Dust

What a morning! We had an incredible service today. A packed out house greeted our arrival, and the experience was nothing short of amazing today. We had to be up at 5:00 am again, and boy did morning come early. I have not slept too well on this trip. It has been so hot and dry; it is hard to take. The first spotlight of the morning was the mountain man who we gave the donkey to. My heart soared as he checked out his animal for the first time this morning. We took a few photos and suddenly he climbed right up on that donkey and away they went. He is a pretty old Haitian man, and the smile on his face says it all. We are still making sure he gets a pack-saddle and rigging for the donkey. But they probably won’t get to him until we are gone. Our morning was also decorated with a bit of sadness. Ray had to head back to the states to keep a prior obligation with family. I felt bad as the emotions of the moment hit him like a tidal wave. He was okay with going, and I am sure by now he is experiencing great relief from the ravaging heat. The other picture you will observe here is what appears to be snow in Haiti. In stark contrast to the pictures in posted on the blog titled beauty, this is not snow, but dust. When Rick saw the pictures I had put up on that post, he was like, ‘oh Doyle, you shouldn’t do that, people will think we are down on some Caribbean vacation’! Well here is the reality check! It is dusty, dirty, smelly, and pretty rough on our bodies that have been dealing with extreme Michigan cold. I will confess that when I hit Miami I am relishing air conditioning. At least the thought of it! Church was two and a half hours long, but it didn’t feel that way. We were swept away with their focused intensity. Then we spoke to them about their value before God, how with God there is neither Haitian nor American; that we are all loved equally and powerfully by God, and closed with a short little excerpt about Brandon. It was received well, and we are thankful for the opportunity to share with them. It has been a eventful day at the house, games being played, Noah and Brandon are at the neighbors playing some ball. Rick in getting in some reading time. Karen and Deloris are reminiscing with their digital cameras. Photography is such a blessing. To be able to capture a moment in time and go back to it, well, it’s just short of time travel. Memory is an incredible gift and photo’s to back the memories are a gift. Whoever discovered the lens of a camera gave the world an incredible invention. We are going to show a movie tonight at the church, we are showing the ‘Secretariat’. It has to be able to play in French. I am posting early as I won’t have time tonight. For all those posting comments, they have been truly inspirational! Thank you.

More Team Pics

Team Member Pics

Pic for Alan

Just for you Alan and Bethany!

Beauty

What defines this word? To be frank and honest, Haiti is a conundrum to me. We sat at the Deli Mart just a few minutes ago, everyone weary and filthy from the driest and dirtiest day I have experienced here yet. It is so dry, so dusty, that there is a fog that seems to be so thick at times you could cut it with a knife. Autumn sat across from me in an air-conditioned climate and said it feels really American to me right here, but when she turned around and looked through the glass the sight that greeted her seemed surreal. Then she said these words, “why does it not seem beautiful here to some?” I listened as comments were exchanged and pondered her perspective. She is right you know, you have to be careful with negativity. We talked again about happiness, and how kind these people are in the midst of their circumstances. Brandon even commented on how they are compared to the inter-cities of the States. To be deprived does not necessarily equate to being mean spirited. There are some mean folks down here, but that does not necessarily mean they are that way because they are Haitian, any more than a thief in the States would mean that it’s the trademark of an American. I say all that to say we saw a lot of beautiful people today. Precious, kind, loving, people. The team is beginning to feel the sting of leaving, a certain anxiety that is hard to explain begins encroaching, time begins to draw us back into it’s slipstream, like a vortex we feel the gravity of our departure coming. We have accomplished so much, but we still have so many things we would like to do. And then there will be the good-byes; tears, sadness, a touch of remorse. Will they all be here the next time we come, when we come, if we come? Time will change this landscape as it will our own landscape. Our bus driver today was the same one who took us to Desdunes last spring, his child was terribly ill the day he took us, he had been in the hospital; he died last May, just after we left. I could see the lines of sorrow written on his face. We had prayed for his child, and God saw fit to take him anyway. But still he is a gracious and loving man, refusing the hardening of his heart by terrifying circumstances. We took the run up the mountain this morning; it was a great run, albeit very dirty, and once again Rob’s motorcycle broke. I was so frustrated, but it was as it should have been, it guided my decision that God wanted Him to have a new motorcycle Monday morning. Hopefully we can pull it off. We had a wonderful time with the mountain people, and made the decision to purchase a donkey for a special mountain man. When we arrived tonight, we still didn’t know if he had been able to make the purchase. As we drove down the road in St. Marc returning from the only luxury we afford the team on the trip (Haitian Pizza) Robinson suddenly saw a donkey in the street and declared he was pretty sure they had made a purchase. When we arrived at the house the man was there, and said they had not been able to get one. Rob made a call, and to everyone’s delight, a donkey has been found! I wish you could have seen the expression and gratitude on the mountain man’s countenance. It was as if he had been given a million dollars. I will try to post up a picture tomorrow, as it is too late tonight for one. Rick was terribly sick last night, but seemed to regain his footing enough to get up and through the day. At one point he told me today how much he appreciated the American bathroom last night at the church from the perspective of being on all fours for quite a bit of it. We think he suffered heat stoke from their furious paint job last night. He and Ray got the front wall painted again and it looks fabulous! I have to lay up the pen for tonight, and ready to preach in the morning. Time to trade out for a different pen, my sermon one! Goodnight and Blessings after a glorious day in St. Marc!

