Glimpses

We went home yesterday.  Many of the children from the orphanage are not originally from Port au Prince.  Their relatives are still in Gonaives, a city about 4 hours north of here.  And so, at early o'clock, we packed the big truck with supplies and mattresses and sleepy-eyed children, and we went home.  I'll share more about that journey and experience in another post when I have more time to process through things...  

As we traveled through Haiti, we caught glimpses of homes and lives and people.  

 

These glimpses of unknown people living their very different lives in homes and circumstances so far beyond my reality got me to thinking about home.  I have many homes.  Places where I feel welcomed and comfortable.  Places where I have a keen sense of belonging.  My mom's house on the hillside overlooking the most beautiful sunsets in New Hampshire, my sisters' homes - one out in the woods and the other stuck right in the middle of the city, and a house full of dear sister-like friends that is aptly named "The Right Place."  These are my homes. 

But there are other times when I have this same sense of home. Climbing familiar trails and sitting on the rocky tops of mountains, sitting "criss-cross applesauce" in a circle with a room full of preschoolers looking forward to another Bible story, being greeted with hugs and settling into a seat in a high school auditorium surrounded by church family on Sunday mornings, sharing countless meals and lots of laughter with good friends, or sitting cramped in a truck on a long journey through the Haitian countryside.  These places and situations aren't home, but there is something about them that makes them feel like home.  In these moments, I think I'm catching glimpses of something more.  I'm beginning to wonder if that feeling of home and family, the sweetness of being known and knowing, of belonging and accepting and sharing in life together, if these are all just glimpses of what is to come. 

The gifts of home and togetherness and belonging are certainly given to us by a gracious and loving Father who cares for His children. I'm thinking today as I process through the countless glimpses from yesterday's journey, that maybe those places and moments and relationships that give us that feeling of home are just glimpses of the Home that is to come.  Maybe this is part of what that psalmist speaks of when he says, "I believe I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living." ~Psalm 27:13.

I'm praying for a more aware heart and mind to see and experience these glimpses of the Home God is giving us.  A home where there will be perfect peace and belonging and togetherness that will not be marred by arguments or division or separation.  For now, I'm praying for thankfulness for these glimpses of what is to come!

And I'm thankful for you and the ways that you have shared the love of Christ with me to help me remember His faithfulness in the present!  With much love in Christ, Jessie

Hands

Meet Yvoinette.  She is one of the nannies at the boy's home.  Every morning she comes to the home with her little boy Wiskinley in tow and spends the day cooking and cleaning and caring for the children.  She is a sweet-natured woman with a streak of spunk and humor.  She has one of those addictive laughs that makes you smile even though you don't know why.  

Yesterday she delivered a beautiful dinner to me as a special treat. As I thankfully ate the meal, I was struck by how her hands are being used to share God's love with those around her.  Every time she washes a little boy's dirty dish or cleans a diaper or cooks yet another monsterous pot of rice and beans, she is loving.  Her hands are very much used to share the love and care of Christ for these boys.  Although this work isn't glorious and must be tiring and tedious in many ways, it is like catching a glimpse of the servant-heartedness of our Lord to see her hands at work.

At the same time that Yvoinette's hands were busy serving, two of the big boys, Jovenel and Richardson, were using their hands to create.  They have worked hard, with the help of some kind men to supervise, to build their own fort.  What fun and creativity are manifest in the work of these young hands!  I went with them yesterday to sign out some tools for them to use in upgrading "their house."  You could almost hear the gears in their minds turning as they imagined what kind of roof they would put on the fort and how they might make a cement floor.  Even with their unstructured time of summer vacation, the boys were using their hands to build and create, as an echo of their God who is the original Creator.

And so today, as I sit in meetings about summer school and take time to visit with the boys, I'm thinking about how my hands are being used.  Are they being used to tear down or to build up?  Are they sitting idle or are they at work in ways that honor my Savior?  My prayer today is that each moment I would be reminded that the works of my hands are able to praise my God and echo His care for those around me!  With much love in Christ, Jessie 

Heroes

I've been having some difficulties with the lock on the door to the missionary apartment above the boy's home.  Yesterday I had many little heroes who came running up the stairs wanting to help with the persnickety lock. They holler as they clamber up the stairs, "Miss Jessica, we will help!" 

Even as I'm frustrated at my own shortcomings and silly little struggles, I can't help but smile at these little heroes who come to save the day!
As I have these few days before the teachers' institute starts and can spend the days with the children, I'm recognizing the need we all have for a hero.  Someone who will step into our mess and struggles, whether they be a literal or figurative locked door...  These orphaned children have experienced life with so much loss and know keenly what it is to be in need.  They have been the victims of so many villains, and are so desperate to know a true hero.  

Of course, there are kind and caring people who look after them now, but even these loving care-givers can't provide the ultimate saving that these little ones need.  They need a true Hero, a true Savior who will save them completely from the sin and brokenness of their lives.  He is the same Hero who continually meets me in my need and pours out love and grace into my life.  I'm so thankful for this time to share this Hero with these kiddos!

Prayers for you all to know and experience our Hero, our loving Savior as He meets you in the ups and downs of your daily life and constantly hollers! "I will help you!"  Love in Him, Jessie