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After a long night of traveling and very little sleep, we arrived safely in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Our first thoughts were: “Did our luggage make it too?” We were very happy to see that it did, especially considering we had seven suitcases full of food, Bibles, men’s conference packets, pens, and other supplies that will be extremely useful during our stay and beyond. There was not a lot of time to think about what we would see next as we were driving out of the airport parking lot. And the cultural and social differences could only take our breath away, leaving us silently observing the very populated Haitian city.
My first observation was that there are no street signs or street lights. Street lights would be too expensive and the signs were stolen because the metal was valuable. Therefore, the driving was crazy! I have never seen so many close calls and heard so many horns honked. The second observation, and this was even more apparent in the rural areas, was that it appeared like we were being watched by every person we came across. I realized quickly that we were in the minority being one of the only white people around. We were all treated very well, but the attention we drew was very unusual to me. The third observation was that the poverty level in Haiti is extreme. As an overly blessed and absolutely spoiled American, I had many feelings rushing through my mind on our long road trip to Pignon; feelings of empathy, feelings of sorrow, feelings of injustice and even anger! The more I thought about it all, however, the more reminded I was that we are not living for this life. This is not our home. Our home is in heaven with God, worshiping His holiness and praising Him. The injustices that we face in this life and the injustices that the Haitian experience on a daily basis is only temporary. God is good, blessed be His name!
Our team has only been here for two days now, but we have already started a tradition. Each night we recap the events of the day and discuss our observations and our highlights and finish with prayer time. It is a great way to end the day. My highlight for the day was hearing the kids sing and worship. They love to sing! In fact, we were awakened at 5 a.m. to their beautiful, yet loud voices. I hope that I can take their enthusiasm for singing back with me to Fresno. My prayer for today is that I continue to observe and see this culture and these people through God’s eyes. Only through Him can we make a difference! Well, I am beyond tired and will recollect my thoughts in a later blog; with new observations, new highlights and new prayers for and from the Haitian people.