Facing Reality

I know, I know. I haven't blogged in almost 2 months to the day. And really, it was intentional. I was extremely sick for the month of October and then it was time to come back to the states. I know you are all wanting to know, what else I did in Haiti, how the surprise was coming back, what I am doing now, etc. But honestly I could not bring myself to talk about it, even typing out the words overwhelmed me. With tears streaming down my face, I am writing out what it is that I have ignored for so long. It was like a far away dream, being back in the states. I could not possibly be here! I live in Haiti, my heart is in Haiti, my home is in Haiti. It is a heart-stopping, can't catch my breath, painful thought to go day-to-day in the life that is not Haitian. Each day is as hard as the day before, never getting any easier just to leave me house and go to work, church, grocery store without being overwhelmed with the fact that I am in a new place. Sometimes I have to push it out of my brain just to function, watching an embarrassing amount of TV and movies to keep my mind from wandering. Flipping through pictures 15 times a day with teary eyes as I gaze at the faces of so many that have stolen my heart. Waking up in the middle of the night in a panic, but unlike most everyone else in the first world, I can't go down the hall and peek in my kids/friends/loved ones rooms to see them sleeping soundly. They are huddled on a dirt floor somewhere, maybe they ate that day, maybe they didn't. Maybe their mother lived another day, maybe she didn't. Maybe they still have a tent to live in, maybe they don't. Maybe a bad man didn't come and hurt them today, maybe he did. Maybe they feel loved, maybe they won't ever. My heart aches so much it hurts for these children, these people, this country. Some days when I see someone I haven't since I returned I can't even form words when they ask "how was Haiti?". I choke back tears, and say some cliche answer to keep from losing it. Having a roller coaster of emotions, and being so entirely angry that I lash out at one of my best friends saying terrible things, only to be met with encouragement and patience. Or sweet friends see me and know its a hard day and without a word give me a hug full of love as tears stream down my face as I feel so loved and prayed for, or going to the grocery store and crying down every aisle because I am so overwhelmed. I sometimes forget to shower because I could go a week and still not be as dirty as 12 hours in Haiti would be. I get sad when I am not immediately covered in sweat and dust when I walk out of my house. Here it is not culturally acceptable to fix spaghetti for breakfast. Walking up to a random child on the street is highly frowned upon. I still cannot get used to the freezing cold weather, and I would be completely happy to eat rice and beans every day.

You know those moments where you are try and piece together what is real and what isn't. Whether it is a very realistic dream, or those few moments back from vacation, or coming home from college, or going back to college from home, or getting married. What part of your life is reality, the real you, or just a dream of what was or could be. That is kind of where I am have been the last several weeks. Living in this limbo world, trying to fight off the fact that I am in a new place. A place that I have never been. Yes, this is where I have lived the last few years, but I am a different person now. The things I have seen, had to do, lived all have continue to grow me into the person the Lord has in mind for me. Fighting off that I am not in Haiti, and trying not to accept the reality that a new chapter is starting, a new journey that I am on. Wanting to be able to say that this is a 'visit' to Tennessee, when really I have no idea what is coming in the future.  Never alone, as changes happen and the path takes new turns, my Savior is always there preparing the way. Truths that I have to take hold of and tell myself each morning when I wake up. 

But I am here. I am in the states, in Tennessee, in Knoxville. The Lord forced me (literally) out of Port-au-Prince, for his glory and to further his Kingdom. I know without any doubt that he was telling me it was time to come back to Tennessee. I don't understand it, and most days I don't want to be here. Not because I don't like it, I am entirely grateful for the men and women who made it possible for me to live here and to travel with ease to "red flagged" countries and know that I am always safe. But my heart is not here. And I am trying to find my place here, the place the Lord wants me to open up a piece of my heart too. It is a process, a slow process, one just can't go from living in the poorest country in the world to the wealthiest  the most corrupt country in the world to the most powerful all at once. How do you do it? How do you make the transition? How does your mind wrap around where you are and where you have been? I have experienced more culture shock being in my home country than I ever have in Haiti and the DR. The only answer I have is the Lord. Jesus is the only way to get through heartache, to grieve, to have joy, to love, and be loved. The gospel is beautiful and wonderful and the only way I can get up out of bed each morning. 

