Adventures in Haiti, Part 2: Cavillion

On Sunday, we went to the Church Bon Berge in Les Cayes and were led in worship with the familiar songs "Wonderful Merciful Savior" and "Holy Holy" (Worthy is the Lamb) being sung in Creole. I couldn't stop the tears from coming as I was struck by the beauty of our Savior, who isn't just the God of the U.S. believers, but who is the God over all nations. He is being worshiped in countless languages today. I look forward to the days in which we will get to worship with all of our brothers and sisters in Christ from around the world, in Heaven.

We went to the evening service at the Cambry Church where the children from the Cambry Orphanage attend.

  On Monday we went to Cavillion Orphange not far from where we stayed.

Living space for the children.

Triage table and the pavilion where the doctors saw patients.

Beautiful mountain scenery all around us.

The school of Cavillion

 I was able to assist with Triage and Judin helped me interpret. He is from Haiti but now lives in Canada most of the year, coming back once or twice a year. With his experience I hardly had to ask the patient's questions before he knew exactly what to ask next in Creole. I was thankful, but felt a little silly and inadequate not knowing any basic Creole. I kept thinking he must think I am pretty useless, but he never treated me that way. Instead he acted grateful for my presence and told me he hoped that I'd be back and that maybe we'd see each other again next year.

Triage and Photographing the Orphans for sponsorship.

Ted praying with one of the men.

Waiting their turn for a scabies wash, new clothes, and to see the doctor.

Does he not have the most beautiful eyes and smile?

One of my favorite pictures. She was so sweet. One of my first friends from the week.

They are all cute, but he was the cutest littlest boy!

Sweet Judlynne

Draining an infected knee wound. Bravest girl I know took on the pain without any pain relievers.

This little toddler would just wander around doing his own thing!

Proud of his drawing!

   These kids literally have so little, that to give them anything means so much to them. They went crazy over the stickers and bubbles we gave them. Before I left I wrote my name on Judlynne's paper she had colored that day and I pointed to it and her bright, beautiful smile light up her entire face. I stuck my duck tape "name tag" on the little boy in the yellow shirt and he gave me this big smile. I'm thankful to hear that their health has improved so much and that they are finally getting more beans to supplement their rice diet. After this day the Haiti children found a big place in my heart.

Adventures in Haiti, Part I

On Saturday, February 22, we flew out of Miami after 11am and arrived in Port Au Prince after 1pm. We were greeted by a Hatian band playing loud, lively music and continued down a long hallway to immigration.

Grabbing our luggage and putting them on carts proved to be a little chaotic, sweaty, and challenging. We had at least 25 bags between the 17 of us, each bag around 50lb, so around 1000 lbs all together. 

Then came the challenge of getting through customs in which they could ask to search all of our bags. Thank the Lord, we saw His hand at work when they only searched a few of our bags and sent us on our way, no fees, no confiscation of bags!

 

There was so much to see on our 5 hour drive to Les Cayes that my eyes were glued to the window and only exhaustion and the dark night made me close my eyes to rest. 

Our ride.

Market and more tents on the side of the road.

There are people in Port Au Prince still living in tents, 4 years after the earthquake.

Texaco and incredibly beautiful mountains in the background.

Just relaxing in a couple tires!

There were so many homes on the sides of the mountain. 

My bunk bed

El Shaddai Ministries International

The scenery around where we stayed was incredibly beautiful. We were up on a mountain top and could see the surrounding mountains and beautiful farmlands all around. We laughed as the sounds of rooster, donkey, sheep, goat, dogs, and car alarms punctuated our devotions and singing morning and evening. We did not laugh much when this rooster and its rooster friends woke us up multiple times in the morning.

Where we ate our wonderfully prepared meals.

Brothers

I love his different faces!

The photo below makes me really happy.

Such precious little boys!

 

41 years ago

41 years ago today, abortion was legalized in the United States. Since then it has been estimated that 56 million babies lives have been lost to abortion.

“That is roughly 1/5th of the United States population who we will never know..."- Rep. Ann Wagner (R-Mo.).

These words from our President makes my stomach sink: "And we resolve to reduce the number of unintended pregnancies, support maternal and child health, and continue to build safe and healthy communities for all our children. Because this is a country where everyone deserves the same freedom and opportunities to fulfill their dreams."

What about the freedom, opportunities, and dreams of those babies who lost their lives? What about their safety and health? They weren't even given a choice.

