And Then God Spoke

Psalm 29:8- "The voice of the Lord strikes with flashes of lightning. The voice of the Lord shakes the desert;"




(January 12, 2010)

A 7.0 Mag earthquake hit Legone, Haiti at 4:53pm Haitian time.

5 minutes later, I was in the clinic. That's when I realized how bad it really was. I was able to call my parents and leave a message via skype phone, but all that got through of my message was "Hi.... Earthquake.....I'm OK.... Love you."

I sent this email that night to my parents...


I am OK!!

Praise the Lord. All those on our team here are doing well. Please pray for those in PAP and out here where I am. We have been working nonstop since it happened and we can't even begin to help with this magnitude of need. Please pray for all those injured and keep us all in your prayers. I've never been through an earthquake, but I think that was a pretty monstrous one. We keep feeling tremors so please keep that in your prayers also.

I am here for a reason. Praise the Lord. "And who knows but that you have come to this position for such a time as this?" Esther 4:14

Please forward this message to all.
I Love you all dearly
Noelle

...and the emails started flying. I don't think I'll ever truly know how many people were praying for me during that time and for the past 6 months. My parents and friends from camp sent emails to everyone they knew and posted updates on facebook, those people sent updates to everyone they knew, and so on. I know for a fact that people in multiple continents were praying for me and for the Haitian people.

Last night I was truly scared again. I felt like I was back in Haiti, in my little bunk bed, falling asleep the night before the earthquake, but this time, I knew what was coming. I knew how scary it was going to be. I knew people were going to bleed and die in my arms, I knew that I'd have Post Traumatic Stress for the next 6 months, I knew I'd call my mom at least once a week crying so hard I could barely talk, I knew I wouldn't sleep well for another couple months, I knew how stressful it would be and that I'd end up with gray hair, I knew my life would be changed forever...

Its hard to think that its been 6 months since the earthquake and that the majority of people in the world won't even give it a fleeting thought. Sometimes I feel so selfish for asking for so much prayer this past semester. I mean, I didn't lose my house, my leg, or any family members. There are hundreds of thousands of people that DID. Some lost all 3!

My thoughts are kind of jumbled right now, but one thing my mom reminded me of last night is something I told her 6 months ago in an email...

"I know that the Lord is my rock and redeemer. He is my strength and my shield, and he is my strong tower that no earthquake can shake."

That night, 6 Months ago, I read Psalm 23-34. I felt like a terrified little sheep in need of a shepherd, so I started in Psalm 23. Then I kept reading. I encourage you to read through that passage again. It was really encouraging!

I'll write much, much more about what really happened and circumstances of the earthquake later. I'll also write a lot about how God has used that to glorify Himself. Just not today. Stay tuned.

Please keep Haiti and its people in your prayers!