miseline.

by
No comments yet

The only place I want to be right now is in the Hope House court yard. All I want to see are my kids running towards me.

This is Miseline.
An eleven year old beauty, inside and out. Her love for the Lord is unwavering and her kindness to others is a true depiction of the Lord's heart for His people.

This is the girl who wrote me letters everyday telling me how much she loves me and how much God loves me.

This is the girl who no one at the Hope House has beef with, which is really saying something.

This is the girl that every time I would leave her she would say in a matter o' fact way
"Abby! Anbrase mwen!" or in english "Abby! Hug me!"

This is the girl who made me a red and white beaded bracelet that I will wear until the day it breaks.

This is the girl who for the first two or three weeks pretended like she hated me because she wanted to find out if she could trust me.

This is the girl who could make the world melt away with her hugs and her breath taking smile.

This is the girl who happens to be pi bon zanmi mwen or in english
my best friend.

Priye pou Miseline

or in English

Pray for Miseline.

update.

by
1 Comment

I have re-kindled my love affair with red lipstick.

Ps, no more drinking grande green tea fraps before bed for me... just had the worst night's sleep ever.

a place to call my own.

by
1 Comment

As many of you know:

It is hard to believe that the place I called home for a year is no longer mine. I sit here thinking of all the times I sat out on the lawn reading or studied in the library or ate at the pub or saw plays in the theater or walked down the hall of Lynd to see friends or met up with people at Bates for dinner… My heart breaks that I will never again be able to call Sarah Lawrence mine. I think of the snow days we had and the giant snow man Maddy, Erin, and I built, I think of sitting on Nour’s bed talking about life, hanging out with Odette and watching Bones, I remember my first trip into New York City—spur of the moment to Life Café the week of orientation. I think of baking treats in Hill House, and having small group in Zoe’s room. I remember our last small group picnic outside of Hiembold thinking to myself “I will be back here next year, I am not sad to leave for three months.”

But alas, God is so big. He does things that one can never see coming.

When I went to Haiti this summer I never thought that I would abandon my life in New York that had made me so happy. But God knew better. This summer made me realize how my heart yearns for missions. I tried to put out the fire with dreams like working for the New York Times or even getting back into acting… But again God came knocking. I know now that the only way I can live into my full potential is to transfer schools and take a year off for missions. I know that God needs me to get a biblical education in order to pursue what He has had planned for me all along.

So I am leaving Sarah Lawrence.

But I just want to say thank you—to everyone that made Sarah Lawrence great for me, to everyone that made SLC, SLC… I know that it wouldn’t be the same without all of you. I will never be able to stop calling SLC “mine” because when I close my eyes and I transport myself back to that beautiful campus I cannot help but breathe in the New York air and see the leaves changing colors and know that some part of my heart will always be home there. I will always love SLC. And I will never forget how much I grew there in so many different ways. My life would not be the same without you.

Thank you.

five reasons i am no longer allowed to use super glue.

by
1 Comment

1. I got glue all over my fingers and it formed a tough skin that nothing can penetrate.

2. Glued my foot to the floor... It hurt like heck pulling it off... Don't ask me how this happened.

3. Glued my hair to my other hair... proceeding to rip a giant chunk of it out and leave it on the floor of Wal Mart... Which I don't support anyway-- So there. (Witnessed by Sheena and Jacki).

4. Found another patch of glued hair.. Jacki picked it out for me while going through the check out line (true friendship).

5. Evidently the glue on my barrette had not dried fully when I clipped it in my hair today... (you can guess where this is going)... Glued my hair to my barrette and had to rip it out, literally.. (Also witnessed by Jacki and Sheena).. and I ruined my barrette.

iverson.

by
No comments yet

Right now I want to be at the Hope House playing with Iverson. Playing with marbles, tickling each other, chasing each other... Hearing him yell my name as I walk through the gate.
Iverson came to the Hope House with His brother Galaxon after the earthquake. Their father died in the quake and their mother got sick and died quickly after. They remain the newest kids at the Hope House, the most rough around the edges... But also the two who showed the most love to me in the simplest ways.

I keep seeing Iverson's face the day I left... His sad confused face. And my heart cannot help but break for him.

for the woman who taught me how to love recklessly.

by
1 Comment

I will never forget the way you loved others. I will never forget when you tutored intercity kids in Jackson, when you brought me to your church and it was the first time I had the cardboardish communion bread, when you would make me bagels with cream cheese and orange juice for breakfast. I will never forget thanksgivings in your kitchen, your beautiful southern accent, your stories, your laugh.

I will treasure the times we spent looking through old photos in your living room, sitting around the table drinking tea and telling stories about the old days, cousins, neighborhood kids, cats and dogs, Laurel and Braxton.

You will always be such an inspiration to me. The way you loved Jesus. The way you loved others more than yourself, and the way you advocated for what was right and just in the world.

So heres to the woman who I will never forget, who I will think about daily and never cease to love.

Rest in peace my lovely, my Grammie.
Doris Barwick

the perfect ending, but just the beginning.

by
No comments yet

So it is official. Two months has come and gone.

Today is my last day in Haiti... My heart breaks at this thought, but at the same time I am ready. Ready for life to start, ready to apply everything that I have learned here. My life has changed so much over these past two months and I am sure that it will be noticeable.

Yesterday as a goodbye all the interns went to a giant water fall in the mountains of Haiti. I have never seen anything this beautiful. We were able to climb all over the rocks and we went pretty dangerously high. It was so fun and so amazing to be there with these people that I will consider family forever.
At night there was a giant going away party complete with take out Gwo Poppa Poul. A bunch of the staff and all the interns gathered. I was home. All these people I have grown to know and love.

Thank you to everyone in Haiti that made my life here amazing. To the Hope House kids, mommies, interns and staff. Thank you.

unrecognized strength.

by
No comments yet

Today was my last morning with the mommies. They all had written me letters and stood in a line to give them to me and hug me and tell me they loved me. Needless to say, I cried.

These women they call "the mommies" are just that-- but so much more. These women are so often taken for granted. Teams come and go with a fixation on the children at the Hope House, don't get me wrong the kids need all the love that can be provided, but these women often get over looked.

They are each warriors in their own ways-- taking on the burdens of all the kids and putting on a brave face for them. If you visited the Hope House there is a chance that you would never even meet a mommy because they are so busy working to keep the house clean and to keep kids out of trouble.

These women are inspiring... Their undying love for God, children, and people is unfathomable. They have shown me more love in the past two months than all of the children have in a week-- and that is saying something.

Spend time in prayer for these women, for their super natural strength that only stems from the Lord, and their ability to make someone feel so deeply loved.

Powered by Blogger.