Day 3 - Le Sang De Jezi Biw, "The Blood of Jesus Biw!"

August 9

Today we woke up early so we could spend the morning at the Orphanage with the kids before a doctor came to perform check ups on all of them (praise!). Ostanel was in the Tap Tap today which is always a good time. We sang All of Me by John Legend and we talked about Voodoo in Haiti, which was really educational for me. I am so thankful Ostanel shared that information with us so we could be more aware of it.

We got to the orphanage and saw the kids eating breakfast. Whenever I go to Haiti I remember that as Christians we are to NEVER be picky eaters. I am so passionate about that. I constantly hear people complaining about not wanting to eat this or I feel more for this. Picky eating is a choice. Please chose not to be a picky eater. I have heard stories from Ostanel about being so hungry as a child that he put salt in his water to get some type of taste. I have seen these kids scarf down literally whatever is in front of them in minutes because they are so hungry. May we always have that perspective as we go about our 1st world options. Let's not be complaining Christians, but grateful Christians.

We only had a couple hours with the kiddos and then headed out to Petionville which is one of the nicest areas in Haiti. We went there and walked around the city and ate lunch. I love being able to just get out of the tap-tap and walk around Haiti. Lot's of people think Haiti is extremely dangerous, but just like Los Angeles, there are some streets you shouldn't walk down. Same with Haiti. Same with England. Same with Japan. Anywhere you go in the world there will be safe and unsafe places. So don't label an entire country as unsafe based off of some unsafe stories. If that were the case, California would be deemed unsafe and I think I live in one of the safest cities on the planet. No matter where we are or where we walk, we use discernment and walk in the authority and protection of God.

Walking around Petionville in Haiti is like walking around Mission Viejo, totally safe. We met a Rastafarian guy named "Master King" (interesting name...). He was so sweet and was walking with us and helping us find the bathroom, etc. Two of our teammates, Summer and Gilligan, got to chat with him the whole time and share Christ with him and also pray for him! Did I mention how solid my team is?! Never once did I have to tell them to go talk to someone, to go pray for someone, to share Christ with someone. Every time I turned around, they were already doing it.

We also saw on a car, "Le Sang De Jesi Biew" which means, "The Blood of Jesus BIW!" - Like the Blood of Jesus BAM, being shot all over you. Pretty funny. Became a phrase for the rest of the trip.

We also went to the market to buy some souvenirs. This is also another stressful time for people who aren't used to it. I love the market though, lots of people, lots of talking... high energy. Super fun. I met a young man named Jack who I bought some things from and then got to talking. Haitians love Americans... especially us blue eyed gals. They are nothing but sweet though and completely respectful. They just give me the time of a day a little longer than they would Zak or any of the guys. So, we talked about California, we talked about Haiti, we talked about Jesus, we talked about Jack's educational history and what he wants to do in life. It was such a great conversation and at the end of it he gave me a little card he made and said to come back to see him on my next trip out here. He was a great salesman and has a great future ahead of him.

Also...

For lunch I bought 12 meals, 12 7ups, 8 Tampicos, and 12 Ice Creams for $50.00 USD. Insane.

Lindsay

Day 2 - Bon Travay, "Good Job"

August 8

Today was amazing. Just amazing. It is late right now and Ostanel just shared his testimony. It was amazing. Then Summer, Leslie, Gilligan, and Daniel shared their stories and Ostanel spoke so much wisdom into each person's life. He encouraged everyone to be happy and not let the devil steal their blessing, he encouraged them that they are here for a reason and that they should ask God to reveal why. It was so cool and I just really appreciate Ostanel's wisdom and leadership.

We woke up and started the day with worship and prayer after breakfast. I read my Bible for the first time since being in Haiti and it was like jumping into a cool and refreshing river. I am obsessed with scripture. He breathes life into my soul every time I read it. I am so thankful for the Bible. Today was also my first time riding in the Tap Tap this trip and it brought back a flood of memories and I fell in love with Haiti all over again. I taught on Psalm 139 at the orphanage and we all colored together. I taught on how the Lord not only colors their life and makes them beautiful but He also hands us the tools to do the same to others and the entire world. I told them that God saw them. That He sent us to them. That they are the reason we are here. That they have a purpose and a destiny.

