Finding Nourishment and Love.

Last week we visited one of the orphanages Lifeline provides food for in Port-au-Prince with a medical team. We hadn’t been there since October and were sad to find the children still in poor condition. We have concerns about dishonesty going on within the system and sadly, the children suffer for this. Please be in prayer for this situation.

Junior is a small, 7-year-old boy living at the orphanage. He is one of the more malnourished children and clearly needs proper nutrient care. On Tuesday, Jacques drove me to the orphanage again to take Junior to the hospital. The doctor was not in at 2 in the afternoon so I decided to bring him back to Lifeline. In the hour car ride back, he sat on my lap and I was terrified if I held him too hard I would break a rib, but if I didn’t hold hard enough he would fly off my lap from the bumpy roads; but as we sat there I had a strong feeling he would be at Lifeline with us for a while.

Once back at the mission, we (Adrian, Candice, Donald, Osmy, and I) quickly decided it was best for Junior to stay with us for we would be giving him the same care a hospital would (we have a doctor here 5 days a week if we need anything), plus we would give him love and constant attention.

Just to give you an idea of his size—he wears Jean Fritz’s clothes and weighs the exact same amount as Jean Fritz. They weigh 31 pounds and wear size 2T pants and 3T shirts. Junior is 7 and Jean Fritz is 2. They are 5 years apart…

It’s been a mere 4 days since Junior came to stay with us and we put him on a eating/hydration plan and we have already seen significant improvement! Adrian is playing soccer with him right now and I can see him running around on the soccer field. He could barely keep his eyes open when he first came.

He smiles a lot now too. He takes joy in such little things, like bath time and being read to (even though he can’t understand English).

The pictures are from the second day he was here, as you can see he still wasn't smiling a lot. 

Jean Fritz and Junior

Please be praying for Junior as he finds nourishment and love. Also, please be in prayer for his future as it is unknown.

2 years later. 12-Jan-12

300,000 people lost their lives this day exactly 2 years ago.
     As I go through the streets of Port-au-Prince the physical damage is still obvious.
  Rubble still sits in lots,
               tents of the displaced line the city,
          people live and use whatever collapsed portions of buildings they can,
    and areas of piled concrete sit abandoned as a reminder of the day that changed this country.

Haiti has come far in the rebuilding process,
       but they had far to go before the earthquake-
they were the poorest country in this hemisphere before the earthquake,
    now consider the poverty level after as they slowly recover.

     But here is the good news,
        God is the man with a plan!
   He sent Jesus as THE redeemer and will redeem this land.
         

     Watch the video of Haitian music artists and Haiti's president
                                                         (he was a popstar before he was president)
            I think it says it all perfectly.
 
   

World premiere HMI STARS 7.0 Official Music Video [HD]

The Road Less Traveled

Somehow 2 months have passed since I last updated this.
    I have so much to say- so much has happened.
The time passes so fast and I am often too exhausted and/or distracted to type.

  And now I sit here attempting to reflect on the past 2 months
     and there are not enough words to describe my thoughts, feelings, and adventures.

I am absolutely falling in love with this land and these people.
     More so than I expected.
 God has given me a heart for this place and I am so joyful I get to live here!

   And it is only because of God I am here.
I distinctly remember when I was 12 saying I would never be a missionary.
Then God helped me understand my compassion and gave me a huge heart for missions.
     My freshman year of college one of my classmates went to Haiti for his internship,
  I clearly remember thinking I didn't want to live in Haiti because it's too close to the US.
       (Yes, I was a spoiled brat who enjoys traveling a little too much)

Then 2 years ago tomorrow, the earthquake happened where over a million and a half people were displaced and roughly 300,000 people died. 

  I clearly remember where I was when I first heard about the earthquake.
          I was in Iowa visiting my parents.
                    As the news continued to cover stories, I just sat in front of the TV weeping.
         I remember feeling like I belonged in Haiti, like I had a weird connection to the country.
 [Even though I said I would never live here because it's on this side of the world (ridiculous thought)]
 At one point I was up in my room just thinking about everything happening and
                         so I walked down to the kitchen and told my dad I had to go to Haiti.
         He said no.
But God had other plans.
       [A year and a half later, I moved to Haiti.
   And 2 years later, my mom, dad, and a brother came to visit]

God clearly ignored my idea of the way I wanted to live,
               but He called me to live a better life than I could have even imagined.
       He's allowing me to be apart of so many amazing peoples' lives,
                                               given me so much joy, and immensely blessed me here in Haiti.

Walking in Haiti. 

My dad in Haiti!