Three Weeks Gone like...*snap*

So as I sat down on the beach to write this update a little Haitian boy walked in front of me, dropped his pants, and started to create pictures in the sand as he performed his God given function of urination.  :p lol

Anyways…week three is over!  The time truly has been flying by.  This week has been a week of testing…testing my patience, my willingness to be flexible, my strength (both emotional and spiritual), and testing my trust in Christ. 

As you know, God has called me to Haiti to work with the kids here as a Bible class leader and as an activity director.  Well, I think Satan has been trying extra hard this week to get me discouraged.  Almost every day this week, my “normal” routine was interrupted or canceled…without any control on my end.  The activities that I had planned for the kids were stopped due to injustice of the innocent and consequently my after school Bible times didn’t happen.  I felt in my heart this week what it truly means to have anger over the injustice of the innocent.  However, God is faithful and even in the difficult and stressful times He takes care of His kids.  

As I said I had a trying week, but my God does all things well.  Remember (I tell this to myself as much to you) Satan isn’t scared of the sheep.  He’s scared of the shepherd.  So as long as we stay with our shepherd, Christ, the Devil cannot touch us…and therefore anything he tries will fail miserably.   

I miss you all and I look forward to sharing with you next week how God proves true and faithful once again.

In His almighty service,

Shane

P.S. I know this was a super short and not very descriptive post…but that was intentional.  Please pray for me for strength, grace, and for forgiveness. 

God's Faithfulness

 Hello World, (Or at least everyone that reads this)

I’ve officially been in Haiti for two weeks now.  The time has gone by so fast…on one hand.  On the other, it feels like the days are so incredibly long.  Either way, two weeks have gone by since I landed here in Haiti.  A lot has happened since then (as you may know if you read my first weeks adventure). 

There became some regularity in my schedule this week as I started my “job”.  However I’ve definitely learned that for anyone who is going to live in Haiti you must be flexible.  This week I had the privilege of doing after school Bible stories and classes with the kids.  I have never done anything like this before so it was a whole new adventure for me in planning and trying to figure out what I was going to teach the kids…keeping in mind that these kids know limited English making me limit my vocabulary to small words and trying to use a lot of interacting games and such.  But, as God called me here, He has been faithful to provide…to provide thoughts and ideas for my time with kids.

There was a running theme this week with the kids and that was love.   I didn’t plan that because of Valentine’s Day.   I actually forgot about Valentines until the actual day :P Anyway, God gave me a lesson for each day starting with how God is our good heavenly father and is always available if want or need to cast our cares upon Him.  We had a fun object lesson casting (throwing) our cares at Jesus.  We ended the week with the story of the Good Samaritan.  Throughout the week we also had fun trying to memorize John 3:16.  I used funny voices with all the kids when practicing the verse.  It was a definite success as the kids learned the verse.  (Thanks Bailey for the goofy voices ideas).  So, I would sum this week up with saying God has been faithful because I have no idea what I’m doing.

 

This week has also been a week of missing family and friends.  Over the last week the reality of me being here for a year has been setting in.  I do enjoy spending time with the kids, however am starting to miss evenings around the table playing cards, late night with close friends, COD rampages with Andrew, and just an all around hanging with good friends and family. However, I keep reminding myself that God has me here for a specific reason and that is evident in how He keeps providing for me in my time here.  God owns the cattle on a thousand hills (Psalm 50:10) and as Corrie ten Boom prayed when she needed finances, “God, please sell one of your cows.” So aslo God has sold a few cows for me….and just another one went to market this week :D  The Lord has been faithful and will continue to do so for me…because I know this is where I am supposed to be.

Some other fun things that I did this week was: We (Me, the kids, and a couple of the Haitian nannies) went down to the public beach a couple days ago and went swimming in the ocean.   Every Friday night the kids have a movie night.  So last night we all watched Toy Story 2. I got to play basketball in a coliseum style basketball court with a bunch of Haitians.  And as some of you know because of Facebook and Twitter, I got to be part of a mobile Oreo.  Squished between to Haitians on a Moto I got to ride into Montrouis (the town where I live).  It was quite an experience. 

