Driving into Carrefour, Haiti, I was scared out of my mind. It was around 8/9pm and people were everywhere. Men, women and children surrounded the streets and sidewalks buying and selling food and different items. Music was blaring and cars were honking their horns. It was pure craziness.
I was sitting next to a squad mate and we were talking about how our first month and sharing stories. Laughing and enjoying our time. But then we went silent…and turned to the windows in the bus we were in. We had entered a different world. There aren’t a lot of houses…there are tents and shacks. People were living on top of each other, people selling their merchandise by candlelight.
I was speechless! I knew people lived this way but actually seeing it is not something I could not prepare for.
Now this month we have joined another team! So there are now 14 of us (plus one of our amazing squad leaders for the first week). We pulled into our soon to be neighborhood for the next month and I remembered praying and asking God again “what have I gotten myself into!?” I asked God to help me find comfort and peace because right now it felt like my heart was going to jump out of my chest. There were actual houses but nothing like we are used to. There really isn’t a road but a dirt path. To paint a picture in your head… we are driving in a normal yellow school bus and I’m amazed that we fit driving to our house!
We turned the final corner and God was like “Don’t I always take care of you!? “ We pulled into our house and we all were so excited! Our house is beautiful!
We have a kitchen with oven/stove, refrigerator, and cabinets. There are 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 1 shower, a roof we can get hang out on and a huge balcony that has you can see almost all of Carrefour and the ocean! We have electricity about 45% of the time and running water (The one downfall is that with 15 people we use a lot of water and we have a limited supply of water for this house….which means showering once a week!) There is enough room for 15 people to have their space and not feel like we are on top of each other! God definitely is taking care of us.
Our ministry sites are in the community we are living in, so we are getting to know our neighbors and gaining their respect and expectance.
Haiti isn’t an easy country. There is a lot of hurt and confusion but God is here and working in the lives of the Haitian people. Our two teams have meshed so well and we have grown together already in the first week! My personal team is growing together as well and really able to have some amazing Jesus time.
I don’t know what this month is going to look like BUT I am excited to see what God has in store!
