Haiti Mission Team Wednesday Update:
Well it's official! Pastor Luc St. Felix's church building has a roof! It was such a blessing to see the finishing piece go on the roof. The work ethic of the Haitian people is amazing...especially when it comes to their church. Clearly, they didn't need us to build anything. But the greatest blessing was working with them. Learning how to use minimal tools to do great work. Rick Everett was instrumental in getting the roof on. He actually spent hours with the roofers today. In fact, without Rick, the roof would have probably been lacking structural ability.
The rest of us mixed concrete and moved piles of stone around. All of us tried to put the concrete on the cinderblock walls...only Richard Heller had the ability to sling the cement on the wall with the Haitians (the rest of us got more on us than on the wall...I guess you could say we never got hired for the job :-).
Most of us have had a little taste of the stomach sickness. Nothing that hasn't been overcome. Today was more difficult than expected due to the intense heat and force of the sun. Even with sunscreen...we fulfilled our Tristate area reputation of becoming "red necks" :-). It's amazing to think that it's snowing at home.
We did have a minor accident. Chad Vaughn stepped on a nail while carrying concrete. All the way through his shoe. Thankfully, after a short surgery, he is doing ok (this is a joke...he didn't have surgery, but is doing fine) :-).
After returning to our guest house this evening, we decided to journey to the local market place. It was an eye opening experience to see their lives from their perspective. The poverty is huge. Walking through the marketplace confirmed this with great imagery. The food looked horrible and rotten...the people depressed. The only smile we could find was when Brian Hoffman bartered for a pair of sandals (Brian is a master at bartering). It was a huge reminder, not that these people have great need, nor we have abundance, but that the darkness of a life without Christ leaves emptiness. A huge diachotomy for sure. Seeing children and churches with smiles as big as the sea praising Christ with all of their hearts, not for what they don't have, but for what they have spiritually...to people depressed in their work with nothing to praise in life. That's Haiti! Great want...Great need!
"If a commission by an earthly king is considered an honor, how can a commission by a Heavenly King be considered a sacrifice!" David Livingstone
No comments:
Post a Comment