Today started with a wonderful worship service at a church I have never attended, Rendezvous Church. The songs were both in Kreyol and English. The sermon was in Kreyol and we were given headsets to listen to it being interpreted live in English. I hope to go there again. It was amazing!
Today is a day where we are done serving "in the field", it is a team day or a day of rest. Some of us went to the pool, some read a book and some soaked up the sun on the balcony of the guesthouse. Mid-afternoon there were naps happening and a great game of cards. Then..... we watched the VIKINGS game! It was pretty awesome.
Sunday night is a time where we talk about re-entry, coming home and what that might be like. We talk about continuing to support each other in the days, weeks and months to come. Going home is not easy. We long for our loved ones at home but our hearts are not ready to leave this beautiful place that has stolen a piece of our hearts. We are a family now and in 24 hours we will no longer be together. It is a very lonely place to be when no one understands what you just experience and why you don't have words for what you saw, only emotions and tears. If you are reading this, please be gentle with your loved ones who are returning home. Give them space and a place to "just be". Allow them time to get back to their "normal" and don't be surprised if they want a new normal. You see, we will never be the same. We can't unsee what we saw and we can't forget, nor do we want to. The experiences are here to stay and they make us better versions of ourselves. Maybe these experiences are guiding us to be the person God intended us to be. All of our "stuff" gets in the way and doesn't allow us to grow in our faith.
There was a lot of heaviness tonight as we talked about leaving, but more-so, there was a lot of thankfulness. Thankfulness for the time was got to spend here in Haiti, thankfulness for the team we love so dearly, thankfulness for how we got to serve and be served and thankfulness for a magnificent God to put all of this together.
Thank you for following our blog this week - Marni
