Flabbergasted

We. Are. Here .... We are actually, finally, here. I almost can not believe the words as I type them and sit in a room and overlook some scrawny horses as they graze at the foot of the mountains in Jacmel, Haiti. Most of us have been up for 30 + hours, and a few of us has got some winks of sleep on the plane, but all of us know without the shadow of a doubt that this is where we are called to be at this time. We made it through customs and our plane flights without any bumps (praise the Lord) and took a four hour van ride from the airport in Port Du Prince to Jacmel in the hotel where we will be staying. The ride was culture shock, to say the least, we have first Navigated through busy streets of Port Of Prince and then the windy and narrow roads that led us over the mountains to Jacmel. The van ride alone was enough to exposes us to every condition to be found in Haiti and, ladies and gentlemen, this is truly a third world country.

Kerry G: I Prayed and Prayed that God would show me something, ANYTHING, in Haiti ... little did I know what I was truly asking for. The minute we stepped out of the airport I got what I asked for. There were soldiers with guns by the doors yelling for us to move and keep going. Right across from them were tons of men just yelling, asking us if they could drive us. The way they looked, it was as if they Had no joy in their lives. Not one of them had a smile on their face. Every last one of them had a face that was hardened by years of this life. I've seen poor people, I've seen homeless people ... but this was the first time I had ever seen poverty. True, genuine poverty. It's something that someone should never want to see again, yet something no one should ever know. We got in the bus (these people are crazyyyy drivers, by the way ) and people would just jump on the back of our van holding their stomachs and holding up one finger, just begging for a dollar. They'd come right up to us in the middle of the street with cars, vans, motorcycles and flying in every direction, and stare at us through the window with something in their hands, usually a fried plantains, as if that was fried plantain The only thing that was keeping them alive. Little kids were just running The Streets by themselves, no parents. Pigs were in the market eating fruit that was being sold off the ground .... and when I say "pigs", I do not mean a little pig, I mean something the size of a huge horse in the shape of a pig. It was the biggest pig I have EVER seen. Trash was lining the streets on fire ... they burn their trash to make room for more. The houses here were sometimes walled rooms, maybe with no door, maybe with no furniture. I never knew my heart could break so much from complete strangers. I had so many emotions and thoughts running through my heart and my head that I was pretty much numb. Words cannot describe what I saw with my eyes, and they definitely cannot describe what I felt in my heart. It was just so overwhelming. God showed me what I asked for. He showed me that in a world with no love, this is what happens. He showed me how truly blessed I really am and how I take that for granted every day of my life. I will never have to walk the streets alone because not only do my friends and family love me, but my God loves me and when everyone else is gone, He'll be there. My desire is to share that with everyone I encounter here. God has shown me that I am to love these children, these people, just as much as He loves me ... and even though I do not fuly comprehend the extent of His love, or How to Demonstrate that, I know that He's going to use each and every one of us on this team to love ... we simply love his people. I hope that at the end of these 9 days, the children here will know that even if they do not have love at home, there is a God who loves them and He will NEVER abandon them. Not ever. Tomorrow they're going to be hit with a wave of love. :) I mean, who does not want to be hit by that?:) VBS is going to be AMAZING! We're all so pumped. Right after VBS we'll be having a soccer tournament, too. The people here, they love soccer.
We Prayed for 2 flights safe. We arrived unharmed.
We Prayed that we'd come to the hotel safely, with the drivers going 70 on a dirt road at the top of a mountain, that sometimes Seemed impossible .... but we're here ... every last one of us. And boy did we see some breathtaking sights along the way. God's beauty can be seen in these mountains.... His beauty shines through in a country that is so hard, so cold. It's undeniable.
We Prayed over VBS tomorrow .... and I know, come tomorrow, that prayer will be answered, too.
I ask that you keep us in your prayers. Keep the people here in your prayers. And keep the drivers here in your prayers too.