Last Update from Haiti

Hey to all my friends and family!  I have missed everyone and have been so happy to see some of you since getting back from Haiti.  I know some of you don’t know I’m back yet, but to make a long story short…I’m back.  Ok, now to get into the story of the past couple of weeks.

During my last update, the last team to come down with Cri had just left the orphanage at Leogane.  Cri as an organization decided to pull out of Haiti for a while to reassess their long term vision.  Things in Haiti are starting to turn from response to recovery mode, so they needed to take a step back and decide what it would look like them to be involved in Haiti for longer periods of time.  This is potentially going to involve CRI buying  a house in Haiti for a smaller group of people to stay in that feel called to be in Haiti for months up to years or longer.  They are also getting a shipping container filled with resources down to Haiti to be used in the recovery efforts.

The last Sunday I was down in Haiti we were at a church in Carrefour.  The service was about change.  The sermon notes that I took say, good leaders accept change…they accept it and rise to it and then they go through difficulties head on.  Change defines opportunity, change is difficult but it’s for our own good if we learn to profit from it.  Change reveals stuff in us that we otherwise wouldn’t see.  If we don’t despise change and choose to embrace it then we glean from the benefits.

I had to embrace that sermon the last day that we were there.  Change isn’t easy.  It wasn’t easy to leave the girls we have poured so much time into.  It wasn’t easy to get in the car when they are pulling me away from it asking me to stay.  It wasn’t easy to explain in broken Creole that I was leaving for the states.  It wasn’t easy looking into their pleading eyes and telling them that I loved each and every one of them but had to go anyway.  But it was the necessary change.  My prayer through this is that they learn to rely on the Lord when they are lonely or feel they need a friend.  If we imparted anything, I hope that that is it…that the Lord is truly the Father to the Fatherless and that He calls them beautiful.

So now I need to backup and tell about my last week in Haiti…

The last CRI team left, the one that stayed with me two weeks at the orphanage.   IN those two weeks we saw so much change in the girls, I have already touched on those stories, so I won’t retell them, but I want to! : )  So after they left we had a small group of CRI leadership still on the ground,  these people being Kynada, Leasa, Johan, my dad and myself.   In the last week we had before we left we had several loose ends to tie up before we left back to the states.  Our first priority though was to take a break!  We went up to a cabin in the mountains (Ted, the man who runs the Christian School at Quisquaya let us stay at his cabin.  Thanks Ted!) to just spend time with eachother and to debrief on our time in Haiti.  Everyone had such a good time hiking, we had fires in the fireplace, drank tea, worshiped, debriefed, laughed, prayed, played, ate food…just everything.  I have found that debriefing is absolutely necessary.  It helps to look back and see what God did, but also to see what didn’t go well and seeing how things can be improved personally and corporally.  To be able to get the feelings out of happiness, sadness, joy and anger.  Then we followed it all up by praying for each other and building each other up.  Its times like these that I again see how blessed I was to be on a team of people that is so wholeheartedly after the Lord and that loves to pray.  The leadership that was in Haiti was such a team of laid down lovers, they served and loved well.  I went and learned so much from the people I was working with.  They loved the unlovely…they loved those who didn’t love them back; they loved when it was hard and when it was easy.  I am so thankful to have met and served alongside these people.

After our time up in the mountains we came back down and got to business.  The last days that we were there we stayed with Pastor Jean (thanks pastor!) in Carrefour (forty five minutes from Leogane.)  Pastor Jean’s vision is to start a house of prayer at his church there in Haiti.  I am excited about seeing a house of prayer raised up in Haiti…so thankful to see the way the Lord is moving there!

The last week there we also met with the mayor of Leogane.  This would have been the third time of having meetings with him.  The previous meeting, we had things we needed from him.  The last one we came with no agenda and also came bearing the gift of an ice cream maker.  (In a previous meeting he had said how much he likes making ice cream.  A lady that was at the meeting came back to the states, bought the mayor one and sent it down for him.)  The mayor is definitely aware of the spiritual realm and seeing signs and wonders, but he is heavily into voodoo and definitely not a follower of Jesus…though he has much knowledge of the Lord and also the Bible.  But we came just bringing the light and loving on the mayor as a person.  IT was obvious that it touched him immensely.

