Haiti - Day 6

Well hello Wisconsin! This is my first time ever posting on a blog so bear with me.

Where to start, where to start? This is my second time coming with Lori to Haiti and I've found that many things are the same and many things are different. I've met up with some friends I made in November and have been surprised to see how many people remember me. I've also been able to make lots of new friends along the way this trip and it is such a blessing. I love the smiles, the laughter, the passion, and the innocence of the people here; especially the children. My heart has been melted so many times that I feel it will permenantly be a jelly - but I am certainly not complaining about that. This place, these people, will do that to you. Its so humbling to see what they don't have and yet see a level of contentment and peace that I envy.

I want to assure you all back home that we are all doing just fine. The weather is beautiful, everyone is healthy and happy. I'm not sure what the news is saying, but from a first hand perspective life in Haiti is good. We walked into town today to get some Coca Cola and were surrounded by the same atmosphere that has been there all week. Tensions rose a bit last night in Port Au Prince but nothing too alarming. Please continue to pray for peace in this difficult election time, and pray that we would be wise in our decisions and that God's will, and not ours, would be done for the remainder of our trip. We can feel your prayers holding us up and we are so grateful. Please don't relent on us! lol.

The team, even though it is large, has been bonded into a sort of family. I will miss each and every person so much when our adventure is over. Its been so awesome to see how God has used our various talents and finally see the puzzle coming together of why he assembled the team the way he did.

Since today is Sunday, we went to a local church up the road from Sue's house. It was such a wonderful service that Michel graciously translated for us. The pastor challenged us all the hold firm to our faith and reminded us that we so often lose sight of the power of God in our lives and too easily forget what he has provided us in the past. We underestimate his ability to handle our problems and instead turn to the world when we face difficulty. We read a Psalm which so perfectly addressed the situation here is Haiti. I think it was 46 but don't quote me on that. In it though it said that even through earthquakes, and pain, and trouble, God is soverign and has the power to deliver us from all our problems and lead us to victory. It was so beautiful. What a wonderful reminder - especially when you are here and see so much destruction and pain, and can easily get overwhelmed and feel discouraged. I find so much peace and joy in remembering that this is not a battle that I am supposed to fight on my own. God is continually reminding me to not attempt anything in my own strength... that only leads to failure. But to rely on him in all things, even the small things. When we are able to do that, we see true victory and God receives the glory. It is the most fufilling feeling in the world because it is in those situations - when you die to yourself and serve others with an unconditional love that we have been given from our Father, that we are fufilling our very purpose. We love because he first loved us. Wendy, a friend of Michel's and a translator for our team led a devotion the other day and he said some very simple words that I will never forget. He was discussing how we can love God. He said that we cannot give God a glass of water, we cannot give God a pair of shoes, we cannot even give God a hug to show our love to Him. But when we give to his children, his beloved people that he died for and loves with a love we cannot even comprehend... that is how we love God. This is our purpose - to love God by loving each other, all others, and bring glory to His name by allowing His perfect love to shine through us and radiate his peace and mercy to all creation.

For some reason, throughout this trip I have been reminded of a quote from The Jungle Book. I used to love that movie.. loved it so much that I eventually couldn't stand it actually. Anyways, the colonel Elephant had a motto that "An elephant never forgets" This is comical in the movie because he forgets his own son while he says this. My point in bringing this up is that we too easily fall into this as well. When something affects us, spiritually, emotionally, physically.. we often vow to "never forget". We become convinced that nothing will ever cause us to let the memory of that experience fade. But it is in that confidence that we do lose them. The Novemeber 2010 Haiti trip rocked my world, in so many ways, and I swore I would never forget the things that God showed me and taught me. But I did. I got off the plane when I arrived and realized just how much I had hardened again. Even in a matter of months, I forgot. But God has used this to teach me that we are prone to forget so easily. We forget peoples faces, we forget inside jokes, we forget painful experiences, and most importantly we forget about God. We forget what He has rescued us from. We forget the penalty he paid to purchase our souls. And we forget his desire for us to share these things with others. It is my prayer that we wake up. That we realize how we have forgotten and we daily ask him to remind us. To mold our hearts to break for what breaks his. To conform our will to desire and actively seek the things that please him. And to daily die to ourselves and be filled a new with him and use the empowerment we have through the Holy Spirit to fufill His purpose for our lives. Whatever that may be. At home, at work, in school, in Haiti.

I've been known to talk way to long.. and I'm afraid I have done so again. Thank you all for listening to my thoughts and I pray that God will use my experiences to speak to your hearts.

Much love from all of us at the equator!!! Can't wait to see your beautiful smiles again soon.
Chelsea