Glory to God

Where do you start when words cannot express... The journey to Haiti was just the beginning. We have experienced so much and it's only been one day. First it must be said, Haiti is a beautiful country with such lovely people. BUT... the misery and poverty will rip your heart to shreds. 

After a beautiful dinner last night, we went out to the porch and saw the neighborhood children arrive singing to us "Glory to God." Their faces just beaming with joy. There were a few little girls that said to us "oh Americans" and then they started to count in English to show off...precious!!  This was the start of our heart strings being tugged.  We had a good night sleep and everyone got a cold shower and all of you back in the States that are thinking "cold shower?", when it's in the mid 90's and very humid all day long and the sweat just keeps pouring out of your body, a cold shower was devine!!  We slept well in air conditioned rooms and woke up with inspiration in our eyes and a song in our soul.  Praise and worship on the fly was spectacular and what a huge blessing to all of us to experience this before we really even started our day.  While waiting for the Tap Tap we started with another round of Glory to God...my new favorite song.  We got the dynamic team of Brunais, Fabreze, Emmanuel, Maxum and Elisa and a straggler missionary Mike who is also the photo guy!!  Cite Soleil was an area that we were heading to deliver water on the water truck and what we were really in store for was not anything someone could have prepared us to see and feel.  Poverty takes on new meaning in this area of Haiti.  Tin shacks, tarps, canvases, no running water, garbage everywhere, naked children walking all over, talk about culture shock...WHEW!!!!  As soon as we made our first stop as many of you who have come before us can attest and remember, the children literally mob you.  They pull you from the Tap Tap (vehicle that transports us everywhere we go with a cage to protect us) and immediately want to be held and hugged and loved by anyone that will give them the attention they are starving to get.  This was not an isolated incident, at every turn while in Cite Soleil we got mobbed by so many kids that all wanted to play with us, to be carried around and to be made to feel special and believe me it is not an easy thing to out them down when it is time to leave or to try to walk with 3 or 4 of them hanging on you.  We all got to experience this group of people that have nothing of any monetary value but have God in their lives and are so very thankful for everything they do have and for the free water that Healing Haiti is able to provide to them.  This was not anything you could prepare yourself for, as it was abysmal and dismal conditions but they praise God for everything which is something I wish I could do or at least do better.  Our hearts were opened and our emotions came like flood waters form all of us.  

We came home and relaxed for a short while, grabbed our soccer balls and grabbed the neighborhood kids next to the guest houses and took a field trip to the soccer field to play soccer.  Who knew Haitians were any good at soccer...the non-Haitians really need to improve our skills...let me just say that.  We had Emmanuel on our team and because of him we actually won the game.  Playing goalie was my part and every time the opposite team came anywhere close, the other neighborhood kids yelled at me "Hey You...give me a hug" I swear they did this to distract me :)  On the way home the kids started to sing in the Tap Tap Glory to God in English and the best way was also in Creole.  They rocked all the way back to the guest house and I can't even begin to tell you how awe inspiring and moving and Godly this was!!!!  I really needed this trip to Haiti as it is not what I do everyday at home and it is playing crazy games with my relationship with God.  I feel like Haiti is beyond poor and in fact it is just out right sub poverty, but God is here and God is good and God is watching over His flock and His children don't just live in Minnesota or Canada or Europe, rather His Children live in every nation in every land in all of the world and the Haitian people are closer to God than anyone I know.  In our devotional tonight we read about running to God.  The Haitians don't run with God, they walk with God.  We run to God every time times get tough and when it is convenient for us.  He wants us to walk with him instead of the sprint we make when life sucks and bleakness fills our life.  Being here is as a camp some that I learned way back when I went to CLEC goes...just a closer walk with thee...

I love being here and I love having a broken heart for the Haitian people.  Check out Matthew 25 verse 31??  The sheeps and the goats...speaks volumes to what being here is all about!!  God Bless you all and I pray that God works in you just as he is working in all of us...Jeanne will add some more, they let me run solo for a bit typing.  I just want to say that God is Great and I have God on my side and that is the side that I always want to have.  Love and peace from Haiti...Matt