17 Days to Haiti

17 DAYS!!!!!!!!!
It's crazy!  It's so hard for me to grasp that this internship is so close, while I am still drowning in finals and assignments.
I have good news though!  As of today, I have officially raised all of my funds!  *applause*
I have a little more information about my specific responsibilities.  I'm going to be in charge of crafts!  Super fun!  So if you have any craft ideas you'd like to share, be my guest!  I'm also probably going to be buying some of the supplies myself, since I raised a little bit more than I need to!
Right now, I'm just living my wonderful life.  Today's chapel was THE BEST CHAPEL EVER!  It was a choir of Korean kids.  Adorable.  Brilliant.  We gave them the fastest standing ovation that I have ever seen!  When they sang "It's a Small World," I cried.  In fact, lots of joyful years were shed throughout the program, and I got to hug two beautiful Korean children.  This weekend, Jessica and I are going to go see some of my best friends in Bowling Green and Russellville!  Next week, I'll go to my mom's house for a haircut and some delicious food (tacos and spaghetti, mmm).
Life is grand.
=]

23 Days Before

Here I am.

23 Days until I am back In Haiti

Meanwhile, 2 days of class, Highbridge Film Festival, 5 days of class, a trip to Bowling Green to raise some support (hopefully), 4 days of finals, and a week in Tennessee.

If anyone is wondering, I am currently at $2,310 of $3,500 in my support raising.

Now for some thoughts on "needs."

Everyone seems to have their own idea of what the greatest need is, especially in an impoverished place like Haiti. As if there is one solution to all of the country's problems, people will say that they just need education, or that they could fix everything with a stable government. Maybe the root of their problem is lack of clean water or problems with food distribution? Which is it? What is the greatest poverty?

"Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat." - Mother Teresa

I have to say that I agree. The worst tragedy in this world is a person who does not know how much God loves them. The people of Hait don't just need medical care, education, government, and clean water. Those are all good things, and they are important to holistic ministry because we should be making an effort to meed all these needs. However, the underlying goal - the most important thing through everything we do - is to show people the love of God.

And that goes for every day of our lives! This purpose should be at the root of everything we do every day. I'm not quite there yet, but I want to be.

Just some thoughts.

<3 Shelby