February.
February means lots of things, like being in Haiti, and Valentines day.
A lot has happened already in my time here at Mission of Hope: Haiti.
I’ve played with some of the sweetest children, taken some great photos, built stronger friendships with squamates, watched many sunrises over the Haitian mountains and then watched sunsets over the ocean. Its amazingly beautiful here, from the dry, barren mountainous lands to the lush green tropical areas to the ocean stretching out into the horizon. I’ve been able to spend sweet time with Jesus on the roof, both quietly by myself and with my whole squad (there is nothing quite like worshipping with them). I’ve been reminded of so many truths in my walk with Jesus. I’ve been challenged and stretched and comforted and reassured and shown new things.
Its also been a really hard month for me so far. The first few days of being here I got really sick and was taken to the Haitian run hospital/clinic here at Mission of Hope. They gave me an IV and some meds and told me to come back the next day if I wasn’t feeling better. The next day I wasn’t feeling any better but the nurses on our squad recommended waiting another 24hours to see if the meds helped anymore that day. Sadly they didn’t and I felt even worse the next day, so back to the clinic I went. When we got there the Haitian doctors were concerned and very upset with me for waiting an additional day. Usually Haitians don’t raise their voices when they’re upset, but two doctors and a nurse all yelled at me upon arrival at the clinic and sent me straight to their emergency room. They took blood to test and determined that I have parasites in my belly and in my blood. While I was thankful to have an answer about what was wrong with me so I could be treated, its kinda terrifying to think about little things living inside me and feeding off me causing harm. While I tried not to think about it too much, my lovely and hilarious teammates started naming the little buggers. The prayers prayed over me have also been borderline comical and I had a hard time not chuckling when someone prayed cursing the parasites. I’m still not well, though. I finished my meds on Wednesday but since then I’ve gone back to feeling just as bad as I did when I first got sick. Its been a week and three days since I became really sick and I’m praying it doesn’t last much longer. I’m ready to be able to join my team out in the villages again.
This month has also brought a lot of spiritual warfare and seeing things that I’m not sure what to do with. Last month I was told I have the gift of discernment. I’ve always been pretty spiritually sensitive but would always write it off as my imagination. Last month I was seeing and sensing things that I hadn’t before and when I brought it to one of the leaders who was doing prayer walking with us she explained a lot of it to me. I’ve been spending a lot of time in prayer about it and asking Jesus to tell me why I’m seeing and sensing things. This month as I’ve been diving into prayer about it, the amount of spiritual things I’ve seen, sensed, and dreamed has doubled or tripled. The spiritual attacks have grown in number too. The first several nights we were here, every time I went to sleep I would dream that demons were screaming in my face. It was terrifying and I didn’t get good rest for days. I finally shared it with a couple girls in my room and they prayed over me and my bed and our room and that night I finally was able to sleep in peace. Last night though I woke up with the feeling of absolute certainty that there was a demon or evil presence standing right beside mine and Brittine’s bed. It was looking me in the face and I vividly remember every detail of its face. I was paralyzed with fear for several minutes, but once I got it together enough to move, I woke Brittine up to pray with me. We prayed for a few minutes and asked Jesus to put protection and angels around each person in our room. Also recently when I close my eyes I still see the place in front of me and the people there, but I also can see other things. Theres not really a good way to describe it other than I can see light and dark presences. So after we prayed it was like I could see light wrapped around each persons bed but the darkness hadn’t left, it had just retreated to the middle of our room, and whatever was standing by my bed before was still there staring at me from a distance. Most of the time stuff like this makes me feel like a crazy person, but I keep taking it to Jesus asking what He wants to show me through allowing me to see it.
This month also means Valentine’s day. The guys on our squad made Valentine’s day really special for all the girls. They hosted a candle light dinner on the roof for us. It was one of my favorite things on the race. They served us, serenaded us, wrote each of us a note, and acted out a skit for us which was absolutely hilarious. The night was ended with the guys praying over us. Hands down favorite Valentine’s day ever. These guys love us all so very well and have set the bar high for anyone who wants to pursue any of us girls. I’m continually blown away by how self-less, loving, and amazing these men are.
Well, thats all for now. If you would be praying for quick healing for me, and that I wouldn’t get frustrated by feeling like I’m missing out on so much while I’ve been sick. I also still need funding for my deadline in a few weeks so if you would donate to keep me on the race that would be wonderful and be in prayer that the funds would come in at Jesus perfect timing. Thanks y’all!