I loved watching all the kids color and saying "Bon Travay" which means good job. They were so proud of their artwork and loved showing it to us. I bet that is how the Lord feels when He sees us creating and moving with Him... proud of us simply because we did or are doing it. Not because of how good it looked or how well we were succeeding. I rarely looked at the actual coloring page to be honest... I was to busy looking at their smiles and telling them good job. I am thankful the Lord remembers that we are just dust. He doesn't look for the most artistic or talented people, He looks at the ones who say yes. We then sang, danced, played worship music and jump roped. And then like that, hours passed and it was time to leave. Ansitho was so adorable, he jumped in the tap tap and was ready to go home with me. Broke my heart to pick him up and put him down. I whispered "ou demen" in his ear and kissed his cheek.

When we come back to the house we usually shower (#haitianway), journal, eat dinner, and debrief as a team. Have I mentioned how amazing the food has been?! Betina is the best cook in all of Haiti. I am fully convinced of it. Rice, Chicken, Plantains, Pasta, Mango... you name it, we will eat it!

Bon Nuit (Good Night)

Lindsay Kulick

Journal Excerpt from 8/7/14

"Everything happens through the Bride, the Church. He uses us to touch, to reach, to heal. He always planned on using us. When I spoke tonight I really tried to encourage them to call out hope, to focus on hope, to be idealistic. I have really come to grips that I am idealistic and I am thankful for that." 

Day 1 - Bondye Bon, "God is Good"

August 7 

Today is the day. I can't believe it. I didn't sleep at all last night. I felt like a little kid on Christmas Eve, way too excited to fall asleep and constantly tossing and turning. It's been two years since I last was in Haiti. I am very expectant of great things from God... He provided $13,000 total for this trip and constantly opened doors and helped me guide and prepare for this trip. I trust fully that He has a great plan for it and I can't wait to experience Him in Haiti again. 

Mica and I thought it would be smart to go hiking at 5:00 am so we would be tired when it was time to fly out at 10:00 pm. Shayamalan twist... we couldn't sleep on the plane and were just double exhausted. Good idea, poor execution ladies. We had a great hike and prayed at the top of the world - Laguna Beach though. I then went home and printed out 20 boarding passes for our flights to Haiti and got everything ready to go! We all met hours after that and boom, we are at LAX and getting ready to go through security. 

First plane ride was terrible. I did not sleep at all. No one slept at all. We literally get off the plane and jumped on the next. It is light out in Florida now and I just know I will not be sleeping... I am so excited to see Haiti, to be in Haiti. We land. I get everyone through customs... and we are good to go. Hallelujah. Our bags are waiting and I had WiFi at the airport which was a blessing. From previous trips I know that leaving the airport is one of the scariest/most stressful moments for people who have never been to Haiti. It is just really busy and high pace... which I happen to love and thrive in, but I know it's going to be a lot to take in and experience for the 9 people I brought who have never been to Haiti. 

They did so well. Ostanel spotted me from a mile away and yelled my name, he had everything ready and set up - we quickly pushed through the crowds and got all the luggage and team in the tap tap and in the jeep. I sat shotgun with Ostanel and got to reminisce about previous times in Haiti. I was glowing... beaming... ecstatic. I love driving through the city and the streets, seeing the culture and people right before my eyes. I have moments with the Lord while driving through Haiti that I don't have anywhere else. I just love the 3rd world. I love the simplicity and I simply just love this country and I am so thankful that the Lord has blessed me with the opportunity to come here. I'm constantly blown away by His goodness and grace towards me. I can't believe that this is happening... I actually got 10 people here... and we are actually in Haiti. After months of prepping and praying and fundraising, we are here. I couldn't be more thankful.

Right when we get to our house (aka Ostanel's house - which is amazing and such a blessing). We drop our stuff, change our clothes, and head off to the orphanage! We are all exhausted, but excited. We get there and the kids are singing a "we are happy to see you" song in English, which I thought was impressive considering they don't speak English. I immediately recognized 10 kids from 2010 and 2011 which I also wasn't expecting! And they recognized me which was so sweet and was seriously just a really touching moment for me on this trip. Talking with Previllon was a blessing to me as well. He also recognized me from previous trips and I was so excited to come back to him. (I will write a whole post on Previllon later). 

Everyone did a great job pushing through the fatigue and culture shock. I was so proud of them and this was just a snippet of what an amazing and rock solid team we had. You don't really have to do a whole lot with the kids, they run right up to you. I had a little boy named Ansitho who immediately clung to me and eventually became my Haiti accessory. He was always on me (unless food was round) and I called him my chunkers, cause well... he is a little chunky. He is the cutest little guy and soon stole my heart along with 19 other kids. So it was easy for the team to love and press in, cause the kids really do all the legwork. I fell asleep in the car ride home and then woke up and walked inside and went back to sleep. 

