Finally....and Forever....

Sweet Friends and Family…

First of all, I would like to apologize for my crazy delay in sending this letter out to you.  I have had the chance to speak with some of you about our trip to Haiti…and some of you have perused our pictures on facebook and have caught glimpses of what our Haiti experience was like.  The truth is, I have hesitated writing this letter.  For the past 3 months, I have had “Haiti Letter” as a reminder on my phone, and every time I sit down to dispense my words onto paper, I freeze.  Because the truth is, words are simply not enough. 

Words cannot describe the eyes of so many Haitian faces, empty of everything but desperation. Words cannot describe the Haitian streets- lined with rubble and brokenness- and among them thousands upon thousands of beautiful people, living in complete loss. Words cannot describe the conditions of the tent cities or the walls of photos surrounding them- where individuals and families gather, still hopeful that they will find their loved ones.  Nope, words do not do justice here.  But in the midst of this, I want to remember what I wrote to you before we had stepped foot out of the airplane in Port-Au-Prince.  I want to remember my declaration to you…

So…. I say....let’s be different.  Let’s flip the coin.  What if there is more?  What if…on the other side of all of this pain and suffering and hurt and loss...is hope and love and healing and redemption?  What if tear-stained faces can become beacons of hope; if piles of rubble can become a testament to something hugely beautiful?  Because if the Lord is indeed close to the brokenhearted, His presence must simply consume Haiti.  So much so that your lungs are encapsulated by Him with each and every breath, that your hands brush His with each movement.  And as that beautiful picture illuminates the intricacies of my clouded mind, my heart begins to beat faster...the corners of my mouth begin to turn up into a smile...and the deepest being within me begins to dance!

Because on the other side of the coin…words cannot describe the embrace of an orphan child, or the smile on his face when he realizes you are there for love.  Words cannot describe the excitement on the faces of those living in a small Haitian community when a new home is erected in their neighborhood.  Words cannot describe the faith of the Haitian pastor who has seen nothing but devastation but continues to believe that the Lord will provide. 

The trip was absolutely incredible!  We entered into this beautiful country without knowing what our time would look like, but trusting that the Lord’s plan was bigger than ours.  Upon our initial arrival, we were instantly greeted by the incredible team at Thirst No More, and hopped into vans to head to our home for the week.  The ride to the Thirst No More house must have been at least an hour, but silence was the primary sound as we were humbled by the brokenness of our surroundings- tent cities, buildings in shambles, streets lined with Haitian people selling bananas and sugar cane and anything else their family may have been able to produce.  By the time we had reached the Thirst No More house, the love story between my heart and this beautiful country had already begun. 

In the days that followed, my heart only became more and more captivated by this incredible people.  We had the privilege of spending significant amounts of time at 3 different orphanages in Haiti. The differences between them were stark, and my heart wrenched with pain as we observed some of the conditions there.  The children, however, were incredible!  And it is these children that continue to capture my heart.  During the course of our week in Haiti we held them, laughed with them, played with them, cried with them, sang with them, and shared the love of Christ with them.  The words “I love you”, uttered in Creole into my ear by a young Haitian boy when we departed his orphanage will always remind my heart of the time we spent there. 

Our team also had the opportunity to build a house for a young Haitian family that had lost their home when the earthquake struck in January.  The home was much like what we would consider to be a “storage shed”, a 10x10 structure created with plywood and a tin roof.  Soon after we started the project, our team learned that this new house would soon become ‘home’ to a single mom and her 5 children.  Realizing that 6 Haitian people would be residing in a space smaller than my guest bedroom sent a dagger through my heart- yet they were so incredibly thankful, and many of the neighboring families stopped by during our work to ask whether we could build one for them as well.  This completely blew my mind (and continues to do so) as I ponder the incredible excess of my life….a life in which I often  compare myself to others and think “if only I could have more.” 

I could speak for hours about how this trip has challenged my heart.  It has challenged the very principles by which I live and has convicted my spirit as I realize more and more that all of life comes down to just one thing…..To Know Jesus, and to make Him known.  Nothing else matters.  I am still grappling with this idea and processing how this is to make a practical, tangible difference in the way I live my life…and in the way Nic and I live our lives together.  If you ever have the urge to hear more about our trip or about this idea, please give us a call or shoot us an email.  We would love share more stories with you and to tell you of how the Lord is guiding our hearts.

Thank you…thank you…thank you for making this trip a possibility for us.  Thank you for  your incredible support both financially and prayerfully as we embarked on this journey- a journey which I believe is far from complete.  Another thing we have realized from this trip is simply the magnificence of the body of Christ, and you all have been a huge part of that for us.  Thank you.  As we go from here, Haiti is still heavy on our hearts.  We are currently praying and thinking through our role in ministering to this nation, and are praying through the possibility of future trips, projects etc.  Again if you have any questions about this, we would love to chat!  Thanks again for being our community and for loving us.  We are truly blessed!

Nic and Megan Taylor

**Feel free to check out our pictures on facebook, or contact us here:

nic.and.megan@gmail.com
479-903-2478