Real Hope

The more and more I see of this world the more my heart yearns to see humankind free of it. Free from the brokenness, bitterness, pain, emptiness and the facade of comfort. There is no end to selfishness in every part of the world. There are glimmers of beauty...the beauty of a Savior who loves perfectly. But, those glimmers are not worth to holding onto because they don't last. The only thing worth holding on to...is the Savior Himself. There is no way to express the wholeness He brings, the healing He leads us to, the hope He is.

Real hope..real hope for you, for me, for Japan, for Romania, for Uganda, for Algeria, for America...real hope for...Haiti. REAL HOPE....that is the reason I find myself here, and it the reason that I have chosen to struggle every day to live my life surrendered to Jesus. May His Kingdom come and His will be done.

Day 2 & 3

I cannot even believe how fast these last few days have flown by. I was telling a friend tonight that is amazing to be in a place that I always dreamed I would be...and better than that...it is exactly where the Lord wants me to be. It has been kind of weird getting used to the idea that I am going to be here for 3 months. The first day or two I had this mind set that I had to do a ton of stuff all the time as fast as possible because I am so used to being somewhere for less than a month.

The first day I got here was the perfect day for me to arrive (thank the Lord!). There was a couple (John and Noel Piper) that flew in the same morning as me to come and check out Real Hope for Haiti for the day. Because they were here I was able to tag along as Licia and Lori showed them around and told them a TON about RHFH. It was perfect for a first day intro.

Yesterday was more of an introduction to day to day life here. During the day I have been in the office at the clinic with Lori and Licia helping with everything from charts to figuring out how to text to a Twitter account. Last night was my first introduction to the mostly-daily evening walks. Yesterday we walked down the road several miles and today we hiked up some of the mountains near here. We do like 3-5 miles each day...it is a work out but it is GORGEOUS here. There is a great view of the ocean from the tops of the mountains.

Anna tried to learn:

Today got a little interesting when a little girl was abandoned in the courtyard of the clinic. She was apparently laying on the ground for several hours. She seems to have Cerebral Palsy. 

The water where all these people are standing is where they found her laying.

This is her when we were waiting for the judge to get there so he could release her to the Rescue Center here at RHFH:

During lunch I played some Jenga with Anna and Licia's boys (LtoR: Henley, Carmelo, Trey) they crack me up!:

Trey was afraid of the tower falling...hahaha:



This place is amazing...Real Hope for Haiti and Haiti. I am so grateful to be able to be here.

i made it to Haiti

I flew Monday night from O'hare to Ft. Lauderdale where I stayed in  a hotel for the night (I was going to stay in the airport for the night but I was extremely tired and nearly had a anxiety breakdown... so i opted for a bed even if only for 5 hours).


I could see a lot of the tent cities from the air:

 I arrived in Port au Prince at 8am and was picked by Licia and her hubby Enoch. It seemed like we were on the outskirts of PauP so there were a LOT of little tent cities.


My first day I got acquainted with the different aspects of Real Hope for Haiti (rescue center, clinic, community development). I also got to see the market and we met some of the people in the community that RHFH supports.


This is the view from  the balcony of the guest house at RHFH where I am going to be staying:

This is a little guy I met at the clinic yesterday:

We took a tiny little walk across to the other side of the river that runs in front of Real Hope:

You can see the Rescue Center where all the kids have moved to since the EQ (they used to live on the first floor of the building I'm staying in)...it's the big building on the left:

This is walking back across the bridge towards the compound. I'm staying in the building on the left that is a little taller:

This is Darlens...Anna (my roomie) has cared for him for several months now. He is 3. When Anna first started caring for him he weighed 11lbs...he has gained like 5 or 6 lbs since then:

This little guy is also being treated by Anna as of last night...he couldn't keep anything down so Anna had to put a tube in so he could get hydrated and get some nutrients:

The little ones passed out:

Thats been a few of the events of my first day :) Hopefully I'll have more time to talk a little about what my first impressions have been sometime soon.

M' pa pale kreyòl...

...This is a phrase I have been trying to memorize today because I just picked up the "Haitian Creole Dictionary and Phrasebook" at Barnes & Noble. The phrase means "I don't speak Creole" and I figure I am probably going to be responding with this phrase for the first week or so. I definitely hope to learn a chunk of the language while I am there...but I am not one of those freaks who knows like 7,000 languages, so it's going to take some time/practice.

I visited the dentist today to make sure my teeth won't rot out of my face in the next three months. I didn't even have one cavity (woot!) so I am good to go on the dental side of things. One thing that really weirdes me out though...why the heck do my teeth hurt worse after going to the dentist, even when I don't get a filling? Gollie...these suckers have been sore all day.

4 days and counting...I'm basically all the way packed (and it only weighs 25lbs!! score.), I'll probably just throw a few more random things in my suitcase in the next few days. Here is a packing picture update:

6 days!!

The days are dwindling and my bags are starting to fill up a bit more. The only things standing in my way are time and these annoying online classes I have to finish up. I am so used to flying to the continent of Africa (4 times in the last 6 years) that Haiti seems like a stones throw away. That blows my mind...Haiti seems a world away, but in reality it is so so near to us. How can this be? I will not let this place that is seemingly far away stay that way to me...I want to know its joys, pains, problems, answers, mothers, fathers, children, leaders, beggars, even its scorching heat. I don't know why the Lord has chosen me...I feel utterly grateful and terribly freaked out at the same time. I know He is with me and I know He is leading me and that is all that matters.

