Much Madness is Divinest Sense

“What are your plans after college?”  This seems to be the dreaded question for most people my age right now.  The quicker graduation approaches, the more often you hear this question.  Unlike a lot of people who are dreading this next step after college, I am counting down the days!  Two weeks after graduation I will be heading down to Haiti to start my long-term track there.  I will be going through Northwest Haiti Christian Mission (the same organization I have previously gone with).  The next step for me in their long-term missionary candidacy is to complete a “long” internship, which will be from the end of May to just before Thanksgiving.  After this internship, I will be able to spend some time with family, evaluate where exactly I see myself in Haiti, and start fundraising for the long-run. 

Since my first trip to Haiti in 2009, I have known that God had more in store for me there.  I just did not know exactly what that meant (and I still cannot fathom the depths of His plans for me there!).  However, He did give a little guidance after my three-month internship with Northwest (in 2012).  During the semester after this, a professor encouraged me to write one of my research papers on sustainable healthcare in Haiti.  This opened a huge door for me.  I had always loved health, but I thought that it would not be a part of my life after I felt God was steering me away from the medical school track.  However, sustainable healthcare combined business and health.  Throughout writing this research paper, I fell in love with the concept of sustainable healthcare.  I was able to add public health to my degree, and I have spent a lot of the last two years continuing this research.  God has opened so many doors for me in this area from meeting different contacts to attending the global medical mission conference this past November. 

During my trip to Haiti last summer, I was able to talk to some of Northwest’s leadership about my future in Haiti.  Little did I know, they were planning a community health development project.  Northwest does a ministry called Neighbors Projects, where different churches in the United States are partnered with a community’s church in Haiti.  Northwest had been looking for ways to further develop these communities where they have churches, and one of the ways they were looking at was through public health.  God’s timing never ceases to amaze me, and I am so excited to partner with Northwest in this endeavor.  Community health development will be my focus this internship.  Health is not only a need in every community, but it also opens a door for a way of evangelism.  I cannot wait to see how God combines community health and evangelism during this internship.  I anticipate this internship being a lot of learning, and hopefully a bit of doing.  I cannot wait to see how God stretches me, teaches me, and uses me. 

While I am so excited about working towards my calling in Haiti, this is something very different than what I am “expected” to do.  I recently had a professor tell my class that as graduating business students from Georgetown College, we would be the ones making the most money.  I am expected to go from here and either continue my education or go into the workforce and start working my way up a company.  I would not mind doing this; however, I would rather do what God has called me to do, even if that is often the unexpected.  A line from one of Emily Dickenson’s poems says “Much madness is divinest sense.”  I love this quote because I see this in my life.  To most, being 22 years old and moving to a third world country seems like “much madness”.  However, that madness is “divinest sense,” or what God has planned for me.  During one of our recent sermons about faith, my pastor said “Faith sees what reason cannot – faith goes beyond reason.”  There are so many examples of this in the Bible: Noah building an arc, Moses being put in the river, the paralytic’s friends cutting a hole in the roof to lower their friend to see Jesus.  None of these (and so many others) seemed reasonable.  However, through the faith of these people doing the unreasonable, God’s plan was done.

Sometimes I find it hard when people tell me I should be getting a master’s degree, finding a job, worrying about retirement, or paying off students loans instead of going to Haiti.  For a moment, comments like these make me question what I am doing.  However, God is faithful, and He has encouraged me in so many ways.  I spent this past week in Tampa with my best friend for spring break.  The first night there, we were driving around to see what was around our hotel.  Wouldn’t you know, there was a Haitian restaurant pretty close to it!  We went for lunch one day and were able to not only enjoy a yummy Haitian meal, but also talk to some of the Haitian people who owned and visited the restaurant.  We were the only Americans in the place, so I felt a bit like we were in Haiti!  Later in the week, we went to a bakery for breakfast.  As we were walking in, I noticed a Haitian flag on the door.  The owner was from Haiti, and had a little Haiti store inside!  Little things like these remind me that as unconventional as it may be, going to Haiti is what I am supposed to do. 

If you are interested in supporting my journey in Haiti, please contact me at tckarenbauer@gmail.com.  I will also be selling these t-shirts for $15 as a fundraiser!  If you would like one, let me know! They say "spirit lead me where my trust is without borders" and "Haiti 2015"

In closing, I ask for your prayers as I prepare to finish school and head to Haiti.  There is a lot that needs done in a little amount of time!  I also ask for prayers of peace for both my family and myself.  Though we have known this day was coming, it will still be hard to saying goodbye.