Today we had the privilege to be in Mare Rouge and experience church worship. The singing was beautiful. It was all acapella with harmony. It was a real blessing. It would have been good to have had the communion meditation interpreted while the preacher was talking. It was a small congregation of about 25 people. Church was held in a small house. All of us introduced ourselves and shared something about ourselves and brought a greeting from UCC. Ron Brown preached and brought a greeting from UCC. He preached about taking a step into the promised land by trusting God in the unknown.
After church, we greeted the fellow Christians with handshakes and hugs. They were very warm physically and emotionally. We had lunch at the preacher’s house. It was rice with tomato fish. It was tasty. At 1:30 we went out to talk to the villagers. We asked them questions from the survey. It was uncomfortable to ask some of them because of the personal nature of the questions. Most of the people indicated that they did not have enough food. One lady had not had anything to eat yet today. I was also touched by how happy and friendly they were, and their willingness to answer questions from total strangers.
From the two homes we visited, it seemed that the primary needs were food, clean water, and schools. It brought home how blessed and fortunate we are with all that we have. To finish, it makes us wonder if there is a better way to use our own resources in the United States. In addition, I did not get my feet wet, but my eyes opened to what real needs really are. Hello to Sophia, Claire, Nick. To Beth I love you even under the blue water of Haiti. Elias
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Morgan:
After a great night of sleep, we had the privilege of bouncing around in a truck so that we could meet our brothers and sisters in Christ in Mare Rouge. The kids loved holding our hands and touching our hair. 🙂 We got to play Ring a Round the Rosie, Duck, Duck, Goose, London Bridges, and a Haitian game. The kids can never get enough hugs. Please continue praying that we can have energy to do our best to be the face of Jesus.
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Today in Ron’s sermon at one point he spoke about the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire that led the Israelites through the wilderness. The Haitians were especially responsive when Ron pointed out that God is with us in the darkness of night. From what we’ve learned of the Haitian voodoo beliefs, many of them are scared of the dark because of the beliefs they have about the evils that come out at night. It’s a blessing to see God’s Word reassuring them (and us) in the midst of the fears we have that are based on worldly troubles and beliefs. It was such a privilege to worship with the church in Mare Rouge, knowing we serve the same God and that the body of Christ is so much bigger than we often see. We’re even family to the point that the baby who I was holding wet herself on my lap. 🙂 Feels just like home!!! 🙂 Amy
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Today was surely an adventure. We rode a truck full of people (I mean FULL) to Mare Rouge where we were able to worship with the Haitian people there. At times I would close my eyes and just listen to them singing with such sweet voices in a complete different language, but you could tell they meant it!
After some lunch, we spent the afternoon going around meeting the people of Mare Rouge. Morgan was right, the children loved to touch us and would smile so big when you would look at them and smile first! It is amazing to me how if you wave at them and smile, no matter what, they will do the same. It’s a little bit different in the states! I am blessed to be on this trip, with an incredible group of people. Continued prayers for us as we continue serving in Haiti! A cold and a sunburn can’t stop me from letting God work through me this week. Thank you for the prayers! She reads all the comments that are made, at the end of the evening, so I would love to hear from everyone! Sara
