Haiti-Sick

This is a new term Amanda came up with to describe how much we miss Haiti. Instead of being home-sick we are all Haiti-sick.

I miss it so very much.  My heart longs to be there every single day.  I feel like I belong, like I'm doing what I'm supposed to with my life, and like my purpose is clear when I'm in Haiti.  While it is one of the most challenging places for me, Haiti is also like a second home where I feel more at peace than anywhere else.  I know my journey is just beginning, but I am so anxious to get back down there.  We've been home a week and a half and I'm more than ready to be back.

Phase one of preparing for my move to Haiti has begun.  Thanks to a generous donor, I was able to purchase the first set of material to learn Creole.  I'm going to work my way through the "Creole Made Easy" workbook and audio material.  Once I've mastered that program (the basics of Creole), I'm going to begin phase two of the language process.  Mom and I found this highly rated system, similar to Rosetta Stone (which doesn't carry Creole by the way), called Pimsleur.  They've got a 30 lesson course that guarantees you'll be speaking at a conversational level by the end.  I'm pretty excited to start this part of the journey.  Creole is fascinating to me, and I'm hoping I'll be able to pick up and retain it all pretty quickly.

I've also begun trying to save up for Haiti.  I still am not sure how much I'll need to have, but through working some random jobs, until camp starts full time, I think I can get a good start on things. I posted on Facebook the other day that I'm looking for random jobs to help in this process (babysitting, design assistance, running errands, cleaning, organizational help, etc), and the response has been amazing!! Friends I haven't talked to in years have contacted me with opportunities, and others have put me in contact with some great jobs.  God's faithfulness never ceases to amaze me.  Thank you to everyone who has contacted me and are helping to get these positions.

Another random update: I've decided to put all of my pictures from the last three trips to Haiti into picture books.  I'm hoping this will be a great way to save my pictures, retain all of the memories, and serve as a resource when speaking to people about my journey to Haiti.  Plus it's been a lot of fun walking down memory lane, and looking into all of the details God has orchestrated up to this point.

I'm not sure if I've ever really written my testimony or all of the specifics God has done to get me here.  I'll try to make that my next blog post.

Thanks again to everyone for your support, love, and prayers.  The feedback I've gotten already has been extremely encouraging and uplifting.  Y'all are the best!