Ou rete la, en Ayiti.

I am still failing at putting our time in Haiti into words. Every part of me loved being there! God is certainly in Haiti. There is evidence of His hope and light blasting through darkness and despair all over the place. Jesus is in the tent cities walking through the mud, He is in the bright faces and joyful songs, in the couragous outlook and hope of the Haitian people, and in the affectionate embrace of orphan children. He is Emmanuel (God with us) in Haiti, more than any place I have ever traveled.

Our team spent our time in Haiti loving and being loved by orphans, building things and getting creative with materials at the Foursquare missions base, fixing people's tent homes in a tent city and praying for these families who have been essentially homeless since the earthquake. 

The first time we visited the tent city Sandy was pouring rain down upon us. We walked in between tents, our feet sliding in the mud, and children in flip flops joining us as we went to several tents with new tarps to fix leaks. As some fastened the new tarps down using bottle caps, the rest of us hung out, children in our arms and under raincoats. Though we didn't know much Creole, I had the sense that our presence there in the pouring rain with smiles on our faces communicated what was needed just fine.

As we paused near one tent the rain was gushing out of the sky I greeted some young ladies who were crowded under an umbrella and they grabbed me by the hand and drew me under the umbrella with them, arms interlocked. A little further down the way a young girl grabed me by the arm and we happily walked along together, content to be. Once the rain stopped a little guy who had been taking shelter under someone's long raincoat grabbed my hand and the hand of a missionary and we swung him high (much to his glee) as we continued down the road to repair another tent. 

We showed up another day at the tent city to play music and do crafts with the kids next to a one-room schoolhouse that is perched precariously on the side of a big trench filled with refuse. The kids came as the sound of Josiah's rousing rendition of "Ou rete la" (God is here) served as a call to worship of sorts. Children of all ages crammed into the benches brought out from the school building and placed in the shade of the tin roof overhang.

After our trip was extended due to Hurricane Sandy, we visited the tent city one final time. We were able to fully cover a newly constructed tent frame with tarps, creating a new tent home for two homeless families. Needless to say, this was a profound experience for our team. We minister to the homeless in NYC, but most of the time we are called to function as resource connectors. This time we became the 'answer to our own prayer' by building a home. Before we left the new tent, we all prayed over the tent and the families that were moving in. It was beautiful.