Beauty from Ashes. {Haiti Part 1}

Dear beautiful Haiti,

For the past couple of years I have summed up my "New Year Resolutions" to one word and for 2015 my word is serving. I want to do my very best at becoming a better servant and what a better opportunity than a mission trip! I very recently just traveled to your wonderful land within the last couple of weeks on a mission trip and was blown away. Truly. 

I wasn't expecting to look out of my window on the plane and see gorgeous mountains&colorful buildings. I wasn't expecting to see the smiling faces of your people and the loving looks in their eyes. I wasn't expecting to feel completely safe. 

But I did, to all of those and more.

I then realized that what I was witnessing was what Isaiah had explained in Isaiah 61:3: 

Haiti had been given a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, and festive praise instead of despair.

Haiti hadn't just survived that earthquake and all that resulted from it, they had thrived. And I was experiencing it. 

Almost exactly three years before this trip to Haiti, I went on a mission trip to Cambodia for Rapha House. I was living in Australia at the time and met my Vernal team there. Rapha House is a safe house for girls who are rescued out of sex trafficking where they have all of their needs taken care of, counseling, taught trades that will help them earn money for their families (sewing, gardening, hair school), and can finally act like little kids. That mission trip was to collect information and first hand experiences to come back to the states (or Australia) and reach out to people.

 This mission trip to Haiti was very different, a working mission. I was meeting my parents and the team from Vernal there, most of them their second time to Haiti to reach out and help these precious people. That very first night my mom, friend Julie, and I watched a beautiful baby boy be born! That was an incredible, eye-opening experience. After our team member Necia (who helped the midwife) and the midwife told us that we were helping by our 'cheerful chatter', we decided that when the mama was pushing our job was to cheer "Push it.. push it REAL good." I'm really glad that she couldn't understand English... It was super intense labor and delivery, but she did great&we had a very healthy boy! Afterwards I was told that in Haiti one out of five mothers die in childbirth, so please keep expectant mothers in your prayers!

Two of the construction days that I was apart of was fixing a roof and building a compound wall that will be around Whole Hearted Orphanage.

Roof at Village of Faith:

We (I tried..) The men loaded up cement, and then we sifted gravel and carried buckets and buckets up the ladder. We also got to play with the adorable children of the village when school got out and the cute baby goats. At the end of an exhausting day, the ice cream moto came and we all got to share in the delight of ice cream. (Thank you Dad&John.)

Building the compound wall around 

Whole Hearted Orphanage.

We had part of our team on this project, and it was actually one of my favorite parts. It was a huge workout in the beating sun, but so exciting because you actually got to see the results. Also, I got to work with both my Mom&Dad! The work crew was so funny and so hardworking, it was incredible! 

Pictures are from both of my work days there. 

"MELOOOODDDY!"
"SAAAAAAAMMMMI!"
"KASSADDDDDIIIIII!"
"JUUUUUULIEEEE!"

To make the cement, we had to go down to a spring for our water. 
There are so many things that we seem to take for granted. 
Clean water, fresh water, abundance of water.
While we were there, I was blown away watching the women clean their family's clothes. Hardworking, dedication, love.  
Then there was this sweet, Christian man that helped Necia&I bucket water, he was extremely fast! He later said that what better way of living for God than helping others. So awesome!!!

Being able to spend time with my parents working in Haiti was incredible. Our team and the work crew were amazing!

I can not wait to see the wall complete and the future Whole Hearted Orphanage. 

{Joshua 22:5} 

 "But be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you: to love the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to obey his commands, to hold fast to him and to serve him with all your heart and all your soul."

{1 Peter 4:10}

"Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others,faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms."