Day in the Life: Haiti
6:15 AM – My alarm goes off at 6:15 but if we are being honest here I usually don’t get myself out of bed until 6:30. Nothing starts my day better than a little quiet time and space. Between waking up and breakfast I will workout, get ready for the day, and spend some time with the Lord. Similar to last month, this time is essential for my day.
8:30 AM – Breakfast time! This month we’ve had a very… consistent… food schedule. Each morning without fail we have bread accompanied by a rotation of toppings – avocado, eggs, pineapple, mango. Peanut butter is a hot commodity here and the jars go fast. I’ve decided it is very much worth my money to buy a personal jar of peanut butter for breakfast each month. When in doubt, peanut butter it out.
9:30 AM – Ministry starts around 9:30 here. We are picked up from our little pink home by one of our awesome translators (Alex, Shama, Silvano, Diana, JP) and we set off for door-to-door evangelism. Morning ministry has stretched me far beyond my comfort zone this month. Knocking on people’s doors and asking them if they know Jesus and if you can talk to them about their faith is a daunting task. It is not something we are used to in America and would normally see as intrusive. God has shown me the simplicity and beauty in conversation this month. It isn’t always comfortable but it brings Kingdom.
12:30 PM – Lunch usually falls around 12:30. Rice and beans are plentiful. Praise.
2:30-3:30 PM – Often times in the afternoon we will have some downtime where we can choose our own ministry activity. We can prayer walk, head to the beach and play with the naked Haitian kids, help women with laundry, or head down and play with the kiddos at the children’s home down the road. I’m a personal fan for prayer walking and doing laundry. The women here will spend 10-12 hours doing laundry and sometimes they wash until their hands bleed. It is such an simple way to really impact a woman’s day. They laugh at me because I am not as well versed in hand washing clothing but hey, afternoon entertainment.
4:30 PM – The activity that we have around 4:30 depends on the day. On Monday nights we have had women’s group at the church. Thursday is bible study, Friday is bible club. On days that there was not a routine activity we sometimes go and visit the granmoun (old folks) at the Matthew 25 house or we will all head over to the beach and play with kids.
6:30 PM – Dinner time! Dinner can be anything from Haitian spaghetti to fried dough. They spoil us here with pop and ice. Truly blessed.
7:00-7:30 PM – Team time! We meet in our individual teams to debrief the day/week, write blogs, have bible studies, worship, or give feedback. I love having this time at the end of my day to hang out with my teammates.
9:00 PM – Bed time! I head to bed pretty early here in Haiti and am not mad about it. We all get full nights of sleep in our comfy bunk beds. Also the Ladies of Haiti (all girls teams) have been spoiled with little fans for each of our beds and we cherish the time out of the Haitian heat.
I hope this gives you all just a little insight into how my days in Haiti have been. The month has flown by and in just two days Gap O will be on a plane to Africa! Prayers for the Ladies of Haiti as a virus has gone around and we need healthy bodies to travel comfortably. No need to worry though, there is plenty of medicine and care being distributed and we are all well taken care of. Haiti has become another home and is a country I will hold close to my heart always. Here’s to Haiti. And on to Botswana…
