Color Run!

Last weekend a couple of friends from home and I got to run a 5k together, but it wasn't a normal 5k! In this run at every kilometer you would get covered in color! So by the end you are a walking rainbow. Sounded like fun to us!

 

So you start off in white, and as you run you get color thrown on you! Yellow, pink, blue, orange, and green. And you come out looking like this...

My mom's first comment was that I didn't get very dirty. I tried! I think I had a lot of orange and yellow on me that just made me look tanner, and then wind blew most of the chalky color off of my shirt. But I promise you that I did try to get dirty! We even waited in line at some of the color stations to make sure we got colorful. And when I got home I pull off my socks to find that my toes were purple and blue!

I also got to catch up with some other sweet friends from home that ran the race too! It was lovely getting to see them and catch up over a little lunch before heading back to school.

One of my favorite things at the race was a "happy wall" and you got to write anything on there that made you happy. Up there was an assortment of things from the different colleges in the area to cupcakes to family. But I loved that idea of just writing out all the things that make me happy or that I am thankful for! Like getting dirty, laughing with friends, seeing people from home, hearing stories, pictures, running, colors, and joy!

*Joy of the day: Getting to hangout with my housemates, watching movies and baking cupcakes!

Not So Little Any More!

Off to school!

It's that time of the year again! School buses, homework, pumpkin everything and cooler weather. And this year my very own Cutie is joining the elementary school kids! She started kindergarden on Tuesday. I feel sappy saying I can't believe how quickly she grew up, but it's true. Just a testament to how precious every day is!

My cutie

Since I am also in classes I couldn't make it home Monday night to be there for the first day of school, so we all skyped. I left her a dress for her first day that she opened while we were skyping and was very excited to wear the next day, and I also got to surprise her that I was going to come home and pick her up from school! All smiles, we ended skype and I crammed in as much homework as possible to enjoy my short time at home.

Shannon and Sean

Tuesday came, and I anxiously awaited the e-mail from my dad full of the traditional "first day of school pictures." She was just too precious! And while the dress is a tad long, it looked adorable with her curly pig-tales. I prayed that God would speed up the clock so I could get home just in time, and through His faithfulness I made it with about 15 minutes to spare!

We walked over to the school and they had the kindergardeners in a corner so they wouldn't get lost or mixed up with the older kids, when Shannon saw us she dropped her backpack and jumped into my arms. It was such a precious moment!

Few more
years buddy!

To celebrate we went and got ice cream (a new first day of school tradition) and Shannon and I spent the rest of the afternoon together. We painted nails, colored, played some games, I braided her hair, and both worn out from a long and exciting day we went to bed early.

In the morning I got to walk her to school and the cutie held my hand the whole time. And when we got to school she gave me a big hug, told me she couldn't wait to come for the football game, and proudly marched into school. That's my goober!

2nd day!

While my trip home was short, it was completely worth it. Shannon and Sean mean everything to me, and to be there for my Cutie on her big day was so special! Their hugs and kisses are irreplaceable!

Ready for the football game!

*Joy of the day: Besides my time with my fam, I love the drive to and from school- it's absolutely beautiful. A true gift from God!

My Cozy Little Room

I finally feel all settled after two weeks of living here and a week of classes! There are still little things that I can't find, I don't know if it's because I didn't pack them or I just can't remember where I put them. But here is my new home sweet home!

My cozy bed and reading nook

The reading nook and dresser/pie cupboard

Across the way into my closet

My desk

Our pretty mailboxes

our entry way

our initials coming down the banister

Cozy table for 7

the big comfy couch

the downstairs kitchen

This week has been filled with lots of joys. Catching up with old friends, growing to friends from acquaintances and meeting new faces. This week God has shown me a little bit of what this semester will hold for me, and while it looks busy it is also full of love! Between five classes, a new part-time job at a preschool, small group, church and other ministries this semester is going to be a bustle of energy. But his promises are always true, that I will be "strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that [I] may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified [me]." Colossians 1:11-12

*Joy of the day: Taking a nap with my window open, falling asleep to the sound of rain hitting the roof.

The Adventures of Laura and Sarah

Dinner of champions!
(Don't worry mom- its
grilled cheese not
toast!)

First we painted the living room! Laura is an amazing painter and mainly due to her, it only took us about six hours. So we spent the other part of our day running errands and my dad was wonderful and attempted to set up cable which failed (our outside line had come down-oops!) so we had to set up a maintenance call. But overall we felt very productive.







Friday we spent about four hours dealing with cable, then went to Jimmy John's for a delicious lunch.

Can I have it?

Ran a bunch of errands, and then decided to reward all our grown up effort with some puppy love!

As soon as we walked in the door, our friend called to say she had just arrived and that we should come by. So we went and helped her unpacked a little bit then went to another friends place, and by the time we got home we had been up and busy for 15 hours! Needless to say we slept well that night.