So here I am writing this as a step closer to facing the reality that is my address not in Tabarre 68. My heart and head are in PAP, while my body is here in Knoxville. Taking each day as a gift, and being ever so thankful for those 100 days the Lord allowed me to live in the most beautiful country in the world. I am so blessed by Him and the many ways he chooses to shoe his love. I am learning to be here, so that i can do the utmost for his glory. It is a struggle everyday, but he showers with grace and love to get through it.He has blessed me with friends and family that are loving me through this and give encouragement and a listening ear even when they can't comprehend what it is i am saying. Praise be to the Father who knows us better than we know ourselves, and wrote out the most beautiful story of our lives, even if we only see a sentence or paragraph at a time. Every day is a new day to glorify him! Live each day as it is the one that will define you!

sing until the whole world hears

I love music. I love how one note can bring you to your knees, and one lyric and bring tears to your eyes or joy in your heart. No matter how long it's been since you heard a song you can still sing every word to that summer soundtrack or cheesy middle school dance songs. Songs define our lives, and how we remember. One of my favorite types of music is worship music. My life can be completely changed because of one song more than a speaker sometimes. They are timeless, and speak to our hearts. I have cried more singing an old children's church song than any pop ballad. Sometimes or really a lot of times, the Lord uses these songs to teach us something, tell us He loves, or calm His children. Sometimes it feels as if the songs was written just for you, and that the Lord is pleading with you to hear the words and be encouraged. But do we return it? Sometimes the songs are complete worship and glorification to the only one who deserves it. And we stand there reading off a screen or in a book or looking around because we already know the lyrics. If it had been a song on the radio from our childhood we would crank it up and sing at the top of our lungs with our friends and laugh at the memories. Why don't we treat the Lord's songs that way?  

This morning at church everyone was singing so loudly that I could not even here the music being played by the band. Can you imagine? An entire sanctuary filled with voices praising the same Father and making sure He can hear them. And then I realized that this happens every Sunday. Every Sunday we are singing at the top of lungs so loud the music is drowned out and our throats hurt. Shouldn't that be the case? Shouldn't we be hoarse after church and any time we are praising our Father? One of my biggest pet peeves are people that just sit or stand during worship with no participation. How can you not want to praise your Creator and Provider? Saying you 'Can't sing well' is not a reason or an excuse. The Psalms say over and over to sing a song and make a joyful noise unto the Lord, shouting in jubilation. Not that you must be able to sing on key, in pitch, and beautifully or you can't praise Him. But to sing and shout with joy. Joy. To the one who gives us the most joy. 

Whether we go to an old country church with only a piano or a larger church with a full band, we should be singing so loud that the music gets drowned out by the beautiful and joyful voices of his children. Our throats should hurt and be hoarse as we sit for lunch after church. So I challenge you to stand and sing, sing as loud as you can. Let the Lord move you, teach you, love you, and shout to him the great glory he is. I challenge you to sing so loud your voice hurts and those around you join in with a great joyful noise. He wants to hear your voice. He wants to hear your praises. He wants to be in your presence. Sing! Sing until the whole world hears! 

Living and Loving in Haiti

Sorry for the delay, we haven't had the internet working in awhile! But we are back and lots of goodies to tell you about. We had the privilege of having LifePoint church from Smyrna, Tennessee bring a team down and do some things in PAP! And even better MY MAMA was here during that time as well! We haven't had any visitors since I have been here so it was a great time to have houses full of new faces. We also had some other family and friends from the others staff here as well. The team was great! We liked them a lot and had a lot of fun with them! It was so wonderful to have Mother here for a few days! Hopefully next time Daddy and Willie will be able to come! 

Before the team and all the families got in the head honchos stopped by! The ever great Dr. Clint Doiron whose vision set many years ago is now manifested into Chadasha along with Chris Keylon and Greg Roberts. I go to church in Knoxville with Dr. Clint, but have never been in Haiti with him and was so excited to go along with his many adventures! They had a lot planned but we were able to go with them and see Dr. Clint in action as he checked on a precious little girl who had a heart problem  He wrote down everything about her and her family in his journal and after checking her in mere seconds had a drawing made to explain to her worried mother what was going on in her little girls heart and what would happen to help it! So amazing to see all this transpire! God has truly blessed this man and his ministry!

