A change of heart

Today my thoughts changed a little on this place. Yesterday I felt like there wasn't a whole lot of hope here. My heart broke for what I saw and I struggled with what people dreamed about here. I focused more on how much they need, what I/we needed to do to help, and imagined how miserable they must be. After playing with the kids for most of the day I am beginning to believe that we in the United States have it wrong. Maybe the simplicity of life here is better. My hunch is that people here know who their neighbors are and probably know everyone on the street. I bet here they don't use the excuse that they are too busy for family or too busy to take time to show love to those around them.

Maybe there is a lesson to be learned from our brothers and sisters here in Haiti. I think the lesson is the same from all the third world countries I visit. I need to step back and let my brothers and sisters remind me about the simple life. Sometimes it is too easy to let the "stuff" distract us from what is most important in life.

The big rain storm

Our first evening into Haiti ended with a huge rain storm. We took some time in the afternoon to hang out with the children in the orphanage when we began to hear thunder. The director informed us that we needed to run towards shelter on higher ground after we felt the first drop of rain. I thought he was being over protective of us but I soon realized how wrong I was. The rain pounded the earth like nothing I had ever seen. Within 20 minutes, the very roads that we traveled in on became rivers with strong currents. Children ran outside and began playing in the raindrops and danced under water spouts. The adults took time to throw garbage into the moving body of water so that the current of the river would take it down stream. As the waters continued to rise, we watched as it began pouring into peoples homes.

It was almost a difficult thing to watch. On one hand, it was a joy to see the children having so much fun playing in the rain but on the other hand, it was painful to think about the amount of disease that is in the water they were playing in.

Arriving in Haiti

Here are some thoughts from my journal after the first day crossing into Haiti..

"As I am sitting and writing, I am finishing my first day in Haiti. I don't even know what to write except that this place is awful. I have been blessed to see a lot of places in the world but I have never seen anything like this. God, why do people live like this? Crossing the border from the Dominican to Haiti was a night and day difference. There was not only a distinct change in smell but also a change in everything else. The odor is so strong it almost produces a gag reflex. Children are running around naked and there isn't a piece of ground that doesn't have garbage all over it. In Rwanda there was hope of land that people could grow stuff on, there was an incredibly beautiful scene to look at each day. Here is like I would picture hell. There isn't a way to grow any crops, as you walk along the streets there is feces, garbage and naked children everywhere. Hotter than Haiti is an expression I have a whole new understanding for....

Haiti Recap

I am going to give you a little recap of my trip to Haiti. I just returned home yesterday and honestly, it is good to be home.


The next couple of entries will be some entries from my journal so that you can see first hand some of the things that were going through my mind.

Getting ready for Haiti

In exactly seven days, I will be making my way to Haiti. I still can't believe that another year has come to an end and summer is ready to begin. I am not really sure what to expect from this trip but I am excited about the opportunity to serve- even if it is only for a short time. A group of twelve will leave next Tuesday and head to an orphanage in Haiti where we will spend some time doing a variety of things. The part I am the most excited about is being able to play with and love the kids. I have not been to a third world orphanage and I imagine that it will be pretty sad. I just pray that we are allowed to be a beacon of love to these kids. I won't be able to connect to the Internet while I am there but I will be sure to give a play by play complete with pictures when I return! In the meantime, please pray for our team.

Most adorable kids ever

I don't get to brag about my nieces and nephew enough so I thought I would just take the opportunity to show you just how amazing they are. They are so precious! I am a pretty lucky Aunt if you ask me...

I am an aunt once again!

Here is the latest addition to the Benjamin family! I am now a proud aunt of two nephews and two nieces! Being an aunt is the greatest ever!

May I recommend a flu shot!

This past week I learned a huge lesson that will change the way I prepare for the flu season. The flu shots that they often recommend that people ask their doctor about... GET ONE! Looking back on this week, I don't know if I remember a time where I have felt quite that awful. It was miserable and I was basically out of commission for an entire week. Who would have thought that one could actually get diagnosed with the flu. I honestly thought the flu was something that either meant one was throwing up like crazy or they were sick and didn't know what it was so they call it the flu. I never knew there was an actual test that the doctor gives you to determine if you have it.

