Haiti

Bonjou!

(Creole for Hello)

As Thanksgiving day quickly approaches I wanted to let you know just how grateful I am for each and every one of you who has played a part in allowing me the opportunity to go to Haiti, and to update you on my experiences there. Some of you gave financially, some of you supported me in prayer, some of you gave me the time off of work, and some of you picked up the slack and worked extra while I was away. In your own way you have blessed me so much, for it was because of you and your gift that all of this was made possible. When you gave, you became part of our team and helped us to be the hands and feet of Jesus to bring hope and love to those in need.

I have struggled these last couple of months with how to put into words such an overwhelming week full of emotions and experiences. How do I portray a true sense of what it was like and what we did and not write a ten page letter? My answer in part: a slide show.

The following video is my hand made dvd slideshow full of photos that I hope will give you a clearer idea of what it’s like in Haiti, and what we experienced. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so this might just be a billion worth. Still, I don’t think any photo could adequately portray the stories told, or the lives changed, or the sounds and smells. But if you’d like a more full-effect while viewing this, take a weeks worth of rotting trash and sewage into a 90-plus degree sauna and sit there until you’re dripping sweat. Then throw in a swarm of mosquitos, 3 inch cockroaches and some dust and you might be close. As disgusting as that sounds, I miss Haiti. I would absolutely go back in a heartbeat. Why? Because what I saw was heartbreakingly beautiful. Because of the people, and because they need so much. Because they are beautiful and have blessed my life more than I feel I blessed theirs. Because a piece of my heart is still there. And most importantly, because God is at work there, among the people.

Created using iPhoto**

Everywhere we looked there is destruction and devastation, but we also saw beauty. There is much despair but we also experienced and heard stories of hope. Every single person has experienced grief and loss, yet we caught glimpses of joy.

Each day we spent in Haiti was full of service projects: We cleared a tent-city block full of the worst kind of garbage imaginable and leveled it for future homes. We built benches, cleaned and painted the interior of a future hospital, treated the sick and injured in a small and limited medical clinic, played soccer and jump rope with the orphan boys and girls, and fed hundreds and hundreds of children. More importantly we took time to build relationships with the people and involved them in everything we did.

It was evident from the beginning that these people who had absolutely nothing were giving to us so much more than we could give them. It was in the widow that gave every one of our 28 member team a hug and kiss as we entered her home.


Photo Courtesy of Bob Craddock.

 It was in the guards that spent night and day, 24/7 watching over our team and belongings. It was in Pierre, an 8 year old boy who gave me a perfectly drawn flower on crisp, white paper while I picked up the dirtiest, most foul trash imaginable.


Fleur by Pierre.

 It was in a sweet, shy 10 year old orphan girl named Regina who offered to share her candy with me even as we had just given it to her as a special treat and how she gave me a hug and kiss on the cheek when it was time to leave.


Me and Regina.

 It was in a 12 year old boy named Simon asking if I knew Jesus and if I loved him and saying to me, “May the Lord bless you”, while he waited patiently for a bowl of rice, possibly his only meal for the day. It was in the way three ladies assisted in washing my hands and cleaning flour off my clothes after preparing fish for The Lord’s Kitchen feeding program.

And through it all God was showing me that it’s not about me or what I can do. For it’s abundantly clear that the massive brokenness and devastation of Haiti is far beyond what any human effort could solve. That being said, it is easy to lose heart and despair over the realities of what are the worst conditions in the world. But God reminds us in Ephesians 3:20 that He is able to do immeasurably more than we could ever ask or imagine. God has a plan for this country, and I believe He is using this devastation to change the hearts and minds of its people. And God has changed my heart in the process as well. Through His grace He continues to break my heart for the things that break His, and open my eyes to see people through His eyes. He is re-sensitizing me to the things that matter, the things He hates, and the things and people He loves.

I am so thankful for that. And I am so thankful for each and every member of my team. We went in as strangers and returned as a family of brothers and sisters united by a shared experience and love of Jesus and his children. Each one of us certainly met the least of these, as Jesus speaks of in Matthew 25:35-40, while in Haiti, and my heart was strengthened and made glad by how I saw our team pour love into these hurting peoples lives.

And so with a grateful and changed heart I say “Mesi” (Thank You)! Thank You for supporting me. Thank you for what you gave. You have made all of this possible and I am blessed because of it.
Thank You.

Grace and Peace,

Christin

PS: God’s plans are continuing to play out in Haiti through organizations like Forward Edge International, and the Jeune family of Grace International at Grace Village who are in it for the long term. Please keep them and Haiti in prayer. To find out how you can continue to support their efforts visit http://www.forwardedge.org./

**Special Thanks to Rayna and Josh Cleland for their help with the slide show. Check out their own blogs listed in my friends links.

Silence

Dead Silence...

That's the sound of an absent blogger.

Blank pages and no clues as to where I've gone...

I promise, an update is coming soon. Very soon. Life and my two jobs have caught up with me, but now I am catching up with you. Just you wait (a tiny bit longer).

You'll see. It's worth the wait. It always is.

