August 18th ~ Final Day in Haiti.....taking a leap of faith!!

August 18th was our last full day in Haiti and we were done with our "service".  We began our day at worship service with the kids at Grace Village and others who come to Grace Village to worship.  It was completely awesome to spend that time with them and to, again, be reminded of their dedication to the Lord.  It was great to snuggle with the kids one last time and to listen to everyone signing in BOTH Creole and English.

Kari helping with breakfast.

Justin at Grace Village

Carol

Chris and Tracy

Becca

Sara

Amanda and Jen

Kari

Erin

Me

Cute!!

Amanda

Jen

From there we (as a team) decided to take a drive to a "nicer" part of Haiti and go to the beach.  It was beautiful.  We just had time to spend together and to have fun and relax before returning home.  The view was breathtaking and the water was very warm and very clear.  We had the opportunity to do some "cliff jumping" of sorts.  I am a total scaredy cat and would never normally do something like this.  There was a Haitian boy jumping so I did what a responsible girl would do and made sure it was deep enough for us to be jumping ;-)  Then.....I took the Leap Of Faith and it felt soooo great!  Many of us jumped several times and it was very freeing.  I am not posting many pics of this as I want to respect the assumption that many of my female team members don't want their pictures out there of them in their bathing suits :-)  It was an excellent day!

Driving to the beach - one of the only stop signs I saw during my time in Haiti.

Beautiful

Wahoo Bay - the resort we went to, to swim at the beach.

Grant and Sara

Me, Becca, Erin, Kelly, Chris and Carol

Justin and Carol

Kelly and me taking our Leap Of Faith!!

Carol and Justin jetskiing

Our whole group with our interpreters for the day!

When we returned in the evening and after we had our "group time", I noticed I was in such a foul mood :-/  I wasn't entirely sure why but then realized I wasn't quite ready to return to what I was so familiar with.  I was afraid to go home and to forget about everything I had just exposed myself to.  I allowed Haiti to break my heart wide open and.....now what?  How do I deal with that at home?  Our leaders asked us to writer letters to ourselves and that they would send these letters to us when they felt moved to do so.  One of my leaders asked my prayer partner and me to do the blog post that night for the Alleluia Lutheran blog.  I was in no mood to do it (and was a bit rude about it), but found out it was exactly what I needed.  The following is the post from that evenings blog.

When I was asked to blog tonight, I selfishly (very selfishly) said that I did not want to. I think I was afraid to pour out what I was really feeling tonight, and it is sadness – plain and simple! Don't get me wrong, I CAN NOT wait to see Dana and my Boys – I carried them in my mind and my heart all week long and I can't wait to see them all late tomorrow night and give them kisses when I get home.

Tonight, our awesome fearless leaders asked us all to write ourselves a letter and they would send them to us at a time in the future when they felt called to do so. How did they know this is exactly what I needed? After writing my letter I feel a lot lighter. It is to be a personal letter, but I want to share just a piece of it with whoever is reading this blog!

“I never want to forget how I felt when I played soccer with the neighborhood boys – taking a leap of

faith and just jumping in and and playing. I never want to forget the feeling I had stepping out of the
tap tap for the first time in Cite Soleil – it was as though I was running through a dark tunnel toward a
bright light. I never want to forget seeing the kids reach up to me for the 1st time and the overwhelming emotions I felt as I bent down to greet the children and there were so many on me that I had a hard time standing up. 
I never want to forget seeing the look of desperation on the Haitian people as they clamored to get in line with their buckets for water (some hadn't received water in 1 week). I never want to forget the precious babies at The Home For The Sick & Dying Babies and Children – they were all well cared for and had food to eat. I never want to forget feeling uncomfortable and stretched at Gertrudes. I never want to forget both the comfort and the discomfort of our tap tap – the Haitian streets are sometimes there and sometimes not and it is almost always a bumpy ride. However, I felt like our tap tap was, at times, a place of safety – of refuge. I never want to forget the humbling feelings and overwhelming emotions I felt on our elder visits and the joy I felt serving them. I never want to forget the discomfort of General Hospital – the cribs, the stench, the lack of resources, the
abandonment, the sickness. I never want to forget the worship – being completely filled with the Holy Spirit. Watching how the Haitian people praise God is overwhelming and so awesome! I never want to forget the smiles. I never want to forget the smells, the cows, the pigs, the goats. I never want to forget the friendships I have made, I hope to have lifetime connections with this group of people. I never want to forget our Haitian staff – they provided me with safety and comfort all week long! I have learned so much! I love you Haiti – I will be back!”

Marni

Well.....I got that letter in the mail 1 week ago.  Perfect timing as I continually think of Haiti and think about those feelings and emotions I had.  I didn't sit down and read it until today - I finally had time to be alone with my thoughts.  If you have ever felt pulled to do mission work, pray about it, take a leap of faith.....if it is something that keeps coming back to you, maybe God is trying to tell you something.  It doesn't have to be Haiti, it can be in your own community - there are always people in need.

Today is December 11th - only 9 months until the August trip.  Can't wait to return!!!