The crazy thing about getting sick is that it always happens when life is the craziest. Honestly, between selling a house, looking for a house, future career decisions, work and beginning the softball season, getting sick was not something that fit into my day planner. I am just excited to be healthy and super thankful for amazing people that could help me out when I couldn't do it on my own.

Blast 2007

I was able to spend last weekend up at Kalahari resort in the dells with over 250 amazing high school students. The theme of the weekend was Redemption. It was incredible to have conversation after conversation with students who really made some life changing decisions during the course of this retreat. It was an incredible couple of days! There are some weekends in life where I have to sit back and just thank God for allowing me to be a part of something so phenomenal!

Great times had by all

Dish soap in Dishwasher is a bad idea....

What is going to come of the new year?

I don't know whether it is the new year but I feel like there is a lot of change on the horizon. I am not really sure what that is going to look like but I imagine that there may be some big things that will happen soon. Stay tuned...

Snow Day

The newscasts warned us, everyone was talking about it, but I didn't really believe it would happen. I felt like a little kid again when I woke up. As soon as my alarm went off, I raced to the window to see if it had really snowed. It snowed alright but it didn't look like the 12 inches they promised. I was so bitter. I had gotten myself all excited for a snow day and it looked like nothing. But to my surprise, I got the phone call that school was cancelled! I know come June, I will be annoyed that we have to make it up but that's OK. We were in a four week marathon of full weeks before Christmas break. This day off is welcomed on so many levels.

Christmas in the bathroom

On Saturday morning, I invited my Aunts who were in from Michigan to come see my home. They have not seen the place since I bought it and I figured since it was decorated for the holiday season, it would be a good time to invite them over.

Now, please understand, I love my Aunts and my mother with all my heart but there are some things Mom and Aunts do that just don't make sense. Aside from my mother opening all my closets and pointing out every nook and cranny of the place, re-arranging the snow village, and changing the flower arrangements in my house, my ultimate favorite event was the bringing Christmas into the bathroom. My Aunt Judy decided that there needed to be a little more Christmas in my downstairs bathroom. I already have the bathroom a dark red color, and there are Christmas hand towels in there but it wasn't enough. Before too much time passed, my Mom and my Aunt had the bathroom decorated to the point that I could almost hear it sing Christmas carols on it's own. The flower arrangement is completely re-done with Christmas flowers and sparkly things, there are snow village figurines on the shelf in the the room, and there are snow covered pine trees on a shelf above the toilet (which don't knock the wall as you are using my toilet because they are in a spot that they will come crashing on your head. They are heavy enough that it will leave quite a welt.)

I am glad my Aunts came into visit and I will admit, my house has an even great festive glee to it but it was rather comical to sit back and watch as the three of them scurried about doing their Aunt and Mom duties. The three of them are so much alike it is almost scary.

A more thankful Thanksgiving

This thanksgiving had a twist that I wasn't expecting. Giving thanks hit me a little differently than I thought or even planned...

I went over to my parents for Thanksgiving. I had known Grandma Judy was coming so I brought my Africa album with me. Judy was one of the people that had helped sponsor my trip and although we had talked about the trip, I haven't had the opportunity to really show her all the photos. I took some time before and after dinner to sit down with her and basically re-live the journey. Although I keep a few pictures around my house, it had been awhile since I had sat down and looked through all the pictures. As I was sitting there, re-living what life was on the other side of the globe, I couldn't help but sit back and really reflect on how blessed we truly are.

As I enjoyed a thanksgiving feast, looked through piles of "day after thanksgiving" shopping adds, and cleaned fancy china, it made me really think about how wrong we have it. Our society is so fixed on external material blessings that we forget what the true blessings are. We are so blessed to live in an area that is safe. We are blessed to have a roof over our head, a school to attend, access to medical care, food, clean water, soap, and even a toothbrush. Most importantly, we are blessed to not have to go through a genocide where we fear for our lives, or watch love ones be taken or killed.

