A Change of Heart - Friday in Haiti
This week has been about the kids…...the precious orphans living at Source de la Grace. We have hugged and kissed them, played and danced with them, talked (kinda) and sang with them, prayed with them and over them, and laughed and cried with them. Their beautiful smiles and joyful dispositions have taught us more about the amazing God we serve and plenty about ourselves. The imprint that these kids have left on us has changed our hearts and I am extremely grateful for that. They have shown us the beauty of Haiti in their faces and their pure love for Jesus, but today we were blessed to see the physical beauty of this country. At 9:00 a.m. today (that would be 10:00ish in Haitian time) we loaded the tap tap. (For those of you who do not know what that is…..it’s one of the most common forms of Haitian transportation. Picture a Toyota pick up with beat up picnic table benches in the bed of the truck for seating. Add much age to the vehicle, a few brightly colored paintings on it, the strong stench of diesel and the craziest driver on the planet and you have a tap tap.) Anyway, off we went to the northern part of the island to Club Indigo for a day of debriefing and relaxation. Pastor Moise has made it known to our Riverside groups the importance of seeing the beauty of his country at the end of an emotional and exhausting week at the orphanage. Many of us had troubled hearts about this “day of fun” after all we had experienced, but once there, we saw the true value of our excursion. We hit the beach with many thoughts in mind. The first, of course, was to plop in a chair and just stinking do nothing. The next was to teach our three translators and two drivers to swim. Sounds a little crazy that these energetic young men live on an island, yet do not know how to swim. Well, not to worry, Liz, Becki, John, Naiya and I’m not sure who else, made it their mission to organize a Swim 101 class. Not too sure how successful it was, but witnessing their gallant efforts created billowing laughter and cheering. While watching their antics, I realized how important this day was for those young men who served us so faithfully all week. This Club Indigo was a gift and a blessing to them in a huge way. God is so good about the way he works our hearts and changes them as He sees fit. After much sand and sun, we took “real” showers (ask us about that) and loaded the coveted tap tap to head to the earthquake burial site to pay our respects. My heart was aching as I stood at the entry to the gate of the memorial area, but as He does, God changed it rather quickly. Six or seven children from a nearby village came to the site and just wanted to say hi. Becki was quick to get out her Polaroid camera and begin clicking snapshots of these cute kids. They were gracious and polite as she handed each of them a photo. I could see the excitement in their eyes and knew how it blessed them. We were also able to give each of them two protein bars as we sent them on their way and you would have thought we sent them with a steak dinner. Once again, we loaded the tap tap and headed to the guesthouse. Today was like every other day in Haiti. It was full of all kinds of emotions and full of the Lord. We’ve seen Him everywhere in this place and we are so grateful that He provides opportunities like this to
change our hearts.
~Robin
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