These are just a few of the beautiful faces that have changed my life. I was beyond blessed with the AMAZING opportunity to go to Haiti for a week this Christmas break. As I prepared to go, God's provision and favor toward me continued to show. He provided the funds and the means of travel for me to get there, and I am so thankful. As we got on the airplane from Miami to Haiti, my heart grew heavy with fear, knowing that I was no longer in the safety of my comfort zone in the United States. This trip marks the first time I have ever left that comfort zone. When we arrived in Port Au Prince, I was excited, nervous, overwhelmed, and feeling many other emotions all at once. The airport was absolutely nuts. People were everywhere, shuffling through lines, gathering loads of luggage, checking passports, and I felt like we were in fast forward. Thankfully, Jeff and Jen are pros and kept us all together. As we exited the airport, we were swarmed with a mass of Haitian people that were doing one of three things: asking to help us, asking us for money, or simply waiting to see who arrived that day. As we rushed through these people,
trying to find Jean Alix (the pastor that we stayed with), I couldn't help but notice the darkness surrounding us. This country is still hurting, still broken, and still yearning for a glimpse of hope in the destruction of the earthquake nearly two years ago. Again, my heart grew weary, knowing that there was no way we could help all of them. We were only 13 small people, the nation of Haiti needs a God sized miracle. We piled into the van and began our drive through Port Au Prince to the pastor's house. The need we saw along the way was devastating. There are still many people displaced and living in tent cities, many buildings still on the ground, and people still roaming the streets, searching for hope in voodoo, and things they find as they walk. As we got to Jean Alix's home, I felt a bit more safe, but I was 100% outside of my comfort zone. Nearly everything inside of me wanted to go home. I wanted to go back to where I was comfortable, but God doesn't call us to be comfortable. In fact, He calls us to make 
ourselves uncomfortable for the sake of His Kingdom. So, the first night was hard, but I'm beyond thankful for my amazing team. Each one of them, in some way, helped me conquer the fear of the unknown, and the fear of being out of my comfort zone. We all got along so well, and had SO much fun getting to know eachother and serve together. God did an incredible job appointing this team.
trying to find Jean Alix (the pastor that we stayed with), I couldn't help but notice the darkness surrounding us. This country is still hurting, still broken, and still yearning for a glimpse of hope in the destruction of the earthquake nearly two years ago. Again, my heart grew weary, knowing that there was no way we could help all of them. We were only 13 small people, the nation of Haiti needs a God sized miracle. We piled into the van and began our drive through Port Au Prince to the pastor's house. The need we saw along the way was devastating. There are still many people displaced and living in tent cities, many buildings still on the ground, and people still roaming the streets, searching for hope in voodoo, and things they find as they walk. As we got to Jean Alix's home, I felt a bit more safe, but I was 100% outside of my comfort zone. Nearly everything inside of me wanted to go home. I wanted to go back to where I was comfortable, but God doesn't call us to be comfortable. In fact, He calls us to make 
ourselves uncomfortable for the sake of His Kingdom. So, the first night was hard, but I'm beyond thankful for my amazing team. Each one of them, in some way, helped me conquer the fear of the unknown, and the fear of being out of my comfort zone. We all got along so well, and had SO much fun getting to know eachother and serve together. God did an incredible job appointing this team. The first day that we got to go into the village of Guibert, my heart began to change. I saw the faces of all of the school children in their precious blue uniforms, and I saw the faces of the 32 boys that live in the boys' home. When we first got there and were gathered as a team, Jeff picked up one of the boys, named Mackenlay. As soon as Jeff put him down, Mackenlay ran into my arms and gave me the biggest hug a 4 year old can give. I could've held him all day. That was the moment I knew that it was all worth it, 
and I had no reason to be afraid. You see, God is so ever present in Haiti, and His hand was constantly felt in the village of Guibert. To me, the village seemed to be kind of formed around the church. God's love in those people, made me feel at home. As we began our tasks, which ranged from cleaning a storage room to pouring concrete, my heart knew that I was supposed to be there. At the end of our work, we got our first opportunity to really meet the boys. Each person on our team was just surrounded with love, laughter, and hugs. In Haiti, they speak Creole/French, and with only one person on our team who knew how to speak one of those languages, the language barrier was the biggest difficulty we faced, but to me, it didn't matter because of the universal languages that exist, such as play, love, and laughter. You don't have to speak the same language to play, to laugh, and certainly to love. As the week continued, we got new tasks, such as sanding and bleaching 
horrifying amounts of mold off of the ceiling and walls of the little boys' room, mixing, pouring, and passing buckets of concrete to create new walls and columns in the central room of the orphanage, and lastly, painting the new storage building and the little boys' room.
