Surpassing Greatness

We are enjoying a nice relaxing weekend consisting of stir fry on Friday night (of course), painting our nails, and taking some time to ourselves to read and write. We both value our alone time and consider it necessary in order for us to be energized for the week ahead.

I am very much enjoying teaching English at the hospital here in Pignon! We have a lot of fun with the doctors. They help us and we help them. This past Thursday was a really cool example of just that. One of our friends and other motorcycle driver NaTao, received a minor injury while on our way home from Savanette. Some rocks kicked up and hit his left shin, resulting in a good sized welt right on his bone. He was in a great amount of pain. Heather and I did our best to help him: we gave him an ice pack to put on it, and also some pain relievers. We later decided to go to the hospital to see if we could find any of our doctor friends to help us. We (Heather, Woody, and I) rode to the hospital and Heather and I went inside, searching for some familiar faces. We approached a cluster of nurses and recognized a young nurse who was in our class! The day before this, we taught the English phrase: “I need help.” So we approached the young lady that we recognized from class and told her we needed her help. She smiled big, recognizing us as well, and we brought her to NaTao who was waiting for us outside. He received a shot and some care from the nurses and was then given a prescription. None of us had any money on us because we left the house so quickly. We walked to the “pharmacy” in the hospital, all the while praying for a miracle. We got there and a man took the prescription from us. The man ended up being yet another one of our students! He filled NaTao’s prescription and we were on our way. No charge. We are so thankful to have such great connections while we are living here in Pignon.            

The Thrive for 5 program is still going well, however sometimes things get frustrating. At times it is hard to adapt to the culture here and the slow pace in which it runs. We are so used to doing things at a fast speed and we are required to understand things quickly. Things here run slower. It has been good to see that the pace here is not bad, but different. The Lord has been granting us a lot of patience and mercy as we interact with His people. A few days ago we received nametags for all the children enrolled in the program and we just started using them yesterday. Things went a lot smoother and we are pleased with how it is working out. Prayer warriors, please continue to pray for this program! Mesi bokou J (Thank you so much.)

The past few days we have had children joining us on the bench up front. It is so heart-warming to see them excited to see us every day. They enter from the back, see us sitting at our usual spot up front, and some sort of gallop/run/waddle towards us. One little boy named Lensly had a large cut on the top of his tiny hand a few days ago. We noticed and put a bandaid and Neosporin on it. We did this for about a week and a half. It has been so awesome to see that his hand has been healing! Praise the Lord!

Earlier this week we had the incredible opportunity to give some food to three very poor residents of Pignon, one individual from Savanette, and a family from Savanette. It was our pleasure to bless them in the name of Jesus and see them rejoicing as a result of receiving a meal.  One lady, who lived in a tiny, dirty space received the rice and began singing and praising Jesus. I couldn’t help but smile and see such beauty in the heart of this lovely person. She took a few bites and then hurriedly tucked the rest in a little bag she had with her. Our good friend Ebens was with us and he told us that she said she was going to go share it with a man we gave food to just the other day. She was so joyful in receiving the food, and even more joyful that she was going to be able to share it with someone. I was so overwhelmed when I stared at this fragile, toothless, beautiful saint of a woman. She truly knew what it was like to have nothing but yet have so much because of “knowing the surpassing greatness” of the Abba Father. Philippians 3:8.

I learn more and more Creole with each passing day. I love languages so much and I try to soak up as much as I can. I'm so thankful for my friends here who help me by sometimes only conversing with me in Creole. 

Sweet Jesus, You are truly great. Thank You for loving us wholly and truly.

I pray that whoever is reading this, you will come to discover the magnitude of Love Christ Jesus has for you. And that you may “grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.” Ephesians 3:18.

I am so grateful to see that God has shown me love unfailing here in Haiti. I pray that I can continue to see the world through the eyes of God the Father. 

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