I just read a facebook post about a celebration scheduled for tonight and it grabbed my curiosity. Yesterday there was a post about a celebration at Carlisle BIC Church and there were a whole bunch of encouraging comments that followed. It occured to me after I read closer into today's post and realized the celebration was a send-off for Vanessa. We have been so removed from everything going on in Pennsylvania, we have missed all of the discussion, support shown, excitement and all Vanessa has gone through over the past few weeks to get ready to join us in Haiti. She will be coming for a year to set up our medical program, get it up and running and assist us with all we are doing. I know God has moved in her and changed her enough to do something crazy like move to Haiti, but it just hit me how big of a deal this is. Not just for her, but also, for her family and friends sending her off. What does it take for a person to give up family and friends and the comforts and ease of things America provides? I should know, I just went through it...somehow, I seem to have forgotten.
Living here is hard. Everything here is hard. Nothing comes easy. Everything takes time, patience, and more patience. However, in the midst of things being difficult, God is at work. God is changing our lives and he will change Vanessa's life. You can't be here without relying completely on God for everything. Even leaving for the grocery store takes faith and prayer. I am still so anxious here. So uncomfortable. Everything here intimidates me. Being here without friends and family close has gotten very lonely for us. Everything here is hard, but in the midst, God is using that so we will rely on HIM more and ourselves less.
We find ourselves trying to figure out what this time is for, these last few months we feel like we are spinning our wheels. Trying to do ministry, but finding ourselves only being able to do a little bit of the ministry we would like to do, but mostly, we're still finding our way here, figuring out the language, learning the culture (and many times asking ourselves why things are the way they are here), etc... As we look at our ministry and why we are here, part of the reason is to reach out to the Haitians and those we love here and share Christ with them, but the other part is to minister to those coming to serve here, those whose lives God is still changing, those who need to hear from God. I realize this time now was laid out for a purpose of just that...for us...learning, growing, trusting. God is still changing us and I know that will continue, but we should let him change us and mould us in the now and not get so frustrated with not "doing enough".
So we celebrate this week with Vanessa, with her friends and family as her life continues to be changed, as she takes this step of faith to a place that is sometimes very hard to be, hard to be away from the people we are closest to. But we also promise those friends and family that we will do our best to watch out for Vanessa, but ultimately, it is God who is watching out for her, he loves her more than any of us and he will surround her as she serves here. We are so excited to take the "hand off" from those she loves there and have her here with us. We are and will be blessed!
And Vanessa, thank you for following Christ, for believing in AWAKENHAITI and in what we are doing here! Thank you for loving the Haitian people that much! We love you!
~~Deb
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