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My mission trip was exciting and hard but all of the things I did were worth it. This mission trip has made me want to consider missions in my future. I loved the work and I loved the Haitian people.

The trip had such a positive impact on me word's can't even describe.

Seeing homeless child after child really opened my eyes to what I truly have. I was blown away at the pure joy they had when they truly had absolutely nothing but the clothes on their back. That's true joy for you right there.

They might not have had possessions so to speak but they had something much greater. They had Christ loving them and looking out for them. I don't think many Americans can say they truly rely on God for everyday basic needs. The Haitian people really do though because they have no idea when their next meal or bath is coming.

Something that really stuck out to me was that the Haitian people were so bold. Some of them actually would come up to you and ask if we knew Christ and that was a really neat thing to witness. One day we actually had to pick up trash near a church and honestly it was one of the smelliest, gross, and most awesome jobs I've ever had to do.

Some nearby people that were just chatting with their friends actually started to laugh at us, which was at first discouraging, but then we got the chance to tell them why we were picking up their trash. They were thinking why would rich Americans fly all the way to Haiti to pick up my trash. We got the chance to tell them that the reason....we were doing this was because of God's great love for them.

It was a great experience. I felt so blessed to be able to go on this trip. The local Young Life staff is absolutely amazing. They have such a heart for the Lord and it was just nice to see that somewhere else other than the US. The Young life staff was such a blessing to my youth group it was so hard to say goodbye to them.

Most of them are volunteers, so our youth group decided that each of us would pay $10 dollars a month to pay the salary for a full -time staff person for the next year. That way they can support their family and we can still impact those we met and grew to love.

Going on this trip taught me a lot about myself. We had such a good group of people it was unbelievable. You can just see that God is working in each and every one of us. Anyone that is thinking of going on a short -term missions trip I highly suggest it because you are blessed way beyond your expectations.

You're blown away by God's grace and mercy. It truly was one of the best experiences I've had. All in all thank you for your support and prayer's it was greatly appreciated and well worth it believe me. I want to leave you with this verse that has come to mean a great deal to me....

"And if you pour out that with which you sustain your own life for the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in darkness and your obscurity and gloom become like the noon day. And the Lord shall guide you continually and satisfy you in drought and in dry places and make strong your bones. And you shall be like a watered garden and like a spring of water whose water fails not. (Isiah 58:10-11)

To my supporters, I am truly thankful for the part you played in getting me to Haiti.

Kate Chamblee is a sophomore at Page High School .