SPEECHLESS

It's always been said that a picture says a thousand words.  I love pictures and photographs, especially ones that tell a story.  But, I am the world's worst photographer. Somehow, today I felt like I captured a perfect photograph. I can't get the image out of my mind. The picture is of a smile. A smile like one of a child on Christmas morning. 

Today, I had the opportunity to witness the delivery of some bibles, water filters, and uniforms. The money that allowed us to purchase these items was raised by children in the US. They are children who have been given a generous and compassionate heart for the poor. We took the funds that were given to us and asked the CGI staff if they had anyone that they knew who could really use the help. Immediately, one gal mentioned her home village. She was so thrilled that we offered to help them!  When we pulled up to her family's home and saw a large crowd waiting on us, of course my tears were falling. But what touched me even more was when I looked over and saw the tears in her eyes, too! She was filled with this joy and both of us were entirely speechless. I have been trying to think of the right words to describe my afternoon to you and the only thing that kept coming to my mind was this picture. I watched as she handed out uniforms, bibles, and water filters to each family who was present. And when I saw the excitement of this particular girl had when she was handed her bible, I was so humbled. We take so much for granted and it is great to be reminded of that. I hope this paints a picture for you as well and  and that you, too, are inspired to help!

Working for the Lord

I am the firstborn in my family. The oldest of three girls. I had a fabulous childhood and I cherish so many of the fun memories of playing with my sisters. But if you would ask them what I was like, I’m sure they would include the word bossy. I know this. We talk about it now and giggle. But back then, I thought I knew it all. Everything that I did was the correct way, and everyone was to do as I say. I know as a child I didn’t consciously know what I was doing, but now that I am an adult I look back and realize how mean I could be at times. It breaks my heart and I wish I could go back and change the way I treated them. Particularty my middle sister.

 Every time I leave the country, I secretly like having time to just sit on an airplane and think, pray, and listen to God. (Now don’t get me wrong, 27 hrs is probably TOO much time, but I enjoy the first few hours). So yes, I am currently on a plane reflecting on my life and how God wants to change me, AGAIN. 2 years ago was my first trip to Cambodia, and that trip marks a pivotal point in my life. I haven’t been the same since. The things that my eyes saw changed my heart in ways that I could’ve never imagined. I was humbled in so many ways and I knew that I had to change the way that I had been living. Luckily, my husband was with me and we were both on the same page. But since that trip to Cambodia, I see things in a different light. I have a new calling on my life. I returned home and made a drastic change in my priorities. I quickly learned that others weren’t going to understand or even grasp my vision. It made things difficult as I changed my focus more globally. I still sense that others don’t understand and tend to be judgemental. But I have learned that I am to continue to follow God and obey Him. Not man.  That has not been easy for me to do. And I know I started being a people pleaser when I was young.

As I sit here and think of that, one of my sisters comes to my mind. She has never cared one single bit what others think of her. She is confident in herself and she knows who she is.  She knows what she wants and she goes for it. When we were little, she saw right through me and knew that I was trying to be accepted and get approval from people and unfortunately, I was mean to her at times in order to accomplish that.. I have so many regrets for my past behaviors, I am thankful for her forgiving heart. I admire her so much for who she is and I am thankful and proud to have a sister like that. She has taught me so much!

I have gained so much confidence now that my entire heart is  “working for the Lord”. So, regardless of what people think, I am on my way to Cambodia. I haven’t been here in over a year. I am thrilled to see my friends and the smiles on the faces of all the women and children that we are impacting. I am even more excited to hear what God has in store next for these people. They have stolen my heart and I am so humbled that God has chosen me as one of his servants in this country. I pray that my actions shine so brightly for Him over the next week and the Cambodians that I come into contact with can see that there is something different about me. I want them to know the same Jesus that I know. I ask you to pray along with me and let God do the work. Thanks for following!

~Jaime

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Stay Tuned...

