Tomorrow!

I am leaving tomorrow people! And I got our projected schedule of events too! It looks like a pretty "easy" trip; we get to go play with the kids at the Children's Home, and on Sunday we get to go worship with Church Project Greeley's sister church, in Beaujoint (my favorite thing to do in Haiti is worship Savior with the Saints who live there!) And, also... more exciting than seeing the goats, we are planning to go to the Citadelle! (And San Souci Palace!) (And the beach!) (And we get to visit the hospital!) (And!!! We are planning to do some work at "The Base." Well, the mission house. But I feel like James Bond when I call it "The Base.") But also... these things might not happen. Its exciting, to go back to Haitian time for a week, and rest... away from the clock and elevated expectations. Plans change, and its always okay when that happens. In Haiti, anyways.

So, that's enough of me making you jealous of how much fun I'll be having. I'm going to talk about the real reason for going. The real reason I need to go... anyone needs to go, really... but why am I the one asking for money to go back in the Spring.

I was showing the girls pictures of the Citadelle, on the same day I got the schedule, and we were talking about the history of it. I love the history of this beautiful island, and these sweet, wonderful people. I briefly discussed the history before I went last time, but it was ever so brief, and more information than anyone could effectively retain. In any case...

The Citadelle is easy to google, and really fun to learn about. What I was telling Sarah and Delilah is that King Henri Christophe  built it to ward off any French invasions that might have happened after they secured their independence. (King Henri was a key leader in the slave revolt, by the way.) No invasions ever happened. It was a fortress. While I was chugging along on this super cool history lesson Sarah interrupted and said "They used to be slaves, but there are no slaves anymore?" And this stopped me in my tracks.

No slaves. Anymore. I said yes, their bodies belong to themselves. They have a choice in what they do now, and there are no terrible people who will force them to do something that they don't want.

But, there is still bondage in this country. While most Haitians profess to practice Christianity (Catholicism) there is a darkness that is being hidden. There are many who use the Catholic saints to disguise the Voudou spirits that they worship. I will not go into detail about the Voudou religion. It is fascinating and scary... and very, very real. Last time I was there, I was lucky enough to get to see some places where they practiced their ceremonies. The basics of it are that they believe in one big spirit who cares nothing for the people he created. There are many lesser spirits that exist to cause mischief and mayhem... who can help or hinder the people of earth. If they are pleased it will go well, and if not, it will go badly. This religion was carried from Africa on the slave ships to Haiti all those years ago, when slavery was manifested in a physical way. Praise God they do not need to contend with this any more. In some ways breaking the spiritual bondage of sin is so much easier. There is only one name that anyone needs to cry out... JESUS! (Romans 10:13)

We know that our Creator is one who loves us, and cherishes us, and made a way for us to live WITH HIM once we leave these skin suits behind. (Haha. Gross. But really.) And how will anyone know unless they are told? (2 Corinthians 5:1-4)

This is why I go. I will leave the link for the website of New Life Missions at the bottom, so that you can go read about who my church works with. New Life is wonderful, because they believe in reaching the culture of these people! Why would I, an American, go to Haiti and change the heartbeat of this country? God made them to live as Haitians, not Americans... and New Life trains local people in biblical theology to go into their own villages and teach their own people. We are not brainwashing them to worship Savior our way. They worship the True God their way... with their culture. I don't know if I am making the waters muddier... what I am saying is that culture is an important factor. I desire for the people of Haiti to find freedom from sin, through Christ, not freedom from bathing in the river, or freedom from having a flexible time schedule. They can ride their motos with goats hanging in bags off the side of it... or continue to burn their trash. The children SHOULD be naked if they want. None of that matters, when their eternity is so much more important! (And all of these things is what makes me love the country!)

So, why should you help me go? Because, while the Christians in Haiti are laboring for their country, there is still need. This time I am going I am taking a lot, a lot, a lot of stuff. Supplies. Baby formula, clothes, spam, lotion, shampoo... its all stuff that costs a lot of money over there, or they just plain can't get it. There needs to be people going ALL THE TIME. These are things I can run to Wal Mart and grab. If nobody takes it to them, they do without.