There have been ups and downs this week…as there will be every week.  However amidst the downs I can definitely say that I love my God because He is faithful and He does take care of His children.

Orevwa loved ones!!!

....and some photos from the first couple of weeks in Haiti.

Dinner with my roommates. 

Some of the girls at the Creche.

Tap Tap with Nick and Ryan

Bible study before the Super Bowl :)

Trying to get a coconut...which we did get, eat, and drink. 

100 Things I love

I got this idea from a friend who did this on her blog. I thought it’d be fun to steal the idea and do the same thing here.  So, thanks to Jessika, you’re all about to read 100 Things I love…

Long, hot showers

Music: Playing and listening

Indie, dubstep, and hiphop/dance music

Family

Cards: Hillbilly Rummy, Rook, and Blackjack

Snuggling with a loved one

Campfires in the summer…or on the beach under a star lit sky J

Hiking…especially on mountains

Kayaking

Spending time with friends and loved ones

Children                                               

Spending time worshiping God with fellow Christians

Art: music, drawing, water painting, and tattooing

Traveling/road trips with great friends

Romance/marriage

The leading of the Holy Spirit

Laying in Hammocks under shady trees

Snowboarding

Paintballing

Running

The thought of one day having a family to love and be loved by

Dreams and being able to dream

Freedom

Spending time in the outdoors: Camping, canoeing, hiking, kayaking, the woods, the mountains, rivers, and lakes

Rock climbing and repelling

Christmas season: being able to snuggle around the Christmas tree with a nice, tasty, cup of eggnog

Rope swings

Cliff jumping/diving

Driving

Creating…music, plays, paintings, poems, or stories

Creative writing

Love letters and poems to loved ones

Toms shoes

Late nights with close friends

Improve comedy

Hearing God stories

Jesus

Cloth shopping

Carmel milk tea with tapioca balls

Experiencing other cultures

 New Year’s Eve parties

Wake boarding and water skiing

Swimming when it’s really hot out

The ocean

The desire for things

Love, honesty, and loyalty

Colorado/The Rocky Mountains

Late nights of Call of Duty

Wrestling

Memories

Reminiscing past times and looking at old photos.

Building forts out of blankets and pillow and then snuggling beneath them to goofy movies

The Vow (Movie)

Bluegrass jams

Late-night-uncontrollable-slap-happy-times

Signs (Game)

Bacon!!!

Turkey wraps, Jalapeño and Cilantro Hummus with pita chips, and guacamole

Beards…even though I can’t grow one;)

Watching kids sing and dance

Ours-The Bravery (Song)

The Vampire Diaries

The deep dark ocean and the fish that live down there

The universe and outer space

Star gazing

REI…favorite place to shop

Jammin’ out in the car

Vintage style clothing

Tattoos

National parks, state parks, and campgrounds of any kind

Mountain biking

Triathlons                                                                                     

A creator that has everything under control and therefore makes me not to have to worry. 

The Bible

A mother and father who love me

The feeling you get you when you see a loved one smile because you did something to bless them

Sending people care packages….I think I have more fun putting them together then they do receiving them.

Playing the guitar

Running and diving into bed on those cold winter nights

Sledding accidents (I know kinda cruel)

The feeling and smell of clothes that just came out of the dryer

Random acts of kindness

Camaraderie

Capture the flag in the mountains

Early morning hikes up mountains

Sitting on the beach in the early morning watching the sunrise…or at night watching the sun set

Vintage photography

The feeling of mud squishing between your toes

White wintery days

Fancy dinners

Snow crab….Mmm Mmm good :)

French Fries

Learning new things about people that I never knew before…especially if it’s something goofy

Good quotes and great Bible verses

A Peanut butter & Jelly sandwich made with white Wonder bread, crunchy peanut butter and homemade raspberry jelly

Anonymous acts of generosity

Cooking food late at night

When you know someone loves you and they give you that smile that says exactly that…I love you

AND…The feeling of coming home after having been gone for awhile

Bonjour Friends

Bonjour (good morning) dear friends.  Or, if you’re reading this after the lunch hour then bonswa! (good afternoon/evening.)

