I was hungry and you gave me food....

For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me....Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.

--Jesus

As a mother I needed this encouragement! I have read this passage in Matthew a million times, and in fact it is the title of my orphan blog. I have always referred to the poor when reading this, but I heard a wonderful podcast that applied this to parenting. Parenting? But how many times do we get worn out as mothers and forget that what we are doing, as mundane as it seems, is a form of worship. When we wipe noses, kitchen counters, and bottoms we are doing that unto Jesus. When we feed and clothe the helpless infants and toddlers that God gave us, we should realize that our actions are as important as clothing THE KING. What a great reminder!

My first Haiti Mission Trip

Andy and I took a group of college students to Haiti for a mission trip over Spring Break. It was an amazing trip for all of us. Andy’s parents kept the kids for us and my dad recovered from his surgery. So I wasn’t worried about the kids at all. You know that this is half the battle for Moms. We were gone a week and they were entertained the entire time. I was so excited about this trip because I have never been on a mission trip. I have always said I would be a missionary to Africa where you had to drop in from a helicopter. This was the closest I have come to that. And then to top it off, we went to Haiti, a country dear to my heart. We went to an orphanage called Hands and Feet where 38 orphans live. They are located in Jacmel, the Voodoo capital of Haiti. They are taking care of their physical needs while teaching them the truths of the Bible. What an impact these children will have on Haiti when they grow up! I fell in love with the kids and can’t wait to go back. We did hard manual labor while the kids were at school everyday. We basically tilled the ground with pick axes and shovels. We removed rocks that had been left by the hurricanes last year. We sifted rocks out of the dirt for the playground area. The guys dug a septic drain for the kids house. We painted the white buildings and the playground equipment. We swept rocks off the roofs. We worked hard!

To see the photo album click here.

Dad's Surgery

Dad before surgery

My dad had triple bypass surgery. It was an eventful few weeks from an abnormal heart scan/stress test, angiogram, to bypass. And to make it all more dramatic, my parents were supposed to leave for a trip to Turkey two days after the angiogram where they found significant blockages. So the trip was cancelled and surgery was scheduled. My dad has done amazing though! He was up walking the day after surgery and he was discharged after only 5 days in the hospital. He is slightly frustrated with his energy level, but give him time and he will be going stronger than before! I am so thankful that he found this before a heart attack and that everything has gone so well.