a long overdue update!

Leslee, Amy, myself, and Kayla with the kiddos!
They had no problems making friends in the village!

The summer months were a complete whirlwind of activity that left little extra free time.  I'm not sure how September is already just a few weeks away!  Once again our clinic was blessed to have four student nurses come to serve with us!  Carli, Lindsey, Amy, and Kayla are junior and senior level students that chose to leave their homes, families, and jobs to work in the clinic at NVM!  I loved watching as each of them truly jumped right into life here in Haiti.  They were quick to learn Creole and truly served each person they met well.  They learned some new nursing skills but even more importantly I loved watching them grow in their relationships with Christ.  I watched as they learned to combine their faith and nursing skills.  There were moments that truly humbled me as I watched them pray over different patients in the clinic.  They saw each person as more than just a diagnosis or clinical need.  Each of these young women made an impact in the lives of the patients they cared for and the children they spent every afternoon playing with.

Carli and Lindsey in the village!  

Another HUGE highlight of my summer was having my sisters, Mila and Yarley, come for a visit!  I love the moments when my Indiana family and Haiti family are together.  Watching my sisters play and love on all of my little friends was priceless.  I typically feel like I have two separate lives, one in Indiana and a completely different one in Haiti.  My Haiti family really doesn't know my Indiana family and vice versa.  It's in these rare moments when family comes to visit here that these lives get mixed.  I love to show off my kiddos and to watch as my family falls in love with the people and country of Haiti.  The children all loved getting to spend time with my sisters and are already excited for them to come back again!

Rose, Yarley, and Mykel

Mila and Dashline

Loved watching Aaron serve!  I've known him since the day he was born and felt
SO honored to watch as he pursued his relationship with Christ in such a real way. 

In July I had the opportunity to join Beaver Dam Church on a trip to Jacmel, Haiti.  Beaver Dam is the church I attended until I was in middle school.  This church has supported me financially, through prayer, they have hosted meals, collected multiple suitcases full of supplies for me, sent me encouraging notes, and so much more for the last three years.  This is a church that has truly loved me well.  I was honored to be asked to join the team as a guest for the week!  The week was packed full of activities and church services.  What impacted me the most was watching as this group of high school students pursued their faith.  It isn't easy to be a Christian as an adult, let alone a teenager in high school.  They asked lots of hard questions and they truly desired to know more.  I watched as Pastor Butch, Jim, Sue, and Rob invested into the lives of these students.  They encouraged the group daily and let them know that they were literally waiting for them to come and talk about absolutely anything.  The week spent in Haiti was just the beginning for this group of students.

The Beaver Dam Church team!

After the crazy of summer, Leslee and I were blessed with the opportunity to slip away for a little vacation in the Dominican Republic!  It was amazing to have some time to simply relax and to allow my brain to shut off for a few days.  Life here is pretty non-stop with projects or someone always needing something.  Having time away to just be was such a blessing.  Typically my "vacation" time is spent in Indiana where it is filled with trying to see all of my family, friends, and supporters.  Having a true vacation where there was no calendar filled with events, no cell phone service, and days filled with nothing but time by the pool was refueling.  

Attempting to work some of the energy out of the kiddos by
doing jumping jacks!  Clearly we need more practice=)

As amazing as relaxing by the pool was, it was pretty great to get back to Haiti to all of my little friends.  They were FULL of energy when Leslee and I arrived in the village to play.  I feel blessed to have had a summer full of meeting new people, time with my family, and time away to personally rest and refuel.  

Another way to use up some extra energy is to have the kiddos run races!
This is one of their favorite things to do!