in haiti again :)

I love Haiti.  

My return ticket home from Haiti was made for June 13th, 11 days after the Prince of Peace team left, and I didn't know why. 

I could have bought the ticket for June 6th.. it would've been the same price. Or I could have stayed longer. For whatever reason I felt a big YES for leaving on the 13th. As the remainder of my time unfolds it will be interesting to see what God does.  

I told Mrs. Isbell and Mrs. Weiss on our last day together that I felt my head was bloated.  We spent the week gathering information, building relationship, overcoming communication barriers, and trying to grasp the system-of-good that the Lutheran church has dispersed throughout the country of Haiti, that I quite literally felt as if my head would make me topple over because it was so full of thoughts, ideas, concerns, pains, joys... the whole gamut. 

Yesterday the team left early in the morning and I stayed with our creme-of-the-crop chauffeur, Leonard.  A brief reunion with one of my friends from my Discipleship training school from last year was enough to make my heart flip a little.  There's a special bond we all have, all 80 of us, because of the incredibly rich experiences we shared together.  It's one of those things where you can be separated for a long time, not talk, and you get togehter and it's as if no time has passed.  

Haitian Hospitality makes me feel like a princess. Leonard and his wife Reynia made me sleep in their room, while they sleep in the other room where the kids (grown kids) stay. No matter what you seem to say, they will always give you the best of what they have.  It's very humbling. I know Leonard pretty well, but his family I had only met once before. I feel so loved by them all... it's like they've just added me in as the 5th child in the family.  

Leonard's grandson, Teo, is my new best friend. He is 3 years old and he's a dezod (creole for trouble maker).  He is constantly munching on my hair or hanging off my shirt or shooting me with his leggo gun, but I love him. We connect in some special way that bypasses culture, color, age, language.. everything.  He calls me ti nicole (means little nicole) and I call him ti teo.  

My favorite story so far....

I was drinking a Toro (Haitian energy drink that's really tasty), and he asked me what I was drinking.  I said 'Toro'.  There's a picture of a bull on the label and he asked what it was, I said 'bef' (bull in creole). He then asked me if I was drinking ji bef (bull juice).  haha.  So cute.  Then he started crying because he's not allowed to drink ji bef.  

Tomorrow morning I'm getting up early to head north with Leonard, where I'll meet up with a friend of mine and continue my journey with Jesus in Haiti.  Can't wait to see friends from DTS and hopefully meet some more crazy little kids that touch my heart.  

Pray that every heart in Haiti will be set on fire for Jesus.  The people here are wonderful.  Seriously.  If you haven't been, you should come.  

One thing that God is teaching me is the importance of making sure people know they aren't forgotten. If it means spending 5 minutes talking with them, it means something.  God doesn't forget his children.  He puts us in the path of his children. He calls us to love eachother.  Let's do it folks.  

much love. 

ti nicole 

A new "I"

Excitement bubbled in my blood to set forth on a journey which would sever myself from the 18 years of life I'd lived, all to immerse each of my 5 senses, my heart, mind and soul into a foreign land for 153 glorious days.

On the map in my mind's eye, this decision caused a sharp 90 degree turn from the direction I had assumed my life would systematically follow.

My senses, my heart, mind and soul were awakened, transformed, redefined.  

I TASTED

...the much too malted Malta.

...the strangely human-eske chicken feet.

...the chewy intestines.

...the fish sauce spaghetti.

yet also,

I TASTED

...the perfectly doughy and crunchy, heavenly pates.

...the astounding rice and bean sauce. unlike any other. diri ak sos pwa. 

...the 'sugar you up' Couronne soda.

...the gargantuan, flavory savory avocados, coconuts, and mangos.

 I SMELLED 

...the smoke billowing from dumpsters as trash turned to ash.

...the river ways teeming with heaps of rubbish and pigs rummaging about.

yet also,

I SMELLED

...the salty Caribbean waters crashing to shore

...the fine haitian cooking 

I HEARD

...the man speak of the frog living inside his stomach ever since a witchdoctor put a curse on him.

...the pleads for help, for dignity, and unknowingly, pleads for everything that Jesus is. 

