Haiti 2014: Day 1

My second missions trip. And to think! God sent me to the country across from where I was last year! Going to Haiti has changed my life. I hope God sends me there again, and soon.

We woke up bright and early on Tuesday morning to head to the airport. One sweet woman in our group woke up early enough to get ready and make cookies!

My beautiful friend, Rose, is the one who invited me.

Pretending I'm wide awake.

We landed in Port-Au-Prince and finally found all of our very many bags. Then we got our first taste of Haitian driving. It was exhilarating! There are random goats everywhere. Each one is someone's livelihood.

Photo by Elisabeth

So many of the buildings have cartoons on them. Micky Mouse, Donald Duck, Dora.

There are mountains all around, which is very different from where I was in Dominican Republic.

When we arrived at My Father's Guesthouse, we are welcomed warmly and served dinner. Everywhere we went we were welcomed warmly. It was so amazing! After dinner we enjoyed the upstairs balcony. It is beautiful and refreshing up there.

Dixie and Gloria

See all that luggage? And that's not even all of it!

The view off the balcony.

After relaxing for a while we got right back to work. Sorting through all the ministry items we had was not a small job! I'm so thankful we could bring so much the Haiti, though, and take so much less home.

Before we left we decided to make about one hundred twenty bags to give out at the ladies conference on Thursday and Friday. But of course we could not do this alone! So, we asked several ladies from several different places to help us. We thought it was a good way for people to bless the Haitians even if they could not go with us. And the women were so grateful and loved the bags. Thanks you Lord for servants that bless.

Tarnisha sorting bags

Photo by Elisabeth

We ended each day with devotions. A time to share, a time to remember, a time to relax. A good time.

Thus ends the first day. And it has been a week today since we got back.

New Life

It is springtime. New life. Blooming, throbbing, fresh. Its a good time to be living.

My sister on her 17th. I think she's beautiful.

The smudge in the sky appeared on the lens after a beach trip one time.... Much cleaning will not erase it. :( I could touch up the photo though...

My Granddaddy died on the 14th. It was so hard seeing him in that hospital bed so tiny compared to his usually healthy self. So weak he couldn't sit in a chair without flopping over. His hands, though. They were still big and masculine at his death. They could give a tight, hearty, loving squeeze all the way to the very end. He loved his food. And that was what he could no longer enjoy these last days, weeks. One of his favorite things was a Carolina Burger. A hamburger with all the trimmings. Pizza was another favorite.  Fried apples and fried chicken. Sweet-potato casserole and greens. Chicken liver and gizzards. He was craving a fudge-sicle the day before and the day of his death. He was asking everybody for one. He asked the nurses, the doctors, his children, his grandchildren; anyone who came into his room or called him on the phone. "Do you think you could get me a fudge-sicle?" Mom bought him a box of 12. He ate a small bight of one and said that was enough. It wasn't as good as it used to be. Nothing on earth could satisfy him. It brought him closer to Jesus. But all the time he was sick he never lost his sense of humor and teasing. One time Dad was asking the nurse about something to do with the blood she was giving him and Granddaddy asked, "What about the bloodhounds?!" He was kidding us. His hearing was very good and he gave a wink as he said it. Dad was puzzled for a bit but we all got a good laugh out of it! I think the nurses were touched by his joyful attitude even in hardest of times. One time he told nurse Rick, "I'm somewhere between earth and heaven." I love you Granddaddy. I always will. I look forward to seeing you again!
The hospital he was at had this very unique piece of art in the parking area. The men began to saw and the dogs tail wagged when the wind blew the fan around. I love how colorful it is!

I also love this piece!

And the fountain! It was nice to cool off in the mist on the hot days. At night, there were colored light at the bases of each fountain, making the whole thing look brilliant!

Can you imagine how long it took to paint this?!

Wisteria smells so amazing! 

Does anyone with good eyes ever wonder what it is like to have bad eyes? Well I have bad eyes and I thought it would be kinda cool to show you what the world looks like to me when I take my glasses off. So this is my sister being my model.

And this is what my house looks like from my driveway.

Buttercups. They sound so delicious!

This was a very random post. Like most of my posts.... 

I leave for Haiti on Tuesday.

Emily Dickinson

"I have neglected the one thing needful when all were obtaining it, and I may never, never again pass through such a season as was granted us last winter.... I am not happy, and I regret that last term, when that golden opportunity was mine, that I did not give up and become a Christian. It is not now too late, so my friends tell me, so my offended conscience whispers, but it is hard for me to give up the world."
~Emily Dickinson~

To Make a Prairie It Takes a Clover

To make a prairie it takes a clover and one bee,
One clover, and a bee,
And revery.
The revery alone will do,
if bees are few.
~Emily Dickinson~

A New Umbrella

A new umbrella calls for a picture, right? Especially when the new umbrella is as cool as this one! And though the sun was shining brightly with no rain in sight, it was still just the perfect time to have a clear polka-dot covering perched atop my head with spotted shadows cast behind me..... But which picture do you like best?

Original?

This one?

 Inverse colors?

 Hmmm.... I think they are all neat in their own ways. : )