They prepare lunch and dinner meals together to eat together. The study the bible together and teach one another the wisdom they have been given from God. They pray together, not only for their own ministry and country but every Thursday morning they come together to even commit themselves to interceding in prayer for two other countries (Acts 2:42). They are together often, take care of each others children when helpful, and open up their homes, showers, washing machines, kitchens, and beds when any one is in need (Acts 2:44). I have seen them give to each other and to others when they are in need (Acts 2:45). They meet together daily in private and in public, share meals together, and pray with glad and sincere hearts. They praise God together (Acts 2:47). I realize I don't have any past tense in my memories because this is the present state of community that I was a part of in Moldova.
 

My team and I lived with Virginia and Lilia. We talked about ministry, gifts of the spirit and discomforts, discipleship, and how God has changed our lives since becoming Christians. I learned much from them what life was like growing up in the aftermath of Communism. We even talked about boys, health practices and food of the country, as well as wrapping up the month with a late night pajama party getting our Cupid Shuffle and Penguin Dance on.

                                                   

Our main contact Fanel gave my team and I much food for thought in regards to American vs. Moldovan culture. He explained to us how to show another culture our respect and explained cultural norms that we did not previously understand. He became a part of our lives for the month... late night Phase 10 card games, coffee and tea, practical jokes, picnics, gardening, hitch-hiking, chasing him around the city (because he walked super fast), bus rides, a day in Ukraine, and pretend-teaching him how to do an American smile. Our sarcasm translated to him and even through humor, there was much joy and respect between us all... to the point that we knew we would be missed and miss them in return. Moldova was a month of living. Togetherness. Living in the midst of a model of what biblical community looks like. What my team and I can take lessons from to live this community amongst ourselves.

                                    

 

THINGS I'M ASKING YOU TO PRAY FOR:

- My team and I sincerely ALL desire to become the women that God desires us to be; to be stretched, pushed, pulled, broken, mended, and lifted up. And in having that desire, we give each other permission to point out characteristics and issues in us that we need to work on, change, grow in, or stop doing altogether. My team is full of amazing women of grace and we have developed a safe community that fosters all of this. Pray that as we leave debrief in Moldova after numerous sessions, meetings, and much processing and praying about personal and team things that we would not only continue to do this, but be even better for each other. I praise the Lord for putting me on this amazing team of women and just pray that we will grow even closer to God and to each other. That we would sharpen each other and foster holiness in one another... especially as we go to Africa.

- Pray for my squad as we will embark on about 48 hours of traveling from (American time) Thursday morning to Saturday morning. 4 different countries. Planes and buses.
 

- Pray for my team as our ministry in Chockwe, Mozambique is going to be visiting homes and loving on people with AIDS and HIV, orphans and widows and preaching at churches. The people are known to believe that many are dying from a curse rather than from a disease, so spiritual warfare is great in the area I'm going to as well. Pray for our clarity, to use discernment in all situations and conversations. Pray for spiritual, emotional, and physical strength as well as to feel the prodding of the Lord when it's okay to cry in front of the people we'll be with and show emotions and when it's the right time to be strong for the already weak.

Off we go again... Month 5 here I come.

After battling a variety of health issues for a number of years, my mother's sister, my sweet Auntie Lola passed away. The prison her body put her soul into finally let her go home... to freedom. A moment that I would have heard about right away. Although I knew that it would be soon, I didn't know when. And I missed the moment... again. You know that moment when you hear devastating news and you want to rush to someone's side to comfort them, to help ease the pain of their heart... I missed that moment. You know the feeling of keeping doing what you're doing until you have a reason not to and leave what is vying for your attention at the time until your family takes over because they are more important... I missed that moment. Although we have the internet this month (praise the Lord!!!), I was gone and had to wait a few days to find out about my aunt. Anticipation and not knowing was hard, no matter what amazing ministry I was doing at the time in another village (working alongside World Health Organization voluntary missionaries at a medical clinic... which I loved). But this was another moment that I understood that verse. Not only did I understand it, but I was living it. People's lives at home are changing. My friends are experiencing their own ups and downs. Things I would be there to talk with them about, be a supportive friend through, and in some ways go through with them... but I'm missing those moments. Heartaches. Celebrations. Missing them all. (Although let me throw a shot out to whoever invented skype and email and tell them thank you!)

