letter to haiti

Dear Haiti,

I love you. I dont know how to thank you for all the work that you have done in me, changing me, making me more like God. Thank you for beig the place that you are and welcoming me with open arms. I will never forget these 5 weeks. I will not forget the faces of your people, the light in their eyes, the laughs of their children. You are full of joy. Im sorry I had the wrong perception of you and I had no sense of your beauty. Im sorry for pitying you. You do not need my pity. Thank you for allowing me to shovel your dirt and build Gods kingdom here. Thank you for your tent cities that cut to my heart, for your orphanages I cant get out of my mind for the joy you have brought to me day after day. If only you could know the impact you have on the Americans that come. We are blessed to come here. It is a gift. You transform us. Or you create space for God to transform us. I respect you haiti. You are honorable, as are your people. I know that your circumstances are serious. I know that your people have needs that must be met that are not being met. But yet, God is here. Alive and at work. You have welcomed him into your midst. You cling to him. Perhaps your faith stems from the fact that your people do not sit around intellectualizing everything and that we could learn from that. Perhaps because you have less you appreciate more. Your children are beyond promising. They are going to be changers. Changing haiti. Changing the world. They have already been changing me. I dont evenb mind your bugs or yourheat any more. I love your rain and your food. I love your mountains and your beaches. But it is your people that have captured my heart. Their spirits. The way they say my name. There willingness to love me well all the time. Constantly. I think I will miss you every day. I have never felt so loved and cherished as I have here. By people who did know me. I dont know why or ow they love me. And appreciate me. And smile at me. I imagine its because they are pressing into God and he is working in them. That maybe they have surrendered themselves to him so he can move in miraculous ways. They sure look like God to me. I know that it is not perfect. I do not want to romanticize haiti. But I will say that there is a lot of light here. You can sense the light. Thank you for your generosity. For all that your people have given me. As I write this one of the 6^th grade girls came and gave me a silly band. They are so giving. It astounds me. I have given to haiti out of my wealth. They give all that they have. How can such wisdom and godliness be contained in children ? I love them so much my hear aches. I looked up and they are coming out of class all smiling at me. Seriously, how is this even real ? I thought being in haiti would be the hardest thing Ive done. Its been hard at points. No doubt. Mostly though because God has been insisting on looking at my heart together. Haiti itself, its almost heavenly in some ways. I know that is not everywhere. But I am living at a church and a school. If only I had been writing more. Its only when I write that I begin to sense how monumental this is. Every day is filled with beautiful little life changing moments. Every day there are things that happen that I think to myself, if this had been the only thing that happened in these 5 weeks, it would be worthwhile. Every. Day.