Hope? Hope.



Look at this beautiful city. What once was one of the greatest cities in the world is now criticized for being one of the lowliest. What once was a productive, thriving city is now broken down and abandoned. What once was a sign of hope for people wanting to “make it” is now a picture of despair. This is Detroit. This is my city.

Yesterday, I was part of a group of young people who will be spending a week in Detroit later this summer, spreading God’s love and seeking revival for this once great city. As we looked at some of the issues that it’s dealing with, we were asked to discuss them. What words come to mind when you look at the video of the town? What problems are there? What is going to bring hope to this city? As we began talking in groups it became obvious that some people didn’t really believe it was possible for Detroit to thrive again. People spoke about gang violence, drugs, bankruptcy, failed school systems, all things that Detroit is facing. At one point, someone even said that the Chicago Bulls coming to town was the only thing that could save it. We all live close to the city and have seen firsthand what we’re fighting against. It’s real. Real poverty, real hopelessness, real pain. It’s easy to see how some can get discouraged when they see the list of obstacles that will need to be overcome in order to rise up. We read it in the news, hear it on the radio and see it on TV. It seems everyone believes there is no hope for Detroit

BUT.

I cannot help but believe that there is hope for Detroit. Yes, there’s a mile high list of things that will need to be dealt with. But my God is a God of redemption. He is one who makes beauty out of ashes. It is His very nature. There are broken things in this world as a result of sin but God wants to make them whole and pure again. It seems like I’m constantly quoting this verse but Ecclesiastes 3 says there is “a time to tear and a time to mend”. It’s safe to say that Detroit is torn right now. But a new season of healing and rebirth will come over this city. God is working in the hearts of the people there and in reality, that is what’s going to bring about this revival. Not emergency managers, not a huge amount of money, or better schools, but God overwhelming this city with love through those who love Him. He desires the souls of the people who reside in these broken neighborhoods. He longs for the hearts of the drug dealers and criminals as well as the children who live in fear of them. If the God of redemption is made known in this dark place, big things are bound to happen. When God gets a hold of this city, there will be a revival. And I, for one, do not want to miss it.

"Jesus looked at them and said 'With man this is impossible but with God, all things are possible" Matthew 19:26

Shaken

Exactly one month ago I was in one of the most devastated countries in the world. Although I was only a 2 hour plan ride away from Miami, Florida, it may as well have been another world. 

 Haiti.

I went into this experience with expectations-ideas of what it would look like, how people would act, what I would learn & how our team would react. The instant we saw Haiti from the airplane, all of these expectations flew out the window. We knew this would be completely different than we had expected and that no amount of preparation would have prepared us enough. It would not be a physical struggle (although there were the bugs and the hot sun to worry about) but instead, a battle of the heart. Instantly, I felt my heart breaking-a process that would continue the entire trip. The sights we saw were so much different than we had expected. The crumbling airport, the tent villages, the children playing in mounds of garbage and waste. Yes, the earthquake may have shaken the nation of Haiti, but Haiti shook my whole world.

There is truly no way to explain that week. It’s been a month and I’m still processing everything, trying to make sense of it all. The people that I met, the things I saw, the children I held, and the comfort I felt all worked together to break me apart and I’m still trying to figure out how God wants me to be put back together. But, I do know that I left a large piece of my heart with the Haitian people.

I think of our translators, Leon & WoWo, who worshipped Jesus with everything they had. Leon had shared one of his favorite songs with us, which reads “Majesty, Majesty, Your grace has found me just as I am. Empty-handed but alive in your hands.” I learned so much from watching them praise the Lord with their lives, truly loving Him for who He is, not just for what He’s done for them.

I think of beautiful Lineda, the girl with no parents who adopted us as her sisters. Her dreams to be a doctor will likely never come true because she doesn’t have money to go to high school. Yet, her love was able to heal my heart in so many ways. She will forever be in my heart as my Haitian-American sister, and I will keep my promise to tell others about children like her.

I think of the people of Leveque and the many orange haired children that run barefoot among the thorns on the ground. One girl clung to me one day, her hair orange from malnourishment. I realized why my arms hurt while holding her-her tailbone had been sticking out because she had no meat on her bones. One woman asked for us to pray for her to get a bra so she could go in public or even go to church. Realities like these left me speechless.

