Hello friends and family! Take a seat and grab a snack
because it was a busy day. We woke up bright and early this morning to be on
the tap tap at 5:45 for church (believe it or not, all 17 of us made it there
on time). While it was still dark out, we arrived at Church on the Rock for a
unique church experience. It was amazing to see how people of different
cultures worship the same God. Even though most of it was in Creole, it was
powerful to witness God working in the people there.
After breakfast, we spent some time at the mass graves, a
memorial for those who died and were affected by the earthquake that struck in
January of 2010. It has a beautiful location at the top of a mountain in
Titanyen. Our translator, Smith, shared his memories with us from that day. It
was hard for him to share these difficult memories but he explained how the
earthquake united all Haitians, no matter their age or wealth. Taking some time
to reflect on this event was a beautiful and moving way to start our afternoon.
After the memorial, we had an amazing time visiting the
elders in the area. There were some heart melting moments while we danced and
sang with them. It was clear that they love visitors and we were so happy to be
able to pray over them. Most of them live in tiny houses on the side of the
mountain but continue to have an incredibly inspiring faith.
After elder visits, we had the opportunity to tour Grace
Village. The tour was led by long term missionary, Caleb. We got to see the beautiful
homes the children live in, classrooms, clinic and more. We spent some time
playing and laughing with all the kids in Grace Village.
Our next stop was a tour at the Haitian Deaf Academy. The
kids there loved teaching us sign language and showing us our own name signs. Their
joy was completely contagious and it was a privilege to visit the organization
and hear from the couple who founded it.
We had a great chance to relax and eat some za (pizza!) at
Fleri. This bakery is a part of Grace Village. The long term missionary there,
Jake, impressed us with how much growth the bakery has had over a short amount
of time. The business has taken off by selling bread at wholesale prices to street
vendors. By doing this, Fleri is able to support many people within the
community. It’s no surprise that “Fleri” means “flourish” in Haitian Creole. We
loved chilling out in the restaurant and playing an intense game of Jenga. It
was an incredible and busy day.
Here are our words of the day:
Elaine: Flourish
Anna: Beauty
Mary: Above
Callie:
Smile
Chloe:
Nudged
Andee:
Family
Bill:
Overwhelmed
Cindy:
Profound
Ellie:
Dance
Meredeth:
Empathy
Wayne:
Humbled
Steve:
Dedication
Chris:
Faith
No comments:
Post a Comment