One morning here recently, I thought to myself, “Wow, I’m a resident of Haiti.” Seriously, I mean in a month or so, Hunter, Jillian and I will have the official documents that say, we are residents of this country. To you it may just sound like it sounds, but that’s some serious business to be a resident of a different country, and not just a foreign country, a 3rd world country—its kind of a big deal.
Then that evening I was sitting in my home filled with precious (sometimes not so precious too) little ones playing games together, vrooming cars, bouncing balls, jump roping, meticulously and “beautifully” decorating my home with tiny hand-me-down toys, while older kids wrapped up in my blankets concentrating on their studies; I realized, this is why I built my home here—to share in the beautiful giggles that joyously shower down around me, to witness such pure joy in the simplicity of life, to learn from their natural care and tenderness to one another when they need help, to discover how to build amazing relationships through not words but through acts of love and service, and to be inspired by the amazing work ethic of this young generation. This is my beautiful life.
Sometimes I get lonely and hurt for more community; some days I feel like the enemy (that’s teenagers for ya), sometimes I really miss my family and friends; sometimes satan really gets the best of my thoughts and I doubt my abilities; sometimes I lose sight of God’s will for my life in Haiti; sometimes I get so frustrated because I don’t understand why Haiti is the way it is; sometimes I’m really selfish and want more in life; but through all the hardships, God has truly spoken and has been revealing His Love to me this year. He has covered me with a peace I can’t even begin to describe—then I realize He has showered this blessing of Love upon me to be able to share it with my family, friends, and co-workers here in Haiti. When I make every effort to add to my faith, goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. I can and will become more effective and productive (2 Peter 1:5-8). He has shown me Love, because He is Love, now it’s my job to increase the other fruits of the Spirit in my life to be complete in Him and spread Him to everyone.
Yea, how blessed am I? I continue to learn each day from this amazing family I have here in Haiti. God is blessing me so much and the more time I spend at the CHCH, the more I can see Him molding and shaping who I am: He is teaching me, guiding me, providing me with knowledge and wisdom, nurturing me, protecting me, disciplining me, strengthening me, comforting me, serving me, trusting me, stretching me, all through His opportunity for me in this wonderful place.
Life in Haiti as I describe it sometimes may seem to be pretty rough, but man when I am gaining as much beauty as I just described above, how much better does life really get?
