We had a team travel to Haiti July 23-29, 2010 and various team members wrote journal entries during the trip. In case you missed it, click here for the 1st entry and here for the 2nd entry. Here is the 3rd entry…
Day 3- Sunday
The team started out the day by going up to the roof of the guest house. We found ourselves surrounded by beautiful mountains and a sense of peace amidst the chaos that we were met with down in the city. After taking a group picture it was time for us to head up the mountain to “L’eglise de Dieu de Thomassin 32”, which is Jude, our interpreter’s, home church. We drove up to the church and were met with the beautiful sound of voices praising God. We were met at the door and escorted in and immediately felt welcomed. As we were sitting there on wooden pews we looked around and saw hundreds of our brothers and sisters in Christ thanking and praising our God. After an hour we were introduced and invited to the front. After Margaret spoke to the church about our team’s goal, Amanda led us in “I could sing of Your love forever”. We took our seats and enjoyed the rest of the 3 hour service, which was packed full of the Holy Spirit.
After a short stop at the guest house, we headed down the mountain to eat pizza at “Epi d’Or”. We all enjoyed a taste of home with pizza and coke. We stayed for an hour talking and getting to know each other better.
We left the restaurant and headed toward downtown for our city tour. Margaret wisely prepped us for the heartbreaking things we were about to see. As we got off the bus to get a better look at the destruction we met poverty face-to-face. We first saw the palace and were taken aback by the sight of a former symbol of grandeur in ruins. Then we turned around to see a large tent city filled with people that were waiting for the world to help them. We were surrounded by children that were begging for anything, some simply for attention others for “one dollar”. This left our team speechless as we filed back onto the bus.
Our next stop on the “tour” was the Cathedral. We were all amazed at the vastness of this beautiful building. The remaining stained glass windows were breath taking and the untouched cross gave us a glimpse of hope. We were unable to stay at this spot long because of the women and children who were surrounding our bus. This is a situation that happens more often than not when stopping in the city. Although it happens frequently, it still leaves us heartbroken.
We completed the tour by stopping by a park to walk out to the water. This was a treat in contrast to the urban scenes we have been used to. We left the park and ended our busy day by stopping at a camp for the hearing impaired.
The community at the camp was so eager to show us around their homes. To our surprise, the camp was very organized and clean. The camp even had a workout gym! Margaret and a few other team members were able to us their signing knowledge to communicate with the people. This was a very humble and encouraging experience. It was encouraging to see a group of people who have drawn close together in times of desperation instead of giving up hope. It was a perfect way to end the day.
Submitted by Anna Bailey