       
                                       

Celebrations and heartaches here in Moldova this past month... celebrating Easter at a picnic/bbq, a birthday party, visiting two orphanages (one of them for deaf kids :), planting potatoes in a friend's garden, followed by going to that same friend's father's funeral, street evangelism, running alongside the Danube River for a morning workout for three mornings straight, playing Phase 10 late at night while drinking tea with our missionary friends here that we live with this month, resting in the park on our day off, waking up early to enjoy my quiet time with Jesus over a cup of 3-in-1 ready made coffee packets (I've stocked up for Africa b/c you just add hot water), and giving my testimony twice about how I came to know Jesus at a home group and youth group, just to name a few things. All of this has been wonderful, but it still hurts to miss the things of home.



But I get it. I get Luke 14:26. Love your family, but love Me more. Miss those experiences, but enjoy the ones that I'm giving you more. Experience the bittersweetness in death, but rejoice in life more. I am a disciple of Christ. And while sometimes I wish I could be somewhere else than where I am, I knew when I signed up for the race that I would be missing things back home. I knew I would be missing people. Events. Moments. But I came because of the things, people, events, and moments that God had in store for me in other lands. And I put those above the moments and events with my family for this year. It's not always easy. This month has been hard. But it's worth it. Being a disciple is worth it. Serving the servants in other countries is worth it. Being a part of new cultures and seeing more of the kingdom that God has created and purposed me for is worth it. Loving people is worth it. Growing as a follower of Christ is worth it. It's hard to miss things, but a joy to be a part of things. It's all worth it. Lord, help me to remember this when I miss the next moment at home.

                             HAPPY (belated) EASTER FROM MOLDOVA

Where is Moldova? Probably a thought in your brain right now. Well, it's just east of Romania in old Europe... and it's been amazing. This first week in Moldova has been one big surprise. God only knows what could have been the case. I'm on a new all-girls team (The World Race doesn't like to let us stay too comfortable so they did some switch-a-roos at debrief).
Meet Team Oasis... named after a place “serving as a refuge, relief, or pleasant change from what is usual, annoying, difficult”. Now, I thought calling us Team Ovaries would be funny, but it wasn't really catching on. Darn. I am truly enjoying my girls. I am blessed, after much prayer, to be continuing this experience with my two awesome friends that I've been with on my prior team since day one of this crazy race; Rebekah Clark and Reagan Taylor. And three amazing women have joined us. In some things, we are much the same. Sometimes the state of our hearts jive, sometimes we need different things, sometimes we need wisdom from one another, and sometimes we just laugh... a lot.
 

                                                                     

(you can check out my new teammates blogs: Rachel Rush, Christina Schlabach, Abby Steverson... and my old teammates too, Rebekah Clark and Reagan Taylor).

Street evangelism. NEVER. THOUGHT. I. WOULD. DO. IT. Not my gift. Not my desire. But you give up all expectations and rights to yourself and what you are comfortable with when you sign up for this deal. So two days after arriving in Cahul, Moldova, and getting settled into our apartment, Abby and I were whisked away at 6:15am and sent to “the charismatics”... overnight. We literally ran to the bus and headed off with no way to contact anyone and the only instructions, “Get off in Leova”. Ummm, okay. Arrived by 8:00am, just in time to be picked up by some stranger looking for the American girls then driven to a house to join seven other people speaking Russian in time for worship and prayer. (The fact that they speak a different language that I can't understand in the first place made it a little more difficult to distinguish when they were speaking in tongues, or just speaking :) After an amazing breakfast of Moldovan sweet rice, we went out for our first of three evangelism experiences... passing out flyers for a healing ministry that was going to be taking place in that village later that week and talking to people about Jesus. Now, I am a relational person. I want to spend time with someone and have a conversation where my heart for the Lord comes up and out, so this type of ministry is awkward and uncomfortable for me. I believe there are people who are gifted evangelists (especially since Paul writes about the gift in 1 Corinthians), but don't believe I am one of those people. However it was a good and challenging experience to have, especially since I've heard that it might be preparing me for Africa... ay-yi-yi.

                                                                          

In our first week here, I have spent an afternoon planting potatoes, speaking a little about how I came to know Jesus at a home group of Russian speaking Moldovans and connecting to a girl there who is just beginning to pursue Christ, street evangelism, and tried to hitch-hike (and failed). Our contact person this month (Fanel, he's awesome!) hooked us up to join a church in town for their Easter picnic which served some amazing food. It's amazing how so many things look a little sketchy to eat, but are delicious to taste. Of all the countries so far, Moldova wins in the culinary category. We have been treated like queens and fed so well. I am also wrestling with certain biblical theology that I have always thought to be true, and now wonder if it is so, such as...
 

