We arrived in Port au Prince, Haiti after about a 9 hour bus ride from Santo Domingo. We spent the night inside the walls of a small hotel. Most of us set up our tents in the open area. The next day after several hours of failed attempts to get money anywhere in Port au Prince, we finally got enough to get to our ministry site about 4 hours away in Gonaives. We arrived in Gonaives late that evening after experiencing the worst bus ride of my life. The roads to Gonaives were in terrible shape, the driver drove like a madman, and it was pitch dark most of the way.
On the fourth, we woke up to see exactly where we staying. We were in a concrete building on the property of an orphanage that houses about 250 orphans. Most of us set our tents up inside this unfinished building because very soon we noticed the mosquitos, mice, and cockroaches. They gave us the first day to settle in, and to hang out with the kids. Praise the Lord, the kids play soccer and lots of it. I was able to spend a lot of time with the teenage boys playing soccer and building some quick friendships.
For the next week or so, everyday in the morning we would get picked up in a truck, all 12 of us shoved in the back, and taken to the property of the Pastor Woodman. There is a school here with over a hundred children. They are also in the process of building a church. For several days, we carried huge boulders. We had to fill this certain area about 3 feet high so later we could put more rock over it to smooth it out, and finally pour concrete over top to complete the foundation.
We spent the remainder of our time in Haiti doing construction on the orphanage buildings. We helped the work crew add a second story to two of the children’s homes. I also was able to play soccer every afternoon with all the teenage boys. It was very refreshing to be able to be in my element. We had a blast playing for a couple hours until the sunset. Speaking of, the sunsets were absolutely gorgeous. I spent many evenings sitting on the roof of our building watching the sun set over the ocean and behind the mountains.
I had a lot of time in Haiti to spend reading and thinking and asking the Lord questions which has been excellent. My relationship with the Lord is becoming more personal and intimate, but it’s still a little messy as He is refining me and shaping me. I’ve actually had a really difficult time writing and journaling. My mind has been full of so much, but I can’t seem to put it on paper. For my benefit and perhaps yours as well, will you ask the Lord to help me with the discipline of journaling.
I do hope to get a blog together that is more personal and that deals with what is going on inside of me, but im not sure when that will be.