...the hollers of a man beating his child

...the gunshots late one night.

yet also,

 I HEARD

...the coffee-bean-bracelet vendor boldly declare the importance for youth to follow God and serve Him with all that they are.

...the man halt his journey somewhere to lift his unrelentingly beautiful voice in praises to God outside the decimated national Palace.

...the Creole worship songs kicking satan's butt

...the people belly laughing , overcome with the joy of the Lord, for hours on end.

I SAW the torments of suffering.

...the cruel multifaceted presence of hunger. People physically deprived of food. Spiritually unfed.  And Emotionally starved. 

...the children descend like a flock of vultures on a pile of chicken bones, gnawing for any last consumable morsel.  

..the young pregnant girl sprawled helplessly on the hard ground inside a structure of sticks with a tarp draped over it, which they call a tent. 

...the sea of women with baskets of fruit on their heads... selling the same thing as the one sitting four feet to their right and to their left.

yet also,

I SAW

...the children living in a tent offer the little bit of food they had to the visitors sitting there in the dirt with them.

...the 19 year old Haitian woman from the biggest slum in the Western Hemisphere, preach for a small church in a country with people who are 'supposed' to hate her, ushering the holy spirit to take over and the fire of God to descend in that place.

...the woman save an unborn life by choosing to adopt, even if it meant relying on God for one more mouth to feed when food for her family was already painfully sparse and infrequent.

...the young teenage boy cling to his faith even after the sudden and tragic death of his younger brother.

I FELT

...the suffocating heat inside of the tents

...the bang on my bones as the machin yo (cars) dipped and dived down and around the countless craters in the roads

...my heart wrench. my heart twist. my heart turn. my heart bleed knowing so many of God's children don't know His love for them. His incredible, unrelenting, overwhelming, consuming love for them... just as they are. 

yet also,

 I FELT

...the cold one gallon bucket showers refresh my entire being.

...the gentle touch of a tiny child reaching for my hand.

...the stream of tears fall down my face with the slightest hint of God's heart for this beautiful country. 

...i felt  .... .... so overwhelmingly blessed by Haiti.

DTS. A Discipleship Training School. The spring board into a season of incredible encounters with God. 

God is good. God is love. God is real. God is so much beyond what I can even begin to comprehend.

But, Once you've smelt of the sweet fragrance that worship is to God, how could you stop offering praise?

Once you've seen God provide your every need, how could you doubt him?

Once you've felt Him shower you with His love, how could you not love Him, too?

Once you've heard the Word, how could you not carry the gospel to the ends of the earth?

Once you've tasted of life sold out to God, how could you ever turn back?

6 months ago I was Nicole Russell. A high school graduate.  A daughter to a mother and a father. A sister to a brother.  A close friend to few. And a Jesus ponderer, wonderer, follower. 

6 months later... "I" has a new definition.

I am a pursuer, lover, seeker, worshiper, and servant of Jesus. A child of God, designed for relationship with my Creator, to receive His love to the point of overflowing, so that His love can spill out, unable to be constrained. 

I'm in this world for the sake of bringing glory to His name.

Miracle Report and Adventure Stories.

It's a miracle report after my last update to be able to say that each and every student is covered for their outreach fees.  Each and every student has their passport.  Each and every student who needs a visa..... has it.  Can you say WOWOWOWOOWOWWWW!?!?  It's truly a miracle.  The hope for Haitians to travel to Benin to cut the ties of Voodoo between those nations will finally be able to happen.  In the past, YWAM schools in Haiti have attempted to get Haitians to Benin, but the difficulty in getting US transit visas has always prevented that from happening.  God's favor continues to blow us away in this discipleship training school.  It actually turns out that the woman at the US embassy who conducted the visa interviews, lives in the same neighborhood as us, she is a Christian, AND one of our staff members is almost completely sure that he has seen her slow down as she drives by our house during worship times to take a peek.  What are the odds?

EVERYONE is going out into the nations. Praise Jesus.  Seriously. 

Another miracle report...
Last weekend, Emily, my aussie bestie, and I wanted to go to Mont-rouis (another city in Haiti) with one of our guy friends to visit an orphanage I had visited and fell in love with last summer, but she had been stricken a few days earlier with staff infection on her right foot and could hardly walk.  Our speaker from that week prayed for her foot, and instantly the pain ceased and she could walk totally normal.  Healings can happen in real life, without a big hype-up... just some faith and some prayer.  Praise Jesus.

