Reaction

It’s late, but an update is deserving. It’s been a very busy day on the ground here. The flow of activity, and the demands of painting and organizing a house only half moved into has had it’s challenges to say the least. But the change is immense. Naromie climbing the stair case as I was wrapping up for the night exclaimed,  “Woy, belle!” Translated in English, that means, “Wow, beautiful!” Talk about a picker-upper! That in itself made it all worth while. But there is so much more. We had 6 doors installed, a major roof patch done, a large ceiling area built in and covered, a closet built and 10 rooms painted. We still have a second coat to finish on some of it Tuesday, but we hit the home stretch today. Walls were washed, cabinets cleaned, shelving installed, electrical throughout the house repaired and replaced, a new water delivery system installed, a kitchen sink and cabinet will be done Monday, pest control will hit the place Monday, more shelving will be done in the kitchen area, we are moving and shaking! More from weariness tonight. The project manager/ painter/ preacher/ blogger/ pastor is wondering what is next! The ‘Orphanage House’ as Rob calls it, is literally glowing inside. The essentials for living in the new house had been done, but it was not up to our specifications, and really not theirs either,but moving here is no different than home. I asked Rob for something today, and he said; “brother, since we moved, there are a lot of things I have not seen, and don’t know where to even look.” Hopefully that will get easier now as we have sorting areas being prepared and new organizational shelving and storage getting into place. You can be PROUD of this rocking team that has joined us for this endeavor. I have been stuck with a paint brush in my hand and done most of the wheeling and dealing with it there as well. The boys have been the gophers, Ray and Bob the Holy “Rollers”,the young girls have been quite the kitchen masters running all the meals including preparation. The ladies have been the cleaning queens! Lee has been stuck doing all the cutting in with me. We have fed more people on this trip than we have for years. At least 35-40 every time, every meal it feels like the story of the loaves and fishes, you wonder if you will have enough, but we always do. The BIG house is a huge people magnet. Rob’s old house, left behind with the remainder of a contract on it until April has become a home for several displaced young men in the church, it’s such a huge blessing. Our young sound man and drummer are among those now with a roof over their heads. There are so many God angles here this trip, it’s a little hard for me to get my head around it all. One man I care about deeply, a gifted and talented man with 3 kids and a brand new baby, worked for me on our second day. I paid him $20.00 American, I called him back later to do some more work for me and he couldn't come because he was in the countryside buying rice. He took my money and ran for food! He has had no work, and its been really tough. Shifting thoughts and on a different note, I have to share a quick story from the children’s service yesterday. Lee Grant put together a great little play act including a cast of characters from the David and Goliath story (AKA Haiti team members)! Ray acted the part of Goliath, and wow, what an act he put on. As Lee got to the part of the story where David (AKA Krystle) ran toward him swinging the slingshot, and the giant was hit on the forehead (meaningfully acted out by Ray) and he slowly fell to the ground, the place went wild as 500 Haitian children cheered. I could tell by the looks in the teams eyes no one expected that reaction. In America the kids would have been laughing too hard to appreciate the meaning of the story, but stripped of the media, and starving for insight, these kids ate the story up! It was another priceless moment in Haiti. Passing out the candy was a struggle this time, but that reaction more than compensated for the struggle. Tomorrow service starts at 6:00 am. I will likely be done with my message before most are out of bed! Tonight the young people decompressed by playing the rain. Not sure what the neighborhood felt about the laughter and hysteria taking place by the Americans in the dark, in the rain. Haitians hate the rain like some Northern Michigander’s hate the snow! But it provided some great stress relief, and the sound of their joy made my heart happy. I leave you with this, God is faithful and true! He does what He says, and it’s a marvelous journey! Thanks to all for your wonderful comments and encouragement, the team has deeply appreciated it. Blessings from St. Marc!