the first trip continued...

Throughout the week, I experienced several different things about Haiti and its people...First, their is no time constraints. The Haitian people live for each day...without industry or even agriculture anymore, jobs are extremely scarce and the people living in Haiti, (approx. 1,000,000) have very little they can do on a daily basis. Most you will see, doing what they can to acheive daily living...you see people old and young carrying pails, buckets, empty containers of any sort to retreive water...some, not many , try to farm what they can for perhaps their one and only meal of the day..you see women doing laundry by hand, down at the rivers edge...children everywhere...If you get the opportunity to go, please do...it will change your perspective on so many things! It is life changing!! As a team, we were able to go to areas not too far from the orphanage that Pastor Yves deemed "spiritually dark". Several us, loaded into the back of a pick up, and armed with the sword of the spirit we headed in...I didn't know what to expect...just waitied with anticipation for what God was about to do! We drove to a village,  parked and unloaded. As I looked around, somber faces stared back at us...It was a little intimidating, but exciting at the same moment. We began to climb rocky terrain up to small homes...as we walked we just looked for people and asked (with a translator ) how we could pray for them...every person we came across, not only allowed us to pray, but brought us to others they wanted us to pray for...so different then here in the US...if we have the courage to walk up to a perfect stranger, and proceed to ask how we can pray for them, usually the response is not quite so welcoming as it was in Haiti. I was overwhelmed with God's goodness and the desire of the people to recieve hope in Jesus Christ...I guess for us, our culture has so much we don't always see the need for anything...especially a Savior. I felt so honored that my God would allow me, Amber, the privilege of walking along side my brothers and sisters and witnessing God do what He does best...He offers to all,  a hope and a future...words cannot begin to describe how it felt! As we walked  and looked for people to pray for we came across a grandmother bathing a young boy on her porch...we asked if we could pray for her...she quickly said yes and told us her story...this little boy was her grandson from Port Au Prince...he was not well in the head she explained and told us that his father had been killed in the earthquake, the home destroyed, and her daughter now a young widow...my heart was broken...this was just one small story...we layed hands over the little boy and prayed for complete and perfect healing...and believed! From that point, a man came to us...Peter. asked us to follow him to pray for the home of a pastor, who had been paralyzed for the past 3 years. The reasons for the paralysis were not known, but the gospel pastor laid in his bed, use of his arms and hands, but legs unable to move...his wife allowed us to enter the home, the space was very small, but we filled the room and began to pray...and pray...and pray...as we lay our hands over this man, the presence of the Holy Spirit was overwhelming...to finally believe so fully that God is able to do infinitiely more than we can ask or hope for was amazing...He is who He says He is and He can do what He says He can do...we just have to by faith BELIEVE!! We didn't just pray for him, we asked for complete Healing...that his now atrophed legs would regain muscle, and complete function...that again he would rise up and walk and preach the good news...I have never experienced God in that way before...I just knew He was there, and that He loves the praises of His people...that He delights in our prayers... He is so good!! I will never forget this man, Pastor John Baptiste...and the journey continued...Peter then asked us to follow him to an area where his father, a preacher was trying to help refugees who had made their way from Port Au Prince...to try and start their lives over again... these people had lost what little they had...they lost their families, their homes, their clothing, their food, their hope! As we walked through another village, we made our way up a hill, finally the area we were trying to appoach came into view...breathtaking...these people sat together under what looked like a huge parachute...a couple of tents...thats it! Their were some very old, and some very young...they now were all each other had...people brought together by tradgedy...clinging together for survival! DEVASTATING!! This took my breath away...yet still in this place, I could look out and see God's presence everywhere!! The view from the new area was beautiful...a river below, beautiful blue skys and the tropical trees surrounding...and through these people...I could see His amazing grace! They had nothing and we had only brought ourselves to pray...yet still they were full of joy! Thankful for us...as we began to leave this place a beautiful song arose... "Thank you My Lord, Thank you My Lord, thank you My Lord..." In creole, these words were sung over us as we left these people...I began to sob...convicted of what I thank the Lord for...what an example to me of a people who have lost everything, yet sing praises to Him for us...a team from America sending up prayer...thats it! How much more I have to be thankful for...do I thank God daily for my water, my heat, my electricity? Do I thank God for everything I put in my mouth? Do I thank God, for those who come along side me to pray? I think not...time to change my way of thinking!!! cont:d

why haiti part 3...

