We also were able to have a Thanksgiving/ Appreciation staff dinner last Saturday. We had twenty friends and family eating and fellowshipping. It was awesome to be around them. This Thanksgiving was a little different than the American way. We had a live turkey and two chickens that were soon to be our dinner that evening. I got to help prepare them for dinner. That was a sad experience, but it’s a normal way of life here, in Haiti. Something I was reminded of while I was preparing the dinner was our cross-cultural training at MTI a few months ago. We learned there, that sometimes you need to enter a new culture and exit your own.  

Olivia

Later on in our visit I was able to spoon feed the little girl porridge. As she hungrily gulped it down I couldn’t help but think that that was me 13 years ago. Except that these kids probably get more love and attention than I ever had at that age. After she had eaten she peacefully fell asleep in my arms. As I sat there, mixed feelings spun in my mind. I didn’t know if I should be jealous of these kids or happy for them. But then I continued to think about it more and it hit me if we don’t go out into the world help these kids then who will? I thought about a new motto for my life that I should live by. The purpose of my life is to give to these children what I didn’t get. I mean that’s why I’m here.

Today was the first day of kids camp! We had 3 different activities for the kids; storytime, crafts, and sports. The theme of the whole camp was how Go is our shepherd and we are His sheep. After we were finished we danced to praise music with the kids until sweat was dripping off of our faces. Later on this evening I was able to meet another team that arrived today from Minnesota. And tomorrow I'm going with them to a hospital for sick and dying children. I'm very excited about that! 

It's funny. It feels like I've already been here before. I guess it's because I've heard so much about Haiti and seen lots of pictures. Or it could be that I have it in the back of my mind that I am going to move here someday soon.

So today was the first and probably longest day of my life. I had to wake up at 4:30am, and my mom took my dad and I to the airport for our 7am flight. We had a little bit of panic checking in, but everything turned out to be OK. I was sort of nervous when we went through the Haitian customs, I guess because it's a new country to me (but another stamp in my passport, yay!). But once we go into the car and on our way t the guest house, I started to relax a bit.

As soon as we got to the guest house we were greeted by Rosalie, Roselyn, and Joseph (my Haitian brother). In the afternoon I helped Rosalie & Roselyn clean and make the beds for tomorrow's team. My dad and I then went to the market to buy stuff for dinner. I guess I was sort of surprised. The market that we went to had airconditioning, almost like a WalMart! After that we drove around and saw more of Port Au Prince. There's lots of markets (people selling whatever they can on the side of the road). I took lots of great pictures as we drove by, but then I fell asleep on the way back.

The evening was very relaxing. We had originally planned to make spaghetti for dinner, but we we got back Joseph had already made us rice & beans. I totally didn't mind that! If there's one thing you should know about Haiti, it's that you can't make too many plans, you've just got to go with the flow of things there. Now things are winding down, Ron & Jon have left while Joseph & I watched the movie "Madagascar" dubbed in Creole on TV. It was great! I have to say that it's been the longest, best day!

Here are some of the pictures I took:

Moving to Haiti is definitely a huge challenge for me right now.  Everyday is another step towards this big change.  Mixed feelings and thoughts spin in my mind as I lay down every night.  I keep asking myself the questions, "what in the world am I doing?  Am I doing this because my parents are going and I kinda have to, or do I feel God calling me to do this?"  As soon as I drift off to sleep I know deep down in my heart that God is calling me to do His work.  And I know that everything will be OK if I just trust in Him. 

Right now I'm a little nervous because tomorrow I am speaking at an adoption conference.  I AM excited to share a little bit about myself and my passion for helping orphans, because I was an orphan once too.  It's just that I'm not too comfortable about speaking in front of people.  I wonder how it will go.  I want them to be inspired with my story and I hope they will share the same excitement about adoption.  How about you?  Do you ever feel nervous like me about speaking or serving in front of other people?

Thanks for dropping by, come back again soon.

Em & Liv