Day 2!

While most of you were enjoying the nice cool air conditioning as you went to church this morning, I was sweating like a pig!! Even though it was SO hot in the cinder block building, God was still present, and the Holy Spirit was moving! It was so nice to worship in English and sing the contemporary songs most of us sing in the United States. The church here is about 45 minutes away, and it is led by an American missionary. He and his wife work with an orphanage, and all the children attend this church. It was the sweetest thing to see them sing a song they had learned in English! It was really nice to meet other Americans who are here on missions like running an orphanage or bringing clean water to Haiti. Most of the people I met today have been here for years, and to see their love for the people and for God was so encouraging!

After church, we went to a local restaurant which was really good. I had barbecue chicken, "french fries" (definitely not like you get in the United States) and fried plaintains. Thankfully they had ketchup to bring some flavor to the fries and plaintains!!

After lunch, we went to a ministry meeting. Stacie and Fritznel had never been, so it was a first for all of us. There were probably 20 people in the meeting. We sang contemporary songs, then had a short Bible lesson, and then prayer time. It was really cool to see first hand how important encouragement is especially for missionaries. It was neat to hear them share how they go through different season in their lives where it's not easy to live in a third-world country, but they know that God is in control!

When I say third-world country, I want you all to understand EXACTLY what I mean! This means the electricity works sometimes...meaning at any point my laptop could shut off while I am in the middle of typing this post! This means it gets SO HOT when the fans stop blowing because the electricity is off. It also means covering your windows so your neighbors don't know you have electricity because if they find out they could come and steal your wires to make money. :( This also means NOT using my cell phone except as an alarm clock...praise the Lord for Skype!! It also means showering with cold water (which is actually really nice because it's so hot and sticky here). My shower head is a hose pipe with a nozzle attached at the end! I say all of this not to make you feel bad about living with wonderful amenities, but to encourage you to be in prayer for Haiti because honestly Stacie and Fritznel have a nice house compared to many who call Haiti home.

We were so blessed to be able to visit a missionary couples' orphanage this afternoon. There were probably 7 girls and 10 boys, and they were so cute and sweet! I definitely am finding it a little frustrating not being able to speak the language. Thank the Lord Stacie and Fritznel know Creole, so after going to the orphanage, we had a Creole lesson! Pray that God will give me grace to learn quickly, but for me to give myself grace to know that I will not learn it all in one day!

Please continue to be in prayer for me as I adjust to the culture! I get to go to the feeding program tomorrow which will be so exciting!! Pray for safe travels as we go into the community tomorrow. Also, be praying for Empowering Haitian Moms...Stacie's landlord just shipped a Honda CRV over from the US that he wants to sell. He is asking $7,000 for it, but he is willing to let Stacie make 3 payments on the vehicle. However, in order to get the vehicle she has to come up with $3,000 by Monday! Please pray knowing and believing that God will provide if this is His Will and His time.

Thank you all again for your continued prayers...I can feel them! Feel free to leave encouraging comments on my blog! I will definitely need them as time goes on, and I am away from all of you longer and longer! I am so thankful to have a loving God who is always present and near me because without Him I would get lonely quickly especially at night when there is nothing to do! So be in prayer that God will strengthen me to hang in there, and give myself grace because it is only Day 2!

Blessings and love,
Ashley