Today was the last day of a week I can only describe as one of the most humbling, emotional, scary, sad weeks of my life. Yet it was also one of the most refreshing, encouraging, soul searching, loving, amazing weeks of my life. Sunday is supposed to be a day of rest, and that is a great way to describe today. We rose to a amazing breakfast where we all ate until we were satisfied; some of the group had traditional Haitian meals for the second day in a row. After eating we loaded on the tap tap and headed to tent church where we had went a few days earlier for a early morning service.
We worshipped God with fellow Haitian believers, and we all observed that the people at this church came intentionally seeking God and to sing praise and adoration to Jesus Christ who has done so much for them, which was humbling for me because I often don't walk into church with the right spirit seeking to give God what he deserves, which is all the praise of my soul out of gratitude for the gift he has given me. Church was a blessing we all needed and it was a great start to the day.
We left church and went back to the guest house and got ready to go up the mountain for some relaxation and shopping at the market. The trip up the mountain was about a one hour trip and when we got there to the top we were eager to get out and look for some of the items many of us already knew what we wanted. The group got out of the tap tap, and Erika asked if we would rather shop first or eat. Most of us wanted to eat so our driver led us down a staircase to a restaurant on balcony that overlooked the entire city. The view was one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen and a reminder of how amazing our God is that he created this beautiful place. The restaurant was so nice that you could easily forget that you were in Haiti and that just down the mountain is home to some of the most horrific living conditions on this planet. We enjoyed our food, and many of us tried foods we had never eaten before. Some of us got up and went shopping while we were waiting on the food to come out.
When we were all finished we all loaded up on the tap tap and headed down the mountain which turned into one of the most entertaining tap tap rides that we had experienced all week. Several of the girls started singing and dancing to some of their favorite songs which everyone had plenty of laughs over. All in all it was a great day to end a amazing week that I do not want to end.
This week we have laughed, cried, and prayed together more times than you can imagine while serving in this country that is one of the hardest places in this world to understand.When you see the horrible things many of the Haitian people have to live through. Sometimes the only thing you can think is "WHY?"When I started this week I did not know why God called me to Haiti with this trip but as He always does He showed me in many powerful ways why I am here. This week we have served many beautiful people here in Haiti and that is one reason for sure, but it wasn't the only one. I also had the honor to serve next to and make meaningful relationships with brothers and sisters in Christ that were part of this team and I truly love each and every one of them. I have learned so much from each of them. GOD has been so good to us this week, and I am so grateful for this amazing opportunity.
TOMMY.