Church and Rest
Hi from Haiti!!! Venessa here.
Sunday a day of rest and that is what it felt like. The power last night was not consistent so therefore the A/C was not consistent. Sleep was not found easily for a few of us. I am not sure what the temp was overnight but this afternoon I found out it was 29*C with humidity felt like 40*C. I did not sleep well so a nap after church was very welcome.
Church service started at 8 but most of the locals went to Sunday School at 7. We situated ourselves in the direct path of the fans. The ushers then proceeded to move all people up to fill the pews starting at the front. This ended us in the warmest possible part of the church with almost no air movement. God was there though. I was in awe of how fully a person can give themselves to worshiping God and how I was in a building full of them.
Like I said, quite a few of us had a nap or two today either before lunch or after...that's what Sundays are for.
In the later afternoon, 6 of us and 5 members of the other team headed to Tapion. It is a church plant from the church here at Haiti Arise that for the most part, only children attend. There were over 50 kids and a few adults. Since we were visitors they asked us to share, we led them in a few songs and then both Michael and Abby shared their testimonies. It is a church full of kids that weren't forced there and aren't there to get a snack or even play games. The children were there because of their faith and desire to follow God. God is alive in Haiti.
Sundays are a day of rest so the kitchen staff is not here...but they do leave us a bit of food for lunch. It was a surprise to me to see the outdoor kitchen full of ladies this morning. After asking some questions I found out that they were making food for a prison visit. Here if someone doesn't bring you food while in prison you don't eat. In Canada, you are innocent until proven guilty... In Haiti, you are guilty until proven innocent. This means there are some innocent people in jail that can't seem to prove themselves innocent. Haiti Arise has started helping with this. They have hired some lawyers to help get those innocent people out of jail. Today another group was heading to visit the prison with some food. With the help of some willing ladies that cooked up over 250 meals for the guards and prisoners, they were off. Oh how I prayed for these ladies and how I believe they must have prayed over every meal they prepared. Thank God for them.
Due to no cooks, we went out for supper. It was really fun to go out of the compound for a meal. A driver didn't show up so Mitchell got to drive. He seemed pretty excited about it and no one died....
On that note there is a plan to try to keep us cool tonight so here is hoping for a good nights sleep as the work will continue tomorrow. Pews, painting, children's village construction...
Good night
Venessa Patkau on behalf of the Cornerstone Team