Normally a travel blog starts the day you leave for your destination. We are heading to Nicaragua on Saturday, and it is currently 1am on Thursday evening, and I just can't resist sharing about our evening. I write from the passenger seat of our SUV, on our way to Chicago. You see, As I was packing for our upcoming trip, I went to make copies of all of our passports and about had a heart attack as I realized that we never renewed 3 out of the 4 of our kids' passports!! What do you do when you are supposed to leave the country in less than 48 hours? Panic of course and then the Internet. So believe it or not, it IS possible to get a passport in one day. It's not the simplest procedure, but yes its possible. However, there are only a select locations around the country that are able to process these so quickly. Lucky for us (I guess) Chicago happens to be one of them. So the process is that you must call an automated number and they assign you an appointment. You then must have both parents and the child along with every document that has their name on it. So here we are, in Chicago. My hubby had cancelled a day of patients, kids are going to have to skip school and we are going to pray that the government shut down has not affected this building, so we are told. 

The bright side, and there really is one! I specifically prayed for God to show himself to my kids in obvious ways this week and the last few hours have been proof of that. We have had great conversation and the kids have made some fabulous observations on the situation! So, why the positive outlook when this seems to be such a headache?For starters, we are alive! Next,there actually is a"fix" to the problem. We also made note that if this would've happened tomorrow, we would not have the option to even attempt to get these done. The kids made the comment that Satan was just trying to keep us from going to Nicaragua, and I agree. I have total faith that the details will work out, and I get an extra day with my family.(Along with some Garrett's popcorn and Gino's pizza let's hope)!

Stay tuned....

RECAP

The last few days all seem to blend together. The end of a trip always seems to go by so fast and then before you know it, you are back in your daily routine. As I take time to reflect on this particular trip, I am humbled that God continues to use me and my family to show HIS love to people in other parts of HIS world. Between the three of us, we helped build a house, treat patients, hold babies, play with kiddos and more. Everything we did always ended in prayer and God got the glory. It was so awesome to be with an entire team of people that did the same . What a blessing to be given the opportunity to experience this with such an amazing group.
Now that I am back home and many people are asking about my trip, I am trying to condense my thoughts to 2-3 minutes and WOW is that hard. But when I am asked, I give them a quick recap of what my eyes saw over the past week... I couldn't get over the extent of the poverty! There were so many tent homes. I won't forget the smell of trash and sewage that fill the streets. So many people need help, many of them which are stuck way up in the mountain areas. I think that is why my favorite memory will be the day that we packed up all of our dental stuff and went to THEM! I will never forget the beautiful scenery as I sit in an outdoor classroom, straddling a school bench cleaning someone's teeth. It gave my heart such joy to be able to provide this luxurious service for them. The smile that they had on their face when I finished was unforgettable. I often prayed with them that the work that I did would help prolong their teeth for many years. I know God will answer them.
We appreciate all of your prayers for us as we travel. We would not be able to do this without you;-)

~Jaime

Going Mobile

           So I got to go Mobile yesterday.  And I mean really mobile.  It was by far the highlight of the trip!  We were in Deuxieme Plaines, that may be how it's spelled, about 40 minutes from Grand Goave.  There was an awesome team complete with Alyssa and some of the other teenagers.  We finished early and asked the pastor who is also the headmaster of the school if there was anyone else to see.  Then Chris Hartman, an ER doc from St. Francis, thought or is there anyone who can't come to clinic that we can go and see?  He immediately thought of three people who are sick and haven't been to church in a few weeks.  Later I asked him how many people were in his church, and he answered 700!  And he knew all of them!  And where they lived, which isn't just around the corner!  So we drove the bus and pulled off to the side of the road.  The team got out and crossed the street, climbed up a hill to help a lady who had fallen and had severe back pain.  All we had to offer her were pain meds, but that should get her back on her feet.  The second stop took us about 10 minutes off the road, through a dry river bed, to an authentic Haitian house in the countryside.  We met an 80 year old man who had been sick for a month with fever and pains all over.  We gave him antibiotics and pain/fever meds which may or may not work, but it felt good to serve.  The last stop was halfway up a mountain and over a makeshift bridge across what seemed to be a grand canyon gorge!  Sticks and tin with some dirt packed together- a one person at a time walk for sure.  We gave more antibiotics and pain meds to an 85 year old man who prior to that was walking up and down that same mountain.  We then treated all 20 of the neighbors including their pig for worms and gave them vitamins!  It was beautiful and exhilarating and humbling all at once.  Besides being out of shape, I realized that is what I would love to do!  Let me know who is coming with me!  We just carried a bag of meds to the people who needed it most.  We weren't sure if that was allowed, but thought it better to ask for forgiveness than permission!  

