Matthew 10:42

I slept outside on the balcony with many of the girls for the first time in a few days. I wish that everyone could experience a night under the stars in Haiti. It is absolutely beautiful. As Kelsey commented last night, “Look, I think the stars are actually twinkling. I mean look!” And sure enough, it looked as though they really were. It was so breath taking. I hope you can all experience this for yourself one day.

This mornings devotional was just what I needed to hear. Each morning someone else leads devo, either from a group or one of the NWHCM staff. This morning it was Spencer. In the mornings, a staff member shares a proverb out of a book of Haitian proverbs. This morning, Spencer shared on a proverb that went something along the lines of “Even a mosquitos pee raises the height of water in a riverbed.” It sounds silly I know, but basically it is saying that even the smallest of things can have an impact. Spencer then read Matthew 10:42. In this verse, it mentions giving a cup of water to a child. This hit me hard because in the last few days I feel as though I have overlooked the mundane moments of walking to the sink to get Isaac or Sabrina or Ti-Carlos or whomever water. But it shouldn’t be mundane, it should be an act of love.

I never thought I would be sooo excited to eat a cinnamon roll, but this morning I was so happy! Cinnamon rolls at the mission are huge and one was rather filling with a side of peaches. It was AMAZING!

After breakfast I went down to the M.C. to help with feeding. Once breakfast was over I hung out in what we refer to as the bird cage which is just this patio area that is barred off to keep the kids safe but still allow air to come through. It stays rather cool through out the day and this morning Autumn was out there will Ti-Willy trying to help him increase the strength in his stomach and legs to possibly one day sit up or walk. I helped her out and when she needed to go get some work done before her meeting with Kimmy’s House this afternoon, I put him in the swing and worked with him some more by myself.

After hanging out with Ti-Willy I walked him over to the classroom with the rest of the higher functioning kids to watch movies again. Today we watched the Original Cars, but didn’t actually finish it. During this time I hung out with a lot of the kids, including Ti-Willy, Owens, and Roselore. Roselore decided it would be fun to “fix my hair. She did some sort of braiding thing and then just kind of threw my hair in a huge mess. Let me know if you are looking for anyone to do your hair for a wedding or prom. I know just the three year old to help you out!

After lunch today was Outreach again! Yay! Originally I thought that Out Reach was just Monday, Wednesday, Friday but turns out we have it Thursday as well. Today we had three different kids come, all with their moms. We concentrated on eating and drinking today. It was cool because I learned new skills on how to help kids drink with a straw and a way you can rub their neck in order to initiate swallowing.

Autumn had another meeting with Kimmy’s House tonight right after Outreach so I was in charge of clean up, which was a breeze. Autumn is so great and I am really thankful for all the incite she has given me in such a short amount of time! I then hung out downstairs for a bit with some of the kids before going back up for Market day.

Market day is just what it sounds like. A bunch of local Haitians come in to sell their goods at the mission. The Haitians love Market Day because they are able to sell the things they make, and the Americans love it because they can safely purchase gifts for back home in one spot, and known of the staff has to worry about losing anyone. I believe this typically happens on Thursday. Today I just looked around a lot to see some of the crafts and carvings that people were selling and what type of items were offered at market. I didn’t make any huge purchases yet because I still have roughly four weeks left, and I don’t want to have to worry about keeping up with anything just yet. I did buy a few bracelets today for some friends and family (and one for myself). These bracelets are made by some of the deaf Haitian staff at the mission and all the proceeds go to the Miriam Center, so obviously, how could I not buy some! Yeah Miriam Center support!

Once market day was down I went to take a bucket bath and then went to dinner. Dinner was lasagna (with ham) and chicken along with a brownie for dessert. I miss beef so much! Sooo sooo much! After dinner we went up for devotional. Tonight consisted of a testimony night for all the groups that are leaving tomorrow so it went a little longer, but it was really cool to hear all of their stories and reflections of their time here. It is just crazy to me that they will be back in the states with air conditioning and ice cream and Starbucks and their families in roughly 36 hours. Crazy. I must say, part of me is slightly jealous, but the other, much larger part is in no way ready to leave this place, these people or this ministry yet.

As I sit here and type my blog is it hardcore raining outside, so I don’t know if you will be reading this tonight or sometime tomorrow. Either way, I was kind of sad tonight because one of the girl interns, Nastassja, who even in my short time here I have actually grown close to is leaving with the groups tomorrow. I will miss her a lot and it made me realize that are group with soon be breaking up pretty considerably after this weekened. Nastassja is leaving tomorrow morning at six. John Black leaves Saturday morning with Kimmy’s house. Caitlin and Morgan are not coming back with us when we go to visit the Mole (another NWHCM campus about 6 hours from here) this weekend (but thankfully they will be back on July 1st for the last group session I am here for. And then Mary is leaving on Tuesday. I will miss her a lot because she is from the Austin area so I actually met up with her before we came to Haiti. But good news is, we are flying back to Austin together in July. It will just be weird not having everyone all together, but I know the Lord has a beautiful and marvelous plan for all of us, no matter where we may be.

Good night from St. Louis du Nord, Haiti

”And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.” Matthew 10:42