After her foot healed, we headed out for a little adventure.  Traveling in Haiti means being squished in a TapTap (back of a truck with benches and a covering) with as many people as you can fit, and finding ways to entertain yourself.  What else to do but SING!  We whipped out some good Creole worship songs and asked for God's presence to come.  One tatap ride Emily and I sat in the front with the chauffeur singing and praying with him.  After we stopped singing, he asked us to keep going!  It's beautiful that a few Jesus tunes can change the spiritual atmosphere and make people soften. 


After several hours of travel on taptaps, buses, and motos, we arrived with Jhud at his house in Mont-rouis.  A lovely meal of rice, beans, chicken, and herbs awaited us with our favorite Haitian soda, Couronne.  As we finished, we hopped on a moto to ride to Cannan.  I called it an orphanage earlier, but in all reality it is just a community.  The owners of the place have 67 kids, not up for adoption, that they train up in the Lord as nation changers.  Last year my heart was totally captured by this place, and I just remember it having such an overwhelming sense of peace.  I felt the same thing this year.  The woman leader, Gladys, is weary.  They have a school, are opening a medical clinic, and have many other aspects to their community.  With 67 kids, from babies to 17 years old, there are only 9 long term staff, and there are lacking in helpers for the clinic.  Pray for their mission.  It is beautiful, and all of their support comes in by prayer... they never ask for anything. If people come to them, they accept.  It's a beautiful testimony to God's faithfulness.

As we were talking with her, my friend, Jhud, felt that he was supposed to ask how their water situation was. As it turns out, they are struggling with salty water, and it is impossible to get water from the ground because the property is basically on a bed of rocks.  We started explaining about the water tanks we had been trained to build here in our DTS... rain water catchment systems that are above ground, and after one good rain can fill the tanks and provide ample water.  She was so interested, even asking if there was a waiting list.  It was a God appointment, and it looks like a few of us will be staying at least an extra week after DTS to help build a water tank for this incredible woman of faith. 

And after that, it was fun to get to spend the night living the real Haitian way.  As we made our way back to Jhud's home, there was no electricity anywhere, which makes it so dark you can hardly see your feet in front of you.  Thank goodness for cell phones in that sense :)  We made a few pit stops to visit some friends.  Arriving back at his house, we sat under the big Haitian sky talking.  We could see galaxies and zillions of starts.  Breathtakingly beautiful.  We changed our clothes by candle light and climbed under the princess canopy (aka - mosquito net) for a sweet sleep. 

Haiti is teaching me still the importance of relationship.  So there is no running water, no electricity, no toilet... but there is so much love.  There are people that care about you.  There is time to spend just talking.  There is community.  There is patience.  There are long conversations.  There are so many friendships.  People meet at a market and make the time to visit each other... to build relationship.  People are important.  People are valued.  It's a beautiful thing.  Haiti might have a lot of things that need change, but it has so much to teach us, too. 

Good times in the neighborhood.

Every week as we split into groups and go evangelizing, you just never know what adventures await...
Jaques, one super guy in our group, felt we were supposed to walk down to a little river about a 5 minute walk from our house.  There, he had a picture in his mind of a specific house he felt we were to approach, and God told him there was one sick person living there.
So, as it's done in Haiti, we just made our way into the peoples' yard through a flimsy tin gate and were greeted by a handful of little kiddos playing in outside.  They asked us into their open air, cinderblock  home, and there was the sick man that God had told Jaques about.  We prayed for him.  Nothing crazy happened... but that's just the way it works.  Sometimes God chooses to heal immediately, sometimes it's later, sometimes the people just need to know they are loved, sometimes they just need to know God sees them.  We can't really know, but it's just so beautiful to see God lead us to specific people.

After finishing there, we walked along the river and just went into various homes, talking and praying with people.  Haiti is a beautiful country.  For realzies.  There are mountains surrounding the river, with the hot Haitian sky beaming in the brilliantly bright blue skies.  The little valley that the river flows through is breezy and wonderful. For the most part, people are hospitable and glad to have you come in their home. Yesterday we only encountered one home where the people were very resistant. 

