Job Description 101 - Empowerment

If I had a dollar for every time someone asked me what I am going to do in Haiti, I would have all my financial support and then some! Seriously. And rightfully so! It's a great question and one that I'm glad people are asking and caring and showing their interest.

But, if I'm honest, I sometimes hate that question. It seems like such a hard question to answer with not just a one or two sentence explanation. I don't know how to adequately answer it, so...let me take the time now to share with you how I would love to respond every time that question is asked:

Number 1...I struggle with that question because it is a loaded way for me to be saying what I will be 'doing' in Haiti. How I will perform, what will I achieve, a way to be measured. And yes, all of those things can be good and can be good motivators. But for me, they can become bad, very bad!

Because in essence that is NOT the point for going to Haiti. If I go just to do good works and be a good person and perform and achieve, well then, I have missed the point! I will get burned out, beaten down, and exhausted. Because, it's not about ME and what I do and how I do it, it's about God. His will. His plan. His purposes. If I go and learn to be more like Jesus and use THAT change to selflessly serve others...out of the overflow of my heart change, THEN, I will have served my purpose. God empowering me!

Number 2...With that being said, can I safely go into more detail about my job in Haiti and what I will be doing? Absolutely!

One of the big reasons I feel more comfortable making this move to Haiti is because I firmly believe in what AwakenHaiti is doing. Their goal is to empower people, and to empower Haitians. Empower them to change and grow and develop. Not just come in and do things for them and say "This is how its done and we are here to help and we will do it this way and we will do it all for you." NO, that is so not it! It's about life change and giving people the means to help them help themselves. To teach, encourage, affirm, guide, and love them!

And, as I have been thinking about this concept and how much I believe in it, I found an actual biblical explanation for this idea of empowerment. This excerpt is from the book Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell:

     "Then God said, 'Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.' And it was so." The next verse is significant. "The land produced vegetation." Notice that it doesn't say, "God produced vegetation." God empowers the land to do something. He gives it the capacity to produce trees and shrubs and plants and bushes that produce fruit and seeds. God empowers creation to make more."

     This happens again in Genesis 1:22 when God blesses the creatures of the water and sky and then says, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth." Once again God gives creation - here it is fish and birds - the ability to multiply and make more. God doesn't make more fish: God gives fish the ability to make more.

     God empowers creation to make more and in doing so loads it with potential. It is going to grow and change and move and not be the same today as it was yesterday, and tomorrow it will move another day forward. Creation is loaded with potential and possibility and promise. 

AwakenHaiti believes this and I firmly believe this! We have been called to help empower people, with God's help, to live as they were fully created to live. To use the potential, possibility, and promise that god has given us!


So, what does this all look like for me and what I will be 'doing':

1. My main title is Girls Home Coordinator. This means I will be spending lots of time at the Good Samaritan Girls Home. I will be teaching, mentoring, guiding, and assessing each girl. Over the two years that I am in Haiti, there is a hope that some sort of transition program will develop for the girls as they reach the age to leave the orphanage. This will look like finding each girls talents and gifts and finding how that will work in her future. One example of this would be to train a few girls in dental health and then allow them to move to Canaan (see #2 below) and work in the Medical Clinic as a dental hygienist. Using all aspects AwakenHaiti to empower her to provide a future for herself!

2. Canaan - the tent city where earthquake survivors had to relocate. AwakenHaiti works here with a Haitian pastor and is doing lots of construction and rebuilding. We have built a school, church, a few homes, and will begin construction on a medical clinic this summer. I will get to help with this area in some aspects, as needed. But one of the main goals here is to teach members of the church in Canaan the skills to be able to build themselves, so that possibly, someday AwakenHaiti can hire them to continue leading this construction and provide work and an income for their families. Empowerment!

3. The final purpose of AwakenHaiti is to provide opportunities for teams to come down and serve for a week in Haiti. Again, I will get to help with these teams, as needed. Teams vary on what they do but usually along the lines of medical, construction, and/or relationship building. By doing this, AwakenHaiti is empowering these teams to grow and change outside of their everyday life in the US or Canada. And to then take what they learned in Haiti and use it in their daily life, to empower change in themselves and the people they come in contact with everyday!

