I had the time of my LIFE, and I owe it ALL to YOU....

I thought I would do a little update since I've been back at Wings for a week now... Its been a crazy past couple of days but oh did the kids have a blast!!! I got back last Wednesday(the 22nd) and its been non stop since I got here. The kids and staff were excited to see me as was I to see them... There is a kid named Matt that is here with his mother for a month so I met them and we have been messing with each other ever since... He's a hoot and its going to be hilarious to spend the next month with them. I got settled in and ready for the team that arrived Friday.
Cotting, Wings sister school arrived Saturday. It's always exciting around the house when they are here... they bring a level of excitement that no other group can bring!!! We went down to St. Joseph's for church Sunday am, where I was able to see the massive progress they had made on the new boys house... I also met Michael, the man that started the St. Joseph's, The Trinity House and Wings. He is such an amazing man and I look forward to getting to know him and learning about his experiences.
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday were spent doing student evaluations and goal casting for next year... One of my new roles at the house is behavior so sitting in on all the meeting helped me evaluate where the kids are now and where the staff would like to see them be. I will be working with the kids in many different aspects... Anger management, socially acceptable behaviors, proper dressing, and all kinds of different things. Its going to be a long process but I think it will be challenging and exciting to see the improvement they will make!!!



Yesterday after countless hours of preparation we packed all the kids up and went to the BEACH!!! It was AMAZING!!! The kids were SOO EXCITED and the had a BLAST!!!! We went to Kalico Beach which is about 2 1/2 hours away but it was worth the drive!!! We spent the entire day there soaking up the sun and splashing in the ocean, each visitor and staff member was paired up with a kid and your only responsibility was to have fun... Ester was my partner and because of her limited mobility we spent the day relaxing in the ocean. The kids that are able to walk got the opportunity to ride a jet ski for the first time ever!!! They were sooo excited to get to drive up and down the shore and wave to all their friends. It was a priceless sight, I was so glad they go to do it. The less mobile ones rode on a boat around the strip of beach clubs but Ester and I chilled on our float and watch(it was great)!!! We ate lunch right on the beach then went back in for a little more water action before we packed everyone up and headed home... Needless to say the ride back was a little quieter then going but we still had our fare share of action as we ran out of gas TWICE... We got home around 8 and I think I was in the bed around 8:15... I was burnt and worn out!!! ALL IN ALL IT WAS A GREAT DAY!!!!


BEACH BUMS....



Today was another fun filled day... Today we finished breakfast and loaded up about 20 of the kids and went SHOPPING!!! The have a designated fund for the kids to be able to go and buy toys and things once a years so the staff decided why not do it when we have a group of visitors who can handle the outing... Each kid was paired with an adult and given an envelope of money. We went to the Eagle grocery store which has a rather decent toy section and allowed out kids to pick out whatever they wanted... Sam my partner got a bag of play toys including two shovels a pale, a dump truck, train, boat and several other things. He then hit the food section to spend the rest of his money... We got crackers, cookies and of course some candy!!! We finished our trip with a visit to Epi'dor for lunch... We got Cheeseburger and fries!!! Most of the kids like to get ice cream but Sam however HATES ice cream so we stuck to a bigger order of fries and a big coke... It was fun to get out and have just a regular ole day of shopping and grabbing a bite to eat!!!



RAGS....TO....RICHES...

Im so blessed to be able to do what I'm doing... hope all of you enjoyed my little blurb about what's going on in my neck of the woods... love you all and please continue to pray for God's provision and blessing on the kids and this country!!!!

Enjoying the Journey
Katie

Im comin Home, comin Home...

Well its officially 20 days till I head back and as always there is much to be done... Every time I come back to the states I always have the feeling of emptiness and longing to go back but it is always mixed with the excitement to see my family so it always bittersweet... Its been great visiting with family and friends but the ticket is bought and I am about to pack the bags...
I knew that my month long stay at Wings would be a time that God would reveal things but I had no idea the level of excitement and challenge it would bring. I am soo excited to say that God is using this next phase of my LIFE as a learning process... I have been privileged to work in many different areas serving many different groups of people and I am honored to say that I have found and now work with a place that provides the up most respect and quality care for a group of children who are deemed "unworthy." Wings of Hope tucked away in the mountains of Fermathe, Haiti is a home to 35 physically and mentally handicap young adults and children. The Wings of Hope house provides children not only a home to grow in but also the education, therapy and medical care they need to thrive in.
As a volunteer there I will come along side the staff and help in any way possible. It can be difficult to raise one special needs child but when you throw 35 into the mix living in a 6 bedroom rental house it can be quite challenging. My desire is to absorb as much knowledge from the staff and children with the hope of bring that same care to more in need. Although this next chapter in my LIFE may not be the easiest I know that God has me here for a reason... To stretch me more then I think I can be stretched, to teach me more then I think I could learn and for me to grow more then I think I can grow... New adventure are so exciting and I can't wait to begin this journey...

