Thursday, July 28, 2011

Today we are blessed with a "Guest Blogger", Julie Zimmer.

Julie is my 16 year old daughter who recently took her first "Out of Country Mission Trip". She traveled with a team of 13 who went to Jacmel, Haiti for a week.

We raised money for Julie by designing certain items that were discounted on A Great Impression, so some of you are partially responsible for helping Julie raise the money for her trip. Friends and family sent Julie checks for various amounts, and the generosity shown to us by people truly amazed us. This message is a thank you, and an account of Julie's trip.

I hope you will enjoy these words from a 16 year old.  They encouraged me today.





A fine layer of sweat, bug spray, sunscreen, and dirt covered me from head to toe, and we  had been traveling for 20 hours.  I had a choice to make instantly when I arrived into Jacmel, Haiti.  Either I could be a prissy baby and hate everything about the trip, or I could embrace everything we did with an open mind. Either way, there was no leaving, so I realized there was no choice but to dive right in. That is what I chose.



Riding in the "tap-tap"
 Saturday morning we were up by 4 am after getting to the airport Friday night at 12:45. We got to Jacmel around 3 in the afternoon wanting to unwind and relax. Come to find out it was time to assign chores, get ready and go start work.






Each morning we would wake up around 6 am, get ready, do our chores, eat breakfast and go to 3 places a day. The three places were usually either churches or orphanages. Each place had its own character, its own way of acting. Some places the kids would love to come up and cuddle with anyone who would take them, other places the kids wouldn’t even come near you. One all boys’ orphanage each boy came out, shook everyone’s hand and then sat in a line. However, there wasn’t a single place that did not have an effect on my heart. Seeing the way the kids acted to each other and their elders was a treat. For starters, nearly every kid’s clothing was a donated piece. No one worried about what they were wearing or how they looked. In many cases a boy would be wearing say… a purple Tinkerbelle shirt, or a hot pink sweater that said “cheerleading”, or even the sweetest boy wearing a flannel sleep shirt with mittens on it. Not a single child cared or even realized was would here be known as a “fashion disaster”. Another example of how grateful the kids were was when I saw a little girl holding a craft that we had made 3 days prior. A simple square of black paper saying “Pe kris la” on a stick was all it took to make a kid’s day.









The best treat of all was getting to go observe the youth retreat going on at the property.  The way that they could just praise God with their arms held high was amazing. Just the fact that they were so happy and open to loving the Lord even when they come from nothing was so enticing to me. It made me even more thankful for what I have.




Every single event that happened, every memory and life lesson, were made possible by my amazing friends and family who helped me with support both financially and in prayer. I could truly feel the prayer as I was on the mission field. 

Thank you so much to everyone who was part of my mission team by way of prayer, financial support, and encouragement.
  
And Thank you to my Grandma and Grandpa Decker who traveled all the way from Michigan to see me off.   

Thank you to No Eye Has Seen professional photography who shared an awesome trip and took all of these photos of the group.





6 comments:

deckermj2 said...

Wow, for lack of a better word, Wow,How your memory has grabbed hold of your heart, and been the touch of the Holy Spirit,that we pray will remain in a special spot of your heart and soul. Thank you Julie for sharing this week,so well spent and so interestly written. God bless you sweet heart, You make your grandparents the grateful one for your life and committment. Never let it go. We love you so much. Hugs and kisses, Gramma and Grampa D.

AJ Fernandez said...

Julie: I am very proud of you. Not only is this beautifully written (you have a great writing talent) but I could really feel your heart in this and see that you've been changed forever. I would encourage you to continue to seek travel and experience the world because it opens your heart up to God, other cultures, and makes you continue to understand how fortunate each of us are to have been born here in the US. We start to look differently at our parents, families, and lives in a whole new way. I am very proud of you Jules and I love you so much! -AJ

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