New.
Today our team followed a truck full of water to Cite Soleil and made three different stops. On those stops, many people lined up with buckets, and pails, and pans to gather water to take back to their home. A few of our team members kept order to the line, and filled buckets up with water from the water truck, while others held babies and children from the ages of a few months to 9 or 10 years old. Some kiddos loved to play handshake games or play with our hair because it looked a little different from what they were used to. Others from the team helped children and women carry their buckets of water to their home.
Our team also had the opportunity to learn about Healing Haiti, and how they empower the country of Haiti and are helping without hurting those they are affecting. Healing Haiti has a farm near Cite Soleil where they grow many foods such as coconuts, avocados, eggplants, and mangos and our team was guided through the farm and were able to see the plants and irrigation system and at the end of the tour, were able to sample fresh watermelon and coconut, and lime from the trees.
A word that has stuck in my head today is new. When I think of the word new, I think of something shiny or expensive. New things are exciting, but often, they lose their luster after a while.
Today was new for most of our team. It was new getting to see the beautiful country of Haiti. It was new to have smiling, curious, loving, and joyful children cling to legs, and arms, and backs, and necks, and any other part of a body we didn’t know could support a small child. It was new hearing conversations in Creole surrounding us and seeing the chaotic yet smooth masses of people driving down busy streets. It was new for half of the team to see the pure innocent eyes of a child tell you “ou belle” (beautiful), or for a child offering their last material item to you because you were talking with them and complimenting them and telling them it was beautiful. New things, like seeing what pure, infectious joy is; there were many new things to see.
But for the other half of the team, these things that were experienced were not new. They have been experienced before. As stated above, new things lose their luster, but this is the amazing thing about God. For me, this wasn’t new, but it was even more exciting than the first time I experienced it. It wasn’t new, yet new things were learned and experienced. Even when we think we know, or we think something is old, God is still moving. He is still showing. He makes beautiful things, even in the things that are no longer new.
For the people of Haiti we encountered, it was not new to them. Healing Haiti has the water truck in Cite Soleil daily. This is something that families experience often, however they showed a new joy, a new excitement. They hugged new hugs, and played new games, and they loved with a new love. They loved a pure love, a love like Jesus. This love is new and overwhelming because it comes without reservation and expectations. Today let’s choose to love with a new love. Let’s choose a love with no bounds. A love without any burdens. Let’s choose a love like Jesus!