"Greater things have yet to come, greater things are still to be done in this city..."
-God of this City, Chris Tomlin

Thanks for walking this journey with me... Without the love and support from my family and friends I could never have done this. Keep praying!!! I will post as many pics and info as I can...

Proverbs 31:8... "Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute."

Lord I want to YEARN for you, I want to BURN with PASSION!!!

Often there are times in life that we go about plans thinking things will go one way but God quickly reveals an entirely different plan... God has shown me this more and more over the past year. On January 12, 2010 I received the greatest call upon my LIFE... One of service and submission. I have known since that day that Haiti is it, God had placed the call on my LIFE to serve here but what does that mean? I have spent most of my time since then trying to understand what that looks like...

I would love to tell you that I know, but I'm not there yet? However, I do know that God has and is getting me closer to that and I am sooo excited! I would be lying if I said I hadn't had some extremely frustrating days in the past few months but I have come to realize something in the calmness of the place I love... The waiting is where we grow the most! How are we able to carry out the task God has called us to do without HIM first preparing us ?? God has perfect timing, he knows the when, the what and the how... All we have to do is wait! Why do we have to make the waiting so bad though? I have to see the beauty in the prep work...
My prayer over the next 20 days has taken a turn... I have to stop asking for the where, the what and the how but the ability to see the right in front of me... I don't need to know what a year from now looks like because today is all that matters. God allow me to soak! I want to soak in you Lord! I am eager to grow in YOU, OPEN MY EYES, OPEN MY EARS, OPEN MY HEART!!!


"How re-freashing to know you dont NEED me, How amazing to find that you WANT me, so I'll STAND on your trust and I'll fight with your STRENGTH until you bring the VICTORY, by the power of Christ in me" - Casting Crowns, In ME

Home is where the Heart is...

I don't know that I can describe to you to Joy I have to be exactly where I am right now... As time led up to me coming I continually prayed that God would prepare me for what the journey he would have me on. I was excited beyond belief that God had opened a door for me to serve but I was also anxious in that I had never met or been to the place I was committing to for the next month...
I say all that to say... Wings is AMAZING!!! The children, staff and directors mesh so well together creating a beautiful enviornment to care and raise these children. I am looking forward to bonding and getting to know each and everyone of these children. They are going to teach me soo much more then I could ever do for them.
Friday are a day of worship, celebration and fun! We spent most of the day danced and worshiped. It made me so excited to see the staff and pastor so passionate about worshiping, but encouraging the kids to do so as well. God is stretching me each and everyday and my hope is that my LIFE will be used in return... After worship we had boutique, which is where the kids get to buy toys and things from the "store" with the money they have earned for doing chores around the house. Gary, the assistant director, and I then proceeded to attempt to play "Jesus loves Me" with these bells... HAHA that was a sight! KC, April and I took five of the kids down to another house down the street for a visit, it was fun to see the kids and how they interact with each other. I think we are going to a wedding tomorrow and to the St. Joseph house for church on Sunday. Monday I will get to see how school and therapy works so I am excited to see how that goes... Until then - LOVE YOU ALL! THANKS FOR THE PRAYERS!

Hold on... Be strong...

So I'm going to try and get this up to date as best as possible... there has so much that has happen since then so I am going to have to summarize some of the things that happen...
The bus that Dr. Bernard was able to get took all the kids and workers to the Guesthouse while Mike Brent Tia Naika Dr.Bernard Claudette and I went to check on the orphanage... We saw tons of destruction, devastation and death... I was speechless there was nothing I could do or say to fix this, I remember just thinking maybe if I just went to sleep I would wake up and all of it would be a dream. It took us about 4 hour to get to the guesthouse once we were arrived they quickly sat us down to eat. We went to our room shortly after and attempted to sleep, there were two after shocks that night. After the first one happen I was awake, I tried to go back to sleep but couldn't so I decided I would start writing down as much as I could... We got up and got ready so we could start on our journey to go back home... Little did I know that this was the start of one of the craziest days. We got to the airport even getting Tia in but little did we know that getting her into the airport wasn't that big of a step there was much more to come...
Up until this point the plan was for all of us to come home together on a private plane but from that point on none of the plans we had in our heads happen, it was all God from here. Mike stayed in Haiti with Tia because he would have gone to jail if he brought her home illegally while Brent and I came home. We had tons of obstacles and first experiences but thankfully after 36 hours and no sleep I was back in Nashville... those 36 hours were the most emotional 36 hours of my life, it all became real. The numbness went away and it hurt. Badly.
I didn't think I would ever come back, I didn't think I would see my family again. but what was harder was in the midst of those emotions the only thing I wanted was to be right back where I had just left. The country I loved and came to help had just experienced the most devastating natural disaster and I left three days after it happen...