and I had no reason to be afraid. You see, God is so ever present in Haiti, and His hand was constantly felt in the village of Guibert. To me, the village seemed to be kind of formed around the church. God's love in those people, made me feel at home. As we began our tasks, which ranged from cleaning a storage room to pouring concrete, my heart knew that I was supposed to be there. At the end of our work, we got our first opportunity to really meet the boys. Each person on our team was just surrounded with love, laughter, and hugs. In Haiti, they speak Creole/French, and with only one person on our team who knew how to speak one of those languages, the language barrier was the biggest difficulty we faced, but to me, it didn't matter because of the universal languages that exist, such as play, love, and laughter. You don't have to speak the same language to play, to laugh, and certainly to love. As the week continued, we got new tasks, such as sanding and bleaching 
horrifying amounts of mold off of the ceiling and walls of the little boys' room, mixing, pouring, and passing buckets of concrete to create new walls and columns in the central room of the orphanage, and lastly, painting the new storage building and the little boys' room.Throughout the week, we basically did concrete and paint each day, all day, and while that may sound tedious and boring, being constantly interrupted by the boys made the completion of the tasks crucial. Each little thing that we did, was going to make a positive impact in the lives of the boys, and in the Kingdom of God. On Sunday, we were blessed with the opportunity to worship at the church in Guibert, where Jean Alix is the pastor. If you have ever been in an international church before, you know that not knowing the language is a huge barrier, but the beauty of worship, is that it is another universal language.
We all worship one God, one Creator, one King, through song, dance, prayer, and lifestyle. The presence of God in the church there was amazing. We couldn't help but to join our Haitian friends in making a joyful noise to the Mighty Provider that God is. We got to spend the rest of that day, resting in God's peace, and pouring into the lives of our team members. On Monday, we finished the boys' room, and got to begin moving the 14 "little" boys' (ages 4-about 12) things into their room. Since the earthquake, they have been sharing beds and rooms with the older boys, and that didn't really leave much room for anything else. Three of these boys also finally got a room that was for them! All they had known was sharing beds and rooms. It was beautiful watching the older boys help move and clean and prepare the room for the little ones, and to watch the little ones be full of joy in knowing that it was their room. On Tuesday, our last day with the boys, we spent a lot of time in the room just soaking up the joy of it all. The boys simply laid in their beds, played on their floor, and enjoyed their room. We also
got to hike around the mountain, giving dedication plaques to people that live in houses that Hope for the Hungry has provided for them. and lastly, we got to celebrate Christmas with the boys. First, we made s'mores. Let me tell you, s'mores taste so much sweeter when precious Haitian children make them for you. We also got to give the boys Christmas presents, which they absolutely loved. It was a reality check in the sense that they were overjoyed getting crayons, hats, pencils and coloring books, when most of America isn't even content getting iPads, cars, laptops, and 80 inch tvs. Nonetheless, it was very exciting, and humbling to watch them enjoy their gifts, and then use their crayons to color Christmas cards for people they have never, and probably will never meet. They wrote things such as: I love you and I am praying for you, on these cards, and it filled my heart with joy. These boys know how to love, and I mean really love. Not only do they love the people that care for them, each other, and strangers that they may not ever meet, but these boys LOVE Jesus. It is evident in the way they live and interact with people. I told the team that it was by no means easy to say goodbye to the boys, but it made it a little easier knowing that their needs are being met, especially spiritually. They are learning in school, they get to eat hot meals, they have (now, safe) rooms to live in, their building is being reinforced in case of another disaster, and most importantly, they are surrounded and being raised by people who love the Lord. The village of Guibert is a gleaming light of hope for all of Haiti. Join me in praying that these boys would be used in radical ways for the Kingdom of God, and praising God for the things He has done and will undoubtedly continue to do in the nation of Haiti, for only He has the power to save.
got to hike around the mountain, giving dedication plaques to people that live in houses that Hope for the Hungry has provided for them. and lastly, we got to celebrate Christmas with the boys. First, we made s'mores. Let me tell you, s'mores taste so much sweeter when precious Haitian children make them for you. We also got to give the boys Christmas presents, which they absolutely loved. It was a reality check in the sense that they were overjoyed getting crayons, hats, pencils and coloring books, when most of America isn't even content getting iPads, cars, laptops, and 80 inch tvs. Nonetheless, it was very exciting, and humbling to watch them enjoy their gifts, and then use their crayons to color Christmas cards for people they have never, and probably will never meet. They wrote things such as: I love you and I am praying for you, on these cards, and it filled my heart with joy. These boys know how to love, and I mean really love. Not only do they love the people that care for them, each other, and strangers that they may not ever meet, but these boys LOVE Jesus. It is evident in the way they live and interact with people. I told the team that it was by no means easy to say goodbye to the boys, but it made it a little easier knowing that their needs are being met, especially spiritually. They are learning in school, they get to eat hot meals, they have (now, safe) rooms to live in, their building is being reinforced in case of another disaster, and most importantly, they are surrounded and being raised by people who love the Lord. The village of Guibert is a gleaming light of hope for all of Haiti. Join me in praying that these boys would be used in radical ways for the Kingdom of God, and praising God for the things He has done and will undoubtedly continue to do in the nation of Haiti, for only He has the power to save.
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