June 27- Sabbath
Today we experienced our first Haitian church service. Pastor Pierre runs the church right on the property under the same large outdoor tent that also hosts school classes Monday through Friday.
Pastor Pierre is still out of town at a student conference so a
different pastor led the service and introduced all the teams working
on the property. There is the team from Gain Holland, a group from
Vineyard Church USA Mercy Response, and us, the Campus Crusade Campus Ministry contingent.
We’ve been practicing a worship song in Creole the past few days and got to sing it this morning in English & in Creole for the congregation. I’m almost positive we pronounced everything correctly. We stayed around after the service to play with the kids and many of them sang it with us. Check out the pictures below for how cute the kids are.
The chorus of the song is “Glory Glory Hallelujah / Glory Glory to the
Lord / Glory Glory Hallelujah / Amen / All the days of my life.”
The afternoon was designated for silence and extended time with the
Lord so that everyond would have time to journal and reflect on all
that God is doing here, on this land, in the community, and in our own
hearts. To end it we were going to take a field trip into the Chambrun
village but just as we gathered outside to begin our walk the clouds
opened up and unleashed a torrential downpour.
Since the windows in the rooms don’t have screens or coverings the wind blew the rain straight into the bedrooms on the girls’ side of the building. The team handled it well and acted fast. We moved all the bunks away from the windows, cleared out wet sheets to be air dryed, and the guys drilled holes in to plywood so that we could tie them to the windows and stop the rain from coming in.
After dinner we had our own church service for worship, testimonies,
studying Scripture together, and a chance for group reflection. TJ
reminded us of the importance of perspective. Yes, wet mattresses and
pillows are certianly uncomfortable but this is simply an inconveniece
we willingly endure. For so many Haitians tonight they may have
nothing but a flooded camping tent. No place safe to dry out their
sleeping area, no alternatives for finding shelter, and certainly no
plane ticket out in two weeks.
On an unrelated note, tonight was Chef Debbie’s night off so the three
Haitian women who work in the kitchen were responsible for dinner.
Something must’ve gotten lost in translation because they made us rice
with beans and pasta sauce. Yes, red tomato sauce but no pasta. It was
pretty entertaining. No one even complained and everyone ate it
anyway.
-Lauren