3 Years Later...

"Are you driving?" Mom asked. "Yes" I answered. She knew I always called her on my way home from work. "Can you pull over?" was her next question. I immediately knew something was wrong. As I quickly pulled into a parking lot my mind raced to the worst possible outcomes.

"What's wrong?" I asked. "It's your dad," mom replied. I felt my heart fall to my feet as my mom spent the next few minutes explaining to me, through her tears the events of the prior 24 hours. My dad had been arrested for purchasing pain pills illegally. He had spent the night in jail, and after my grandparents and my uncle bailed him out he was now at home experiencing horrendous withdrawals.

In one short phone call my life was flipped upside down. I have a great family. We aren’t perfect, but we are the Bass Family, known for our Christian views and scripture board in our restaurant. And now my dad, my wonderful, amazingly loving father was going to rehab?  I couldn’t wrap my mind around this. I do have to add that my dad suffers from chronic back pain. He’s had pain ever since I can remember. He started taking pain medicine years ago, and like any addict, he needed more and more over time. Like I said, we own a restaurant, so he’s worked on his feet for 25 years. With the chronic back aches, he took more medicine to work through the pain and provide for our family.

The following 3 days were filled with a tidal wave of emotion. After calling my boss and explaining the situation I took off work and headed home. (I was living in Nashville at the time working as a nanny).  I recently found this old facebook post describing my feelings from those few days.

I was right. The roller coaster did have it’s ups and downs. We celebrated our family Thanksgiving at rehab that year, our family received hate mail (my dad is a local politician and known for being very conservative), we watched our dad’s arrest story on the news, and we all had to give more than ever before. But God never left us and our friends and family rallied around my family like never before. 

The Monday after the arrest, mom and I picked dad up from a detox center and took him to rehab. That day dad and I shared a very special moment that I will never forget. My dad has the greatest heart of anyone I know. Seriously he would give up everything he has to help someone in need. And as news of his arrest spread lots of people started sharing stories of his compassion with us. My favorite was from a man who we went to church with. He told me about the time he saw my dad buying girl scout cookies. As this man was trying to sneak past them without being asked to buy some, he saw my dad hand back the box he had just purchased and heard him say, “Why don’t you girls keep this box and use it for free samples. I think you would sell more if you had samples.” As mom, dad, and I were sitting Crackle Barrel in Sullivan Missouri I started telling him these stories. I remember telling him how much I love him and that I had never been more proud to be his daughter. He stood up right there, reached across his pancakes, and hugged me while we both cried.

I am sharing all of this now because of God’s grace. God has taken a situation that was intended for destruction and used it for His glory. Tomorrow marks the 3 year anniversary of these events. My amazing father has not only been free of his addiction for 3 years, but he is allowing God to use him and his story. Dad has always been somewhat of a minister. He ministers to people in our restaurant everyday. He feeds people who are hungry and prays with anyone that needs prayer. But through rehab and celebrate recovery he is reaching a whole different crowd. He has a  new understanding of others, addictions, and the healing power God brings. 

God is faithful. He loves us enough to break our addictions, heal our hearts, and make us whole in Him. He meets us right where we are, pulls us out of the mud, cleans us off, and rebuilds us. I’m so thankful for my dad. I couldn't ask for a better father or example of Christ’s love. 

Zephaniah 3:17 – The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.  

Dad, My niece Ruth, and me. -This is one of my all time favorite pictures. 

Year 3

Life is going at full speed! I can't believe first quarter and parent teacher conferences are already over. My class this year is so wonderful! They are sweet, eager to please, and love to learn. Now, they are not perfect, there is no such thing. But I tell them all the time how easy they make my job, and it's true. They are the first class that can handle how fun I am! Haha, they get my jokes too :)

Last week we studied how to expand our writing to make it more interesting. On Wednesday I put 4 boring sentences on the board and had my students chose two to expand. I told them to add details and exciting words and then draw a picture to go with the sentence. Here are a few of my favorites!

These were the boring sentences:

The student's like their teacher.
Then I ate pizza.
The girl sang a song.
The boy walked.

