That's what I like about Sundays...

What did you see Sunday morning on your way to church? If you're in Ouanaminthe, Haiti it looks like this....

Inspiring, huh?

Once you arrive at church, you dance and sing and hear God's word. And you see that your Father loves you in the midst of hunger and poverty and that our God is alive and real. He is here, in the hearts of many. And you delight in the opportunity to stand up with a translator and tell the Haitians in that room..."God loves you so much that He concerns himself with burdening the hearts of a family all the way in North Carolina. God loves you so much that He would use a horrible event like the earthquake to wake the world up to your suffering. We are listening. We are looking for ways to love you, to partner with you in this journey. And though we don't have lot's of money or many of the things you need, you have our hearts forever."

On the way home, once again, you take in the contradiction that is Haiti...

So much destruction

...And SO much beauty.

All in one place.

Isn't it amazing? Even in a place where life is so painful and undervalued, one cannot destroy the miracle and sacredness of life itself. Their eyes radiate back life. Their shy smiles show me their maker. Even if they don't know it. No amount of evil can destroy the Maker's mark on his creation. These struggling, suffering people are eternal souls and they have a creator. Nothing anyone can do can erase his fingerprints, faint as they may be.

Psalm 36:5-6

^"5Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the clouds.
⁶ Your righteousness is like the mountains of God;
your judgments are like the great deep;
man and beast you save, O LORD."

And after church is over and you're just famished, no need to worry...as long as you're in the mood for chicken, that is.

There's lots of chicken...just the way you like it.

And if chicken from the market/town dump is not your thing and you happen to be staying at a generous little orphanage in the heart of Ouanaminthe, you're in luck.

Because you may come home from church to find them preparing a goat head (for flavor).

I also picked up on tips for steaming rice. Turns out lids are all hype. Really, you can use plastic grocery bags/garbage bag/ any plastic bag hanging around and just stuff it in over the rice cooking over hot coals. Sure, the bags melt a little plastic here and there, but really? Their rice rocks.

And I am not kidding when I say...the food and the company was.... SPECTACULAR!

Don't you just love Sundays?