Day 3: Church on Sunday
Church in Haiti is something everybody should experience, no questions asked. Yes, your sitting in a hot room for hours with no air conditioning , about 450 people in the same small room, all sitting on hard wooden benches, with no breaks or food. Sound fun? Did I mention the absolute beauty of hearing two languages sung together by people of two different nationalities? Seeing people who don't care about the circumstances and are worshipping their creator with their soul and heart? How could you not want to be involved in something so moving and awesome? Like I said on day one, the Haitians make the heat totally worth it. Their personalities are just awesome to see and be around. In the end I think they are the ones changing out lives, they change our thinking
now I had everyone from the Haiti team write down a couple things they wanted to share from their day. It will be kind of a lengthy read, hope you guys don't mind….:)
Grady Burnham: my friend robert was trying to get to Port Au Prince to make some money, find work, and visit his little sister. I gave him enough so he and his brother could make it there. Just to see the shining smiles on their faces as they waited for their ride was amazing!
Ashley Van Matre: To me the most applicable realization was how material things don't truly bring happiness. People always say that, but now I know it's completely true. Bringing a smile to the Haitians faces is as simple as dancing with them or tossing them a soccer ball. The people might not have a lot of possessions but they never seem to run out of love, and they give it so freely! I am so excited to learn more as we continue to work and build relationships here.
Mallory Gilbreath: I loved worship! It was in English and Creole, and I got to sing with all the Haitians . They are all so sweet and welcoming!!
Jason Gilbreath: I was so impressed today by the Haitian families. They came early and stayed late at church…. And worshipped God vigorously. They sat on a hard bench with no AC and this was a standing room only crowd. Love these people and their desire to assemble, worship, and press in to God! And, they demonstrated outstanding hospitality to us. What a day!
Laura Petit : Today I got to have a one on one experience with a Haitian boy named Robert. I was able to talk to him about his home life and he even invited us to go visit his house. It was a simple home, but it was so nice to see how proud he was of everything. It's incredible how they just let us into their home and are do welcoming ! The Haitian people are amazing!
Kim Petit: Today we experienced the Haitian church. What an amazing experience to see everyone worshipping together and going from English to creole, back and forth. It was also an amazing message that Philip gave, he encouraged everyone to change their thinking, and this team is well on their way to doing that.
Philip( beloved leader): Seeing everyone get so involved has been awesome!
Ire: Today i enjoyed children's church today and worship, I also enjoyed playing with the children.
Colleen Van Matre: An amazing day! Worship in Creole and English, singing with my daughter( Ashley .V.) and the team was fantastic!
Drew Burnham: Our walk around Jacmel was amazing. What a place of sights, sounds, and smells. I can truly understand why Haiti was once called the Jewel of the Carribean.
Christy Burnham: Something I learned in Haiti today, the horn on a car can be translated several ways, for example; it can mean “hi!!” “hey! I'm right here!!” “watch out!” “get out of the way!” “how are you doing?” “I'm here waiting !” etc…..:)
Sarah Burnham: the worship was awesome! I sang with everybody and it was full of Jesus!
Jackie (Jackie Chan): today the worship was amazing, we all got to sing and it was translated. It sounded awesome, the girls beside me made me so happy that they were so happy singing about Jesus.
And thats as far as I can type I'm exhausted
full day or work tomorrow so I don't know how eager everybody will be to talk
but anyways good night everybody and we love you guys ! Thank you for your continued support!
Love
Ashley and the Haiti team
