New Blog

So, I have decided to use a new blog site. Here is the web address to my new blog

12/07/2010

Ok, so it’s been a little over a year, I mean week since I last updated. It feels like the things I talked about in my last update happened about a year ago.
We are down to Lucy, Peterson, Jude, Anacias, Metellus, Dani and me on staff currently. Oh, and Dani is going back to Texas for a while tomorrow. We will be gaining more staff shortly, but then going on break for Christmas (Dec. 22- Jan. 5). So the time that I’ve spent in Haiti these last 5 weeks has pretty much felt like transition the whole time. “You’re moving to a different house. No you’re not. Yes you are. No you’re not.” Maybe someday… It’s been kind of tough, not gonna lie. It seems like this time has been a little harder to transition than when I came in June.
I make it sound all bad, but there have been some really good things too. I have met a lot of great people and have many new friends. YWAM Port au Prince and YWAM St. Marc are friends and family now. I kind of had a bad attitude about the St. Marc base for different reasons this summer. But then we went to conference with them and I found out that there are many wonderful people there and I have lost out on some good relationships because of my bad attitude. But now I have some great friends! I’ve really bonded with Sarah Gilman in particular. We feel a bond of sisterhood, and it’s been so great to get to know her! Also, I have found a channel of creative worship and an outlet in poetry. I was inspired by my friend, Emery, who was brave enough to share some of his poetry with me. God has been working on many different things in me through poetry. I might have to make another blog just for my poems. I also now have lasting relationships with people from the Kona Awaken DTS.
Here’s a funny (now) little story to end this update.
My mom sent me a package for my birthday around August 19, 2 weeks before my birthday. She also sent a package of baby food for Tabby. Well, I went home and came back and still didn’t have them. So Freeman, staff in St. Marc, told me recently I had 2 packages at a company called Lynx, and it was going to be about $75 to get them. So I asked around and Metellus knew where this place was at up in Petionville. So he said he would take me on his motorcycle if the boxes weren’t too large. I was pretty sure they weren’t, so that’s what we did. Metellus already looked kind of tired when we were about to leave. I was pretty excited to ride on the motorcycle because that’s fun, right?! Well, we left and it took about an hour to get to Lynx up in Petionville. The ride was pretty uneventful and I was so happy I didn’t have to drive again. Motorcycles are much faster! I was really dirty just from riding on the back with all the dirt and smog in the air. So we go in and I showed the guy at the counter my ID and he says he doesn’t have any packages for me. I said I didn’t believe him because Freeman said they were there. He said they were at the airport and would be there the next day. I was mad, Metellus wasn’t very happy about driving all the way up there, so we left. I asked if we could stop at Epi D’or to use the ATM. While we were there, Metellus got a call that they did actually have the packages. So, we went back to Lynx and I paid a ridiculous amount for these two boxes. On the way back, we were both exhausted. I just wanted to get back to the house. Then, we ran out of gas. It started one more time, but we ran out a few minutes later. Another motorcycle came up beside us and said there weren’t any gas stations very close. So we coasted for quite a ways, stopped and got some gas from the other guy’s tank, but then it wouldn’t start. So these other two guys on motorcycles stop and gave us more gas and got it started. We stopped at a gas station a little bit later to fill up. We finally got back to Lucy and Peterson’s, dirty, hungry and exhausted. I knocked on the door and Lucy opened it, took one look at me and just starts laughing. I just put the boxes down and fell on the floor. Lucy told me I had a dirt unibrow and her and Dani kept laughing. I got a washcloth and went to see in the bathroom. It’s pretty comical now, but I was not super amused at the time. I still felt really dirty and was hungry. We had small group that night, so we were just waiting for Jude, Anacias and our dinner at Lucy and Peterson’s. Jude called me and asked if I could go get him and Anacias, and I really did not want to. I told Lucy, Peterson and Dani that I had to go get them, and Peterson volunteered to do it for me. I was so relieved I almost cried. Then when they got there, Jude hadn’t brought food for Dani and I as well. We were kind of upset, but there was enough for all of us to eat, so it was fine. Oh bonus! My mom had sent me 3 bars of Hershey’s Dark Chocolate and mice or rats had gotten in and eaten all 3! But I got Cheez-its, my favorite cereal, and birthday cards from my family.
Now it’s been 2 more days since I started this and there is a whole other update I need to write. Hopefully I can do that tomorrow and get it up soon.

