Tuesday was a glorious day! God is great! There was a higher attendance at the Women’s Conference. The day started with Emma leading aerobics, a game called Heads and Tails, and worship. Boy, can the Haitian women sing. To hear them praise the Lord in their loud voices is so uplifting. The lesson concentrated on two love stories. One from the old testament and one from the new testament. We heard from Lisa, the story of Hosea and Gomer. The women heard how God instructed Hosea to marry a prostitute, who kept returning to her old ways. God told Hosea to pay the ransom to have Gomer released from prison. The story ended with Hosea and Gomer loving each other, as they grew old. Sharon talked about the crucifixion of Jesus.
During the lesson, a short video from the movie, Passion of the Christ, was shown. The women were so moved by it. Several women cried, many shook their heads in disgust and some women could not watch it. An amazing thing happened as soon as the video ended. The skies opened up and it poured a very hard rain. The lesson could not continue, because of how loud the rain fell on the tin roof of the church. I think God was at work. He did not want the lesson to continue, but to let the women reflect on what they saw in the video. To take in what Jesus did for us. To die on the cross for our sins. A very powerful message. I happened to look out the window and I saw 3 chickens jump on the porch to get out of the rain. They stood on the porch, until the rain stopped. Lesson learned – there are no dumb chickens in Haiti.
The men spent the morning helping out in the clinic. Several were in the pharmacy organizing meds and putting prescriptions together. Some entertained the waiting room as well. We did have the famous Haitian spaghetti for lunch and every body liked it a lot.
The afternoon was spent with the orphans. The children were split into teams. They spent time coloring their shirts and capes, and picking a team name. There was also face painting. I think the children had more fun face painting the Americans. We also discovered the paint is not easy to come off. You may see your family members coming home with what look like bruises on their face. Once the coloring of shirts and face painting was completed, the children practiced the Ninja Warrior course. I have never seen such big smiles and laughter among the teams. The Americans were having as much fun as the children (smile). The afternoon ended with Gatorade and animal crackers.
The evening celebration was a hit, once again. It is amazing to watch the praising of God. When a song breaks out, everyone is on their feet loudly singing to the Lord. During one song, it went on for several, ok many, many minutes. Everyone was up singing and dancing to the song. How can you not get caught up in it? Even though I didn’t know the words, I felt the emotion in my heart. The Americans put on a skit, a shadow dance and a song. Two Haitian dance groups performed, which was amazing! The visiting pastor is a petite man with a booming voice. I don’t understand the words, but I found myself listening to every word.
God is amazing of the work He does everywhere. He finds His way into our hearts, so we are blessed with His grace.
