Fear

In January, a friend of ours, Kristin came on a trip with AWAKENHAITI after months and months of preparation.  Actually, if I recall correctly, she had been considering a trip to Haiti for much longer, but something held her back.  After her trip to Haiti, her husband wrote the following article concerning some of their emotions leading up to the trip.  Surprisingly, he mentioned Jeff and I in his article.  I am sharing the article because it does represent the decision we made to move to Haiti and it stillrepresents a lot of what I deal with on a regular basis.  It stands for experiencing things we couldn't if we allowed fear to hold us back. 
Our decision to move to Haiti was full of fear, but I have had to face many more fears since moving here.  Everytime I get in the car alone (by alone, I mean me and the kids), I face the fear of something happening to them after hearing reports of foreigners being the target of robbery and shooting and child kipnappings.  Everytime I go to the store, I have a tinge of uneasiness simply due to language barrier...some days I'd rather avoid it and not even try to use my knowledge of the language which in doing so, could help me learn it more.   When I make a home visit in Canaan, I fear not having the right words.  I fear my children are not getting the best education.  I fear they will be deprived in some way because it is very rare they have other English speaking children to spend time with.  Some days I'd rather run back to the states where things are familiar, culture is familiar.  For me, I couldn't face these fears without the promise God has made to carry us in times of trouble.  Facing our fears strengthens us and gives us opportunity to experience things we wouldn't otherwise and it strengthens our faith in God if we allow him to carry us.

The following is an article written by Matt Tuckey 
Y Thoughts: Healthy Fear

Thank you Kristin for facing your fears and for taking a chance on what God is doing in Haiti and thank you Matt for sharing the strength this has brought!