God is good all the time and all the time, God is good!

How can you put into words an experience that was both amazing and devastating, wonderful and horrible, that completely breaks you down and completely builds you up? I don't know, but I will sure try!

On Saturday, June 18th, a group of 10 from my church left our comfortable lives here in Kansas to travel to Haiti for one week. We went thinking that we could help the people there and somehow be a blessing to them. What we didn't expect was to see the power and love of God in such abundance and to come back feeling like we had been blessed beyond compare.

We arrived in Port au Prince in the middle of the afternoon and headed to the home where we were supposed to stay. The home owner there was supposed to have fixed some plumbing issues and have the place ready for us, but the work had not been completed. We stayed there the first night, and I slept up on the roof, which was much cooler than staying inside the house. We could hear church services well into the night, as well as dogs barking and other noises. We woke to the early morning sunrise and the sounds of roosters crowing. As we began to move around and get ready for the day we were told we were moving to a different home, so we packed up our bags and headed to the home that we would stay in for the remainder of our time in Haiti.

Our new home was in the suburb, Carrefour, which is not known as being a particularly "good" part of town. The 10 of us arrived at the home of Pastor David, and hung out for a while on the front porch area while we waited for another team to leave for the airport. Pastor and his wife have 7 children, and they allow AIM to use the second level of their home to house missionaries. Our group of 10 moved in and got settled, and then we headed out into the neighborhood on a prayer walk. We didn't get very far when we ran into a group of teenage boys. We began conversing with them (with the help of Watson, our translator!) and 3 of them made the decision to accept Jesus! This was the first thing to happen that really allowed me to see God at work. We really weren't supposed to be there that day - we arrived a day early because our original flight had been cancelled, and we weren't supposed to be in that neighborhood. God wanted us in that neighborhood on that day so that we could speak with those young men! Later that day, the other half of our team arrived. A youth group of 3 leaders and 10 students shared the upstairs level of Pastor David's house, and we grew to love them like brothers and sisters!  That evening, we worshipped in the street outside the house. As we went around the circle sharing our reasons for coming to Haiti, I shared that I felt that although I knew I was saved and I had a intellectual understanding of God and Jesus, I really wanted God to break me down and show Himself to me in a way I had never experienced. As our group headed up to bed, our leaders, Steve and Marcio, prayed over me that God would reveal Himself to me over the course of the week. We went to bed that night eager to see what God had in store for us the next day.

On our first day there, Calvin was able to help lead 3 young Haitian men to Christ!

On Monday morning, we had the opportunity to work with children at a VBS at the school of Pastor Phillipe. We had an amazing time singing songs, watching the Colorado team do a skit, coloring, and playing. The kids absolutely loved everything we did for them. They were so thankful that we were there. I really enjoyed playing with the kids, but I loved getting to hear them sing songs for us. Our time there went very quickly, and it was time for lunch.

The kids at VBS loved to sing for us!

After lunch, we went to Pastor Phillipe's church and did a prayer walk for members of his church. We had the opportunity to speak and pray for many families. One older gentleman told us that although Haiti is a hard place to live and they don't have much, they are very rich in faith. This was demonstrated over and over to us during our stay. Haitians are very gracious and very hospitable. We were invited in to their homes and offered places to sit. Their prayer requests were often for jobs, the ability to provide for families, and deeper faith. It is quite humbling to hear a person with very little to their name, and faith far deeper than your own, ask you to pray that their faith would strengthen.

We returned to the house to have dinner, which was always delicious. Madame David was an awesome cook! When dinner was finished and the dishes had been washed, we did what was called a Listening In Prayer activity. In this activity half the members of our group lined up shoulder to shoulder with our eyes closed. The other half of our group was placed randomly in front of us. Our directions were to listen for what God was telling us to share with the person across from us. In this activity, I was in the line with my eyes closed. I did not know who was in front of me, or anything about what that person might need to hear from God. I kept hearing that I needed to tell this person that they had great leadership qualities and that they were demonstrating those qualities. When everybody was finished, we opened our eyes and I learned that I was across from Amber. Amber is an awesome person, who was feeling quite inadequate in her role as a pastor's wife. She really needed to hear that she was capable in the area of leadership. It was amazing to discover that God could use us to speak words of encouragement to other members of our team. Just another example of how God was at work in our lives during the course of this journey.

We fell asleep to the sounds of a church service being held below. It was great to hear God being worshipped in Creole!

Tuesday was another amazing day. We were able to start our day at Pastor Phillipe's school where we played with the children again. A few of us also got to fill bags with beans and rice for the kids to take home. As we enjoyed our time with the kids, our leader, Marcio, got our attention for an announcement from Pastor Phillipe. There were 5 children who needed tuition money for the next school year. All 5 had lost parents in the earthquake and were living with relatives. In the past, Pastor Phillipe would pay tuition for those in need, but he could not afford to do so this time. Immediately, 5 of us stepped up to help these children. We drew names to see which child we would get to sponsor. The child that I have the privilege of helping is 10-year-old Cynthia. She has never been able to attend school, so she will be starting out in 1st grade this fall. I hope to establish a lifelong relationship with Cynthia and continue to sponsor her education as long as she needs! As lunch time approached, we said goodbye to the kids that we had grown to love so much in such a short time.

