“Go after a life of love as if your life depended on it– because it does. Give yourselves to the gifts God gives you. Most of all, try to proclaim his truth.”

“It is exceedingly strange that any follower of Jesus Christ should ever have needed to ask whether social involvement was their concern.”

John Stott

Just hanging out at the children’s home.
Kesna, Vanesta, and Daniella are the lead singers.
Kris and Natamara are our lovely back up dancers.
E’Tienne and Aubree are bookends.

Of course, we have thorns in America, so sharp points on branches aren’t new to me. But I have just seen more of the damage caused by thorns in Haiti than I have ever noticed before –the pain they cause when children pull them out of their bare feet, how they tear up the skirts of women just walking through the brush, or even how they ruin the fun of a soccer game by popping a hole in the one ball that everyone has to share.

I never connected the thorns from the Fall with the thorns at the cross, and this connection has just blown me away. When Jesus died, they put a crown of thorns on his head– he literally took on every part of the curse, every part of the brokenness that sin brought in to this world.

The more I dive in to God’s Word, the more I see that He had the cross in mind from the beginning. Every detail has purpose. Every word has meaning. Now, when I see or read about thorns, I can’t just blow over it.

One verse that I love is 2 Corinthians 12:9 “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” In the verses preceding this Paul is talking about the thorn in his flesh. Whatever this thorn was, it wasn’t welcome. It was a weakness, a hindrance, an annoyance. But because of grace Paul could boast about his thorn. In my weaknesses, I can count on having the grace I need when I need it. The power of Christ and the power of the cross is amplified through my weaknesses, through my thorns.

I cannot wait for the day when Haiti will be free of thorns. I know this day will come because of the cross.

Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress; instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle; and it shall make a name for the Lord, an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.
Isaiah 55:13

“Since God’s victory is certain, believers can work both patiently and enthusiastically, blending careful planning with urgent obedience, motivated by the patient impatience of Christian hope.”

David Bosch

2. A few weeks ago we had a team of students from Penn State here for a week. We spent some time in Onaville, a community of thousands of families who found themselves displaced after the earthquake in 2010. I was walking through these homes of plywood walls and tin roofs along with two students from Penn State, our friend and translator Mackendy, and Yves who is on staff with the Jesus Film Project. We met people who were hurting, people who were sick, people who had been separated from loved ones, people who needed jobs, people who were, as my friend Jean put it, just living for living. But there is so much more to be living for! And that’s what we wanted to share. I love my job because I get to step back and let two girls from Penn State have a life changing experience– to share their stories and talk about Jesus in a way they had never done before. I love it because I get to pray for healing and hope. I love it because I am constantly reminded that my God is moving and working in places like Onaville– way before I ever stepped foot there– and He just invites me along for the ride.

3. Sometimes this place can feel like a revolving door. Teams come and go every week, which can be exhausting, but at the same time rejuvenating. I have met some amazing people from all over the place, and their energy and excitement to work in Haiti is contagious. I’ve met doctors and nurses who don’t care about the number of patients they see, only that they provide Haitians with the best care possible. I’ve met some West Point Cadets who I believe are some of the hardest working and most humble people in this world. I’ve met a chef who went to culinary school in London and now works on a ranch in Wyoming and just came to Haiti to help us out for a week. I’ve met college students who are trying to figure out what to do with their lives. I’ve met high school seniors who’ve never left the country before coming to Haiti. I’ve met an ex-Marine who leads short term mission teams all over the world. I could go on and on. I love my job because of the people I get to meet.

4. You never know what you’re going to be asked to do. One Saturday I was with a team from Appalachian State visiting Campus Crusade’s ministry in Port-au-Prince. About thirty Haitian college students come together for worship and teaching every Saturday. Before the meeting started Pastor Sony looked at me and said, “So you’ll be leading us in worship right?” Right. I grabbed a friend, stood up in front of everyone and started singing. There was no microphone involved, nor did we have any instruments. But it didn’t matter. We just needed someone to start singing so everyone else could join in. My brother Brett is a worship leader. As in, he does that for a living. As much as I love my job for those moments where I do things I never thought I would, I think we’ll keep that job for one person in our family.

5. We had a team of middle schoolers come and do a day camp for some kids in our community. They were an absolute blast. Talking with one of their team leaders, I was able to hear about the kinds of questions and discussions happening with their team. I love my job because I get to help facilitate a week where fourteen year olds start to think about God and this world and poverty and what that means for them.

6. Said leader of the middle school team was a friend from Georgia Tech who I hadn’t seen in a few years. Five teams came in one day, and our dining hall was filled with a lot of new people. It was such a pleasant surprise to see a familiar face in the midst of all that. It was so fun reconnecting with him and hearing what’s been going on in his life. I love my job because things like that happen.