Balloons

Our American culture has lost track of the appreciation of the simple things. We have witnessed since yesterday afternoon the delight of a balloon. We gave them out as part of a gift to all the children at the service yesterday, so there are a few hundred of them around. I was surprised to find them still working today! The children have played with them for hours. Did I get annoyed as the balloons bounced around my head, as I nodded back and forth to duck it in the middle of conversation, absolutely not! Well… actually I did notice, but couldn’t be offended, I can’t remember the last time I saw such joy over a bubble of air wrapped in rubber! Children’s service was a blast, a blast of energy that is! We arrived at the church to discover the tent already full of children, before we could get things cut off, at last count there were 550! It’s good the numbers were down a little yesterday! We used the rest of yesterday’s supplies plus today’s. It is pretty intense at the kid’s service, always a little dramatic for the team. It will test your resolve to remain cool, but if you do, your steadiness is met with the reward of many smiles. I have shared their intensity in previous posts, but it all came back to me again over the last couple of days. The teaching is simple, but has the profound capability to change a nation should the children return to God! Robinson gets a golden star for his ability to handle 550 Haitian childen that are in the property for the children’s service as well as the 100 or so in the streets that came too late to get in. After the service we borrowed a neighbors truck and headed to the ocean. I remember when I baptized at this location years ago; it was a delightful spot. It was still a great picture zone today, but you needed to keep your camera focused up. We took some splendid Caribbean shots, but my heart was broken by the view of the shoreline. As far as my eye could see, rubble lined the sandy/craggy edge where the water sheds its awful cargo of debris. The people litter the riverbeds, which are dry right now, but when the rain commences in June, the trash is washed to the sea. As an active water well driller, it is one of the most tragic scenes to witness. With the growing awareness of the shortage of fresh water world wide, it’s difficult to watch this pollution occurring even when I know they don’t comprehend the damage they are assaulting on the ecosystem. Be that as it may, the water was warm, and the young people were led by none other than Brandon himself to do some rock climbing to stage for some pretty cool pictures, even the girls braved the circumstances to get up on top of the rock, although it cost Brandon and Krystle a dip in the ocean! We fed so many at the house tonight it was hard to count. What a blessing. There are lots of full bellies tonight. We will head to the mountain in the morning, and on to Desdunes in the afternoon. Rick and Ray are painting the front wall of the church as I type this blog post, hoping it dries by morning, so when the children congregate it won’t harm the paint or get the paint all over their clothes. Rick has been such a great help to Ray, I am confident that painting was not on his roster for Haiti, as he does it plenty in the States, but they have certainly brightened the property, and made Robinson very, very happy. Everyone deserves a break tomorrow, and will get one. So ends another day of our journey. Blessings tonight.

Father Time

As usual, the internet service has been a challenge. It is almost a full time job trying to make that happen. The place I usually go to was down all day yesterday, so had to go downtown, and that always adds significant time to the operation. We had a great children's service yesterday afternoon! Karen did a fabulous job of communicating the creation story to the kids and having fun with them all at the same time. I think we ended up with about 400+ or -. Not sure. We are doing our second one this afternoon. Last night we went up the mountian behind the church to look at a house that belongs to our church guard. It needs some serious work. We are contemplating what we can do. It really needs a 'Extreme Home Makeover', but we are not those people, and this is not America! The motorcycle broke last night, the throttle handle went to pieces on the inside, so I ordered the part this morning and fixed it for Rob and it is back in circulation. It has been a little difficult this trip with Rob's truck broke down, but this morning he borrowed a neighbors truck and gave the team a lift to the house, after that the girls slipped downtown for bread. We must be quite amusing to the Haitians! At one point Brandon said that when Robinson took off, all the girls fell into the bed of the truck! But they had a blast anyhow. This morning the guys got the front wall washed and prepped for paint, and the final coat is on the American bathroom. Ray got after final cleaning and the place literally shines! The girls along with help from a couple of the guys have the bags all ready for the children's service this afternoon. When that service is done, we are going to drive down to the ocean for a bit and spend some time playing with the orphans there. I also purchased a truck load of stone to spread at the church property to get people off the dirt. Did I mention it is hot and dry here right now! I'm not sure if I ever visited at a dryer time. We also set the pump to test the neighbors well, and it looks like we are going to be able to furnish water to the neighborhood at Rob's house now, including Rob's house as he gets no city water right now. It's noon now, so I have to run back for lunch and roll along with the day. The internet is slowww today, so will try to put up pictures later. We are getting lots of pictures! There will be plenty to show when we get back. I will get a bunch loaded up as quickly as possible. The kids (Noah, Autumn, Krystle, and Kelly will be affronted by me calling them that!) have been having a great time. It is refreshing to see young people picking up the torch in both countries! If there is to be a future, they are it. How quickly the seasons of life pass, time used to move slowly for me, and at times still does in Haiti, but more and more, even on these trips I feel the gentle nudging of father time, and at my most weary point I remind myself that this will soon be over. For the sake of grace we press on! I was having a moment last night, will tell about it in another post, but as I was sitting under the stars at 3:00 am, the sky was stunning, and I was reminded again of the creators will, His power to act, save, restore. He alone holds the keys and the power to restore, reclaim, rebuild. I feel like He has included us in this venture of His, and it is great to be on board! Blessings today.