Just when I was starting to think I could take things easy, relax, and enjoy the holidays, the plot thickens.
A series of totally God-driven situations (a non-believer would call them coincidences) has put an amazing opportunity in my life....an opportunity I can't turn down without feeling incredibly disobedient and brokenhearted.
I'm going back to Haiti! In February!
Though I knew God planned for me to return to Haiti in 2012, I didn't think it would be so soon. And this time I will be going as a pediatric physical therapist, with other therapists and special education teachers to establish a pilot Christian preschool for children with disabilities. Just think about it... equipping churches in one of the darkest nations, to reach the forgotten children for Christ, to give them a hope for eternity when this life is hopeless for them...I can't think of anything I would rather spend my time doing!
I see so much redemption of my own selfish heart within the past year, especially this current trip. I was definitely the kid in PT school who said, "I'm never going to do pediatrics. I don't do kids." Looking back, I get this (possibly sacrilegious) picture of God in heaven, rolling on the floor laughing at me and my silly, selfish plans for my future, so far from his plans for me. Over the past year, he has taken my profession, something I now realize I sought for my own glory, and turned it into an incredible opportunity to bring HIM glory. He's given me an incredible witness and story, a unique and needed way to reach out to the lost, oppressed, and forgotten...I don't think I've ever been so awestruck by God's sovereignty or his trust in me as his instrument.
And sooo....I have so many prayer requests for you, my friends, family, and readers:
1) EQUIPMENT: we have a great need for appropriate equipment to ship ahead of us to use in the preschool. I am praying and working to start collecting equipment in Charlotte....our major needs include preschool appropriate therapeutic toys, used pediatric therapy equipment (standers, positioning devices, etc), adult and pediatric wheelchairs, assistive gait devices, activity chairs, strollers, and braces/orthoses of all kinds. I will accept any and all equipment or connections anyone might have with used equipment or clinics that are closing. I am not sure yet of the logistics of shipping equipment to Haiti, but I would love to learn if I collect the right kind of equipment :).
2) SUPPORT: just when I finished sending out my thank you notes, it's time to start again raising support. My greatest needs are prayer, for preparation and trusting God with this adventure, and for financial support. Estimated trip cost is $1800, and I know and have seen that God can provide for every penny if it is his will...so I pray that it is his will to again provide for me.
3) OPPORTUNITY: I don't want to go on this trip without seeking opportunities to share my adventure, to involve as many in my community as possible, to build lasting relationships with supporters, Haitians, and my teammates, to tell people what Haiti is really like, to give dignity to the people I will serve and not forget their stories and faces.
I have prayed (and this is scary) that God would show up with thunder and lightening as I prepare for my trip, raising equipment and support. I am not sure what this would look like, but I would love to find out!
"At this my heart trembles
and leaps out of its place.
Keep listening to the thunder of his voice
and the rumbling that comes from his mouth.
Under the whole heaven he lets it go,
and his lightening to the corners of the earth.
After it his voice roars;
he thunders with his majestic voice,
and he does not restrain the lightenings when his voice is heard.
God thunders wondrously with his voice;
he does great things we cannot comprehend."
---Job 37: 1-5
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