Breakfast was served at 7am every day. As if that wasn't early enough, the roosters at MOH decided to wake us up around 6 every morning. I couldn't complain much though because the sun was already risen and shining. Each day was pretty hot, but it cooled down at night. The food at Mission of Hope was wonderful! Which if you know me, that's something that barely comes out of my mouth. We had PB&J sometimes, but with a few exceptions, we were mostly served American food.
Before church, the group took a tour of the main MOH campus. Just to name a few buildings, there is an orphanage (Hope house), a clinic, a school, and a church.
Church started at 9:30. It was a completely different experience than I am used to, as I expected. It was breathtaking watching every Haitian there worshipping. They got really into it, giving the Lord everything they had in them. The service was a few hours long. Especially after that experience, I really wanted to learn Creole, which is the native language. The worship leaders sang many songs, a few in English. Each pastor and worship song showed so much passion and enthusiasm for the Lord, and it was refreshing. People came to church from different villages in the area. Some of the kids sat with me. They tried to sell us handmade bracelets with our names on them. I bought a few, and they turned out really good!
After lunch, we went to the other two campuses the Mission of Hope has. The first is in Bercy. There is an orphanage, primary school where there are about 300 kids. They are working on building a trade school and homes all the way to the water. While we were there, we played with the orphans and walked some of them to the tiny beach that was there. The kids would attach to you and be your friend for the entire time. Many kids there had clothes that were too small, but at least they were clothed. It was fun watching them smile and laugh while we hung out with them.
From Bercy, we went to Leveque. Here, 500 houses will be built for the earthquake victims. 50 of the homes will be for the victims or victims among families who are deaf. We walked through the village, and got to see the inside of a house. There is a main room, and two "bedrooms". With all of the rooms combined together, each house is probably smaller than my family room at home. We met with more village kids, but didn't have much time to really play with them.
We went to dinner at a restaurant called Gwo Papa Paouls. We were served chicken, rice and beans, and plantains. It was much different than any restaurant in the United States. There was no electricity, so we ate in the dark...not to mention we had to climb stairs in pitch black.
We went back to Titanyen, and had some debriefing time as a team at Mission of Hope. This definitely helped us get to know each other, and after that night it was a lot less awkward between all of us. We shared our stories of how and why we came to Haiti, and what we thought of the country so far.
While we were sharing, someone brought up the fact that we are all equal in God's eyes. There were tent villages a minute away from where we were staying, and God loves those people just as much as He loves me. It definitely humbled my attitude a lot. It convicted me, and made me realize how much I feel like I'm better than those less fortunate without even realizing I think that way. I came to Haiti thinking I could help other people, and bring joy to orphans' lives. When in reality, I did help some, but they changed my life more than anything. Haitians don't need me, or any other person for that matter. Just because they live in poverty doesn't mean they want to change. And at the same time, it made me realize how much my attitude at home should change. Like I said before, some of these Haitians have absolutely nothing, and yet they still lean on God for everything, in a way I have never seen before. And God loves them the EXACT same way that He loves me. Mind-blowing!
After that, me and the team went to the roof and star-gazed. The stars there were AMAZING. None of it even felt real.
Galatians 2:6
"As for those who were held in high esteem—whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not show favoritism—"
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