Recollecting on a LIFE event!!! Part 2

I didn't realize how much of the earthquake I hadn't written about...
So I get the phone call the morning after that Mike was on his way(January 13)... So the waiting began... I have honestly tried my hardest to think about what happen the rest of that day (Wednesday) but I cant, I don't know if I blocked it out or so much happen during that time I just cant remember but Tuesday for the most part is still a blur to me... I remember things and conversations I had over the 2 days we spent outside but which days they happened are what run together...
Jamarie and Wesley the two males workers had to go inside the creche the next morning to get food and essentials for the kids, the kids had gone since 1:00pm the day before without anything to eat or drink. The babies in diapers hadn't been changed since at least 4:00. Babies here in America would have a hard time going 15 hours without food as well but most of these babies are extremely malnourished and dehydrated so that 15 hours was becoming extremely LIFE threatening!!! The sight of seeing two men (who could have easily walked away and said this is my job these are not my children)go into a building that was completely unsafe and potentially going to fall at any minute to save the lives of children was OVERWHELMING and completely humbling... It was an experience of seeing FAITH IN ACTION, I saw two men become CHRIST, their willingness to sacrifice their LIFE to care for others was AMAZING!!! They didn't do what they did for glory they did it because their love for those children is so deep that they would lay down their lives for them just as a parent would and just like JESUS did for each and every one of us...I have fallen in love with Haiti for multiple reasons one of them being their understanding and execution of the word COMMUNITY. I have never been around people who genuinely love and care about their neighbor the way the bible tells us to as much as the people of Haiti and what make that love grow even deeper was going through the most traumatic situation most of them will probably ever experience and seeing that love not be compromised but increased tenfold... Sometime after noon on Tuesday some men brought a woman to the church where we were staying, she couldn't walk because her house had collapsed on her. She had a huge laceration on her head where debris had hit her head as well as multiple cuts, scraps and a broken leg. I watched an extremely graphic sight as the workers of the creche did their best to clean and remove glass form her head and attempt to stabilize her leg until further medical attention could be given.Little did I know 6 months after my return this situation would be the hardest thing I deal with... God used this very moment of people with no knowledge of what to do come together and help someone they had never meet. I had such a hard time with why. Why did they do that, why did they help her, why did they cut her hair out and dig in her head with a razor to get the glass that was digging into her scalp, why did they give this woman food for a day and a half when the food they had was almost gone, Why??? I know the church answer because it's the right thing to do, I know that but there were over 200,000 people who died from the earthquake. They men and women were taking care of 48 children who had just be displaced from the only stability and safety net they had and instead of retreating and protecting what they had they were giving it out and caring for those who couldn't.
I remember that morning going into the village behind where we were to take a shower, Jamarie had a friend in the village that he insisted I go to his house to shower and use the bathroom at. So we got up and went over to their house then we came back and waited... I talked to Missy and she told me Mike was trying to get to us but there was so much damage that she didn't know how long it would take... To everyone here that made all the sense in the world, but I didn't really understand what she meant. I hadn't been but maybe 150 ft away from the platform we were staying on and everything around us was cracked but nothing was down that I could see. It wasn't until after Mike got there that I realized how bad it really was...
Anxious was an under statement... Knowing my dad was on his way to get me consumed my every thought. I was trying to hold myself together but the anxiety wasn't only in me but in the other workers as well. I told them my dad was coming and that they were bringing help so it was a constant wondering of when they would get there. Every time someone walked past the gate I looked to see if it was Mike. I remember being so wound up that I felt nauseous, I had to get my mind off of it ha ha... I decided that I would go and sit down and try to write down some what was going on. So much had gone on and I knew the questioning would coming so I did my best to go back and write as much as I could.
I started writing trying to add as much detail as possible and remember as much of what happen as possible I got about a day an a half's worth of the earthquake and I just happen to look up and there they were... Brent came in first and came up the stairs and started looking for me as I frantically was putting my stuff in my bag so I could go over to Mike... To every one's surprise (NOT!!!!) Mike walled in holding his flip camera to document the "Katie being found." It was an overwhelming moment, being faced with death brings upon a profound longing for your family and for reasons God is revealing to me little by little I am starting to understand why God allowed me to be exactly where I was on January 12 2010...I think from the time Mike got there with Brent, B, Dr Bernard and Claudette the reality of what happen became real. Mike started telling me all this stuff and I honestly remember shutting him and Brent both out... They were both chatter boxes and running around and I couldn't even catch up with what they were saying. They were telling me about all this destruction and masses upon masses of catastrophes but it was like they were talking about another world... I could come to grips with the fact that less than half a mile a way thousands of lives were gone... All I kept saying to myself was, WHY AM I STILL HERE??? Dr. Bernard got a vehicle, which was a miracle in it's self because there were no vehicles to be found and we loaded all of the children in a bus which took them and the workers to his guesthouse in Thomasin... Mike, Brent, B, Dr Bernard, Claudette, Naika, Tia and Myself all got in a van and made our way to the orphanage to check on the kids there.
I saw many things that I hope I or anyone else never have to experience again but I think the hardest thing to process is the sight of 8 white dump trucks carrying the bodies of over 400 children who where killed in the collapsing of a school... Seeing it was hard but then finding out that the school was located one street over made that nauseousness in the pit of my stomach even worse. We spent the next 2 hours driving the 25 min. drive to the orphanage. I have never seen destruction like this, every street we went down was either blocked with buildings that had fallen or people dead and alive who had no where to go. There were piles and piles of bodies everywhere. As we drove through the street I just sat there in amazement. Yes I had felt the earthquake but I just couldn't understand how or why something like this happened?

