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.