Haiti: Day 2

Bonjour!

God is so big, so very big. So much bigger than we could ever imagine, truly. Today was quite the day for our team, as we are concluding the day as we speak. I say that God is so much bigger than we can possibly fathom because never in my wildest dreams could I think of what He is doing in and through our team at this very moment. He amazes me. Every word spoken, every action, every laugh, every smile, every hug, every encouragement....God is so huge.

Today we began the morning with a great breakfast made by the orphanage, then Matt gave a message concerning Ephesians 6 - spiritual armor. Shortly thereafter, we boarded a bus and headed into Soleil, the slums of Port-Au-Prince, and also through downtown Port Au Prince. The slums were still as I remembered, dirty, nasty, disgusting, horrible, filthy, dark, and inhumane. The stench was still as strong as ever from miles away, and unforgettable. With jaws dropping throughout the bus, hearts breaking for what break's God's heart, we trudged through into the business district of Port-Au-Prince. Wait, let me back up here for those of you who have not been here before.....think of the scenes from Slumdog Millionaire, take away adequate food supply, and imagine sheet metal tied together with strings or held up by wooden sticks - THAT is a glimpse of what the slums are like here. Loads of trash lining the streets, children begging and looking for food in the gutters of trash, pigs looking for the same trash defecating in the trash heaps as children dig through it for food. This is what we saw today.

In downtown Port-Au-Prince, we saw some of the earthquake devastation. Loads of buildings toppled and pancaked to the ground, which once held dreams of business owners and people with hopes to provide for their families. Gone. Fell to the earth with still THOUSANDS of bodies still under the ruble, and most likely will be for a long while until people can pay to remove and rebuild. Can you imagine for a moment, wondering if your loved one - your Mom or Dad, brother or sister, son or daughter - their body was still under the ruble?

There is a small child here, his name is Kevin. Kevin lost his Mom in the earthquake and his father ultimately decided he didn't want him. Kevin is 3 months old and now lives here at the orphanage. He didn't chose to be here, but these are the cards he was dealt. For these few days, we are his family and we are his parents. Matt and Jess have fallen in love with this child. He is so amazing, so beautiful, so joyful, so loving. What will happen to Kevin when we leave? Can you make a difference for Kevin? What will happen to Kevin when he is 18 years old? These are questions we have been asking ourselves the last 12 hours. To say our team has been impacted is an understatement. God is showing us so much here, so much of how HE chooses to use us, instead of how we want to be used by Him. He is showing us how big and mighty He is, and how He has picked each of us to be here for His glory.

Tonight before we met as a team, just after our amazing dinner, we walked over to the kids multi-purpose area where we saw them watching a Michael W. Smith DVD and singing "Mighty To Save" of all songs! :-) It was one of the most beautiful sounds a person could ever hear, their little voices shouting praise to our Savior - knowing every word. There is no greater blessing.....

We feel your prayers here! Please continue! :-) The emails I receive in return, I've been sharing with the team. Thank you so much for being our prayer warriors, it is MUCH appreciated. I will close tonight with this: will you go for God? Will you stand in the gap for Him? Are you willing to love Kevin for Jesus Christ?

To Make Him Known,
Kristina