Bondye Bon - God is good. 

Lindsay Kulick

Haiti Update!

Hey friends and family!

Sorry it has taken so long for me to update the blog! It is so much easier to post to Facebook - so go ahead over to www.facebook.com/lindsay.kulick and you can stay more updated and also see pictures that our translator and host Ostanel has been taking at the orphanage.

Everyone is loving Haiti! No one wants to come home and we can't believe its already Sunday tomorrow. I'm excited for the team to experience worship in Haiti. The kids are amazing and we each have fallen in love with them. They know the joy of Christ and we are so blessed and honored to know them.

Continue to pray for us! We are so thankful for your prayers!

Isaiah 61

In Him,
Lindsay

We Are Off!

We are leaving RIGHT now! I write to you from LAX and we are currently french braiding our hair, journaling, and playing Egyptian War. We await our flight and couldn't be more excited to start the journey to Port-au Prince, Haiti.

Thank you so much to Kylie, Josh, Ian, Richie, Fabby, Abby, Tita Vicky and Melinda for driving us up here! Thank you to all the parents for coming!!!

Here is a funny story... we were all weighing our bags at Camille's house before we left, super worried about exceeding the weight limit and when we got to the airport and the scales didn't work! So it didn't even matter. Praise the Lord! We prayed for baggage favor and we got it! Hallelujah!

But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself,[ so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. (Acts 20:24)

O N E

One Found Worthy 

If there is one thing that defines this year for me it is worthiness. If there is one thing this year that the Lord has constantly revealed to me it is His worthiness. How worthy He is of everything. Of my comfort, of my dreams, of my heart, of my goals, of my desires, of my passions, of everything. 

When I gave my life to Jesus I thought I just had to surrender my beliefs, not necessarily my life. But I quickly learned as I read scripture that I had to give up a lot... literally everything. Which was hard at times and confusing. But. The more I sought Him, the more I loved Him and the more I loved Him, the more I was willing to give up anything for Him. It became joy. It became my favorite thing. To give up anything for my Beloved. The Lord brought me to a place of total abandonment and it was because I encountered His love and encountered His worthiness. When you truly understand the sacrifice done for you on Calvary, it is hard not to waste it all on Him. It is hard not to give Him everything because you truly see how much He loves you. A sinless man, perfect in every way took on your sin, your rebellion, your problems, your pain, your suffering... so that you can have freedom, so that you can have joy, so that you can have an eternal relationship with your Father forever... the Gospel doesn't make sense! It is so mind blowing... which is what makes Him worthy of worship. Which is what makes Him worthy of our time, our affection, and our lives. 

The Lord brought me to a place of unending joy. Inexpressible joy. It is so fun to labor with Him on this earth to see those who don't know Him, know Him. So many times throughout my first couple years of following Jesus I was told how hard and terrible it is going to be, which yeah, life has it's moments. But I truly believe that we don't talk about the eternal and extreme joy it is to follow Jesus enough. How adventurous and fun it is to move in step with Abba. When the Lord put it on my heart to take a team to Haiti I was like "ok, yes." And I meant it. And I still do. I have gone through a strange season of not being attached to a specific church really... my community and group of friends are really just the Church, the Body. Not necessarily all going to one church (building). The Lord so strongly put it on my heart to not wait around for things to happen. To not wait around for missions to pop up and present themselves. To not wait around for a church to go back to Haiti so I can go back to a country that stole my heart. So I decided I was just gonna do it. I was gonna Nike this thing and get it done. I have the Spirit of God inside of me, I have the Word of God in front of me, and I have awesome brothers and sisters to the side. What was keeping me from going? Myself. Fear. Fear of Man, because I didn't have an organization or church backing. Finances. Timing. Etc.

So me and 9 other crazy followers of Jesus stepped out in faith. And the Lord has provided for every single step. From extra expenses popping up, health care problems, shots, medicine, shopping, etc. All the things that the enemy tried to throw us off with - we conquered through Him. We are going. Tomorrow. 

If there is one thing you can take away from this I pray that it is how worthy Jesus is of everything. Your comfort, your time, your heart, your dreams, your desires, your passions. He is worthy. He is the One found worthy. Do crazy things for Him! Step out in faith! God loves to see you walk in faith. He will always bless faith. May we be a generation of radical followers of Jesus, full of joy unending, who live and walk by faith and not by sight. 

Thank you for praying for us, supporting us, and exalting His name with us. May the Lamb receive the just reward of His suffering. In Jesus name, Amen.

-Lindsay Kulick