We also searched for a house to buy in the last week, but are still praying one in.

Sunday, was the day to say goodbye to my girls and then we had to go back home.  It was important for me to go back and say goodbye to them well.  I was able to do that.  We were there for a couple hours, you would have thought that the queen herself had come…they were so excited to see us and I them.   There were so many hugs, shouting out of glee, laughter and joy.  There were many pictures taken, addresses exchanged, playing, sitting and enjoying each other.  It really was like coming back home.   The goodbye, like I said earlier was really hard for me.  I put it off until the ride got there then I went to each of them and said I loved them and goodbye.  As I said goodbye to my friend Dashka, who is also the cook, I started crying.  She saw the tears in my eyes, and said, “you cry.”  Then she started feeding me…she can make anyone laugh.  So we all walked away with goat meat, rice, double fried plantain and her yummy sauce.  Not usually the way that I deal with sadness…but that was her Band-Aid for me.  : )  There were more hugs, tears, snot, kisses, and more hugs to top that off and then we had to go.  The girls know that when groups come to the orphanage, that they also have to go.  But what remained behind was love, and like I said before my prayer is that they have learned to rely on the Father to fill them up.

And now I’m home.  The biggest questions I’ve had since being back are, are you going back?  And also, what are you doing next?  The answer that covers them both are, I don’t know.  I love the girls there and am very willing to go back.  I feel that I probably will go back to visit sometime, but I don’t feel called to go long term.  My hearts cry is for someone to go into the orphanage and be there constantly for them.  To be the constant rock, to pray when they need prayer, to help take care of the girls, to train them up in prayer, arts, the prophetic.  I don’t feel that’s what God wants me to do though, which is so weird because I love them so much.  Right now I’m just waiting on the Lord and asking what next.  I feel like He is working on defining part of my long term vision for missions, which can change, but it will give me a long term p.goal to work for.

Whenever I go somewhere I don’t get hit with culture shock near as bad as reverse culture shock.  There are things I have so enjoyed back here in the states that we don’t have in Haiti.  Like a hot shower…the first shower I took back here was forty-five minutes long, instead of the three minute showers or bucket baths.  After I washed my body and hair, I just stood there in the warm water…then I started feeling bad for wasting water, so I just washed my hair again…and was so thankful to Jesus the whole time.  I love U.S. plumbing and still have to think twice as to if I should throw my tp in the garbage can or not.  I love having easy conversation with everyone.

But I do miss the people.  I miss the transportation down there…wherever you went it would always be with many people, never just driving by yourself in a car.  Having two months of such commrodary, when everyone is going for the same goal and working for the same purpose, then coming back and everyone is dispersed…its tough.

The Lord’s helping me through though.  I’ve been visiting my family at the house of prayer in KC and just soaking up Jesus.  I’ve spent many hours in the prayer room and also with my running shoes on taking runs or walks.  Its been so refreshing to see some of the people at services or gatherings and being able to give em a squeeze.  But, that to is also part of the necessary change that should be embraced.  God has a time and a season for everything and everyone.  I learned and have grown so much through my time in Haiti.  I made several good friends and have 50 little sisters thinking and praying for me in Haiti and I them.  God has given me new desire and compassion to help the orphans in the nations, and new love for Him and others.

So, all of this to say, thank you everyone.  Thank you for praying for me.  Thank you for your friendship.  Thank you for loving well.  Thank you for your support.  Thank you for reading my updates. Just thank you…and I love you all.

Back from Africa!

I bet everyone is wondering, did Carissa ever come back from Africa?  Is she still over there?  Did she graduate from the school?  Well, this update is LONG overdue and for that I apologize.

Strange for me, but I’m writing this update at the kitchen table at my parent’s house in Kansas City, Missouri.  I am hearing crickets, cars and trains in the background.  It’s strange how houses and yards look so spacious and clean after coming home from Africa.

