Heather has found a team!

Okay, so I haven't "found a team", the team found me. That is, the team leader for the summer Haiti trip has made contact with me and the current team members. There are only four of us so far, counting our leader, but it is still early and more people are likely to join soon. I think we have to have at least six people to make the trip.

It is amazing to see how things are coming together. So far, there are four of us, all ladies. We each have HUGE hearts for children. Three of us have backgrounds in Special Education. And we all have some kind of experience with linguistics- studying one language or another. And we all LOVE music and are hoping to share that love with the children we will be ministering to in Haiti.

It is SO exciting to see progress being made!! Hopefully in the coming days I am going to start applying for my passport so that will be underway, it can take awhile I'm told.

So, here's to "meeting" Melanie (our team leader) and fellow team mates; Lynelle and Angela!! I'm looking forward to the rest of our team joining and getting to know them all through the internet and conference calls, etc.

Please pray for our team as we are forming and working through the details...pray for me as I am applying for a passport for a first time, that things will move swiftly and efficiently.

Join me in thanking God for the way he has brought things together so far, and the way they will continue to work out to HIS GLORY in the future. Also please consider how you can help me and my team mates by contributing to our trip; financially or otherwise. Closer to our departure date, I will actually have a list of small items we will be looking for to take with us, as well as larger items we would like to have money to purchase once we arrive in Haiti.

I am still trying to raise funds for my trip... and would appreciate your support.

Thank you for your interest and support for this missions trip to minister to the orphans of Haiti and their caregivers. Remember to visit visitingorphans.com for more information or to make a donation. (And if you make a donation, please remember to include the name of the team member you are donating to and the trip they are going on, for ex. "Heather James, June Haiti trip" )

You are going where?!?

Yep. You heard that right. I am going to Haiti. I have always wanted to go on a short-term missions trip. And I have dreamed of going on an international trip since I was in Jr. High, but I have always been too afraid to take that leap of faith and commit to being part of a team, raising funds, and seeking support. Thanks to my long time involvement with Compassion International, I met an awesome Compassion Advocate named Autumn, last year at the Advocate's conference. She had the unfortunate experience of being my roommate. ;) Not long after the conference, Autumn got an amazing job with Visiting Orphans, and had been a part of several teams and even led several teams all around the world since then. Recently she was looking for team members for the Spring Haiti trip, and I made a comment about how, although I would love to go, March was not a good time for me. That's when it happened. Autumn let me know there is a trip in June, and suddenly something in my brain switched on, and I thought, "I'm going to Haiti." It has been an important part of my journey of learning more about myself, my ability to be independent, and the everlasting lesson of how to wait on the Lord and listen to His voice. I believe He flipped that switch for me. That HE is sending me to Haiti. And it makes perfect sense, I have received some interesting reactions and some resistance because I am going to Haiti during such a tumultuous time. But despite the unrest and the turmoil, I know that GOD is already in Haiti. And He is waiting for us to show up. It's my turn to answer that call.

As part of a team from Visiting Orphans (www.visitingorphans.org) I will be traveling to Haiti June 26th and returning July 3rd. During our time there, we will be visiting a number of different orphanges that VO partners with. We will be there to take supplies to the orphanages, play with and love on the children, and do what we can to be a blessing to them and their caregivers. It is still early, so I don't know the exact itinerary but I will fill you in as I get more information. And when I find out just what kind of items the orphanages are in need of, I will let you know that as well so that can help us collect items as well as funds to help supply these orphanages.

I am trying to form a list of people who are interested in praying for me and the rest of the team as well as the people we will be serving. I would love for someone to step up as the leader of this group who I can communicate updates to and then they can spread the word to others on the team.

I am also looking for financial support. As you know, trips like this are not cheap, in addition to the funds that I need to be able to go on the trip, we are also hoping to raise additional funds to help us purchase big ticket items for the orphans. If you want to make a donation you can do so online at www.visitingorphans.org just make sure you note that the donations are for me (leave my first and last name) and the trip (June Haiti trip). If you are not comfortable making donations online, you can send a check to Visiting Orphans at P.O Box 668, Nolensville, Tn 37135.

My friend, Sarah, had the wonderful idea to start a blog to spread the word about my trip and to keep people updated. (Thanks Sarah!) Let me know if you want to be a part of my prayer team and if you feel lead to help me by taking the wheel and being the leader of that team. Prayer is a key component of this and all missions trips.

Thank you!!!

- Heather