nurse with the Nehemiah Projects. She was the only person I knew that was in arms length that knew exactly what was going on. We had a freakout together and then laughed because we both knew what almost happened. 

The days following were filled with "yay your back"'s and "oh my goodness how was it"'s, getting lots of hugs and beginning my last year at school. I felt very loved, but it was like a sucker punch every time I was asked. Because I would have to tell about it knowing that no matter what I say they won't understand, and as much as they care the extent of their caring only goes so far. It is almost like you are the only one in the world caring the weight. But the Lord is the great comforter and provider. He has given me great people that just love to love, and Haiti friends that understand immediately when I am having a "Haiti Day" as we lovingly refer to it as. It is hard being somewhere that your heart isn't. Especially when great joy and sorrow are happening and you have to hear about it instead of living it. An amazing couple of friends are planning a wedding there now, that will take place while I am here. And a death of a precious baby girl that I love dearly ( next blog will be about her...she deserves her own).

Purpose. This word/concept camp up many times between the interns and since I have been back. In Haiti we were looking for what our purpose was in being there, and what the Lord wanted to teach us. That then evolved into what our purpose was in America, because most of us didn't want to go back. Then as senior year is starting my group of friends it has been brought up what is the purpose for our last year, and what amazing things is the Lord going to do. I think for my life the last two go hand in hand. My heart desperately wants to be in Haiti, but I know that this time I am to be in Knoxville, Tennessee. Have I discovered my purpose? No, but that will come with time. Trust and patience in the Lord is what I am leaning on now. He will never falter and means no harm in his plans. It is a beautiful and sweet plan. Even if I don't see it til the end. I know that in Him it will be for all his glory and breathtaking.

#25 Take a spontaneous road trip

I finally can mark off my first accomplishment on my 101 list! #25 on my list says Take a spontaneous road trip. And that by golly is what I did. Some background for those of you who haven't known me long. I have a dear friend named Storm. We have been best friends since forever, and we never get to see each other. She lives in Murfreesboro and I live in Knoxville, and we stay crazy busy. Last week when we met in Lebanon on my way to Knoxville from home was the first time we had seen each other in over a year and a half!! Crazy! So back to the story. Yesterday afternoon Storm texted me saying her and her mom were going to the Wilson County Fair that night and if I wanted to go? It was last minute and kind of a drive (2 hours), but she thought she would ask. As I sat there reading it I began to laugh, one of my roommates asked what happened and I said I guess I am going to Wilson County!

I hopped in the shower, got ready, went to the ATM, gas station, and was on my way to the county fair! Wilson County Fair is held in Lebanon, TN which is 2 hours from Knoxville. I turned up the tunes and roadtripped it to Lebanon! I got there just a few minutes before they did to hop in the car and head to the fair. Let me just say that there are a bajillion people that go to this fair. No joke there were probably more cars in the parking fields than in my entire county back home! I had never been to a fair that large. It was just like in the movies! So much fun! We walked around and saw the animals, ate a funnel cake, saw the rides lit up at night and rode a Ferris Wheel! Best decision I have made in a while! I am so glad that I went! 

 Welcome to the Wilson County Fair!

 This mama did not like me! She tried to stab me several times

 Safari Greg's Boa!

 Excited about the Ferris Wheel!

 View from the top!

Hillary

I have been home for a few days now and still not quite adjusted to Tennessee living. It is almost like reverse culture shock. Because this was not a week long mission trip, we had to change our thinking to visitor to "We live here now". And now being back in Tennessee we have to do it all over again. As crazy as this will sound a big adjustment is air conditioner. I have turned into a wuss and get chilled easily! Who knew?! As much as I love and miss Haiti the Lord has a wonderful plan for the time here in Tennessee.

But today Haiti is not as prevalent on my mind.  Today is a very heartbreaking day. As most of you from home know, and those reading my blogs you know that I lost my beloved Gran last July. While grieving over her, I lost one of my very best friends through a freak accident. A year ago today I was checking Facebook and in my news feed I kept seeing pictures and comments that seemed odd. And after viewing her page it hit me. You see she lived in Kentucky and none of her friends new me. I called our roommate who had just been told as well. Our beloved Hillary  had been hit by a train while making a delivery for work. At this crossing there were no crossing bars to keep you from crossing and letting you know about a train. And the train hit her truck and she died instantly.

