Haiti

Yeah, this is a very belated post. I started to write a summary/thank you letter to those who financially and prayerfully supported my trip to Haiti as soon as I returned in April. I have revisited it as a saved Word document on my computer many times since then, but have never felt like it was coming out just right. So here I am, finally getting around to expressing my gratitude on paper to print and mail with Christmas cards. It's kind of sad to admit that the idea of saving stamps was what it took to finally get me to finish the letter. As you can see to the left, there was a big gap in blogging on my part between February and June. It's not that I haven't had blogging hiatuses before, because I have, but this one was because I wanted to blog about my trip to Haiti and just couldn't seem to get my feelings out in a comprehensible way (before or after the trip). I started a blog entry a few times, just like I started the thank you letter a few times. What it came down to, was that I experienced some pretty powerful emotions, from both ends of the spectrum, while I was in Haiti...and I don't think I will ever be able to share them effectively without writing a confusing novel. I think a trip like that is something that you can't experience through another person's story. I cannot make sense of many of my own thoughts regarding Haiti, so I definitely can't get those conflicting emotions out in words that anyone else could make sense of. I reread my journal entries, and just pray and pray for the people there.

The trip was a life changing experience that I will always carry with me. I learned so much about my relationship with Christ, my relationship with my husband, my relationship with my country, and my relationships with some of the people I have the joy to worship and fellowship with on a regular basis. I learned that even when you don't achieve exactly what you were aiming for, it doesn't mean that nothing was achieved. We did a lot more in Haiti than I originally thought we did. I allowed myself to get discouraged about the physical things we were unable to make happen, when the physical things weren't REALLY why we were there.

Every time I stop to think about that week, I feel something new. I will forever be impacted by thoughts of the people and sights we saw there. I plan to go back, and I plan to consider adoption from Haiti in the future, when our family meets the requirements.

Thank you, again, to all who wrote checks and prayed for our team and our mission. Please continue to pray for Haiti.

Here is the awesome slideshow that my sister Amanda put together for us, if you haven't seen it yet.