5:45
a.m. - I’m on the veranda early this morning. I find a chair and pull it up in the corner
to watch the sunrise over PaP. The
roosters are already awake and beckoning the sun to rise. Soon, Jim and Donna join me and we have a
nice time chatting.
Around 7 the
others begin to trickle out of their rooms.
Some dressed for church and some waiting until after breakfast to change
into their church clothes. The ladies
all look lovely in their skirts or dresses and then men dashing in their khakis
and collared shirts. Well, as good as we
can with travel wrinkled clothes and Haiti heat and humidity. J
9:56 p.m. –
It was about a 40-minute drive back to Grace Village where we attended Hope
Church. As we arrived at the church
several of the orphans as well as the Director of Hope Village and other adults
greeted us as we exited the Tap Tap. We
entered the church while the worship team began to play a 25-minute continuous
set. We all enjoyed this even though we
couldn’t understand the words. Our God
can be worshipped in any language. They
took a special collection to help the hurricane victims at the beginning of the
service and we were happy to donate. The
church’s pastor was in Les Cayes to see what their church could do for
hurricane relief. He was expected back
today but did not return in time so another gentleman gave the message. As is typical for Haiti he spoke for over an
hour. We were eager to leave once the
service was done as we were tired and ready to move on to the rest of our day.
As we exited
the church we were greeted by a beautiful blue sky and bright sunshine. We gave
our thanks and said our goodbyes. It was
time to hit the beach!
As we
travelled down the road towards the hotel where we would eat lunch and enjoy
the sun and sand Mike and Jeff F couldn’t hold in their excitement and began to
change their shoes and shirts. It’s been
an emotional couple of days, many tears have been shed and the team needs this
afternoon of relaxation. But, as we
continued along our 35-minute journey the sky began to change. Rain.
As the sky
darkened more the drops started and turned into a downpour. The Tap Tap is an open vehicle, with grate
like sides to let the air flow through in the hot Haiti climate. Where air flows so too does rain.
When we
arrived the floor was covered in water, those of us sitting near the “window”
were soaked on one side and quite wet on the other. Our bags on the front seat were dripping and
even those near the aisle were damp. I
wrung the water from my shirt sleeve and skirt as I exited the vehicle.
We ordered
lunch and many of the guys played pool, foosball or ping pong as the rest of us
chit chatted while awaiting our meal.
We ate a leisurely lunch and the rain finally stopped although it was
still looming and the gray clouds engulfed what should have been a beautiful
view. We decided to stay and swim
anyway.
We were so
glad we did. It cleared up a little, but
no more sunshine or blue sky this day.
Many of us swam out to the huge trampoline and relaxed and chatted on
it. Four of us paid $5 to get a boat
ride to a cove nearby and went snorkeling.
The coral and fish were a beautiful rainbow of colors. Jim and I saw two long, silver fish skipping
across the water like someone would skip a stone. We also found that you could just stop
swimming and float in the water.
Our team
joined together once again and changed to load up the Tap Tap. Just in time too as the sky again darkened
and the rain began to come down. There
was much laughter as we made our way home and we returned refreshed and
light-hearted.
Dinner of sandwiches
and stew, devotions, prayers with each other here and there and some good
natured chat filled our evening. We
packed up items for tomorrow – more crafts, games, etc. for another orphanage. We go to bed knowing tomorrow may be one of
the most emotional days yet.
No comments:
Post a Comment