The Heavens Opened Up

I haven’t felt like doing very much in the first week that I have been in Haiti because of heat, exhaustion, and feeling overwhelmed. I literally did what I had to do every day just to get by. On Thursday we had the day off and I slept most of the day. I was really struggling but then God brought a gift in the afternoon. It started to rain and then it poured. I now understand what it means when people say the heavens opened up and it poured. We had rain coming from every direction, a river down the road next to the Mission, and to top it off the second story of the Mission (where we live) started to flood in the hallway outside of our doors. We were panicked because we didn’t really know what to do. Kerry and Joy, and Steven and Autumn (a lovely couple who helps run the Mission since Kerry and Joy have so much on their plate) were in Port dropping people off at the airport. It was like we were in a hurricane! We closed all the windows and put towels in front of the rooms that were already flooded and started trying to get rid of the water any way possible. We ended up using a broom, bucket, and a welcome mat to push water down the stairs and throw it over the ledge. After about 20 minutes, we had removed most of the water from the hallway. We were happy, successful, and drenched from head to toe. This cooled us all down and began to turn my health around.

The second thing was something I learned in bible study on Thursday night. We had talked about what we had to give up to be here, how it was all in God’s plan for us, and how we need to be dead to ourselves. We are here on this earth for 1 purpose, to serve God. In order to serve God to the best of our abilities we have to be dead to ourselves. If we strive for this, we shouldn’t be easily offended. We should not care about what other people think or say about us because we are here to serve God. What an eye opener! I am not here to serve myself or have expectations of how the day will go. I am here to serve God however that might look, serving my roommates, our cook Madame Remann, the children, Kerry and Joy, Steven and Autumn, and the people of the village. God has control so give it to HIM!

God Moment: Waking up in the middle of the night without power (typically 2-4 times a night) without sweating! Waking up on Friday feeling like me again! I am a totally different person from the first 6 days of this adventure. It’s on now! Bring it on!

Word/Phrase of the day:

Mwen pa konnen: I don’t know (I say this more than anything else right now)