Greetings friends and family!
It has been over a month now since I last posted and soon I will be busy with packing to go home for the wedding! I have less than a month before I go back home and the wedding is in 41 days. I am so excited to be back in the states and not feel the worry and stress that I have living in Haiti. However, I am very thankful for the fact that God has kept us safe and healthy so far. Daniel was gone in Boston for about 10 days last month, training with Copa Airlines. Without him here, it reminded me how much of life is out of my hands and that I need to put my faith in God and trust that whatever is going to happen God will protect me.
I am a planner and I like to know what is coming up and be prepared for whatever could happen. The culture of Haiti is very much spontaneous and you just go with it. I don't know if I will ever adapt to that part of Haiti. But I do what I can and just focus on the day that God has given me. It's so hard sometimes to want to fast forward and skip to the exciting part. However, if we are always looking to what is coming next and wanting to get back in our comfort zone, we are missing what God is doing RIGHT NOW in our lives. Yes, I am so looking forward to the time when Daniel and I can move back to the states in about a year or so. But if I keep focusing on that, I might be missing out on something really big that God is trying to teach me now.
In the middle of August I was able to get a couple days off from work and visit a school (Haiti School Project) that my home church in Byron Center (Compass Church) has been sponsoring for awhile. This school is located in Villard, Haiti about a 2-3 hour drive depending on traffic. We spent 2 days there and did some crafts with the kids of all ages. The main craft was for the kids to draw a "dream star". Basically they needed to draw a star, decorate it and in the middle write out any dreams or goals they had. I don't know how to read Creole, so I didn't understand a lot of what the kids put. But a couple of the stars had said something about God. It was really great to spend some time with the kids and see them learn. Most of them didn't even know how to draw a star, so we had to help them.
The kids here in Haiti are so precious. God has created us each so differently, but yet we all have struggles and deal with them differently. It's hard to see when the kids aren't being treated or nourished the right way, but once again we need to trust in Him. The people of Haiti in general are so beautiful, not just their looks, but they work so hard and most people have very little, but they still have a smile on their face. What a special and unique gift that is that God has given them.
I will be finishing my first 3 month contract with MAF on October 1st. When we return from our honeymoon on October 30, I am planning on continuing at MAF for another 3 months until the person whose job I am doing now returns from furlough. I managed to get through 2 month end closing periods. July was really rough, and I felt that I had messed a lot up. But August went really well. Let's just say I learned a lot from my mistakes in July and made sure that didn't happen in August. The best part of my job is when I get feedback after helping someone, and they say how much they appreciate what MAF does here in Haiti and they love flying with us.
There is so much more I could write, but to keep it simple I will just save my other stories when I see you all in person.
Prayer Requests:
-The kitchen sink at Daniel's apartment is leaking. We are managing to get the dishes done in a tub, but we haven't been able to find a plumber anywhere.
-Health and safety as we are getting ready to go back to the states for the wedding and our travels for our honeymoon in the Maldives.
-Finalizing the wedding details and just having peace about whatever happens is just fine as long as we are married at the end of the day!
-Time management for Daniel's classes for his bachelor's degree.
Praises:
-God has keep us healthy and safe thus far!
-Daniel and I have been able to finish Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace course and learned a lot about how to save our money.
-God has provided for us when I was ready to give up and go home.
Thank you all for your continued prayers and support! May God bless you and your families in whatever you may be going through. Take one day at a time so you don't miss out on what He is teaching you today.
Love,
Amy
It has been over a month now since I last posted and soon I will be busy with packing to go home for the wedding! I have less than a month before I go back home and the wedding is in 41 days. I am so excited to be back in the states and not feel the worry and stress that I have living in Haiti. However, I am very thankful for the fact that God has kept us safe and healthy so far. Daniel was gone in Boston for about 10 days last month, training with Copa Airlines. Without him here, it reminded me how much of life is out of my hands and that I need to put my faith in God and trust that whatever is going to happen God will protect me.
I am a planner and I like to know what is coming up and be prepared for whatever could happen. The culture of Haiti is very much spontaneous and you just go with it. I don't know if I will ever adapt to that part of Haiti. But I do what I can and just focus on the day that God has given me. It's so hard sometimes to want to fast forward and skip to the exciting part. However, if we are always looking to what is coming next and wanting to get back in our comfort zone, we are missing what God is doing RIGHT NOW in our lives. Yes, I am so looking forward to the time when Daniel and I can move back to the states in about a year or so. But if I keep focusing on that, I might be missing out on something really big that God is trying to teach me now.
In the middle of August I was able to get a couple days off from work and visit a school (Haiti School Project) that my home church in Byron Center (Compass Church) has been sponsoring for awhile. This school is located in Villard, Haiti about a 2-3 hour drive depending on traffic. We spent 2 days there and did some crafts with the kids of all ages. The main craft was for the kids to draw a "dream star". Basically they needed to draw a star, decorate it and in the middle write out any dreams or goals they had. I don't know how to read Creole, so I didn't understand a lot of what the kids put. But a couple of the stars had said something about God. It was really great to spend some time with the kids and see them learn. Most of them didn't even know how to draw a star, so we had to help them.
The kids here in Haiti are so precious. God has created us each so differently, but yet we all have struggles and deal with them differently. It's hard to see when the kids aren't being treated or nourished the right way, but once again we need to trust in Him. The people of Haiti in general are so beautiful, not just their looks, but they work so hard and most people have very little, but they still have a smile on their face. What a special and unique gift that is that God has given them.
I will be finishing my first 3 month contract with MAF on October 1st. When we return from our honeymoon on October 30, I am planning on continuing at MAF for another 3 months until the person whose job I am doing now returns from furlough. I managed to get through 2 month end closing periods. July was really rough, and I felt that I had messed a lot up. But August went really well. Let's just say I learned a lot from my mistakes in July and made sure that didn't happen in August. The best part of my job is when I get feedback after helping someone, and they say how much they appreciate what MAF does here in Haiti and they love flying with us.
There is so much more I could write, but to keep it simple I will just save my other stories when I see you all in person.
Prayer Requests:
-The kitchen sink at Daniel's apartment is leaking. We are managing to get the dishes done in a tub, but we haven't been able to find a plumber anywhere.
-Health and safety as we are getting ready to go back to the states for the wedding and our travels for our honeymoon in the Maldives.
-Finalizing the wedding details and just having peace about whatever happens is just fine as long as we are married at the end of the day!
-Time management for Daniel's classes for his bachelor's degree.
Praises:
-God has keep us healthy and safe thus far!
-Daniel and I have been able to finish Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace course and learned a lot about how to save our money.
-God has provided for us when I was ready to give up and go home.
Thank you all for your continued prayers and support! May God bless you and your families in whatever you may be going through. Take one day at a time so you don't miss out on what He is teaching you today.
Love,
Amy
