We are finally here. I type that, but I'm still not quite sure what that means. I mean, I know I'm physically here on an island called Haiti, yet I still feel like maybe I'm dreaming. As I could see Haiti from the plane window as we were descending, I started to cry (no surprise) as it was dawning on me that this was actually happening. Though, once we actually landed and were in the midst of the business of Haiti, I felt like as if I was watching, not actually participating in these events.
Haiti is beautiful and truly amazing, no doubt of that. The weather is insanely hot, all the better. The bugs aren't too bad, the mountains and sun are breathtaking, and the people are wonderful. Haiti may be poor in money, but the Haitians are rich in spirit. I noticed right away all the laughter and conversation - it's constant. The driving is totally random and makes no sense at all. People honking and weaving in and out of traffic. I bet if you can drive in Haiti without dying, you can drive anywhere.
Today our team went out to two different villages to visit with the Haitian people. As soon as we got off the bus there were children shouting to all their friends in Creole that we had arrived. Children were running out from everywhere and grabbing our hands. I must admit that I'd never had a welcoming quite like this one.
We all did our best to communicate with the people, mixing English, Creole, and French, attempting to get our point across. It was quite comical, to tell the truth. Though I don't think they minded as they were still hugging us.. that's a good sign, right? Besides, we had translators with us to make sense of everything. Thank the Lord for Bilingual people. The children were grabbing at us, fascinated with my hair, nails, jewelry, feet, they were even running up to each of us to pinch our fat! Something that really struck me was that these people lived in tents, literal tents made of anything they could find, yet they weren't complaining. This was their life, it was normal to them. I feel like we have a lot to learn from them, like they can help us, just by displaying such a positive attitude towards everything. We not only played with the children, but actually got the chance to get to know and pray with the families in Haiti.
I'm really trying my best to just to stay open-minded, take in as much of God's beauty as I can, and try to figure out what His will for this trip is. For me, it is my first missions trip and I'm still trying to understand everything but I love being here and I am certain that there's a reason God has brought me to this beautiful country. I'm anxious and excited for God to reveal exactly why!
Kathryn.
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