We got to do a lot of really great things with the team here and all the family! The guys that work with Chadasha have their own ministry they have started in their home community of Pernier, called God Supports Adults. One day we went with them and visited with two families that are having a hard time. It was a long and uphill walk to get to the families but always so worth it! We were able to bring them some food, and talk and pray with them. It was even cooler for me because I had seen theses same two families when I was here with Calvary back in March for Spring Break!! It was so wonderful to be able to visit with them again. One lady is still full of great spirits despite being in a wheelchair and no means for resources and extremely weak. Good news is this past Sunday the guys were able to provide transportation for her to come to church! She is the most precious lady, and her face lit up to be there and when we went to talk to her! Praise Jesus for providing small things for her! The other lady is in a constant great deal of pain because of her sickness she has in her bones and joints that has caused her great deformities. Prayers that she would find relief and a specialist doctor would find his or her way to PAP and to G.S.A. to see about her. If you would like to sponsor a family or children to go to school or make a donation for food and resources for these families that have nothing please let me know! (kendracheyennesummers@gmail.com)

Life Point team on the walk up! Great view!

Mama and some kids on the walk up

Mother and I!

One day we went to Batey 41. For those of you unfamiliar I will try and explain what this is. It is a part of Haiti isolated from the rest of the country. There is a large lake and Haiti wanted control of more of it. So there is a coastline of the lake that is Haiti, but if you walked 100 yards behind the village you are in the Dominican Republic. Dominicans and Haitians hate each other! This area is a very poor place because they are have access to anywhere. It is very near the border of Haiti and the DR but with no paperwork they cannon cross so they have boats that they take back and forth across the lake to get to the mainland of Haiti. The Jimani Project our ministry in the DR is on the border and has a great partnership with the Bateys. So we rode the boats on over to the Bateys and taught a small bible story with the younger kids class then walked around the village talking and praying with people. For those following from last summer I looked for Babas, but he was not there on that day. I always love going to the bateys! It is a different part of Haiti than PAP, and just beautiful!

On the boat to the batey!

We also of course went to the Children's Home! The team had gotten two pairs of shoes for each child along with several other pairs! So appreciated! The kids had so much fun trying on their new shoes and strutting around showing them off! It is always a fun day with the kids! The team also came with us to the tent camp. The guys helped with the men's class and the ladies split up helping with the women's class and the kids class. My kids loved getting to meet Mother and having the ladies teach class! They taught the creation story with fun had motions and we incorporated English lesson along with the story! And the kids had fun having some new friendly faces! They have even asked about everyone in the classes since they have left! Just a small way to make a difference in a child's life even if it seems so minute. 

Solomon decided he wanted to try on Mother's glasses

Shoes! Shoes! Shoes!

Rowen showing off his new shoes!

Mother with some of my tent camp kids!

One day we had an unexpected visitor  but we were oh so glad to have them! A precious girl from Canada, Emily, and her adorable 5 kids from her orphanage stayed with us while they got keys to their new house! Emily is a 20 year old who is running an orphanage on her own. She moved down to take over in April and has been taking care of these kids ever since. I met her in late July and they lived in a very tiny and run down house in a small town on the coast (where our beach property is!). They had received a new home for the orphanage in PAP from the Bridge2Haiti organization and were waiting on the keys. It was by far a wonderful experience to hear her story and love on some precious kids. She is in the process of being a legal and Haiti recognized orphanage which would help a lot! We were able to move all their belongings to their new house and clean everything for them! It is a beautiful amazing home that only the Lord could provide for them! If you would like to know more about Emily and her ministry or like to hep, check her out at www.himeforhelp.org! 

It was a great week with all the family and team with us in PAP! Love having new and excited people for Haiti and the Lord in our midst! The rest of the days after have been filled with English classes and Children's Home playing! Thanks for being a part of this great journey!

Me, Mother, and the ladies from LP

Haiti Life

So in the days since we last met I would like to recap all the activities that have been going on here in PAP!

