Ear Pirecing!

Not having yet mastered the Creole language (or even come close!), I have found it much easier to connect and interact with the younger children. Afterall, you can just love on them, play with them, or read to them and they're perfectly. Now, the teenage girls have been alot more challenging to interact with. Well the Lord gave me the perfect opportunity! Several of them have never had their ears pierced and have been asking Cheron if they could have them pierced. So Cheron ordered an ear piercing gun that arrived when I did. This past Saturday I got to be the "ear piercing queen". It was such a fun time with the girls! Many of them helped get the "dots" in just the right spot where the earrings would go, laughed as the one getting her ears done winced in pain, and then admired the final product. It was a fun time for all!

Church

Church in Haiti has been such a blessing to me! While I can't understand what is being taught and preached, they always have an outline of the sermon for all the "blanchs". Last week, Pastor was preaching from 1 Corinthians 1 on the characteristics of human wisdom vs the characteristics of God's wisdom. In looking over the outline, I was really challenged by the different points he made about each of the two. Later on in the week, I was really struggling with something, and spent some time in prayer, asking the Lord for wisdom on how to respond to things. As I began praying, the Lord brought to mind the message that was preached just that Sunday. As I re read 1 Corinthians 1, I was so encouraged and was able to respond to the situation, using godly wisdom instead of my own human wisdom. It was encouraging to me how the Lord was able to transcend the language barrier, and still use the message that was preached to challenge me and encourage me. Praise God that He knows no language barriers!

Cell Phone

I feel like I have entered Haitian society...I have a cell phone!! There are two great things about this cell phone. First, it only cost $12 US and second, it has a built in flash light! The flash light has been even more useful than the actual phone as we have no power at the orphanage and we have been having power issues at the house, leaving is the dark at least part of the night. On a side note, I received my first call on my newly acquired cell phone just today! Yeah!

Dental Clinic

We were so incredibly blessed to have a group from WA conduct a dental clinic for all the children and staff at the orphanage. The group was able to provide basic dental checks and cleanings as well as fillings and extractions. Most of the children have never had any dental check-ups or work done, so this was a huge need and blessing as well as an answer to prayer!

We woke up the morning the clinic was supposed to take place to a torrential downpour! Unsure if things were going to be able to take place, the Lord made provision. Instead of coming to us, the group set up clinic where they were staying and we transported the kids back and forth from the orphanage to the clinic. I pretty much functioned as taxi for the day and discovered that public transportation is not my calling in life. :) By the time the day was over, I knew every single pot hole in between the orphanage and the dental clinic!

Many of the children had never been seen by the dentist before and the younger ones were quite apprehensive, but after they warmed up to the idea, they did wonderfully! We praise God for this dental group and their hearts of service.

In His Service,
Julia

Faithful Is Our God

For the first time in weeks or maybe even months I’m making my mind slow down from a dead sprint to a leisurely, almost slow, stroll and really process and digest what God has been doing and how He has been working. As I soar at 14,000 feet with the sun streaming through the window at just the perfect angle listening to Vicki Yohe sing about being the presence of Jehovah it really is a heavenly moment. I can sense the presence of my precious Savior in such a tangible way; He may as well be sitting in the empty seat next to me.

God continues to bring to mind the words of Isaiah “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are my ways your ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts”. I praise God at the truth of those words!! Had God allowed me to do things according to my will, I would have missed out on some huge blessings. Since July, the time frame that I willed to move to Haiti, I have met my husband, seen someone I dearly love come back into fellowship, learned how to better receive, gained a daughter, and so much more! How I praise God that His ways are higher than mine!

So as I find myself headed to the people that God has called me to serve I ask for your continued prayers, but also for you to rejoice with me in the faithfulness of our God.

In His Service,
Julia