Haiti 2014

This year has been so full of ups and downs. At the beginning of the year I thought I would be going to Haiti by March or April then when my uncle fell and broke his back my focus became him instead of Haiti. As he got stronger and more independent I began to think about Haiti again. Granted it wasn't an easy task to accomplish but God opened the door and some friends and family stepped up so I could go.

So on November 6th I took off on a Haitian adventure!! This trip wasn't like any other I have been on, instead of going with a group this time it was just me and a friend. While we were traveling together our goals were different. My purpose was to visit different ministries and see what was going on and possibly if there was a place for me to work in Haiti in a more full time position. Heather, on the other hand, had two different goals. She has two children that she and her husband adopted from Haiti and she wanted to look for some of their families. She also wanted to see some of the more beautiful areas of Haiti.

Since we were there for two weeks and visited several ministries I'm going to write about each place individually instead of trying to discuss it all at once.
Our trip was full of adventure and a few disappointments but it is one that I'm glad we went on.

Opportunity

Have you ever heard a quote or saying and thought, "yeah that sounds good." but didn't really take the time to really process what it means? When I was in Bible college I did that. One of my mentors in college was mentored by Leonard Ravenhill so I heard many stories of Mr. Ravenhill. Here is one of his quotes that I heard so much I started saying it myself.

It wasn't until several years later that I fully grasped the meaning of this. When an opportunity in life presents itself I try to use wisdom in my decision but I also don't pass it up if God gives me peace about it.

There have been many times where I have people ask me about the mission trips I go on. One lady looked at me amazed and asked if I was rich. Honestly I almost burst out laughing ... No I'm not independently wealthy. I don't live life precariously but I do live it with faith.  I use to hear about mission trips and my heart would yearn to go but instead of asking God to make to a way I would look at my circumstances and wish I could go. Sometimes it wasn't necessarily that I couldn't afford to go but my priorities needed to be rearranged.

Please don't misunderstand me, I know that not everyone can do everything they want to. And we have to realize that everyone is at different places in their lives. For example, I was talking to someone one time about "luxuries" in life, like getting manicures or being able to go to hair salon to get my hair dyed instead of doing it at home. The guy was astounded that I couldn't afford things that his mom and sisters did all the time. His comment to me was that there was no reason I couldn't afford things like that since I worked in a hospital. (Many people seem to think that if you work in health care you make a middle to high class salary.)

My initial response to his comment at first was irritation. After all who was he to judge me when he had no idea what I had gone through?  But it really made me think. It took me some time to realize that I was at a different place in my life that he couldn't understand. At the time I had two kids at home that I was taking care of, my focus was on what they needed and not on things that I considered luxury expenses.

Now that I'm an "empty nester" my priorities have shifted and that isn't a bad thing. We need to enjoy the place we are in life but don't get stuck there either where you spend the later part of your life thinking, "What if?" or "I wish I had...".

Whatever season of your life you're in, look for the opportunities that arise and grab them while you can.