Updates 7/2/15

The past four days, Lisa, Yolanda and I have had the privilege to study God’s word with the nannies at the orphanage.  It has been an overwhelming experience, which we are all still struggling to put into words.  We do, however, want to share what a blessing it has been for all of us.  During that time, we have not only been able to share God’s word, but share our own stories with one another.  It’s amazing to see how God can use our experiences to encourage and teach one another.  Although we are from different parts of the world, our struggles are the same.  Yet though worlds apart, we serve the same God.  We have been overwhelmed by their openness to us, their love for the children and most importantly their love for God.  Please continue to pray for them.  They are amazing servants who are trying to make a difference in these children’s lives.  Their work is unending and the patience and love with which they care for the children is inspiring.
Karen

Today we were able to throw a birthday party at the orphanage. Seeing the smiles and laughter throughout the day brought joy to my heart. We played games with them, painted their faces, swung at piñatas (a little scary ) and served them dinner. My favorite part of the day was hearing all the girls singing “How Great Thou Art” in Haitian Creole. It was incredibly beautiful and my eyes are currently filled with tears as I think back on it. Looking back at my week here, I constantly think about my favorite verse, Ephesians 3:16-21. I encourage anyone reading this blog to read and reflect on this message from Paul. It describes how deep and wide God’s love for us is—how it surpasses understanding. What a comfort! On another note, today is Christian and I’s fourth anniversary and I couldn’t imagine a better way to celebrate by doing God’s work together.
Jana

So as usual today was extremely emotional, we started the day out with praying with each other for strength. As we moved into going to the orphanage we were all kind of emotional because of all the morning prayers, so we all needed some fun. The orphans really helped out with that because they were so excited to have a birthday party, even though they had to share their birthday party with 90 other people. There were just so many encouraging moments, so many humbling  moments, and so many faith inspiring moments I really think my vision of all the things that I have and all the things I’m will change and I’ll be more humble and more thankful for my blessings. We also got a chance to go slightly up and were able to see the entire city and It just reminded me that even though it seems that all we see is darkness, being up there and seeing the beauty of the land that God created it reminds me as a Christian and a person that there is still a lot of hope for the country and for the world.
-Ford