Preparing for Haiti
The past few weeks have been filled with preparations for Haiti. There has been and still is so much to do. I don't think I really knew how much preparation has to go into a mission like this. Here are some things we have been doing: figuring out electricity and solar panels, cars, phones, internet, what to pack, health insurance, shots/meds, communicating with the priest in Haiti who will be serving with us, communicating between all of our mission team (one member of our team is joining us in january and is currently living in Dallas), traveling to a school and raising awareness for the mission, fundraising, writing thank you cards, trying to learn and practice the language as much as possible... and so much more. I have a constant running list of things to do, and I seem to think of new things every day.
Yesterday, we bought our plane tickets! It is official! We are flying out on October 9th, and will land in Haiti on October 10th. Please, please pray for us. Buying tickets has made this feel much more real to me. We are really going to Haiti in two weeks . . . we are not just pretending!
Lately, I have been having a huge range of emotions about leaving - I am excited, nervous, apprehensive, anxious, freaked out, and blown away by God's goodness . . . all at the same time. I am currently living in a house with 9 other missionary girls, and one of them put a map of the world up on the wall. It was both weird and incredible to look at this map and see Haiti there - this little country that I have been thinking about and praying for every day for the past few months at least. I was encouraged at how much my heart felt for this little place, even in the midst of all the craziness I have felt as we've been preparing.
This morning in my holy hour, I couldn't help but be distracted, realizing that in a couple weeks, if I arrive at my new home and realize that I need something, I can't just drive down the street to walmart and pick it up. I started thinking about all the things I use regularly or occasionally that I don't actually own. Permanent markers, for example. I've never bought a permanent marker in my life, but I've used them, or borrowed them from other people. In Haiti, I probably won't be able to do that.
I also have been thinking a lot lately about how important it is to prepare my heart. In the midst of all the little details that there are to figure out, how much of a tragedy would it be if I was physically prepared to go, but not emotionally or spiritually ready? Prayer in this time is so essential. I need to be reminded that there is no reason to worry or be anxious. That God has all things under His control, and that I don't have to know all the answers. The reality is that it is highly likely that I will arrive in Haiti and have forgotten something relatively important. But if my heart is prepared, then it won't matter, and I will feel peace in the midst of all the newness, and trust that God knows the details, and that whatever I've forgotten is really unnecessary, at least for the moment.
So please continue to pray as our leaving date gets closer, and especially as we arrive in Haiti in a couple of weeks. I know this journey is such an incredible blessing, and that when I feel crazy, I just have to trust in a God who is MUCH MUCH BIGGER than me.
Yesterday, we bought our plane tickets! It is official! We are flying out on October 9th, and will land in Haiti on October 10th. Please, please pray for us. Buying tickets has made this feel much more real to me. We are really going to Haiti in two weeks . . . we are not just pretending!
Lately, I have been having a huge range of emotions about leaving - I am excited, nervous, apprehensive, anxious, freaked out, and blown away by God's goodness . . . all at the same time. I am currently living in a house with 9 other missionary girls, and one of them put a map of the world up on the wall. It was both weird and incredible to look at this map and see Haiti there - this little country that I have been thinking about and praying for every day for the past few months at least. I was encouraged at how much my heart felt for this little place, even in the midst of all the craziness I have felt as we've been preparing.
This morning in my holy hour, I couldn't help but be distracted, realizing that in a couple weeks, if I arrive at my new home and realize that I need something, I can't just drive down the street to walmart and pick it up. I started thinking about all the things I use regularly or occasionally that I don't actually own. Permanent markers, for example. I've never bought a permanent marker in my life, but I've used them, or borrowed them from other people. In Haiti, I probably won't be able to do that.
I also have been thinking a lot lately about how important it is to prepare my heart. In the midst of all the little details that there are to figure out, how much of a tragedy would it be if I was physically prepared to go, but not emotionally or spiritually ready? Prayer in this time is so essential. I need to be reminded that there is no reason to worry or be anxious. That God has all things under His control, and that I don't have to know all the answers. The reality is that it is highly likely that I will arrive in Haiti and have forgotten something relatively important. But if my heart is prepared, then it won't matter, and I will feel peace in the midst of all the newness, and trust that God knows the details, and that whatever I've forgotten is really unnecessary, at least for the moment.
So please continue to pray as our leaving date gets closer, and especially as we arrive in Haiti in a couple of weeks. I know this journey is such an incredible blessing, and that when I feel crazy, I just have to trust in a God who is MUCH MUCH BIGGER than me.
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