Pernier is a close-nit community not far from where we live. We attend a wonderful church there, and it is the home to all our Haitian staff. We had the wonderful opportunity to help with a health fair that the church wanted to provide for the people in the community! We were put at the blood sugar testing table. We had a nurse and pre-med student with us so they took care of the poking, and I did the paperwork for each person. Because we are in Haiti there are limited supplies. We only had a handful of the, what you would call “normal” blood sugar testing, and the rest of the time we had to manually stab a finger with a lancet or small razor to draw blood. Sometimes my job turned into hold the person down, and I don’t blame them at all. I would not want a razor coming at me either!

Interns!

The whole group that put on the clinic!

All the interns have left now, and it is just Brittany and I holding the fort the rest of the year. This means I began teaching the tent camp kids on my own a few weeks ago. I’ll be honest, I was a litter nervous at first. I had only been assisting the others for the first part of the time here. To teach the kids we tape up pieces of construction paper to the wall of the bus that already have words on them because we have no other way to show them. 

So it is a little daunting to come up with an entire lesson and then right out everything you would normally write on a board before you even get there (teachers will understand that!). My first day went well, except for the fact we played a game to help them learn and it ended with half my kids face planting in the gravel…..but at least they came back next class. We were actually able to find chalkboard paint and some people volunteered to paint the buses for us! So I now have a wonderful chalkboard on the wall of the bus! This has been a HUGE blessing! Much more effective teaching this way. I LOVE LOVE teaching these kids, and being in the tent camp. They are a little wild with a lot of attitude, but we have fun. And they know I mean business. One class I had about 50 kids on the bus at one time! And if everyone who walked on the bus, stayed on the bus, we would have had at least 75 kids! Such a fun class! I even taught them Rocky Top :) and they loved it!!

Karadeux! My bus in the last one on the right!

My new chalkboard!

The kids at the Children's Home are doing great! Love getting to visit them and love on them during the week. We are also working on their English and learning skills. That has been an interesting task! We threw a birthday party to little Rowen turning 2! The kids loved the cupcakes, and had fun celebrating dear Rowen! Brittany was in a wedding right before Haiti and brought down lots and lots of sunglasses from the reception! We gave the kids some and they thought they were the coolest kids in town! 

While it is turning fall back home in Tennessee, it is staying a constant hot here in Haiti! Hard to believe I have been here over 2 months! Thanks for all your continued prayer and support!

Cheering on our Vols!

And the list gets smaller

I used to stay on top of these things, and blogged after each one. But since I have failed to do that, here are some more exciting tales of conquering the 101 List. 

#1 Graduate from college

Hallejuia! Praise Jesus! My parents got that brightly colored orange tube in the mail a couple weeks ago! And honestly I had no idea it would actually happen! The last few months I had a couple big scares that I did not think they were going to give me that paper! But you know me, I got it done! If you want to read more into life at UT check it out in a previous blog. Thankful for my time at UT, and miss Knoxville and college life a lot. But excited for the next step the Lord has!

#3 Go fishing

I love to fish! But never get to go anymore. My uncle is an avid fisher, and saw my 101 list and promised to take me fishing! Finally in July I was home long enough to get to go! I had never been bass fishing before so it was a lot of learning and a lot of fun!! I was a little rusty, but after a few minutes it all came back to me and I caught a fish within the first 15 minutes! It was so much fun to spend the day with Stinkey! Good time to be at home and back on the good ole Tennessee River like when I was little!

#7. Witness an adoption

I pray that there are many more to come! I met a little boy my first day in Haiti. His name is Isaac and he was in the process of being adopted by the wonderful staff couple here in Haiti, Greg and Michelle Roberts and their two teenage kids Dustin and Ashton. And they were well into the process by the time I met them. And through the remaining 4 times I have come to stay in their home here in Haiti, Isaac was here. And when things happened in the states where they needed to go for a little but he had to stay here. I love that kid a whole whole lot. He has grown and changed so much in the year I have known him. And to be here and see his paperwork, and his passport brought tears to my eyes. It was the most incredible blessing for me to be here. Even if it was so hard to hug him goodbye. The day after his paperwork was finished he was on a flight with his mama to the states to be with the rest of his family and meet so many more! God truly blessed so many people through that kid. And I miss him alot. He would sneak into our rooms in the morning and pat my face saying wake up! He is so sweet, and I can't wait to see him when I get back to Tennessee!

Isaac and I earlier this summer!

Yay!!

