I just came back from a 6 day service trip in Montrouis, Haiti with members from Gators for UNICEF. I went to Montrouis, honestly with no expectations. All I knew was that we were going to visit an orphanage and to me that's all I really needed to know, because over an over in the Bible God calls us to love the fatherless.

He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow,.... Who have none to help them, and whose patron and defender he is, and will do them justice himself, and take care that it is done them by others, or avenge their injuries, for he is a Father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widow, in his holy habitation; Psalm 68:5.

He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow,- Deuteronomy 10:18

So I was excited to be able to do something that the Lord commanded us to do. The only thing I really knew I wanted to do was to pour as much love on the children as possible.


From the moment we met the children they were already receiving us with open arms. I believe we were just going to pour love on them, but they pour so much love back. I couldn't believe how close the children and us grew in 6 days.

Pierre's Story
Pierre is an native Haitian who started the orphanage. After he finished school he was given the opportunity to live in Miami. Upon his arrival in the States, he stayed with his cousins who were cocaine dealers. His cousin wanted him to join them and sell cocaine. He didn't know what to do so he prayed to God. That night he slept and the Lord gave him a dream. The Lord showed him all the children in Haiti and said remember my children. The next day he woke up told his cousins to buy him a ticket back to Haiti. Once he got to Haiti, he started the orphanage and that was 20 years ago. Each child that stays in the orphanage has to attend school, church, and do their chores. The Lord has provided exceedingly and abundantly for Pierre to be able to afford for all children to go to school. Some of his children are now in the states and are attending universities in Chicago and Michigan. Pierre story is amazing, all he did was obey God and from his obedience so many children lives were changed

Lesson Learned

After one day being exposed to the poverty of Haiti, one of the members of Gators for UNICEF starting asking the question, what are these people even living for? From an American stand point, they appear to have nothing. Majority of their buildings are not even finished building. They don't really have electricity, and most Haitians can barely sustain themselves. With that facts I just listed it would seem like they are hopeless. But later that night we went to a Haitian church service, and thats where we found the answer. In the midst of their poverty, a good portion of Haitians choose to go to church, and praise the Lord.

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. ¹⁰ That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. -2 Corinthian 12:9-10

From a world's point of view, it will never make sense how these people can smile, laugh, and have hope for another day, but it is because there joy comes from the Lord. There peace that withstands all understanding comes from the Lord. They praise the Lord, because he is worthy to be praise in all situations. And I bet they experience the Lord presence so much more deeper and physical than most of us will ever and that is only because they are so desperate for him.

How Haiti affected me personally
I am almost disgusted at the luxury that I live in. I buy so many materials things that I don't even need just because I want it while children can't go to school because they don't have a belt! Or children in developing countries go to school hungry! I now understand why my own father pinched every dollar and never bought many things. It wasn't because he was cheap it was because he has been sending my cousins to school in Nigeria. It is because he is not only thinking about himself but remembering his family in Nigeria.

I have now made a vow to no longer buy things just because its nice ...if its not a need I am not going to waiste my money. I want to steward my money better. I am giving so much and nonchalantly waste so much. Well, no more! And I am not going to go all a-wall and never spend money. Like if I have a special event, I will buy a dress for it...but I am not going to just go out and go shopping for no apparent reason.

There is so much more to life than material things and Haiti has taught me that life lesson.

Lastly, Haiti has forever stolen a piece in my heart. Like right now I don't want to be here! I honestly rather be in Haiti. I have become slightly bi-polar. Sometimes I am over joy with the love and peace that the children and Haiti has poured on me. But then I am broken because I wont be there Monday morning to fix the children breakfest. I love those children with all my heart! And if there is one huge thing I gain from this trip...is that before I always talked about serving those who can't pay me back ...but now after doing it I now know that...that is what I want to do with my life.

"My passion is serving those who can never return it-- in places the media doesn't want to go" - Me ♥

-Faith

"An unmarried woman is concerned about the Lords affair. Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord, both in bodily and spirit." - 1 Corinthian 7:34

This verse has been my life verses as a single woman who loves Jesus. Like, that is why I love the Bible so much, because it literally say everything about everything. Even more, it literally spells out everything, about everything. As a single women, the Lord just wants us to be concerned about the Lords affair. Of course, this is easier said than done, and that is why I have to meditate on this verse. That is why I have to consistently be doing the 1 Corinthian 7:34 test which is: asking myself who have I been living for lately? Has it been for myself or the Lord. A lot of the times it is for myself sadly, but God's grace has been pruning me to bear his fruit instead of the fruits of this world.

One thing that the Lord has continue fueling the passion in my heart for is--international affairs in developing countries. My heart literally breaks when I think of about it, and I just ask the Lord what can I do. So many ideas run in my head about the future to the point that I wish I could be doing things now. In the future when I'm a doctor (Lord's willingly) I will become a International doctor who aids those who can't pay me back. In the future after I graduate (Lord's willingly) I will go to the peace corp for 2 years and then med school. This summer (Lord's willingly) I will be able to go to a missions trip to Nicaragua for 2 1/2 weeks. And these idea's are just the big ones!

Now back to present/past.

Around the summer time, I started thinking about my 21st birthday and how I would celebrate it. Attending my College Pastor Birthday, he said something that really stuck with me. "Birthdays are just a day for people to worship you for a day" When he said that, I was in shocked because it was true. He then turned his birthday to a time for us to worship the Lord for a good 45 mins or so. Then in August, the Senior Pastor of my church asked the whole congregation to not give anything to him for his birthday but to give to missions. (My church First Assembly of God, is very big on missions. Our goal is to give half of every offering to missions)

When he said that it made me self reflect on my birthday. The Lord has given me a heart for mission and my birthday is way that I can respond. Thus, I asked the Lord who I should be raising money on for my birthday. That's when he reminded me of the Haitian Women Beading Business. $35 is enough money to help one women start her beading business in Haiti. So it was set, my 21st birthday Celebration was going to be partly a fundraiser for the women of Haiti.

I was very speechless in the response that people were to the idea of my party. I really didn't see it as a big deal that I was raising my party for my 21st bday. And I believe that, that was the Lord who ultimately blinded me from the magnitude of what I was doing-- to keep me humbled and not self-righteous. I also, believe it is what happens when you ultimately want to do what the Lord wants to. You just care about pleasing him and responding to his call and not what man expects of you


Can I please brag on Jesus for a minute?
A friend of a friend heard about my birthday and wrote an article on it for her reporting class at University of Florida. Her article got published in the Gaineville Sun Newspaper! I am just shocked and amazed! Jesus! Like, I just want to make you Famous like Sho Baraka would say!

Click on this link to read the article:

























-Faith