11/28/10

I actually wrote this on the 26th, but then we fasted the internet for a day and a half.
This has been a good week! Last Saturday, I had a revelation about not taking burdens on me that are not mine to take on. So in all that has gone on this week with the bus burning and other things that have happened, I have made it a point to not take them on myself. So even though things get stressful on base and things are slightly crazy right now with the elections coming up, I have still been in a great mood.
I got to talk to my family on the 24th for my nephew, Adam’s 1st birthday!! I turned the video on Skype on for a few minutes so I could see them. The video kept freezing, so that kind of sucked, but I still got to see them. It made me kind of homesick, because my aunt Kathy and cousin, Tisha were there and Kathy’s other daughter Kendra, and her family were coming that evening. But they know that I love them and I know that they love me, and we all know that God has me here for a reason. So yes, God is faithful!!!!
When something is my burden, I tend to take it on pretty heavy. For example, some of us realized that Thanksgiving was coming fast and we hadn’t even discussed any plans for it. If we had not had teams here, we probably would have gone to St. Marc and joined them for their partly catered meal. So I decided to go ahead and plan on having a Thanksgiving feast. I asked one of the teams what they would like and got some ideas. I went shopping several times, stressed out a lot, but I had help! We had 5 chickens, 10lbs of potatoes, a large bowl of gravy, some Haitian sweet potatoes, fruit salad, cranberries, beer bread, Haitian bread, corn, green bean casserole, and for dessert there was rice crispy treats, carrot cake, layered vanilla cake with chocolate frosting, and brownies. It was quite the production. I think I stressed out so much because my mom is really good at hosting events, knowing the correct quantities of food, knowing when to start things so everything will be done at the same time. Why didn’t I take lessons? I don’t know!! =] My friend, Emery, reminded me that my mom didn’t learn this overnight but had probably learned it over the years, so that was encouraging. But everything turned out really well; there was enough food for everyone with some leftovers. After dinner, I felt pretty accomplished, and then decided to not be responsible for anything else for the rest of the evening.
Lucy was calculating to see how many teams we had come through since February and the numbers are 33 teams with 371 people and 82 staff and volunteers. God is faithful to provide the people that were needed.

This is why we should be missionaries!!!!

So we came back from conference. This last week was really long and pretty difficult. But there was light at the end of the tunnel. Dani, Jude and I had talked to some new (to Dani and I) friends on staff in St. Marc and had decided to go to the DTS graduation which was yesterday. Although we did not leave on time and had a flat tire on the way there, we eventually arrived. It was a really relaxing time in St. Marc. Dani and I took a walk and processed some things and it was really nice. No one was asking me questions about stuff on our base, there were no situations for me to try to figure out, I was able to relax. We had some very hospitable ladies hosting us. I stayed with Sarah, Stacia and Rose and Dani stayed with Hana, Anne, and Chrissi. They fed us and let us relax and treated us great! I am very happy that we are now friends and family with the St. Marc staff!
We attended the DTS graduation. It was really great! I had only met most of them at the conference, but there were four Haitian guys that were not able to get their visas, so I did not meet them. The Haitians had gone through 11 months of discipling and had all changed a lot. There were two American guys, Craig and Mike, that came in June for their DTS. DTS outreach in Haiti is different than most other places because you don’t usually leave the country. Anyway, all of them that I met and got to know better are amazing. I am very sad that I was not in Port au Prince for the time they came for part of their outreach. But they are a great bunch of people. Several of them are wanting to come back to be on staff with YWAM Haiti, some in St. Marc and some in P au P.
Craig and Mike had flights out of Port this morning, so we got to catch a ride with them instead of riding taptaps and public buses. About 20 minutes into our trip, Freeman (head of transportation in St. Marc) called me and said that a girl from one of the teams at our house had called him and said that there had been an electrical fire in the wires in front of our house. So I told Dani and she said that had happened before and I told Jude and he said, “Okay.” Ronald, who drove us, dropped us off at the bottom of the hill close to our house. When we turned onto our street, there were people from out teams gathered out by the bus. As we got closer, we noticed that the bus had black all over it and the tires were all melted. This was a big surprise! I knew there had been a fire, but didn’t know the bus got fried. It is a crazy story. This is getting long, so I don’t know if I’ll explain it right now, but let me tell you what we’re doing in the spiritual realm right now.
This Sunday, November 28th, Haiti’s national elections are supposed to take place. They will be voting on a new president, senate and other things. We have a team here called Fire and Fragrance, they have a focus on worship and prayer. They have arranged that the 200 hours before the elections people will be praying for a different year that Haiti was in a pact with satan. There are churches and people all over Haiti, America, South Korea, Canada and I’m sure other places joining us in this. So we believe this was an attack from the enemy that caused like $65,000 worth of damage and to put a spirit of fear on our teams and staff. This morning, even as I type this, we are coming against this attack with a spirit of worship. We already had worship this morning, but we are continuing in that spirit.
Last night at the DTS graduation, one of the testimonies was about when they had to walk through knee high mud and water with their sound equipment on their shoulders. They were all discouraged and didn’t want to do it, but Owen decided to have a good attitude and said, “Hey guys! This is why we should be missionaries!!” So every time something didn’t go right, or it didn’t make sense or was frustrating, that’s what they would say and it would make it better. I decided I was going to bring that back to our base. This morning, as I went to take pictures of the bus, I had that thought, ‘This is why we should be missionaries!!’
In other, Tabby took her first steps by herself this weekend and she did some more this morning for me and Dani. She is pretty proud of herself!

