Monday, March 18, 2013

Friends galore

For my second blog installment of the evening I'll talk about our eventful Sunday. I started my day very early at what I thought was 4:50am.  I was never sure what clock was right so I just assumed the worst and the sun was nowhere near coming up when I got out of bed so I figured it was just that early. Most of you know that Haiti is not the quietest country in the world. The first year we heard voodoo and roosters, last year was generators and more roosters. This year we've heard dog fights and I bet you'll never guess what else???!......roosters. Ironically I was not bothered by the outside noise but the inside noise. I should have known that in a room full of 8 sleeping women, one of them is bound to be a snorer.  I won't tell you who that person is because I don't want to tarnish their good naMe, hOwever if you read carefully you Might just figure out the mystery. Anyways I blame myself mostly because I went to bed sans ear plugs, a mistake that I will never make again. I also think that I was just excited that it was Sunday morning because I was very anxious to go to church as that is definitely one of our favorite aspects of past trips. After getting over my pity party I watched the sun come up and got ready for church. The service is so hard to adequately put into words how amazing it is every time. Pastor was asked to preach this time around, which by the looks of the pictures we snapped of him at the front of the church, made him very nervous. But he did a wonderful job per usual and the congregation was very happy to hear him.
We and by we I mean Heather, organized a VBS lesson for the afternoon that we did at 4pm. It went as smooth as it could possible go, even when we had to stall while waiting for translators. There was a little bit of chaos when we handed out snacks but after last year's "snack riot" this was nothing.

Anyways, as I sit here enjoying my second Prestige of the night I can't put into words how happy I am to be back. I know that I speak for most of the group when I say that I feel an overwhelming sense of joy and a sense of home when I'm in Haiti. We were surprised and so happy to see old friends today. Events (Pastor's buddy) came running out of nowhere this morning in his Sunday best and about jumped on Pastor's back. He then proceeded to call Steevenson and hand the phone to my dad. He let Steevenson know that we were here and sure enough this afternoon Events brought Steevenson to us. The reunion between he and my dad is always a sight to see. And he finally got to meet my mom! The whole family was together. He spent a good portion of the afternoon with us, looking and pictures and talking with us. His English is so impressive and he is so motivated in his studies at regular school and English school. We can't wait to visit with him again.

I was also so pleasantly surprised to see my old friend Roberto this afternoon while the group was doing VBS. Word must have traveled fast that we were in Jacmel and I believe Douge brought him to the church to see us. I was so overjoyed and excited, just like every year. The first year I was here he, Douge and I sat at the work site and talked for so long about the earthquake, their families and their hopes in the future. I sat down again with Roberto and we talked and talked. We were both so happy to see each other but our conversations are always so solemn. He talked his mother dying and his father being a "vagabond" and not a very good person. He told me how he's struggling to go day to day because he can't find work and without work he can't pay for school. It seems like a never-ending circle: you have a job and money but how do you decide what to pay for? School? Food? Family? It kills me because I know how smart and motivated he is but there is virtually nothing he can do about it. One thing he told me that stuck with me was, "If you live in Haiti you must have a tough heart." He is absolutely right.

There is so much more that I could write but I don't think I would have enough time in the day for that. Hope you guys enjoy.


1 comment:

  1. I'm glad to hear you made it there, and that the family reunions are so joyful. You missed a quiet Sunday at Trinity--people took this spring break thing seriously. So many are praying for you and the Haitians. Have a great week!

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