The next morning Laura and I got to eat breakfast on our beautiful porch while we waited for my mommy to come! We cleaned up the kitchen and bathroom. When my mom arrived she brought some tools that we needed to do some fix-ups. So being proud home renters we trimmed some branches, and by trimmed I mean hacked! We also made some cute curtains for the main windows in our house for a little more privacy.

Moving into a house has been overwhelming and exciting. But I absolutely love it!

*Joy of the day: Watching "What Not to Wear" with my housemate!

Little Dresses For Africa

While I was in Haiti one of my favorite parts was the little girl's orphanage. I loved painting their nails, playing with bubbles, running around and most of all being able to give them a little something to let them know that they are loved. One special thing that we were able to leave with them was handmade dresses from a group of women at our church! It was really neat to see the way that they were showing these little girls God's love even though they were thousands of miles away! These women never even touched Haitian soil and yet they made a difference!

Now it's my turn! My big hearted friend Brittany is leaving for Africa in a little over a month. She'll be serving the Lord their for several months, and I must admit that I am jealous! I would much rather be serving the Lord and his beloved people in one of his beautiful countries than in a stuffy classroom. So I am going to serve in the same way that the women of my church served along side of us in Haiti!


I found this adorable website called "Little Dresses for Africa." It has the directions on how to make the cute and simple pillow case dresses (and then if you follow their directions you ship them to a woman who will get them to little girls in Africa who need them). But I'm sending mine a different way! Miss Brittany will take the cute little dresses and give them to the little girls she meets while she's over there.

While I believe that everyone is called to serve, service looks different at different times. Making dresses is just as important as taking them across the world. No matter what you are doing, it's big and it will make an impact on someone's life. If it's a bottle of nail polish or painting a little girls nails for the first time,  or making a little dress or giving a little girl a brand new dress that she can be proud of, all of this to show that she is a beautiful daughter of God and that she is fiercely loved!

*Joy of the day: Praying over each of these dresses and for the little girls that will wear them!

Lamp Make Over

I am getting ready to move down to my new house at school and of course I need to have things to decorate my room with. So I found an old lamp in the basement and decided to recover it and give it a new look! Here's how I attempted this:

1) I took the boring lamp shade and measure it, to cut the fabric the proper size (also iron your fabric first, wrinkles really show through the light)

2) I began at the bottom folding the fabric under so no rough edges were sticking out

3) I left about two inches of over lap at the end so once I was finished I could create a seam up the side

4) On the top I did the same fold over technique but there were gathers at times because the top is smaller than the bottom

5) Then I cut several one inch wide strips, and gathered them to add as ruffles around the top and bottom of the shade

6) I also wrapped a little ruffle around the chain

As simple as that! A little fabric goes a long way

*Joy of the day: Watching the Olympics! 

God's Work Through CCH

He lost everything
in the earthquake

She's a widow with six children

Community Coalition for Haiti has done a lot in the few years that it's been established there. While it's built and helped with several housing projects, they believe in more than that. CCH doesn't just hand over keys to a house but makes sure the family has a source of income, that they are providing for their family, and giving back to the community and economy.


 

She is raising a son and works in the Isaiah House

CCH has also worked on several other projects through out the region. They are currently building a school in a rural area. They have started a "pepper project" which allow farmers to grow and sell these peppers which grow quickly in this climate. They've started a few other garden projects.

He's raising 2 nephews and is the security
guard for the Isaiah House

They have also started some deaf ministries. Employing four deaf men to work on the construction when groups are not down there, and a group of deaf women who make beautiful jewelry.

Community Coalition for Haiti is committed not only to helping the people of Haiti get back on their feet but equipping them to provide for their families and give back to the community!

*Joy of the day: Getting to meet several families who CCH has served.

My Day as a Nurse

My "ah ha" moment of the trip was certainly in the clinic. Since the team knew that I'm studying to be a nurse they kindly arranged for me to follow a doctor at the clinic one morning, and it was amazing. It was so different that a doctor's office in the United States because of illnesses that were seen and the availability of medicine to the patients.

The CCH Clinic

One of the operating rooms

I followed Dr. Calix around, he had his medical training in Cuba and spoke wonderful English (what he didn't know in English he'd explain to me in Spanish!). The way it worked was a patient would come in a sit down at the evaluation table, Dr. Calix would ask what the "story" was and find out all the details. Then moved to the exam table where he would do an evaluation of the systems that were complained of by the patient. From there he could make a diagnosis and would give them a prescription for the free pharmacy downstairs in the clinic.

Here's where things were strikingly different than at home, these prescriptions were for things that we would find every day in a store. The patients would receive prescriptions for Tylenol, Advil, vitamins, and cough medicine. While some would also get prescriptions for antibiotics, these other medicines were often prescribed. And the patients were able to get them all for free because they had all been donated by groups like us!

