Reflections continued.............

How do you write a few paragraphs about such a powerful 5 days? Janese heard me talk and show pictures for nearly an hour to a guy on the plane from Dallas to KC (a doctor from Liberty)! When I grow up I want to be like those who love the Lord in Haiti (adults & children alike) - content, joyful, and thankful, with an eternal perspective that helps them walk through even the hardest of circumstances!

A definite difference I saw in the Port-au-Prince airport, besides the fact that most of the rooms being used were temporary, small & overly-crowded, was the number of "blancs" being so much greater than in October. There were many medical teams and Christian workers coming and going - it reminded me of our many trips to Pascagoula after Hurricane Katrina - the Church doing hands-on ministry for people in need!

Highlights for me were:

1. Spending time with Pastor Moise Vaval. What a gentle, humble, and yet powerfully filled with the Spirit of God, man! Pray for him and his family as they continue to heal from the loss of their 8 yr. old, Jean Marc, in the earthquake. I was blessed by his resolve to be obedient in worshipping and serving the Lord even in the grip of his grief. We gave him 6 solar audio Creole New Testaments for him to distribute as the Lord leads - pray for the impact of God's Word in people's lives. And he is praying for us at LCF - a bond was definitely created by the Lord!

2. Seeing the happiness and health of the kids and the leaders at Global Orphan Project's Transitional Village in PAP, and envisioning that for our kids at St. Louis du Sud.

3. Arriving at St. Louis du Sud and being remembered and warmly greeted by Pastor Labastille and his wife, Venice, as well as by a mama, Therese, and the hard-working do-it-all man, Natou, who were there in October. Then the children - there's nothing like being surrounded (closely) by many Haitian kids who want to hug you and kiss you and sing you songs and hold your hand and play with your hair!

4. Building friendships with the mama's - Sherline, Berlinda, Evena, Melane, Therese. They would appreciate our prayers as they care for the children (in what we would consider a very primitive setting - no stove, no refrigerator, no electricity, no toilets or showers), as well as for their "spiritual lives" and to have "time to study."

5. Sitting on the porch of the guesthouse on a hill near Les Cayes looking out at a beautiful countryside and having Jerry (10-11 yr. old Cambry orphan who didn't speak for the entire first year that he was there as a 3-4 yr. old) read all of Psalm 8 to me in wonderfully-accented English. "O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth!...From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise..."

6. Watching Scott & Janese lovingly wash the hands of all the children, knowing they were praying for each one and God was listening.

7. Worshipping Jesus with the children in the Sunday morning service in St. Louis, and seeing some of them with their eyes closed and their hands lifted to the Lord.

8. Seeing the wonder on the faces of children and adults alike when they were each given a small book of Bible stories in Creole, then watching them work at following along as I read (and Philemon interpreted) the story of Joseph. These small books were a treasure to them!

9. Experiencing the joy of the girls as they received what in most cases was their first baby doll, and watching the boys excitedly read the numbers on their little watches or play with a matchbox car. The joy that such simple gifts gave them was humbling and refreshing - again I found myself thinking, "I want to be like that!"

10. They spontaneously gathered around the open doors of the van as we loaded up to leave on Sunday and sang to us. Through our tears, we took pictures and drank in their voices and faces. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for these precious children of yours ~ please protect and bless them!

Bev