The Burden He Lifted

7/28/10

The first morning in Haiti wasn’t quite as late coming as my tired body had hoped. We rose at 5:30 sharp and were off to Greneir Mountain by 6. The sun was already up and the many roosters crowing loudly. Thankfully the heat had not come.. yet. We packed up all our bags and loaded them onto one truck. This was the start of an incredible experience. In order for us to all fit on the truck, I perched on top right above the cab with Jacob, and everyone else piled into the back tightly. My dad and Kesnel even had to hold onto the sides and stand on the bumper. Now balancing was not the only issue; these things that Haitians call roads are far from paved. They’re more like cliffs of rock that you might be brave enough to ride a 4-wheeler down! I feared for my life and the uprightness of our truck more than a few times. But we all made it safely to the riverbed at the base of the mountain where the hike began. Now came the journey up. It’s not called a mountain for nothing. Strapped with my backpack and guitar, I started the very steep upward climb, yes, climb. The trail was made of mostly gravelish rock, and because of this it zig-zagged in order to be able to walk up at all. The heat of the day had struck and we were all dripping with sweat, pleading for the top to come, and staring in wonder as Haitian children carried our nearly 50 pound bags on their heads up the mountain that we could barely get ourselves up. This was when I received a very vivid picture of the burden of sin that I carried before my Savior removed it for me. It weighed me down so much and tired me out so quickly that all I wished for was for it to be gone. Climbing in such a sinful nation with that burden, it reminded me of how absolutely thankful I am that I am no longer stumbling through life with such a cumbersome weight. It hit me that I need to not only spread the Gospel, but let it affect my own life every day as well. God is so good, and I can’t say that enough. Once we made it to the top we scoped out where our clinic and camp would be set up. We had a breakfast of scrambled eggs and bread along with multiple bottles of water! Then the work began. We unloaded bags of medicine, pitched tents, cleared rocks, set up tarps, constructed our bathroom/shower house, and soon camp started to appear. Every time I looked up I caught my breath. The view here is absolutely incredible. Lots of the Haitian children especially were around to smile at us and help with the set-up. Sometimes it’s so hard because the kids will come up to me and start talking, but I can’t understand a single word. It’s heartbreaking. The whole day was filled with tasks of preparation; LOTS of sorting and portioning pills and vitamins for the medical clinic. But some of the school children helped out, and that was so fun. They would count in French with us as we divided bottles of vitamins into baggies. I am so excited to give out all the medication that we prepared today. It blows my mind how much we have, and yet it still breaks my heart that this is all we have to give… a month’s supply of simple medicine. The atmosphere here is so warm. The people are so very willing to help us and do all that they can to go out of their way to make us comfortable. It’s amazing how loving they are to people that they don’t know anything about. My deepest desire is that we can come close to loving them as much in return. During the down time we just hung out, talked, relaxed, gazed over Haiti from our mountain home, and just enjoyed being with the people. God once again proved his goodness by blessing us with the most perfect weather imaginable. It was overcast all day keeping the heat at a minimum, and it only rained once, but it was brief enough to keep our stuff dry. The whole day was just amazing and far exceeding any and all expectations. Our dinner was of course rice and beans along with French fries (I KNOW) and fried bananas. Proving once again how much these women care for us, they cut and cooked it all by hand, even sifting the rice for bugs (which did not happen at Lance’s house). It was delicious. The evening was very relaxing. I read my Bible on the side of the mountain with a view I wish you could see. I felt like I could see all of Haiti from where I sat.. plus God was right there with me telling me how much he loves these people. It was amazing to say the least. Showers were available from a 5 gallon bucket of water, which was extremely pleasant after sweating all day. Then just standing there watching the gorgeous sun sink behind the mountains to the west was another breathtaking moment. The weather quickly cooled off and even turned chilly as the night came. We had another passion filled worship session together that once again drew our hearts to the reason we’re all here, our Almighty God. Now I’m sitting under the amazingly beautiful stars writing in my journal. It is truly amazing, the hillside lit up, the millions of stars, and the knowledge of our great God. Wow. Remember that our God reigns!!