Thursday, January 13, 2011

First Trip to Les Cayes & Celebrez la Vie

Monday and Tuesday Aaron and I went to Les Cayes on the southwestern side of the island (five hour drive). Four wheel drive the last few miles on very rough dirt road. We have a Foursquare church there in a tiny building with thatched sides and tin roof. Pastor Jerome was so hospitable to us. We stayed in the future base camp building which is basically a masonry building with nothing inside. We will be sending "hardy teams" (guys who can really rough it for a few days) to make this place livable for future teams to come and work for a week at a time. Needs a kitchen, sleeping bunks, etc. (besides some source of power, drinking water, etc.). Eventually we will be helping the pastor and local community develop the same Talapia farm and egg production / chicken coop that we are doing on the National Church property by our regular base camp. The children in Cayes were so interested in the "Blanc" (white guys) that had come to visit. They are so warm and loving and don't seem to care that we have no idea what they are saying to us ! At night all you can hear is the roosters crowing once in a while and a few stray pigs grunting and dogs barking. Other than that, it's pretty quiet.

Wednesday was an entirely different deal! Pastor Gee took Aaron and I to the Celebration of Life (Celebrez la Vie) on the street next to the collapsed National Palace in Port-au-Prince. It was a memorial service on the one year anniversary of the Haiti earthquake. There was at least 20,000 people there, singing, worshipping and just praising God for life. Seeing the collapsed palace made me cry. It's so different seeing it in person versus in photos. The Palace looked to me like a symbol of the nation of Haiti that was "crushed" by the earthquake. But having the Celebration of Life right next to the Palace was so appropriate - symbolizing the resurrection of a nation that is possible by the power of God.

First short term mission team arrives this Saturday. Today we are cleaning the house, buying water and other supplies, organizing, etc. to make final preparations for them. Then it's pretty much 24/7 for the next few months. Not hardly any breaks between teams - but it will be great!! We will continue to see the Lord's work here grow during this coming season!

Mark



Les Cayes photos:







Our Les Cayes welcoming committee.








Our next door neighbors in Les Cayes.













Pastor Jerome in from of his church.

Celebrez la Vie photos:













The collapsed National Palace of Haiti.














The stage with a local choir.










A small piece of the crowd.

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