Spiritual gifts... what exactly they mean and what they look like to be at work in believers
What to make of unanswered prayers for someone's healing

Things you can be praying for...
 

• for my new team and I as we continue to get to know each other and invest in one another, all while encountering different cultures, languages, and norms. This will most likely be my team for the duration of the race so while we're still feeling each other out, we are ready to go hard at growing deep relationships and serving Christ together.
• for God to reveal to me more and more what it means to be a woman of wisdom and discernment in my life and for the life-giving benefit of those around me and that I may use the gifts that He has specifically given to me.
• for the people of Moldova, that the scales of believing that religion is enough would fall from their eyes

• for Rebekah as she steps out of the role of a normal racer like everyone else and into the new role as our team leader (She's awesome by the way :)

• for my team and I to continue being strong while being away from home. Some girls are dealing with a little more home-sickness than others. My family grew by one little 7 lb member on April 9th when my niece, Elle, was born and it was a difficult first few days not being there. But let me tell you, Skype is such a blessing!!!
  
                                                                    

Thank you to all of you who care for me, read my blogs, check out my pics and statuses on Facebook (you can find out a lot of fun little details of my days there), and pray for my team and I. This is an amazing time in my life and God is revealing things to me about myself, the world, His Word and how cultural and language differences and geography can not separate the body of Christ. I have worshiped God in 4 new countries, languages, and cultures and we all have the same heart. I love this thing called the race.

Romania, country #3, we are here! After 36 hours of “Planes, Trains, and Automobiles” (a bus to be more specific) from Haiti, my team and I arrived at 2am on a super cold morning to Draganesti-Olt here in the southern part of Romania. Thanks be to our contacts at Hope Church who are providing us with the Mission House where we are staying where we have warm water, showers, wifi, washing machine, and (drum roll please) our own beds! Our two previous countries shared the same island, bugs, and climate. But now we are in Europe and it is different. In the Dominican, men hissed. In Haiti, all the kids yelled “You, You”. Here, hardly anyone says anything to us at all. In a strange way, it was nice the first few days. The Romanian culture is seemingly unfriendly and rude since it's rare that anyone actually smiles back at me, but I must recognize that is just their culture and not intentional to be that way. But I think very soon I am going to desire friendliness and greetings from more than just teammates and might be irritated when I don't receive them. 
 

God has been opening my eyes to themes of each month. In the Dominican Republic, we focused on relationships. (Check out my teammate Reagan's blog for a good explanation, http://reagantaylor.theworldrace.org/?filename=pretend-time). In Haiti, we physically exerted ourselves to build the foundation of a school and church building by doing construction. Here in Romania... we pray. Simple yet of uber importance. We also serve the missionaries and church staff here. Our ministry jobs are mainly in the afternoons so in the morning, we get together with one of our church contacts and spend extended time praying. We pray for the community of Draganesti-Olt, the people of the church, the missionaries who have given up their lives at home in the states and Canada to move here indefinitely, and for the darkness of the community surrounded by witchcraft, gypsies, and oppressive Orthodox religion to fade away as the Light is spread. This has become my favorite part of our time here.

Our ministry jobs are versatile and we split up to do them. We are working at after school programs for kids, teaching English to beginners and advanced students, helping put together the church website, taking meals to widows, and cleaning the church grounds, just to name a few odd jobs. I've helped Keven and Michelle (an older missionary couple from Canada who have now lived here for 5 years) set up a clothes-free-for-all in which needy people came and filled up 2 bags for their families (I have never seen such a quiet yet peaceful stampede of need before). I've swept the whole outside of the church... that's right, the outside. I've raked leaves and have become the human version of a rug doctor and dog walker for one of the missionary women from Canada. Which leads me to why I'm the boss... aside from sweeping outside of the church and it's alleyway, I've also swept driveways and bedrooms. Since one man in town sees me doing it regularly and one time saw others helping me, he looked at them then looked at me and called me their "boss”. I am the master sweeper apparently. Love it. Each and every one of these small jobs would be something I'd probably grumble at like the Israelites if I were doing them at home... at least silently. But here, I don't mind one bit. Our ministries this month are to live behind the scenes as we shower the village and people with prayer in the morning then get out into the community and take care of the tasks that people in the church would normally do so they can be freed up to do other, more important things that they need to. I absolutely love everything about this. I'll only be here for about 3 more weeks, but the members of the church and the missionaries live here and will be here long after I'm gone. So I am pleased to do anything to lighten their load so they are free to spend time investing in the people that they are called to.