The summer of 2009 I had the most amazing opportunity to live in Vail, Colorado as a summer missionary with CRU (formerly Campus Crusades for Christ). Here 40 college kids from across the country came and lived together for 2.5 months serving the Lord and living in community. Molly, Grace, Hillary, and I were roommates, and I have never been around greater women then them. They are beautiful and strong women of God, and were all unique but we fit together so well. We became best friends from that summer, and stay in touch often. We spent hours talking, encouraging, playing and praying together. 

 First roomie picture the 2nd night in Vail

 Hillary, Me, Molly, Grace

Hillary was a great encourager. We would spend hours just us hanging in our apartment, talking about life and watching movies. Almost always August Rush. We both have a great love for the military and would talk a lot about our families and her boyfriend Nick who is in the military. She was extremely wise and knew how to use it. She was so loving and hilarious! Her laughter was contagious and so true. Most of all she loved her Almighty and strived to follow him. 

 Hill and I at my birthday party they through

 If any picture could describe us this would be it

This was a very hard time in my life, but the Lord is the ultimate comforter and through Him I can now celebrate this beautiful life. His plan is sovereign, and even if I may never know the plan for Hillary's life and death, she impacted mine more than she probably realized.  

 Love these women

 LumberJack/LumberJill banquet

 We had so much fun dressing up

I miss her so much it hurts. I think about her constantly, and a day never goes by that she is not on my mind. Prayers go up to her family and Nick everyday as they continue to find comfort. I know with out a shadow of doubt that we will see each other again, and run to a everlasting embrace and sing for the Lord hand in hand through eternity.

 One of my favorites. We are on top of Vail Mountain at sunset

Hillary Morgan Hadley

January 17, 1989-August 11, 2010

May your body rest in peace and your soul sing for the Lord

Hill  not only left this world early but left us a day early in Vail to attend a wedding, and before she got in the van to leave we huddled one last time to pray and love on each other and someone captured this amazing moment. The last time we would all be together.

Because she left a day early she missed the final banquet. And we were all surprised they she made a video with our tech guy for us that was a goodbye to us. Who knew how important this would be. 

View it here

oh just changing the world...what are you doing?

Chadasha's Magnificent World Changing Interns 5. This is what the wonderful Dr. Jenny Chapman referred to us as. As I sit in the floor of a room full of sleeping interns on the eve of my departure from the land I love, I am reflecting on my time here in Haiti. Magnificent and World Changing are some really big words. Have I really been magnificent? Can I really change the world? The answer is no. I am not and I can't. But the Lord can. And He can use me to be the temple in which His spirit comes and changes the world, even if it is one orphan at a time. The past 33 days have been a whirlwind and I have often thought about what is it I am going to say when I get back to the states when people ask "How was your trip?" "What did you do?" "Do you wanna go back?" etc. How can I even put into words what has happened here? And the joy that encompasses my heart to want to come back and never leave? The easy answers are "Great", "Held babies", and "YES!". But is that really what has happened here? Can I really bring all of what this is to a simple phrase? This has been a life altering trip, and one that will continue to bless and teach me in the upcoming days. To some when I say I loved on some children and held some babies will be giddy at the thought of little babies, and most will not understand how going to a war zoned, disease ridden, third world country to play with kids really did anything for the human race and the Kingdom. But it was so much more.To each child that I held, kissed, played with, I was showing the Love of Christ and made a difference in that one's life. Like the infamous seashell story that we interns have referred to a lot these past few weeks. When you look at the big picture you can get slightly overwhelmed (I sure did), but by taking what is in front of you and looking at them as your purpose, you can know you made in a difference that one's life.

