A Mountian Top Experience

 

 

Since I got word that Maddie and I were blessed to be coming back to Haiti for a second time, I have been prayerfully preparing my heart.  Two words kept coming to mind over and over as I prayed and prepared.  "Love" and "Storm".  The Love, I understood completely, but the Storm was making me a little uneasy.  After all, we have entered hurricane season in Haiti...Yikes!  Clarity hit me by way of a "love storm" at Grace Church this morning as our group joined the children of Grace Village and residents of Titanyen, for praise and worship.

God's love for us, 'love like a hurricane, bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy. Oh, how He loves us all' (song lyrics).  Imagine a room filled with God's people loving with abandon.  A love storm, a perfectly glorious storm between God and our team and the people of Grace Church, worshipping our savior. What a privilege. We were able to meet new friends and spend time with cherished old friends and raise our hands together in prayer as we sang "Glory to God, Forever"!

We took our show on the road and drove the team thru Port-au-Prince. It's unimaginable the devastation that remains from the 2010 earthquake.  The conditions of the buildings and the streets were truly beyond comprehension.  In many ways, it's as if time has stood still for these people and sadly, it seems that there is no change in sight.  We then headed up the mountain to do shopping/supporting the Haitian economy.

Everyone enjoyed a little bartering with the local artisans and was satisfied with their Haitian purchases.  As we stood at the top of the mountain and posed for our group photo, we looked down at the city below.  We could find the specific places we had been throughout the week and the places where we had served.  We could see the area where Grace Village is way off in the distance, the beautiful beach where we  had a fabulous day swimming, the Healing Haiti guesthouse and the poorest slum in the western hemisphere, Cite Soleil, where we had delivered clean water to people with virtually nothing, living in filth.  It is here that one appreciates the mountaintop, for they have been in the valley.  And for all of our friends in the valley, all of those beautiful babies, young girls, women, and neighborhood boys, thank you for allowing us to walk with you this week in the valleys in your lives and for walking with us through the valleys in ours.  I believe together, we had a mountaintop experience!  Glory to God Forever! 

 Lori and Maddie Friedrichs