Haiti Part 2

Bonswa! (good afternoon) 7 days later and I still find myself wanting to use my favorite creole phrases. If only WSU offered a class in crole in the fall, I would drop my core classes in a heart beat ;)

I have concluded that Haiti will forever be a part of my heart and thinking. I think that's how missions are intended to work. They challenge your strength, your thinking, and your thoughts of the world, turn them topsy-turving, and then leave you to process the conclusions, with God waiting with great anticipation to reveal truths to you. One huge teaching apparent in Haiti is the importance of flexability. You can't predict that everyday will be the same...that would be very dangerous. Monday we painted a home, but we were planned to venture into a village. Tuesday we planned on doing a work project, yet once 1 p.m. rolled around, we were being loaded up into a canter (open safari-looking truck) to go to Levec, a village where a deaf community is located, to cheer on a soccer game. You just have to go with it. Because both of those days, at the end, our hearts were filled with so much joy. And flexability is also willing to laugh when you fly in a pile of mud on the floor when your canter abruptly gets stuck in a trench going uphill on a extremely steep incline. Yep this happened to me. I have yet to still achieve the shiny brightness in my white shirt after two washings. But that's ok, because everytime I see that shirt I immediatly chuckle as I remember the entire truck cheering on the driver and praying to Jesus that he would get us up that hill and then once achieving the daunting task, we watched a school bus do the samething behind us....those stubborn Haitian drivers.

I don't know if I will ever be called back to Haiti, but I do pray that God will call me to other countries; to continue to see the world and how my brothers and sisters throughout worship, live, play, eat, and perceive the world.

Lesson #2: be intential with all. Everyone needs love and to be told they are loved. I had women in Haiti demand I give them my waterbottle or watch, but instead I asked what I could pray for them about. We don't need things, like a fancy watch; we need love and faith.

now feast your eyes on more of Haiti :)

the village kiddos

this is the giant wall we painted

beautiful

this is the soccer goal

mud soccer

all smiles

water break

this is winny. she was my best friend for the week

Snorkeling in the ocean!!

my team

precious

beach!

you only see a small part of the mud...

Jimmy the boy who fancied all the girls

vbs kiddos


love you friends. - Heidi

Haiti Part 1

Bonswa friends! (that's good evening in creole)

I am back in the states after 7 days in Haiti. Man did Jesus touch my heart there. The country is very broken and dirty, yet the people have more faith and passion for Jesus than I have ever seen. His goodness is what stood out to me every day I was there. Despite living in a blue plastic tent, with no clean water, and a few changes of clothes, the children of Haiti run around excitedly with smiles and chants. They love to look at pictures on digital cameras, make noise with watch buttons, and play thumb wrestling wars with the people who come to visit them. God's goodness is every where. It's in the little girl who fell asleep on a friend's shoulder during an afternoon rain. It's in the little boy who threw mud up and tried to make it splatter on his chest, laughing hysterically. It's in the mothers who hope for their daughters' success in life. It's in the translator's passion for his country and people and hopes for one day God leading him to better the place he calls home.

That was lesson #1...God is good. He protects his children and gives hope and light in areas of black. He never leaves his people.

I'm going to break up my Haiti story in two parts...I know you guys are sitting on the edge of your seats for more details ;) but I will end with pictures of a country only under 6 hours away via plane from Kansas, and the people that I loved on and in return loved on me.

Port-au-Prince

Market on the side of the road

a tent city

Church service...so good

precious baby with Trish

this little ball of energy is Jackie

Jackie's Momma

best part of the day



see the beauty in the world friends. love you all

anticipation

Am I anxious? yes. Am I "pee my pants excited"? you bet. Am I nervous? in a way. I'm nervous about expecting too much, nervous that I will not be accepting, nervous that I will pursue my own intentions instead of God's commands for me.

I'm 28 days away from leaving for Haiti. I have my second-to-last team meeting tomorrow, which is also the final payment deadline. 28 days from leaving the comforts of the US for the first time to live 7 days in one of the poorest contries in the world. That's quite drastic.

