You Know You're In Haiti When...

You know you're in northern Missouri when you have to leave the night before your flight to make it through the white-out to the airport that's two hours away.

You know you’re in Kansas City when a caravan of fifty snowplows rolls past the terminal window, blades up, because there’s no point in plowing when the snow’s still falling!

You know you’re in Chicago when Shaina’s aunt and uncle pick you up at the airport and take you to the best Italian beef restaurant in the US.

You know you’re in Fort Lauderdale when you walk through the exit doors and a friendly voice from above tells you “You’re beautiful. Have a great day.”

You know you’re finally back in Haiti when you start sweating before you even step outside the airport.

You know you’re in Haiti when your heart finally feels like it’s home.

You know you’re in Haiti when being bumped and thrown around, while squished in the front of the truck with three other people, is the most wonderful ride you’ve had in months.

You know you’re in Haiti when you daily receive the most delightful hugs from the most beautiful little girls.

You know you’re in Haiti when you feel accomplished for the day after killing a spider the size of your fist.

You know you’re in Haiti when you get to wake up with the sun, the view when you walk outside is an island in the Caribbean Ocean, and every night the sky sparkles with millions of stars.

You know you’re in Haiti when the most exciting event of the week is not losing a single pen.

You know you’re in Haiti when the warmth of the sun on your skin thrills you so much that you forget to put on any sunscreen, and your long-awaited “tan” is soon peeling off.

You know you’re in Haiti when you make a child’s day by giving them a pair of new shoes.

You know you’re in Haiti when the day’s trip is canceled because two semis have been turned horizontally across the road to block it, and the people who took the keys from the drivers are MIA.

You know you’re in Haiti when you have to leave at five a.m. to beat the road block so you can get to the airport on time.

You know you’re back in Fort Lauderdale when you miss your flight while you’re sitting right at the gate. Don’t ask.

You know you’re back in Kansas City when donning layer upon layer of clothing doesn’t even keep the cold out.

You know you belong in Haiti when you miss it before you’ve even left.

More Than Overcomers

I would like to apologize for my severe case of writer’s block during the last half of the past year. Slowly but surely, I believe I am being cured of it.

Since my last entry so much has happened and so much has changed that I am not sure I will be able to catch you up on everything, so I will focus on a few of the ways God has been working, both inwardly and visibly.

Those of us who were in the accident in May will never know just how many people, across the country and across the world, were lifting us up in prayer, but we do know the aftermath of that outpouring. All of the American team members were healed so swiftly that even the doctors were stunned. What a glorious witness to God’s amazing power. Everyone is back to life as usual, and though many still have emotional and physical scars as reminders, God's love has been our healing balm for those as well. In Haiti things were not so quick, but what else is new? The last Haitian was not sent home from the hospital until September, but all of them are also healing well. The two boys whose lower legs were amputated are being fitted for prosthetic limbs, and Marc’s arms now have neither rods nor casts on them. He was told that his right arm may never have the same mobility as before, but we continue to praise God that He provided a way for Marc to keep both arms as he requested. By all human standards he should have lost them. God knew better.

When the malaria epidemic broke out, more desperate petitions were made to the throne of grace. God saw fit to heal all, seven by restored health here on this earth, two by taking them home to be with Him: twenty-year-old Yoka, and Monique’s unborn child. We will never know why, in His sovereignty, God chose this method of healing for those two, but we continue to believe Him, though sometimes with a faith blinded by tears. Our future hope is the confidence that keeps our legs from buckling underneath us.

Since then an explosion of tropical storms, cholera outbreak, and political upheaval have overtaken the country of Haiti. Dee and I have been here in the States, Dee with her children and her mom, who went through and is now healing from open heart surgery, I back and forth between the Dorcé family and my family, helping with stateside Blessing Heart International correspondence and paperwork. Too many things to recount occurred, and made Dee, Wilckly and I realize God was telling us it was time to be still and let Him be God. And so Dee and I stayed, and Wilckly has been back and forth between the States and Haiti since September. It has been the most difficult wait I have ever endured, staying here and not returning to Haiti.

While we have been here, God has been working. He knows our needs so much better than we do, and He has provided BHI with two school buses to fill with more supplies and ship to Haiti, and a Backhoe loader and Rhino that are already there in Haiti working to build up the mission compound. He raised up countless supporters who have caught the excitement about what He is doing through the Dorcés and are helping in huge ways, financially, giving of their time and energy, and with prayer and emotional support.

This week Wilckly is returning to Haiti after spending the holidays in the States with his family, and God has opened the doors for Dee and I to accompany him for a week. At this point my excitement far outweighs my hesitancy, but I know that I will have hundreds of emotions and memories to deal with, even in the short space of a week. My goal is to be an encouragement to the Haitians who have been serving in our absence and working to keep the mission running, and to Wilckly before we leave him there again. God’s presence and involvement in our efforts have been very evident, and we are confident in Him. Though at times it may seem that oppression from the enemy is more than we can bear, we know our God is stronger. And in Him we are already more than overcomers. “If God is for us, who can be against us?”