I bet a lot of you have been waiting in eager anticipation for this first week’s full update on my life in Haiti…or maybe you haven’t ;)  Either way, I had a pretty amazing week.  There were certainly downers in the week but the Lord is faithful and I was definitely more blessed than anything else.

This week, as you probably could have guessed, consisted of a mish-mash of “firsts”.  I bought my own groceries for the first time.  I rode a Tap Tap (One of the main forms of transportation) for the first time.   I went on a rescue mission for the first time.  I ate a pig-goat-squash-applsaucey-goop for the first time.  And because of that, I spent all night up every hour with the runs…for the first time. (I know some of you didn't want to know that) I played Ninja with a group of Haitian kids for the first time.  I rode a Taxi Moto all by myself, and paid for it with Haitian Gourdes…for the first time;)  I made my own home cooked meal in my own apartment for the first time.  I moved into an apartment for the first time.   I already referred to my apartment as home for the first time.  I played soccer with a group of big and very buff Haitian security guards for the first time.  I thought I was legitimately going to get mugged for the first time.  I had to/ have to plan and create my own after school plans, activities, and bibles stories for the kids for the first time.  I got to ride on the roof of a car for the first time.  I got to be part of a specially selected group to decide which meal would be best for my first meal that I was to make myself on my Hot Plate (which I just used for the first time).  The verdict chosen by the elite group (me, myself, and I) was good ole Ramen Noodles.  And I saved this for last because it is my personnel favorite; I got called a gay witch doctor for the first time. :p  So as you can see I’ve had a lot of firsts this week.  It’s been a great week of learning how to live in a totally different world then the one I’m used to.  It’s a great learning process though.  The more I have learned and experienced the more I feel settled in and comfortable. 

I wanted to elaborate on one of the “firsts” for you.  This was my highlight and just such a blessing to me.  Giving Hope Rescue Mission (the organization I’m with) does rescue missions every so often.  Once in a while they will receive a call asking them to come pick up a kids or kids that can’t be taken care of, or that has been rejected or abandoned.  Sometimes on rescue missions the missionary(ies) have had to pull children out of dumpsters, ditches, and even on one extreme case from an altar.  GHRM has rescued and saved so many kids over the last few years since they've been a ministry.   As I mentioned a few times already I had the privilege of being a part of one of these missions.  Last Monday we received a call asking if we would come to a nearby hospital and pick up two kids.  My thought is, “hmmm…we’re going to a hospital.  This can’t be a good situation.  I wonder what happened.  Did someone try and murder the kids?  Did someone try and beat them?  Did they have some deathly disease?”  These were the thoughts racing through my mind.  So, as we walked into the hospital and I got to see what a hospital in Haiti looks like, my thoughts again were, “Yep!  No one can be in a place like this and be in good health or doing very well.”  It was grungy.  The floor was grimy.  The sheets looked stained.  There were clusters of people everywhere waiting on the one doctor to see them.  It just seemed like a place where germs and disease breed and are not healed.  So after about twenty minutes of waiting the kids were brought to us.  I was so surprised!  Alex and Darlene were two eight year twins who were in perfect health and what was even so much more amazing and filled my heart with joy were their beaming smiles.  From the time we picked them up, to the entire half hour care ride, and even to after we dropped them off at crèche, this boy and girl were just rays of sunlight. Since then, every day when I have been over to the crèche they great me with their radiant smiles and joyful spirits.  They can’t speak English and I can’t speak Creole, but I was so impacted and blessed by these little kids.  I would say that their smiles and delighted spirits blessed me more than any words would have.  So that was my first rescue mission experience and the highlight by far of this week.

I just wanted to thank everyone again for your support…whether it is through prayer or finances.  You guys are what is making this trip possible.  Keep checking in and I’ll keep updating you weekly.  Blessings =)