Sunday's My Favorite Day

I have to say that as many trips as I have had the privilege to be a part of, Sunday is always my favorite day.  It's also the longest day, the hottest day usually and the most satisfying day.

To start the day off, we get to worship at two different worship services- in Gonaives at about 7:45 and then up at Desire at 10:00.  Both services offer something unique from each other but they both are equally God-honoring in worship expression.  Pastor Jeannot preached a lively message in Gonaives and I shared an encouraging message in Desire.

In the afternoon we returned to Desire to do an art project with the younger kids and a craft project with the older girls.  As all of this was happening John Crane and I took a little hike up the mountainside behind the project to get a encompassing perspective of the project- see the pictures that follow.  The difference between two and a half years ago and today is staggering.  The project we visited in March of 2011 had nothing but tents for the children and a primitive latrine which consisted of a concrete slab with two round holes cut in it for using the bathroom.  Now the project has real homes for all the children, still primitive but very functional latrines, a kitchen, an office and security walls that surround the project.  To be up on the mountainside and look below, a person cannot help but realize this is all possible through God.

While ministry was happening at the church, from the side of the mountain a community soccer match was getting ready to start.  A visiting town traveled up to Desire to play a team from the community which included two orphan teens- Wilson and Nasson.  It was The Event and was exciting to watch a game where the home field crowd was cheering on their team at the same time hearing children singing at the church less than 50 yards away.  That was one of those moments you wish you could bottle up and hold on to and revisit when you go through your Haiti withdrawals.  In that moment, all was right with the world.  And my teammates will understand it and if you've been to Desire, you can imagine it and understand it too.

Today was a busy day for funerals.  On the road back to Desire we passed by two funerals taking place and in the last couple of days, we saw as many as 4 new burial sites in the cemetery we pass by.  Add to that the two wedding receptions that we have seen at our hotel  since we arrived Thursday, we have witnessed a lot in Haitian culture.

This evening we visited a friend who runs an orphanage in Gonaives.  She now has 31 kids (last year when I visited there were only about 15) and the house was buzzing with activity before bedtime.  They welcomed our team and had fun playing with us for the brief time we were there.  I was encouraged by what I see The Lord doing in the life of that orphan home.

So now I am exhausted trying to make sure I capture the events of the day knowing that the heart impact on my own heart is still processing...  

We have one more full day of ministry with the kids in Desire and we are asking The Lord to give us all the energy we need to do it well.  We just want to show up and let God use us as He sees fit.