Faces of Haiti: Fabie

We serve a God of miracles. When our team was in Haiti, we met a little girl named “Fabie.” This little girl was severely burned when she tripped while carrying an oil lamp in early 2012. Due to the severity of her burns, her skin did not heal properly. As a result, her chest and her chin healed together. This immobilized her neck, made swallowing difficult, and stole this little girl’s joy.

Her caregiver—her grandmother—brought her to us while we were on La Montagne. She left Fabie with us for 5 hours while she went down into the city to get her birth certificate so that we could pursue medical help for her. While her injury was non-life threatening, there could be complications in the future as she continues to grow.

Five months later, on January 11^th, Fabie finally made it to the U.S.A. One member of our team was incredibly impacted by her story, and worked tirelessly to get her the medical help she needs. After ensuring that there was no doctor in Haiti that could help her, she turned to doctors in the States until she got approval from a hospital that would donate their services to help this precious child.

A family from our church in Michigan was very touched by Fabie’s story, and wanted to adopt her into their family. You cannot imagine the joy and excitement present at the airport when Fabie and her new family finally got to meet! Fabie has a new family that loves her, has prayed for her, and will be with her as her plastic surgeries start in late February.

Fabie will have multiple surgeries over the next 2 years to correct her burns. During that time her new family will work on the adoption process necessary to make Fabie a permanent part of their family.

What an amazing God we serve! He not only crossed our paths with Fabie in Haiti, but He also gave a burden to her new family to adopt her. He provided a doctor, hospital, and medical team that is willing to cover the expenses for her surgery. He is changing Fabie from the scared, shy, and sad little girl we met in July to a little girl that is joyful, well-adjusted, who smiles, and experienced her very first bath this weekend. J Our God is the God of the impossible! Beni swa Letenel!

Haitian Proverbs Galore!

One of my Christmas gifts this year was a book called “Hidden Meanings” by Wally Turnbull. It’s a book filled with over 1,200 Haitian proverbs! I don’t believe I’ll be running out of proverbs to share any time soon. J The following one gave me a good laugh over the mental image of a turkey laughing:

Lè y'ap plimen poul kodenn pa ri.

“When the chicken is being plucked, the turkey doesn’t laugh.” Don’t laugh at others’ misfortune, for it could happen to you, too.

"Do Hard Things" Quote

For the past 4 years in a row, the first book of the year I read is “Do Hard Things” by Alex and Brett Harris. This year I have found a LOT of encouragement in reading the book because of the changes God is working in my life. This quote stood really out to me when I read it:

“We aren’t called to be successful all the time. We’re called to be faithful, to take those first difficult steps—and to leave the results up to God.”

During the birth of the Hope Hill Orphanage Project, I had a lot of fear of failure and what others would think of me. But God showed me that I needed to rid myself of that pride and be faithful to what He had called me to do: surrender to His plan for my life and serve the children of Haiti. Ultimately it doesn’t matter whether I fail or succeed; God’s plan will ALWAYS prevail. I am simply blessed to be a part of what He is doing in the country of Haiti. I’m not called to know all the answers; I’m called to obey.

Faces of Haiti: Valencia

How I miss my precious Valencia! A friend from our Haiti team returned to La Montagne in late December. She had a picture of me, and when Valencia saw it she exclaimed “BIAN-ca!” J Oh how that made my heart turn cartwheels! I cannot wait to see this little girl again. I hope she knows that she is loved more than ever by me, and also by her heavenly Father who watches over her every moment of every day.

Reckless

I heard this song by Jeremy Camp over Christmas break, and it really spoke to me. For so long, I was holding on to parts of my life that I didn’t want to surrender over to Christ. But God wants ALL of me, not just part. My life is not my own. The world may think it’s reckless and ridiculous to live your life serving someone you can’t see. Our instant-gratification culture thinks it’s absurd to strive for a reward that we won’t receive until we enter eternity.

 

But I’m not striving to please the world nor to live up to its standards. 2 Corinthians 5:13 says, “If we are out of our mind, it is for the sake of God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you.” If I’m going to be reckless, it’s going to be for HIS sake alone!

 

Every time I try to play it safe

Holding back just a little part of me

I find myself forgetting what

I say that I believe

The promise of Your Word

Is all I need

 

I’ll lay my life down

And give it up

I’ll give it up

 

I want to be reckless

Cause You are endless

I want to be shameless

And shout Your greatness

I will not be afraid

To surrender my way

And follow who You are

I want to be reckless, reckless

 

I will lose my life and just let go

Because I know this world is not my home

With fearless faith

I won’t be moved

Unshakeable inside Your truth

 

You laid Your life down

And gave it up

So I’ll give it up

 

I won’t waste any more time

My life’s Yours it is not mine

Use me Lord no matter what’s at stake