This one is sweet.

This one is really nice too, I just hope my hair doesn't really look like that...

And this one is so funny! One of my sweet, quiet little girls wrote this. I was so shocked!













Also, this week is Red Ribbon Week! Today was, "I mustache you not to do drugs". It was hilarious seeing all the kids with mustaches on! I bought temporary finger stash tattoos to make sure all of mine got one, so fun!

Overall the year is off to a great start! I'm not sure if it's this group of kids or if I'm finally feeling confident in myself as a teacher...probably a little bit of both. Either way, I'll take it!

Haitian Love

Wow. What a difference one week can make. It's funny, I went to Haiti praying that my heart wouldn't be completely broken. I was afraid that I would go, see the poverty, feel so sad for the Haitians, and come home feeling helpless. That is so far from what really happened...


The Haitians taught me so much about true contentment in the Lord. Compared to even the poorest Americans they have nothing. They live in make shift huts, mostly constructed out of tarps and pieces of tin. They have no running water and no electricity in most places. They kids don't have any toys, except for maybe an old wheel or piece of rope. And many people are thankful to get one meal a day. Despite all this, they are so happy. Happier than most Americans I know. Their joy is real. It's real because it is not found in material possessions but truly in the Lord. The Haitian people are materially poor, but spiritually blessed. 


I did come home with a heavy heart, but not for my Haitians brothers and sisters, for Americans. Because we are so distracted with all our stuff we are spiritually poor. We don't rely on God for our every NEED, and therefore our trust in Him is weak. 


I can sum up the biggest lesson I learned in one word, less. Less of me, less material possessions, less worry. And in place of these, more Jesus, more loving people, more giving, and more trust in the Lord.  


Haiti has forever left a hand print on my heart. When I think of Haiti I will no longer of a country in despair. I will think of the smiles on their faces, the beautiful little children, the openness of their hearts, and the contentment in the Lord. 


As content as the Haitian are, they are still in great need of so many basics like food and clean water. 1 John 3:17-18 says, "If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them,how can the love of God be in that person?  Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth." It is our job to love our brothers and sisters and provide for their need. The bible tells us over and over again to love one another. It's so easy to get caught up in our own lives and forget about the rest of the world. But this is what being a Christian means to the core. Love God, Love People. How do you show God love? By loving His people. I pray that we as American Christians can start to truly live out our faith in "actions and truth". I also pray that God will show me areas of my life where I can give more. And I pray that God will continue to bless Haiti for their love and faithfulness. 

Me with the Principal/Pastors daughter, so sweet. 

Getting her first ever school picture taken. 

Sisters in Christ. 

Best Birthday Present

This morning, thanks to my roommate, I got to go visit one of my students out at K1. She is such a sweet and kind hearted little girl, not to mention adorable! This is her very first year at Kanakuk and today is also her birthday. She is the first student I've shared a birthday (we were both pretty excited about it when we found out) so I really wanted to give her a big hug and tell her Happy Birthday.

Lucky for me, Chelsea has connections! She works for Kanakuk and took me over to kamp to make my birthday wish come true. My student was so surprised and excited to see me. As we stood there talking and hugging I asked her what her favorite part of kamp was so far. She looked up and me and said, "Well I don't really know...but I accepted Jesus in my heart last night." I melted in a little puddled and tried to hold back my tears. I gave her another huge hug and told her how proud I am of her. What more could I possibly want for my birthday? She now has Jesus in her heart. Truly the greatest gift EVER!

Forever Changed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgEl9LkejD0 

      I listened to this song for the first time last week while I was driving home from Nashville. As I listened and soaked in all the lyrics I began to cry, and not just a few tears...full on weeping. Why? Because I was reminded so much of my beautiful mother and how blessed I am to have her in my life. And thankfully we won't be to verse 3 of this song for a while (she's still so young). As I listened, I started thinking of all the ways I'm changed because of her love. She is amazing. She has taught me so many lessons from how to put on make-up, how to clean the bathroom, how to treat others, and so much more. Her strength and knowledge inspire me. She is the one who makes our family operate. Without her we would be a complete mess. I often tell people she is Super Woman. And I really do wonder sometimes if she has super powers. I am forever changed because of her love for me and my family. And I hope one day I can be like her.

