Well
it has been an exhausting day and a half with our travel and a full day of
worship and preparation. After we arrived at the airport we got on a small bus
and traveled to our base camp. It was an eye opening experience to drive
through the streets of Port au Prince. We got to see and smell that we were in
a very different place. The driving is pretty orderly, but it doesn’t seem that
way to us. There are lots of horns being blown to communicate as cars and
motorcycles pass you on the left and on the right. It is quite the experience.
We
had some sickness for two students on our team (motion sickness from flying and
upset stomach). Everyone is fine now and we all are healthy, but please be
praying for our health as that can really complicate things. Sleeping has been
rough for some and good for some as we adapt to the heat and the sounds of the night here in
Haiti. Electric has been off for most of
the time so we are feeling the heat with limited fans and high temperatures.
As
Noel mentioned, we had the blessing of getting to worship in a different kind
of service. We had a great time at the church singing along the best we could. They
were introducing a song for the first time (No longer slaves) so we were
singing it for 30 minites (mostly in Creole). Tim was asked to share after
pastor Robbie had already preached so there were 2 messages. Tim ended with an
object lesson which the Haitian’s loved. Most of the church came to give each
of us a hug at the end of the service. They really expressed tremendous
gratitude for our presence and what we have to offer. We also look forward to
learning a great deal from them (culturally and spiritually). I have had some
very good discussions with our translators and have enjoyed learning about the
culture. We have gotten some time out in the community where we met a few
children. We watched and participated in a few games and for some reason they
really liked to rub my head/hair.
It
is now 8:05 PM and we just got electric back for the second time tonight. We
really appreciate that as the team enjoys playing some games with the fan
blowing on us. The team chemistry is great and we are working well together as
we enjoy a little free time. We have spent quite a bit of time in preparation
and feel pretty well prepared for the start of the ministry to the children
tomorrow.
It
has been a great start with a few bumps in the road. Please pray that we will
make an impact on the children tomorrow and that God will make an impact on us
throughout the week by using the people we are here to minister to. For all
that are following along and who have supported us, we really appreciate it.
Thanks for joining us in the journey. Keep in touch by sending us encouragement
if you can. We appreciate that too. If not, please keep us in your prayers as
we will face adversity from the spiritual battles and the natural differences
we are not use to.
Many
blessings from Haiti, Dave