All the medical supplies (it was really hot)

We saw a variety of patients that morning: a man with malaria and typhoid, a little girl with kwashiorkor (malnutrition), diabetes, hypertension, high fever (105), sore throat, and a pregnant woman. She was eight months pregnant and this was the first time she had been to the doctor, Dr. Calix made sure the baby had moved into a position for delivery and then found it's back and we were able to listen to it's heartbeat. It was amazing!

This was one of those moments when everything just felt right, when it shouldn't have. I was completely out of my element, in a strange country where I am not respected by the people, I don't speak the language or understand their customs and yet I felt at ease. I could see myself being a nurse in a third world country one day. I could see myself serving the Lord and his beloved people in that way!

The Haitian Nursing school!

*Joy of the day: Witnessing the way that Dr. Calix is serving his people with his time and talents.

Beauty of Haiti

We had two "fun days" to enjoy some of the sites of Haiti and the natural beauty that the island has to offer. We got to hang out on a beach and go to Bassin Bleu. Both were gorgeous!

Stunning Beach

The first Sunday we were there we went to church then enjoy our Sabbath at the beach! We traveled about thirty minutes to a beach where a lot of missionaries hang out. It was lovely, a real piece of paradise among all the brokenness and poverty in this country. The water was bright blue and so salty that you could float with out really trying. It was refreshingly cool too! There were beautiful shells all along the shore, huge conch shells and lots of sea glass. There were also the iconic island huts lining the coast, with the palm branch roofs. It was picture perfect!

Look at that water!

Our last day in Haiti we went on an adventure to Bassin Bleu. It became more of an adventure because it rained the night before making the river we had to cross a little deeper! (We cheered when we made it across.) Then we traveled an hour up the mountain to the other side of the bay to the base where we would then hike half an hour to the waterfall. It was fun to hike through the tropical forrest. We crossed a river and the water was aqua blue. I've never seen water like this except in the ocean! We we got to the Bassin you could get in to it in the first part or climb up a ledge, repel down to the other side then swim to a rock in the middle or all the way to the water fall to jump off the rocks there.

Jumping from the waterfall!

The place was breathtaking; the color of the water, the rocks, the waterfall. As one of the women on our trip said it was such a promise to the Haitians from God. That among all the destruction and devastation, that he was still there and his promise of restoration!


*Joy of the day: God's beauty, his promise and his covenant was so evident!

The Kids

After lunch we would pack up toys, hats, markers, soccer balls, bubbles, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and head out to an orphanage or a school in the area. We did the same basic format of a Vacation Bible School each place we went. Using our translators we would do some songs in Creole, a play from a Bible story, then a craft where they would make hats that said "Jesus Loves Me." After we would get to play with the kids and depending on where we were that would look a little different each time!

Painting nails!

Getting my hair done

The first place we went was a school, so there were about 75 kids! The boys took some of the older over to a soccer field and started a game. With the younger kids we played with some other balls, bubbles and then the little girls wanted to do our hair! They loved that they could over and over again, but I think I lost a lot of hair that day!

The second place we went was Father Abraham's orphanages, they were divided boys and girl. With the girls we painted their nails, even the boys in our group painted nails! Played with bubbles, beach balls and jump ropes. Then with the boys we played with soccer balls and frisbees in their little courtyard.

More nail polish

Wednesday was the hardest, we went to the Sister's of Charity orphanage. They take people of all ages that no one else will take, older people with dementia, people with developmental challenges, AIDS, tuberculoses, and sick little babies. Some of the older kids (4-8) would play with us, the teenagers didn't want much to do with us, and the adult were hard to interact with due to the language barrier. But the hardest part for me was the babies and the toddlers. They would just let you hold them, they didn't seem to care and they really didn't have any facial expression. They weren't excited by bubbles, they weren't ticklish, it was heartbreaking. These little children had been through more in their few years that I would ever know. It was hard to leave there knowing that those children needed so much love.

This girls was too cute!

The last place we went was another orphanage that was split boys and girls, but they brought the girls over this time. These kids were older and some of the older boys knew English pretty well. It was fun finally getting to have a full conversation with someone and hearing about their lives.

Before we would leave we would give each child a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and a goody bag. In the goody bag was the Bible story in Creole, a picture to color, a few crayons, a few pieces of candy, and a stuffed animal.

The sandwiches and goody bags

Joy!

I loved playing with the children, their smiles just warmed my heart! One day a little girl was teaching me different words in Creole (butterfly, flower, pink, etc.) and I asked if I was doing well, and with a shy grin she laughed and said no! Oh the honesty of children. I miss them greatly and I wish I could have done more for them, but I know God is watching out for them. American or Haitian God has a plan for each one of his children.

*Joy of the day: being able to make a child smile and let them know the they are loved!