I never knew I could love someone as much as I love the people and the children I have encountered while living here. My heart skips a beat every time I stand outside the gate of the orphanage waiting to go inside, and then overflowing with love and peace as I see the (now) smiling faces of children that I know their names! It hit me like a ton of bricks when I noticed that the kids at the orphanage and the children's home knew my name without asking. And would yell for me, just say my name because they could, and tell me they love me. With so many people here and there I never even expected that to happen. And it isn't like we said our name to them every time we came. But they knew it none the less. And my cup began to overflow. These were blessings the Lord was giving me for the sacrifice. But by all means I am not saying this trip was all warm fuzzies the whole time. There were plenty of ups and downs, and at some points more downs than ups. 

One of my favorite quotes from the trip was "Opposition just means you are going in the right direction". And this is so true. You have to be doing a whole lot of good for the devil to make a whole lot of bad to get things off track. Ministry is not easy. As much as we would like to think so because the Lord is on our side the devil fights even harder to mess things up. While we are here the interns have been reading Radical by David Platt, and in a part of it it talks about that Jesus was hated, and persecuted throughout his entire ministry. Why should be expect to have a smooth sailing life if we are supposed to be like Him? We shouldn't. We should know that the evil will come and we will prevail over all through the Almighty Father.

One of the hardest things I am dealing with is going back to the states. Leaving the children was terrible today, and this beautiful country just breaks my heart. But actually going back to America is where all the problems start. I don't want to. I get angry and sad all at once when I think about the billions of dollars spent on nothingness when the world is hungry and the millions of Christians that are sitting there. In Haiti there is no lukewarm Christians, and that is a beautiful sight. But I know and am reminded daily of the purpose and plan that the Lord has for my time in the states. I know that I will be in Haiti again, and see these children again. But right now starting at 5:50pm when I land in Miami, there is some extravagant and beautiful plan the Lord has for my time Camden, Knoxville, UT or wherever I may be. I am excited to see how He will use me and how He will teach me.

Orevwa Ayiti, mwen manke ou deja, men Etazini yo bezwen m 'konnen epi mwen pral wè nou ankò.

Children of God

So today we (the interns) split up and went to Guerline’s and the Children’s Home. It kind of hit us that we only have a week left and still have a lot to do. Stephanie and I went to the Children’s Home. I haven’t seen those kiddos in a while so I was glad to hang out with them. The main reason we needed to go to there is to kick into gear their daily schedule. They have one but it has been kind of laxed, so we along with Ashton went to make sure they were following the schedule. The kids were so great. We got there during play time so we took some things and went outside to play with them. We jumped rope, played soccer, and threw the tennis ball Velcro catcher game. It was hot and they were sweating, but their smiles told you that they were loving it. Next was get ready for lunch. These kids are so great, they all went back inside and washed their face and hands and sat at the table to pray and eat. We had legumes, which is the grandest Haitian dish! We were stoked! After lunch was nap time. Now normally it is just chill time and they kind of hang out, but Michelle wants everyone to lie down and sleep. That took awhile to get everyone asleep, but we managed. Shamma played his guitar and sang to help soothe them.  When they awoke it was art time! We decided that today we would work on coloring in the lines (which surprisingly for their age they are amazing at), and drawing their own picture to color. They love art time, and do so well. It is so adorable to watch them all sit at the table concentrating on their coloring and drawing. After that Daniel came to pick us up and we went to get the group at Guerline’s then headed home.

