Q & A

Some questions you might be interested in learning the answers to…

When will you be in Haiti?

Since I will be helping mostly at the school they would like me there before the school year starts, so the end of August sometime. I am looking at a 3 -6 month apprenticeship. It is stated that way, in case I decide to stop at 3 months or want to continue it as long as six months.

What language do they speak in Haiti?

The two official languages are French and Creole. The pastor I will be working with knows English and the woman I will be living with knows some English. A couple hours each week I will hopefully be taught Creole. The youth at the church are excited to learn English from me as well.

Will you have electricity/running water/internet?

I will have electricity and running water. I won’t have internet in the house I will be living in but I will have access to it during my stay. So I will be able to send updates and talk with people back home! Please don’t try to mail anything. Going through the Haiti mail system your package will probably not reach me.

Who is New Mission Systems International?

A Christian mission sending agency http://www.nmsi.org/who_we_are/about_nmsi/

Are you scared/nervous/excited?

Yes. All of the above and more. I am scared because of the uncertainty but I am at peace with the direction I am headed because I have hope. Timothy Keller defines biblical hope as life-shaping joyous certainty that your future is the eternal love and glory of God in a new heaven and a new earth.  

How much money do you need to raise and what will it be spent on?

Apartment $100/mo

Food $300/mo

Drinking water $25/mo

Transpotation $30/mo

Laundry $30/mo

Spending money (whatever you'd like here, $200 USD of you can)

Medical Insurance (already covered with the provider I have now!)

Internet $30/mo

NMSI Pre Field Orientation $220 (at the end of May in Fort Myers, FL)

NMSI team share (NMSI collects 10% of your total budget for NMSI administrative frees.)

Airfare

That comes to around $6,000 for six months

What my parents are thinking...

          I asked my parents to share some of their thoughts about me going to Haiti. I thought it would be good for you to read about how they are feeling. The first one is from by dad and the second is from my mom.

           How do I feel about my oldest daughter going to Haiti? How would any parent feel about one of their children serving and helping other people? I.E. a teacher, military, nurse, counselor; so many people help others. I am very proud.
           Could I have ever guessed she was going to go to Haiti when she was 5 years old? No. But I am thankful my daughters have bigger dreams than I did. My wife and I have told our girls; whatever you do in life for a vocation you better enjoy it. You will be doing it for a long time.
            Am I afraid of her safety going out of the states? Sure I am. But if God created the earth and everything in it, which I believe He did, then He is more capable of taking care of her than I am. Some people would be afraid to minister in Kansas City let alone another country. 
           Am I worried? A little. Not knowing is always kind of scary. Like what will happen when we get married or change jobs or have children or have surgery?
            God has prepared my wife and me by taking baby steps. Megan went away to college – scary. She went to be a camp counselor in Chicago – scary. She went to Europe – scary. She went to Haiti, then to Mexico, Haiti, Philadelphia, Haiti, Haiti, and Amsterdam. She always came back home safe. I thank God He has taken us through by using baby steps. I am very proud of Megan and respect her for her decisions.

-Dale

             How do I say Goodbye to a piece of my heart? By releasing my child into God’s hands. When Megan goes into the Word of God on a daily basis, it isn’t because she has to but because she wants to. She wants to know God’s heart. I know that if Megan says that Haiti is where God wants her to go then that is where she should go. God has given Megan a heart for the Haitian people. I admire Megan so much for stepping out of her comfort zone and going where God wants her to go.

“For you shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing.” Isaiah 55:12

Along with that verse God gave me the knowledge and assurance that after the initial pain of releasing my child there comes joy and peace, for both of us. Because we know that no matter what stages of life our children are in, when we release them to God they are in good hands.

-Debbie