But, my favorite funny story of the day is as follows....
There was a pregnant woman living with her husband and 4 children in one particular house.  We talked and found out that she was having some difficulties in her pregnancy, and she is 6 months pregnant.  The woman goes back and forth between Haiti and Fort Lauderdale, and was sure to inform us that Fort Lauderdale is bad... Haiti is good.  :)   I asked her if we could lay hands on her stomach.  To my utmost surprise, she WHIPS off her shirt (wearing no bra of course), and then told us to go ahead!  All a tiny bit shocked, held in any laughs that were surfacing... laid hands on the precious person and prayed for her and her bebe. 

Haiti is a lovely place.  The stories are never ending. 


Come visit and you will understand... :)

Time flies... stuff happens....update finally written.... hiphiphooray!

The past few weeks have been a whirlwind.  Our DTS group split into mini teams to set up medical clinics and build water tanks around the nation.  God continuously blew our minds.  Dozens of people were healed, a witch doctor and his ‘sidekick’ came to Jesus and renounced their voodoo ways, and one girl, after learning about the importance of forgiveness, decided not to kill the man who had raped her.  The stories go on and on. 

Then just about a week ago I found out my Great Aunt Mildred was soon on her way to see Jesus.  By God’s grace, and against all odds, I got home just in time to see her before she left for the greatest and most glorious place.  Hurricane Emily that was projected to tear a path through Haiti ended up only blessing us with a few days of incredibly cool weather, so all of the airline problems that were expected never occurred.  It’s only God’s timing that allowed me to be there 24 hours before she passed to pray with her and just tell her I love her.  With 93 years of bringing joy into the lives of everyone she knew, Millie lived a good long life that I’m sure prepared her an immaculate castle in heaven. 

SO… I arrived in Dallas Saturday night, and returned to Haiti Tuesday afternoon.  It was a crazy quick trip.  I only had time tore realize that having ample fresh fruit to eat was what I miss about the luxuries of America.  Sure, there was running water… but it’s weird to bathe in your drinking water!  Ha!  Oh how living in a third world country can change your mind set.  I couldn’t even shower without turning off the water between lather and rinse.  It was difficult remembering to put the toilet paper in the toilet instead of in the trash can.  The refrigerator actually made the food/drinks cold.  I really know this to be true – my season of life right now is Haiti.  It is God ordained without a shadow of a doubt.  I know that I know I belong here for this time and so by God’s grace, all of those little luxuries from the US don’t really matter.  God provides us with what we need when we need it.

Before I start talking about our students, I just want to remind you what Youth With a Mission is all about and what the outline of the school looks like.  The goal of YWAM is to know God and make God known, all across the nations.  There is major emphasis on getting young people all over the globe.  Loren Cunningham, the founder of the organization so desired to see young people in different nations, being able to expand their knowledge of the world as they spread the love of Jesus.  I am involved in the most basic YWAM school called a DTS, or discipleship training school.  There is a 3 month training phase and then a 2 month outreach phase.  It’s hard to believe that in about 3 weeks our DTS family will split up into 6 different teams that will travel all around the world doing deeds for Jesus; medical clinics, water tanks, evangelism, kids ministries, and whatever else the Lord leads us to do. 

But seriously, I live in a house with nation changers.  The spirit of God is moving in big ways through our speakers, through worship, and through ministry times, and lives are being transformed.   It wasn’t until I was in Dallas… sitting at Starbucks with my mom, did I realize just how much I believe it all of the Haitian students here.   I couldn’t even talk to her about them without crying.  It is practically impossible to put it into words.  Many of the Haitian students have been pulled from ridiculously difficult circumstances, and their testimonies alone will impact countless lives.  One girl in our school, from the largest and most dangerous slum in the Americas, Cite Soleil, pierces darkness with her voice as she sings incredibly beautiful songs that she has written.  One man, a former witch doctor, is now out preaching on taptaps and sharing the testimony of God’s grace in his life.  One girl whose father died of cholera in December, is pressing into the hope and destiny that God has for her life.  One guy whose parents abandoned him and family rejected him is now birthing vision for an orphanage.  There are so many incredible, incredible people in this school.  I love each of them more than words do justice.  This outreach is only the beginning of the transformation they will not only bring their own nation, but to nations around the world.  You just wait for it.  Haiti is going to be a blessing to the nations. 