We got right outside the gate to the house when Kessy gets a call from Guerline saying “a kid fell and hit his head and its broke” (gotta love the Haitian way with words). I freaked out for a second. Those are my babies! I couldn’t imagine any of them hurt or broke! So we got to the house and Kessy called to get more details on what happened. It seemed like a big deal so we went. Michelle wanted two of us to go so we could get 2 of the children from the children’s home too. A nurse at the hospital (MediShare) is doing all the blood work for the Children’s Home for free. This will make the paperwork a little easier and cheaper for the families wanting to adopt the kids (all the kids there are up for adoption). So we got Junior (a baby boy) and Bethsieda (a three year old girl) to go get blood work and off to get the child ar Guerlines. We get there and it is Sonelson, one of my buddies. He is about 10 and the coolest dude. He is very chill and together and has the greatest smile in the world! He had slipped on some water in the house while playing and busted his head pretty good. He looked a little rough, but he was very calm. Guerline had bandaged it up so we checked it and decided he definitely needed to get stitches so off we go.  He sat in between Stephanie and I and held my hand the entire time. We finally get there and Sara takes him to get stitches and Steph and I go with Michelle to take the other two to get blood work done. We go into the pediatric portion, and the first thing we see is a tiny tiny tiny baby. He was born at 31 weeks!! So little! Then we saw a set of twins born at 32 weeks! All doing good, but in the NICU. Also there was a young girl, teens maybe, who was in a car crash and is stable but no brain activity. Prayers for her. The nurse sees us and tells Steph and I of the “abandoned children” room at then end of the hall if we want to play with some orphans…don’t have to ask us twice. So we mozy on down while Michelle is getting things ready for the blood work. There are three. Two of them, Dierry and Frans, have cerebral palsy. That is who Steph and I got to hold and “snuggle with” and the nurses called it. There was a third but we didn’t get to hold her. She has a condition called hydrocephalus, which basically from what the nurses told me is where you have a enlarged head, and a normal body. Mentally the child is normal, but her head is about the size of a basketball with a normal 8 month old body. These babies were so precious and beautiful. But hearing them called “abandoned” instead of “orphaned” completely broke my heart. I just stood there holding Frans and leaning over the bed with the baby as she grasped tightly too my fingers with a whirlwind of thoughts. These babies can’t go to an orphanage because they need medical care, and no one is going to adopt them with the conditions. They are just going to be, for as long as they can. And there are babies all over just like this, but maybe not in a great hospital with loving people, but in a tent or shack somewhere disowned by their parents because they are different. After the babies got their blood drawn we met Sara and Sonelson outside. Sara just bragged and bragged on him for being so good! He had to get four stitches and never even flinched during the numbing shot and stitching! We got back in the car to head back. Before too long I notices his head bouncing around and him getting leaning more and more on me. That poor child was sound asleep. I had had my arm around him so he had just drifted closer to me. He didn’t look comfortable, but he slept the whole way. He laid his little head on my chest and rested. I had to hold his head because we bounced around so much I didn’t want him getting whiplash or waking up. When we stopped at the Children’s Home to drop the other two off he abruptly woke up, probably thinking we were at his house. Guerline’s isn’t too far from the children’s home so he stayed awake. I had my arm around him and my other hadn’t lightly stroking his hand. Then his other hand grasped mine so tight the whole way home. He didn’t look up, just straight ahead and held my hand. My heart just leapt when he did that. (Sometimes I wish I could cry..or just a little tear) I was so touched and moved I just kissed him on the head and sat there with him. I never knew how much I could love someone as I do with these children. They are precious gifts that God has given me and the people around me. They are the Lord’s children and I see Him every time I look into each of their faces.

kicked out of VBS...

...and almost put in jail. All that makes for an interesting trip to Jimani, DR. We had a blast this past week in Jimani! We left Sunday after church and headed over. Just for informational purposes to get from Haiti to Jimani you pass through the Haiti border enter no man's land then go through the DR border. We met John Hanley the missionary that runs the Jimani hospital at no man's land. Because it was Sunday it was pretty easy to get through all the gates to get across, which included not getting our passport stamped. John said it was no big deal. We thought ok he is the expert. anyways there was a team there for the week as well from St. Paul UMC Lighthouse Youth Ministry in Largo, Florida. They were a team of about 30 people. We had so much fun with them. It took awhile for us to jump in and meet them, but we managed to not be the random interns there. Hahaha They are a sweet bunch of kids and great adults, so touched by this island. One of their main projects was helping with a VBS at the church next door to the property. Totally doable right? We go and sing with the kids (DR is a Spanish speaking country so I was totally excited to finally use my language skills!), then break off into their classes. There were so many on the team and such a small property that we weren't really needed. So we just observed, it was neat to see a new culture. As close as Jimani is the culture is really different. I loved being able to sing the "Sunday school" type songs and somewhat understand what the pastor was saying (they speak a lot slower than Hispanics I have been around). It was a lot of fun! Each night the team had worship and devo time. It was so good to sing songs in worship in a language I understood! The first night John and Melissa shared their story of how they got to be in the Dominican and in charge of the Chadasha hospital and orphanage in Jimani. It is always great to hear how the Lord led someone. 

