Because we are leaving bright and early on Wednesday, here are my favorite memories from Haiti:
1. holding a 22 day old baby in a village one day
2. swimming in the ocean with all the kiddos
3. getting to sing in Creole and English in front of the entire church
4. the all girls teams organizing a “tacky prom” (picture bad makeup, crazy hair, weird outfits, dance parties, dance competitions, karaoke, and LOTS of glitter)
5. giving a little boy from Ann’s Children’s Home a bath and fresh cloths
6. turning the “David and Goliath” story into a dramatic skit during VBS- in order to be Goliath, I sat on Kyla’s shoulders (both of us covered in sheets) and wore a motorcycle helmet
7. taking 4 boys from Ann’s Children’s Home to the beach and letting them just be kids
8. talking to a young woman for about an hour and helping her accept Christ
9. HALLOWEEN!!! With there being so much voodoo, witch craft, etc. in Haiti, we were not allowed to celebrate Halloween. Our leader Lucie had the best idea ever… if everyone around us was going to invite evil spirits in, we should invite good, stronger spirits to overpower and protect. Soooo we did a night watch! From 7 pm- 7 am, there were at least 2 people constantly praying. From 7 pm- midnight, we had worship music BLARING for the whole neighborhood to hear! Oh and at 2 am, me and a few other girls made pancakes for everyone who was still up.. it was just such a fun night!!!!
10. getting to hold Lorraine’s hand while she sang to me in Creole
11. going to the gas station with a few other girls and spontaneously taking a Tap Tap for the first time in Haiti (with no leaders OR translators!! we were really proud of ourselves to say the least)
12. having a “game show night”!! We played lots of games, including, Haiti Family Fued and What’s in that Bag?/What am I Eating?… it got very intense
13. swimming so far out in the ocean and just floating there with Kaylee, Ashley, and Dasia
14. having movie nights with all three teams- setting up a projector and making popcorn or brownie batter
15. getting to meet the incredible people we did during house visits. We go out with the purpose of encouraging those we meet, praying for them, teaching them, and so many other things, but each time I come home, I feel more encouraged and like I have learned more than before
16. the man who runs the ministry, Gary, had 4 young boys who would always hang around. The cooks started to bring their kids to about half way through the month. This meant that for a whole month I got so many little brothers (and one sister)!! It was so so so much fun!!!
17. getting to ride home from choir practice standing up in the back of a truck- all 20 of us!
18. Getting to know Ann from from Ann’s Children’s Home. She is one of the coolest ladies ever! Picture the mom from The Blind Side or something- soooo amazing
19. going on a REALLY long hike. It was one of the steepest hikes I’ve ever been on, but there were jaw dropping views, baby goats, and a mountain spring at the top! Because it was such a long hike and we were already late to our next ministry, a man named, Doggo, picked us up in a bus for the last 2 or 3 miles… and he let all of us sit on the top of the bus! It started out so incredible, but then we ended up having to lay down, cover our faces, and tuck in our legs because so many telephone wires were hanging over us and tons of trees were scratching and hitting us. I’ve never had so many weird bugs and spiders fall on me it was wildddd!!
20. getting to take a child from Ann’s Children’s Home to an American doctor
21. getting to know the translators- Alex, Sylvano, JP, Shama, Diana, and Ben- some of the most amazing people with such an incredible heart for God
22. getting to start to read the book Courage, doing a book club of Through Gates of Splendor, and doing a bible study on Romans
23. star gazing, talking, and eating with Cat and Kaylee on the drive way
24. getting to meet and play with all the kids in the neighborhood- me and one 10 year old boy named Deli became so close over this month
25. during one prayer walk, Deli took me and a few other girls all around these back pathways and into a village we had never been to before
I LOVE HAITI SO SO SO SO MUCH IT’S UNREAL! The ministry, the people, the country… I am in love. I have had such an incredible, amazing, awesome, fabulous, great time here and I am beyond thankful that I got to come and live here for one month! Ahhh thank you everyone who has helped me get here and everyone who has been praying, it means the world to me
