I have been living in Haiti for a month now. I had no idea what it would mean to live here when I left the states in June, and honestly, I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to fully grasp the way that God works here. Every day I am in awe of Him and every day I find it hard to believe that this is real life. There have been 12 people living in the Breathe Center in Bercy, Haiti, and the people that I’ve gotten to call family this summer are the biggest bunch of God-loving, passionate weirdos that I am so blessed to know. We’ve laughed together, cried together, perfected the awkward family photo together, and done each area of life together and in just a few days we will say goodbye and start our next chapters.
If you had told me a month ago that I would witness miracles, that I would love and be loved by countless new friends, that I’d try (and fail) to cook new foods, that I would learn the words I have learned, that I would be able to do the things that have become a “normal” part of daily life, I wouldn’t have believed you.
God has taken every single expectation I set for Him and blown me away. Yes there have been hard moments and we have struggled together this summer, but when I reflect on these past few weeks I can only remember the highlights.
I remember exploring a new village for the first time ever with Breathe, I remember the late night conversations and games, I remember the hugs from the neighborhood kids and I hear them yelling “YOU!!” at me from the tap tap. I think about climbing mountains and admiring the view that God so intentionally created. I think about the new foods that I’ve tried and loved. I laugh when I think about the adventures that have been thrust upon us. I have learned new games, I have learned culture and new ways to love and receive love.
Summer 2017 has been a summer of new things and growth. I’m very much still a baby in this country and I love that every day I get to do something for the first time. As the summer wraps up we are preparing to re-enter our home towns and to see the friends and family we have missed this past month. We will go back to the comforts we left behind. We will get to exchange stories with people we haven’t talked to in what feels like forever. We will start a new season of life and to some extent we will move on from this chapter.
The things that God has done this summer have grown us and changed us and we will each have new things to take back to the states and apply into a new mission field. The mission doesn’t stop when we get to the airport, the mission changes and adapts to our surroundings. It’s a choice to live life on mission and it’s a choice that is 100% worth it. I am excited to catch up with the people I love so much in Ohio. I can’t wait to share the ways that God has moved this summer.
I know that God has called me to leave Ohio for a season. Each time I get to go “home” will be wonderful and so refreshing, and then I get to go into the next season and let God continue to use me in Philadelphia, or Haiti, or wherever else he leads. I am so thankful for the support system I have in the states, thank you for sending me and loving me as I follow God into new nations. I cannot wait to grow with God and with new people, and I cannot wait for you to see what God has planned next.
I love the mystery that comes with this new life path, and I love the dependence it has put on God. I love not knowing what will happen each day, and I love that every time I make a plan God changes it and it’s so much better than I could ever imagine. Now that I’ve surrendered on a whole new level I have been able to feel God in a way I never could before and there’s no telling what He could do next.
