[pride]

Me with a few of my little buddies after Thrive for 5 one day, Lensly (left) and Wensley (right). =) <3

A few verses that keep coming up in my devotions and readings are: Luke 18:10-11 and 13. And Luke 18:14, “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” And from the book Crazy Love by Francis Chan, he really put into words exactly how I have been feeling lately: “A person who is obsessed with Jesus knows that the sin of pride is always a battle. Obsessed people know that you can never be “humble enough,” and so they seek to make themselves less known and Christ more known.” I was very clear when coming into this that it wasn’t about me. I knew that I would be PART of the new programs going on here, but I wouldn’t be the one to make or break them. It has never been about me, not even for a minute. I recently have become extremely sensitive to the feelings of pride after thinking about how easy it would be for me to feel prideful at this time in my life. 

If I wasn’t being watchful for it, it would be so simple right now to have a false sense of “awesomeness” about myself for just doing what God has called me to do. I am literally told all the time “how great it is that I am in Haiti,” and “how proud my parents must be of me doing such a wonderful thing,” or “how great of a person I am for helping people in such a poor country.” All of those things make me feel uneasy and make me realize that some people don’t really ‘get it.’ Being in Haiti serving the Lord makes me no better than anyone else and it certainly doesn’t make me feel any better about myself, in fact I probably feel even worse some days! Some days I honestly ask God why he has decided to bring me here –see, sometimes I even doubt God’s plan – how can I even call myself a missionary!? Nobody should ever think just because someone does mission work, “they have it right and all figured out” because that couldn’t be farther from the truth. I am just as much of a sinner as everyone else is and I’m still working on figuring stuff out. I need to be reminded of the Fruits of the Spirit constantly and need to check myself to see if I actually am being fruitful. Anybody can give up material things for a few years and give some stuff to needy people, but what matters most is where your heart is and that’s what you need to constantly check. Just because God has chosen to stick me here right now doesn’t make me any different from those of you who are called to serve back home. My main point is this whole thing should never be about “me being IN HAITI and being such a great person for moving here.” (Again, so not true.) It’s about all that God is doing and it’s about furthering His kingdom wherever you are called to do so – whether we are at home working on witnessing to our neighbors or in Haiti working on witnessing to a witch doctor. We are all in the same boat!

                As most of you know from my previous blog, I’m a background girl and sometimes compliments are really hard for me to take. As I said, especially when our team gets told all the time, “you guys do such awesome work, you guys are so great for living there and working in a place like that every day,” etc. God has really been working on my heart recently and I have become very sensitive to these ‘compliments.’ Don’t get me wrong, encouragement is great! But sometimes I feel like the way things are said, aren’t necessarily focused on the Lord, they are more focused on “us being such great people.” I would so much rather hear, “wow I can really see God working here, the love of Jesus is oozing out of you!” I know most people don’t mean it bad when they give us compliments and I’m not saying they aren’t nice sometimes, but if I honestly let them all go to my head – it would probably explode with pride! I would also probably think this couldn’t be done without me, which couldn’t be farther from the truth. I am PART of God’s plan, it doesn’t revolve around me. We can all be part of God’s plan if we choose to be, but that doesn’t mean it’s about any of us. I think this is a good lesson for everyone to be reminded of and God has really been placing it on my heart. No matter where we are at in our faith walk or what country we are in, it’s not about us, it’s about making ourselves less known so that we can make Christ more known. We all have to work at picking up our cross daily and following our wonderful, powerful, and loving Savior.

                Ebens, Cassidy, Cliff, and I got to go visit Denilson last week and couldn’t have been more excited! Denilson is an 8 year old boy who was badly burned and Many Hands for Haiti has decided to get him the help he needs to heal. He is doing so well and we have posted many pictures of his recovery on the Many Hands for Haiti Facebook page, as well as on my own Facebook page. We will continue to give updates about him as we have them! Thank you so much for the prayers, he needs them! God has a great big plan for this beautiful child’s life! =)

                I am really looking forward to coming home December 18^th and we would really appreciate the prayers as we fly out that day. I have been craving the most random things like: milk, apples, green olives, pickles, and yogurt to name a few. Of course junk food is ALWAYS good to have around as well, but strangely enough that’s not what I miss the most! It will be so great to spend the holiday season with my family and friends! Can’t wait to see some of you back in Spencer soon! =)

Love,

Tampico

*in the details

The only one who can truly see the depth of my heart is The Lord. On the outside I do look like I’m focused on the details and background things – but God made me detail oriented for a reason. I like background things and like to recognize the needs of others before they can ask for something themselves. This is how God made me. Being front and center, in the spotlight, isn’t really my thing. I love doing things for people that not another soul knows I did. I like it when the person receiving a blessing doesn’t know where it even came from. I like finding and focusing on the ones who stay in the shadows and won’t come and ask for help on their own - - sometimes these are the ones who need the most help! Teams come and go and only hear bits and pieces of the story God is writing in me and sometimes I think it’s hard for them to actually understand my heart. I’m detail oriented, but I don’t think it’s a bad thing. In fact, I’m just realizing it might be one of the reasons why God has placed me here. People who stay in the background need to be noticed and loved just as much as those who come front and center asking for love and help.