I think of the little girl in one of the villages who treated me like a princess. After we had waded through a river, she got down on her knees on the rocky ground to wring the water out of my long skirt. Later, after sitting on the dusty ground she again brushed me off until I was sufficiently clean then hugged me and grabbed my hand again. How wrong is it that the 4 year old girl that doesn’t even have shoes or pants will wait on me, a girl who has everything? I don’t know if I will ever understand.

I think of the Haitian worship service. Never in my life have I seen people cry out to the Lord like I did at the Tuesday night church service. After the music ended, they continued to sing and worship. They sang, knelt, wept and were completely real before the Lord. They began to dance, which was the start of the biggest, sweatiest, most joyful dance party I have ever seen! I can only compare it to King David’s dance in the Bible. One woman I was dancing with looked at me and communicated “Do you love Jesus too?” When I replied yes, she gave me a huge hug and we continued to dance together. It was amazing to see people who, in my mind, have so little to be thankful for, so joyful because of the salvation God has given them. It was one of the most beautiful nights of my life.

Two people were saved after the Gospel was shared here!

I think of the amazing people at Mission of Hope who are spending their lives and their passions to show Christ to every man, woman and child in Haiti. Their dedication and love truly inspired me and has completely altered my goals in life.

This trip is life changing. Haiti rocked my entire world and nothing has been the same since. Even as we arrived back in Detroit, we realized how hard it would be and how much we had changed. The culture shock of coming back into America is still difficult. Even shopping for a prom dress was hard and I broke down in a dressing room, distraught that two weeks earlier I had been holding a starving child and now I was looking for an expensive dress that I would wear once. It just isn't right. However, if I came back from this trip only with the goal to not waste water and to be thankful for my education, the trip was a waste. In order for it to mean something it has to affect your heart and change you from the inside out.

I’m still asking God what I’m meant to do with this experience. In reality, as desperate as the Haitian people are for physical necessities, they are even more in need of Jesus, a hunger that is just as prevalent here. That is my purpose right now-to bring spiritual relief to the malnourished and broken people in my life.  For now I will love where I’m at in life, taking advantage of the opportunities God has given me, while praying to return to Haiti in the future. God is showing me that I have a purpose here though I still wake up wishing to be in my mosquito net, hearing orphans running around outside. That country captivated my heart and I can’t help but believe that this is only the beginning.  I will hold this country in my heart forever, knowing that God is not done with the nation of Haiti.

{Now that I have seen, I am responsible}

Dreamin'...

I'm ready to pack up my bags and go to Africa.
Something about this place calls to me and I can't tell you why. I've never been there (yet) but I can't get it out of my head or my heart. If I had the chance, I would go in a heartbeat.

Someday...

                                     I want to love on children affected by AIDS and poverty.

             I want to experience their culture and find out how they live

                                                     Discover their world.

Someday.


"Take my dreams, come and give them wings. Lord, with You there is nothing I cannot do. "
(Set The World On Fire)

Random Joys

Today I was thankful for…

•      Beautiful weather- Even though I hate winter for the most part, spring wouldn’t be as exciting if there wasn’t something to compare it too. Maybe there is a plus to living in Michigan…
•      Coming late to track practice-I have to run by myself so I get time to think.
•      That dead time in school after AP tests are over-3 movies in one day...glorious.
•      Journals-there is nothing like sitting out in the sun pouring your thoughts onto paper. It’s the best therapy there is.
•      Little friends- the two neighbor boys (3&5) were playing in my backyard today as I was doing homework and I got distracted. I forgot how wonderful the world of a child is. Everything is exciting and new.
•      Phone dates- I love laughing with friends even if it is over the phone and not in person
•      New music-Gungor, Hillsong, Brooke Fraser, Shawn Mcdonald, Mat Kearney…enough said.
•      Family time-it seems like I never see those three wonderful people I live with anymore. It’s good to sit and talk and laugh.
•      Time- I’ve missed having time to relax. It’s a splendid thing.
•      "Family”- my un-biological brothers and sisters never cease to encourage me and make me laugh.
•      Promises-“ For I am the LORD your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.” Isaiah 41:13 “I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths will I guide them; I will turn darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.” Isaiah 42:16
•      Sunrises-I've noticed that the sun now rises just as I'm getting up for school. I think God knows how much I love sunrises.

Look for the little things...they might make your day! :)