Without Borders.

So some may describe me as obnoxious, I would say enthusiastic. However, as I have been telling everyone here, my voice must have missed the connecting flight between Atlanta and Costa Rica. God certainly does test people and I am trying to find the right answer here. I started feeling a little sick before leaving home but I ignored it. Now I have a cold that is reducing my voice to a small squeak or whisper. Sounds like I've been chain smoking since I was about five. I swear fellow GAP students this is not my normal. But I am already learning to better sit back and listen and even though I am learning from this experience I would ask that everyone would be praying that I would start feeling better and that I could get my voice back! Now for our trip udate: Our flight was great, and we had almost no delays and actually got to CR a little early. Because Lydia is on crutches we also had a wheelchair and airport staff to help us every part of the trip! Praise Jesus! Also Lydia is go...

Tomorrow night I will sleep in Costa Rica. I am getting on a plane at 3pm Tuesday August 25th and I am flying to Costa Rica to live there for four months. Am I excited? Yes. Am I nervous? Yes. Am I anxious, and happy, and confused, and joyous? Yes yes yes. It's going to be an adventure. And it's a journey I am excited to share. It was hard to say goodbye to my friends and family. I am leaving everything that is familiar. But I am so thankful for the new experience. And I am also looking forward to the many new friendships that await me in Costa Rica. I know who my roomies are and I am looking forward to the hugs when I get there ! Thank you to everyone who supported me throughout this year. And thank you to everyone that is praying for me. My bags are packed and I'm headed to Philadelphia to meet up with my best friend who will be on this awesome adventure with me. And tomorrow we fly. I'll be blogging and Lydia and I will also take a go at vlogging on YouTube. Anyon...

And so another journey comes to an end. I was ready to be home in my own bed with my friends and family but it's hard to leave. I love the kids there. I love holding and hugging them. I love reading to them and singing with them, and I love teaching them. I love serving the people of Haiti. I didn't want to say bye to Pastor Vincent's kids or the kids at Mother Teresa's children's hospital. I miss the beaches and palm trees and I miss the city and the crazy driving. We left Haiti around 9am yesterday Wednesday July 8th. Our first stop was in Fort Lauderdale where we had to go through immigration with our bags and then get them rechecked and back through security. When we got to our gate we had about 3 minutes before it was time to board. Then we were off to Charlotte. There we had enough time to eat and I finally got my bacon cheeseburger. I was ready for that. Then we were supposed to leave there by 4:30 pm. I fell asleep on the plane and when u woke up we were st...

Today was my last full day in Haiti and it was Jen's first full day to go around Port Au Prince so we had to fit in a lot. We started our day at Mother Teresa's children's hospital. That was my third time there in these 10 days. Some of the other visitors were confused why I was there and none of my other group was. I got to spend some more time with the lovely little guys I had gotten to know and I also had some play time with another little boy. He was the cutest thing. But I could tell he didn't feel good and it kind of hit him in waves. One second he would smile and laugh for me and the next he was just uncomfortable. But he was good. And he had my heart. Leaving today was sad but I know they are in a good place, somewhere they are cared for and fed and will get some lovin. Next we went to visit Ken and Andrea at their new clinic/ community center. I fell in love. They have many more rooms. They have space for a couple doctor benches and dentist chairs, they have h...

Sorry the post is late but I needed a breather and some sleep last night so this post is actually about yesterday. We left Saint Marc around 8:30am to go back to Grande Saline. The trip was much shorter from there, about an hour and thirty minutes. We took the guys right to the water filtration system so they could start working as early as possible. Again there was a lot to work on but they fixed a few programing issues and got it all cleaned out by the end of the day. The four of us ladies walked down to the school to work on more computer lessons and art projects. We cleared out the school to set up. That was step one of the plan that went really well. Step two was to let 20 kids in. Five for each station to work with each of us. Jen was working on using USB'S and saving and opening files. Marcia was using the Paint program on a few of the computers with the students. Jean was making little cutouts for fans/puppets. And I was on finger prints with ink on a big paper and then d...

When I was with the other group some of them were jealous that I was going to stay longer but when it came to going to Grande Saline they were happy to let me go. It has been a long day. We left the guesthouse this morning at 8am. We arrived in Grande Saline around 12:30pm. On the way there we stopped at our hotel in Saint Marc to check-in. The hotel is about 2 hours away from Grande Saline. But the worst part of the trip is the 10 miles of road we have to go down that is full of holes, ditches, and rocks that takes us about 45 minutes to an hour to drive down. But we made it. And it was an awesome day. We started by unloading the suitcases that had equipment and supplies in them for the water filtration system. Then we went back to the school/church building to unload computers, clothing, and art supplies. Today with the kids Jen worked on teaching PowerPoint and having the kids open up files from a flash drive. A group of students in NY made PowerPoints that were translated into Kr...

Well this is going to be an early post. Who would have ever thought I would have a second alone in Haiti? Well at this very moment I am sitting on the roof at the guest house soaking up some sun and feeling the breeze all by myself. I have no idea where the closest American is and no I'm not scared. And don't freak out. I was supposed to be left behind. My second round of Americans will be here in about 2 hours. This morning we spent some more time at Mother Teresa's children's hospital and then everyone packed up. We just all said our goodbyes and gave hugs. I gave exactly 9 hugs. There were 10 of us together. I'm happy that I get to stay longer and work with Jen. I know I am going to love every minute of it. But I also want to travel home with my girls and my family. And I want to go to Chili's with them at the airport in Florida. And I want pasta. So it was sad to see them leave but it was also a great feeling to be privileged and honored to get to stay behi...