Blog for Sunday, July 1st
Sunday – a day of rest.
For the team, a bittersweet mix of much-needed time for relaxation; with
an understanding that our serving time with the orphanages and Cite Soleil water
stops is done. We had some surprises today
– a late change resulted in missing our church service, and another stop was
unsuccessful due to the timing impact.
But, this team didn’t miss a beat and still had a wonderful day. Wahoo Beach provides an amazing reminder of
the beauty and possibility of Haiti. White
sand, beautiful water, green hills partially covered in mist, and plenty to do
(jetskis, snorkeling, trampolines, freshwater pool, etc.). Great times, and the travel there and back
was shortened by good company and a lot of laughter, along with SIGNS game of
course.
The last 24 hours brings to mind an overarching thought (courtesy
of Scott): the human condition is
common. We had a great time “salsa dancing” (quotations
used to denote the fact that Jean is really the only one truly salsa dancing)
and visiting the Elite hotel. A wedding
party was at the hotel as well. Eating,
dancing, enjoying each other’s company, and celebrating the love of a new
marriage. Today, we saw families relaxing
at the beach: kids playing, parents scolding, people laughing. Earlier in the week, we saw the pure joy in
young eyes from simple pleasures, kids seeking comfort and rest sleeping in
laps, sport competition (mostly futbol), pain, the struggles of advanced age balanced
by grace and strong spirits. In many ways, this is what Jesus nailed better
than anyone before or since: how to perfect the human condition throughout
life, no matter what it brings.
What a great week for this team – so many different people coming
together and forming permanent bonds.
Thank you to everyone whose hard work makes this possible – the nearly
200 Haitian employees of Healing Haiti, the long-term missionaries serving so
faithfully here, and our wonderful team leaders!
Mike
