I saw God today...

Six days since arrival…

Word of the Day: Perspective
Scripture of the Day: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! [2 Corinthians 5:17]
Quote of the Day: The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes. - Marcel Proust.
I believe in Christ like I believe in the sun: not because I can see it, but by it I can see everything else. -C.S. Lewis
Consider this: "I am not the same." - - Can you say this about your experience in Haiti? If so, how are you different?

Today we woke up and went to church. It was a bit over 2 hours and in a different language. I was lucky enough to catch which bible versus the sermon was about. I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw, “He is not here. He is risen, just as he said.” This was one of the lessons that we taught to the children this week! Yes we did base our lessons on Easter since it was Holy Week, but still - - it was cool.

Also, even though church was 2 hours… the children all sat still, the adults were all focused, and God was present. I must say, taking communion in another country and another language with another culture, was very spiritual. I felt the presence of God and the congregation. The passion and faith that everyone had was so apparent. I wish that we could be more like that in the United States. The other day, we told Leo and Jo that if church service is longer than an hour, people can get annoyed and upset. They were slapping their knees laughing – Lutherson put it this way… Haitian’s love their church.

Speaking of which, we also attended an Easter Concert at Delmas89 tonight, it went on for three hours and the emotion that was so blatantly apparent in the congregation moved me to tears just as it did for so many other people.  The vocal talent of the Haitians is truly a gift from God. Their ability to move people is incredible.

Between church and the concert, Leo took us to the market. At first, something got lost in translation and Leo took us to a super market. THEN he realized we wanted souvenirs and took us to a market that sold what we were looking for. We had some fun haggling prices down and ended up leaving with some goodies! On our way back to the hotel, Leo took us yet a different route so we could see "The Palace" - their capitol building that was destroyed in the Earthquake. It has yet to be rebuilt which I believe is appropriate with the need in the country, why should the capitol building be repaired first? We also saw the large Catholic Cathedral - we did not get out here because it was not the best neighborhood, and it was far to vast to capture in one picture.

We came back to the hotel, and then went over to Leo’s house for dinner!  It was really cool to see how Haitians live (middle/upper class Haitians). We had some delicious pizza with hot dogs, green peppers, onions and ketchup – it was SOOOO good! I am going to have to make that at home sometime. Leo and his family are all so gracious and welcoming to his home. He is such a fun loving and caring person that I am sure I could learn so much from if I had more time to talk with him.

Driving through Haiti at night was a completely different experience… The lights in the mountains and hills were enchanting and in the darkness, a lot of the street vendors were gone. Though the street vendors were gone, the streets were still populated and full of people talking, laughing, dancing and singing. Children were playing, and there was life on the streets of Port-au-Prince.

Now we are back at the hotel and packing up to leave for the airport tomorrow. Unfortunately I am ill at the moment. I have a cold. And I gave away my cold pills to the person who gave me the cold earlier this week. 

Oh well.. 

Good night everyone, If I have more time tomorrow, I will post from airports!

As always please keep my team, their families, and the Haitians all in your prayers on this Easter day as we remember the rising of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.

I love you - from Haiti

 - Jen