Besides needing things, they need to know that there ARE people who love them. It means a lot to these Saints to see Americans coming and giving time and resources to help their people. Despair can take hold so easily... and its important for those of us willing to give time to be able to do that. Unfortunately, not everyone who has the time to give has the money. Sometimes, people who have the money do not have the time. WE MUST WORK TOGETHER!!! And while I get to hug them, and converse with them, and sit and eat meals with them... hold their babies. (I met a 5 month old last time I was there. Her name was Camsis... will she still be alive this time? Will I see her walking? If I go three times a year, will she learn my name, and look for me in the crowds of Blanco's) Hold their hands... cry, and laugh together.

I get to be the one who does this... but you, my friends get to be the ones who make it happen. And its no secret to my friends in Haiti that it takes a team of people to send just one. And they are grateful. I couldn't express their gratitude properly... but look at my photos. You will see in their eyes that it makes a difference, and I am not the only one creating that difference.

So, Merry Christmas, and go to my fund raising page to donate, (https://www.gofundme.com/t7d8thvg) or send me money in the mail, and PRAY, PRAY, PRAY! Before you do anything, the most important thing you can do is pray.

http://www.newlifemissionhaiti.org/

Guess what people?

Well, time flies, right? And I just realized that I have spent just about an entire year talking about the place that I love. I hope you love it by now, too. Besides spending a lot of my blog space talking about Haiti, I have been counting down the days until I can go back again... and now I'm in the 20 day stretch! I can hardly contain myself.

When I get there I am going to look for the goats. (Its not hard to find them. They are everywhere.) And I am going to welcome the sound of those stupid roosters until I'm trying to sleep. And there is nothing at all like waking up before the sun, and listening for the trucks and motos to start driving down the road. And, I get to eat spaghetti and hot dogs for breakfast... (Its a real meal they eat. And it is so delicious.) and I absolutely cannot wait for rice and beans. I'll eat dinner outside, and smell the smoke from trash burning. (I know, gross. But it became so familiar and comforting. Like a campfire.)

I cried last year when I found out that I was going to have to sleep on the airplane. Leave my children, and everything that made me feel safe. Now, its just something I will do for a night, and I know I'll survive. I dreaded the cold showers. But now, its just what I will do in Haiti. The heat isn't so bad. Neither is the humidity. (I will go in Summer, one day... then we'll see what I think of the humidity.) All of the things I thought would break me... made me a better person. I wanted to go help somebody... and instead the people there taught me more life lessons in one week than I ever learned in 32 years of my life!

So, now I get to go have a Haitian Christmas. I have spent a lot of time trying to avoid the materialism and commercialism and all the pressure to do things a certain way. Maybe I will learn something new while I am away. My family is also so very excited for me, and so sweet and supportive. We can have our special traditions when I get back, and when I come back I will have new stories to tell them. They love Haiti too.

They speak Haitian. Sort of. When dinner is ready, they yell "Manje! Manje!" and everyone comes running. They can say trash, and noodle, (Its funny, because they know the word for noodle, and think that you just add an "s" on the end to make it plural. I keep telling them that it probably doesn't work like that, but... they don't believe me. And then they ask me to give them Haitian hair. All the braids... and barretts. I wish we could all go, and they could play with the kids, and see the critters, and eat the food. One day.

So, I get to go back in 20 days, and guess what else? I GET TO GO BACK IN MARCH TOO!!! Hooray. I won't have to wait almost a whole year to go to the place that brings me to life.

So, my friends. I actually need your help. I always feel tacky asking for money, but the truth is that it costs a lot of money to go. There will be more blog posts about what we will be doing while we are there for a mission trip... this is a quick one to let you all know what I am up to, and also... time is important. I don't have a lot of time to come up with a lot of money. I just wanted to mention to you all... that if you are inclined to help you can send a check to me, and just put "Haiti Spring Break" in the memo. And if you have specific questions for me, then email me! And I will certainly be posting again (Like, before I leave in 20 DAYS!) with some more real actual facts about why I love Haiti...

Have I mentioned before that Haiti makes my heart sing?