The Pastor sitting on the beams of his new home.
FRIDAY: Our day on the project was bittersweet and full of emotion knowing this was our last opportunity to work with our friends. Our final prayer together was very special. Even though we knew hardly a word of Spanish and they English, we managed to communicate quite meaningfully. We are truly leaving a part of our heart here with these people. The house is not complete, but we are confident we left them in a position to finish it. That feels really good. They are good people who deserve a great blessing from God. We will be praying for that. SATURDAY: We spent the morning at a sugar cane field. We watched the processes and gave out some bibles. Our afternoon was spent at the beach. It's funny how quickly you can drive from sugar cane fields to luxury resorts. A very short distance that is a world away for the Haitians. We are truly blessed. We have been humbled this week. We are so grateful to be given this opportunity, and finally, we hope you can experience a blessing like this at some point in your life. Americans draw lots of kids. We have thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful children we have met here. They live in poverty, but are happy and seem well adjusted. The children in the video clip below wanted us to come see their home today. It was about a block away. They held our hands on our journey there and back and asked all sorts of questions we had no idea of. When we got to their home, a home that i'm sure would be the worst home in Sioux Falls, the mother and grandmother welcomed us in and brought chairs for us to sit on their "porch". The house was neat and clean. The mother spoke enough english to communicate and was welcoming and charming. Like having us in their home was a privilege. The people here continue to humble us with their courage and fortitude and graciousness. It's funny, in this place of extreme poverty and oppression, the thing that brings me to tears is a little dog. He is inside the fenced (tin) area across from where we are building the parsonage. It is the home of some of the church people and where we store our tools and supplies at night. He has some sort of injury on his back hip that has gotten infected. At first he was more alert and watched us, but today he could barely raise his head. Every morning when I go in to get our supplies I don't know whether to wish my little friend was dead or wish to see him one more day. There are many dogs around and a lot of them are injured or starving. This one has eyes that are so sad I want to hold him one last time. Poverty sucks Some thoughts:
Last night for supper, Dillan found a chicken leg in his soup. The claw was attached. Today we had peanut butter and jelly for lunch. Scooters are everywhere. Scooters have no traffic rules. We've seen 4 people on one scooter - coming at us on the wrong side of the street. No ones cares. The home we are building has a pit out back for the sewage. No tank just a pit. We have yet to see another white person. We can mortar a block wall in less time than you can watch the olympics. People who live in houses made of tin and scraps are beautiful beyond belief. They have changed us forever. |