I love you mom. Thank you for always loving and caring for me.

Trust

Have you ever had a moment where the Lord hits you square in the face with truth? When it feels like God is literally grabbing you by the shoulders and saying, “Listen to me you stubborn little child.” I love those moments.

I had one last weekend. I was feeling sorry for myself and I began to let the lies of the devil into my heart. The biggest lie devil continually tries to feed me is that I’m not enough. Not pretty enough, strong enough, thin enough, smart enough, and the list goes on. I spent the day feeling pretty yucky and in this constant argument within my head, battling back and forth the between the lies of the devil and the truth of the Lord. Finally, on Sunday while I was driving home from church God grabbed my attention and told me to trust. Trust Him. And believe that He is enough and through Him I am too. God gave me the clarity to see that every need I have is more that met in Him alone. Even my wants, He sees and fills. For example, I want a family someday. It is something I strongly desire. God showed me that while I don’t have children of my own yet, He has given me a career where I have an entire classroom of children to love on each day. 19 little hearts that need love, and He’s trusting me to do just that, love them, and at the same time He’s fulfilling one of my greatest desires.

God also put this little poem on my heart. While I was journaling I wrote down this poem to help me remember that trusting God is simple.

Taking

Rest

Under

Simple

Truths

God’s word is the truth. And He promises good things to those who believe and TRUST in Him.

"Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight. Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain. Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word." -Psalm 119:35-37

Miss Bass is going to Haiti!

For years I’ve wanted to go on an overseas mission trip, but never really pursued the idea. A couple of months ago I read the book Kisses for Katie. After finishing I felt God had  placed a strong desire to go on an overseas trip and soon.  I was ready to pack up, move to Uganda, and start adopting babies (it’s a really inspiring book!) but instead I began to pray.

I prayed about the opportunity to go an overseas mission trip this summer; however I had no idea how to even begin planning a trip. So needless to say, after a couple of weeks, life went on and I didn’t further pursue mission options. I did however start to look into so pretty awesome summer vacation ideas. I was getting pretty close to booking a luxury vacation at an all inclusive resort when I heard of the Haiti opportunity. I was sitting in church and saw the video announcement and immediately felt that tug in my heart again. I knew I had to go.

So I began to pray, and quickly received my answer. Go. One evening I was talking with my best friend Lori and she said, “Sometimes, you just have to keep walking. You keep walking through the doors until God closes them.” She’s a pretty smart girl and I’m blessed to have a friend like her, she is a wise encourager.

From there, things have fallen into place naturally, just as they do when God has His hand in things. First, because I had been planning a vacation I had some money saved. I know without having a little saved already the cost of the trip alone would have slowed my enthusiasm. But it didn’t. I plan to fund most of the trip myself, and I trust that God will do rest. Second, I found out that the main purpose behind the trip will be visiting the school that our church built in Carrefour Defort, Haiti. We will going to meet the students and teachers and to build relationships with them. Our days will include taking school pictures, playing with the kids, doing home visits, putting on talent shows and worships services. As I heard this I thought, “seriously could this trip be more fitting for an elementary school teacher?” Not that I’m incapable of manual labor, if the purpose of the trip was to go build a school and carry cinder blocks, I would do it whole heartily….but building relationships with kids is what I’m most passionate about. It’s like God is saying, “Here you go Janae, look what I have for you.” Now I don’t expect it to be easy. I fully expect to be pushed and stretched physically, mentally, and spiritually. But I couldn’t be more excited about getting to love on those brown eyed kiddos.

Our team leaves on June 14^th (the day after my 25^th birthday) and we will return home on the 21^st. I would love and appreciate your prayers as I prepare for the trip, as well as prayers for a safety. Most importantly I ask that you pray for the lives in Haiti we will be coming in contact with and that their hearts will be open to building relationships.

 I’m so excited! Miss Bass is going to Haiti!!!