The Last Day… February 27, 2011

I wasn’t able to post anything yesterday…It was a full day and, of course, you would know that on the last day, I don’t feel so hot. But I pushed through and am feeling better this morning. Yesterday was an unbelievable finish to our experience here. We visited another village where there were probably 50 children gathered in the “church”… I put that in quotes because it was simply a shelter with a roof on top. The kids were singing in Haitian Creole and in English and they were so happy to see us! David and Adam told the story of David and Goliath and Esther translated. It was hysterical! I have it on video so I’ll have to post some footage when we get home. Can anyone guess who was Goliath?   Adam came out bellowing and screaming and scared those poor kids half to death! Momma Kay saw what was happening and started laughing until the kids caught on and laughed with her. It was a sight!! We gave them bracelets with colored beads that tell the story of salvation and candy too. After that, the guys spent about an hour playing soccer in the road with the new soccer ball we had brought. And Kayce and I? We sat for about an hour in a tiny shaded area while dozens of little girls played with and braided our hair! I think they were mesmerized! There was one baby girl, probably 2 or 3 years old, that hadn’t eaten or drunk anything in days. She has “thrush” as we call in English and the pastor said she needed an to see a doctor. Thankfully, as we depart today, a medical team is coming in to the Mission House and Momma Kay promised that they would tend to the little girl. She would have broken your heart – so limp and so affectionate. Actually, all the kids here are affectionate. They LOVE to hold hands and touch! (And for those of you who know my Edgar roots, you know I was right at home!) Toward the end of our stay, the kids were gathering in the church for their lunch – It was a couple of crackers and a cup of Kool-Aid. They wanted us to sit with them and we heard them over and over say, “Share? Share?” I have been replaying that this morning over and over in my head – That these children wanted to share whatever they had. Talk about Acts 2? It’s living and breathing in Haiti. I was overwhelmed this morning about how NOT like that I am. These children have taught us something that will change our lives forever…

After sightseeing some yesterday afternoon and experiencing a Haitian traffic jam – Believe me, you’ve NEVER been in a traffic jam until you’ve been in a HAITIAN traffic jam! – We came back to the house and began to say some “good-byes.” The other team from Kentucky left early this morning and we said “good-bye” to Steve and Momma Kay a few minutes ago. I stink at “good-byes” anyway, but THAT was a difficult one. Here were Pastor Steve’s final words to us: “Stay the course. When God speaks to your heart and tells you to do something, there will be ‘nay-sayers’. Don’t let them keep you from doing what God tells you to do. There’s a spark here and I can’t wait to see where God takes you. Keep your heart open.” Needless to say, Kayce and I were a “tad” emotional in that moment. We love these people and they have loved us like their own.

One final thing and then I’ll close. We found out that the other Kentucky team was so moved by our stories about Pastor Edmond and the orphanage that they came up with the $2000 needed to secure the land for their new building!!! Praise the Lord!! And they were going home to see about raising the rest of it. The pastor said he felt like challenging his people to provide food for the orphanage for an entire year! Steve told us before he left that they had never had a team come through and do all the ministry that we have done this week. We were flexible and just wanted to serve and God opened door after door after door. And then our stories moved the hearts of others to act. We are so humbled by this and will forever be grateful for this experience. THANK YOU to everyone who has supported us, prayed for us, taken care of our kids for us, and loved us through this trip. None of us will ever, EVER be the same and we couldn’t have done this without you. We love you very much.

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