Coming Back

Dear Everyone, 

     First off, I want to start out by apologizing for the late post, it's crazy to think we've been home almost a week already! Life has been crazy basically since the minute I stepped off the plane in Charlotte, but I figured I would take some time out of the business of my life right now to reflect on how massively the Lord provided, and worked in the lives of not only those on the trip, but the Haitian people that we got to come in contact with. The trip was basically split up into two sections, for the first few days, we were in villages that were actually in Montruis, which was the city we were staying in. Most of the people that we encountered in Montruis were actually already believers, and many of them offered to pray for US as we ministered to others. For me, that was really encouraging and definitely reminded me how God was already working in these villages before we even got there, but it also was a bit defeating to come all this way to share the gospel to people who had already heard it. It's pretty clear now though, that our time spent in Montruis, wishing we'd have had the chance to share the gospel with someone who had never heard it was really just the Lord preparing our hearts for the next leg of our journey. On Tuesday and Wednesday, we spent some time in what they call the "5th section", which was not only much more impoverished and poor than the villages in Montruis, but it was also much more voodoo occupied, which is the unofficial religion of Haiti. We also went from villages that were maybe 10 or 15 minutes from our hotel, with mountain and seaside breeze, to a 2-2.5 hour drive out to completely flat lands, and rice fields everywhere. Despite it's "drawbacks" though, personally the fifth was much more spiritually rewarding for me. Being in the fifth section and seeing how little everyone had, but also seeing the amount of joy and contentment they had in their hearts was incredibly humbling, and reminded me once again of how lucky we are to live in America, and have so many great things, and meanwhile these people barely have a roof over their heads. One of the most surprising things I saw in the fifth section was an attitude of thankfulness for what they did have. What would America look like if we had just an OUNCE of the amount of gratitude that the Haitians have stored up in their souls? I don't know, but my hope is that as I continue adjusting to life in the states, I will never forget to have a "Haitian heart" of joy and of gratitude in all situations. 

       The Lord has taught me so, SO much on this trip, about stepping out of my comfort zone, about being thankful, about leaving the things that have happened in my life in the past, but more than anything, the Lord has shown me that I have a lot more leadership potential than I give myself credit for. The Lord has gifted me with an ability to lead well, but far too often, I seek to please people in the way that I lead, and that leads me to be passive and permissive as a leader, which isn't good. I've realized that even the God-given gifts that we have been given can and will become mixed in with world ideals and worries if we're not careful, and before we know it, this God given gift has become a burden in our lives, and we allow that burden to hinder us from being able be the person that the Lord has created us to be. It was so very clear to me, all throughout the trip, that the more I stepped out of my comfort zone, and put myself out there, the more I realized that I DO have the ability not only to lead others, but to lead others well. Even at the very first house that I shared the gospel at, the Lord spoke his comfort to my heart, and gave me the courage to share the gospel to these people, and be able to share a little bit of my own story and how the Lord has provided for me. We truly serve a God who loves us so dearly that he calls us to do great things, but he also holds us, and guides us every step of the way. I want to take time once again to thank each and every person who has donated, prayed, or encouraged me as I went on this trip, it honestly could not have happened without you all! I will be sending out thank you letters shortly, but for now, I want to end with some of my very favorite pictures from the trip. 

Me and a sweet Haitian friend, Stefanie. She stuck with me for HOURS!  

These kids were just the sweetest, and so easy to love!  

 One of the trucks that was our main source of transportation for the week. 

All the little boys just LOVED hanging on David.  

 Crossing the river to get to the fifth section 

 Gorgeous sunset at the resort! 

The best, and possibly most ridiculous roommates ever!  

 The whole group on the mountain! 

God's beauty is really, truly incredible. 

In Christ, 

Rose

Reaching the mark

Dear Everybody,

I meant to write this a lot sooner, it's been in the back of my head for the past week, but life has been absolutely crazy with starting new jobs, midterms, packing, and somehow maintaining my sanity along the way. Anyways, here we are. Reaching "the mark", as I like to call it when everything gets down to less than 24 hours, and everything in you is just bursting with excitement. That's pretty much where I'm at right now. As we sat in large group worship tonight with Cru, my friend leaned over to me and whispered, "The next time we're going to worship will be in Haiti!!!" And in that moment, it hit me, the next time I will see a lot of my team is going to be at 7 am Saturday morning at the airport! How awesome is that? This whole journey of preparation is coming to a close, and come tomorrow at 4, I will be on my way to actually DOING the thing! My mind these past few days have been so scattered, studying, trying to pack, trying to spend more intentional time with the Lord in preparation for the trip, and also going to classes at the same time, but at this point, a lot of that has gone away. I spent today either packing, or studying for my Bio exam, which just so happens to be my worst class, and the very last thing I have to do before leaving, but as things have slowed down, my anticipation for this trip has gone up. I'm realizing that it's not a selfish anticipation, like I can't wait to be filled by this trip(although I'm sure I will be), but it's more of an anticipation of what the Lord is going to do in the hearts and lives of those on the team, and the Haitian people that we come in contact with, and that makes my heart just overflowing with joy. But things here are still in the works, and there are still prayers to be said, so I wanted to give you all a list of how you can be praying for me, and for my team members, and for the trip itself over the next few days(we fly out Saturday).

1. Safety, Prayers that we would get there safely, but also that we would be guarded against various and potentially deadly sicknesses, like malaria, zika virus, and yes, there are even deadly jelly fish. 

2. That the hearts of each person on the team would be fully focused on Jesus, and not ourselves, and we would have humility throughout the trip. 

3. Communication, Pray that we would be able to succinctly communicate what we need to when it comes to sharing the gospel. Sharing the gospel is a scary thing for many, but sharing the gospel in a foreign language just opens up many more ways of it being misinterpreted or misunderstood.

4. The hearts of the Haitian people, most popular religion in Haiti right now is voodoo, or witchcraft. Because of this, we very well may run into individuals who don't want us sharing the gospel, so pray that the hearts of these people would be softened, and that we could address them if needed with love, and not out of frustration. 

Overall, just pray that the impacts that we make in the country of Haiti would be ones that would continue when we are gone, and continue to ripple throughout the country and through the generations. 

In Christ, 

Rose