Just two nights ago we went into something we called a night of generosity.  Everyone prayed and asked God what exactly they could lay down at the cross for the good of their brothers and sisters trying to earn money for outreach.  From money to Macbook Pro laptops and iPods, to razors and sandals, people were laying down their rights to stuff to see God provide.  We had a $300 deposit deadline a week or so ago, and those that hadn’t quite met it had their name written on the board with exactly how much money they needed.  The total was a little over $3,000, and by the end of the night, every single person had that deposit amount covered!  It was the best example of the early church… everyone’s needs being met through the generosity from their brothers and sisters.  Miracle after miracle of God’s provision has been blowing us all away.  5 foreigners, including myself, felt God leading us to switch teams – from Africa team to Haiti team, that way the extra money could go towards sending more of the Haitians out!  So my outreach is now covered and I get to focus on trying to bring in more for my bros and sissys.

If any of you have a heart for Haiti or just for seeing young people spread Jesus to the nations, or know anyone that might, and want to support one for their outreach, just shoot me a message.  I can give you stories, backgrounds, amounts needed, or whatever it is you would like to know.  After that night of generosity I just have complete confidence that God will lay it on peoples’ hearts to give if that’s what needs to happen.  

I’m not sure if this really flows… but we have electricity and I need to get it out! WOO!  Praise God!

Blessings everyone!

Nicole

Almost done.... and there goes the electricity.

So I've been working on an update for quite some time.  Then just about each time I'm ready to post... BAM. Lights out and electricity gone.  The generator goes off in 60 seconds.  Just know... it's coming :)  All is good in Haiti! 
Bigger post tomorrow.  For sure! Finally!!

Home Sweet Home

Seriously.  Every time I sit down to draft a sweet and simple update to answer "What is going on in Haiti" my brain starts doing jumps and flips.  There are so many things to talk about... so many stories of what God is doing here, of the friendships that are forming, and the memories that are shaping.  I'll do my best to give an inkling of an idea..
First of all.. just want you all to know that I had the opportunity to bake.  Oh yes, and if you go to 'portauprincedts.wordpress.com' you will be able to see a lovely picture.  Myself and two wonderful women did all we could.  It was for the celebration of June birthdays.  Before presenting the cake I was sure to let everyone know the reason it looked the way it did.  God gave us creativity.  We were shooting for an abstract look, and look what we got!  A work of art, to say the least.
Last weekend we were free to do what we wanted, as all weekends are, and then Monday was a day at the beach in a small town a couple of hours outside of Port au Prince.  An allergy fit attacked me for a couple of days (which is weird since I don't have allergies), but after bunches of prayers and a booster from some drugs, I was back to normal in no time.  This past week our DTS family uprooted and moved to the DTS base in St. Marc.  It definitely had perks.  We could flush the toilets, and the water for showers came out of a spicket thingy hanging above our heads when we pulled down on a lever.  So running water was a treat. They also had a swimming pool worthy of swimming in!  But the St. Marc base is so much bigger than our house in PAP that it was hard to see everyone.  Just after a couple of days most of the PAP students were craving the crazy, crammed, community living we some how love here. It was like a big reunion when we got home. Home sweet home.  It's like a masterpiece how everyone's personalities work together.  There is hardly ever any strife.  People just loving people.  So healthy. So good.
Our speaker for the week, the YWAM director for the Caribbean, taught on the character and nature of God.  I'm learning more and more that God wants to reveal Himself to us.  It takes listening. It takes intimacy. It takes a desire.  When we draw near to Him, He draws near to us.  My personal revelation for the week... that God wants to reveal Himself to me more than He wants to reveal all of my future plans to me.  It takes knowing Him better to live a life in line with His ways.
Well... the majority of students are gone right now.  One of the girls' sister is having a wedding as we speak and she took a crowd of peeps with her.  My kitchen duty called though, and so I got to stay behind.  I think it is a good time to go watch a movie on the roof.  :)
Bonuit tout moun.