So, I think I have tried to start this blog post about five times now.

I guess I am having a hard time putting our Haitian experience in to words (well, in to a small amount of words that won’t take you eight hours to read). 🙂

My hubby Luke and I spent some time over there this past week. We went on the trip to learn more about adopting a child from Haiti.

We traveled with our friend Mary Leigh. She runs Whole Hearted Orphanage in Fonds-Parisen, Haiti. So, we spent most of the week there with the children. Oh-my did we fall in love!

The trip was such a blessing! We played, laughed (alot), cried, and learned so much. We grew closer as a couple and closer to God. We met so many new friends there. In fact, we are already planning a trip to return in a few months.

And though it looks like the adoption road will be a long one (just recently found out we will probably have to wait a few more years until we meet all of the Haitian requirements), we are still excited about the possibility. We know that we went on the trip for a reason and can’t wait to see what God has in store. And if you will, please pray for our family to have wisdom and patience. We really want to follow God on this!

This trip also gave me a chance to use my photography.  I was able to take photos for different organizations doing work in Haiti. While I love shooting weddings and people here, my passion is getting to photograph things like that. I don’t know what it is… but it makes me come alive. I think because it is so needed. These images can help the organizations get the word out and show people what it is they do (and hopefully raise the support they need to keep their organizations going).

(Speaking of getting the word out…. We have been building the orphanage a website. The ideas and plans they have for the future are so exciting! They have recently bought a beautiful piece of land and are ready to expand. I will be posting more about this once I get their website live and running. I will also let you know how you can get involved. For now, if you would like to keep up with the orphanage… please head over and “like” their facebook page here. What a great organization to be a part of and support! I saw first hand the difference they are making in children’s lives.)

I could ramble on all day about Haiti. So many amazing stories and people!

Here are just a few of the images from the trip.

Ok… I am going to write one more thing here… (Sorry for being so scatter-brained).

Every time I travel to poverty-stricken countries…. my eyes are opened. I just want to mention how blessed we are to live in America. We have so much that we take for granted every day: smooth roads to drive on (and cars to drive), solid homes to live in, clean water to drink and bathe in, food to eat, and access to high quality medical care, etc.

Especially lately, with the elections around the corner, my facebook feed is filled with complaints about our government and politicians.  And yes, I am sure we have our scandals and self-dealings, but the level of corruption in other countries is so bad. Praise God I live in a place where I can have freedom.

This wasn’t really the point of my blog post… so I won’t keep going. But, I know I came home feeling very thankful and I wanted to share!

Til next Thursday 🙂

Jen