Saturday night, after all the kiddos were in bed, we stayed up late doing something the six of us (and before the husbands, the four of us) have spent many a night doing...eating dessert, playing "Settlers of Catan" and laugh uproariously. It felt so good and so normal to do something so good and normal with people who have been like family to us for so many years.
Greg and Lil, watching the girls below
Lily and Nora were both very popular with the "Hope Girls"
Simple things like these, and sitting around, talking about our jobs, our lives, our families, what He's doing in our three different parts of Haiti, what He's doing in our lives, etc. are so important, refreshing, renewing and inspiring! We spent the bumpy flight back home this evening praising the Lord for this opportunity, which while quick, made us feel very ready again to attack the work He has placed before us.
Ryan and T (medical missionaries near Port), with Nora and baby Titus (below) and Cathie
Because Port-au-Prince was the place where both of us fell in love with Haiti, it's a city that will always be close to our hearts. It was difficult to see so many thousands living in tents, and to see so many buildings still crumbled in heaps, as if the earthquake happened a week ago.
At the same time, we saw definite signs of progress in some areas...a large building used for drug trafficking for years now taken over and being used to store supplies and equipment for road reconstruction...new and improved shopping centers...the spirit of people transformed to a spirit of gratefulness. Gratitude. Community.
Cap-Haitien doesn't have any "Tap-Tap buses" like these...or roads like these!
However, we also don't have tent villages like these.
And earthquake or not, Port continues to be years ahead of Cap in terms of advancement. Roads! Several huge stores very similar to a Lowe's and several others very similar to a Wal-Mart. Good hospitals, tons of specialized and good hospitals and clinics. Roads! I couldn't get the picture, but there was even a small little store we passed that had a generator out back, TVs inside, tons of young men swarming it, and advertised "X-Box" competitions. I mean, just....unbelievable.
We may not have roads, X-Box, electricity or stores in our part of the world, but as we drove home from the airport tonight, catching up with Abel, we both felt very blessed to be a part of this breathtaking, dirt-road, rice field, family-community....and a part of the dear group of friends He's given us in Port!
Saccanville
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