Haiti - Day 3

Today was a little…different. Let me tell you how.

But I’m going to need your help.

It’s going to take a little imagination.

Imagine that it’s Monday evening.

You’ve finished your first day of work for the week, and you’re getting things ready for the next day. This week holds a heavier workload than usual, but you’re not upset about it. You know it’s good work, and it will be a productive week that could impact the future of your company. You also know you’re going to be tired, so you’ve scheduled a one-day getaway for Saturday so you can celebrate and have a little fun.

But while making your final preparations for Tuesday, your boss calls you. Which is odd for this time of night. He tells you there’s been a facilities issue at the office, and the building will be canceled tomorrow. Because of that, everyone will be asked to work on Saturday to make up for the loss. But since he knows that it’s important that you have a rest day, he urges you to take your vacation tomorrow instead.

Impromptu vacation on a Tuesday. That’d feel a little weird, right?

Well that’s kind of what happened to our team.

I have no idea if US media has told you, but there’s a presidential election this weekend in Haiti. There are 52 candidates running. Every billboard, every storefront is plastered with flyers and advertisements. If you want to know what it feels like here, take all the anger, ranting, insults, and threats that you see on Facebook, and make it happen in real life. With real weapons.

There are helicopters buzzing in the distance. The streets are filled with political caravans, police escorts, and even UN tanker trucks.

Don’t worry, though. We’re not in any danger. We’re far from the cities, and we’ll be staying on campus when elections take place on Sunday. We are completely safe. I don’t share this to scare you. I share to let you know that while it’s easy for me to think that the US is the only country where political stakes are high, Haiti is clearly proving that wrong for me.

Since the social climate matches the thundering clouds above my head right now, Mission of Hope staff let us know late last night that there was a good chance that our roads to the beach would be physically blocked off next week on our rest day, and they switched our schedule.

So today, we took our rest day, and went to the beach. #sufferingforJesus

Although the bus ride there felt a whole lot like the Knight’s Bus from Harry Potter (google that clip!), our jaws hit the floor when reached the beach. It was beautiful, bright, and hot. It sat at the bottom of mountains with peaks that were in the clouds. Take THAT, Pine Knob.

We visited shops, sipped mango lime smoothies, picked seashells, and soaked in the sun. We were completely grateful, and enjoyed every minute of the day. Celebrating and resting on our 2nd full day felt…weird. And it means we’re going to be working right up until we leave for home. But our team was flexible, and took the time to energize and get ready to dig in.

While at the cove, we met somebody. His name was John.

The moment our toes hit the salty water, John paddled up to us on a beaten-up paddleboard that was covered in shells. Turtle shells, conches, crab shells, you name it. I ended up buying one because he gave me a great deal.

“The best deal ever,” he even told me.

The beach was light, so I spent some time talking with him, and discovered some of his story. He was in his early 30’s, and he told me he worked every morning and afternoon selling seashells and being a translator. Then after work every day, he went to college from 5pm – midnight. He was very proud to be going to school, as school here is a privilege, not a guarantee.

He told me he is studying to be an electrician so he can build homes and take better care of his wife and two kids. I asked him if he knew Jesus and his eyes lit up. “Oh yes. I know Jesus.” He told me that he goes to church every week at the church he married his wife. I asked him if we could pray for anything, and he asked that we pray that he would finish school. He said it’s hard to work all day and go to school all night, but he only has 7 months left.  I promised him that we would and he smiled big and thanked me, and gave me another shell for free. “See? I told you I give you the best deal ever, my brother.”

When we got back to camp tonight, we each shared a single word. We were challenged to spend the last couple of days listening to God and asking him for a word to describe the trip for them. Our words were as unique as our members. I’d tell you what they were, but I’ll let you ask them when you see them in person.

I’ll tell you mine, though. It was LIGHT. Because light lets you see. And when we share God’s light, it lets them know that God sees them.

Whether they’re selling seashells by the seashore or stocks on Wall Street.

Whether they’re rioting in a city or ranting on the internet

God sees them. God sees us. And when we KNOW that?

It can change our lives a great deal.

The best deal ever, even.

So how can you pray for us? Pray our sunburns heal quickly.

Pray we remember our lines and have fun.

And of course, pray for our new friend John! 

Again, thank you for your support! And THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE SHOUT-OUTS! They're our favorite part of every evening! If you have any special things to tell our group, or to say to embarrass your friend or loved one who is on this trip, comment and I'll share it! We love it!