Am I prepared? I don't know how well one can prepare for a mission. Satan will throw things at ya left and right, but faith in God's power is what will defeat him. Prayer - that is my answer to preparation...a whole lot of it. And scripture. Matthew 10 has been on my heart recently while reading "Radical" by David Platt. This chapter is God's mission for all of his children. We are to go. Go where no one has heard the gospel and preach. Preach so that the lost can hear. Then they will proclaim God's name and be saved.

"Behold I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves...but when they deliver you up, do not become anxious about how or what you will speak, for it shall be given you in that hour what you are to speak. for it is not you who speak, but it is the spirit of your Father who speaks in you..." Matthew 10:16, 19-20

That makes me less nervous. I may not have a clue what I am going to encounter, but I know Jesus will give me words to share to all those adorable kiddos, struggling parents, and lost villagers in every situation my team and I are put in.

As for my summer class that starts on Monday, "pee my pants excited" is the exact opposite phrase that I would use. I can not share with you the amount of dread I have when it comes to deciphering audiograms.

Summer

Hello beautiful summer.

Top ten things on summer bucket list:
1. achieve a tan without a burn
2. surrender my heart to the lord's work in Haiti
3. purchase a cruiser-style bike to ride to campus and save lots of gas money
4. go on roadtrips to random places
5. go camping
6. achieve 13 miles in training for my half marathon (sept.22 denver,co)
7. spend time in biblical meditation
8. try a vegan diet for an alotted amount of time
9. visit the besties in Manhattan and Topeka as much as possible
10. lots and lots of pinterest crafts!

This summer is my first summer in Wichita since I moved here 3 years ago. Crazy right?! I'm real excited just to experience summer life here with the roomies, the sisters, and the threshold peeps. I will be working on campus, taking a class, and preparing for Haiti and graduate school applications. Throw in some cook-outs, camping, pool lounging, and weekend trips and you got the perfect summer concoction. My heart still yearns for camp life at moments but I know it is the people and growth I miss most. Jesus has something sweet planned I'm sure, but for now I will wander and rest in the knowledge that he is leading.

Fun Fact: I have a live culture of Typhoid in vaccination form in my fridge currently. It gives me a slight eerie feeling knowing that is it sitting next to our stick butter box and will soon have to be consumed by my stomach. Oh the joys of blocking infectious diseases.

Fun Fact #2: my little broseph graduates from high school this Sunday. I feel old but am so proud of him. He will soon be a Marine.

go enjoy the sunshine dear friends.
love, Heidi

21

WOOOOOO WHOOOOOOOO it's official...I am at the adult age of 21 + one day. Yesterday I celebrated my 21st year of life with canceled class, no work, and a little bit of shopping. And it ended with a celebration shin-dig of my first drink (white wine) with my sorority sisters. I would say it was one for the books. And the party just doesn't stop there. Next week there will be a big dinner with the pals. The one thing I'm most excited about being 21 (besides not having my 16yr old face on my DL) is I finally won't have to spend countless hours trying to scrub off those big black X's on my hands after attending a concert!

go have some fun friends.

the lovely hosts

words

Read these words:

       "The Gospel is—we are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared to believe, and at   the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope. This is the only kind of relationship that will really transform us. Love without truth is sentimentality; it supports and affirms us but keeps us in denial about our flaws. Truth without love is harshness; it gives us information but in such a way that we cannot really hear it. God’s saving love in Christ, however, is marked by both radical truthfulness about who we are and yet also radical, unconditional commitment to us." - Timothy Keller

I find in some seasons of our walks that we hear and read words of our father's love, yet our hearts and minds brush them aside, refusing to believe that one is worthy of that love or that God is really that big. I am there and I don't like it. I feel like I am wondering with no purpose. I have no idea where God is leading me and the only thing I now for sure is that school is over in a month and I have an obnoxious summer class in two and Haiti in three. I am nervous about not finding a summer job, not knowing where to apply to graduate school in the fall, and not hearing the Spirit's whisper. Doubt and worry are evil. I dispise Satan for putting them it in my heart. Therefore I will rest in the above words from Mr.Keller.

