As I sit here in these last hours of our experience down here in Haiti this week, I can't help to smile on the many blessings God has given to me, our team, and the people whom we've been able to be touched by making our lives transformed.
I posted prior to our trip on how we needed to be "in the game" to be used for God's glory, and I know God is smiling down on this team, who have formed together within the unified body for Christ and His purposes.
We experienced a unified body also up at Grace Village this morning praising and worshiping God led by their beautiful servant of God, Fan Fan. The children were dressed up in their finest clothes and many townspeople came to the open gates of GV to join in this beautiful service. We had babies through elderly whom Healing Haiti serves united in celebration!
Later we toured Port Au Prince and even though there is still much rubble from the earthquake that hit over 2 years ago, I was pleasantly surprised how this new government is becoming more unified and making some changes even since last September's visit down here. A recycling program has begun and much less plastic in gutters and streets, tent cities are fewer, and road construction vehicles are even making some changes, at least in the area down by the palace.
The rained poured all day, but God answered our prayers as the skies opened up after dinner for the boys' final soccer match with the neighborhood kids, who had been waiting for hours and singing "God is so Good" prior to this unified experience. We knew this one was going to be difficult, as many friendships over a soccer ball had been established. The boys celebrated the final game by each handing out a medal and jersey to their soccer mates. We expected that each would leave with their jersey, medal, and snack...my heart skipped a beat as I watched a boy start collecting all the jerseys. My first thought is that he was forcing the kids to give him the jerseys as I've seen this happen in the past with shoes given to a younger child as an older sibling/child takes the item. Tears of joy formed as I found out that this boy was collecting the jerseys because they were to continue this nightly ritual of soccer with the Eden Prairie jerseys...a unification of the body in this neighborhood village! I'm so touched how these EP boys and moms have made such an impact in Haiti and how in turn, Haiti has captured their hearts as much as it has captured mine!
Margie
I posted prior to our trip on how we needed to be "in the game" to be used for God's glory, and I know God is smiling down on this team, who have formed together within the unified body for Christ and His purposes.
We experienced a unified body also up at Grace Village this morning praising and worshiping God led by their beautiful servant of God, Fan Fan. The children were dressed up in their finest clothes and many townspeople came to the open gates of GV to join in this beautiful service. We had babies through elderly whom Healing Haiti serves united in celebration!
Later we toured Port Au Prince and even though there is still much rubble from the earthquake that hit over 2 years ago, I was pleasantly surprised how this new government is becoming more unified and making some changes even since last September's visit down here. A recycling program has begun and much less plastic in gutters and streets, tent cities are fewer, and road construction vehicles are even making some changes, at least in the area down by the palace.
The rained poured all day, but God answered our prayers as the skies opened up after dinner for the boys' final soccer match with the neighborhood kids, who had been waiting for hours and singing "God is so Good" prior to this unified experience. We knew this one was going to be difficult, as many friendships over a soccer ball had been established. The boys celebrated the final game by each handing out a medal and jersey to their soccer mates. We expected that each would leave with their jersey, medal, and snack...my heart skipped a beat as I watched a boy start collecting all the jerseys. My first thought is that he was forcing the kids to give him the jerseys as I've seen this happen in the past with shoes given to a younger child as an older sibling/child takes the item. Tears of joy formed as I found out that this boy was collecting the jerseys because they were to continue this nightly ritual of soccer with the Eden Prairie jerseys...a unification of the body in this neighborhood village! I'm so touched how these EP boys and moms have made such an impact in Haiti and how in turn, Haiti has captured their hearts as much as it has captured mine!
Margie
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