Last week I was in Haiti. Ever since I’ve been home, I haven’t really felt like I’ve had a moment to process it all. God opened my eyes and my heart in so many ways during our trip. We did way more physical work that I expected. I honestly have never worked so hard for so long in my whole life. It was extremely hot, I sweat the entire time, and sprayed bug spray like it was my favorite thing ever. (it’s not)

Sometimes in the middle of the day, while I was drenched in sweat, drinking lukewarm propel from my water bottle, with blisters on my hands, I would think why the heck am I here? This is miserable. But you know what? God showed me something so huge. Somewhere I was so lacking. It’s really easy to say that I find fulfillment and joy in Christ when I sit in my comfy bed with air conditioning and read my Bible. So stinkin’ easy. I was so comfortable.

But the second that comfort went away, it was a whole different story. It’s a lot harder to be joyful when all those little comforts are taken away. I am so glad I went to Haiti. If I had to opportunity to go back tomorrow, I would go in a heartbeat. You couldn’t keep me away from that place. I love it. I love the heat, I love the rocks, I love the mosquitos. Those things showed me that my God is the only thing that can bring me joy.

When I’m laying in bed, my face as close as possible to a tiny battery operated fan, with the least amount of clothes on as possible, greasy bug spray on, dripping sweat, I really can be joyful. I have Jesus Christ.

Each night we would have worship. It was crazy hot in that building… you guys. So crazy hot. But these people, these sweet Haitian people would stand up there and sing their hearts out. I have never heard such a loud chorus of voices come from such few people. They worshiped like I’ve never seen worship before. Their songs were slow. It didn’t matter if the end of the song was supposed to come, they kept singing. Their worship was so pure and unplanned. So spontaneous and genuine. That worship refreshed my heart.

After a day of hard work, we would all join together and worship this awesome God we serve. Truly worship. The God who brought 92 kids to Christ. The God who gave us energy to build two walls and a road. The God who made sand for us to sift. The God who created the gorgeous ocean and placed millions of rocks in that Haitian soil. The God that will work in the hearts of 1,500 kids in the next few weeks at that camp. What an awesome God.

My heart is so full. I wish I could go back and relive every moment. I don’t want to forget a single thing. There is so much I want to say, so much I want to remember. I had the amazing opportunity to teach a Bible story to some precious kids. I was able to ask them their names and smile and take pictures. We drove for hours in a bus. Those bus rides were the best. They drive like crazy people down there. I thought we were going to die 50 times. Not even kidding. We took communion and prayed for each other. We shared the past, examined the present, and dreamt for the future. I made new friends with awesome country accents, laughed, drank the most amazing cold pepsi, talked to translators, brushed my teeth with water from a bottle, swam in the ocean, held a crab, sifted sand, moved rocks, took cold (amazing) showers in the dark with my flashlight, loved on kids, washed dishes, cleaned bathrooms, cleaned screens, and had the best week of my entire life.

My heart is overflowing. God is just so good.