Jamie K Curtis

Living as a foreigner in a third world country is challenging. After spending two years in Haiti, I chose to stay for another. However, I knew I needed a break. I decided to leave my Haiti home for an extended period of time over the summer months to stay with my family. My expectation was to get much needed physical, emotional, and spiritual rest.

I arrived in the good ol' USA with a weary soul, excited that I had two months ahead of pure bliss - no responsibilities and nothing to stress over. But, as what often happens, my glorified human expectations did not match reality.

Not long after my arrival, I learned that my dad had an abnormal lump on his neck and would be going in for further testing. About a week or so later, he went in for a CT scan showing that the lump was indeed a tumor. About a week later he went in for a biopsy to test whether or not it was cancer.

After nearly two weeks of waiting, we received the news that no one wants.

I will never forget that moment. I was home alone with my dad and we were chatting up a storm about trusting God in the midst of all this. He went outside for a moment, got a phone call, came in the house, looked at me with tear-filled eyes and said, "It's cancer." We cried.

Not long after, my mom rushed in (she had been on her way to work), looks at my dad, and bursts into tears. She wept unlike anything I've ever seen as she fell into his arms. I had to walk out of the room; I just could't bear it.

We all trust the Lord, but that kind of news requires tears.

He had to go in for another scan that week to see what kind of cancer it was and whether or not it had spread. We later found out that the cancer was Squamous Cell Carcinoma. The cancer had invaded a tonsil and a lymph node.

Over a week later, he went in for surgery to remove the cancerous tonsil, the tumor, and the surrounding lymph nodes. Surgery went about as well as it could have, but we still had to wait on the pathology results.

Thankfully, the surgery was successful in removing the cancer. There may still be a long road ahead as the future is unknown, but we remain hopeful, trusting that God is sovereign.

Also while home, I had an unexpected ankle surgery. It had been causing me pain for over a year and it had gotten to a point where I could hardly even drive. Exercising became difficult, walking the villages caused pain. I found out that I had three options - a cortisone shot that would provide temporary relief, live with the pain for now, or surgery. Knowing what the pain had been like for the past year, I decided to have the surgery, an arthrotomy of my right ankle.

After 4 weeks of recovery, I got the news from my doctor that I could finally head back home to Haiti. I booked my ticket for that same week.

It may not have been the most blissful sabbatical ever, but I'm choosing to be thankful for all that it was. My dad's caner brought our tight-knit family even tighter and caused me to put all my trust in He who is faithful; my surgery forced me into physical rest (which also gave me a good excuse to watch all my favorite Olympic events); being home for such an extended period of time allowed me to spend quality time with my closest friends; having little responsibilities (and speaking English) gave my mind a breather.

Now, I'm back in Haiti and couldn't be more excited. I know there are many hardships to come (and honestly, there have already been quite a few), but I'm eager to continue the work God has called me to do at Grace Emmanuel School.

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?...No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."