So...there you have it! In a nutshell (a big nutshell)! Hopefully this captures not only the essence of what I will be doing, but also the details of what I will be doing and why I will be doing them. 

Affirmations in Dodgeball

Kim,
Just so you know, I went to see the girls at the orphanage last night to say hi and I asked Martine if she was excited for you to come and she ENTHUSIASTICALLY said Yes!! Then Carme Suze made me a card and in it she told me how you came to Haiti and played Dodgeball with them and it was fun. Just thought you should know you are loved and missed in Haiti!!
- Vanessa

An email from a friend, Vanessa, who lived in Haiti and just returned a few days ago to finish out her term with AwakenHaiti.

One more affirmation, one more reminder.

God provides.

Exceedingly, abundantly MORE than we ask.


Speaking of dodgeball...I thought you would enjoy this clip of us playing. I'll tell you what...these girls can be intense! They've got some arms and skills on them that would challenge any of your avid dodgeball fans. Olympics 2016?? Haitian Girls Dodgeball Team coached by me?? Dream big, kids, dream big!

Un, deux, trois...Soley!

The first full day and last full day of my trip over Easter, I got to work in Canaan, the tent city where Awaken Haiti is partnering with a Haitian pastor, Nathan, to rebuild the area. They have already built a church, a couple of homes, are currently building a school, and have a medical clinic planned to begin construction this summer. It was the perfect way to bookend my trip because I love physical labor, I love feeling like (and being able to see) we accomplished something, and I love the people in Canaan! The team that was there in March built two homes, but the one home didn't get completely finished. So we were able to put up siding, paint, and wire the whole house in two days! It was pretty exciting. Below are some pictures of the work days:

 Here is a picture of what the house looked like before we started on our first day. 

This is a picture of a completed house that Awaken Haiti built.

Unloading the truck to get ready to work for the day in Canaan.

 Starting to side the house.

 Haitians and Americans working together - such a cute picture!

 Me using lots of nails to get the siding up. Check out my sweet tool belt!

 Apparently I had to learn to use a hammer correctly. Who knew you didn't hold it by the head?

 As the day went by, a lot of the kids from Canaan started to gather around. Here, a few of the boys wanted to be our helpers. They LOVED getting to wear the tool belts, even though they were swimming in them. You should have seen their smiles!

One of the things I love most about AwakenHaiti, as an organization, is that they are all about empowering Haitians; not just coming in and doing things for them or changing their system. It is really about coming alongside of them, supporting, and teaching them. As this picture shows, one of the goals of AwakenHaiti is to teach Haitians how to do certain things. For instance, one of the houses we are building is for a family in the church that Pastor Nathan counsels. The father of this family has been right there alongside AwakenHaiti as we build him a house. He is learning how to build the house he and his family will live in...how cool is that! The picture above is Drew, a member of AwakehHaiti, helping teach one of the boys how to use a nail gun. Now, I know I probably wasn't much better with the gun, but at times, it was such a funny sight to watch him learn. He would try to push the nail in and the gun would slide all over. Then he would miss the nail and drill a hole in the siding. Poor kid, he was trying so hard and didn't give up!

On my final full day, we finished our work on the house in Canaan by painting and wiring the inside. This little girl was there all day. She followed me around and literally spoke Kreyol to me alll day...like I understood what she was saying. She would just look at me and talk and talk and talk...I would just nod my head and smile. Now I know how it feels to be a foreigner here in the US who doesn't speak English!

 

 I found myself taking lots of 'play-breaks' with this group of kids. As I painted they taught me lots of Kreyol. They taught me how to count to 10, how to say: 'how old are you', 'what is your name', sit down, stand up, brother, sister, sun, and hot (see this posts title for my awesome Kreyol abilities) ! They were pretty amazing teachers, drilling those words into me over and over! We also tried to learn some American songs, but for some reason I could only think of "You are my sunshine."

We also were able to get the whole inside of the house wired! And by we, I mean, not me! I just took pictures because it looked pretty great when it was all said and done.

All in all, our work days were lots of fun, productive, and neat to see the results of our labor in the hot sun! It was also great to get to know and be around some of the people of Canaan, especially the kids! I'll be posting some of the more leisure activities I did soon!

