My Life in Haiti, The Sequel

"Apre danse, tanbou toujou lou." (Haitian proverb)
"After the dance, the drum is always heavy. (i.e., after the excitement, life is boring)

About a month ago, that was exactly how I felt. One night, I was talking with a friend and realized that I felt like I was living in the epilogue of the my story in Haiti. The earthquake craziness is mostly over, we're settling into a new normal, and my life even has some semblance of a routine. We've started swapping war stories of what we all did right after "the event" of January 12th. It's almost easy to look back and to be able to say with some conviction, "yeah, I was supposed to be in Haiti for that season. I was supposed to help out. That was part of the plan." And that leaves this season sometimes feeling like an epilogue. There didn't seem to be much excitement or much to say now. I started to wonder if maybe my time here, my purpose here, was over. And there's not a lot to say in an epilogue; it's time to finish the book and start a new one.
My friend challenged me to live these next several months like I'm starting the next book. Instead of living in the memories of this crazy year, I want to focus on the new adventures that God offers for this time in Haiti. The dance isn't over yet.
And, thus far, the sequel has been incredible!!
God put some things on my heart last year and this winter that He is now bringing into existence! Last year while I was preparing to come to Haiti, I felt like God wanted me to do some discipleship with younger Christian girls and to spend time at the orphanage. And now He's opening doors for both!! My friend Esther (whose father passed away when she was 8)came over this week for a Bible study that the Lord showed me about being a beloved child of God (and which she loved so much that she invited me to share it with her youth group this afternoon!!). On Saturday, I had 9 older girls from the orphanage come to my house for a fun party of painting fingernails, eating cupcakes, singing, and sharing that same Bible lesson, with Esther as my co-teacher. How sweet to see God bringing to life dreams that He gave me so long ago!!
The Lord also put on my heart to work on offering continuing medical education (CME) at the hospital. And, Lord willing, this week we will host our first guest speaker, an OB/GYN from Texas who will share on difficult birth presentations, prenatal care, and eclampsia! While I love seeing patients, taking care of them, and praying with them, I can only see so many. But if we can pass more education on to the health care providers who will be here for years, what a wonderful thing to leave behind!!
Thus far, I'm likin' the sequel an awful lot!! This week looks like it's going to be an exciting next chapter!