3.16.15

I am starting my second day in Haiti with a terrible headache. I hope it goes away.  I made it through yesterday, and rather enjoyed "dying to myself" although I think the cost is this pain. 

There is so much to tell about; to take in. I don't even know where to start. 

The traffic, perhaps? We ride in the back of a truck, sitting or standing, and the wind blows all around us, and on every side are motorcycles passing... trucks honking. At one point we thought a man was going to be squished between ours and another truck. 

And there really are goats grazing everywhere! They are tied up, or walking free, as well as cows and chickens. There are livestock everywhere! I think it must be hard for folks to know who the animals belong to. 

The airport is a tiny little thing, decorated with local paintings and gourd shells. There is a lot of trash, but it is not stinky like garbage. Haiti smells like a barbeque grill, because coal is their primary source of fuel. 

I enjoyed worshiping with the believers. They are all so sweet, and so open. 

It was like finding family.

I didn't understand their songs or their words but we could all worship Jesus, hands raised and hearts open together. 

People here do not rush around everywhere. They drive trucks and motorcycles, or walk. I am struck by the simplicity of their lives. 

Most people call it poverty, but it seems to me that I am the one lacking something. 

There is so, so much despair, but only because of the darkness that holds their souls. 

At the orphanage I had the pleasure of meeting two girls. They ran up to me and we hugged. The children are also all so very sweet. 

How am I allowed to be here? 

I am not worthy of these people. 

We know that we all possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know. But the man who loves God is known by God. 

1 Corinthians 8:1-3