#26 Dance in the rain

If you know me at all then you know I LOVE rain! Any and all kinds of rain, rain showers, thunderstorms etc. And growing up I have some of the best memories playing in the rain with Dakota. So of course rain would make it on the list somehow. And we definitely knocked this one off the list epically! The house I stay in here in Haiti is a concrete house and it set up where it is fairly easy to get on the roof. The roof is flat concrete and you can see all of PAP from the top, beautiful sunsets, and airplanes coming in and out. It is so beautiful! So one day it began raining, and what do I do?? Force all the interns to climb on the roof and dance in the Haitian rain! It was so much fun! We danced a few jigs, then when it started lightening I lost my support so we got off. But it definitely made for a fun day, and a great way to make something off the list.

Being silly after being soaked in the rain

#33 Drive a boat

I have always wanted to learn how to drive a boat. Now when we were little we got to sit in Daddy's lap and act like we were, but I wanted to learn to do it myself. So when Stinkey saw my list, he said we are going fishing and you are driving to boat! Yay! Back home is on the Tennessee River, so it is not hard to fish and drive a boat. And the day we went fishing I learned all about driving a boat and the rules of the river. I even took a driving test from Stinkey the second time he let me behind the wheel. And I passed with flying colors! Now if I would just stay in the country long enough to use my new skill.....

#61 Have a slumber party

So when I made this on my list I was thinking, girls from my house or bible study at school would do something crazy and I would write about it. Because I have done with them before. But nope my slumber party consisted of 11 Haitian children all piled into our living room with 5 interns! So much fun!

#74 Ride a tap tap

I have ridden a tap tap before. Last summer I rode one for the first time. But it was before I made this list, and it so Haitian to ride a tap tap because that is everyone's means of transportation...everyone. And one afternoon all the vehicles were in use and we needed to go to the Children's Home, so one of our guys Jean Reynald took the interns on a tap tap to get there. It takes two tap tap routes to get there, and the first one was an old van with no doors. I have never seen a tap tap van but hey it's Haiti. So we took that for the first part, and then took a normal tap tap the rest of the way. I am sure it was a sight for the Haitians to see 5 white girls walking around PAP looking for a tap tap!

Tap tap van!

Riding the normal tap tap, and trying not to fall off the back!

No Facebook for a week

Now if you notice this one has no number, and is not on the list. However it is on the list on my computer, don't know how those two list are different, but oh well. Nonetheless, I went without no only Facebook, but electronics in general. No phone, no computer, nothing. I had realized that it was consuming my life way more than it should and I needed a detox. To reevaluate and refresh, and in that process I read 15 chapters in the Bible. Whoa! So much blessing! If you haven't done it before, you should really try it.

Dying to myself

As you all know, Hurricane Isaac has been running havoc here recently. Before it made its destructive way to the unfortunate people in the Gulf Coast, it stopped by here in Haiti for a while. The news had gone back and forth between a CAT 2 hurricane and a tropical storm, so we really had no idea what was going to happen when it hit. To be on the safe side us, we brought all the kids and babies from the Children’s Home to our house so the ladies that take care of them could be with their family through the storm, and if the kids got scared there would be people around. I love all the children so much, and was very excited about having them with us. But I don’t think we knew what we were getting into.

I have babysat before, been babysitting for as long as I can remember. Even babysat 4 kids at once with three of them under the age of 4. And I thought that was something. But the difference then, and previous some odd years of my life….their parents eventually came back and I went home. Whether it was an hour or 14, it was not a total commitment. I was still able to eat the food I wanted, get sleep, hang out friends, etc. It only required a small amount for my time, and I was usually paid for the time I spent there.  

But this was different on every level. From the moment we picked them on from their rooms, till we sat them back in their rooms four days later, it was constant care. Constant. Feeding, holding, bathing, changing countless diarrhea diapers because they were all sick, waking up throughout the night at the slightest sound, changing diapers in the middle of the night because they were so sick, waking up with a bed full and yourself covered in diarrhea because someone just didn’t feel good. You ate last, bathed last, and slept last, if you did any of those things at all. Sometimes you just want to eat your rice and beans without a pair of grubby hands reaching for the same stuff, or sit down long enough to check your email to see how your parents are doing or sleep longer than 1 to 2 hours without waking up. Even when you feel bad and just want to rest, I was so sick for most of the time they were here, but there is no pause button on a child. When you are responsible for another life, everything of yourself gets pushed aside and they are your priority. You die to yourself.