If anyone has had the questions that I mentioned at the beginning of this update, I will attempt to answer them for you in the rest of this letter.

The last week of school flew by quicker than I wanted it to.  Before I knew it, school was over and graduation day was before me.

Graduation day proceeded as follows:  I got up and had my daily dose of morning bread, complete with a cup of tea.  At precisely 10 a.m. (African time which means it really was not 10 a.m.) we had a little meeting with just the Iris Harvest School students.  The leaders gave awards out to highlight certain people in our school.  I and another girl were given “The Best Makuti Roofer” award.  (You may remember that story from a previous update.) It was given for our diligence and perseverance in serving the widows by helping put new roofs on their houses.   The leaders of our school, Nathan and Sarah, encouraged us that all of us did excellent in school and finished well.  Sarah shared some of her experiences with the Lord that she had while she was in her school and encouraged us to keep pressing into what God has for us.  They had some songs that they wanted to play over us that had really impacted them, then they had everyone stand in a circle and all the leaders of the school prayed over us one by one.

After prayer, it was time to feast!  We joined in with the Mozambican pastors who were also graduating and all went to the kitchen.  It truly was a feast!  There was chicken, rice, refreshcos (pop), and desert.  Each student household made two deserts for the graduation dinner.  I made banana bread and my mom’s famous chocolate cake recipe…Yeppers, mom- your recipe made it all the way to Africa.  It was the biggest hit too!

All of the harvest students and Mozambican pastors sat together to enjoy a wonderful meal.  After we finished the chicken and drank our sodas, all the Iris students and pastors-in-training divided up into what we call “color groups” and played some crazy games.

After our games we all went out by color group to get photos with Heidi  Baker, the co-founder of Iris Ministries, then went on to the church for the graduation ceremony.

The ceremony was the most memorable part of the day. It started around 3 p.m. and lasted for ages.  We started off with some wonderful African worship, we went on and on and danced crazier and crazier.  There wasn’t a person inside that church that wasn’t dripping with sweat.  After all of the dancing we went into a time of sweet worship with the Lord and a sizable number of us were on our faces before Him.

After worship, Heidi gave the last encouraging words to the “sent-out ones,” encouraging us to always live a laid down life and to always be submerged in the presence of the Lord; to do nothing outside of His presence and always go low and slow in missions…to always stop for the one.

After her words of encouragement another speaker also talked to us.  Then, all the leaders of the school come to the front.  A gift was given to each of them and we prayed over them.

Next was the “official” graduation part.  All the school leaders and visitors who were watching the graduation ceremony came to the front and made a fire tunnel. They stood in two long rows facing each other, and when our names were called, we walked down the middle and they prayed for us as we went through the center. We all graduated by color groups.  My color group is Yellow, we were called up towards the end.  It was a huge joy to see all my friends and classmates graduate from the school.  When they called the Yellow group, I got really excited.  First all our Mozambican pastors were called, then, the Harvest School students were called up to the front one by one…pretty soon they said, “Carissa Marsh, graduate of Iris Harvest School.”  I was so exited! There is such a sense of accomplishment when you graduate from things!  After all of the group went through the fire tunnel we were instructed to go and pray for each other.

After everyone graduated, Heidi called up the Mozambican pastors to give them a gift.  Someone donated solar Bibles for all the graduating pastors.  The pastors were SO EXCITED to receive them!  Solar Bibles are the neatest things—small enough to fit in a shirt pocket, with the capabilities for  to listen to the Bible audibly either from the speaker of with headphones.  The back was a solar panel so they could be recharged in the sun instead of working off of batteries.  These Bibles are going to be so vital for evangelism and discipleship in the bush-bush.

After the gift for the pastors was given out, we came together and prayed for each other again…then we worshiped and danced more. Then Heidi had the great idea to pray for each other again!  It was the best graduation ceremony in all of Africa!  That was a true celebration…it was a huge party from 10 in the morning till way after suppertime.  Everyone was having the time of their life.