Adventure #1

Excuse the delay in post friends...one word - midterms.

But I have quite the adventure to share with you. Last Saturday, aka SPRING BREAK!, Kayli (the roomie), Dusty (the roomie's bf), and I packed my baby car, Bruce, and embarked on a five day trip through the Eastern part of the US. The destination was Blacksberg, VA with a pitstop in Nashville, TN. 18 hrs and lots of highway later, we made it Sunday morning. The trip consisted of hiking (9 miles in 4.5 hrs), running, eating (A LOT), laughing, driving (even more), reading, and touring Virginia Tech campus and downtown Nashville. It was splendid, despite Bruce being backed into and gaining a dented bruise above his right front tire. (If you know of a good body shop, let me know). My favorite part of the adventure was Wednesday night as we drove home. We were all pooped and decided to leave a day early. On the way back, we decided to leave the ipod off for a change and just chat. 9 hours of conversation, idea flowing, and feelings spoken. Silly I know for this to be my favorite since I had experienced so many cool things the past few days, like a giant waterfall or breaking into a football stadium. But learning about people's hearts is what excites me. I find people so much more interesting and dynamic than objects and scenery. God did some pretty outstanding work in creating the Earth. Nature is breathtaking dont get me wrong, but I think his true masterpieces are the people, his children. We just chatted, asking questions from what's your testimony to what's your favorite animal and talked a lot about our future and how uncertain which direction we are being called to is. I know our friendships deepened that night.

We are almost seniors in college...how the heck did that happen??!!! So many what's, when's, and where's are looming above in our brains. But one thing I know for sure and that the holy spirit confirmed in church this morning is that all I am is his. Where ever he leads, I follow. I need a summer job and slightly freaking out but I know that there will be a door opening. Jesus leads me. period. I am his. peroid. and guess what?... you are his too. thats the truest of truths. and he loves ya...a whole lot. believe it brothers and sisters.

so you can enjoy the splendidness too here are some fav pics of the trip...

                                     long car trips...

                                       
                                            Virginia Tech has a quidditch team too!

                                                  the beginning of the hike

                                                     the middle

                                                the end!

                                             the pfunky griddle, nashville

                                                 the parthenon, nashville

                                                we flew kites when we got back.

the head and the heart

Last night Kayli and I ventured to Lawrence to go see the beautiful band of The Head and The Heart. WWWWWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!! One of my top 3 favorite concerts ever. They were so stinkin good live, just jammin on stage, sharing their music. Its the type of music that you can't help but tap your foot and bob your head to. A plus to the concert - YOUTHFRONT staff runion! We meet up fellow staff and it's so wonderful to laugh and share stories with peeps who you have lived with in an intentional community. Despite the 1:30 am arrival time back in wichita and 8am psychology class this morning, I would say the concert would be one of my fav memories of this semester.

just in case you aren't an indie/folk music lover and have yet to allow your ears to hear the sweet tunes...here ya go :)

                      
                                                                          the gang

                                                                   Emily is real great

                                                                        Hello band

have a splendid monday!
love, Heidi

Gifts

Gifts...that is the word I would use for this past week, admist busyness, forgettfulness, speeding, billions hours of studying, tiredness, and slight stress induced heart palpatations, but mainly gifts, which I like the best.

Monday night one of my friends left a generous donation check for my trip to Haiti on my pillow with a letter explaining thyself. I was in awe of such kindness and brotherly love. I havent sent out my support letters yet or even talked about raising the funds and yet, God lead him to give. Jesus also led another friend to offer to buy my envelopes and stamps for me. I have the envelopes already and now I have 80 gifted stamps. I went to sleep that night in awe of the love of my heavenly father and how he cares for even the little things like stamps. HOW CRAZY AWESOME IS HE!! gifts are everywhere. we must allow our eyes and hearts to see them.

