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I took the weekend off! Sorry folks. Here goes:

Tuesday, March 27th (morning):
Last night was hard. I cried more than I have the rest of the trip. I miss my family so much. I looked at pictures they sent. I watched videos on my phone of my sweet Charlie Grace laughing and talking. I'm not sure if it helped or made things worse!! She's so stinking wonderful. I can't wait to squeeze her chunky self and kiss my husband!!!
But on to today: we are going into a secular school to tell the Resurrection story to about 150 kids. This is awesome. It's something that we rarely get to do in the public schools in the US, but here in Haiti, yep, we're doing it! What an opportunity. I'm nervous about the language barrier, but I'm just praying that these kids hear and GET the story of a Jesus who loves them and cares about them enough to die for them. God is doing some incredible things this week with me. I'm just in awe of Him and am so very glad I was able to come be a part of this experience. I'm praying for the words to speak, the confidence to share and lead these children to Christ, and the peace I need to keep going this week without my family.

*this is the good part*

Tuesday, March 27th (night):

Galatians 2:20 says "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."

That's the verse we heard when we got to the school today. The children were saying it from memory! How rockin' is that?! We were given the opportunity to stand in front of about 150 kids to tell them about Jesus. While in the middle of listening to the story being told, I got very emotional. One of our team members was telling it, and Fenel was translating it. It was very complicated. I even got lost a few times, so I assumed that the kids were too. I was standing close to the exit and eased my way out. Jim followed me out to see if I was ok. Of course I started crying. (yeah yeah I'm a cry baby. Say something!) I told him why I was upset and He reminded me that we are not in control of this time. He looked at me and said something that I knew all along but I hadn't given over to God. - He said "Steph, the Holy Spirit is guiding Fenel. The Holy Spirit is leading these children and giving each of the people speaking the words to say. It's in HIS hands." Well, ok then! That shut my self-centered mouth right up! How snotty of me to think that we had any control in the first place. God's so much bigger than me, goodness. We went back in and our team had finished up. Fenel was "recapping" things and after about 10 minutes of just staring at him not understanding a single thing he was saying, he looked over at us and said, "I'm going to ask if they want to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord today." My heart stopped I think. I had heard this asked at church on Sundays, but never in a different setting. What would happen!? How would they react? Would anyone stand up? This was a huge moment! One child came forward then another. Soon, THIRTY FOUR children were standing around Fenel who wanted to become followers of my Jesus!!!!! We took them into a separate room where Fenel, Jim, Jana, Kim, and Donna all went to talk to the children more about what they were doing. The rest of us stood outside and prayed over the school and for the children. We prayed that they would remain strong, that they would impact others, that they would change the views of their people, that they would outlive their lives through Christ. It was pretty amazing. I went over to the room where the children were and Fenel, Jim, Jana, Kim, and Donna were all holding hands in a circle around the children. I joined in and cried and prayed for them. It was the most blessed event on this trip so far. God is so much bigger than the words we mess up or the story we tell. I have every one of those faces on my video camera and I hope I never stop praying for them. 34. 34 brothers and sisters in Christ today. 34 children I may never see again on this Earth. 34 children I WILL see one day in Heaven. 34 souls saved because the Holy Spirit showed up and gave our team the words to say.. 

After we left the school, we went to Fenel's house! I got to hear that beautiful voice again. I never realized how much I love the sound of Jacob's voice till this trip. I love that man so much. I'm so ready to be wrapped in a big ole hug from him! He let me know that our Charlie Bug was doing just fine. That eased my mind a ton. I miss my girl. My sweet, precious, beautiful baby girl. My heart aches to see them so much. BUT, I'm doing good here. I'm glad I'm here. I am just trying to enjoy the experience and learn as much as I possibly can.

We also went to the beach today. This time, we went without the kiddos from the House of Abraham. It was fun getting to spend time with just the ladies from our team. I've made some friendships that I hope will be lasting ones. 

I never realized how exhilarating it could be to lead someone to Jesus! I always thought about it, and I always thought "yeah right, what good am I?" I may not have been the one speaking, but I sure was praying. The power of prayer is incredible. Watching someone say that they want to follow Jesus is incredible. For each of you who helped make this trip possible for me - thanks! It's changed my life. It's opened my eyes to a whole new world. I can't wait to show you pictures and videos!