A Heartbeat More Like His.

The past few days have been quite beautiful in many ways.

The intern team is now lacking three of the most amazing girls I’ve ever met in my life. They’ve returned home and Mission of Hope just doesn’t feel the same without them. I miss them dearly and I cherish the sweet friendship I built with them in just 2+ weeks. These friendships are beautiful.

My first morning teaching the Hope House mommies alone really made me realize that the workbooks we are using aren’t catering to the academic needs of these beautiful people. It’s quite the challenge to try to teach 6-10 Haitian adults English when they are all on different levels. Abby’s last morning I had all the mommies write her letters and then give them to her as a going away present. They loved it! The past two afternoons I have been coming up with ideas to make learning English fun and entertaining for the mommies. This morning was my first attempt and they absolutely loved it! We played interactive vocabulary games and they just wanted more and more of it! In the process of them learning new English words, I’m learning Creole words! It is the most amazing experience ever. I wish I could do it all day every day and not just for a short period of time in the mornings. I’m excited to see these precious women (and Frantz) start to understand and be able to speak English. I love love love the mommies and I’m starting to feel sad that I only have a few more weeks to spend with them. They are beautiful.

This whole experience is challenging in the best way possible. My relationship with Christ is first and foremost and I love feeling Him move and work in my life and around me every moment of every day. I love that in my weaknesses He is made strong and that He is continually deepening my love for Him and for others and for the people of this country. My personality is being tested and I’m learning things about myself that I’ve never truly seen before. I’m seeing strengths I didn’t know I had and I’m learning that all my weaknesses can be used by the Lord to bring glory to His name. Because of Christ, my weaknesses are beautiful.

Within the next week the majority of the other interns will be gone. I have grown to love all of them in so many different ways and for so many different reasons. I’m so sad to see them go but I’m excited to see where God takes them in life. If any of you know me, you know that I love companionship and love being with people and sharing life with them. The next few weeks will be a big challenge as I finish up this internship without these incredible girls to share it with. Although I’m sad that they wont be here I’m so excited because it will be just me and the Lord and I’ll be challenged to rely fully on Him for every little thing. I cannot believe my time here is halfway done! It breaks my heart to think that I'll be leaving here in a matter of a few weeks. There is no place I’d rather be right now than in Haiti surrounded by the presence and love of my God. I love being challenged to grow. I know that the Lord is equipping me to love these people better with the genuine love of Christ. I’m digging the roots of who I am into the love of Christ and watching Him transform my heartbeat to be more like His. And His heartbeat… is beautiful.