A softened heart.

This week I have been blessed with the opportunity to lead this amazing team of family and friends. I love that I am able to watch each of them get touched by different things. God works in each heart so differently and how awesome to see hearts soften and change. My parents are on this team and it is their first trip to Haiti. I love that I am able to share Haiti with them, to have them understand why I feel the way I feel, and to have it touch their hearts too. It is priceless.

This trip has been different than any other for me. God has been softening my heart and this softness has opened my eyes to an injustice. Everywhere I look I see boys and young men with eyes that seem to look at you and say, "I am lost," "No one sees me," "I have no value." I look at these boys and I see children of our Almighty God. They have value because of His love. I hate to see the shadow of those lies in their eyes. I am unable to help every boy in Haiti but I have decided that each boy that God puts in front of me will be able to see from my eyes, God's love. I can be the eyes of Jesus in Haiti by truly looking into each boy's eyes and offering them acceptance for who they are right now. I can be Jesus' hands by reaching out and touching each of them. I can deliver God's unending love through touch. I believe that touch can heal, especially the wounds you cannot see. In our morning devotions we talked about the book, "Holy Discontent. In it the author references Popey and how he was slow to anger but once he did get angry, he would say, "That's all I can stanz and I can't stanz no more". He would then open a can of spinach, get super-human strength, and save his girlfriend. The author said this is similar to what happens when a Christian's heart and God's heart align on the same injustice. The Christian looks at what is happening and says, "I can't stand this!" The Christian can then be used for Gods purpose regarding the issue. God is the spinach delivering superhuman power. He calls this the Holy Discontent. I believe that God may be defining mine. The reality that anyone not know how valuable they are through God's love is unacceptable to me. That these boys feel like less than nothing is wrong. I believe that God feels the same.
While I don't know what God has planned for my future, I know that today I can help God start to change that reality one child at a time.

Jenn