As I was driving down the road this morning, I was overwhelmed with thoughts of Haiti.  This week has been insane.  The lack of oxygen to my brain is quite real in my struggles to focus… finding it hard to have time to breathe this week.  No complains here though!  It has been a long week, but we are in the home-stretch and I could not be more excited! 😀

I have packed almost 19 bags this week with clothes, school supplies, and shoes for HCM [Haitian Christian Mission].  Between organizing, packing, and weighing all of it I have been quite overwhelmed, but in my head, one thing kept entering my thoughts. 1st world problems!  [Some of you reading may be wondering what this is, so let me explain.  If you have a Twitter account, when you write a status or a tweet, you can hash tag something at the end and it is all complied into a section of tweets based on these hash tags.  (For example: My husband surprised me today by cooking dinner. #blessed)  If you look up “blessed” on Twitter, anyone can see your status under your hash tag.  It is pretty sweet!]  Okay, back to the story!  Recently, Whit Maxey, one of the guys I work with said that one of the new has tags was #firstworld and it is all about our “First World” problems.  This week whenever I felt frustrated or overwhelmed about my insignificant issues or “to-do” list I would hear “first world” in my head and suck it up.  Honestly, it didn’t matter how crazy this week seemed, I have a good life, and getting ready to head to Haiti only makes it better.  I can hardly contain myself.

It has been six months since I was in Haiti, but it just feel like yesterday.  God truly changed my life through my last experience in Haiti.  He consumed my heart and opened my eyes to see how He sees.  [It is sad that after being back in the states a while we start to allow our blinders come back.  Not only that, but the brain washing continues from our #firstworld issues.  We don’t have enough money, enough clothes, enough whatever… our culture starts to consume our thoughts again and we are fighting off those urges all over again.  I can’t wait to have a reminder and a flushing out of my flesh.  Those are needed at times!

Tomorrow will be surreal as we reach Haiti and I am able to see my brothers, Robenson (Sonson) Louis (23) and Samuel Simon (16).  We have been counting down the days until we would be able to see one another, but I know I will be dreading as the days pass by while I am there. [It will be at least a year before I am able to go to Haiti again with Zeke’s arrival on the way].  Knowing I will not see them for at least a year brings tears to my eyes.  They have truly become my family!  I know my heart will yearn to be in Haiti serving them and their families… it will yearn for my long talks with Sonson and Samuel about our mighty God.  It helps to know I will see them again when I leave their precious smiling faces, whether here on earth or in Heaven, when we see our Heavenly Father.  I CANNOT WAIT to see them and give them GIANT hugs! 😀  They are so excited to meet Nick.  Sonson wants Nick to show him how to play the guitar, which I think will be a lot of fun.  I can’t wait to watch Nick fall in love with Haiti and the Haitian people just like I did. I am so excited about experiencing this with my husband and seeing how God uses this trip to change our lives forever.

Please pray for our team as we take this trip.  My phone has been blowing up all day with concerns, excitement, questions, and surprises. ha.  I know everyone is feeling what I felt back in June as I started packing my bags, but this time is actually much crazier since we are leading worship at churches, doing VBS for three different churches, and running sports camps.  It is going to be quite busy and we are bringing a lot into the country.  Please pray for a renewed spirit in our students… for  these goggles we wear as Americans to be removed and for us to see what the rest of the world looks like… for the Holy Spirit to move in such a way that we are not just inspired to change, but forced to.  Again, THANK YOU to everyone who made this mission trip a reality for our team.  We are beyond blessed.  Keep the prayers coming!  Mwen renmen ou!  Bondye renmen ou!