Code Blue

Alright. My eyes are burning. It's sunny outside, yet it is hailing. The daffodils and trees are blooming. These things can mean only one thing in Oregon: Spring is quickly approaching! And darned if that doesn't make me gaze longingly into my closet and wish for springy clothes (and warm weather to wear them in). But it's SO cold still. Tonight it is even attempting to snow! CRAZY!!

But thankfully I found this fun little "game" at Macy's.com. It's called the Macy's Fashion Director Daily Fashion Challenge Contest (how's that for a mouthful?). It lets you pick your outfits right down to the fragrance you'd wear with it. How cool is that? It has curbed my urge to shop (for now), and that is fine with me, because saving money is high on the To-Do list these days.  However, should you find it within yourself the goodness to help me win a little shopping spree, I won't stop you. In fact, by all means, PLEASE do!  I'll even be so kind as to provide you with a direct link to my handpicked outfit so that you can vote for it. 

Macys Fashion Director: "

I love this outfit - check it out!"

The daily challenge was to choose an outfit that I would wear on a blind date. And I totally would too! Now all I need is a date!! I titled it "Code Blue".  Partly for the fabulous blue cascading cardigan, and partly for the fragrance Armani Code. But upon further reflection, I think the name suits a blind date. It could go one of two ways: either your heart stops because your date is a drop-dead hottie; OR, your date is so horrific that you'll need electric shock therapy to recover from the ordeal.

But you can be sure of one thing: if you vote for my outfit, and I win, I promise to buy you something. So what are you waiting for? Go Vote!!

Love Ya! Thanks!!! :)

Goodwill Skirt Remake

If you took a plain boring skirt and a plain boring tie and put them together what would you get?  Well, let's do some math. 

Here's the equation:

While wandering around my local Goodwill the other day I found both of these items and thought, "Hmmm, I bet these could look really cool together."  And so I was inspired to sew a few "extras" onto this otherwise boring skirt.  First off I trimmed the hemline up to just below my knees.  Then with that scrap of fabric I was able to insert a couple of pleats. 

After the pleats were done I then prepared the tie by cutting two appropriate lengths (one for the front and one for the back).  Then I removed just enough of the backing of the tie to eliminate adding bulk to the skirt. 

Once I had that done I simply pinned each tie piece to the skirt and topstitched them down. 

Here is the finished skirt front:

And here is the finished skirt back:

The result is pretty much what I had envisioned while wandering the aisles of Goodwill.  I was hoping it would have a somewhat "vintage" feel, almost 40s or 50s, and I think it does. 

 

 

What do you think?

To purchase this one of a kind skirt click here.

Exploring My Artistic Talents in Baking

Yesterday I baked a pineapple upside-down cake, actually two of them.  I cannot remember the last time I made one of these cakes, if ever.  The whole process was actually a lot simpler than I had imagined.  Because, well let's be honest, who really bakes a cake from scratch anymore?  So I thought I was in for a ton of work.  Boy, was I pleasantly surprised!   

I used this recipe from my Betty Crocker cookbook and only noticed the suggestions after I was done.  I thought it was quite appropriate given that I had already taken that liberty.  So, maybe I am a true "artist".

So I started by melting the butter in the baking dish.  Oh, the aroma of melted butter, mmm, need I say more?

Then I practiced my pineapple arranging skills before placing them in the dish just to make sure the picture I had in my head would actually work.  And mostly because I was intending the finished designed to come out legible so I had to create it backwards so that after the "flip" it would read "30" and NOT "0E". 

After sprinkling in the brown sugar over the melted butter, in goes the pineapple.   Then mix up the batter and,...

Pour it over the pineapple and bake it.  After it's done, immediately flip it onto a plate. I did learn a few lessons while creating this: 

1) always, ALWAYS check to make sure you have ALL of the ingredients on hand (even if you did the day before).  I ran out of sugar and ended up using about 1/4 cup of powered sugar to have enough. 

2) I should have used a larger platter when flipping it over.  It gets very syrup-ey (let's just say my sister was not too happy because she had just mopped, but my dog enjoyed it!) 

Here's what the finished cake looked like.

And 3) the pineapple doesn't stand out against the cake as much as I envisioned and I should have used more pieces of it.  But, mmm does it taste good!  It's caramelly and gooey and sweet and yummy.  I enjoyed it!

This Ain't Your Grandma's Craft Bazaar

Back in December...This was BIG!

It's the Super Colossal Crafty Wonderland Holiday Sale! And yes, they mean colossal.

I had been anticipating this event for months now. I made sure to clear my calendar for that day. I was even planning on volunteering to help out until I came down with a very awful cold (which is still lingering, sniff, sniff). On the advice of my sister (God bless her) I bowed out of that role, and opted to merely attend. I was not about to let a few sneezes and sniffles keep me from this mecca of handcrafted goodness! So I mustered up every ounce of energy I had left in me, took the maximum dosages of dayquil, stuffed my pockets full of kleenex, pulled on my boots and headed out with my sister for a day full of unique and adorable craft shopping.

Testing, Testing, This is only a test...

The message you are about to read is only a test. Testing. Testing. This test is to confirm to everyone and myself that I am still here, and this still works...Testing, Testing...