11/09/10

We have been at conference for a few days now. It has been really good! The resort is pretty nice. Maybe not quite American standards, but nicer than where we live in Haiti. I am sharing a room with Dani, who I work with in Port au Prince, and Flourine, who has translated for us some and is planning to eventually come on staff. I was laying in bed the first night and I commented to Dani that I felt like our blanket was a curtain. It’s funny because the curtains are actually the same material!! But there’s hot water and electricity 24/7!
I have been reading The Book That Transforms Nations by Loren Cunningham (founder of YWAM and one of our speakers these past few days). In the book, he talks about how God has created people to be creative in all countries and cultures, even if a lot of people are stifled by their culture or government. I recalled a recent conversation when I told Dani that I am not creative. I had the revelation that I’ve been stifling my own creativity for a so long that I’m not sure of my creative areas. God has made me to be creative! I am creative!! So through that book and some of the teachings this week, I have been challenged to walk out in my creativity and areas of gifting. Also to more diligently seek out those things God has gifted me with.
I am getting more of a passion to get God’s Word in every home in the world. I know that a lot of Americans say they are Christians, but I really have wondered about a lot of the people I’ve seen because I don’t see the fruit that should be there. I’m not trying to offend anyone. I know what it’s like to say I’m a Christian and to not be bearing fruit. It’s just something I’ve observed. If we, Americans, instilled the principles in the Bible into our lives, our businesses, our children’s lives, I have no doubt the economy of America would turn around from this decline it is in. We have lost sight of our first love, of the principles our country was founded on. This is a huge mistake. I challenge you to search the Bible and apply the principles in it to your everyday life. Just read one chapter in Proverbs a day and apply what you learn everyday and I believe there will be a shift in your life. It’s crazy to me how many people in the States have Bibles, yet never read them. It’s our guide!! It has the answers to all of life’s questions in it! It’s full of wisdom and you will get discernment just by reading and applying it!!
Wow, ok, that must have been from the Lord, because that’s not really what I was planning on blogging about. This is something I am being challenged with and maybe someone else needed to hear it too!

