July 16, 2011

*Written yesterday, 07-16-2011*

Yesterday we flew from Jeremie to Port au Prince and were able to visit a crush. Over 50 children ages 6 months to 12 years wait patiently for their adoptive parents to pick them up. It is a stark contrast to the orphanage we served at all week. They use toilets instead of latrines, have air conditioning, are free of scabies and worms, and even spend time in a luxury swimming pool. The home is designed to get the children ready for life in the United States and I think it probably does a good job.

Last year when I got home, my mom asked me if I had wanted to bring home a dozen of the precious children I'd met over the week. I had said no, simply because the smiles on the faces of the orphans in Jeremie were and are so much more genuine then the ones on our American faces. Now, I still feel the same way. I don't want to bring them to the US, but I do want to parent them, to care for them, and to love them. God has called me to.

On Monday morning, I will begin preparing to return to Haiti for an extended period of time. I'm still not sure what God's whole plan for me and Haiti is, however, I do know that He will shut the doors to the path He doesn't want me to take and open others. He will never present to me anything I can't handle. In HIM I find my strength. 

I write this blog from 31,000 feet. We are somewhere above Texas. When we land, I will tell my family of what God has called me to do this week. I must admit, I am scared. I know I may meet some resistance. But if God is for me, who can be against me?

God is for you too. PLEASE, let Him in! Let Him fight your battles. Let Him change your heart. Let Him take control. He wants a relationship with you, not just your belief that He exists. Even demons believe He exists yet, they will not inheirit the Kingdom of Heaven...are you headed for the same destination? 

The hands I am typing with are covered in scabies. No one else on the trip has them and as I am typing this, God is revealing to me that this is the sign I have been praying for all week. Though they are itchy and look like leprosy, I can only rejoice in this. Why, you ask? Because God has once again used an illness to show me His will. Just like He did when I was diagnosed with epilepsy my junior year in high school, God has directed my feet to the path He has chosen for me. By being diagnosed with epilepsy, God directed me to missions work. And now, with scabies, God has directed me to heal the children who I played with all week, hugged on, and contracted scabies from. I now know what these children feel like everyday. God wants me to fix that.

Pray for me as I start my journey. Pray for my family as we adjust to what God has done in my life. Pray for El Shaddai Ministries as they consider allowing me to work alongside them in Haiti. But most of all, PRAISE GOD for calling me to be His hands and feet.

In Christ,
Lisa

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, 
Because the Lord has annointed me to preach good tidings to the poor;
He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives, 
And the opening of the prison to those who are bound; 
To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, 
And the day of vengence of our God;
To comfort all who mourn, 
To console those who mourn in Zion,
To give them beauty for ashes,
The oil of joy for mourning, 
The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; 
That they may be called trees of righteousness,
The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.
Isaiah 61:1-3