Author Archives: Clara Hinton

Dinnerware: The Top Ten Things to Consider Before You Buy

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There’s so much research to be done before buying dinnerware!  Among the top ten considerations is whether or not the dishes are microwaveable and dishwasher safe.  After that, there are other things to be concerned about.  Does Porcelain best fit my needs?  Or do I want Soft-Paste?  Bone China?  Stoneware?  Earthenware?  Melamine? The list goes on endlessly. 

Of course another biggie is the color and pattern of the dinnerware.  It has to match the dining room table and the glass hutch.  Plus, the dinnerware cannot clash with the color of the paint on the walls and the lighting must be just right so as not to cast any unwanted glare on the dinnerware.

Yep!  We really do fret and fuss over things like this.  We spend countless hours looking online, window shopping in department stores, and picking out our favorites on Pinterest.  I lay in bed and daydream about things like this every single night! 

However, when I visit Haiti I don’t think any of these things will be items of concern.  Not at all! The real worry of the day will be searching for enough beans and rice for the daily meal. 

High blood pressure due to stress runs in my family.  For me, one of the biggest stressors is worrying if I’ll have enough money to pay the bills.  You know what?  I think there will be some major changes in my budgeting when I return from Haiti.  Already I am doing some massive house de-cluttering and I have a strong feeling that I will no longer be borderline “hoarder” on my return from Haiti. In fact, I doubt I’ll ever worry about what color dinner plate I place on the table again!  

My eyes are being opened to a whole new world every day when I learn more about this place called Haiti that I will be visiting.  Maybe, just maybe, this trip’s agenda was planned by God after all.  I think He just might have some changes in store for this old granny!

Only thirty nine more days until take-off!

Love,
Clara
PS  Does anyone want to come help me do some house purging?  If so, you better bring along a tractor trailer truck! 

There Are Hundreds of Chicken Recipes, but……

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I love the taste of fresh chicken and have had it prepared in more ways than you can count!  However, I have never eaten chicken feet cooked with beans.  Nor, have I watched someone slaughter a chicken in front of me and reach for the feet declaring this is a delicacy and most favored food!   

Total honesty, here.  I don’t know if I can do it.  I don’t know if I’ll be able to eat chicken feet and beans.  I feel guilty, embarrassed, ashamed, and most of all queasy in the stomach.  I really and truly don’t know if I can eat this particular dish that most assuredly will be offered to me while in Haiti.

I’m grieving over what to do.  My daughter who has visited Haiti several times now has assured me with delight that I will “love this food”! She said it’s the most delicious chicken she has eaten.  Well, what does she know?  She eats goats and all kinds of other strange things.  Truthfully, I think I’m pretty much going on a liquid diet while there.  Okay, I’ll eat the beans.  But, chicken feet?  I can’t…I really, really cannot do that, Lord. 

These are the thoughts that are circulating through my mind every day as I prepare for this trip.  To some this may seem silly, but to me this is major, life-changing stuff for me.   

My prayer for today:  “Dear God, I thank you for the bounty of food you have provided me all of my life.  May I feel the pain of others who are hungry so that I might know how to help.  May I be humbled as I sit among orphans and elderly and those in prison and learn to understand more of your love and purpose for my life while on this earth.  And, God, help me to be thankful for everything — even chicken feet.  Very humbly I pray, Amen.”

Only forty days until time to leave….  

Love,
Clara  

Why Are You Going There?

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In all honesty, I wasn’t prepared for so many “why” questions.  I cannot tell you how many people have asked me, “Why are you going to Haiti?”  “That’s no vacation!”  Why put yourself through so much to go there?” 

Once again, I’ve had to do a lot of introspection, and that’s not a bad thing.  I’ll bet I’ve asked myself that same “why” question at least a thousand times already.  “Why am I going to Haiti?”  I’ve gone around and around with this question, and if you’ve been reading along on this blog, you already know some of my fears. 