10/30/2010

So I am heading back to Haiti on Monday. I have to stay overnight in the Ft. Lauderdale airport, so I will arrive in Port au Prince around 7:45 am on Tuesday. I am going back to work with YWAM. So I will be working with most of the same people I worked with this summer. I currently have an open-ended commitment with them. I am really sad to be leaving my family and friends! It has been really great to get to see all the people I’ve seen, and wish I could have seen more. Hopefully next time I’m home!
I am pretty excited to get back to Haiti. Not many people can say they are excited to go live in a fourth-world country, so I guess that is a gift from God! =]
Since I have been home, I have shared with a lot of people what God is calling me to do. I have been blessed enough to have people commit to sending about 2/3 of my monthly goal. Thank you so much if you are one of those wonderful people!!! If you are not one of those people, I still love you! I would ask you to please pray for me as I go back though.
I am going to try to be better at updating my blog. =] I am also planning on sending out a monthly update by email. If you have not been receiving emails from and would like to, please email me at ducktape04@gmail.com and let me know. You can also join my Facebook group called I want to be a World Changer for other random updates.
I got some magnets made (courtesy of Kalos, Inc) with my picture and info on them, if you have not received one, but would like one, please email me and I’ll get one to you.
A lot of people have asked me about the cholera epidemic going on in Haiti, so I will give you some information about that. I have emailed people at my base and they are being very careful about keeping everyone and everything sanitized. There have only been like 5 cases in Port au Prince, and it was determined that they had been infected in the area where there was already an outbreak. I checked on the CDC’s website and they don’t recommend the vaccination that you can only order from Vietnam. So I will not be getting that!
We are going to Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic on November 6 for the YWAM Caribbean conference. I am really excited because I haven’t been to the Dominican Republic yet and I’ve heard this conference is A-MAZ-ING!! I’m excited to learn and grow there and meet other YWAM people.
I welcome emails! People have asked about sending letters, but I’m not sure if we’re set up for that yet in Port au Prince. But I’ll find out after I get there.
If I don’t see you before I leave, I love you!!

10/14/10

Things have been going pretty well for me. I’ve been working for Carol quite a bit, so I’ve been staying busy with that. I have also started crocheting scarves which I am going to take to a craft show in Derby this weekend and try to sell. I am selling them for $10. I’ve also decided to make pumpkin rolls to sell again this year, which are also $10. They are a good fundraiser and people love them, so I’ve spent a couple of days doing that. Let me know if you want to order any! (ducktape04@gmail.com) You can get about 15 slices out of one log and you can freeze them for about a year!
My mom had told me she was planning a family birthday party for me on October 2, a month after my actual birthday. Sarah had talked a couple of times going to look at some shoes before the party, but she didn’t get off work at Chili’s until 3. She still wanted to go, but I knew Mom needed help with stuff, so I was kind of frustrated with her for wanting to go right then, but I went anyway. Right before we turned onto our street, another car was pulling onto our street. I thought to myself, ‘That looks a lot like David and Delta’s car, but that would be kinda weird if they were down this way.’ Then we got closer to our driveway and I saw all the cars parked on our other acre. I said to Sarah, “What is going on here??” I was super surprised. A lot of my mom’s siblings were there, several people from church, Hannah, Jessica Sapien, and several cousins. I had a really good time! It was really nice to get caught up with people. We played volleyball, which was really fun! I think my team lost, but I had a lot of fun! As birthday a couple of people committed to support me monthly when I go back to Haiti, so that was also pretty exciting. Emily O’Byrne came over later on and stayed the night. We went to the church we used to go to together called The Journey. It was really good to get to see those people too. That afternoon, we went to the Haiti Lifeline fundraiser out by Buhler, KS. I had a really good time there getting to see people I have a unique bond with, having gone to Haiti with some of them, and even not going with some, but just that we have both gone, we still have a bond. It was good to get to see most of the boys adopted from Lifeline and James, who is being sponsored here to go to school.
On the 7th, I went out to Morningstar Ranch in Florence, KS to do a presentation about what I do in Haiti. They are praying about whether or not they are going to support me monthly.
Friday morning, Sarah and I took Mom, Dad and Aunt Mary to the airport. They met Aunt Kathy in Florida and went on a week long cruise in the Caribbean. I’m excited for them because they’ve never done anything like this before. I heard from Mom this morning and they had a really good time.
This week, while Mom and Dad are gone, I’m back up to the Topeka area to visit with friends up here. I’m pretty excited!
I go back to Haiti in less than 3 weeks!! This week, I’ve been blessed with more people that have said they want to support me monthly, thank you Lord!! If 50 more people would commit to sending at least $10 a month I would be set on my support!! Let me know if you’re interested!