Post Haiti Reflections

God broke my heart for the least, the lost, and the broken.

Stepping away from an experience like a short-term mission trip, there's always a lot of processing that happens. While I still feel like I'm very much in the midst of a lot of wrestling and processing, I thought I would take some time to share a bit of the experience.

1. God blessed us with a phenomenal team of students. Seriously, this group was top-notch in a lot of ways. Never have I been a part of a team that cared for each other so well. There's some cruddy stuff that students have been walking through this year, and we learned quickly that we're a bunch of broken and messed up people. Yet, this team loved on each other in a way I can't really explain other than to say God pieced this team together exactly as it needed to be.

2. God is on the move in Haiti. Haiti has been wrecked in a lot of ways over the past year, especially in the wake of the recent earthquake. Yet in the midst of physical devastation, God has been piercing through the darkness. There is a movement of His Spirit that is raising up a generation that, I believe, will rock the nation of Haiti with God's love.

3. My life was always intended to be about loving people to Jesus. Okay, so this wasn't my "sentence" that I walked away with from our debrief time, but it was an overriding theme for me personally nonetheless. My world has been rocked in this past year as I've considered time and time again God's calling on my life. I've wrestled through a lot of fears, a lot of doubts, and a lot of insecurities. And God's message along the way has always been clear: I have called you to love people to me. (There is sure to be more on this to come!)

4. Thank you is not enough! I can't possibly come away from an experience like Haiti without thanking everyone who came behind it. So, thank you to those of you who supported us financially. Thank you for your investment in lives here and abroad. Thank you to those of you who covered us in prayer. I have seen and met those you have been interceding for, and their lives have been changed through your faithfulness to lift them up. Time and time again I shared with people how I was overwhelmed by how God was opening doors and answering prayers. You played a significant role in that. Thank you doesn't seem like enough to say considering the impact you've made abroad. But thank you just the same!

As I said earlier, there is much more processing to come and likely more posts concerning Haiti and my experiences there. But for now...glory to God for all He has done, is doing, and will continue to do!