A Memory From Haiti

Today I was reflecting on my trips to Haiti. Haiti is a country full of beauty. Beautiful men, women and children. Beautiful land. Beautiful mountains. Beautiful water and shorelines. Although there is great poverty and injustice, there is also much beauty in the spirit of the Haitian people.

During my trips to Haiti, I always stayed in St. Marc at the YWAM base. Each morning, our team would load up a van or truck and travel to a more remote village to set up a medical clinic. Those of us that were not medical professionals would love on the children, pray with the adults, and serve as needed.

I remember the smell of Haiti like I was there this morning. I remember the first night of my first trip. I had never seen such beautiful stars. The sky seemed endless and with speckled with stars everywhere! This is a view that is hard to find in America, because there is always so much light at night- store signs, street lights, headlights on cars, etc. There is so much beauty to be found in God's creation- especially the stars in Haiti.

I will never forget one sweet old lady. Unfortunately I did not ask her name. We had just arrived at the village where we would spend the day. As I was getting out of the van I felt car sick. The lack of paved roads made for an adventurous drive each morning. So...I decided to sit on a large rock for a few moments until the nausea passed.

As I was sitting on the rock, an old lady came up and told me very emphatically to get up. I speak limited French, but it was clear that she wanted to me stand up. I stood and did my best to apologize for whatever I had done that might have offended her. Then, she walked quickly into her house, and by house I mean tiny space with thatched walls and roof. When she came back out, she was carrying a beautiful scarf. It was one of her few possessions. She put the scarf on the rock and then motioned for me to sit back down.

She had covered the rock with a prized possession so that I would not get my dress dirty. What a beautiful and humbling act of service. I had bought most of my clothes for my trip to Haiti at K-Mart and Target and planned to leave them all there when I left. However, the old lady had so much love inside her she was willing to use her scarf to cover the rock.

Such beauty in her spirit.

I hope that I respond with that much love to those around me. I know that most times I do not. Prayerfully, God will give me the grace to respond with love and service more often than not.