Fall Harvest

photo recently taken from my mom's garden

^" Then He said to His disciples,  
“The harvest truly is plentiful, 
but the laborers are few.  

Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest 
to send out laborers into His harvest.”
          
                                -Matthew 9:37-38

When I went to Haiti last summer (2011)... I KNEW I would be going back someday.

I was so moved by the people, the culture... the desperate need!

God put a love in my heart for the country.

But the question remained: "When Lord?"
"When could I go back again?"

I desired His perfect timing.

I work as a full-time (+) live-in nanny
and realistically it's not easy to go away for a week...

I also knew I needed to stay in my job.

It's hard to wait on The Lord sometimes.

Especially when you "feel" 

ready to jump on a plane and go back to help.

But I needed to wait on Him.

Seeds started to be planted in my heart

and doors of opportunity started to open up

 one. by. one. over this last year...

confirming His perfect timing for me to go back.

Last year, September 2011, I read a blog post

 from then, the Executive Director of the organization Visiting Orphans,

Amanda Lawrence (who is now a full-time, stay-at-home mom, to her handsome son Jordan)

Her post burdened my heart about

many mission trips being canceled during the Fall season.

I encourage you to click on the link and read it (awesome post)!

While reading what she had to say,
this verse she posted struck my heart:

^"Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.  Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!" -John 4:34-38

Fast forward to this past winter,

I oddly enough kept thinking about sunflowers and sunflower seeds.

I began to write an email to a dear friend about sunflowers and how one must die

to itself to produce an even bigger crop the next year.

The sunflower seeds must be collected (harvested) though 
at the proper time.

My prayer continued:

"Lord, please clearly show me when to go back to Haiti." 

It was like a light bulb went off. 

What better time to go than the Harvest season?!

(I continued to pray... I would need to have a week off 

at the beginning of the kids school year, would that work out ok? 
It's a busy time of year to go.)

The very next day, after starting to write that email,

 I saw Katie Davis (a missionary in Uganda)

write this guest post about sunflowers.

While reading it, I was reminded of a favorite verse of mine

 that encouraged me going to Haiti the first time:

"Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain." -John 12:24

That day I read her post,

I KNEW what I needed to do. I had peace about it.

I looked on V.O.'s website and saw an October mission trip to Haiti scheduled.

They had just posted who would be the team leader:

It was Melanie, the same person 
that led the team I was on last summer!  
She had just agreed to lead another team there! 

I  was able to get that week of work approved off.

Thank You Lord!

 Quickly after, I announced to my close friends and family

that I would be traveling back to Haiti again in October.

During the spring months, 
I was continually reminded through verses about the Harvest Season.

During the summer months, 

while traveling throughout Michigan,

I passed more sunflower fields than I can count. 

More than I've ever seen in my life.

Beautiful reminders... again and again.

Thank you Lord!

The plane tickets have been purchased!

7 weeks and I will be back there again.

I am super excited! 

(Oh and about praying for laborers... did I mention this will be
V.O.'s largest amount of people going on a trip to Haiti to date?!
 All during a Fall month too!) 

Faithful Father!!!

 On a funny side note:

I can no longer eat peanut butter due to an allergy.

So last year, when I was in Haiti,
while everyone ate peanut butter,

I ate SunButter (made from sunflower seeds) on bread e.v.e.r.y.d.a.y.
A quick and easy thing to eat on the mission field for lunch.