One more gift I have to mention...friends. I ventured to Manhattan Ks to spend the weekend with my bestie since 7th grade. It was much needed for the both of us and the weekend healed my weary heart. It consisted of laughter from the abs, banana bread, doughnuts, bluestem, nature walk, movie, food, clothes, pranks, words, games, worms, and french toast. Anika is a gift. a real grand wonderful one. and we love eachother.

friends are the bomb-dig.

                                                                 

Corinthians

Words from Paul:

"The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is law; but thanks be to God, who give us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethen, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord...Be on alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love."

1 Corinthians 15:56-58; 16:13-14

I need Christ in everything.

Sisters

Almost a year ago I shyly walked through the doors of Gamma Phi Beta Sorority in hopes to impress the house and become part of the Greek community. Now I am the one planning the recruitment events. It's crazy how one organization and 73 women can impact one's heart. I didn't join for the mixers, the title, or fraternity boys. (I got lots of "you...a sorority girl" questions) I joined to be a part of something bigger, some place where I could feel more connected on a campus were after 3 pm its dead, and to invest time and love into my fellow sisters in christ hearts. Boy has it been great! My free time went down the drain but for those of you who know me, Im was born a busy bee. Every time I'm at the house or bonding with my sisters, I am reminded of why I am there. To love on them like crazy just like Jesus. These girls are the cream of the crop. The coolest, sassiest, and most encouraging girls I know and I get to call them my SISTAS! If you have a chance you should meet them.

Tonight we welcomed 5 new girls into our sisterhood. I pray they will grow to love it and find their niche in the world of gamma phi and realize it's not about the parties or title, it's about the relationships and personal growth as a stand out classy lady. (plus the massive amounts of cool tshirts are always a nice perk)

I challenge you this...if you are a part of a college campus, go meet new people, find your niche in the big world of university, and avoid those sterotypes. Reach out to someone who you had a preconceived notion about and I hope that you will be pleasantly surprised. Everyone has a heart and feelings.

goodnight.
Heidi

adventures

Hello blogger world. I've been reading a few of my friend's blogs, soaking up their wisdom and marveling at their adventures. I just recently got news that I would soon be embarking on my own adventure...my FIRST MISSION TRIP to the beautiful country of Haiti. This will be the first time I use a passport, the first time I'm on an airplane for a significant amount of time, and the first time I am able to see the world outside of the US. I am beyond estatic and slightly terrified at the same time.

Let me give you some background information...missions have been on my heart since high school. I had asked my parents numerous times to please let me out of the country and the answer was always no. At that point in my walk with Jesus, I knew I couldn't go against my parents wishes, so I brushed it off and prayed even harder for God to send me. Sophomore year of college, the passion intensified and I was given the oppurtunity to work at an amazing summer camp called YouthFront, south of KC in a little town called LaCygne. Not out of the country but still a mission. This was the place were my relationship with Chirst started at the always awkward age of 13. This place is where the holy spirit works. It's the most stinkin' awesome camp you'll ever experience. God placed me as a Cabin leader for jr.high and high school girls. There I learned what it really meant to walk with sisters and brothers in pain and so in need of Jesus' love. God also taught me that I am his first and foremost and that his timing is always the right own. God worked a miracle and finally quieted my mother's heart (he's still working on the father's), giving me permission to apply to a mission trip with my college church in October. I filled out the papers, said a quick prayer, and handed it to the church secretary.

Two months later, aka present day, I open an envelope and the first sentence reads, "Heidi, Welcome to Haiti!" I jump and scream for joy for a solid five minutes. Then I realize that this is real. God has real work planed for me and my team in a country so broken by disaster and disease. Real children of God who have no clean water or proper nutrition. So this is why I began this blog; because I am on an adventure too. Not just to Haiti, but here, at my university, my sorority house, my second home, to share the gracious love of Jesus. I am by no means the disciple Paul was, but I'm learning and digging for the knowledge and ways of the lord. He has my heart.

love, Heidi