3/25/12 ~ 5 days and counting

The last couple of weeks have been really tough for me. It’s been very hectic, trying to get everything done that I need to get done (packing, re-packing, cleaning, training my replacement at church, etc) and just generally trying to get everything done so that I can head to Haiti and know that everything here is taken care of. Or at least as well as I can be. I’m sure that I haven’t thought of everything, but I planned as best I could. Kind of like my packing for Haiti, it’s really hard to plan what I’ll need for 7 months, as well as what I’ll want, comfort wise. Plus all of the tools that I think I’ll need make for several very full suitcases (I hope American Airlines has a sense of Humor on their weight limit), and a carry-on packed to the gills! I feel pretty well prepared, but I’m sure that once I get there I’ll find several things that I haven’t thought of.

An interesting G.A.W. (God at work) moment = I’ve been trying not to worry (with little success) about my move to Haiti, as well the people and things I’m leaving behind. I know that God has big plans for me, and I know that my life, all of the peaks and valleys, has been in preparation for this missionary journey. I know that, yet still I worry. Anyway, as I was searching yesterday for a particular Bible passage before church, I came across the following verse:

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?  Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?  Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” ~ Matthew 6:25-27 NIV

It still amazes me sometimes how God will give us answers, most of the time before we even ask the question. All we need to do is read the owner’s manual (a.k.a. the Bible) and our problems are resolved. Thank you God for giving us Your word to study and learn from!

Probably the hardest thing that I’ve been dealing with is saying goodbye to all of my friends and family. I’m not really big on goodbyes, I’d much rather just kind of disappear one day. It’s easier to hide your emotions that way. Nonetheless, I was really touched by the friends of mine, saying goodbye and wishing me well. I was even awarded the “Golden Plunger” by the staff at Cornerstone! A truly great honor, reserved for only the best and brightest!

Having such a strong group of family supporting and praying for me is a blessing beyond measure, and I am eternally grateful to all of you, and I look forward to keeping up with you via email, and seeing you in November. Although I may not have shown it much, you all mean the world to me, and I love you all!

Until next time,

BONDJE BENI OU !

3/11/12 ~ Ups and Downs

Hello all, I hope that you are all well, and firstly I would like to apologize for the tardiness of this post. The month of February has been full of a lot of ups and downs for me, and it’s been hard for me to write about. I’m getting back on track, and I appreciate your patience.

February 15^th marked the first anniversary of my sister’s death. Michelle was a great person, with a great heart full of compassion. She spent most of her life caring for others as a nurse, doing pediatrics and home health care. Michelle and I were very alike in a lot of ways, which is probably why we didn’t always get along the best, but I loved her and we all miss her dearly. I look forward to the day when I will again walk with her and my parents on the streets of Heaven someday.

A couple of weeks ago, we held a “Hearts for Haiti” fundraiser and I was overwhelmed by the response I had. The number of people that volunteered, donated items for the silent auction and showed up to eat and wish me well has touched me more than I can say. I’ve wasted  a lot of my life telling myself, and being told by others, that I’m really just not that much of a person. That I don’t really matter. These feelings are something that I have fought with and against for a long time, and the outpouring of love and support I have received from my church family have meant more to me than I can ever say. God has truly blessed me with a wonderful church family, and I thank Him for them daily. As I prepare for my service for the Lord, I know they will be alongside of me, covering me in prayer.

I am truly blessed indeed!

“But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." ~ Ephesians 2:4-10 NIV