With graduation there was also a sense of responsibility.  We were being sent out…we’ve had the training over the past three months, countless speakers came from all across the world to impart to us what they have learned, Heidi pouring into us from her years of experience as a missionary, and what all  the leaders of the school prayed and poured into us.  What are we going to do with what we’ve been given?

While in the prayer room at the International House of Prayer in Kansas City, I was thinking about Africa.  I was thinking about Mozambique, the people in the bush- bush, and everything that needs to happen in that nation.  There needs to be so much discipleship in the churches of Mozambique. The married couples need Christians to come alongside them and teach them about Godly marriages. Many of the African people need medical treatment so badly.  Houses are falling apart and nothing can be done about it because no one has any money.   Many are starving, many children that have too much responsibility put on them at a young age.  My heart was aching, I was talking to Jesus about it and telling Him there isn’t enough time, there is so much work to do, there isn’t enough time.

He just told me, all that you need to do is love them.  Stop for the one, just love the one in front of you.  If one person was discipled, knew the love of the Father, and understood their position as a child of God, that one person could change their village and perhaps their nation.  God also reminded me that His timing is perfect and He will accomplish everything He has set out to do.  Missions isn’t about people setting of to accomplish some great work, it is about patiently loving the people God has put in front of you.

As can be imagined, coming back to the States is taking awhile to adjust to.  We do things so much differently here.  Going to another country, you always have culture shock, but coming back the same thing happens too!

I am enjoying the “firsts” again… the first hot shower, using fast internet, enjoying easy communication with people.  I love being able to pet my dog without wondering if I’ll get lice or ringworm. : )  It is also nice to not have to fight off the cockroaches that invade the houses in Africa on a regular basis.

Even though I am enjoying the things here, I still miss the Africa a lot.  It really became like home to me.  I got used to my daily dose of rice and beans, having my feet constantly covered in red dirt, and dirt-covered children in rags flowing to me wherever I walked.  I got used to not having any personal space or privacy.  I already miss the African worship and dancing with all of the Mozambicans.  Africa really impacted me for the rest of my life and I’m so happy I was able to go.

I’m going to write an update letter about my 10-day outreach to the Bush-Bush.  That is an update in itself.  Hope everyone had an amazing summer.  It’s crazy going from African winter to winter in the States, I completely missed a year of summer!

Update from Mozambique

Hey to all my wonderful friends and family!

I’m writing this email under my blue mosquito net in my room.  It’s windy this evening so the breeze is blowing the curtains through the open windows.  I made a disaster in my room after I got back from outreach.  I did the good old drop your bags and run to class thing.  I still need to shake out my tent and let it dry from outreach. Now I’m almost back to sorts now I can write a little email and tell all about some life here.

I really hope everyone is doing good and your summer is amazing.  At random times of the day I start thinking about summer back home and the events that I usually participate in… the most random things will strike up memories of home…ok, how weird is this, I was craving hot dogs the other day.  At home I don’t even eat hot dogs that often.  I think it’s the whole summer campfire thing that’s stuck in my head from years of spending summer that way!  : )  Just want all of you guys to know that I’m thinking about you and miss you lots.

Well, like I said I just got back from outreach to the bush.  My team traveled 3-4 hrs away to the village.  In M0ozambique they are having elections so its a shaky time to do outreaches.  It was only through Jesus that we got to go do outreach these last couple of days and will be the grace of God that we can continue to go out and do evangelism.  The government dose not like these sorts of gatherings during the election time here.  God protected our team though  we got to and from the bush safely.  The past couple of days has been absolutely amazing.  Wednesday night we got to the village we were to stay up.  We stayed at the pastor’s house and set up camp in yard which was rather fancy…the yard and house was surrounded by bamboo walls.  The latrine was amazing and there was even a place to take a shower. (I wasn’t there long enough to have need of that.)  The Christians here seemed to have more discipleship than the last village I was at.   Jesus shined out of these people’s eyes.  One of the pastors kids came to me and held my hand right away.  She was a wonderfully beautiful little girl..we stuck together most of the night.  While watching the Jesus movie she was telling me random bits of information that I couldn’t understand at all.  People got saved both nights we showed the Jesus film.  The first night we spend ages praying for this man in a wheelchair. We eventually had to go because it was getting late and dark but he said he wanted to come back the next day to have us pray again.  The next day at seven in the morning who was waiting but him.  I wasn’t out with the people who were praying for him but some of the team went to go speak to him and pray some more.  He came wanting Jesus to be in his heart.  He said that the night before he saw the church demonstrated through us and the amount of ove we poured out and he wanted that same thing inside of him.  They led him to the Lord and later that day a small group of people went to pray for his healing.  They didn’t see him  walk but definitely bondage were broken and he asked Jesus into his life.  Also his friend who was in the same condition as he also said that he wanted to be saved and asked for them to pray with him.  I am praying that these two friends now spur each other on in the Lord and grow a lot with Jesus.

The absolute best part of outreach for me was helping build the church.  It was SO MUCH FUN!  There is something about getting down into the mud and working with the people that makes you feel like part of the culture.  The way they build the church is so interesting.  They already had the bamboo walls built and the roof put on.  The roof was tin,  around here that’s pretty fancy.  The walls, as I said are bamboo.  They have pieces of bamboo every couple of feet with horizontal pieces in between.  After one wall is built then 4-6 inches in front of it they build another wall exactly like it.  So the skeleton of the church was built when we got there, the part we got to partake in was putting the mud in the 4 in space between the walls.  They had a huge pile of dirt in the church and Mozambique pastors mixed it with water.  I got to help squish it with my feet.. I was up to my knees in mud..it was so amazing!  When the mud is the right texture then you take a big glob of mud and roll it into something  that doesn’t  just fall apart when ya pick it up.  The idea is to get it from the pile into the wall without loosing it all. once I mastered the rolling mud technique I was was off and building mud walls like mad.  I worked side by side with the Mozambique woman and bible students that come with our team.  They all laughed at the mud all over my face.. and my technique of building the walls.  Of course some  got flung between me and the pastors and all of us harvest students.  There was so much joy in the room, it really felt like family.  When we finished building the church all of us gathered together to sing inside and pray.  It was the perfect ending to building the church.  I kept a ball of mud as a souvenir.

The village we went to that evening was a completely Muslim village.  They told us that we could come but they didn’t want our Jesus.  We drove half hour away to the village, the presence of the Lord was so strong. Right  across from the place we were to show the film was a carpenter shop.  Wood is very expensive here so it was crazy to have a carpenter shop right in the middle of nowhere.  Everything that they did was with hand tools.  I have so much respect for those carpenters.  The doors that they were making were so beautiful.

We started up the film straight away, while they watched it our team prayed and got pumped up for what God was going to do.  After the film they gave a salvation call…well, a lot of the kids decided to give their lives to Jesus.  Some of the adults did too : )   I had a chance to share a testimony..I just told them of a healing that I saw before.   I talked about the God I serve who is powerful and loving.  I don’t know how much they understood since it had to go from English to Portuguese to Makua but its what god laid on my heart to share so I did.  So many seeds were planted, I’m so glad that we got to be there.

The ride back home I spent standing on the back of the camion with some friends singing and shouting Makua greetings at the top of our lungs.  The wind was so strong when I opened my mouth it blew my lips and face all over the place.  I got to see some monkeys and all kinds of amazing African scenery.  I felt so myself and so Mozambican.  I  adopted a Makua name after outreach.  I felt like I needed a name so I was fully emerged in Mozambican culture.  So my Makua name is Nipirutu.  That’s what butterflys are called here.   I’ve told a couple of people and they laugh and laugh at me.  It’s so much fun!

Last Monday I helped hand out worming pills to the widows.  Along with the worm pill they also hand out beans and shema.  Bugs live in the dried beans and go through clothes and bite skin.  Needless to say I’m the poor victim of bean bugs which are quite similar to chiggers.  I’ve been itching like crazy for the past three days.  I’m excited to have these bugs dead!  : )

Ok well here I come to the end of my letter.  Have more to say but cant right now.  As they say here “Kihowrra” or bye!  Much love!!!!!!!!