Dear Sweet Friend, Amanda

Amanda and her wonderful family (including her fur son, Calvin who is so cute and just like a little boy)

from the first trip to Haiti, caring for children at the clinic site.

Being such a great RN to the kids in Haiti

Me and Amanda at semi formal when we were both in Atlanta.

Recently, my dear friend Amanda left for Haiti to live for several months as a missionary/nurse. She knew that the Lord was calling her there and her heart was truly drawn to serve the Haitians. The original plan was for her to be there until Christmas time which if I remember correctly would be about 3 full months in southern Haiti. She was living with a family and was pretty much the only person who spoke English (except for a few others here and there). She sent out updates while she was there about all the the Lord was doing and what she was learning and even how difficult it was. I think every time I read one I cried.

It's so beautiful to see the Lord's work in some one's heart whether they know Jesus or not, and seeing my sister in Christ and very dear friend trust Him in circumstances that I have never faced and can't really imagine truly brings tears to my eyes. This work in her life and her work in Haiti has made me think, "How am I trusting the Lord and letting Him control my life? How am I leaning not on my own understanding but rather leaning on Christ and His sovereignty?" Does this ever burden your heart? I think it's a very important thing to think and pray through, especially living in middle class America where our greatest material needs are a new cashmere sweater and we can't see our need for Christ as desperately since we don't want for too much.

In case you didn't know, Haiti is a really volatile place right now. As much as I am thankful for the Lord calling Amanda to Haiti and for being able to share in that through prayer, it terrified me that she was leaving and going somewhere so dangerous. I cried the day she left. It's silly really, I obviously wasn't trusting the Lord in that. She is such a dear friend and even though I don't get to see her nearly as much as I'd like now that we live in different cities, she is truly one of the people I cherish most. There's something about the becoming friends in a hard time in life that brings people closer, and Amanda was a friend that I was so drawn to when I didn't have any friends when I first moved to Atlanta. I am so thankful for her and I praise the Lord for bringing her into my life and allowing me to get to know not only such a genuine and treasured friend, but her wonderful loving and godly family as well.

Amanda went to Haiti once before on a shorter trip (over spring break I think), and when she came to visit right before her departure in October, she told me all about what she saw. The poverty is so great there that starving families give their children dirt cakes made of actual dirt and sugar mixed together just to give them something to fill their stomachs. As you can imagine, this is terribly unhealthy and many children get parasites among other problems due to eating actual dirt cakes. Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere and although the American government has given money to help with the national hunger and poverty problems, it seems that the leaders of Haiti art not wisely spending that money to help the Haitian citizens. Amanda said that when she first got off the plane there were swarms of people fighting to help them with their bags and open doors, anything to make a little bit of money since there are no jobs and so many families are starving and barely scrapping by.

In her updates she shared with friends and family, Amanda shared some of the things she encountered (I'm sure there is MUCH more to share and I can't wait to fill you in on that once I talk to her) which included the very low health standards and the poor state that most Haitian children grown up in. It's heartbreaking to hear about the standard of life that people not so far away from where we live deal with every day.

If you feel led to give in any way to the cause of Christ in Haiti, please let me know and I can get you in touch with Amanda. There are needs in Haiti that she now has a better idea of how to fulfill and here are some specific things you can do to help: 1. PRAY! Pray for the hearts of Haitian people to turn to Christ and trust in Him for life and fulfillment even in the desperate state in which they live. Pray for Christian leaders who will be selfless and will be wise in making decision about caring for their people and spending the money they are given from other countries. That the Lord will be merciful and provide for the starving families and poor children who eat dirt cakes. 2. Give toys. Some Haitian children have never had a toy in their entire lives and many of the little girls make dolls out of coconuts. You can send toys to donate to Amanda and she will send them to the host family she stayed with in Haiti and they will hand them out in the villages. 3. Give money to purchase a laptop. Dr. Don, the doctor at El Shaddai orphanage would like a laptop so that he can organize their pharmacy, make a database of patients, and just better take care of the children who are in his care (there are 2000 of them!). Dr. Don needs about $900 to purchase this computer.

So, as I mentioned before, the original plan was for Amanda to be in Haiti for about three months, but she became very ill and had to return home after much less time than planned. She could not keep food down and was becoming very weak and just could not get better. She was so sad to have to return home, but it was necessary for her health that she come back and recover. I must admit, I'm very thankful that she came back. It's a terrible feeling to know that a dear friend is ill in a third world country and not be able to do anything (other than pray) to help. Not to make this about me, but this is teaching me so much about how little I trust the Lord. I want to be able to control everything and I cry or get so weighed down when I can't take care of someone with my own two hands. Anyway, Amanda is back in the states and has been for a week now. She was admitted to the hospital and seen by an infectious diseases doctor. Turns out, she has typhoid fever (which I think is actually a little bit cool to be able to say that later, it's like a battle scar) and is now on antibiotics and hopefully, prayerfully, on the mend. She is very sad and I can imagine disappointed that she had to return so early, so please pray that she will have peace in her heart with the Lord bringing her home before she had planned. Pray that even if she doesn't see His purpose now in bringing her back, that she will rest in His sovereignty and trust that His way is best. Also, please pray for healing for her body. Even though she is back in the states, and saying you had typhoid fever sounds cool, having it is clearly not cool so please pray that she will recover quickly and that the medications will continue to work and provide relief.