We were supposed to go to Batey 41 on Tuesday morning but we could not cross the border there. Let me explain. The bateys are part of Haiti; however they are "in the DR". There is a large lake on the border. Haiti owns all of it but the tip that goes in the border to the DR. So the bateys are on the coast of the lake and about 100yds back is the DR. So you have to drive through the DR cross the border into Haiti to get to the bateys, or you go across the lake. We went to the "unofficial" border crossing to get there but the DR soldiers wouldn't let us cross. John left to get some papers and talk with some high profile people so we just hung out. Some children came running over to see what was going on and we began to just play with them. They spoke and understood both Creole and Spanish so it made it pretty easy for people to get an idea what was going on. They loved having their picture made and attempting to have us talk with them. We were out there for a good while before we had to leave because we weren't going to make it that day. But really it was kind of perfect we didn't. We got to hang out and make a difference in the lives of those children and we would not have been able to do that if we had been able to cross right over. God so knows what he is doing. The plan was John would get up early to go talk with some people to hopefully get the ok to go. After lunch and nap time Melissa came and found us to ask us if we had long shorts or pants and t shirts. That would be a negative. All we wear in PAP is tanks and running shorts, and that is what we were told we could bring. Well the pastor apparently did not like out choice of clothing and so we could not help with VBS anymore. Kind of sad, slightly hilarious, but all for a purpose. I mean really…how do missionary interns get kicked out of VBS?! So the rest of the week in the afternoon when the team was doing VBS down at the orphanage (they had to move it to Chadasha for space) we were down in the hospital cleaning out and sorting medicine. That might sound incredibly boring and busy, but it was some of the greatest times. We had waaay too much fun. It was bonding. More and real bonding than we have done in PAP.

John never got a chance to talk with anyone, so we didn't make it to the bateys on Tuesday either. So we decided to stay til Thursday so we could go to the bateys on Wednesday. Go back and reread the top where I explained the only 2 ways to get to batey 41...yeah if we can't cross by land then we have to cross by water. The interns were so flipping excited about taking a sketch wooden boat across the largest lake on the island! John and Melissa or Hosty (the translator that works for them) have ever actually taken a boat across so it was new for everyone. We called it a water tap tap because they looked sketch and were brightly colored. We had to cross the official border to get back into Haiti to catch a boat. Because there were so many of us there was no way we could just mozy across like we did on Sunday, so we, um they, complied with the rules of crossing the border with paperwork and passport stamping. Except the interns because we were illegally in the DR to begin with so we couldn't really get checked out. We made it across no problem and found our boat guys waiting for us. It took 5 boats to get us all across. This was such a great life experience. In a wooden boat with a guy who doesn't speak our language and Melanie had a half of a milk jug paling out water so we wouldn't sink! Now if that is not a life experience I don't know what is! As we got closer to the bank children from everywhere came running to meet us. My heart just overflowed. I was so excited to meet them! We finally made it to the bank and got out. Soaking wet, but ready for the day. We talked and walked with the kids and went up to the church. Batey 41 is partnered with Chadasha and Alcoa UMC so it has funds that have a church and a school. There we divided into those who wanted to play games and things with the kids and others who wanted to walk around and pray with people. The interns sneaked and grabbed Hosty and set off to find Babas. Babas is a 2-3 year old who lives with his young mother in Batey 41. Back in June, John was told of Babas' problem. He had a tennis ball size testicle. Not okay. He went to the doctor and found out he had a hernia and needed surgery. So over the next few weeks (July) he came to PAP to see doctors and meet with surgeons and stayed with us at the Guesthouse. We got to see him and his mom several times as he came to see doctors, and this past weekend he finally had his surgery!! Everything went great! I have seen the before and after from diaper changes and a proud mama, and it is amazingly better! This child won't have any more pain or worried of it bursting. When they brought us to Jimani we dropped them off at the lake to take a boat over. He was supposed to have a check up on Tuesday but could not make it so we wanted to check on him. We followed Hosty as we went around asking where Babas was, and then we saw that precious boy! He was so excited to see us, and his mama let us check him out to make sure everything was going great and it was! He wanted to hang out with us so he went with us as we walked around the area. It warmed our hearts to much to see the beginning and end to such a great success story! We just loved on and kissed on that baby all day! As we were walking around praying we found ourselves at a hut that had a one week old baby!!! He was so beautiful! The ladies kept saying he was sick, but he seemed fine at first. Melanie asked to hold him, and got to spend some times with him. Long story short, we realized something was not right, so we got that nurse that was on the team. He came and checked out the baby. Everything was good and normal about that baby except he was seizing, badly. He would seize for 8-11 minutes and then we ok for 4-5 minutes then seize again. Constantly the whole time we were with him. We couldn't take him with us then, though we really wanted to. Praise Jesus, we got it worked out that he is coming tomorrow to PAP to see a doctor! This baby needs a lot of prayer. Our morning at the batey was beautiful and full of the Lord.

