"Lessons From Me" (until I think of a new clever title)

There are sometimes here in Haiti that I find myself welling up with tears and I cannot hold it in.  I just sit there and tears flow and flow.  Like right now…it is not sadness, but an overwhelming gratefulness to the Lord for who He is in my life and in the lives of those around me.   Everyday there are usually several times where I tear up, but it is usually at night when they come strongly, when all the kids are in bed, lights are out, generator is off, and it is just God and I.  These are the most precious moments and I would not trade anything in the world for them. I look back at my life and am grateful that God knows what is best, He knows that what we might want for our lives is not what He wants or it might not be the right timing.  I think back 15 years ago and how I thought my life would turn out.  I always had a heart for the Lord and a heart to follow Him and do what I was called to do, but the order of how I thought it would happen was a...

Brittany in Haiti Brittany is one of our missionaries here in Haiti and just updated her blog.  Please take a couple minutes and click on the link to her latest blog about a family that she recently took to see a doctor...most of them are blind.  The children are amazing and soon I am going to write a story on a precious moment I had with one of them.  Until then, read Brittany's blog.  They are the true heroes and celebrities...the people that will be up front with Jesus in Heaven.

Most of the time before I begin to write, I sit for a few minutes, waiting…waiting…waiting…I am not sure where to start.   I probably say this everytime, but I wish I could tell all of the stories from the past few months.   Stories of hope and restoration and healing.   It has truly been amazing.   Many times over the past few months, I have sat down to write or wanted to and I just can’t. I never want to post something on here that is “just” a story.   I want it to speak to me.   I want it to touch me first.   I want it to make me cry.   I write because I hope that these stories inspire you to grow closer to the Lord and if they do not, than they are just words.     As you grow closer to Him, you see people.   You see their needs. You see people’s sufferings.    I don’t desire to be praised for what I do or considered a hero.  I am not a hero.   I am simply someone that was chosen by God to live in Hai...

Hello everyone.  I know by now most everyone knows that we are okay here in Haiti.  We did feel the earthquake and it lasted a long time.  We have felt several aftershocks since then.  There does not appear to be structural damage to our buildings.  Our children are okay, but they are heartbroken by what has happened to the people in their country.  I have shown them pictures so they are aware of the reality of the situation.  As you know, the worst is in Port-Au-Prince.  We have several staff that have left to go there, trying to find mothers, fathers, children, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends.  A few of them have returned.  One young man that I have known for years came back today letting me know his family is alive, but some of his friends had died.  He said, "Mami Karris, I have never in my life seen anything like that..."  He said he had to step over dead bodies as he walked the streets.  He saw limbs and body par...

Our mission at Danita's Children is to rescue, love, and care for orphans. There was an orphan crisis in Haiti BEFORE the earthquake hit and now the numbers are beyond comprehension. We feel that God is leading us to take in orphans from the earthquake. Danita will be traveling to Port-Au-Prince in the next few days. Our decision to take in these orphans is a long-term commitment, so we need your help and support! Please click on the link below to find out how you can help. http://www.danitaschildren.org/earthquake-relief-effort/ Thank you! Karris Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

First of all, I just realized from looking at my 1st two posts that they were both written at about 2:30 a.m and now this one is no different!  Obviously, my sleeping patterns are a little off schedule.  Not too smart because when 5 a.m rolls around and the kids need to be woken up, I can't think of anything else except café con leche.  Davidson and I left the hospital yesterday!  Thank you for all of your prayers and support.  I am so grateful to God that we were able to get him to a private hospital with good medical care.  I remember listening to Danita's stories of the early days, having to go to public hospitals (which is another story), trying to sleep in metal chairs.  When I first moved to Haiti, I went to those hospitals in the DR on numerous occasions as well.  So, the past couple of days, being in a hospital room with a semi-comfortable couch, has made me grateful to God…once again!  I have learned to come prepared on every ...

Its 2:30 a.m in the morning (Saturday) and I'm in a taxi heading to Santiago with Davidson, one of our 10 year old boys in the orphanage, who has been having major breathing problems this past week due to asthma and bronchospasms (which is a new word I learned this week...I should have listened to my dad when I was little when he wanted to talk to me about medicine). I never wanted to be a doctor or nurse, but the past 7 years has taught me more than I thought I'd ever have to know. I don't want to make this too long, but one of our missionaries, Brittany, was with Davidson in Santiago for almost 3 days in the hospital. They returned to Haiti and it didn't improve much. Brittany and I kept a close watch on him at the girl's house because we had to administer meds and nebulize him when he was having the breathing crisis'. The girl's house is the only house that had a working generator, which gives us electricity. Our other main generator blew up 2 weeks ago (...