Discovering God's Plan for Me

Let me just start out by saying that I am not going to be coming back in May. I have decided to stay till July and then start the DTS down here that YWAM offers. It stands for Disipleship Training School. It's about 3 months of classes for about 4-5 hours a day and then service before and after those class times. After the first 3 months of classes, it turns to outreach where we will be going out into Haiti and serving in multiple areas and places. The last month is spent in another country and it is possibly going to be the Dominican Republic but I do not think they have decided that yet. Why do I want to do this you might ask? Well, I've been on a huge spiritual decline over the past year and a half. I've been doing alot of things I shouldn't be doing and being a terrible witness for Christ. When talking with Wayne Snow about the DTS program he said it is a chance to wipe your slate clean and became a totally new and changed person. Others have told me it's like taking a vacation with God and you grow so much spiritually and He strengthens your weaknesses and you really learn to depend on Him in everything you do. This is exactly want I want in my life and that is exactly why I am going to take part in this DTS. I also wanted to serve in Haiti longer and when thinking about what would stop me from doing it, I could only think of selfish things like wanting to see family and friends and go pig out at a chinese buffet or have McDonalds again lol. It means alot of the things I normally do like Creation Festivals and Purple Door and Reach Workcamps and Blue Marsh and all that stuff I have to give up, which is not easy to do. But I really want to have a better relationship with God and I know He wants to have a better relationship with me and I know this will help. So what I ask of all you reading this is to continue to prayer for me daily, and if you feel inclined, to support me financially as well. (Or you could get together with my family and send me a box of junk food ;) lol). So anyway, this means I will not be back till around January of 2011! Now having said that here's my blog update:

So I've pretty much decided its impossible to blog every night lol. Also I've realized that everything that happens each day doesn't necessarily have to go into this blog, only the important things that will I want to remember (plus do you really want to read that at this time I drove to this place to have a soda or went to the bathroom at this point of the day? lol I don't think so). Anyway, Thursday of last week I don't remember what I did, as well as Friday. I'm sorry but after about 3 days everything before those last 3 days blends together. Oh yea, something amazing did happen Friday, Saturay, and Sunday. Haiti (and not us foreigners or any outside organizations) got together and organized a national weekend long prayer and fasting and worship! This has NEVER happened in Haiti and I am so glad that God has allowed me to be down here to witness it. We were not allowed to go into the park in St. Marc where they were rallying because we did not want to be a distraction to the hundreds and possibly thousands of Haitians reaching out to God for help and restoration. Friday night though, I did get to pass by on the way back from the market. It was about 9:30ish and there were still hundreds of Haitians outside praising God and dancing (It was only scheduled to go from 7am to 6pm!!). Saturday I got to go into the United Nations base to load up 300 boxes of MRE'S (Meals Ready to Eat, each box had 12 meals in them) from the military to hand out to the refugees. It was pretty cool being in there without being of any importance and just freely walking around in there and seeing all the "interesting" things lol. Sunday I went in to Port au Prince with a bunch of people. Wow. You know you see all the news on tv and video footage and hear all those terrible stories, but when your there it's just so different. Of course there are no dead bodies just lying around on the streets or visible anymore, but the destruction is still there and there is alot of it. It just feels so different seeing it real life. I really don't know how to describe it. On the way there on the outskirts of the city there were so many tent cities, and there were so many tents in those tent cities. It was just so different then the first time I went through Port au Prince just 8 months ago. We got to see the Presidential Palace, but only from a distance because when we tried to get out and walk up to it, there was just too many people because of the national prayer and fasting. We then went out to the orphanage right beside the airport, and we were only there for 10-20 minutes, and I didn't want to leave! There were so many kids there that I just wanted to stay and play with them forever. There was this little boy named Jeremy who was around the age of 7 I think, and he was just so adorable, and he could speak English! I was like "Hey, what's your name?" and he goes "Jeremy, what's your name?". So we talked and I was thinking in my head "if he's here by himself I want to adopt him!" lol. So when I asked if he had any brothers or sisters there he said "Yea, Sammy". I asked if it was his sister and he said yes, but I don't think he had fully understood me because after I left him I found another little boy in the orphanage who when I held out my hand for a high five he ran up and hugged me so I picked him up and held him (he was probably around the age of 4) and we got a picture together then walked around while he held my hand and I asked him "what is your name?". He said "Sammy". I asked him if Jeremy was his brother and he said "Yes" and I thought to myself "awww I want to adopt them both! lol. Anyway, we met Jude there before we left, which was an awesome surprise and then we went to visit the new YWAM base they are establishing in Port au Prince. We came back and to St. Marc then before church and when preparing for church I still had a headache from earlier (bus ride was very hot and brutal, almost passed out from the heat) and I felt like I was gonna throw up plus I was having really bad stomach aches (worse than the usual I have been having). So I didn't make it to church and went to bed about 8ish and slept almost straight through to 7 am. I went out to the fifth section that day to play with the kids all day. It was great we just did little things like see how far we could throw rocks into the river and how many times we could skip them or arm wrestle or throw a ball back and forth or play little games they had thought up. I don't remember if I mentioned the little 10 year old girl that is there before or not, but she has a handicap and from what I understand was born prematurely. They tie her at the foot with a rope to a tree and that's where she is all day. She has been on my heart for the past 2 weeks and when we are there and done with our food we have brought we normally give it to the children who watch us eat, but she is all the way in the back and can't get any of the food by herself, so for the past 2 or 3 times at the fifth section I bring her what I don't eat. And the last two times I've brought her some fresh clean water that I only let her drink when I pour it into one of the villages cups. Well Monday when I brought her water for the second time, they wanted to give her to me to take as my child. I obviously couldn't do that, one because of short notice and would need support, and two I can't possibly have a handicap child by myself because all my time would be spent with her. Then we went to the village that I went to in June with my church to build a house for the village to pick up a lady so she could go to the hospital in Port au Prince. I was able to finally see the completed house (we were unable to finish it in June do to so much rain) and hold the baby that was just born last June that my team and I laid hands on and prayed for her protection. Also, some of the village remembered me and I remembered some of them so it was a really cool experience to see them again. When we went to leave they tried to give me that little baby to take as my own as well, and of course I had to say no again. Tuesday we went and helped set up tarps for a local 3 day prayer rally and then in the afternoon went to the clinic and prayed for the people there and worshipped there. I stayed back when the rest left and played with some of the kids and talked with the nurses till dinner. That night I woke up with terrible stomach aches twice in the night, and then attempted to work Wednesday morning but was having to go to the bathroom very frequently so I just spent the rest of the day in my bed sleeping. Today (Thursday) I have been doing more of the food distribution, and it has been going extremely slow. So slow that I have been reading a book I brought down as well as writing this blog and doing other things on my computer. Well I think I've caught you all up with what I've been doing and just want thank you to everyone who has been keeping up with my blog and praying for me and supporting me! Oh and also, I will miss everyone alot and if you have skype my username is zachariah.dietrich so chat with me sometime!