Missions in Haiti

I have a lot of updating on my travel nurse excursion, but I am going to update on my current status as far as Haiti goes.

The earthquake in Haiti happened on January 12th. The fact that it happened on that exact date had great significance in my own life. Originally I didn't think of considering going. My heart has always been for Africa and I have felt God calling me that direction. I went into nursing to one day be a missionary nurse there, and to more specifically use the knowledge of the french language that I learned during my 4 years in high school. I don't want that education and valuable knowledge to go to waste. I went to Burkina Faso 6 years ago. Infact I think I left on this very day, July 14th. Since then I have been involved with an African fellowship, had an African roommate for 6 1/2 years, and have several close African friends. I have learned so much about that culture. So going to Haiti is not something I gave thought to when it originally happened, because it's not Africa.

Then 2 weeks after the earthquake I felt God nudging me, "You are a nurse. You want to be a missionary nurse. They speak french, you know some french. You have experience with the African culture, and that's where the Haitian ancestors are from. These 3 things alone are skills that the majority of people don't have, including the majority of nurses!" My former boyfriend is also Haitian, and I've always been curious and wanted to understand which parts of his personality were cultural.

So the search to go to Haiti began with disaster relief. Every website I found for disaster relief required previous experience or completion of a training program with the Red Cross. I then realized that because Haiti was currently on the television screen day and night everyone wanted to go, but in a few months when it was less in the media people would forget. There would be much more of a need and shortage. By delaying my trip it would give me time to review the french language, and be much more prepared and useful.

The hospital I was currently working at was sending doctors and nurses; however, as a Christian there is a much higher purpose for me doing this. I wanted to go with a Christian organization and not as a humanitarian effort. I didn't know where to begin. For some reason Samaritan's Purse popped in my head. The organization of Franklin Graham (son of Billie) and of which my church in Iowa City had gone to New Orleans with after Hurricaine Katrina. I decided to visit my old church's website and there I saw it again, them fundraising money for Samaritan's Purse. I then did a google search for missionary nurses to Haiti, and my very first return was Samaritan's Purse, so I filled out one of their applications and prayed.

Over the next several months the course of my life changed to put me in a better position to spend more time in Haiti. I became a travel nurse, which allows me to take weeks or months off to do missionary nursing without having to put in for vacation time.

In June my prayer began to be answered. I received an email from SP requesting me to fill out an application again. I emailed them, and received more information. They need nurses in their clinic in Cite du Soleil (City of Sun) through the summer and fall. Morgann said that if I emailed her my application personally that she would process it as quickly as possible. My computer crashed in the spring and I lost my application, so I had to start from scratch. I finally submitted my application yesterday after traveling and working for the past 3 weeks.

Last night more sure tail signs from God came about. I was talking to my neighbors, 2 brothers, in our pool. They were telling me how the very first missionary to die in Haiti was standing a year ago in the pool right where we standing. They told me that if I went to Haiti I could go for them in her memory and that they had been friends with the Grahams for years. Wow! If that's not God speaking than I don't know what is.

I extended my contract 8 weeks which will allow me to pay off my car, and have no bills. My plan is to go at the end of this contract, Sept 25th anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 months. I'm praying that the Lord will reveal the amount of time he wants me to be there through the organization's response. I am all for eating beans and rice. As of this summer I have discovered that I have a gluten intolerance. Since cutting gluten from my diet I have had huge burst of energy. Rice is gluten free, but often is enriched by adding coating to it that has gluten. I am praying that this won't be the case, and my diet won't become an issue in visiting. Gluten now gives me huge headaches and makes me very lethargic when I go back to eating it.

I also at this point am unsure of how my finances will be at the end of September after paying off the car and buying the plane ticket. The plane ticket is the only cost I am responsible for on this trip. My room and food will be covered there. I want the car paid off, so there are no monthly bills to worry about while gone. The only two definate bills I will have left is my monthly storage bill for my furniture and phone bill. I plan on freezing my car insurance and storing it. My two prayers is for a place to store my car with all of my belongings if I don't get a chance to drive back to Iowa after finishing my assignment. My other prayer is my phone. I didn't buy a Blackberry that can be used internationally, and to have a job ready for when I return is very important. I need my local American phone number so future travel employers can call and interview me while overseas.

There are few details for God to work out yet, but I know that with God all things are possible.