Isn't that exactly what Christ called us to do? Dying to our flesh is gain in Christ. What good can our sinful nature be to the world but destruction? Gaining Christ and the Spirit lead us down the path that brings the utmost glory and blessing to the Father. God does not drop of Jesus at a convenient time for us to be completely committed to him, and then when there are things we want to do he stops by and picks him back up. Aren't we responsible for others lives, on the meaning that we are called to be a witness and spread the Gospel at every turn? This hit me like a freight train. Is that not how we live? Do we really die to everything of ourselves that is not of Christ, and live solely for him? Have you ever thought that someones life may be at stake if we missed an opportunity from the Lord because we were so consumed in ourselves? Pretty sure if we all took the time to look at our lives we would say no. But this realization never occurred to me, the phrase never meant that much to me. I honestly don’t think I understood it.

That is what the Lord wants so much from us. Just us. Completely us. He wants all of us, to be in him and of him, living each day not of ourselves but of the Father. We are humans and because of that we are not perfect, and as much as we try we are going to fail. But to strive to live a life that way would be the biggest step of faith for any believer. Though I was run ragged those days, I was so blessed and happy with those kids. And I would much rather be run ragged and beat down, at the end of the day and full of joy with the Lord, than living the high life any day.

Join me in chipping away of our flesh and striving to live a life of Christ. I challenge you to see the good and blessing you will find. 

So Here's To You Old Tennessee

In the last few days Knoxville has turned from a ghost town to the great southern university town it truly is. Students come flooding in from all part of the country and the world to get their taste of the Volunteer Spirit. Each coming from their own back grounds and have their own expectations and excitements coming to UT for the first time or returning for another great year on Rocky Top. This week is full of student moving back on campus and apartments nearby. Every organization is on full alert trying to gather all the freshmen and newbies they can find. Rush is underway as those that choose the Greek system. The atmosphere is of excitement and newness of another semester. You can be whoever you want to be when you go to college. What amazing person will you become after your 4 (or more) year of undergraduate school at UT, as you morph into who you truly are? I am hearing from friends and seeing on Facebook and Twitter about the start of another year at UT. It is weird not being there. Knoxville has been my home for four years, and though that doesn’t seem like a lot in comparison to a lifetime, those four years truly change your life forever.

As a new semester begins today, and I am sitting as far away from Rocky Top as I can, I reflect on the past four years of my life. I loved college, and now that I am officially an alumna (finally!) I have learned to appreciate those years so much more. During my junior year to the beginning of my senior year I wanted nothing more than to be graduated. And I regret so much that attitude. College has taught me so much about life, and I was able to grow in Christ more than I ever imagined. I experienced joy, heartache, community, loyalty, anger, love, friendship, sleepless nights, laughter, and most importantly the Holy Spirit. If I told you about every one of these, this blog would never end. It brings tears of happiness thinking about all the people I met and all things I did during my college career. How much I wish those days were never ending. If I talked to my freshmen year self, and said that three weeks after finishing college I would move to a another country to live and love on the people and live each day as the Lord to plan, she would probably have laughed. I was suppose to get a great degree, get married right out of college, move back to Camden, and begin the fairy tale life that is the southern way. Instead, I am sitting 1,400 miles away on a dirty tile floor of a concrete house, in front of a fan because it is so hot, in hopes the electricity stays on long enough for me to finish this blog. And honestly, I would choose this over the other EVERY single time.

UT will always and forever be the greatest university one could go to. I will be a volunteer for the rest of my life. Knoxville will be in heart, and a place I will venture to on many occasions. It is a bittersweet feeling to say goodbye to an entire part of your life, and excited about the next step. As my friends get married, get cool jobs away from Tennessee, or move abroad I am excited to see how the Lord moves in their life in this new chapter. It might be a cliché but is so true, after college you start the journey of the rest of your life. I may have no idea what is going to happen in the next three months or where I will be, but that is the beauty of this next part in life it doesn’t matter.

Some of my favorite parts about UT/Knoxville and my time there:

-Everything is orange

-Being a Volunteer

-UT truly has the best fans

-Sports…duh!

