Oh how time flies

You're worthy of worship

You're worthy of praise

You're worthy of honor

You're worthy of thanks

- Jesus is the Lord, Travis Cottrell -

Wildania, Killeen, and Eveline

Wilson and Jameson

So many emotions as I'm preparing to leave tomorrow.  Everything from extreme sadness about leaving this 

place I love to overwhelming gratitude for all that I've seen and experienced over the past two weeks.  (The one emotion that is not present is excitement about going home.  Nope.  Can't muster that one up.)  I said good-bye to the kids at Notre Maison this morning; oh how much I miss them already.  Especially my Ti Nina.  She was super-talkative this morning.  I got the cutest video of her, but I'll probably have to wait til I get back to the States to post it.  

I also just had to say good-bye to Beth.  I don't know if there is any living woman that I admire more than this lady.  She is humble and gracious and wise and so very hospitable, and the passion the Lord has given her for serving Haitian women is such an amazing, beautiful thing to see.  I am thankful beyond words for the time I was able to spend at Heartline during this trip; what a blessing for me that Beth (along with Heather, Tara, Cookie, Melissa, Wini, and Agathe) so graciously welcomed me and allowed me to observe 

Christina

and learn and participate.  So thankful, too, for the wisdom and advice I received from these amazing ladies.  The Lord is doing incredible things through them, and I'm just so grateful to have been able to see this firsthand.  Please, please pray for them and their ministry here in Haiti; your prayers are such an important part of the work that is being done.

So hard to believe that in twenty-four hours I will be back in Texas.  As I sat on the roof earlier and looked out at the lights up on the mountain, I couldn't help but think how different and how very far apart my two worlds are: my Haiti world and my United States world.  Today, I've kissed precious little brown faces and spoken Kreyol and visited with sweet Esther and gotten my hair braided by a teen mom and eaten plantain chips and climbed up on the roof and listened to the hum of the generator that's giving power to the house.  Two days from now, I'll wake up in my house that rarely, if ever, loses electricity and drive on perfectly-paved streets to a job where I'll make nearly 5 times more in one hour than what over 4 billion people around the world live on in a day. I'll go to the grocery store and have an

Mama Eman, Raphael, and Lena

 overwhelming amount of choices of items to put in my cart and buy, and I'll take a warm shower and brush my teeth directly from the sink without any fear of getting sick.  Different worlds.  There are things I love about each place; blessings God has given both in Texas and in Haiti.  I'm really going to need to remember this, especially over the next few days as I attempt to readjust to life in the States.  But yet, I don't want to get so comfortable being there, with my normal routines and the ease of everyday life, that I forget what I've experienced in Haiti, not just these past two weeks but over the past thirteen years.  May God continually place on my mind the sweet faces (and the ornery ones, too!) of the kids here that I love so dearly.  May He remind me of Esther and Mama Eman and all the other 

Mama Eman and Heather, wearing Djenie's "hair"

women that Heartline is serving, and of Beth and Tara and Melissa and Cookie and Heather and Wini and Agathe who are working to spread the Gospel by serving those in need.  And may these remembrances lead me to Him, that I might faithfully pray as He brings each person and need to mind.

And with that, I'm going to abruptly end, because I am oh-so-tired and should probably get to bed.  I suppose...the next post will be from Texas...

baby Judler and Esther

Mama Eman and her boys

Sherline, Mama Eman, and Raphael