Clothes are optional for many children and even some women here. My preference is that they would be clothed, but I guess I'll add that to the list of things that I am not entitled to. I like to think that I'm entitled to my own clothes, but I can not force anyone else to wear them. All that to say, here's something "fun" that happened. If you've been following my blogs you will already know that I have the freedom to run on my own this month. However, you never know what you're going to encounter... goats, cows, teepees, being chased by dogs... or being chased by naked Haitian boys! Let me describe it for you in one word... awkward! Two little boys and all of their naked glory running with me on the Caribbean shore yelling "You! You! You!" Then wanting me to stop so they could listen to my ipod music. Oddly enough, this is not the first time I've run with naked people thanks to Bay to Breakers in San Francisco. Oh goodness... this is probably good preparation for further nakedness in Africa.

I don't leave until Sunday, but this is my last day to use the internet here so next time you hear from me, I'll be in Romania! My squad's last day of construction ministry was Tuesday... we are officially done. It has been a lot of hard work and manual labor in the hot sun working at Mission of Hope International. Many days we finished up tiresome and weary. But we survived and left our mark here. We have spent the past 4 weeks pouring concrete, doing backfill, shoveling and moving sand, dirt, and rocks and my favorite (sense the sarcasm in my voice)... unloading and moving bricks... again and again and again. I. Hate. Bricks. No, not the kind you may have in your fireplace. I mean 20-25lb suckers that break your back. But, drum roll please... no more bricks for me! Yay! (Lord, please don't make me move bricks in another country.) This has been an amazing yet rough month for many on my squad. Numerous people have had the flu so bad they were tested for malaria... all tests were negative :) A few people have gotten rashes, concrete poisoning, and stung by sea urchins and jellyfish. But everyone's fine. 

My squad has coaches who fly out to meet us and debrief about our time every two months out here on the field. Roger and Rozy got here last night and are simply spending some time with each of us so we can process how we are doing two months into the race and how our teams are all doing with each other. And they brought us candy!!! I'm so excited! In Haiti, they don't give change for American money (because they don't have it in the country), and their currency, Goude is hard to come by. So we haven't gotten to get out and spend any of our own money on snacks or anything we would want to buy. However, I have managed to get a few goodies. As I type this, I am chowing down on some Casino cookies (sort of like Oreos) and am waiting for a special time to break out my Snickers I got the other day. Treats here are hard to come by so I ration out one cookie a night :) And one of the guys who comes to stay at Militone (the name of the beach front property where we are staying) and work with Mission of Hope every month or so also brings us a bunch of Coke's that we can buy for $0.50 a pop. I don't even drink coke at home, but let me tell you, my heart jumps when I have one here and it's even better when they're cold.

Monday, we drove about 2 hours on our old, rikity school bus to the city Jacmel to go the the beach. There was surfing, frisbee, and just enjoying the water. I walked away from there being able to say I've now had a whole lobster. I've only had lobster tails before, but this was the whole shebang. I paid $10 for a whole lobster, fried plantains (super delicious) and a soda. All while sitting on the beach, which was beautiful. On the way back, a few of us plugged our headphones into one Ipod and had a dance party on the bus. Although no one else on the bus could hear what we were listening to, we danced and lip-sang the whole way home, looking like fools but entertaining everyone else on the long drive.

Up until a few days ago, I had corn rows. Although I only intended to get one braid on the side of my head, Lovely (yes that is the girl's name) decided to almost scalp me and keep braiding to give me corn rows instead. What a look! (Yes, I have pics). I must say, I felt extra gangsta as my teammate Rebekah and I created a birthday rap for my teammate Reagan... they gave me the power to create some bomb lyrics.

