My heart is filled with joy!

What an incredible journey it has been so far here in Haiti. Every single moment of every day is a blessing to me. First of all the community of people I'm surrounded by is amazing. I would not be doing this well if it weren't for them. So thank you Heather, Sarah, Adam, and Kyle! It is a true blessing to walk with each of these brothers and sisters. My heart is full of joy. Currently we are all reading through 2 Timothy together and we meet once a week to discuss that. Some of us are also reading Francis Chan's new book, "Erasing Hell." We meet every few days to discuss what we are reading, learning, have questions about, etc. It's a joy!

This last week has been great! Very slow paced and relaxing. I didn't realize how burnt out I was before coming here. Living a face paced life of go, go, go back at ho,e was starting to really wear me down. A few verses I have been clinging to is Matthew 11:28-30, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” I think in my first week or so here the Lord has truly given me rest. It has been beautiful and very refreshing. I have really been diving into the word, writing a lot, and allowing myself to be fed. I am grateful for God's faithfulness during this time of rest, He has given me more than I could ask for or even imagine. It's crazy how in the midst of the craziness around me I can just be still and know that He is God. I came here with no expectations really and God has already done some amazing things in my heart. I'm really looking forward to this week and what God has in store for me. I am ready to serve and to be the hands and feet of Jesus to those around me.

The kids, wow, wow, wow. They have my heart! So when I was here in June I really only bonded with a few kids. There were so many people on our team that there was a lot of love to go around. I have really enjoyed being here with very few people to be with the kids. I have been spending a lot of time with my girl Islande as she has a piece of my heart. She has been so much fun to play with and spend time with. Throughout the day I really try to divide my time up with a lot of the other kids as well. I am starting to get to know some of the older girls and some of the boys as well. One of my favorite times of the day is at night when we have devotions with the kids. Devotions consist of a lot of praise and worship music and then closing with prayer. It melts my hear to hear all of these beautiful Haitian children singing out loud that "Our God saves and that He is the lover of their souls" those are two of my favorite songs to hear them sing. Almost every night Islande falls asleep in my arms and I get to put her to bed. This is one of the sweetest feelings in the world. It's priceless. After that I usually hang out with the kids and then tell them all goodnight one by one. Then head to my room or to hang with my friends! It's a perfect ending to our beautiful days here.

I know this is a long post but I have saved the best and most amazing moment for last!

Something happened last Sunday morning at Children's church and then again this Sunday morning that will forever be etched on my heart. It was one of the sweetest and humbling things to watch. We had just wrapped up teaching the kids and we were all having goldfish and juice. Only about 5 of the handicap children come to children's church and most of them are able to feed themselves, except Fon Fon. She was sitting there in her wheelchair and her goldfish were in her lap. I looked over and one by one little Pablo who is around 6 or 7 was feeding her. Then, after a few goldfish he would give her a few sips of her juice. He was eating his food in-between feeding her, it was truly a beautiful picture of the words Jesus said when He said, "love your neighbor as yourself." Matthew 19:19b. Pablo reminded me and those around that we are to love others unconditionally, regardless of what they look like, how they act, or if they are different than us. It was a gentle reminder and a beautiful picture that I will never forget. I love the way the older kids and other kids car for the handicap children. It is so sweet to watch and beautiful. May these pictures help you see the moment that is forever etched on my heart!









Peace. Blessings. And grace!

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Location:Cazeau,Port-au-Prince,Haiti