We left this morning, but before we did the youth leaders had asked us to come and share with them our experiences with the kids about dealing with coming back to America and what they could do. It was really crazy at first to think that they would want to hear from us and that I would have anything worthwhile to say. The girls asked me to open it up and start. I didn't have anything planned I just started talking, and then the Lord came in. Haha I can't even tell you what I said but I know that it wasn't me. Hopefully someone was able to benefit from what we said. We all had different experiences with that, which made the talk more dynamic and meaningful. Then one of the students asked if they could pray over us. I was touched. They barely know us, but they wanted to bless us. It was really special. They were a great bunch of kids. 

Next we proceeded to get back to PAP. Keep in mind we aren't supposed to be in the DR. So Sara and Kensly (translator and driver) and Ashton (missionary kid) came to get is in a normal pickup truck. Even though there were 8 of us we all managed to get in the cab. If we were in the bed, which is where we usually are it would cause suspicion and possible passport checking which we couldn't have. Because it was market day there were people everywhere and slow slow traffic. Which just made it more nerve racking because we wanted out before we got caught.  Well we couldn't even make it to the DR border. The lady at the gate saw us and began asking questions, she took our passports and sent us to immigration because only Sara and Kensly had stamps, none of the interns or Ashton had them. Immigration means we are basically going to jail for illegally being there. Our guy that had been with us and suppose to help us cross the border and some other began yelling and talking then yelling at the lady. We were getting ready to get out of the truck when they got the lady and began motioning us to leave. So Kensly began backing out and heading to the border. We had tp pay the guy$60 for helping but that is better than $200 per passport!! We made it though! Now on to the Haiti border. We get stopped again, but Kensly flashes some papers saying we were Haitian (the truck plates are still DR) and we went on. We got asked to stop and get checked three more time before we were home free to PAP! That the most intense hour of my life!

After we made it back we rested some then a few of the interns and a couple translators went to Guerline’s orphanage to get them water. The guys dropped us off to play with the kids while they filled up the water. The kids were so sweet and excited to see us! Some of the girls gave me a Creole lesson, which was hilarious and a lot of fun! To learn our body parts we did the head and shoulders song in creole. That was a sight. Then the older girls started bringing us sick children. Some of the young ones had fevers, really bad fevers. And a lot of them have real bad coughs. Of the fever we had a 99.3, 100.5 and 101.6. We were running around trying to find medicine and cold clothes and making phone calls because none of the staff went with us. Renoldo who is 3 and had the worst fever apparently has had the shivers for three days, and he almost passed out while we were trying to help him. We were able to get some medicine down him. We left instruction with them to check the temps and call us if they did not get better. Please pray for these children. There is only so much we can do and everything the Lord can do.

This has been an incredible week. A lot if the most randomest things happened, and a lot of God happened. I have been so touched by this week and what all we have learned and experienced so far. Excited to see what is to come!

Prayer Requests:

The little baby that is coming to see the doctor. That they have safe travels, and knowledge to the doctors and the medicine to help him.

Renoldo and the other children at the orphanage. They are so sick and need some healing.

The interns, we have one full week together. Our time is winding down. That we may hear the Lord and go out with a bang. (We leave the 5^th, 6^th, 8^th, 9^th, and 14^th)