Saturday, March 31, 2007

A thankful heart

A Thankful Heart

Written- March 26th, 2007
What can I give to You who has given me everything?

After spending 10 days in Haiti, I have truly realized how blessed I am for all the things God has given me.

How often do I take for granted a warm place to sleep when people here sleep in the dirt?

How often do I take for granted my education when families here have to choose one of their children to go to school while the others work?

How often do I take for granted the value of life when parents are willing to give up their child to a stranger?

How often do I take for granted my safety when the police here take a car to get money?

How often do I take for granted my regular paycheck when the average worker in Haiti makes $2 US a day?

This trip has truly opened my eyes to see that I take a lot of things for granted. God has blessed us with so much and all He desires from us is our heart to serve Him.

Seven members of Molokai Baptist Church flew out of Honolulu airport on March 20th to Port Au Prince, Haiti. When we arrived, Chris and Kelli Lieb met us and took us up to Baptist Haiti Mission, which would be our home for the next ten days.

Downtown was very hot and dry but as we made our way up the mountain the weather got cooler and wetter. One of the first major differences that we noticed as we made our way up to BHM was the driving. In Haiti there are no traffic rules- no speed limits, no right of ways! Ultimately it is a big game of chicken!

While at Baptist Haiti Mission, Charline and I painted, cleaned, helped out at the hospital in the maternity ward, and got to go on a home visit to meet Charline’s sponsored child. The guys- Randy, Clinton, Colton, Kevin, and Kawika- worked on the health clinic, wiring, construction, and got to go on an adventure to Maissade to preach at one of the churches in the province.

We also had a great opportunity to encourage the Lieb and Baker families while we were there. The Lieb family lived on Molokai for five years prior to moving to Haiti. It was great to spend time with Chris and Kelli and their five children. We even had Hawaiian night where Kelli made huli-huli chicken, rice, and musibi.

If you want to find out more info on where we worked you can check out the Baptist Haiti Mission website at bhm.org. Thank you for your thoughts, prayers, and support.

Much love and God’s blessings,

Angela