I have also realized that no one can fill me up like Jesus can. When teams come down they are encouraging and it’s nice to hear a few pleasant words here and there. But my precious, loving, and mighty Savior is the only one who knows how to fill me up until I am truly overflowing. No matter what praises I do (or don’t) hear from people on earth, I know that my Heavenly Father is up there smiling down and I cannot wait until the day I see Him and He says, “well done, good and faithful servant!” The only thing that matters is that God knows my heart, He sees everything that goes on, and He has the power to fill me up every hour of every day. He can fill my cup like no one else can. I cling to this thought daily. What I have been called to do isn’t easy and shouldn’t be taken lightly. God never promised it would be a piece of cake though. However, He did promise to be with me always and that He would never leave me. That makes this crazy life a little easier to take!

Watch this video. It makes me want to melt into the arms of my Savior when I have had a bad day:

I Need Thee O I NeedThee - Acapella Arrangement - YouTube

Now, for what I have been up to while being in Haiti for 3 months now – CRAZY right?! Our Thrive for 5 program in Savanette is going SO well! I cannot express how cute and lovable the 120+ kids in our program are. They are beyond adorable and it literally makes my day to see their little faces. Cassidy and I have known all their names for a while now. The mothers in the program are so excited we know each of their children by name. The mothers and children trust us more and more each day and it feels so good to have such a wonderful group to be connected with. When someone has a cut that needs some attention, the children are not afraid anymore to come up to the front and show it to us. J We are becoming quite the little “nurses.” Every day we are beyond blessed to be part of this program.

When we are telling the Bible stories, sometimes I feel like it might be a little boring the way we present it because we are literally just reading from the Bible. In America we have Power Points, like five handouts, a project, a verse with actions, and a video to tell a Bible story. It’s not like that here. J I got to thinking the other day and it doesn’t really matter how we present these stories. We are sharing BIBLE stories with women and children who might not know how to read, or even own a Bible! It’s a huge deal! This could possibly even be the first time some of them have heard these stories, and that’s pretty awesome to be part of. I find one person every story that looks like they “get it” and if only one hears the story of the day and “gets it,” that’s enough for me.

We started an after school program and ran it for a month. It honestly got to be way too out of hand for 3 of us to handle so it has been stopped for now and will restart in January. It was huge and we weren’t able to go “an inch wide, and a mile deep” like the projects in Savanette are supposed to be. We have learned what we want to (and don’t want to) do next time, so it should be much better the second time around. Trial and error here folks!

We are also still teaching English and the hospital staff is still loving it. Good news is – since the time change 6AM class means it’s light out the whole hour we teach! J

And some even BETTER NEWS – my ringworm is practically gone!! J YAY!! Thank you Jesus for healing me! And thank you all for the prayers. I literally could not be here if I didn’t have the support and prayers of each one of you reading this. You have no idea how much I appreciate it and how thankful I am for you! J

XXO

Tampico 

#LessonsLearned

I’ve now been here for over two months and I am growing and being stretched every day. There have been two main things God has been teaching me that I just realized the other night as I was journaling. God has been more than faithful in answering my prayers to be challenged every day. In my “answered prayers” journal, #62 and #63 (from a while back) reflect this:

#62: God has answered my prayers to be challenged every day here. He pushes me to see the best in people – the way He sees them – even when I don’t feel like it. He continually nudges me to see people through His eyes. I need to remind myself to take a time out and think about how God sees them and pray about it. He is molding me into the person He wants me to be.

#63: I’m thankful God has answered my prayers and has been pushing and testing me in things like forgiveness and patience. I’m learning to put my faith in Him no matter how big or tiny I think something is. He will always fill me up with these things if I ask Him to.

Having my parents here from October 21-31 was exactly what I needed. As most of you know I’m super detail oriented and sometimes I really need to be reminded to step back and take a look at the big picture. The little things don’t ALWAYS matter. My mom and dad could not have been more encouraging in helping me see the big picture and how some of those little things I stress about, really don’t matter. I had really good talks with both of them and could not be more thankful for them! My dad said, “well if you would have opened one of my blessing cards, it would have had some of these encouraging words in it!” I told him I only picked them randomly. J  A night or two after they left, I decided to open a card that just said “encouragement” in the bottom corner of it – I thought that was fitting for the time. And who did it happen to be from? My DAD! J It said a lot of encouraging things like, “when opportunities knock her down, she’ll never let them keep her down for too long,” “a girl who truly knows the value of faith, family, friendship, and the gift of time,” and “who puts aside all judgment to share her unconditional love of the Lord.” I’m clearly human and I have a lot to work on, but I do want to strive for things like that. I want to remember daily to fully appreciate my family, friends, and to put my faith into action. I want to put my judgment aside and see people how the Lord does. I also want to cherish my time here, although it’s challenging, I would rather be pushed to my limits daily than live an easy life where I don’t have as many chances to put my faith into action.

Some days I’m exhausted and my fuse is shorter than ever and it’s hard for me to take the time to look at someone and see them the way Jesus does. But God has been working on my heart and I am constantly reminded throughout the day to see people with His eyes. When things annoy or frustrate me (and I actually take time to stop and think about it), I have lots of ugly annoying things inside of me as well, but God still loves me and sees the good in me. I want to have eyes like Jesus and see people the way He does, all the time. I’m a sinner and I focus on the wrong stuff at times, but I’m being taught to see the good in people every day here. Everyone has good in them, it’s up to me to have that attitude and look for it if I can’t see it right away.

God has also been showing me that patience is so important, and every day I need to be refilled with it by Him! It takes a lot of patience here and on days when I’m running low, I still have my bracelet on to remind me to shut my mouth and pray about it. My bracelet is actually a pretty helpful reminder, most of the time. I also made a new bracelet that is all purple – 4 shades – for every shade of patience/peace that I need. A light shade for when I just need a little prayer to help keep the peace with the team and relax. I also have up to a really dark shade of purple for when I need to pray for a huge amount of patience/peace when I’m going crazy. It has already made me stop and think – is this really worth getting upset about, or is keeping the peace and not worrying about details a better solution? Things don’t always have to go the way we think they do. Sometimes we take the longer route, but get to the same spot and I just have to be okay with that.

I moved here knowing it would be a challenge and I still want to be growing every day. I want to be pushed to grow in my faith and trust God more with big and little things. I want to be challenged to see the good in people even when I don’t feel like looking for it. I want to be reminded every day that life isn’t about having and keeping a schedule. I stop and think a lot more about what really matters in life and “sticking to the plan” never hits the top of my list. Life is about treating others the way Jesus would, sharing the love of Jesus with them, and it’s about making the person the priority – not the plan. Some days I’m tired and I really don’t feel like stopping at one more place to be a blessing to someone. But I am reminded that God always stops for me, and God has done more for me than I could have ever dreamed of. Learning lessons isn’t always “fun,” but throughout this journey God has been/will continue to mold me more and more into the person He wants me to be, with a heart like His – ultimately that is what I want too. I’m excited to grow even more from this beautiful, crazy journey.

Below is a picture of my beautiful parents and I at the top of the Citadel in Milot, Haiti. I couldn’t have been happier to share that experience with both of them! J

xxo

Love,

Tampico

P.S. I have a small case of ringworm on my arm – I would appreciate the prayers so it goes away! J Just general prayers for Cassidy and I would be great à to stay healthy as we work with so many people throughout the day that have illnesses. J God is stronger than any illness we run into, but prayers are always comforting too!!

a purpose driven life

I was brushing my teeth the other night and I noticed this ant in my sink. It was going back and forth, left then right, back around again, and literally had no direction at all. I was standing there thinking, “What the heck is it doing? What could it possibly be thinking right now? Do ants even have brains to think?!” I started to think about how boring life would be, to be roaming round in circles with no purpose really, and I realized that kind of used to be me! I was just like that ant at one point in my life. Roaming around from one thing to the next, never really sure what my purpose was, never sure what direction I was headed in, just going with the flow, going through motions of life, etc. At one point God was on the back burner in my life and I honestly didn’t really think much about what my purpose in life was or what He had planned for me. I was just off doing my thing and roaming around aimlessly.

I remember one evening in fall of 2012, before moving to Haiti was even a thought in my head, and before I had really started to grow in my faith. I was standing at the sink (yet again!) doing some dishes after work and started thinking about the purpose of our lives here on earth. I was standing there thinking to myself, “Wow, my weeks are all the same: work 9-5 Monday-Friday, come home, make dinner, do dishes, hang with friends on weekends, etc. If this is all I’m living for day after day, week after week, etc. it’s boring!!” I started to think about how I lived for something more than just life here on earth and if I didn’t have God in my life, I’d have nothing to truly live for and be excited about! I was reminded that everything we do in life should be a reflection of God. He should be constantly on our hearts and minds all day every day and we should always be working to show love to others as He would do. Little did I know at the time, a few months later my life would be turned upside down with the Holy Spirit nudging me to do what God had planned for my life. Even though days here are hard, frustrating, and exhausting at times; I still would rather be challenged endlessly every day than live a boring comfortable life where I never was pushed to my limits.

I opened a random “Blessings card” from my 6^th grade teacher Mr. Gude the other night. The front of the envelope read, “Bloom where you are planted.” That was the perfect reminder because sometimes I forget I need to just bloom right here, right now, in Haiti. This is where God has planted me in this season of life and I need to adapt to it and trust that He has a plan and a purpose here! Mr. Gude also goes on to talk about how my 6^th grade class required him to take a different approach to teaching. He didn’t necessarily like it (it wasn’t easy or comfortable for him at times) but he had to stick with it anyways. In the end, the benefits reaped were very much worth it. I also do not like every situation I am put in here, but every situation I face pushes me to grow in one way or another and I too will reap the benefits from them one day. I am learning to adapt. I am learning to trust God in EVERY hour of every day. I am learning to use prayer like I never have before. I am learning that He can change people’s hearts. I am learning how to be more patient. I am learning a new language. I am learning a new culture. I’m learning more about myself and about God than I ever have in my life! I’m thirsty for more of His word every day and I constantly want to be refilled and refreshed by my Savior. I cannot do any of this on my own and that has never been more apparent.

I also opened a card from my mom the other night because I needed some encouraging words from her. I found a beautiful note in there with a charm that said “Be strong.” It’s so cool to see God place the exact words I need to hear, at the exact time I need to hear them! :) She had cut out the words of the song “10,000 Reasons (Bless The Lord)” in the card as well. I was sitting there reading the words to a song I’ve listened to hundreds of times and I was reminded that it’s true. Even in moments where I feel like I have about zero things to be thankful for – I truly have over 10,000 reasons to praise God. I don’t deserve anything He has given me. Not one thing! I fail Him every day. And yet He continues to love me, to bless me, to encourage me, and He continues to give me glimpses of hope when I need them the most. I am blessed by every single thing He has given me in this life – challenges and all – good and bad. I owe Him praises all day long. No matter how crappy I think my day has been. 

Love

Tampico

attitudes, cuts, & welts, OH MY!!

I had my first bump in the road here last week! I can’t pretend that every day is fun and games here because it’s really tough some days. This culture is so different than my personality and if you know me at all you would know how true this is. I am very matter of fact, by the books, focused on rules and every last detail, etc. and that’s just not how life is here. Last week I was getting so frustrated and just needed to take a little break. I was so thankful for the weekend because I needed to recharge and refocus my heart because it was getting off track with God and my attitude needed to be checked.

I am so thankful for the people God has placed in my life at this very specific time. My parents, Cassidy (my roommate), Jesse (my friend), and Tim (my boss) – they all reminded me to focus on the good things, see the good in people, and continue to pray for strength and patience every day. There is so much good in people around here but sometimes I get so focused on the other details I need to be reminded of that! I also needed to be reminded that change here takes time and progress isn’t going to happen immediately. They have all reminded me that God is with me wherever I go and whatever I do. I’m not going to change this culture or succeed at making rules for them to follow – it’s never going to happen. And that’s not why God called me here. I’m here to teach kids about God and show people the love of Jesus. I’m here to worship with them, laugh with them, cry with them, and live alongside them. While doing all of this – I’m reminded daily that God needs to be center of my day, all day long. Remembering that and praying when I want to pull my hair out keeps me grounded and able to see the good in the situations we face. I also made a “friendship” bracelet with two strands to be a daily reminder to me. One strand is to remind me to keep my mouth shut when I want to say “well this is how it should be done” and one strand to remind me to pray about it. God is changing my heart and I have chilled out, but I still need a daily reminder – so this bracelet isn’t coming off anytime soon! J

Tim sent out this quote to all of our MH4H team and it couldn’t have been more perfect for what I needed to hear last week -

                “I used to pray that God would feed the hungry, or do this or that, but now I pray that he will guide me to do whatever I’m supposed to do, what I can do. I used to pray for answers, but now I’m praying for strength. I used to believe that prayer changes things, but now I know that prayer changes us and we change things.” – Mother Teresa

