Every afternoon for the past three weeks, dark clouds roll in and almost always produce some kind of storm. Being from Southern California, both Brandon and I absolutely love this. Where we are from, we would be lucky to see a good storm every few years, and nothing like the ones we’ve seen here. Just two nights ago was one of the most exciting and slightly terrifying displays we have seen yet.
Most of the time, we set up our chairs right on the roof, and watch. Sometimes the rain forces us down below-other times we just sit in the rain and watch. This particular late afternoon was brewing up something spectacular. We stood in the middle of the roof, under a small lip, watching the mighty display of God’s creation.

And I couldn’t help but think of how huge, majestic, and powerful God is. I thought of Revelations 4, where it talks about the throne room of God. (which is an amazing thing to read and imagine!) Part of it says, “And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper ad carnelian. A rainbow, resembling an emerald, encircled the throne….from the throne came flashes of lightening, rumblings, and peals of thunder.”

I can’t really explain how that visual makes me feel. During this storm, at one time I actually saw lightening strike about two blocks away and the thunder that followed was so loud, and shook my entire being so forcefully, that I actually teared up. All I could do was whisper adoration and humble praise to the Lord. And I imagine that standing in heaven before a God like that, in a setting like the one described straight from His Word, will leave us on our faces completely speechless.  How incredible that we will one day stand before the throne of the Lord. And what is even more amazing is that He desires a relationship with us. He created us to bring him pleasure, honor, and glory. Really? Teeny tiny, little us?

I was doing a Bible study the other morning and one part had me researching the creation story. And along with that scripture reading in Genesis, it took me to, wouldn’t you guess it, Revelation 4. Verse 11 reads, ” Thou art worthy O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power, for thou has created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.”  and the authors words struck me, “God deliberately created us to bring Him joy and pleasure”.

So of course the next question I had to ask myself was, “what am I doing to bring God pleasure? To bring Him glory?” and it made me very aware of my days. Do I bring really bring Him glory and joy every day? Some days? What about the days I’m cranky, have an attitude, am angry or impatient. What about how I treat others, or how I talk and interact with them. Let me just say, those verses were good for me to hear and reflect on. If my only purpose here on earth is to bring Him glory, then that needs to always be at the forefront of my mind. And since it’s a broad purpose, “bring God glory” than to me that implies it can be done anytime, anywhere. At whatever location I am at for the day, doing whatever job I may be doing, interacting with family, friends or strangers…am I glorifying the Lord?

Hmmm. It sure got me thinking. And all from a little -or a lot rather-thunder and lightening.

So we met some new people. It’s always exciting to meet other expats in the area, and we’ve met a couple that runs an orphanage about 20 minutes from us. They are super sweet, and we’ve hung out a few times now. Their names are Nick and Nikki and they’ve been in Haiti about as long as us. (Brandon already set up a link to their blog on the right, under “friends in Haiti” they have a blog so you can check out what they do-pretty cool stuff.) Anyway, they were heading to the Dominican Republic to run a few errands and invited us along to join them. Unfortunetly, Brandon had to stay for a few meetings with our boss, but I managed to get out of them when I learned one of the errands they were running was going to the grocery store. I was in.

We left mid morning, and got the border in about an hour or so. The crossing was pretty easy, and once on the other side the first place we went was a little ‘target’. Okay, more like a 7-11 version, but still, they had lots of fun stuff. I found tupperware and hangers. Then we went to the hardware store-poor Brandon having to miss out on all that boy stuff. Then off to a yummy restaurant where I ordered faijitas and fresh squeezed lemonade. It was amazing. I don’t know if it was the tortillas or tasty flavored chicken, but man oh man I sure do miss Mexican food! Dominican food isn’t the exact same, but similar enough to get my fix. The funny part was that Nick and Nikki brought their computer so they could upload photos, update their computer and install some stuff, because the internet there is so fast! Cracks me up, the things we’ll do for good internet! I was just bummed I didn’t bring my computer! The grocery store was next, and that was pretty fun. It was a legit store where I stocked up on all the things we can’t find here like tortilla chips, yogurt, cheddar cheese, green olives, and other such delights.

Oh, and on our way out, we passed a fruit stand. They had apples and grapes. Real grapes! They were huge and beautiful! I bought a few grapes and about 15 apples..yum! What a fun day. Love that God provided new friends, loved going to the grocery store, loved eating food I miss so much, and experiencing something new in the Dominican.

A picture is worth a thousand words, or so the saying goes. In that spirit, I am just going to shut my mouth and show you the transformation this house has taken.  I think we deserve the attention of Extreme Makeover if you ask me! This place went from creepy dark haunted house with varmints and critters a plenty, to clean and inviting with varmints and critters not as plenty.

Oh, one more thing, before I shut my mouth. I’m thinking of re-naming this place. I don’t when, why, or how it started, but I’m tired of the word compound. Almost every single person living in Haiti calls the place they are living in a compound, us included. I have no idea why really, and neither do they. Most of us would just call it that because, well, that is the name. It’s a loose term for the place you live, a place that has a few buildings, and a wall around it. It conjures up images of a rough prison yard. In fact, the most interesting part about it, is that no where in the definition of compound do you find something that describes a place of dwelling, a collection of buildings, or anything like that! Either way, I’m not a fan, and so I’m going to change it. I’m not sure what yet, I’ll let you know.

You will note that most of the photos here are of our little section-that is because everything else isn’t just perfect yet, so as we finish the rest of the house, I’ll put those pictures up.

Welcome to our home.

In this gigantic house, we have designated a small area for ourselves. We have found, in our short tenure here, that a place to call home is essential. And after a year and half of living in Haiti- in a tent, in a compound with a school of 600 with a kitchen and other Haitian families, and then living in a small room with nothing but a short hallway between us and teams-we are so thankful for this place. It feels like an oasis, a get away spot, a provision directly from the Lord. He knew we could endure through those other places, and we are that much tougher for it,and more thankful for this beauty! But we also need a season of rest and a place to just ‘be’. In this house, we have our very own living room and bedroom, along with private balconies. We feel like the Lord has blessed us beyond what we could have dreamed of living here in Haiti.  Come on and take the tour, but leave your shoes off!

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There she is.. doesn’t it make you wanna come and visit??  🙂