SURPRISE!!!

Yesterday morning was filled with surprises. I woke up in the morning feeling very energized and ready to do God's work at U of C hospital in Chicago. As I walked into work I got an overwhelming feeling that the Lords plan in my life regarding my hopeful trip to Haiti on March 14th with CURE International was about to be revealed and it was going to be good!! I received report from another nurse and as she grumbled through report probably because she had one of "those" nights and worked extremely hard all night- then too top it off- she had a patient who didn't speak the "same" language as she. I looked at the patients name and it read: Charles, D (3weeks old). I automatically thought for some reason it looked Haitian. She looked up and said, "the family doesn't speak English... they only speak Creole/French". I immediately got a smile and said, "great- what room are they in?". She looked at me and said, "oh yea--- you love your Haitians.. she is in room 8". I ran into the room only to get a smiling face from her father and yet a very frantic mother speaking French to me. I looked at them and smiled back and kindly stated that I'm sorry but I only know one word in Creole and in English it means, 'No problem'. They laughed and said the phrase back to me in Creole. I sat next to the baby and looked at yet another unbelievably beautiful person.. and yet again she is Haitian. If you have never met a Haitian you are missing out at witnessing one of God's most beautiful creations. The physical appearance of a Haitian is unbelievably striking- their cheek bones are high set (Native American Indian feature), very dark eyes, with very dark chocolate colored skin (African decent). Absolutely breath-taking!!

-Around 8am my personal phone rang.. the number appeared 509........ I knew immediately it was from Haiti.. that is the beginning number "area code" from Haiti. I ran into a back room (since I was supposed to be working) and answered my phone. It was my friend Eric Troyer from Haiti. He said, "Tiffany, I have a surprise for you!" I laughed and said, "What?" Then after a few seconds I hear a tiny voice singing "happy birthday to you" in Creole. I knew immediately it was my Yveline. I sat in the back room alone with Yveline singing such a great song to me with tears streaming down my face. After she sang it in Creole, she then sang it again but in English this time. After she was finished I said, "thank you my Yveline.. thank you!... I miss you! I miss you!!" She couldn't respond.. she was unable to understand what I was saying. She then began to speak Creole/French to me.. Then there I sat not know what she was saying.. Frustration is the only thing that came to my mind!! I was frustrated that I couldn't understand what she was saying, yet it was ok! I knew she knew it was me, I knew it was her and we knew how much we care about each other. Tears kept streaming as she would repeat, "Hello Tiffany, hello Tiffany".. and laugh.. I would laugh too.. Its funny how the only word we know together is "Hello/Bonjour".. That is it!! But, in our hearts we know so much more... The Lord has brought us together to love each other in a way that cannot be vocalized..

That love is the love you know is only from God! I am so blessed to have met this special young person and her family! They have opening a side my me that has never been opened. I feel like Yveline was placed in my life for the purpose of understanding the passion of serving our God while doing mission work. Mission work isn't easy, it sounds "fun". That is what I thought it was prior to Haiti. Looking back on my experience in Haiti- it was fun, but it was just a small glimpse into what our God does everyday to us. I served with an open heart, loved everyone as much as my heart could handle, I rarely ate food, slept outside, never showered, and worked nearly 20 hours a day.. never to complain how my feet hurt, my legs were aching, my stomach was empty, or my bladder was going to bust! I knew the Lord what provide only the necessary things, and He did- He also provided me Yveline to show me how to love the people I serve!!!

-Yveline is going great, she appears to have a "good" grip on Eric's hand during a small embrace on the video (which is remarkable)! Her wounds are healing on her face, now she was remember to keep them covered from the sun so they do not become discolored from the sun!! I do not know an update on her condition related to diabetes, however that is my next mission! She and her family were all smiles yesterday... and so was I!!

God is GREAT!!!

God Bless You,

-The YouTube video can be viewed at

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PE0ymAQKPvU

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