So NOW after my attitude was refreshed - this past week was much better! J The first week of our Thrive for 5 program I noticed this little boy, Lensly, had a cut on his hand. It was like the size of an almond on his tiny little hand and it was fleshy/open, really raised, and looked like it was kind of pussing. It was pretty bad and looked like it had been that way for a while. One day he was sitting in the front row so we called him up to put a Band-Aid on his hand and prayed over it. We had been cleaning it with alcohol pads, putting Neosporin and a Band-Aid on it for a few days and the end of last week it was looking worse. So Monday we continued to do the same thing, and it kept looking the same but we were not sure what else to do. On Wednesday we called Lensly to the front again and took off his Band-Aid to find it looked SO much better! Cassidy and I looked at each other with huge eyes that said to each other, “Woah! Only God could heal this thing!” It honestly looked like it needed much more than just Neosporin and a Band-Aid, but that was all we had. The cut isn’t raised anymore and looks like it is healing properly and almost looks like a scar. God can heal anything and I can see that first hand here! As I said, there’s no way it could have healed that well within a week and a half with just Neosporin, it was a nasty cut! God is the ultimate healer though and He has the power to heal even the worst cuts! All we have to do is trust in Him. J And that’s comforting. We do what we can, with what we have, and God will do the rest!

On Thursday we were riding back from Savanette on the motorcycles and our friend Natao got hit in the shin with a big rock. It was a huge welt RIGHT on his shin and he was in a ton of pain. An ice pack and ibuprofen wasn’t helping so he wanted to go visit one of his doctor friends to see if it was okay but we couldn’t find his friend. So we decided to stop at the hospital and look around for our doctor friends who are in our English class there. We were walking in and praying that we would see someone we recognized! (There are usually 45 in our class and usually no electricity in the room at 6AM so we use flashlights – and it’s hard to see all the faces!) We were walking down the hospital hallway and at the end we see a very familiar face with a big smile waving at us. J We said “We need your help! – Nou bezwen ou ede!” Funny things is we just taught them that saying that morning – I don’t believe in coincidences! ;) All the nurses wanted to help and brought Natao in immediately and checked his leg out, gave him a shot, and wrote him a prescription. We were walking to the pharmacy in the hospital and realized none of us had any money on us because we left in such a hurry. We were saying this to each other and the pharmacist walking by overheard and told us to come anyways. He gave us the prescription ibuprofen for free because we were his English teachers. J The hospital treats missionaries for free anyways, but in this situation we weren’t the ones needing the help, it was our friend – and they were still generous! God was definitely present in that entire situation that day. We found the people and got the things we needed and that was only because of God!

After having such a crappy end of the week the previous week, I feel like this entire week has been so much better! I have been clearly able to see God working here and He is certainly changing my heart to look at the people instead of just the details of the projects we are working on. The children we work with in the Thrive for 5 program are absolutely adorable and they make my job so fun! J Every single day we have more kids that want to hug us, hold our hands, high five us, and just smile at us in general. The parents are warming up to us more and more each day as well. It feels good to be accepted in Pignon and Savanette and begin to grow our network of friends. J God’s doing some big things here and I can’t wait to see where this adventure goes!

Thank you so much for the continued prayers! There are joys and struggles every day and prayers are what we need the most! J

Xxo

Tampico

p.s. below is a picture of Lensly and his hand! :) he's a doll!

F.R.O.G (fully rely on God)

Alo!

Our last week has been a little crazy, which is why it has taken me so long to write!

Zeke is our Haitian boss and last Sunday his father was hit by a motorcycle while he was going to get some avocados. He was doing pretty bad for a while and wasn't responding to very much. We went and prayed with him last Tuesday and it was quite the experience. On the way out, the young man who hit him was lying in the next bed over. He wasn't even close to how bad of shape Zeke’s dad was in, but he had a small head injury. On our way out Zeke told us this was the man who hit his dad and that we could stop and pray with him if we wanted too. So we stopped and prayed. I was shocked that Zeke was even considering it, this is the man who caused his father so much pain and he still wanted to stop and pray with him. The young man started to tear up a little and you could tell he felt so awful, but at the same time he was able to see the power of forgiveness and prayer. I am so thankful that Zeke’s faith is so strong that he was able to show this man love and compassion immediately after this devastating situation happened to his own father.

