This past week, I've been in Haiti with a medical team. I went on this trip last year and fell in love with medical missions. Using medicine to spread the love of Christ was something that put me in awe. Last year, on this trip, I saw some desperate situations. I literally held poverty in my arms and fed the starving. It was devastating to see and it drastically changed my mindset on life like never before. So as I prepared to come back to this place I love so dearly and serve these people, I spent a whole lot of time in prayer. I wanted to prepare my heart for the situations I would see. I also prayed for God to reveal His power in incredible ways. I wanted to see a miracle right before my eyes. I wanted a tangible story to bring home that would shock people. I wanted to see Gods incredible handiwork and be a part of it. About halfway through the week, I hadn't seen my miracle so I spent a lot of time on prayer asking God to open my eyes or direct my eyes to where He was at work. I knew without a doubt that He was at work because I know my God. My God is overflowing with love and compassion that I can't even begin to comprehend. He is the Ultimate Healer and Miracle Worker. So I had high expectations. I also knew that He would exceed my expectations. "Gods voice thunders in marvelous ways; He does great things beyond our understanding."- Job 37:5
On Thursday, I stayed at the orphanage to paint two hopscotches for the kids and do all my school work. After I had finished these two tasks, I sat in the rocking chairs at the Alabama House with my Bible in my lap and I watched our precious kids. God performs miracles on a daily basis. He gives us His strength, love, grace, and joy daily. He is the ultimate healer and the prince of peace. These are incredible miracles. Who God is to us is a miracle. However, sometimes we fail to see them as such and sometimes we fail to see them at all. Until God basically spells it out for you sometimes we fail to see His amazing works. When you hear God loudly saying, "Hey look what I can do. Trust me. Follow me. Surrender to me. Depend on me. Love me.", that is when you see His miracles all around you. And He did exactly that this week. Right there God revealed Himself to me. I was looking for a miracle and it was all around me. Children's Hope is a miracle. All the schools and churches are miracles. All the relationships built are miracles. As I sat on the porch, I could see hope in every direction. Haiti is a place with a lot of darkness but I saw hope. The God of Hope is here. He is at work. He is healing Haiti. He is in the process of of transforming Haiti for His glory. This time for one of the first times, I am overwhelmed with the hope that is being fulfilled right before my eyes. This is the miracle. The starving children I saw last year at the medical clinics were now so much healthier due to the daily meal they receive at school. The little boy I call my son, Kiki, was now flourishing compared to his weak, unenthusiastic self last summer. He was a ball of energy and light when I spent time with him this week. So many broken things in Haiti were being healed. I can't even name them all. I saw hope turn into healing by the grace of God. He has plans for Haiti that bring hope (Jeremiah 29:11) and hope doesn't disappoint (Romans 5:5). And I see this everywhere I'm this place I call home and I get to be apart of bringing healing to this place full of hope. Hope is so powerful. "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust Him so that you may overflow with hope through the power of the Holy Spirit."- Romans 15:13 We get to have joy as we overflow with this hope as it brings healing if we trust in The Lord. When we completely surrender to Him and trust Him fully, hope heals; the impossible happens.
This is Kiki and his sister, Belinda, playing with the blown up dental gloves as their mother was being treated.
This is Guerline one of my great friends who works at Children's Hope and worked with us this week.
We got to celebrate Kenson's and Mr. Tommy's birthday this week!
One of the over 700 patients we saw this week. They were all presented the gospel!
I say all of this to encourage anyone and everyone involved with Children's Hope or Haiti. God is using you in incredible ways to heal this country.
"Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely GIVE." -Matthew 10:8
"But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are HEALED."- Isaiah 53:5
What you have learned is to redefine your concept of miracles. We all tend to think of miracles as instantaneous - the blind man having his sight restored instantaneously. We are miracles, HOPE is a miracle, and miracles sometimes take place over a period of time; that was your revelation and God revealing it in your thoughts by focusing your attention on what you had observed over the course of your visits to Haiti. God creates his miracles through His servants here on earth. He has woven a miracle through the giving and effort of a beautiful (through and through) young redhead and other servants. You have followed the words of Jesus, "You have freely received, freely give."
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