-Torchbearer and the eternal flame and getting roast jumbo size marshmallows on it

-Tradition

-The Rock…and getting to paint it

-Welcome Week

-Flash Rave in the library

-Vol Walk…and halfway through college seeing my baby brother walk along with the great Volunteers

-Hodges Library…so much time was spent there day and night and little studying was done but so many memories

-Cru-brary for when you needed a familiar face and always knew where to find them

-Being a part of one of the top Anthropology departments in the nation and the many opportunities given and people I met even if it meant being secluded to the dungeon that is SSH underneath Neyland Stadium

-Humanities Amp

-Massey Hall…where I lived for three years and so many memories made. This place will forever hold a place in my heart, and all the great women that I met that I will call friends for a long time

-Rushing the greatest sorority Pi Beta Phi

-Cru…I cannot even put into words what this ministry and the people that make it up have meant to me and my time at UT. I have never laughed so much, cried so much, or been loved so much than with these people. They have challenged me and continue to challenge me all the time.

-Calvary Baptist Church

-The Fellowship House and the FHouse girls who have been the greatest roommates, and the College House and College House guys who are the best neighbors and big brothers there could be

-Market Square, Riviera, Square Room, Mast General, all the greatness that is Downtown Knoxville

-The Strip

-Game Days

-Smokey

-World’s Fair (the fountains!)

-My favorite…Rocky Top

I could go on and on, telling stories and trotting down memory lane. I miss UT and Knoxville, but so blessed to be able to wear orange and cheer on the Vols while following the Lord's call to Haiti. All in all Rocky Top will always be home sweet home to me. Go Vols! Big Orange Country! Vol for Life!

like whoa

Holy rice and beans Batman, I live in Haiti! Did you catch what I just said? I live in Haiti! And it's like a dream. I have been here for about three and a half weeks, but summer in Knoxville feels like eons ago. I don't even know where to begin, God is so great. Even in the midst of craziness, expectations, and adversity He is so great! This summer was completely packed with school, weddings, trips and in the middle of that trying to get ready for Haiti. A lot of things got in the way and tried to get me off balance from what needed to be done. Just a few minor freak outs, and a lot of love, patience, and help from dear friends and now I am in Haiti. One of my roommates decided a few weeks before I left that she would just come down with me. And that was more of a blessing than I ever thought. The first day I was in Haiti, I was completely overwhelmed. We had gotten in the night before so late that it had not hit me that I was here. It was a good overwhelmed, overtaken with the reality that I finally made it here, how little I deserve to be here, and the Lord's great love. He is moving and working in Haiti. I am beyond blessed to be asked to work alongside his great plan for Haiti, and the Spirit working in and through me. To God be all the glory!

Getting on the plane!

When we arrived in Haiti, there was a youth group from Tampa here. We did a VBS in the mountains area of Kenscoff, Haiti. I have never been to the mountains of Haiti before and it was absolutely beautiful! It was a very different part of Haiti, than the hustle and bustle of Port-au-Prince. We sang songs, made crafts, played outside, snacks, and had a Bible story everyday! We had nearly 100 kids everyday, which is amazing! One day some of the boys had a little band set up. One old bass drum which was being beat with a stick that had a tennis ball on it, and several dejangeled tambourines being hit with pencils and sticks from the ground, and a regular tambourine. They played all day singing and jamming! They made the most for what they had, and loved every minute of it. We started being funny and dancing around with the little kids, which turned into being in a dance off with all the older girls! It was hysterical. I literally danced for 45 minutes with different girls til I finally won the dance off! So much fun, and they loved it! Some probably laughing at me, but it didn't matter!

Chadasha has a beach property that will soon be an Orphanage Retreat Center! One day we took the kids from the Children's Home (Chadasha's orphanage/transition home) to the beach property. If you have been following me for awhile you will remember the CH from last year, and there are a lot of the same kids! They have never never really gone anywhere except the bad situation they were taken from and the Children's Home. Some of them were a little frightened by the water, but all in all they loved playing in the sand and eating coconuts, and slashing around in the water. It was definitely a task running around trying to keep up with all the kids and making sure no one drowned, but we had a good time seeing the kids so happy!

A few days later we were able to have the kids come over to our house for a sleepover!! And we thought the beach was intense! We had pizza, cupcakes, a movie and play time! We had 11 Haitian children running around and they only speak creole! It was super fun though, and the kids loved getting to do something different.