That night (Tuesday) Cassidy and I were feeling kind of down and I felt like it would be a good time to open a “blessing” card. Before I left we had a small going away party and my mom had people bring a “blessing” card for me to open on rough days while I was away. That was the perfect day for one! I grabbed a random one and it happened to be from Paul Rekow. It said, “One thing I remember from our first trip to Haiti, was how much Haitian’s relied on God for EVERYTHING!! It may be hard sometimes to understand God’s plan, but always remember to trust in Him.” I wasn't even surprised that this was EXACTLY what I needed to hear at that moment because that is how God works! (Thank you Lord!! And thank you Paul for the reminder!!) :)

On Thursday morning we were at the hospital for a meeting and as we were walking out, a nurse stopped Zeke and said that his father was speaking again!! We went and saw him right away, he said he was thirsty and was asking for water. The nurse said, “even the doctors were not expecting this, they say this could only be because of The Lord!” It seemed like everything was turning around and we were so excited, but sometimes God has different plans. Friday morning I got a call at 7:30AM that Zeke’s father had passed away a few hours before. It was devastating news to hear and I was shocked. The funeral was this past Tuesday and it was so sad to see one of our closest friends going through such a rough time. I am so thankful that our team could be here to support Zeke and his family during this rough time. Everyday Cassidy and I learn more about this amazing beautiful culture, and one thing we know: God is so powerful and can do anything! Loving one another and being there for each other is so important as well!

Last Monday we started the Thrive for 5 program in Savanette. It has been going great so far! We have 101 kids signed up and most of them have been showing up every day so far. We have singing time, a Bible story, crafts, and we feed them at the end. We see these children Monday through Friday for about 2 hours each day. We also have a health agent from the hospital that will come once a week and vaccinate children and make sure they are staying healthy. All 101 kids are ADORABLE!! It has been so fun signing these kids up – but taking some of their picture's has been another story! Some of them are so young, our "blanc" skin scares them. :) They are warming up to us though!!

Today our morning started off at 6AM teaching English at the Hospital in Pignon. It went really well. We had about 20 people in there for our first class! This will be a great opportunity for these doctors and nurses to know more English and for us to learn more Kreyol in the process. I'm excited for this class to continue and to get to know each of the people individually. They seem like a very bright and fun group and it will be great to have even more friends in town we can chat with!

Cassidy and I were walking home by ourselves for a few blocks today and a group of guys was walking by. One guy says, “Do you speak Kreyol?” We both look at him and say, “Itsy bitsy, we are learning.” He says, “You know what I mean when I say, ‘Ou renmen mwen?’” We look at each other; shake our heads and yell, “HUH UH SIR, NON JODIA!!!!” Huh uh, not today sir, not today! No, we do not love you like that! He laughed, his friends laughed, and so did we – I can’t wait until we know everything that everyone is saying to us so we can reply to it all! :)

Even on days when we run out of power, run out of water, when there’s a million ants running around our table, when we find a lizard in the house (and then lose it again), etc. I am still so thankful to be here. When we ran out of power the other night I was lying in bed at 7PM in pitch black listening to the rain, thinking about how dependent we are on power - we feel like we can’t do anything without it. We even begin to feel desperate without access to charging our computers, phones, Nooks, cameras, etc. it is crazy when you really think about it. I want my relationship to be like that with God, all the time – not just when I am in Haiti and have to be so dependent on Him with day to day things. I want this neediness for my King to continue to take over me and I want to cling to Him all day every day, not just when it is convenient for me. We think we need power and electricity to live and function every day, but the only thing we really need to function is God. He will always take care of the rest! :)

That’s all for now!

Dako, na we! (Okay, see ya!)

Tampico

i love my life!

Bonjou!

The bikes are being worked on right now, so I have a little time to blog while finishing my coffee! Perfect Friday morning! :)

I should start of by saying why I am called Tampico. When my name is pronounced here it usually sounds like "eader" or "either" - and since that isn't what I am used to hearing, sometimes I don't answer. So last time I was here in Feb. 2013 I thought I needed a nickname because I didn't want to be called "eader" forever! I was obsessed with finding the juice drink Tampico while we were here - we had to go out on special runs just to find it some days! So our Haitian friends decided that should be my nickname since I like it so much. My mom wanted to find a t-shirt for me so she contacted the company to ask about buying one. The Facebook manager of the Tampico Beverages Official page wrote my mom a very nice email back and then sent a box of Tampico gear to my house!! I was so pumped!!! I got some Tampico drinks, t-shirts, stickers, visors, water bottles, and back sacks! They only asked that I send pictures of myself using the stuff while in Haiti - so this is why I have been uploading photos of my gear on Facebook. If you haven't tried the juice drink, you must! Li anpil bon! (It's very good!!)

The past two weeks we have been out riding around on motorcycles in Savanette all day. We have been finding kids to sign up for the Thrive for 5 program (starting Monday, Sept. 2) and the after school program (starting in October.) Sometimes we go house to house, and other times we make an announcement so they all gather at one place and time for us. It has been so cool to meet all these kids and get to know more about each of them. The Thrive for 5 kids (0-5 year olds, not in school) get a little scared of us sometimes though and don't always want their picture taken! I have noticed a definite change in the children and the adults as we pass through the streets every day. Usually the children yell "BLANC!!!" at you when you're riding through, which they sometimes still do, but things have changed. I feel like we get more smiles and waves from adults every day and the children aren't just yelling BLANC at us anymore. Woody (our awesome Haitian co-worker) tells us they are saying "oh look at the nice people on the bikes!" but who knows! ;) They are excited to see us around more and it makes me so happy that the people in our community are welcoming us more and more each day with these simple gestures. I can't wait until these programs start and we can get to know them even better!