Recollecting on a LIFE event!!! Part 1

I could give you the excuse that I have been too busy to sit down and write where I'm at (which I really have) but I just haven't been there yet. So much has happen in the past three months I really don't know where to start...

On Thursday, January 7^Th I went to the creche to begin my 6-month stay… Saying good-bye was probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. At that moment all the reality set in, I was in a country by myself without anyone and I was terrified. Dealing with abandonment and isolation was very real to me growing up, being in the environment where I had no one those feeling became real again. God had brought me to Haiti for numerous reasons one of those was to break me of my attachments. I was allowing people and the busyness life to come in the way of my dependency of Christ. I believe 100% that God had to break me first in order to use me for the weeks that were to follow. God was all I had!!! He provided more for me in three days then I could ever imagine. The first weekend at the creche I spent most of my time crying... I did a lot of journaling and some intense time in the word!!! God was all I had, and he quickly became more than enough. In preparation for my trip my biggest fear was the language barrier... And oh was it a ligament concern. I was in a five story building with over 50 people in it and one of them knew English and it wasn't good by any means. I consider myself a fairly easy going kinda person who can get along with most people or at least ease most situations with a little humor. But none of that mattered... I was in a place where my comfort, my ability to communicate was useless!

Needless to say God was quick to intervene and provide a true ANGEL, who goes by the name of Jamarie or John Mark as I called him for 3 days till he said "you know my name is not John Mark right?... NO" Jamarie was a man that worked at the creche as a janitor. At night he would come to my floor and we would talk because PRAISE YOU JESUS!!!! He knew English, well a little at least. He learned some English in school but never had anyone to practice with so he was very eager to talk to me as was I eager to talk to him or anyone at that point :-) The first two nights we just got to know each other during this time he gave me a book that had creole in it, he said he was going to teach me creole because I was helping his English...

I have no doubt in my mind that the reason God placed Jamarie in my life was to be there during the earthquake. When the earthquake happen he was the first person to find me and he refused to leave my side until Mike came and got me two days later. I really didn't know what was going on during the quake but afterwords I said to myself I think this might be bad, not ever being in a earthquake I really had no idea what to do or what a earthquake could do...The creche was unsafe due to the first two floors buckling so we move all 48 children across the street to an elderly woman's property where a church was in the process of being built. It was a foundation with re bar posts that had an old Verizon build board as a temporary covering.

I cant explain my feeling during the earthquake or even after because I can't say that I had any. When we got all the kids over to the church the night of the earthquake I asked Jamarie what we were going to do and he said we will wait for Dr Bernard to come, I knew that it would possible be at least a day till anyone came so all there was to do was wait. I was overwhelmed with the presence of Christ from the moment it hit. I didn't know what the future held, I didn't know if we were going to live or die, be helped or not but I did know God was in control and that was all I needed. I can't describe the feeling but when you come face to face with Christ its an overwhelming experience!!!! I remember saying "God I now know why you brought me here, I don't know if I'm going to die here or spend several months here but YOU are with me and that all I need." I wasn't giving up but it was a very real moment that this really could be the end and I was so OK with that...

I tried to stay up as long as I could but my body was just shutting down. The sweet lady that lived on the grounds cleared me a spot and gave me two blankets to sleep on and I gave in. Throughout the night there were aftershocks that were followed by constant cries of Praise, Fear and Uncertainty. The next morning was when I was received the phone calls from my step mom and Mike and Missy. I had to turn my phone off the night before because all calls were failing and I only had half a battery. I talked to Mike and Missy and told them where we were and Mike reassured me that he was coming to get Tia and I...

That awesome... But when?.... How long would it take?... How many days would it take them to get to us? It was worse know that someone was coming then thinking I was stuck there forever because know someone was coming consumed me....