More Jesus

We started the day off with the chance to worship at Grace Church in Grace Village. Church there has grown so much that they start off with a children's service, including solo's by the children and a message focused for them.  Then they continue with long, passionate songs praising the Lord and end with a sermon more focused for the adults.  "More Jesus" was the sermon's theme and the Haitian people are truly filled with the spirit of Christ.  At any moment of the service you could see our Healing Haiti team holding the children, worshiping with them or providing a resting spot.  A true blending of spirits!  We were all impressed with the reverence the Haitian people had for church.  From the littlest child to the oldest adult, they all came dressed in their Sunday best carrying their tattered Bibles and worshiped with their whole hearts for the 2 hour service.  Although 2 hours seems like a long time, it seemed to go by quickly because of the joy and passion of the Haitian pastor and people.  A true privilege for us all.

It was also a treat to play with the kids on the playground (Grace Village is home to the biggest playground in Haiti).  Some of the kids recognized our kids from 2 days earlier and others were just happy to have some friends to play with. Swinging, monkey bars and basketball seemed to be the hit.  Not quite sure who had more fun....the Grace Village kids or our team!

Our team then journeyed up the mountain to the markets to test out our bartering skills.  It took a little getting used to but by our third stop most of us were masters!  It was amazing to see a $20 walking stick end up selling in the last seconds for $2.  Wait until you see the treasures we have to bring home.

It was also interesting to see more of the downtown area.  There has been a lot of change in the last year. The partially demolished palace that stood for years after the earthquake is now no longer there and many of the tent cities are now public parks.  It was also neat to see many of the buildings lining the downtown hillside painted in all sorts of bright colors.  These bright colors were a great reminder of the many bright smiles that have blessed our trip to Haiti.  We came on this trip with the hope to serve and bless others, but in the end we realized that we were really the ones to be served and blessed by these beautiful people!