           Alyssa was awesome today!  She took gifts to newborn babies around the town, which are abundant.  She got to pray with about 50 of them.  She then spent some time with me in clinic seeing patients.  I asked her to pray for one of the patients at the end of the visit, and she nailed it!  I was so proud of her!

           Jaime's hand is about to fall off.  She will have bruises for weeks from working so hard!  She has some great stories to tell about Haitians wanting braces and whitening- on their lone tooth.  And hitting on her!

One more night under the stars!

For Him Alone,

Jeremy, Jaime, and Alyssa

Code Red Dew

         We had a chance to see our other set of twins yesterday!  Surprise, they have an older sister who is 6 named Fedna.  Their names are Federline and Federlynn.  Their mom was very tiny and had to walk an hour to come and see us!  At first the little boy was afraid of me.  After the experience with our other twin boy I thought maybe it's a guy thing in Haiti, but he warmed up to us and let us hold him and played with his cars!  The little girl loved her hat and jewelry and dolls!  We almost cried as they walked off - mom holding one twin and the 6 year old holding the other one- knowing they had an hour walk home.  Hopefully we can visit them on Friday.  The dad was killed in the earthquake and their house was destroyed, so they have a temporary house right now.  It is great knowing that the kids will have a chance to go to school and learn about Jesus.  Their mom loves the Lord, so they have a good start!  You hear this same story every day here in Haiti.  There is so much need you want to sponsor everyone.  (We saw a set of triplets which is unheard of here in Haiti.  One year old and all healthy!  It took all I had to not agree to sponsor them right then.)  What a blessing from God to take care of a widow and be a part of God's plan!

Jaime did mobile clinic today where we pack up a truck with supplies and go to a church/school out in the middle of nowhere and treat all the surrounding people who can't make it to Grand Goave.  She cleaned teeth on a bench using a school desk to sit on.  She cleaned like 20 people's teeth and even got to pull a few!  I think her hand is going to fall off.  Alyssa and I get to go mobile tomorrow.

I saw close to 60 patients today from 1 week old to 40 years!  It's funny how you never get tired until they are all finished.  God gives you strength and energy when you don't have any more to give.  That is even with a translator slowing you down and praying with every patient!  And with no code red mountain dew or caffeine of any kind!  God is awesome!

In His strength,

Jeremy, Jaime, and Alyssa

BIRTHDAY GIRL

Yesterday was my birthday, and it was awesome that I got to spend it here in Haiti! To be honest I totally forgot that I was turning thirteen until my parents got up, hugged me and gave me a hot pink ribbon that said "Birthday Girl". We spent the morning at a four hour church service singing and praising God. They introduced the newcomers and we sang a lot of songs. One of our missionaries, Heidi, got up and sang the Lord's Prayer in her beautiful opera voice that amazed us all. Our sponsored kids even showed up for the church service with their mother, Patricia. I talked with the kids and they were all pointing at my birthday bow. They were so cute! I wish I could take them all home. Later that day, we took a bus to the beach where we relaxed after all our hard work we had done the past couple of days. We took a small handmade canoe to the island and we walked around collecting shells. When we got back, I got to try coconut milk. The man used a machete to cut it open and you sip it straight from the coconut. I talked with a lot of my friends and we had a great time. After our devotions that night, everyone surprised me with a cake and colorful streamers and other decorations. They even sang to me in Haitian Creole! I will never forget celebrating my thirteenth birthday in Haiti!!!!

~ALYSSA