Jesus and Zechariah Visit the Village… February 22, 2011

We began our morning at 4am with roosters (that’s plural) cock-a-doodle-dooing outside our windows. That’s early for us! We rolled out of bed, got dressed and headed downstairs where we ate a delicious breakfast of eggs with English peas, ham, fresh papaya and bread with peanut butter. The food is delicious! We left the mission house and arrived at the Disaster Relief office where all the crews gathered to pack the trucks with supplies and have prayer and worship before leaving for the work sites. Our team drove an hour and a half to a remote village on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince. We were the first Americans to visit this village and it was quite an experience! Adam and David (AKA “Jesus” and “Zechariah” nicknamed by the people in the village!) helped a team from Kentucky with rebuilding the village church that had been destroyed in the earthquake. Kayce and I spent the entire day with the children – blowing bubbles, singing songs, telling stories, playing games and giving out crayons, coloring sheets, jump ropes, suckers and soccer balls. The kids were attached to our hips – many of them holding our hands and pinching our skin! To see the way these people live – so simply and so full of joy – was so different than America. We complain about so much and we don’t even realize how much we have.

Haitians are a laid-back people who only worry about today…no clocks to punch, no schedule to keep…just getting through each day. Despite their circumstances, the kids we loved on were so full of joy! Their songs were all about Jesus and their answer was always “Oui!” when we asked about Jesus living in their hearts. Probably the most touching moment was when one of the girls (21 years old) from the village told us that we were “God’s people” and that because of us coming to serve them, God was going to bless us. She kept saying how much she loved us and then proceeded to offer us what they had – fresh mangoes from a tree nearby. One of the young men climbed HIGH into the tree and dropped several mangoes down to us. This was their way of thanking us for coming and helping them and they BEGGED us to come back. Amazing. Even though their church building is a pile of rubble, they still meet to worship – no instruments, no stage, no electricity, no roof. Just people coming together to sing and worship and hear a message from the village pastor that Jesus is their only hope.

The people of Haiti LOVE America and LOVE Americans! They know that the US was the first country to respond after the earthquake and even with the cholera epidemic, Americans STILL come and assist their people. We represent hope to these people so they love to see us in their country. We are all physically tired but are excited about tomorrow…We’re not sure yet exactly what it holds, but we know that God will direct our steps and open doors. There’s lots more to share, but it’s late so we’re turning in for the night…We’ll post more tomorrow!

P.S. – We JUST found out that we ate goat for dinner. Oh geez. Pray for us.