Monday night in Haiti. We are exhausted. We are in awe. So much need.
Anyway…Sunday morning we went to the United Methodist Church in Jeremie. We were privileged to attend a youth service, which happens the second Sunday of each month. The church was full with about 500 people – half of which were children. The children ran most of the 2 hour service except for the 45 minute sermon and the prayers. The choirs sang – children’s choir, women’s choir, mixed choir and a smaller women’s choir. The congregational singing was so heart felt and loud that our ears nearly hurt. Most of the singing was without instruments, however there was a guitar and drums. They sang a song to the tune of “Oh Danny Boy” and sang it to a reggae beat. It was wonderful. Pastor John introduced us to the congregation and thanked them for welcoming us to their community. One of the amazing things was the fact that all those children sat through the entire 2 hour service – mostly well behaved, and dressed in their Easter Sunday best. They were beautiful.
During the afternoon we got the opportunity to go to the beach. Our time for vacation on this amazing trip. The Caribbean Sea was beautiful blue and we actually found a sandy beach – instead of rocks which surrounds most of Haiti. Since we went to the beach in a 4 door pickup truck and there were 9 of us, half of us had to ride in the back of the pickup! What a sight!
Monday morning we awoke to rain – again – it rains often in Jeremie. Lapli – means rain. This morning our group was divided. Half of us went to the Methodist medical clinic. We were able to see the workings of the clinic and assist with examination of patients. The physician was very welcoming and explained what each person’s complaint and treatment was. We were impressed with the efficiency. The clinic was happy to receive the blood pressure cuffs and stethoscopes that were donated. There was also a dental clinic and an eye clinic, which actually does surgery. We went to the pharmacy and delivered the medications that were donated – and well appreciated by the pharmacist ( who has worked there for 44 years! ) We also had the opportunity to visit the orphanage which currently has 35 children from the age of 8 to 19. There are 2 adults who live and work at the orphanage. It was very clean and organized. The children were happy to see us.
The other half of us went to the Gommier school/church area. Three of them painted – the outside of the church and the windows and the baseboards of the inside of the sanctuary. Carmen spent her day speaking with the principal of the school – deciding how we are going to run our bible school – and learning all about the school – their strengths and their weaknesses – their many weaknesses. Since we have two retired educators with us this trip, you can imagine how their brains are hurting. I think these ladies will be back here soon with more assistance for the school.
We are having an amazing time. We are blessed each day by the beauty that surrounds us – in the people and in the country. God is Good.
You can find this entry and more on a blog that was started by another group of metro Detroit United Methodists that were there right before our group, and the current group has been adding to it.