Batteries and Bugs!

After a Summer of talking about electricity and asking for donations I finally met my goal and was able to purchase new batteries. These batteries are like precious jewels to me.  Before I arrived on August 31, Troy installed them for me and got it all set up…. He is the best!  Living in Haiti teaches you never take electricity for granted.  We don’t have Reliant Energy or Gexa so heres how it works… You have EDH, which is electricity from the country.  It comes on when they feel like it.  There is no set schedule for this type of electricity.  Second you can have power through a generator.  Not all places have  a generator and they are expensive to run.  Here at Heartline we run a generator during the day so we are blessed to have power all day.  Lastly there is the Inverter, which is where the batteries come on.  The inverter comes on when the generator is off and there is no EDH.  Having batteries for this inverter allows me to have a fan on all night, lights to shower or read at night and not to mention my fridge can stay plugged in.

Why did I mention these batteries all Summer? Good question…When I left in June the batteries were completely shot. They were holding a charge for no longer than a few hours.  There were a few nights were it was cooler outside in the hammock so I would roll up like a cocoon so the mosquitos wouldn't get me and rest my eyes. I say rest cause who can really sleep with all the animal noises and the sunrise that happened about 4:45 AM.  With that said I am beyond thankful for my friends and family who have supported me with getting these four precious jewels.  

Besides learning about electricity and how to manage it… I believe God has a sense of humor and continuously shows me ways to grow even if they are silly.  I say silly because I have seen this come to light these last three weeks.  When it comes to bugs I would say I have a love/hate relationship.  I have never been afraid of them but I wouldn’t say they are my best friends.  Growing up in Girl Scouts we learned to deal with different critters and after owning a home for the last 10 years; I have had to battle some out on my own.  However being in Haiti has brought on a whole different relationships with bugs.  Mosquitoes and Geckos are a constant in my life and roaches are beginning to take a close second to Geckos.  I kill an average of one roach a night.  At first I would jump and do the girlie thing but now it’s become personal. I talk to them as if they can hear me, then begin to chase them or sneaky up slowly because they are the big flying ones.  Once they are in a good spot, they are toast.  Af I sit here and type this my suspect of the night just ran across the floor.  If roaches aren't enough last week I had the surprise of one of the biggest spiders I have ever seen up-close and in person.  It was like a baby tarantula.  It feel straight from the door frame as I opened the door and I just laughed.  As I chuckled I felt like this was just another little barrier God was breaking down to show me He’s got me and these little issues with power and bugs should be the least of my concerns. 

Happy Tuesday Friends and thanks for listening to my rant about batteries and bugs!  

Summer, School and Struggles... I'm still around!

Hey Y’all!!!  I’m still here and promise to be better at updating this thing…Well July and August came and went…. and just like that I am back in Haiti.  My trip home was a whirlwind with lots of Family, Friends, Fun and Food.  Most days were spent babysitting or housesitting so I could earn a little cash to use while at home.  I was blessed by lots of you and your willingness to offer a place stay, a car to drive, a fun getaway and sweet meals and hangouts.  It was in each of those interactions that I was reminded of “COMMUNITY” and how others are there to support me on this journey.  With that said I do want to say, my time home wasn’t all rainbows and roses every day.  There were times where reverse culture shock got the best of me.  I’m not sure anyone can prepare for the culture shock one will face when going home but I sure wish there was a little manual to read about it.  When I got home I tried really hard to suck it up until one day I just lost it.  However in that weak moment I took some time to process different things people had told me and warned me about.  It was in those moments I chose to cling to truth and process the raw emotion that came with it.  God showed me a lot about having FAITH (I will post more on this at a later date) and continues proves He is in this.

Enough about the Summer in Texas…. It is still “Summer” in Haiti, well weather wise it is.  It’s about an average 90’ degrees outside and it’s very dry.  If the sun isn’t out then it is raining which has been nice to some extent. School started last Monday and I couldn’t be more excited.  This year I have taken on the challenge of teaching the kids by myself.  We are 6 days in and so far so good.  God has set me up with some great mentors in Texas who helped me prepare for this coming year.  I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else in the world right now… These kids are world changers.  They each bring something different to the table while challenging each other along with myself.  It’s been a blessing to walk with them and I pray God continues to use me in their lives.  

Keeping it real….Besides school the transition back to Haiti has not been the easiest for me.  I was eager to get here because there were books I needed to read and things I needed to find at the school house.  However let’s be honest once I got here it all hit like a ton of bricks.  Why am I back here?  What am I doing?  Is there where I am suppose to be?  As I started to unpack I got a voxer message from Tara and it made me laugh and cry.  She said, “Are you crying yet? Give yourself a few days to adjust and remember to give yourself permission to cry.”  Well thanks Tara for the reminder because that happened and has a few times.  It’s funny that in moments like that we try to have the hardshell, tough look like we have everything together.  Maybe I shouldn’t say we because clearly I can’t speak for you guys but I know for me I love to have it all together or seem like I do… however it’s in those silent moments I am reminded that deep down inside it’s okay to be scared, sad, or even have doubt what is going on. My prayer is that when I face those moments I will hear God’s truth and remember His faithfulness through it all.

Well I hope this gives you a little glimpse back into my life.  I promise to keep you updated and will work hard to keep it real.