We need healing!

I was sitting in the teacher’s office yesterday and one of my students came in crying. I assumed he had got into a fight or he was in trouble for something, but he said he had a toothache.  We gave him some Tylenol and sent him back to class. Later when I left the office I saw him again standing outside the school. Huge tears were running down his face. He was leaning his head against the wall jerking back and forth in pain. I hadn’t realized how much pain he was in until then. It was terrible. I didn’t know what to do. There was nothing to do. Even if I had the money there isn’t any dentist in Haiti. I prayed for him. I prayed God would take the pain away. That he would give him comfort. I hope he’s better today. God has to heal him because I don’t think toothaches will heal by themselves. It will eventually get infected and after that who knows.

Please pray for this child. He was hurting so bad! The only option we can hope for is super natural healing. I have to give this one to God. It’s his only chance….

Maybe....

Wow! It’s been a crazy week!!

We had a group from Texas come and stay at our orphanage. They had twenty people with them. The best thing about when a group comes to stay is all the great food the cooks prepare for them.  They cook spaghetti, chicken, and goat. It’s really good. Anything different from rice and beans taste amazing to me. 

Two of the days they were here we set up a free medical clinic. The first one was for all the kids that go to my school. The second was in a community about 15 minutes down the road from where I live. We set up giant tents in the middle of a field. The people came in and saw a nurse. Then we gave them a new pair of shoes and some rice. Before they left we had someone pray for them. We ended up seeing almost 100 families. I’ve done clinics before, but this one hit me a little differently. I could understand Creole enough to listen to what the mothers were saying about their babies. I guess it impacted me more to talk with people one on one and not need a translator. So many of them brought babies to us with fevers and stomach aches. Many could not sleep and were in pain. They all needed real doctors but we did the best we could for them. Never again will I complain about anything when I walk into a doctor’s office. Seeing a doctor is such a privilege. I never really understood that until now.

The last day the group was here we spent the morning at the beach.  That’s one thing I’m going to be forever spoiled about. Haiti has the most gorgeous beaches. I don’t think any other beach will ever impress me now..lol.  There is a part of me that gets so aggravated when I see the beaches here. Haiti could have such a wonderful tourist industry if they could get a decent government.  But maybe that’s why I’m here. I have to raise the next president. All it takes is one kid with the right teachings and the wisdom of the Holy Spirit to grow up and change this entire country for the better. Maybe that’s why God sent me. Maybe……

That was crazy

For some reason I’ve had horrible encounters with wild animals the last few days. Last night I opened my bedroom door and there was a tarantula crawling down the hallway. Yes! A tarantula. It was big and hairy. I’ve seen them before, but only in cages. I felt so much braver when I was looking at it in a glass box. Everyone kept telling me to kill it, but how?? The thing was bigger than a mouse. It’s not like I could have stepped on it. It probably would have picked me up and threw me across the room!! Then one of my friends told me a story about his dad getting bit by one. He put his shoe on and the spider was down inside his shoe. Oh man, I’m never going to be able to put a pair of tennis shoes on again without looking inside first. And now that you’ve read this you won’t either..hahaha.

Then today after school I was sitting at our kitchen table reading a book. The kids were particularly quiet at that moment. It was a menacing kind of quiet. Three little boys approached me with the grins only little boys can pull off. They said “Miss Carrie for you”. I looked up and screamed. They had somehow managed to catch a live bird and they put it two inches from my face. The poor thing was squawking and screeching trying to get away. Then the little monsters let it go!! It started flying around the room in a total panic. I was hysterical at this point. I leaped under the table narrowly avoiding the bird’s wings as it was frantically flying around the room. Of course the children thought this was the most hilarious thing they had ever seen. After threatened them with every possible thing I could think of they caught it and I made them take it outside. By the end of it the bird and I were equally traumatized.

If God has a sense of humor (which I’ve always believed that he does) I’m sure he got a pretty good laugh out of that J

Completely Random

Last night I dreamed in Creole. It was weird. I was having conversations with people and I could understand them.  I was talking to a teacher about watching her class for the rest of the day because she was sick. It was a completely random conversation, but it’s the first one I’ve ever had in Creole. At least in a dream, anyway. 

My trip back to the states was good. I spent a week in Orlando with my dad and grandpa. It was relaxing spending a week away from all the children, but I spent the majority of my time shopping for them. I’m about ready to play Bingo with them and who ever wins gets a toy. They love Bingo!! Our games get really intense around here.

One thing that was crazy about my trip home was how I immediately felt insecure. As soon as I got off the plane I started looking at all these magazines and TV shows and I started comparing myself. Within the first hour of my arrival I was totally convinced I had to go on a diet and dye my hair. LoL. That’s insane. Now that I’m back in Haiti I could care less. I never realized how much the media affected me until I went without it.