Ants!!! Those ungodly, unrighteous, sinful bugs have been relentlessly bugging me... slapping my knee laughing at my awful pun. Twice in the last week I've had small fire ants trailing into my tent. I've had to clean everything out and wash out my stuff. Thanks to one of my squadmates for bringing a small broom and dustpan so I can clean out the ant graveyard that lives in my tent. Ugh, I hate those things. I spent an hour Tuesday night (til midnight) on my hands and knees with a flashlight in my tent looking for any little booger I could find to kill it. I found myself voicing out loud, “Why do you even come into my tent? You live outside! Stay out there you unrighteous bugs!”

CARBS. Carbs. And more carbs. Bread, pasta, rice. Bread, pasta, rice. Can you guess what I've had every single day since being here? Ding ding ding. You guessed it... bread, pasta, and rice. And a few pounds as well.

I only have 2 more sunrises to enjoy after today and that makes me sad. But I am looking forward to the JFK airport. I have a list of the things I want to consume in our time there... a cold, flavored, frothy Starbucks drink, ice cream, and a nice big salad with some meat. And I'll probably buy a hamburger for the plane ride as well :) Oh, the little things I miss.

Things to be praying for...

We have a super long travel day on Sunday... leaving our residence at 5:00am, flight's at 10:00am out of Port au Prince, about a 4 ½ hour flight to JFK airport in New York, 7 hour layover, 7 hour flight to Bucharest, followed by a 2 hour train ride to my apartment in Romania. Ay-chi-wa-wa! 45 people all traveling that long together... Sweet Baby Jesus help us! Pray we all maintain positive attitudes and arrive safely with no problems to Romania.

God has been speaking to me so much lately about surrender, letting go, and living in the moment of where I am now.And forgiveness. I've been thinking of the race for so long as a season of my life but not really my life, but it is. The longer I only see it as a season, I'll miss the reality that this radical life is actually mine, today, and it is so good. I still can not believe that God would choose to do this with my life.

While the hardest part about leaving the DR was leaving the people and our contact Noky, the hardest part for me about leaving Haiti is going to be leaving our residence. The beach is so peaceful, beautiful. I've seen every sunrise since being here and listen to the crashing waves non-stop. Jesus and I have had many talks out on the beach. I've played the guitar out there and spent some good time reflecting on various things while admiring the beauty in the warm air. I am sad to leave here and go to a cold place with potential snow. From a place where I can have free time to get away down the beach, run alone, and be independent to a place where there will be 13 people all living in one apartment or house and alone time will be hard to come by. Pray for a smooth transition.

My team will be living with another team next month and doing ministry with a third team who will be over at our house often. That's a lot of people to be around all the time. Pray that my team will be intentional to maintain our team unity and time together amidst the other people we'll be with and that all of us get along well for the month. That we manage our groceries, cleaning, and internet sharing time well.

Thank you all for your support. I can not believe just two short months ago I boarded the plane from Fresno to Fort Lauderdale, then on to this God ordained adventure. Only nine more to go... wow that's still such a long time. But it's going by so fast! 

(Stay tuned for my next blog. My idea so far... changes in me that you may or may not like... we'll see)

I am not entitled to myself.
I am not entitled to quiet.
I am not entitled to alone time.
I am not entitled to the food I want or how much I want.
I am not entitled to voice my opinion.
I am not entitled to other people listening to or respecting my opinion.
I am not entitled to spend my time how I want.
I am not entitled to doing the ministry I want.
I am not entitled to money.
I am not entitled to close relationships.
I am not entitled to my own desires.
i am not entitled to fulfilling my dreams and desires.
I am not entitled to buying quality items.
I am not entitled to health.
I am not entitled to a job, especially one that pays more than minimum wage.
I am not entitled to a dry sleeping environment.
I am not entitled to things going as planned.
I am not entitled to peanut butter or meat.
I am not entitled to coffee.
I am not entitled to clean clothes.
I am not entitled to things being done without effort.
I am not entitled to hope others change without hoping I change as well.
I am not entitled to efficiency or things making sense.
I am not entitled to the internet.
I am not entitled to working out.
I am not entitled to expectations... of anyone or anything.
I am not entitled to being thought of or remembered by others back home.
I am not entitled to people emailing me to keep in touch.
I am not entitled to be upset about all the things that I am not entitled to...

And neither are you...
 