Cynthia and me

After lunch, we had a worship time that was probably one of the highlights of our time there. The presence of God was thick, and we could all feel the love of Jesus pouring out on us. I would describe this worship time as intense. Another member of our group, Camille, described it as worship on steroids. Either way, it was a very meaningful and impactful time for all of us. This was the turning point for me. I realized that God knit me together just the way He wanted me to be. I felt the joy and love of the Lord like never before, and realized that I could never be the same.

At 4:00, all of the women went back to Pastor Phillipe's church for a women's meeting. Several of us were able to share our testimony with the Haitian women, and then they reciprocated by having a few ladies share with us. I volunteered to share my testimony because I felt that the Spirit was leading me to share. It was amazing to see how women can relate to one another even when we are from very different cultures. I was very encouraged by the response that the Haitian women gave me, and of course, my American friends were very supportive as well. The Haitian ladies that shared with us mostly told of family coming to know Christ and how good God has been to them. One lady shared a very confusing story about her deceased husband. He was apparently a very evil man who practiced voodoo. At one point he put a curse on her that made her appear to be pregnant, but she was not. Then she had a dream in which she gave birth to three puppies, and she woke up in the morning with a flat stomach. She ended her testimony by saying that God had made her husband sick and that he had died. Her final sentence was something to the effect of, "and then he died. Praise God!" Needless to say, we were all very confused by her story! Voodoo is very real, but is hard to understand for people that haven't grown up around it!

The women's meeting

On Wednesday I woke up to the indescribable feeling of the presence of God. In a place where squalor is everywhere, where I stunk to high heaven and couldn't take a long shower, where people were in need, I learned that the joy of the Lord is my strength and that He is still moving in all of our lives.
After breakfast, we went on a prayer walk in the neighborhood in which we were staying. We spoke with 4 different families, all of whom were believers, and were able to pray and ask God to meet their needs. It was so humbling to have these wonderful people invite us into their homes, and then to thank us for being there, when in actuality we were blessed to be with them.

After lunch, we did another Listening in Prayer activity. This was another amazing moment in which I really saw the Holy Spirit at work. I was placed in front of Camille this time. Zach was standing next to Camille, and Josh was standing next to me. She said that she just kept seeing the tide roll in and out - a body of water. Zach said that he was hearing the words, "You have learned something new here. Don't forget it when you get home." This statement really resonated with me. When we opened our eyes, Camille and Zach had both shifted unintentionally 45 degrees so that Zach was speaking to me and Camille was speaking to Josh. What was amazing was that I had written almost word for word in my journal the words that Zach told me, and Josh was baptized in Haiti the next day. I have no doubt that the water that Camille saw was the water of the Caribbean Sea in which Josh was baptized.

Our next outing for the day was to one of the tent cities. The people there have been living there for the past 18 months since the earthquake, most with very little hope of getting out. Again, the people were so amazing. They were always willing to talk. We were able to pray for many people for healing. I also had the opportunity to pray with one woman who made the decision to accept Christ. I had never helped somebody accept Jesus, so this was very exciting for me. I also got to pray with two women who were not ready to make a decision for Jesus, but still wanted prayer. It was very hard to see families living in such small spaces, hungry, needing work, and suffering. What was even more humbling was that most of their prayer requests were for jobs or stronger faith.

This is the woman that accepted Christ. We prayed inside her tent while sitting on her bed - the only piece of furniture that she had. 

Thursday was our last full day in Haiti, which made me feel a variety of emotions. Of course, I was extremely glad to be going home to my family, air conditioning, and much better showers! But I was also feeling like I just began to get adjusted to life in Haiti, and was enjoying the newfound closeness with God that I was able to achieve when away from all of the distractions of regular life.
We spent our last morning cleaning, buying merchandise from street vendors that were brought to us, and having another one of our amazing worship times. This time our worship spilled out into the streets, and Haitians began to come out into the street with us to worship!

Watson and some of Pastor David's kids play drums.

Members of our team worship in the street with Haitian children!

After lunch, half of our team visited an orphanage while the other half of us went to the beach. After some worship at the beach, we were able to witness the baptism of a Haitian woman who had been healed from breast cancer just days before after AIM staff prayed over her. After her baptism, many others stepped forward to be baptized as well. I was fortunate to witness 3 of my Christian brothers be baptized in the Caribbean - Josh, Zach, and Calvin!

Dana, Zach, Josh, and me in the Caribbean!

Just before dinner, I wanted to go out to find an awesome instrument that the Haitians use in their worship time. Marcio thought it was too late for me to go out, but Watson (our lead translator) went out to find one for me. He returned a little later with a giant "gouge". This became my carry on baggage for the trip home! I felt very lucky to get it through customs!!!

Pastor David's children helped me learn to play my "gouge"!

Our final moments together on Thursday were awesome! Pastor David and his family came upstairs and we had some worship time with them. Madame David spoke to us and said that a neighbor had prophesied that our group would make a difference in Carrefour, and Watson said that he could see the Holy Spirit in each of us!

Friday was bittersweet. I was ready to get back on US soil, and back to my comfortable life, but I grew to love Haiti. The people are amazing, the foliage is beautiful, and they have some amazing fresh fruit! I hope to return someday soon, but next time I want to take my husband with me. And someday when my daughter is old enough, I hope that she can experience the beauty of Haiti as well! Mostly, I hope that I never lose the joy of the Lord that I discovered in Haiti. God is present everywhere, all the time. We just need to look past all the distractions of this life and focus on Him.

Sleeping in Dallas/Ft Worth Airport after missing the last flight to Wichita on our return journey!