so the storie continues...as I observed all that was around me, my heart beat with anticipation of the week that lied ahead...I was overwhelmed with sadness for all the people who lost so much and who were know living in horrific conditions...I could not help but to think of all the bodies still under rubble, of all the sorrow these people were experiencing...my eyes were wide open and praying for God to fill me with the peace that surpasses all understanding...when you see something like that, you can only lay it at the Lord's feet...it is beyond devastating. Next, came the ride up the mountain to the orphanage...Port Au Prince is packed full of people...EVERYWHERE...as we traveled through the streets, I sat silently taking in everything I could...I remember just thinking "this is unreal"...how do people live like this? where is all the help? we have go to do something? Of course, I had my camera in hand and quickly realized taking pictures of Haitian people is not acceptable without their permission. It is understood in the voodoo culture, that when a picture is taken of them, they will lose part of their soul. So mislead I know, but the voodoo regime had lasted in Haiti for 200 years and unfortunately a part of the culture. Anyway, I learned my lesson quickly and found out that the "bird" is universal...As we traveled north, out of Port Au Prince, the area was beautiful...the mountain drive was amazing! Finally, we arrived...it was dark, so we quickly tried to set up camp...tents on a basketball court...it was extremely hot and humid, but at last we were set up! Time to look around...I desperately wanted to meet our son, but had no idea where he would be...over eighty orphans, sharing 4 bedrooms...most of them already asleep. I, along with the other moms adopting would have to wait...sleep finally came and the morning was there before we knew it...of course I was not expecting childrens eyes peering in the tent @ around 5:00 am...the kids get up with the sun every morning and are ready to play! This became something I looked forward to every morning...I could not wait to see their faces and hear their voices! The time finally came to meet my boy...I had to ask several of the kids for Rodrigue...I didn't say his name quite right, so it took a few times for the kids to understand me...my creole was pretty much non existent...another little boy grabbed me by the hand and took me to him...my heart was overwhelmed with an immediate connection as a mother would have to her birth children...only God can do that, and I was so thankful! It was as if, I was home and here was my son...perfect Joy!! Thank you Lord! Rodrigue was a little smaller than Tanner, kind of shy and a little timid...I did not want to push anything on him, so over the next several days I just let him come to me, whenever he wanted to...soon, any moment he could, he would find me!! I loved every moment!!....haiti part 4, coming soon! love, amber

why haiti part 2...

So, after we knew who Rodrigue was, I got the awesome privilege to go to All God's Children Orphanage in Fedja, Haiti. Before I went, Gaston and I began to pray about missions. We have been taking Tanner on short term mission trips since he was about 2, and have always been blown away with each experience. We decided when Tanner was tiny, that we wanted this to be a part of his life...to always have a heart for others and a desire to help people of all walks of life...anyway, before the team from our church and I traveled for the first time to the orphanage, we were seeking answers and wondering if Haiti might be where we would go. The much anticipated day finally came...after a short flight from Dallas to Miami, we were on our way to the island...I could not wait to meet Rodrigue in person...I could not wait to see all that I could about the land where my little boy had grown up so far! I did not really have too many expectations, just a deep desire to serve God in anyway possible while I was there. The airport in Port Au Prince is crazy...people everywhere, and all trying to "be hired" by you to carry your bags...and then of course there was a major language barrier. The language spoken there is Haitian Creole...if your like me, who has ever heard of Haitian creole? To be honest with you, until the devastating earthquake hit Haiti and the news was widespread, I only new Haiti to be an island shared with the Dominican Republic. I had no idea the Haitian part of the island was only about the size of Maryland, and the population almost 9 million...which sadly includes approximately 1 million orphans...my heart broke as we first walked from the airport to the orphanage bus, to wait for our driver. There where children everywhere...street kids...mostly shoeless and dirty...hungry and thirsty! The devastation from the earthquake was chilling to say the least...i will write more tomorrow...pictures to follow...love, amber

why haiti?

Why Haiti you might ask...well, let me share with you our story!
February of 2010, we received a phone call that will forever change the course of our lives. The caller was a neighbor, who didn't really know, but was told that we had a desire to adopt. She proceeded to ask us if we would like to adopt an orphan from Haiti? My heart was beating so fast, and my immediate reaction was "YES! Yes! Yes!" Then of course, I had to say," Let me check with Gaston and I will call you right back". So the journey began. About a month later, a team from a local church along with others from our church, travelled to the earthquake ravished Haiti...we anxiously awaited to hear who our new child might be...we had filled out a questionaire and really didn't have alot of preference...just one major request, and that was for the child to be younger than Tanner. Finally, the call came. We were placed with a boy named Rodrigue, 8 years old! Then later came a picture to place with the name! Well, actually the wrong picture came, so the boy we thought was Rodrigue, was not at all! Anyway, what amazed us the most, was how God immediately sewed him into our hearts and from that day, he was now our little boy, tanner's little brother! To be cont'd...

ready to be in Haiti...

Happy New Year! Cannot even believe it is already 2011...we have so much to look forward to this year...a new adventure for sure! We are definitely ready to get this party started...all we need to do to get the ball rolling is to finish raising support and get the house underway! Our hearts are already with our new family at the orphanage and we can not wait to return! God is stretching us as a family, and we all know how that goes...sometimes a little tough...well if i am laying it all out there, sometimes a lot tough! The challenge of waiting, and trusting that God will provide all we need is the hardest! God has shown me alot of how I really am over the past couple of months...I have always considered myself as a person with the gift of faith...trusting God completely, and not doubting Him...I think I even felt pride knowing that! He has shown me that aside from Him, I can do nothing. I have realized how weak I really am, how much more I need to fully rely on our King...I have really been struggling with the idea of having to raise so much money for our start up costs...it is so overwhelming to me...$40,000.00...who has that? Not us, that is for sure! God is so sweet and so full of grace, He gently reminded me that He does...it is nothing for Him to provide what we need and again the conviction of lack of faith washed over me...His people are His resources and I need not be afraid, or embarrassed to ask...Wow!! That is a tough one for me to swallow...but as a missionary to be, I must learn to Humble myself before Him and before men...So, the last couple of days, I have been trying to figure out how to raise the funds...added a pay pal to this blog, so if you feel led to give, you can donate or buy a block right here! How cool is that!! Anyway, God is good and we will press on toward the goal that is in Christ Jesus!! Loving you and loving Haiti!! love, amber