7. I work with a really great team. We call ourselves a family more often than a team. We live, work, eat, hang out, and go to church with each other. They are so encouraging and we have so much fun together. I love my job because of the people I work alongside.

8. One afternoon we went to visit some friends in the village. As soon as I picked up Kris, a three year old with the cutest smile, her mother Natasha told me I needed to bath her. So she grabs a tub, a bar of soap, some water and a rag. I love my job because I get to be a part of everyday life with my friends here.

9. Some of the leaders of the Campus Crusade teams asked if I would share with their group about justice. Justice is this word that has been floating around my mind and my heart for the past few years, so I was more than happy to talk for a little bit about it. We read Isaiah 61 and other verses that talk about what God says about justice and his heart for the oppressed. We read Luke 4:16-21 where Jesus says, “Yeah, Isaiah was talking about me. I am the good news. I am freedom for the captives. I am compassion for the brokenhearted.” And if we say “yes” to Jesus, scripture promises that Jesus lives in us (Col 1:27). So I believe that Isaiah is talking about us too. I love my job because while I am still figuring out what that means for me and what my role is in all of that, I get to share with students something that I really care about, and something my God really cares about.

10. I love my job because I am learning more and more what walking humbly with my God really looks like.

All week we had heard amazing things happening at this conference. People were meeting Jesus for the first time and experiencing freedom. One of our team was invited to speak the final night of the conference, so a few of us went to pray for and support him.

In the middle of singing and dancing tonight I felt like I was back in Atlanta at my home church. What a good feeling! After that thought entered my mind, I took a look around. I was under a tent in a displacement camp. The stage was made out of old pallets and plywood. Paper cut outs, ribbon, streamers, and balloons decorated the tent. The benches we sat on were all connected to each other– welded to a piece of rebar so that none of them disappeared from under the tent. Under my feet was a floor of rocks and dirt. Everything was in a language I couldn’t quite understand. This certainly didn’t look like home. It didn’t take me long to realize that what made this moment feel like home was the heartbeat behind it all. Jesus. The cross. The gospel. The heartbeat is the same.

We danced and sang and clapped and laughed like crazy! It was an out of control party I wish I could describe! I miss my church family, that’s for sure, but tonight I felt right at home.

This past week was a national holiday in Haiti called Carnival. We wanted to put on our own carnival or retreat for kids, teens, and twenty somethings in our community. We started with a talent show on Sunday followed by two full days of games, skits, crafts, singing, dancing, music, and food. We wanted to create something for them, in a world where there aren’t a lot of people cheering them on or communicating how valued they are. These kids work hard. They spend the day at school, then go home to cook dinner, hand wash their clothes, carry clean water home, take care of their siblings and so much more. These three days gave almost 200 kids a chance to laugh uncrontrollably, be crazy, get picked up and tossed around, play, sing, and be loved.

Confusing? Yes. When I first got here and had just started meeting everyone on staff, Katie who coordinates all our meals for us was talking with Eliana and Jolina–two Haitian women who work in the kitchen. “You know Maggie, right?” Katie asked them. Picking up a cube, they looked at her as if to say, “Duh, we use this stuff all the time.”

The kids in Chambrun, the village just down the road, think it is the funniest thing that my name is also a cooking ingredient. When the mention of my name is followed by giggles, I’m not quite sure if it’s endearing or if they’re just making fun of me. Maybe it’s both.

This is the warehouse on campus where I’ve been spending most of my days for the past four weeks. (Whoa. I’ve been here for four weeks already?) It is full of medical supplies, food for distribution, emergency relief supplies, school supplies, clothing, Creole Bibles, tools, paint, and much more. We also have thirteen shipping containers sitting outside the warehouse that we use to store more food, construction material, hospital equipment since the hospital is still under construction, tents, cots, shoes, and more.

I’ve been working with Brandon, Jordan, and Faince to clean up and organize this warehouse. Brandon is from Indiana and is our missions team coordinator. Jordan is from North Carolina and will be interning here for six months as well. And Faince is from Haiti and is on staff with NVM as the warehouse manager.

I worked in the office at my dad’s warehouse for six months before I came here. Jordan has warehouse experience as well. Brandon and I both have a degree in Industrial Engineering, and our minds are working out ideas for a good inventory management system. I had no idea that I would be working in a warehouse before I got here. Good thing I already knew how to drive a fork lift–thanks Dad! The other day some guys from another ministry came to pick up ten pallets of food. As I jumped on the fork lift to load it into their truck, they all looked at me like, “What does this little white girl think she’s doing?” I was slightly intimidated, but they were great and super helpful.

We’ve been working really hard over the past month to get this warehouse into shape.

This is what it looked like before:

This is what it looks like today:

We still have a long way to go. But we are so excited to help NVM continue to be a great steward of donations and resources.