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.
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