On Mission in: Haiti

     Hey everybody! Wow, let me blow the dust off my blog here.. Sorry I haven't posted in so long, but now I'm back! ☺ I have plenty of things to share in coming posts, but I figured I would start off sharing about my recent trip to Haiti! 

     September 7-14, I was in Haiti on a mission trip with a team of ten other people. It was an amazing experience, and yesterday I learned I may be able to go back next summer! There are so many things I could share about the awesomeness of God, He was definitely with us every step of the way- from getting bags checked to traveling by tap-tap through Jacmel. God is so good! 

     I will share some photos in this post, all of scenery and I will update again later when I have more time! 

     The last evening we were in Haiti, our hosts, Tommy and Joy Schwindling of the Alabama House in Jacmel, Haiti, took our team out to dinner at Caplamandu. All of the following photos were from the restaurants balcony.

The view from Caplamandu.

Sunset

Beach

Flowers

Sunset

  And here's one of me and one of the sweet children I met while there.

   Though Haiti has many devastating parts, it was indeed a beautiful country. God is moving there, His grace and His mercy are enough.

Clothespin Crosses

Today I thought I'd share with you a simple, yet oh so pretty craft made of clothespins. If your laundry is like mine, you probably have more than a few extra clothespin laying around. This craft is the perfect way to put them to use! (Click on any of the images to enlarge.)

Figure 1- All the supplies you'll need!

What You'll Need:

-8 clothespins
-2 large Popsicle sticks
-Elmer's glue, wood glue, or a hot glue gun
-Artificial flowers
-Scrap ribbon

(1) Lay the Popsicle sticks in a cross position and glue one on top of the other.

Figure 2

(2) Take two clothespins separate the parts (as seen) and they will be laid out in a fan shape.

(3) Step two will be done to both left and right sides, and the top of the cross.

(4) The bottom of the cross is a little different. Take a clothespin and separate the pieces and put them together like the middle of step 2. The large part will be near the center of the cross with the pointed tip going down.

(5) Take another clothespin that has been separated and put them against the pointed tip as show in the center of figure 2. The bottom of your cross should touch as seen.

Figure 3- Fan shape

(6) Take the artificial flower and/or greenery and glue it into the center of the cross.

(7) The scrap ribbon will be used as a hanger on the back. (See figure 2). Glue the ribbon in an X fashion onto the back on the top of the cross.

Figure 4- Finished!

(8) Hang on the wall and enjoy your new cross!

And believe it or not, this craft was done at a youth VBS and even the teenagers enjoyed it!

(Can be found for purchase here.)