Another part of what I will be doing here is teaching English in a tent camp. Chadasha partnered with a nearby tent camp, and has english and bible classes for women, men, and kids. The classes are taught in old gutted school buses on the edge of the tent camp. It is a great ministry to bring up Haitian leaders that can take the gospel to their area. The interns teach the ladies and children's class. I am in the children's class. We have a range of ages from 3-15 (just a guesstimate) and have an average of 30-40 kids each class. We have a bible lesson first then an english lesson. The kids are really smart and want to learn. With so many kids and such a wide range it can get really difficult at times even with a translator helping us out. I am really excited about diving into teaching this class. Hopefully by the end of it they will remember to call me "Cheyenne" instead of "Hey you" or "Blan" (which is white in creole).

If you are new to Chadasha, their biggest ministry is pediatric heart surgeries. This was started in the DR years ago, and now we are doing that here in Haiti. A few times a year children are found with severe heart defects that need surgery for survival and taken to the DR where sufficient equipment an doctors are to perform the surgery. This time we had 5 kids that came to stay with us a few days before heading over to the DR. We took them to the dentist, played with them, and gave their mothers some rest time. Djoudly, Richama, Christman, Ciara, and Todd all were taken over to ahve surgeries! Richama was able to return home because her heart issue was minor and did not require surgery! Praise Jesus! The doctors said her heart would heal on its own just fine! Djoudly and Christman have had their surgery and are recovering great! Just waiting to hear when Todd is scheduled for his! Ciara's issue is too complicated for the team there and she is too high risk for the surgery. She is scheduled for the November round of heart surgeries. Please be in prayer for her that the right specialist and surgeon can come to perform the surgery, It is a miracle she has made it to age 4. I have been so blessed to be a part of this branch of the ministry even if it seems small. The kids are wonderful and so brave! Continue to pray for each of them!

Djoudly!

Ciara!

Todd!

Now I will share some of the more comical and intersting things that have have been going on in the life that is Haiti. (disclaimer: not for the faint at heart)

-So the sun and I have always been on good terms. Nice tan skin, no burning, no sunscreen, you know every girls dream. Well take away the humidity blocker we have in Tennessee and add a really big mountain, and a dash of you're in the Caribbean and really close to the equater, you get a very burnt Cheyenne. I have NEVER in my life experience something like that. My skin was literally rotting off my back (sorry I know that is gross). That was the first week I was here. I am better now, and skin doing just fine. But it was touch and go for a while there.

-Then I fell down a hill

-And even better I grabbed, will full force, a razor wire and sliced my finger open. And it bled A LOT! Good thing it was in Haiti where supplies are plentiful. Slapped a band aid on it, and went on my way. (For reference, most houses are surrounded with a concrete wall with broken bottles on top or wire, kind of like barbed wire but covered in razors)

-I have been able to work on my nursing resume in the last week. One of our dear Haitian translators and security burned his leg horrifically on a moto, and we have been doctoring it up each day. And when I say doctoring it up, it is not the most pain free or sufficient supplies way. But it has not been infected and healing!

Nurse in training!

-Somehow our water system got infested with thousands of tadpoles. The thing is the tanks are on the roof of the house and they were full of the little swimming critters. We had to bleach them out, and drain all the water out. And had no water for a couple days until the water guys came to fill it back up.

-I killed a tarantula in the kitchen!!

It was a baby tarantula, but I am sure mama is somewhere close!

 -When your life revolves around Creole, you find different ways for Jesus time. I am working on reading through the Bible, and so far have gotten through 15 books! Praise Jesus! Can't wait to see what the Lord reveals through these times. 

-I have never been bit my mosquitoes in Haiti til this trip. And it usually happens in the shower

-I was never that into track, just didn't know a lot about it. But watching the Olympics track with a two time Olympian track runner makes it the most exciting sport there is! And I love her dearly!

The great Wilna!!! Love her!!

We didn't get to watch much Olypmics but track, so we had to cheer America on somehow!

I know this has been long, and I hope not to go this long with out blogging. If you have made it this far without getting bored or passing out you are a champ! I appreciate all your love and support! Sending my love and prayers from Haiti!

Pita! 
Cheyenne