New Adventure

Alright. I have waited a little while before I blogged about this to make sure that it was really going to happen.

Oct 22-30th Brian and I are going to Haiti with the church here in Waco that we attend a small group through (not the one that I work at).                            I am very EXCITED to say the least!

First United Methodist Church of Waco has committed 2011 to going down and building houses in Haiti. By October there will have been 3 trips prior to the one we will take. They are partnering with the international missions organization One Mission Society (formerly OMS) to join with a Haitian community in building strong, safe housing – one home at a time. The quality and type of home we are going to be building will make it a nine day trip.

A little background on how this journey began:
In January we were asked if we were interested.  And we were.  I just needed to make sure I would have the time off and we could raise the money.  So we decided that we would go (this trip was scheduled through the college group we lead a small group through and we would be going in Aug).  God would provide :) He reminded me of all the ways he has provided and that any money I have or others have to give is really all his.

Then there was some kind of miss-communication that occurred and because of the things happening down in Haiti, "woman" may not be able to go.  I was crushed because I was really excited and long to do things like this and have a heart to GO and serve!

A week later my mom died.

Two weeks later we found out that it was not true and that I could go.  At this point I was (and in some ways I am still) overwhelmed.  I didn't want to think about going to Haiti.  I couldn't.  I could barely deal with the right now and the everyday tasks I needed to get done.  I told Brian, "I cant make this decision right now".  Not only was I still kind of upset about not being able to go before (and I didn't want to get my hopes up again) but having to deal with everything with my mom was not making it any easier.

God is so gracious.

The Lord uses songs, people speaking and other things like that to speak to me. Oh did he ever!  I was reflecting a little more on this opportunity to go to Haiti and how the Lord really has opened the doors and they just need people to GO. ("The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.") I heard the words, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?"( Isaiah 6:8).  The Lord reminded me that he was asking me to GO.  And that really there was nothing stopping me.  So I said, "Here am I. Send me".  I want to be that person.  When things like this happen I want to go and be obedient.  So I decide to trust the Lord and jump in once again.  I even went ahead and requested a new birth certificate so that I could get my passport (some how in my last move it got lost? I am not really sure.  It is probably in a box somewhere and I forgot I put it there for "safe keeping" and so that "I wouldn't forget/lose it".  It always works that way).

But then the only week in August that our group could go to Haiti fell on Brian's brother's wedding.  Of course we couldn't go and of course I was crushed once again!  By this time I was a little irritated with the Lord because every time he asked me to step out and I did, he closed the door.  I couldn't help but ask, "so you dont want me to go?"  It was also very hard to continue to be disappointed and go through a roller-coaster when the rest of my life was already that way.  So when the October trip came up as an option I did not want to jump right away, for fear of falling. 

Yet, the Lord continued to soften my heart and speak truth to me.  So it looks like it is a GO!  I will be applying for a passport in the next couple weeks and I plan on starting to send out letters the first week in May.  I hope that you will join me in prayers as we prepare for this trip as well as offer any financial support, as the Lord leads.  The total cost each individual is asked to raise is $1300 (which is not including the cost for a passport and all of the shots needed before hand).  

I am excited to trust God and see how he works in the next 5months before we GO.