On another note, I have been affirmed what I had already assumed... doing construction work is definitely not my favorite thing to do. Yesterday I spent 6 hours moving bricks. Horribly. Large. Heavy. Bricks. From one location to another. Just to have to move them again and stack them. Something I've seen in Haiti... if there is an efficient way to do something, that is not what they will do here. We move things from one place to another often. We form bucket brigades instead of dumping concrete out of the truck. Rocks and sand are shoveled out of the truck that brings them to the nearest location it can back up into... even if it's in the way of everything else. Inefficiency. Annoying. Yet, this is where I am and what I am doing. I now refer to anything that I anyone does with the least amount of efficiency as “that's so Haiti”. People's hands are cut up from moving buckets all day long on the bucket brigade days. But, God has been reminding me every single day that “it's not all about me”. My life is not all about me. My time here is not all about me. I love the fact that I have a hand in building something that will reach further generations here in Haiti. That I am literally laying the foundation of something that will be used to educate the uneducated, providing them with more opportunities. A group of 16 year old boys pulled me aside one day at the construction site and asked if I would pray for them. They want to be engineers and geologists but the schooling here isn't good and they don't know what they'll be able to do with their lives. I am building something that will practically influence their lives. And while I don't enjoy being stuck out in the hot sun all day, working hard and having to pull myself away to take breaks so I don't become dehydrated, I also love that God has given me a way to make a difference here. A real difference. To build something that will provide something valuable and life changing that the people want and need. It's not all about me. When I came on the race, I prayed and decided to give myself away... and I am.

Few more bullet points and updates:

I have missed church, a lot. But all is well this month because we are putting on church sunday nights... worship and the message. So I heard a message in English and songs in english this past Sunday and it blessed me soooo much. It's hard to feel connected to a service when you don't understand the language. But yay for Pastor Lex inviting us to do this.

Jumping in the ocean, still fully clothed after a long day's work is becoming the norm.

I have found a pair of goggles so am excited to go for a real swim instead of just hanging out in the water looking like a bobble-head with everyone else.

Jellyfish are known to make themselves known after 4:00 pm so we are sure to be out of the water by then. (However, they don't know what time it is and don't play by our rules so I'm sure they could sting us any time they wanted. But so far, so good.)

I am enjoying being around the whole squad. If you had told me at training camp when I met everyone that I would enjoy it as much as I do, I would have probably told you that was ridiculous. Everyone was way too excited, loud, and peppy. But by now, people have gotten to know each other, are not always rambunxious, are more chill, and have developed a healthy respect for everyone needing alone time away from all 45 of everyone else. I am finding a good balance between spending time with people. Playing Rummy Cube, watching episodes of Glee that I had downloaded, and having spontaneous dance parties with a few others from the squad have been fun moments of the last week I've enjoyed with others. But my morning quiet times with God as well as other times in the evening, hiding away to read The Hunger Games series I'm borrowing from someone, and taking someone's guitar out to the beach to play alone are some of my favorite solitude times of this past week. I am finding trust in my teammates Reagan Taylor and Rebekah Clark the most which is leading to great conversations about life, the seasons we are in, struggles and strengths, and opening up more as time goes by with the people on my team.

I was able to get a nutrageous, small stack of pringles, and 2 small bags of cookies to snack on here. Yum for the little things that make me smile. All in all, I am glad. Very glad.

COUNTRY and CULTURE: Haiti. The poorest country in the western hemisphere, and it definitely shows. I thought that I had seen poverty before. In the states, we have pockets of poverty but there are assistance programs, hand outs, places to go to at least get food. Here in Haiti, none of that exists and the pocket of poverty extends to the entire country. With a 70% unemployment rate, that means few taxes which means absolutely no public education. Only those with more money who can pay for private schooling or who are sponsored by an outside source like Compassion International (who I worked with last month in the DR) attend school. Upon arriving in Haiti after 3 buses and 15 hours of traveling last Saturday, the entire bus ride through Port au Prince until we got to our city of Grand-Goave which is 2 hours away, my heart was extremely heavy and I cried for much of the ride. I have never seen such immense poverty where there was no hope for so many... not on this earth. In this country, it is a struggle for survival. Eating is a struggle. There is no respect for life as drivers have the right of way to pedestrians and do not care if they hit you... they will leave you in the street. The kids here just want to touch you. A touch. Something they do not always get. They walk by just to touch you or jump on you and play. They are dirty, but they are so joyful. My teammate and I got the rare experience of going to the open market with Mary Eve, our cook to shop for this week's food. Dead animals laying out on tables cut up into sections they are selling (including the head facing me), veggies, grain, and beans brought into the city to sell, mules being led down the street toward the market from every direction to carry their owner's purchases back home, and lots of women carrying live chickens (talons tied) to cook for dinner tonight. Quite an experience.

