Hey everyone,
Thanks so much for all your prayers and support these past two weeks! As most of you know, we had a break-in and many of us lost our laptops, including me. It’s been so cool to see how God has given us a spirit of joy and that we’ve been able to worship Him through the pain of that circumstance.
I just wanted to share with you some experiences and thoughts about my time in Haiti.
#1 – Worship in a Haitian church. Church in Haiti is much different than in America. There’s less order, worship will start when the musicians get there but most of the congregation won’t get there for another half hour, the electricity cuts out commonly through the service but people sing on and the pastor preaches on until they grab a generator and get power flowing again. Oh, an one more thing – there’s no AC. This means that things get hot real fast – especially when you have a lot of people crammed in a small room, dancing and singing their hearts out. This is one of those scenarios where it can be so easy to see the glass as half-empty. Indeed, I did my first week in Haiti. I was drenched in sweat while sitting in service and I wanted to just walk out. Then God reminded me that this service wasn’t about me, it was about Him. I had to learn to get over myself. I’m not there to have a nice, relaxing holiday, I’m there to serve God and love others.
#2 – Construction. I also learned the lesson of putting my desires aside when we helped out with construction. We’ve been helping put up an orphanage and a church and it can be a frustrating experience at times. We are working with locals who have their own way of doing things and they would often stop us and take our tools from us and show us the “right” way of doing things. Once again, we had to turn our pride on low and our humility on high and do things the way they wanted it to be done. In the hot Haitian sun, when you are sunburned and covered in sweat and dirt, it’s not easy to do. God has a funny way of teaching me patience and perseverance.
#3 – Learning to live with less. Here in Haiti, there are not many of the conveniences that I’ve been used to in modern America. For example, constant electricity is unheard of. The power cuts out randomly throughout the day and will sometimes remain off for several days. In fact, it’s off more than it is on –which can create a problem for our refrigerated food. There is also no AC, as I’ve mentioned before. There is really nowhere to go to cool off – every place in the house is hot and humid. The best you can hope for is that a breeze will flow through the house. So, most of the time I sit around covered in sweat. I have to remind myself that I didn’t sign up for a vacation – I signed up for a year of abandonment. To get any type of internet means walking to the nearest internet café where you sit in the equivalent of a small closet where (once again) there is no AC. Make sure to bring a rag to wipe your sweat off the keyboard.
All of this may sound rough but to be honest – I wouldn’t trade it. I know this is where God has called me and I’ve grown so much more content as I learn to enjoy where God has me. Just as David was able to worship God while being chased by King Saul through the hot desert, so I’ve learned to enjoy God’s presence in the midst of trial. I love how it’s those tough circumstances that shape us the most – that chips away the immaturity. I know that I’ve grown a lot just over the past month and I’m excited to see what’s next.
Once again, thanks so much for everyone’s support and prayer. You all are a true blessing to me!
Also, I’d like to be able to maintain personal contact with all those who’ve been checking in on my blog. I’d love to be able to send you a personal email now and again so please send me your email address and any questions or comments you might have. My email is [email protected]
Also, some exciting news – our next country is Thailand! We leave Haiti on Saturday to head to the Dominican Republic where we’ll rest up for a few days before heading on our (very) long trek to Asia!
God Bless,
Kevin Gottlieb