Most importantly, I am blessed to have had the opportunity to travel to Rwanda, and learn from some amazing brothers and sisters in Christ. We went with a mission to assess, build, learn and serve and I believe that I walked away with lessons that are far greater than anything I could have ever done. A lesson on true forgiveness, community, faith and a heart that has been touched in ways I am just beginning to understand.

Let there be light?

I decided that I wanted a timer on my front porch light. I didn't like the idea of turning it on and off on my own because there are times that I don't get home until late and the front of my house can be very dark. There are also times when I leave to workout before the sun is up and then I turn off my porch light while it is still dark outside. Sounds like a trivial issue but for me, it is pretty important.

I have one of the worlds greatest fix it guys. He has super reasonable pricing and his company is always enjoyed when he is over. His name is Dad. The two of us have had quite the frustrating adventure trying to get this porch light to actually work. We have now attempted two digital timers, (both worked for a couple of weeks and then ended up dying for some reason or another) a dusk 'till dawn light bulb contraption, and tonight we attempted a different timer that was recommended by the hardware store clerk. All have successfully failed.

So how many blonds does it take to change a light bulb? I am not sure but it has taken my Dad and I over a month to try and fix my porch light...

Some pretty amazing little ones

David is as cute as ever. He has the greatest personality. I can't beleive how big he is getting.





When Mikayla rides on her scooter or her bike, we refer to her as the pink blurr. She is the quickest one on the block and she is always wearing pink.

Little boy blue isn't so little anymore

Kyle is finally on the road to recovery and getting better each day. It seems like it has been one thing after another but he looks healthy and happy in this picture. From what I have heard, it takes a lot to keep this little guy down.

An urge to re-locate

There are phases that I go through where I have this strong urge to move. I think it is one of those times. I am ready to start a new job, live in a different place and have a chance to just start over. It isn't that anything is bad here, it is just the thought of what I might be missing out there... After all, now is the time to do that kind of thing, right?

Slumber party with Aunt Debbie

This past weekend, I had the greatest moment as an Aunt. I was able to have Mikayla spend the night and spend the night giving her my undivided attention. It started with picking her up and going to get McDonald's, her dinner of choice. While at McDonald's, I got to hear life perspectives from a five year old. It is amazing how smart they are. She talked about gymnastics and her preschool. She told me about her new friends at preschool and then she made a realization that our table was wobbly. To her surprise, every table in McDonald's wobbled except for one. She didn't understand why that was the case. After dinner, we decided that we should take a trip to the video store. I was hoping that we could rent Over the Hedge but she assured me that I would like Barbie and the 12 dancing Princesses so much more than Over the Hedge. In fact, I would like it so much that we should get two Barbie princess movies. Once we got to my house, we painted nails, colored in a coloring books, had a tea party (with apple juice of course), baked cookies, watched princess movies and created an area to go camping in the family room that night. My biggest fear was that she wouldn't make it the whole night and would become homesick. It was a super successful night, no tears were shed and we laughed a lot. Mikayla's thoughts on the sleepover were priceless, "Aunt Debbie, I was thinking and next time I should stay for five weeks."

Was it unanswered?

I came across a news article today about a guy who found a bag full of letters that were addressed to God. The letters were sent to a Reverend at a church with the intent that they would be prayed over. Some were on the humorous side and others on the serious side. It was almost as if the author was putting down the Reverend for not reading the letters. As a result of not reading the letters, the author implied that they were not prayed over. Here is my question, did the Reverend really have to open and read the letters in order to pray over them? Could he have held each letter and prayed for whatever was in it and still kept the confidentiality of each letter? God would know what was in the letter even though the Reverend didn't open it, right? What made me the most angry was the last line of the article that announced the individual was going to place these letters for sale on EBay. Seriously, doesn't he have access to a paper shredder? Can't he just take the letters and destroy them? Why would anyone be so hungry for money? Check out the article for yourself, what do you think?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061102/ap_on_re_us/unanswered_prayers