And now, without further ado, allow me to introduce....

The Plan!!!

To be completely honest, there has been much "ado" (n. Bustle; fuss; trouble; bother.) in announcing this.

I found out "the plan' a few weeks ago and have been putting off writing about it. I think this is partially because I'm so overwhelmed by the magnitude of it. ... hmmm. magnitude... not my favorite word to use since January 12 of this year, but I think its appropriate. This is a big deal. Hopefully not in the same manner as the 7.0 that tore apart my life, but I don't doubt that it will impact my life just as greatly...minus the post traumatic stress. I'm so very excited and nervous about taking this new step, but I am more than confident that my Father will be with me every step of the way to guide and direct me in His steps.

Ok, so here goes, I'm announcing this to the entire internet world.

I'm moving to Haiti.

I honestly can't believe this is happening. And its happening at whirlwind speeds I move on January 5th. I found out that this would be happening 35 days before I would board the plane. I have a million and a half things to do between now and then, but I'm sure I'll get them all done, and if not, then maybe they weren't important.


I already know that this is going to take forever to write out, so I'm breaking it into parts. This will be part one: Laying the Foundation. The History of Jacob's Well Youth Camp.

When I was 9 years old, I attended Frontier Camp for the first time as a camper. I loved it. I went on become a staff member, I have held positions on staff ranging from Cook's help, Junior counselor, Activity Leader, Senior Counselor, TP/General Store Manager, Med Tech, Health Care Assistant (which is the same as Med Tech, but they changed the name, so I count it as two positions!), ... and other hodgepodge staff positions. Needless to say my involvement with Frontier Camp has grown my relationship with the Lord and with others. My love for people and for camping ministry has been greatly impacted by being a camper and staffer at FC. (Shameless plug: If you are looking for a place to send your child for summer camp this year please send them to Frontier Camp. You won't regret it!)

In December of 2006 Frontier Camp partnered with Pastor Gersan Valcin and his wife Betty and sent its first team to Haiti to do a camp plant and host the first-ever Christian day camp for children in Haiti. The campground is just outside of Limbe, which is a little South-West of Cap-Haitian. There is an old Spanish well on the site that is called "Jacob's Well," named after the well in John 4:6 that Jesus met 'The Woman at the Well' and gave her Living Water. We decided to name the camp Jacob's Well Youth Camp (JWYC) because of the location and also because our main goal is to bring everlasting life giving water to the souls of those who are in that area.

Much of the time during the first couple of trips has been spent training Haitian staff to do camp. We do not want an American camp in Haiti. We want to plant a Haitian camp in Haiti. The counselors are local church and AWANA leaders, adults who not only have a relationship with these kids, but will actually see them again for discipleship and follow, not to mention they speak Kreyol and we don't!

In December of 2007 I took my first trip to Jacob's Well and immediately fell in love with God's beautiful creation of Haiti. It captured my heart. Every bit of it stole my heart... the mountains, the ocean, the smell that is not always pleasant, the beautiful people, their smiles, their waves, the way they say "nowaaa" instead of 'Noelle', the roosters that crow all through the day and night. I loved it. I knew as I was riding in the tap-tap (Haitian form of taxi. You hit the side of the car twice for it to go or stop..."TAP... TAP" very clever) getting dirt and grime matted in my hair and looking out at the rice fields that I was made for this country. This was the reason God created me. To love these people. Over the years I've realized that it may not be permanent, and it may not be forever, but at least for this season I am to love these people with my whole heart.

 {One of my favorite all-time memories. Less than 5 minutes after we arrived there were 30+ kids wanting to play. Knowing ABSOLUTELY zero kreyol we grabbed hands and played ring-around-the-rosie over and over again. The kids would just fall down whenever they felt like it. Pure joy.}

{I think this is when I knew I never wanted to leave. 10 minutes into my trip.}

 {Meet Orasca. You'll be seeing more of her when I move}

In December of 2008 I made my second trip to Haiti. It was wonderful, but a little more difficult. By this time I knew what I was getting into. As beautiful as these children are and as I think the whole country is they are in deep darkness and slavery to Satan. Jacob's Well Youth Camp (JWYC) is working to show the love and freedom of Christ to the next generation by teaching the children about Jesus. This second trip was more difficult because I was more aware of the spiritual warfare that was occurring all around me. One night we spent in tents at the campsite because we were holding an overnight camp for the older children. The Haitian staff were in the tents with the kiddos and we were there for moral and prayer support. 

That night I learned several things. It gets REALLY dark in Haiti. There was a bright moon, which was awesome, but it was very dark other than that. It gets very cold in that region of Haiti. Our camp is on the side of a mountain and it definitely got very chilly which I was not expecting because of the heat during the day. Also, sound travels really well in Haiti. There was no city noise or anything so we could hear very clearly the Vodoo ceremonies that were taking place across the valley that our mountain overlooks. Satan has a hold on these people. The gospel has been proclaimed through JWYC and that is something to celebrate!

Since the start of Jacob's Well in 2006, a church has been planted in the village and God is being glorified. I believe the church was planted in 2008. In fact, one of the things that blessed me greatly was on my second trip to JWYC I was looking for my friends that I had made the previous year. When I asked about them the other village children told me that they were at the church doing a program that sounded like a discipleship program for the children who had accepted Christ as their Savior that past year. (I'm not 100% positive that's what it was, because my Kreyol was even worse then than it is currently, but I think that's what they told me.)

So this church has currently been there for almost 3 years now and there is now a building and so much works has been done.


It is now functioning as a school building... Which brings us to part two of the story.

Please check back for the rest of the story *said in a Paul Harvey voice*


Until then please pray for:
-The hearts of the people in the village.
-The Cholera and rioting that are tearing apart the country.
-My personal sanity and preparation as I try to finish finals, raise support, graduate, and move out of the country in the next 3 weeks! Pray that I will have the wisdom and understanding to prepare for this journey well.

Thanks for bearing with me. I'll try to get the following parts of the story written as soon as possible.