Today’s blog post was written by Caroline Hunter. She recently graduated from high school and this is her second trip to Haiti. We are currently waking up from a great nights sleep in the guest house and will soon be preparing for another fruitful day with the kids. Can’t wait!
-Erica
It’s 10:30pm Haiti time and the whole team is settling down from laughs, endless sweating, snacks and endless battles with the wild insects of this new place. An ant is crawling on my screen as I type. We left the guest house today with a schedule, a step by step craft-music-biblestory-rec VBS plan that was quickly adjusted, with some parts thrown out all together. But no worries, flexibility is of essence in Haiti.
For me, today was a realization of the reality of what our church is doing in Haiti. It is really easy for us to romanticize what we are doing in Haiti. But there were moments today that were not ideal.
Today was frustrating at times when the kids were acting like, well, kids. There were times when older boys began fighting, younger girls stole toys, kids didn’t wait their turn or wouldn’t stay quiet. Sometimes the language barrier was discouraging and sometimes the thought of one more child pulling on your arm or your backpack would make you want to scream. The thing is… the children here are precious but just like our children back in Hendersonville; they are sinful human beings in need of a Savior.
But this is the beauty in it.
Just like we are a broken people, they are a broken people in desperate need of a Savior named Jesus Christ. These children in Haiti need the healing power of Christ and our church has been able to provide that for these kids. God has allowed them to see the true way to riches, to satisfaction, to purpose, to love. They are rescued from situations we could never imagine. God is being glorified is a giant way. These little hearts are being shaped to live for King Jesus in their own culture. Haiti is not a world of neat categories or timed scedules and it doesn’t have to be (isn’t there something to be said for spontanaiety?).Our God is even bigger than culture differences, comfort zones and languages. His love supercedes it all. Isn’t that just crazy?
-Caroline
English Lessons
Peter, practicing English