LIVING SITUATION: My entire squad of 45 is living together this month! In case that doesn't quite compute to you yet, that is a lot of people! And this type of situation is unheard of on the World Race. But we are all tenting together about 50 yards away from the Caribbean Sea. The crashing of the waves is the music I listen to when I go to sleep, wake up, and every moment in between. We live in a “compound” that is fenced in, but only to keep others who live on the beach out. During down time there's often guitar's playing, movies being watched on computers, card games going, and people reading or finding lots to talk and laugh about under our shacoon. It's currently 5:30am, pitch black still and I'm sitting on the beach, all alone, watching the moon glow fade as the sun begins to rise and the colors illuminate the sky. I absolutely cannot believe that this is where God has placed my team. After driving through Port au Prince and other parts of Haiti, I am amazed that He'd give us this place to come back to for peace and fun together after our long days on the construction site. All of my belongings fit into my 1 ½ person tent. The greatest thing about it is that it is my own personal space amidst the people. The Haitian staff that works here are incredibly nice and personable. My Creole is not coming along as well as I would like but I'm trying. My new friends are Kevin, Maxi, and Geoff who walk by the compound every day to visit me and practice their English and teach me Creole. There's an abundance of mangos falling which I get to eat every day if I so choose... yum. My squad and I are getting along very well. After training camp and launch, I know most of them much better which allows for greater conversation and honesty which I value.

MINISTRY AND WORK: Our squad's job for the month is working at Mission of Hope International (check out their website). We work from about 8am-3pm daily alongside all of the Haitian construction workers to rebuild what was destroyed in the earthquake and make it even better. We are building a 3 story building that is to be the new site for the Mission of Hope school and church which are currently in operation, but outside under tarps currently. We are also volunteering time at Hands and Feet (an orphanage) as well as more construction work at Be Like Brit, an orphanage in the building stages named in honor of Brittany, a 19 year old college student who desired to build an orphanage here in Haiti and texted her parents about her desire just 2 hours before dying in the earthquake 2 years ago. It's her parents' fulfillment of her dream and it's an honor to see it in the building stages and be a part of the process. I have also been helping to organize their donated items so they'll know what they have and can give away as well as organize donated books to the school's library.

Something else that I get to do that I enjoy is tutoring. The founders of Mission of Hope have 2 teenage children who are home schooled soI am working with their 15 year old daughter in Science and Health a few times a week. Considering that I miss that huge part of my life, yes I miss work, I am grateful for the opportunity God is giving me to still use my love for education and working with students one on one which I feel is where I am gifted to excel the most.

MY HEART: I would have never thought that the poorest country in the western hemisphere would be a the place I would feel the richest. And I don't mean monetary riches. My heart has been dry for quite a while, poor, and weak. And although I loved the people of the Dominican Republic that I spent so much time with in Arroyo Cano, last month was extremely difficult for my spirit. With the early mornings and late nights of hanging out with people that we made friends with and an emphasis on relationships, there was not much time, peace or quiet to just relax. Read. Feed my soul. But now, I can go to bed and wake up to the sound of the waves breaking on the shore and it's a gorgeous sound. Having my tent up, I have a place that is mine, all mine. Though I love spending time with people, I love spending contemplative and worshipful time alone. I have been able to get back into a routine this month and I finally feel a little more like me. I wake up every morning at 5am to go sit out on the edge of the water and spend a few hours reading my bible and spending time with God while watching the sunrise. It's amazing!!! (The only thing missing is my cup of coffee with hazelnut or amaretto creamer. I'm REALLY missing that! Although I do get a cup of coffee for breakfast every morning, so that is something to brag about.)

I struggle with the idea that while the whole country is struggling for survival, I am enjoying the beautiful beach and daily breeze that I live amidst. But I realize how grateful I am for an amazing place to relax after a long day of construction work and how it is only by God's gifting that I am allowed to be here. I am joyful to leave my fingerprints in something lasting at the Mission of Hope center and Be Like Brit. The thought that I helped build an orphanage, that I helped build the school and organize their library for future use is fulfilling. And my heart is glad. I am glad. When I first came to Haiti, I thought of it as the country to get through before going to Romania. Now, I just want to rest here a while longer.