Haiti 2018 - Day 5

Enjoying the spacious upstairs porch at MamaBaby Haiti is one of my favorite things.  Mountains to the north, sunshine from the south.  Children playing ball in the vacant lot across the street if school is out.  And always a nice breeze.  Sometimes even a cool breeze this time of year.  A mama is laboring downstairs; this is her first baby.

The past few days have brought a mix of emotions.  Life almost seems contradictory here.  I am struck by the beauty of the people in Haiti and their way of life in the midst of circumstances that are awful by American standards.  The way that they dress and carry themselves, as if to say, "I might not have much, but I am putting my best foot forward wherever I go."  The carefree attitudes that they have, even though for some they don't know where their provision will come from.

I think of real people I have met and care about here, because they are part of my world now.  The father of 5, who doesn't eat regularly, and doesn't know where his next meal will come from.  The young mother with a daughter the same age as one of my daughters, but no husband, and jumping from place to place until she finds something cheap enough to rent.

This is one of my favorite pictures.  I took it when we were driving from the airport the first day.  The waterfall of beautiful cascading flowers embodies the contradictions that I see all around me.

"Bondye konnen."  God knows.  Some Americans seem frustrated that this is the prevailing attitude here.  But I agree.  God does know.  I pray that he will continue to work through ordinary people to provide a way for, and make Himself known to, the people of Haiti.  I pray that I will not take my freedoms for granted, or use them for my own selfish purposes.  That none of us will.  Let us use what we have to bring Glory to the Father, for we are all His children.