Please read this latest update from the Livesay blog:
http://livesayhaiti.blogspot.com/2010/05/more-than-grateful.html

and here's an update on the packing progress:

Four Months Later

Am I really up for this? Haiti? Looord?!!

Exactly two weeks from right now I will be on a plane headed to Fort Lauderdale, FL which will be my stopping point before flying into Port au Prince. 

Lately I have had these moments when I become petrified by the prospect of the next few months that lay ahead of me. I think it is a mixture of not knowing what to expect and this fear that I am not capable of actually doing anything to help (aka failure). Don't get me wrong, I am often times more excited than not, but everything isn't all hunky-dory all the time, ya know? Almost every single time that this fear comes over me I am reminded of how this all came about in the first place. There is no question in my mind, it has been the grace of God that has opened my eyes and given my heart this aching passion for the people of Haiti. Not only that, but He has ordered my steps and opened doors for me to be able to serve at Real Hope for Haiti. There is no way I could have made any of this happen, no stinkin' way!!

On the preparation side of things...I took out my suitcase today and put some of the nanny aprons and cloth diapers in there that I am bringing down for the rescue center at RHFH. I am hoping to be able to fit everything into a small suitcase and my backpack...but we'll see how it goes.

Here's the (baby step) progress :)

On the financial side of things...The Lord has already provided me with $720!! That leaves $930 to go! I am so thankful to the many people who have been willing to help send me to Haiti. $270 of the money I have already received plus the $930 I need to raise will all go to Real Hope for Haiti to help cover my costs of living there (food, bottled water, housing, in-country travel, etc.). If you feel led to help sponsor me I would be so so grateful! Any amount helps! 

Prayer needs:

-Praise the Lord for His faithfulness and His mercy to us, so undeserving.

-Please please pray for the people of Haiti, things are not getting easier.

-Please especially pray for the children of Haiti, they are so so vulnerable...(this is an article in USA today about how many children are being abandoned because their parents are not able to provide for them: http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2010-05-09-haiti-abandoned-children_N.htm)

-Please pray that the Lord would provide the finances I need to be able to cover the cost of my living expenses.

-Please pray that God's Kingdom would come and that His will would be done in Haiti.

Love you all!!! THANK YOUUUUUU!!!

The trials of Haiti are seemingly only beginning

Graduation..wooo!! Not me...boooo.

Today I should have graduated. That was the plan a couple years ago, before I had a my mid-college life crisis. There was a lot of switching of majors happening this past year. Honestly when I look back I have idea what in the heck I was thinking!! It is kind of hilarious because I literally ended up right where I started. I changed back to my original major of International Development. So...I still have a good 21 or so credits left to complete (about a semester and a half worth). 

Even though I didn't, it was still so fantastic to see so many of my good friends graduate. Graduation is the epitome of bittersweet. It is this complete excitement for the things that have been achieved and the person one has become in these 4 or 5ish years. It is also a gut wrenching time for goodbyes. It is like life throws us together and then rips apart. (Although Skype makes it a little easier now days)

The truth is though...I would rather deeply love and be loved for a short time and feel the stinging pain of saying goodbye, than distancing myself for fear of an aching heart. If I want to love and be loved deeply, I have to be willing to feel the ache of sorrow. 


Goodbye for now dear friends. You guys will always have a special place in this sappy heart of mine.

I love you Joel...you make my life so much more fun, you have taught me what it means to truly respect others.

I love you Andrew...you are such a man of God in the truest, deepest way.

I love you Alexa...your wisdom and listening ear have been a part of shaping me these past three years.

AJ...It has been an honor to see you grow so much the past four years, your tender heart is so precious.

And here all some already graduated friends back in town for this years graduation. We had a little reunion party Thursday night...it ministered to my soul. Both of these women are truly doing Kingdom work...in India and Wisconsin alike. Love you Katie and Steph.

Headed to Haiti update

It has been six days since I started raising support and the Lord has already provided $607!! He is good...O so good! I bought my plane ticket on Friday...round trip for only $450. WOW! I am used to having to fly all the way to Africa so not only is the price way way cheaper but It only takes a total of 4 hours in flight to get to Haiti. It is crazy how close it is geographically but in reality seems like a whole other world.


I have been communicating with Lori from RHFH about different details of my trip. I will be staying at their visitors house along with Anna who has been at RHFH for about eight months. I will have access to the internet in the visitor house so I will definitely be available for skype-ing throughout the summer (jesslehman is my user name). Lori told me a bit about what I'll be doing, I will mostly be measuring mamba, filing charts, and doing other things that free them up to help people.


"Medika Mamba" is a high protein, high vitamin food that is fed to the kids at the rescue center to get them healthy as quickly as possible. This picture is of one of the girls from the rescue center holding a bag of mamba:

This is a stack of papers from one weeks worth of people coming into the clinic. I will be filing these which will free up a TON of time for Lori and Licia:

These are the things that are very necessary but are time consuming for them. I cannot wait to learn from these seasoned, wise women of God. Only 22 days till lift off!!


 Please be praying for the RHFH staff and each individual that walks through their doors. Also be praying for all the kids at the rescue center, that they would not only get healthy physically but that they would each feel the love and care that Jesus has for them though the nannies at the rescue center.