In the end, it all boils down to this.  Why am I going to Haiti?  I’m going because I love God.  Period.  God has asked each of us to love others as we love ourselves.  That’s no easy task — at least it’s not an easy one for me!  I love children.  I love moms and dads.  I love teenagers.  I love old people.  (I’d better love old people, because that includes me!)  But, I can’t say that I love others as I love myself.  I’m selfish and self-centered about so much in life.  And, the more I prepare for this trip to Haiti, the more I’m beginning to understand “me” and my relationship with God. 

Why am I going to Haiti?  I’ll say it again.  I’m going because I love God.  He spoke to me in so many different ways about this trip, and I fought Him.  I’m still not jumping for joy over this “opportunity”, but I’m going. 

I’m going because I love God.  And, I know that God loves everyone — including every man, woman, and child living in Haiti.  In my search for more of God and less of me, I’m going to Haiti, and I know with full confidence that I will find a lot more of God and my life will be centered around a lot less of me.

Only forty two more days……….

Love,
Clara
PS  A very special thanks to all who are in prayer about this trip.  Guess what?  Your prayers are working!

Frogs in the Shower!

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At first glance I thought this was some sort of dog!

Today was one of those days when I felt the need for a long, hot shower.  You know the kind when the water feels so good as it pulsates against your skin.  You lather up with the best smelling body soap from Bath and Body Works and you soon look and feel so fresh and clean all over!

As I was finishing up my shower, an image came to mind and I immediately had a panic feeling.  I remembered the frogs in the shower!!  Stephanie, my daughter, told me that on her last trip to Haiti, it wasn’t unusual to see a big tree frog clinging to the wall while taking your 2 to 3 minute cold shower.  I shuddered at the thought!  A frog sharing my shower?!?  That can’t happen — not to me!  Please, Lord, if I’m going to have to shower with cold water, don’t make me share the little concrete cubicle with a frog!

Isn’t it amazing how much we cling to comfort?  We live in a land of so much bounty here in the states that we don’t ever have to concern ourselves with sharing our homes with critters of the wild.  And, now, I will learn yet another life lesson as I get to shower with the frogs.  Already I can tell you that the story of Moses and the ten plagues is coming to life for me!

Forty three more days and guess what’s on my mind?  Well, you’ll just have to wait until tomorrow.  Right now I’m going to check my shower for frogs just in case….

Love,
Clara  

Love Will Always Be the Universal Language

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Today was spent teaching classes almost the entire day.  In between breaks, I did my usual “Haiti thinking” and today’s thoughts were centered around communication. 

Okay, I know we’ll have a translator with us at all times, but what about those times when I would like to say something personally to a child?  How will that child understand what I’m trying to communicate?  Should I try to use some kind of made-up sign language?  Should I buy a book on “How to speak like a Haitian”? 

To you it might sound silly, but to me this is a big thing.  I want the kids to understand me.  I want the adults in the nursing home to know how much I care.  I want the families who are getting food relief to know that my heart will always be with them, and that I will continue to pray and care.

Well, you guessed it.  My answer came from God.  He spoke to me by way of my daughter Stephanie’s pictures.  I looked at her face in picture after picture.  Sometimes she was smiling.  Other times she was crying.  Still other times she was looking into the eyes of a child she was holding close to her heart.  And, as the saying goes, “A picture is worth a thousand words.”  In each and every picture I can “see” what Stephanie is saying.  She’s saying, “I love you.  I care for you.  I’m here to help you.  I want you to be happy.  I want you to be fed. I want you to feel safe. I want you to go to sleep and be peaceful tonight.”

How will I speak and be understood while in Haiti?  The same way everyone else will.  I will speak with my heart.  My heart will transform my outer being into the language of universal love.  That’s just what Jesus does!

And, so it now is only forty four more days until departure.  The excitement is growing! 

Love,
Clara
PS  A very special thank you to Stephanie for giving me permission to use photos from her previous trips to Haiti.