Great Quote

I recently finished reading a book called “Walking in Broken Shoes” by Susan Magnuson Walsh. She was leading a medical missions trip in Haiti at the time of the 2010 earthquake. Her story was heartbreaking and eye opening (I highly recommend the book!)

At the beginning of each chapter, she opens with a quote. There were SO many good ones, that I thought I’d share some of them here on Tuesdays for the next few weeks. Here’s the first one which has been a great reminder to me lately:

“When one door closes another opens. But often we look so long [and] so regretfully upon the closed door that we fail to see the one that has opened for us.” –Helen Keller

Faces of Haiti: JC

I recently finished reading “Walking in Broken Shoes” by Susan Magnuson Walsh. She was on a medical missions trip in Haiti during the 2010 earthquake. The book gives her first-hand account of the devastation following the 7.0-magnitude quake.

Reading the stories contained in that book brought to mind a testimony I heard when I was in Haiti. One of our Haitian translators was J.C., pictured above in the blue shirt. While we relaxed in the rocking chairs on the balcony, he told me, in his broken English, where he was during the infamous quake.

J.C. was attending university in Jacmel at the time, and was on one of the upper floors when the building began to shake. The city of Jacmel is 20 miles away from where the epicenter of the quake was (Léogâne), but the magnitude of the quake still caused some of the largest buildings in Jacmel to tremble and collapse.

Out of fear and instinct, J.C. jumps off the bench where he was studying and goes out the window. He falls several stories. He should have died or been severely injured. By God’s grace, he walks away unscathed. The student sitting on the bench next to him was crushed beneath the collapsing building and died.

Almost every Haitian has a story about how the earthquake affected them. Some of these stories are heartbreaking; others—like JC’s—clearly show God’s sovereignty and protection over all. He so clearly has a plan for JC to spare his life in such a way!
 

Haitian Proverb

This amusing Haitian proverb talks about accommodating others:

Sèvis ranvwaye ranje moun toutouni.

“A postponed ceremony accommodates the naked person.” Putting off helps those who are not prepared.

Convicting

“Whoever shuts their ears to the cry of the poor will also cry out and not be answered.” Proverbs 21:13

Faces of Haiti: Joy

Haitian Proverb

Anvan tiraj tout nimewo bèl.

“‘Before the drawing all numbers look good.” False hope. All options look good but that is not the case.

Faces of Haiti: Counting Down

Words can hardly describe the longing in my heart to return to Haiti! I cannot wait to wrap my arms around the precious children, to see their smiles, and best of all, serve them and share the Gospel with them!

Haitian Proverb

Here is a good Haitian proverb about trouble:

Pousyè pa leve san van.

“‘Dust doesn’t rise without wind.” Trouble doesn’t start without instigation.

Update on the Gala

Talking about the Summer Missions trips through A Child’s Hope with some of the guests at the Gala.

Thank you SO MUCH for your prayers for the gala this past weekend! It was so clear that we were covered in prayer. First, we did NOT get lost driving through Dallas and Houston. We made it to Houston on time, and to the ballroom where the event was being held on time. We were able to get everything set up and have a happy reunion with the missionaries a few hours before the gala started. :-) It was SO good to see them both again after so many months!

 

I was a bit nervous about how things would go, but the gala was a smashing success. We had over 300 guests, and the amount of money raised for A Child's Hope far exceeded our hopes and expectations. God is so good!

 

I also had the opportunity to talk with a fair number of people at my booth about our summer missions trips. Please pray that God would continue to raise up people who will come and serve with us on the ground in Haiti.

 

I'm afraid I don't have time to give a more detailed update, but I thought you'd like you know how things went (you can read more about the gala by clicking here.) Thank you so much for your prayers for this event!

 

Faces of Haiti: Update on Fedline

Last week, precious Fedline was wrapped up in the arms of Jesus in her eternal home. While I am so grateful that she no longer suffers from hydrocephalus, it still breaks my heart that this precious 10-month-old girl is gone. She touched so many lives in those 10 short months, and God will use her death to continue to touch more.

Fedline’s death brings joy and pain at the same time. Joy that she gets to see Jesus face-to-face, but anger at the injustice of it all. While I know God is sovereign and in control of all things, it still angers me how children like her are ignored by the rest of the world.

Awhile back I read a book called “The Hole in Our Gospel” by Richard Stearns. In it, he put child deaths in amazing perspective. Imagine a commercial airliner where all the passengers are children. Now imagine that the plane crashes, burns, and kills every child onboard. It would be considered a horrific tragedy and attract national media attention, donations to the families of the children, and research to find out the cause behind the crash.

Now imagine that every day, 25, 50, or 75 planes filled with children crash and burn every day. THAT is how many children die around the world each day, and most of them die of preventable or treatable diseases.

While I believe it is incredibly important to address the issue of child mortality, I believe it is equally important to address the spiritual death occurring across the globe. Hundreds of children enter into heaven each day. But what about their families here on earth? What about teenage children who die every day? Are we meeting their physical AND spiritual needs? Friends, the need is URGENT. We cannot waste our time, because time has a limit. What are you doing TODAY to meet the physical and spiritual needs of children around the world?

Haitian Proverb

Here is a good Haitian proverb about letting go of the past:

Pa kite yè gaspiye jodi a.

“‘Don’t let yesterday waste today.” Don’t waste time reliving the past.

Gala Coming Up

This past month has flown by, filled with preparations for the upcoming fundraising gala for “A Child’s Hope.” As the trip coordinator, I have been quite busy completing a number of projects in preparation. I have communicated extensively with travel agents, the missionary, the President of ACH, and others to calculate the cost to send teams down to Haiti. I have also designed a brochure to promote the trips, and created all the forms people need to fill out to apply for our trips.

Even though there was a bit of stress and adrenaline in trying to complete all of that in just 3 weeks, I had so much fun doing all of it! I enjoy being so involved with Haiti while still being able to stay at home and keep up with my homeschool studies. I am also really looking forward to being back in Haiti this summer!

So please be in prayer this weekend for the gala. Pray that many people would come, many would apply for our two trips this summer; that I would be able to answer all the questions that will come my way, and that the fundraising aspect would be a success. And that we don’t get lost in Houston. J I look forward to posting an update sometime next week!

Faces of Haiti: Update on Fabie

 

A couple of months ago, I wrote an update on Fabie, the little girl we met in Haiti with the severe burns on her neck and chest. A friend emailed this picture to us yesterday. Fabie had her first surgery to reconstruct her neck in late February. The surgery was pretty traumatic for such a young girl, but she pulled through and is recovering well as far as I know. Unfortunately she developed an infection in her leg (one of the graft sites), and was hospitalized to treat it.

 

She is a rambunctious little girl and had a little trouble honoring the doctor’s orders to take it easy following her surgery. J She has to wear a neck brace while her neck heals, and she will have more surgeries in the future.

 

But Fabie is one step closer to having mobility in her neck and living a normal life! Our God is so good!

 

Haitian Proverb

*Sorry this post is going up late. We had internet problems over the weekend which prevented me from publishing it on Friday.*

 

Here is a good Haitian proverb about ignorance:

 

Se “si m’ te konnen” ki toujou koupab.

 

“‘If I had known’ is always guilty.” Ignorance is a convenient excuse.