Most of the parents that we talked to were concerned that we were trying to start an orphanage and didn't want to give their children up. As soon as they found out we just wanted to feed their children in the morning, share Bible stories with them, and play with them for a few hours each day - they were pumped!! They were excited to be able to get some things done on their own while their child would be cared for and fed at the same time. I am so thankful for Tim's vision for this Thrive for 5 program and I cannot wait to see how it takes off.

Cassidy and I have been fitting in here more and more each day! We have been having the best time! (If you have seen any of my Facebook pictures you would know that!) From laughing and killing bugs at night, hand washing our own clothes, drying clothes on the roof, cleaning off the roof so the drains aren't clogged, heading to market, etc. we feel like we are getting the full Haitian life experience and it has been fantastic! We have had so many laughs with each other and our Haitian friends, our days just fly! I am so happy that we both were blessed with this opportunity and that God had this planned for our lives at this very moment. I was placing some dishes in the sink this morning and thinking to myself "there is no place on earth I would rather be at this moment." Only God can fill me with such a peace about living in a foreign place far away from my family and friends. :)

I started a new book the other night called "The Prayer Dare" by Ron Kincaid and I love it so far! It challenges you to go deeper in prayer with God than you ever have before. I'm only 4 small chapters in and it's working!! I have been reminded that God cares about even my smallest prayers and has answered 15 specific prayers I have had in the last 3 days - wow!!! Sometimes I forget to ask God for little things like: a small breeze when I'm so hot, to keep the rain from coming so we could finish getting kids signed up, to keep us safe on the bikes each day, to protect us when I accidentally splashed some contaminated water in our mac and cheese, and just for patience during the day. He has answered all of these prayers, and more!!! I can't wait to continue keeping a journal of all the specific prayers He has answered! I know I serve an amazingly powerful God, but I'm human - so I need to be reminded of how awesome He really is sometimes. I feel like my faith has been even more refreshed in my short time here! :) and it's only been two weeks!!!!!! :)

Feel free to add me to Facebook if you want daily updates and to be able to see all the pictures Cassidy and I post every day! You'll know you found the right Heather Brown when you find the Tampico banner at the top of my page! :)

Thanks again for the continued prayers! Cassidy and I can feel them every day! We cannot express how much we each appreciate them! If you would like to hear Cassidy's stories you can follow her blog here. You can also check out the Many Hands for Haiti webpage here if you are interested in sponsoring a child in this new Thrive for 5 program (should be available on there soon!) :) WARNING: all these children are adorable!!! :) The MH4H website has a letter from us and some pictures from our first week here so check it out for more details on this journey.

Mesi bokou!!! (Thank you so much!!!)
Love,
Tampico

Haiti Life!!!

Bonswa!!

Sorry it has taken me so long to update! Cassidy and I are officially living in Pignon!!! WOOHOO! We have had a great couple days and we are so grateful for all the prayers that you have been praying! Thank you! :)

While we were on the plane I was thinking about my first trip to Haiti. Literally every leg of that trip (from Cedar Falls to Spencer, Spencer to Omaha, Omaha to Florida, Florida to Haiti) I was thinking to myself "it's okay, you can still back out now, you're not there yet!" When we landed on the runway in Cap-Haitian that first time I thought, "well, now I officially can't back out." I was thinking about that in the plane on this trip because backing out never even came into my mind as an option this time. Leaving was the weirdest feeling I have ever had though. It was like my body and mind were like "okay time to freak out, you're MOVING TO HAITI!" but my soul, heart, and my gut were like "this is going to be awesome, this is where you are meant to be!" I had this total peace and comfort and I can only explain it like that because I know that every one of the prayers you prayed for us that day were answered! We were totally in Jesus's hands and I could feel it, His peace has never been so real! :)

We got into the country just fine even though I was freaking out about that a little! We got comfortable Saturday night and unpacked and hung out with our Haitian friends and learned a little Kreyol. (Wi Wi!)

