Thank you

I have lived in Haiti for three years now. Today is my three year anniversary. It is so hard to sum up these three years. They have been three years full of love, laughs, tears, pain and joy.

I have been loved by people who are amazing
I have loved those around me
I have been given things I do not deserve
I have given things to others with a happy heart
I have held others tight in my arms
I have been held and pulled by the hand by tiny ones
I have eaten many delicious meals with others.
I have had the privilege of learning to cook with others
I have met some of the most true, humble people
I have been deceived and hurt
I have seen the Lord's hand on people's lives first hand
I have been prayed for by people I have never met

My life has been so drastically changed by life in Haiti, that I do not even recognize the wide eyed girl who moved her life to Haiti three years ago. I was naive, confused, and unprepared. I was a weak girl who was in no way prepared for the change she was about to endure.

Whenever I think back on the girl who came down here on January 19, 2016, I smile. The lack of understanding, knowledge, and capability that she had was proof that it was God working within her. She could not have done anything that has happened in her own strength. I truly believe that is why God chose her. Through her weakness, people would see, it was truly the Lord. It would be impossible to say she did it on her own. She was a mere child with wide eyes and a spirit of hope.

God provided the language
God provided the health
God provided the transportation
God provided the food
God provided the people to comfort her
God provided the people to challenge her
God provided the relief from the heat, the pain and the suffering
God provided the family

I could have never survived a day here in Haiti without the Lord. I would have been in and out of Haiti in a week tops if I was functioning on my own strength (or lack thereof)

I want to say thank you to the Lord for all that He has put in my life, and in my path.

Thank you for the children. The smiles, the yelling of my name, the wet cheek kisses and hugs that leave fingerprints on my clothes.
Thank you for the parents who call me their own and have been caring for me as though I truly am their own.
Thank you for the friends I have made who see me for more than a foreigner and who listen to me, and support me.
Thank you for the supporters who pray and support this ministry.
Thank you for the church that I go to, for their gentle spirit and support as I learn and grow.
Thank you for my wonderful boyfriend, and soon to be husband who supports me, helps me grow, protects me and cherishes me.
Thank you for your presence, Lord, for I would be so alone without you.

Thank you to God for these three years, here's to many many more.