Bònnuit, friends!
Quick updates on my life and where my heart is at:
We arrived in Montrious (Mow-ee), Haiti a little over a week ago. It’s a little coastal community, and our ministry compound is a three-minute walk from the beach and within walking distance (long walks, granted) of several schools, two elderly homes, two orphanages, and a colorful and crowded market full of very loud car horns, lemoncillos (the fruit that gave me lip blisters last month), and baskets of bread.
Haiti has surprised me in so many ways. Here are some of the less serious things that have surprised me in the past week: pedestrians most certainly do not have the right-of-way (loudest horns do), I sweat much more than I thought (and I already knew I sweat a lot), breadfruit is a real food and it’s delicious deep-fried, I can hold a plank for a solid 40 seconds, I’m not supposed to pet dogs, pigs can be the size of cows, and peanut butter here is spicy.
(As a note, the things I say in this blog post can only apply to the places in Haiti I’ve experienced, which are Montrious, Saint Marc, and immediately surrounding areas).
I expected to love this country and its people, but I had a lot of stereotypes and misconceptions about Haiti prior to coming here based off how it’s been portrayed from various outlets and a lack of research on my part. As such, I was excited to see Haiti for what it is, not the way it’s often shown as a desolate, empty, dirty place full of corruption and hopelessness. For the sake of transparency, I want to share that when I thought of Haiti, I thought of the destruction from the earthquake, fatherless babies, vacation homes and resorts around the corner, and a lot of begging, frowning faces (queue Sarah McLachlan). It broke my heart that this was my only perception of Haiti before I came here, and it breaks my heart even more now that I was buying into the “their poverty for our profit” conception.
Yes, the people in this country have less than most of us have in the U.S. (which isn’t a difficult thing because wow, we’re blessed). And yes, people ask for money and items from me (rarely), but most of all, the people in this community long for Jesus and know Him intimately.
The Lord shattered my expectations for this country pretty quickly by humbling me and showing me what true thankfulness and gladness look like in Him through the people here. The reality for me is that material lack is not emphasized here because of how full of life the people are and how much they appreciate the beauty surrounding them.
Within just a few days of being here, I met so many people who demonstrated what it looks like to have a glad and sincere heart. They don’t speak of what the world calls their lack, they speak of the faithfulness of Jesus and the unity found in Him. As a part of ministry here, we get to serve at Matthew 25 houses, which are the elderly homes in the community. When we asked each of the residents there what makes them happy, each of them, individually, said variations of “knowing Jesus.” One lady named Marisol, when we asked her for her story, said, “I don’t have much of a story, but I know Jesus has been with me.”
In this place, there is a heart of praise that I’ve never known and a gladness I’m inspired by. I’m excited to keep learning what it looks like to live with a glad and sincere heart that shouts His goodness, regardless of circumstance, from my new friends here.
Thanks for following, friends! Here are some photos:
