All Creation Will Proclaim..."You are Lord!"

With the Birthday Girl in the "tap tap." What a rewarding place to spend your 21st!

"For I am the Lord, your God  who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you." Isaiah 41:13

Today we went into Port au Prince. I woke up just thinking about what this day was going to be like and the challenges it would bring me. I opened up my devotional and thought that I would share with you what I read this morning-God is SO AMAZING!

"I AM INVOLVED in each moment of your life. I have carefully mapped out every inch of your journey through this day, even though much of it may feel haphazard. Because the world is in a fallen condition, things always seem to be unraveling around the edges. Expect to find trouble in this day. At the same time, trust that My way is perfect, even in the midst of such messy imperfection. Stay conscious of Me as you go through this day, remembering that I never leave your side. Let the Holy Spirit guide you step by step, protecting you from unnecessary trials and equipping you to get through whatever must be endured. As you trudge through the sludge of this fallen world, keep your mind in heavenly places with Me. Thus the Light of My Presence shines on you, giving you Peace and Joy that circumstances cannot touch."

Now that I am laying in bed processing what being in Port au Prince was like, I realize more and more how bad I needed to read that today. We rode in the "tap-tap" for 2 hours through Port au Prince to get to the Campus Crusade office.  When I say two hours, that was two hours of driving through the most poor, broken, crazy, and messy place I have ever been to in my life. I couldnt believe what my eyes were seeing as I was looking out at all the destruction from the earthquake, seeing hundreds of tents that people live in, and watching people lay in the trash on the ground starving. All I can say is that being in Port au Prince for just one day has built up very deep questions in my mind and has re-shaped my perspective on a lot of things in life. We had a little break of rest and peace when we got dropped off to meet with the Pastor of Campus Crusade at the University there.
A very special moment happend to me. One of the University students came up to me with the biggest smile on his face telling me about how he found Jesus. He said to me over and over again, "I am free, I am free, through the love of Jesus Christ." It was so humbling to hear that as he was standing in the poorest and most broken place. Only knowing my name, he then asked me what my story was. In his very broken english he said, "How did you did you come to know Jesus?" It was so great to share our stories with one another and help each other out with the language barrier.

ME AND TWO OF THE UNIV. STUDENTS!

The ride back to the compound was another adventure in itself as we drove back for 2 hours in the pouring down rain. There were some laughs as all 26 of us were getting thrown around from the insane driving and bumpy roads (that was the physical draining part). There were times today when I was complaining in my head from being tired, soaking wet, and getting a little car sick. But then my selfish mind slapped me in the face when I took a moment and looked out of the bus and saw people asking for a dollar and food. I have nothing to complain about. I felt very frustrated and confused today as I was looking at Port au Prince and asking myself why things have to get this bad.  As one of the guys waved and said "Bonswa" to this one mother through the bus, she held her stomach and pointed to her baby saying that they were hungry. My heart hurt so bad. I was feeling their brokeness and just wanted to get out of the bus and help. It was hard to just drive past all this and not be able to do anything. I felt a huge sense of helplessness.

God brought a little peace to my mind when we got back to the compound. As I was about to go on a run with some of my friends, the kids were  getting out of school. The kids grabbed my hand and I let go after a while and started running. They thought it was a game and started running after me. It was so funny. This one little girl wouldnt let go of me the whole time and I ended up walking them to their village from school and got to see some of their homes and say hey to some of their families. Ill never forget doing that.
God has challenged me and the team in a huge way today. The only thing there is to do in the process of trying to understand everything is just to PRAY about it and trust that God is sovereign. He uses our frustration, our sadness, our circumstances, and uses the times that we dont understand anything to help shape us to be MORE LIKE HIM!