An article from "The Dream is Dead" New York civil rights campaign against abortion states:
"In 1963 when Martin Luther King Jr. shared his dream with the nation, he never envisioned an America where ”reproductive justice” would end 56 million innocent human lives... Just as Martin Luther King Jr. boldly spoke to a nation’s conscience on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial over 50 years ago: “Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God’s children.”"
(Read more here: http://www.toomanyaborted.com/newyork/)

Genesis 1:26- 28, 31 "Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.  God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground... God saw all that he had made, and it was very good."

Psalm 139:13-16 "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be."

Read today's article from Missouri Right to Life's blog post on the march taking place in Washington D.C. today:
http://missourilifenews.wordpress.com/2014/01/22/why-we-march/

Human Trafficking

January is Human Trafficking Awareness month. A couple weeks ago I discovered a paper that I had received at the Mission to the World Global Conference at a seminar on Human Trafficking. On it were lists of books, websites, and resources that can be used to learn and to take action to fight this injustice of slavery that is taking place today.

"Meeting girls ages 12,13, 14 years old had become routine, however sad and horrific. But eleven? Not even a teenager, still very much a child..."Do you have any idea what kind of world we live in? Children are being sold!" I want to yell, perhaps for the more placid ones a vigorous shake of the shoulder. I'm disgusted by their ignorance, by their carefree attitudes." -Rachel Lloyd

I began to read this book by Rachel Lloyd called "Girls like Us" (which you can find at the St. Louis County Library). Rachel was a victim of sex trafficking and she writes this memoir of her healing process as she ministers to girls in NYC, who have also been domestically trafficked, through the organization she founded called GEMS. Her book is in depth and informative about sex trafficking, but also shares story after story of heartbreaking brokenness in the lives of so many young girls through this industry that is degrading to their very humanity. Their stories are similar in that they often come from abusive, broken, and impoverished homes. It begins there, with their views on normal life and love distorted and twisted into lie after lie. Their pimps convincing them that they belong in the life and could never fit in with the outside world, where they would not be taken care of or loved like they are now.
These girls don't escape this life through an instant decision to leave. It takes years and years for them to recover, many of the girls experiencing symptoms of Post traumatic Stress Disorders (PTSD). They have learned from a young age of 11,12,13... that their worth comes from selling their bodies, what their pimp says or does to them, and that love involves beatings, rape, etc. In regards to the "good" that the pimps did for the girls, Rachel writes, "...the critical factor is not whether the kindness is legitimate or valid, simply that the victim perceives it to be so. For Danielle, it's her cubic zirconia necklace, for Angelina, it's the chocolate Yoo-hoos; for another girl it's the gift of a Wizard of Oz DVD, for another it's being allowed to sit in the front seat of the car. For some girls, the only kindness is the absence of violence..." This is truly heartbreaking.
There are so many other factors that only aggravate and don't alleviate the issues these girls face. I learned that many girls who are domestically trafficked aren't recognized as acceptable victims, that they are often seen as criminals because that they chose this life of prostitution. They are not receiving the grace, mercy, and justice that they deserve.
There is so much more, that I can hardly wrap my mind around it all but it's a start. This book is a must read.

I want to share just a few resources I found helpful or want to further investigate myself. I want to encourage you to learn, pray, and take action. We must fight against trafficking because it brings so much brokenness in the lives of children and teens who are also made in God's image and deserve to be loved and protected.

http://www.gems-girls.org/get-involved

http://www.gems-girls.org/about/research-resources

http://www.somaly.org/

http://thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com/

http://31bits.com/

http://blog.slaveryfootprint.org/

http://www.love146.org/
http://www.thea21campaign.org/
http://3strandsglobal.com/index.cfm?pID=3331
http://www.worldvision.org/our-impact/child-protection
http://www.notforsalecampaign.org/

http://exoduscry.com/

http://stoptraffickfashion.com/about-us/about-human-trafficking/

http://daughtershouse.wordpress.com/resources/

http://magdalenestl.org/

Online stores that sell goods benefiting women:

http://31bits.com/blog/spread-the-love-of-31-bits/ 31 BITS- Jewelry

http://joynindia.com/joyn-us/ JOYN- Bags, home decor

http://www.thistlefarms.org/index.php/home-parties Thistle Farms- body supplies

http://www.ravenandlily.com/shop/

http://stoptraffickfashion.com/about-us/what-is-ethical-fashion/

Movies:

Very Young Girls

http://exoduscry.com/about/human-trafficking/ Video clip answering "What is Human Trafficking"

http://nefariousdocumentary.com/the-films/nefarious-i/ Nefarious: Merchant of Souls Documentary

4 Part PBS Documentary on book "Half the Sky"

Books:

Terrify No More by Gary A Haugen

The World is Not Ours to Save*

These can be found at the St. Louis County Library:

Half the sky : turning oppression into opportunity for women worldwide / Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn.*

Love does : discover a secretly incredible life in an ordinary world / Bob Goff.

