When a dream is realized..Thoughts on Haiti

It's hard to believe that I have already been back from Haiti for nearly two months. As per usual, I promise to write updates about the various trips I take, and it either takes forever, or I don't post them at all. When you encounter times that are so life changing, sometimes it's pretty hard to put it into words. Sometimes words don't seem like enough, but mostly, it's just difficult to bare your heart when you know that people will never fully understand your experiences and the ways that it changed you. This post is my meager attempt to capture the fullness of my heart over my Haiti trip in mere words.

Before I left for Haiti, I was a nervous wreck. I was nervous about traveling alone, about being away from my husband, about being with a group of 25+ people that I had never met, and most importantly about whether or not I was really going to love this occupation that I had never really had any exposure to up until this point. I was excited about the trip, but the stress was truly eating at my joy. I felt more like I wanted to just get the whole experience over with than I wanted to actually enjoy it. I'm so glad that all of that melted away when I got there. I couldn't have been blessed with a greater group of people to spend my week with. People came together from all walks and stages of life, and gave up their time to change the lives of disabled kids in Haiti. That fact alone really amazed me and warmed my heart. The part of our trip that really touched me the most was our time at New Life. We spent three full days working in a large orphanage in Port-Au-Prince that had upwards of 30 children all with severe mental and physical special needs. The therapists took a handful of children each day and assessed their conditions, and came up with basic ways that the caretakers could help the children to achieve development goals, and also prevent physical conditions from worsening. Each day, the students were paired with a different therapist so they could get unique perspectives on the different disabilities, and how to help the children.

This trip was the most physically exhausting experience I have EVER had in my life. Each day I came home having soaked my shirt clean through with sweat, and covered in grime after being outside all day in 100 degree + heat. The humidity was unlike anything I have ever experienced before. It truly stretched my physical limits, but each day was such a blessing. No matter how hard physically, I came away each day blown away by the incredible path that I have been lead down. I have had a deeply seated peace for nearly three years now that occupational therapy is what God is calling me to do with my life. I have always wanted to use it to improve the lives of disabled and developmentally stunted children in orphanages. That dream just seems to fit so well with my life, and the passions the Lord has given me. I have watched Him blow doors open in my life at every turn in order for me to go to the amazing undergraduate school that I have been at, and I am completely confident that He will do the same when the time comes for me to apply to OT school next fall. Anyway, the point of all of this is that this Haiti trip was all of my dreams being realized at once. Everything that I am hoping to spend the rest of my life doing in a long-term setting came to fruition on that one trip, and I was so worried. And that was so dumb. I worried about what if I got there and I hated it, or at least didn't love it the way I had thought I would. To the contrary, this trip made me fall in love with OT because I got to see it in action. I got to see how God uses occupational therapy to tangibly change the lives of orphaned children and the people that interact with them on a daily basis, and it is incredible.

I think the thing that I took away from the trip was that God can truly couple some really unlikely passions and turn them into a beautiful thing, and when it comes to pass it is more awe-striking than anything that anyone can imagine. Haiti will forever have a piece of my heart for the joy that I felt when I encountered the culminations of my dreams there, and I truly hope to go back someday, and to spend more time loving on the dear friends that I made there.

A huge thanks to those who donated to my trip, and prayed for me. It will mean more than you could ever know. As I walk out the visions and dreams for my life, I will not forget your incredible kindness to me. G.O.T. orphans team, wow. Getting to meet each of you was awesome! I am so glad to know other people who have such a unique passion with which to change the world. I look forward to many more trips with you over the years.

Please enjoy a few pictures of some amazing kiddos I got to meet:

Love and Blessings,

Hannah 

The final countdown!

Well, it's official. My teammates and I are in the final stretch before we head off to Haiti in just FOUR days! It's unbelievable how quickly time has moved since I first decided to go on the trip, and I am so excited for the opportunities we are going to have with the Haitian people! I am partially packed, just need to do some more laundry and pack my snacks (the most important part, obviously!). There are a few things that I would greatly appreciate prayer for!

• I am traveling alone, and while I have done this before, I have never left the country by myself. It is a bit of a daunting prospect, especially flying into an airport in a country that is so impoverished and also speaks a language that I have never been around. Plus, I am flying in and out of Miami and I HATE. That particular airport because it has always been very confusing to me. Prayers for safe travels, and not missing any connections, finding my teammates once we get to Haiti, etc. are coveted. 
• Unity with the team! I have never met these people before, and most of them are already friends/know one another because they mostly live in the same area or have gone on trips together before. I am praying for friendships and deep meaningful connections! 
• Lastly, this one is more on the physical side, and is a big concern for me. I have always been able to (somewhat) graciously trek through even the longest and most tedious days on missions trips, but it has been four years since the last time I went overseas on a service oriented trip. Please pray for strength, energy, health, and also for me to not be in too much physical pain. I often have trouble sleeping due to shoulder, neck, back, etc. pain just at home in my super comfortable bed. I am sleeping on a glorified pool float/lounge on what will most likely be a concrete floor, and our transportation is going to be in something called a taptap which is basically a pickup truck with wooden seats in the bed. 

That is about it, folks! I am so excited for this trip, and I am gonna have to be up at 3 AM on monday morning to leave for the airport. If I could have prayers for that too, that would be great! I love you all and can't wait to share tons of amazing stories and pictures from my time in the orphanages and villages! 

God Bless,

Hannah Ameling 

Haiti here we go!

I am so grateful for this grand adventure that I have called my life. The good and the bad have all caused me to become uncomfortable with the thought of ever becoming stagnant. If there is no push and pull, if there is no pain and no struggle, there is not growth. But by the grace of God, THERE IS GROWTH HERE! Growth also stems from reaching a new chapter in life, and this year, there have been plenty of those; the biggest being that I married my best friend last August. These past seven months have been an absolute whirlwind, but it has been a very joyful time of enjoying our new life together. China lies in wait, ever burning on my heart. I cry out almost daily to my father asking Him to send me back, but His still quiet voice has continued to whisper, "Patience". While I patiently await the time where I can go back to those beautiful people, I have been given an incredible opportunity to begin to make the next step in my life. 

I have been preparing for a career in Occupational therapy for the past 6 semesters at my undergraduate. This summer, God has opened the doors for me to really learn what it would look like to combine my passion for the healthcare industry with my heart for the broken and abandoned children of the world. The Lord laid Occupational Therapy in the missions field on my heart a very long time ago as I prayed for wisdom about my future. A few months ago I was blessed to come across an organization that conducts short term missions trips to various developing countries to build sensorimotor spaces for children in need. Though my goal is to eventually serve overseas longterm, this organization is doing exactly what I am hoping to do in the future. I am so excited to work with them to improve the lives of these sweet children in Haiti that have been suffering from the lack of resources for their disabilities. It is quite an amazing thing to make a lasting impact on a child's life in such a way! Please consider partnering with me! I have set up a Fundly account which allows donors to make their donation directly to me online without any hassle of having to mail a check! Click on the widget on the side of this page to check out my fundraiser and watch my progress as the trip approaches! Thank you for allowing me to share my heart with you!