I have a very busy month planned ahead of me. We have teams coming to stay for the entire month of March. We are doing clothing and food distribution and medical clinics. It’s going to be a lot of work, but I think we’re going to reach many people through our ministries. I'll keep you all posted on our progress

A little break

I'm staying in FL with my grandpa this week. I'm supposed to go back home Saturday. It's good to be here but I miss my kids. Earlier I was showing my family all the pictures I have of them. I've turned into that annoying parent that can't have a conversation without it turning into something about my children. I can't help it though. They're so smart and funny. I went around asking each one of them what they wanted from America. I'm using the money I had donated to me to buy them all something. Wilson, a 12 year old boy, told me he wanted jerky and a motorcycle. Hahaha. I said, "Is that all? Are you sure you don't need a jet ski too?" He's so crazy! I got him the jerky he may have to wait a few years on the motorcycle. If he was sitting on one I doubt his feet could even touch the ground. Another boy told me he wanted fruit loops. I also have to get Nike tennis shoes, a basketball, and a jump rope. It's funny to hear the random things they ask for.
I know my blog entries have become a little scarce. I'm sorry for that. The internet in Haiti has been horrible ever since I got back from Christmas break. I can log on but then after about 5 minutes it kicks me off. I can still answer my emails because I can check those over my phone. It would be a little difficult writing an entire blog with my cell phone though. It's supposed to be working soon so don't forget about me. I'll try to start posting regularly once I get back into Haiti.

Melissa's Laugh

I’ve been kind of sick for a week now. I hate that. I’m not sick enough to miss work. Just sick enough to make the day seem like it will never end. I think its allergies. This is weird because I’ve never had allergies before. Of course, I’ve never lived in Haiti before either.  My throat hurts, my nose is stuffed up, and my eyes are dry. And let me just say that I’m not going to try and pretend like I’m some tough missionary chick that never complains about anything. When I’m sick I’m the biggest baby you’ve ever seen. These poor people living with me have had to put up with my whining for a while now. Hahaha. Oh well, it should be about over. I think it has about run its course.

I found out a couple days ago that I can’t come home now until the end of June. I wanted to come home for a week during my Easter break but I don’t think I can now. There is a team coming to stay with me that week and a couple of the people on the team are from my home church. Plus that week we are going to have a free clinic for one day at the property that Soul Harvest Church purchased. It’s going to be the first ministry we do on our land. I have to be here for that. At the end of June I can come back to WV for a couple months during my summer vacation. It’s going to be weird leaving everyone for that long but I’ll enjoy the little break. I can’t even imagine how hot it will be here in July and August. I’m sure it’s miserable. I know I’ll experience it eventually but for now I’m going to go home and hide in the air conditioning when the time comes. Ya I know. I’m a wimp!

My Creole is improving significantly. I’ve been praying that God would help me with it and he really has. Now it seems like I can remember words easier. Things are sticking in my brain. I can make sentence now but it still takes me a while to think of every word. I think now it’s just a matter of practicing. I have a teacher in town helping me with grammar 3 days a week. It’s helped a lot, but he’s expensive so I can’t go to him that much longer.  My monthly budget is only $150 and I give $50 of that away to whoever needs it.  Obviously I have to be really careful with how I spend my money. This tutoring thing is a good investment now, but I can’t do it forever. Eventually I’ll have to teach myself.

This is completely random but……The kids are outside my room playing right now. I can hear Melissa over top of all of them. She is about 8 years old. I fell in love with her from the very beginning. She has a big personality; aka, she has an attitude. She’s not rude, but she does let her opinions be known. She’s got a great laugh though. I wish I could record it and put it on here. I can always hear it over all the other children. I can be having the worst day in the world and hearing that laugh will always make me smile. I’m so glad I was obedient to the Lord even when I was afraid and unsure. If I wouldn’t have been I would have never got to hear something as precious as Melissa’s laugh.  

Waiting

There wasn’t much to do last Saturday so I decided to take a trip to see Lucson the man I met on my first trip to Haiti. He lives right on the beach. Of course, that wasn’t the only reason I wanted to visit him..lol. Honestly, he’s a wonderful friend and I’ve really miss him lately. Working a full time job that’s about an hour drive away from him makes it almost impossible to be able to visit him regularly. So last Saturday was a real treat. I saw his family and I was very pleased with the fact that I was able to communicate with them a lot more then the last time I saw them. His wife and children can’t speak any English so I was forced to try out my Creole speaking skills. I think I did ok. I still have a long way to go but I’m farther then I was.

Lucson and I went and looked at the property that Soul Harvest Church has purchased. He’s been doing a lot of work on it. The land is almost entirely cleared off. We have two huge mango trees on the property, and the land is a lot bigger then I remembered. We set under the mango trees and talked for a long time about what our dreams are for the land. Lucson wants to have Bible study classes. He’s concerned about the fact that most Haitian preachers haven’t been taught enough about the Bible. They need help interpreting the scripture. I can understand his concern. I recently found out that one of the senior pastors at my church doesn’t know how to read and he has never been to any kind of Bible school. I think it’s kind of scary that a group of Haitian people are being lead by a man who has never read the word of God. I can only pray that the Holy Spirit is guiding people like that.

Personally, I don’t know what God’s plans are going to be for that land. I would like to think that it’s something so awesome it goes beyond anything I can imagine. For now I’m forced to sit back and wait for God to move. I know he will open the right doors for us at exactly the right time. In the mean time I will study Creole, play with my kids, and sit under a mango tree and day dreaming with my friend.  Sometimes waiting on God can be the hardest part……

“A task without a vision makes a drudgery;

A vision without a task makes a visionary;

A task and a vision make a missionary.”