The road of lost innocence / Somaly Mam with Ruth Marshall.*

Passport through darkness : a true story of danger and second chances / Kimberly L. Smith.

Undaunted : daring to do what God calls you to do / Christine Caine ; [foreword by Max Lucado].

"Girls Like Us" by Rachel Lloyd*

*Recommended after checking it out already

Please leave me a comment if there are books or other resources you'd recommend that I check out!

No Good Thing Does He Withhold

Psalm 84:11-12 For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in you!

What a comfort to read and think on those words TODAY. God does not withhold good things from us. Our Father is trustworthy, He is good, He knows us intimately and He doesn't withhold good.

Yet my heart groans and I doubt because I hear the stories of brokenness and hardships my friends, family, co-workers, and patient's face. Things aren't they way they were intended to be. There is a lot of what looks like good being withheld for the time being.

Romans 8:23-28 "And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose."

While the waiting and the hardships we face now may seem like it's too much to bear, we have hope. Hope that we will be redeemed. That we have the help of the Spirit who speaks words to our Father out of our groans and sighs of pain and longing. We can know that, no matter what, God is working all things for our good, for His glory. This is not it, there's so much more to come.

Lord, I often want what I want, now; I want those hard situations to change. What I want is not always what you desire for me at this time. Give me patience, hope, and trust that you know what is ultimately good for me. Enable me to find rest in knowing that you are not withholding good from me. Thank you that you care even for the very smallest of my hurts and everyday struggles. Amen.



For in Acceptance Lieth Peace

"For in acceptance lieth peace." -Amy Charmichael

"...It is our response to our circumstances rather than the degree of difficulty that determines whether or not we are discontent." -Jerry Bridges ( from Respectable Sins)

I have a hard time accepting change. Especially when it is a change in my plans. It unsettles me, it threatens to ruin a perfectly good day. I often become irritated, worried, unkind, angry, and I find someone to blame for messing them up. I don't want unpredictable schedules and last minute plans. I like to to know in advance, to be able to make plans more than 2 weeks out, and to control my schedule.

My life hasn't gone the way I had planned when I was in college. We didn't feel that calling to missions in Africa when I thought we would, instead we've settled down and made roots in the US. Our jobs have changed multiple times in the past 3 years, have had less than predictable hours, and some have felt less than fulfilling. We've lost loved ones, had friends move away, experienced job loss, and our vehicles have broken down at some of the most difficult times.

God created me with a love for planning, but He also asks that I trust Him when those plans change and to serve Him faithfully wherever I am, in whatever I'm doing. Proverbs 19:21 says, "Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails". God has used these changes in my plans to show me that I need him, and that He wants me to depend on him for everything. I am comforted by 1 Peter 5:7 that says, "Cast all your anxieties on him because he cares for you". God is sovereign over all things and I certainly can't change what's happened or control what will happen. It is only by His grace and power that I can respond differently and that He has given me a husband who is much more flexible.

Even amid the difficulties we've faced this year and changes in plan, I have never felt more blessed. While there are some things I will never understand the reason for, I have begun to see that His plans are far better than I could have imagined them to be. My rebellious heart still wants to believe that my plans are ultimately best, but it's comforting to know that God's plans will prevail and that they are full of amazing promise and hope. He is making us more like Himself and while He may bring trials there will also be so much joy.

This past year we have known this joy. The joy of extra time to spend with friends and family a normal 8-5 job wouldn't allow. The joy of discovering we'll be aunt and uncle again. The joy of God's provision through His people in ways we've needed most so we'd have no cause for anxiety. The joy of new friendships, of closer relationships with a spouse, with friends and with our Heavenly Father. The joy of receiving and sharing the answer to a prayer we've long been waiting for. God, teach me to continue to see that joy you have given me in the midst of the brokenness.

Psalm 73:25,26,28 

"Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all your works."

"The good that God works for in our lives is conformity to the likeness of His Son. It is not necessarily comfort or happiness but conformity to Christ in ever-increasing measure in this life and in its fullness in eternity." -J. Bridges (Trusting God)

Adam and I before The Ugly Christmas Sweater Run this December