Sunday we went to church up at Guimby - Spencer Hope is one of the churches that sponsors this school so it was fun to see all those familiar faces. We had to walk across the little river to get to church because the roads were too bad to drive on - it felt amazing!! :)

Monday we sat at our table the WHOLE day and wrote out sheets for the kids in the 'Thrive for 5' program and the Pella Christian after school program. Woody (our wonderful co-worker) was so great, he already went out and found the 122 kids in the Thrive for 5 program and the 127 kids in the after school program. So we had to transfer that information to other sheets and then today we went out to the towns and got all the rest of the information about their families, parents financial situation, favorite subjects, etc. - all things their sponsors would like to know. We got to ride motorcycles out there and it was a blast riding around on those things!!! :) We are officially Haitian biker babes!!

Not totally sure what we have planned for the rest of the week, and even if we had it planned out it would probably change. :) Just wanted to update everyone and let you know that things are going GREAT! Cassidy and I both feel so at peace here and we know in our heart of hearts that this is where we are supposed to be!! I cannot thank all my family and friends enough for all the prayers that you have prayed! Like I said - we can feel them! Bondye Bon! (God is good!!)

Something I am the most thankful for today: Woody as a co-worker!
New Kreyol word of the day: fou (crazy!) :)

Thanks again! (Mesi!)
Goodnight!!! (Bon nwit!)
Tampico

ok seriously- now I'm really leaving in 2 weeks!

WOOHOO!!

It's official folks - plane tickets booked - I'm leaving in less than two weeks!! AHHH! I am so excited and ready to go, just need to finish a little packing!! My two big Wal-mart runs have me stocked up on a few necessities like: contact solution, fly swatters, sunscreen, chapstick, deodorant, allergy medicine, vitamins & calcium chews, soy sauce, mio/water flavor packets, coffee creamer, vanilla musk (perfume that doubles as bug spray so I don't have to wear that smelly sticky junk everyday!!), lots of journals, etc! I think I should be prepared for almost anything! :)

Since I moved back to Spencer in May I have been helping at the Many Hands Market. Most of you should know - but in case you don't - it is a higher end thrift store that is totally not your typical thrift shop (no popping tags please.) It has been fun getting things ready there and seeing the opening, but I am ready to move down to Haiti and start some projects in a new place.

The house in Savanette isn't done yet, so Cassidy and I will be living in Pignon to start. It will be fun to see all my good friends who live there, and to be able to chat with teams as they come every week. It will make the move a little easier too!

School is out for the summer so we won't start the after school program for the Pella Christian school until the fall - I think October. In the mean time we will be helping launch a new program called "Thrive to Five" and I am beyond excited for it! We will help pick out 100-150 kids right in the Savanette area that are 0-5 years old and invite them to come to our place to be fed 5 days a week. Kids who are older than 5 usually are sponsored and attend school and get fed there so we want to reach the LITTLE little ones who typically are not fed as much! We will also be taking them to the hospital and making sure they have all their needed shots. Every week/every other week we will be talking to their mothers and giving them tips on how to keep their children healthy. Basic healthcare 101! We will also be making chlorine to give to the children to take home - with 12 drops of it you can purify a liter of water in 30 minutes. Whenever they have used up their chlorine, they will bring it back to us and we will give them another small container of it. For those of you who know how awful I was in science, the news of me making chlorine terrifies you I'm sure! :) Bible stories will also be shared with the mothers and their children so we can meet their physical needs as well as their spiritual needs! I can't wait to get started!

I know these next two weeks will fly! I will update when I get down there, but in the mean time I could always use the prayers!

Bon nwit!
Tampico

30+ days and COUNTING FOLKS!!

Bonswa from Spencer!

Well, it has been one full day since I left Cedar Falls. I said goodbye to all my wonderful friends, my fun job, and the church that I love yesterday and moved  back to my hometown Spencer, Iowa. It's such a weird feeling saying goodbye to my friends that I have seen every week for years, and not knowing the next time I will see them. My whole drive home though, I was at complete peace that THIS is what God wants for my life - and that makes everything easier. 

God has been working in my life so much in the past 15 months and I cannot deny that He is calling me to Haiti. God has opened door after door and I will continue to walk through them as He opens them. I have never been so excited for the next chapter of my life! All the "unknowns" of this new adventure should scare me more, but I know that God has my back!

I will be moving to Savanette, Haiti with Cassidy in a month or so (30+ days). We will be working for Many Hands for Haiti. We will be running an after school program for the Pella Christian School there, and working with the women in the Savanette community with their jewelry business. 

Until I leave, I will be packing and making sure I have everything I need for the first 6 months. In case you didn't know - 6 months is a LONG time to pack for!! I will be posting a list of all the necessities later to give you an idea of what it takes. :)

Please keep me in your prayers as I continue to prepare for this exciting new journey. 

Na we pita! (See you later!)
Heather 
Aka Tampico :) - I will explain later