Wonder

Over and over
You fill my heart with wonder
You take me by surprise
I can't believe my eyes

Wider and deeper
Just when I think I've seen ya
Like a stone thrown into the ocean water
I can search your depths and never hit rock bottom

Deep in me you created a fire
Like a flame you keep taking me higher
Up and up, and it grows
Where it stops only Heaven knows

Once again, I am going to speak in song! The lyrics above are from a song by Jimmy Needham called Rock Bottom...about how we think we have found God and know God, but we actually never do and never will, His love keeps going deeper and deeper never hitting rock bottom. Before going on this trip, I thought I knew Gods love...I just thought having these doubts and fears about Haiti were normal and wouldn't go away. Yet again, God has surprised me by peeling back another layer of his love.


I made it home safely early this morning and had an AMAZING trip. All of my fears that I discussed in the previous post were put to rest. The trip confirmed in me that this is where God wants me for this season. I knew He put this fire in me to go to Haiti, but I was unsure of how strong it would be. Well, this trip made me realize he is making the flame higher and higher, to heights I can't even fathom. All of the doubts and fears I had about my ability to do this task, if I will even be good enough, and if I would be accepted in Haiti were all extinguished. I left Haiti with a peace and excitement about going back in August that can only be explained by God...filling my heart with wonder.

A quick story to prove this point:

The night before I was about to leave Haiti, we went to say goodbye to the girls at the Good Samaritan Home. I was hesitant and nervous because seeing them earlier in the trip, I didn't feel connected. The language barrier, age (that awkward middle school phase), me being a new person they can't trust yet, and walls they have rightfully built up because of their past experiences left me feeling unwanted, scared, discouraged, and uncertain of the role I was to play in the girls' future. I didn't want to leave on this note.

Well, God certainly showed up...upon entering the house and saying goodbye, the girls began warming up to me. They said their goodbyes and when it was translated to them that I would be coming back in August for two years, there were cheers and smiles! Drew, who is living in Haiti now, said he hasn't seen the girls that happy in a long time. Wow!!! All because of the news that I was coming back...back to share their life with them and teach them about how loved and special they are. These words don't do any justice to what this experience was actually like and how it made me feel, but below I posted a clip of the girls singing happy birthday to Mama Deb! Here is just a taste of the love and desire they have in their hearts to love and be loved. I can't wait to go back and do life alongside of them!

And PS - I will be posting lots of fun pictures and stories of the trip over the coming days and weeks. Stay tuned!

No Thief Like Fear

In wanting to write a post before leaving for Haiti on Thursday, I was trying to decide the slant I wanted to take. Would I make it more about fear and how fear can steal all the things God has planned for us to experience? Would I make it about the prayers and needs I felt like I would want for this week of travel? Would I keep it light and fun and just talk about the things I would be doing?

And then I heard this song that I heard on the plane ride back from Haiti in June…it was the moment that got me thinking, “Maybe God wants me to move to Haiti.” I’m kinda bittersweet towards that song…that thing changed my life! Ha…well not entirely, but it did get me thinking about the move God possibly wanted me to make. Here is the song with the lyrics…

“Won’t You take this cup from me cause fear has stolen all my sleep.”

Mmm…what appropriate words, then AND now. I didn’t really want to be thinking about that at that time, that God might be calling me to move to Haiti. And now that I have been given this cup (going to Haiti this weekend, and then moving there in August) fear has played a big role in that process. Not a good role, but a big role. And even now, fears run through my head. What if I get there this week and hate it? What if I can’t do it? What if it is not like I remember in my head? What if it just feels 'not right' when I’m there?

Ahhh…fear is stealing my life! Stealing the joy God has for me in each moment. Stealing the excitement of the adventure of not knowing. Stealing a life lived fully awake and fully alive! There is no thief like fear.

But, as the song goes, “Father let my heart be after You.” 

I can feel these feelings of fear, I can sit with them and process them, and even embrace them. But DO NOT let me dwell on them, do NOT let me be defined by them. Let my life be defined by You, and making and changing my heart after Yours. Come into my fears, God, and meet me there. Show me how to live your commands, “Do not be afraid…do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

THAT is my prayer as I head to Haiti for the weekend. To be fully open to whatever it is God has in store for me. To let His love cover my fears, and not miss the awesomeness of what God wants me to experience.

“Give me strength to die myself so love can live to tell the tale"