Posting

The blessing of the pen. I have been contemplating this thought. Writing things down while here in this country has been helpful in dealing with its hardships. The pace is much slower. Time during the day just seems to stop. I am so used to driving and moving and making things happen. And here I sit, and sit, and sit. Or so it seems. Nothing to do, but then I pick up my pen and write. The paper claims all the words I put on it. It starves to receive them, and I feel it’s vacuum. I need not be silenced nor powerless in this country. So I pour out my heart and feeling here between the greedy lines of the ledger. I give voice to my frustrations, musings, blessings, and fill the pages with information that I need never lose to a poor and failing memory.
I hope not to have you suffer boredom with my thoughts, but posting has been very good for me. I feel very inadequate, but you’re comments and the knowledge that a few are following drives me onward. I have noticed errors in spelling and such, but am constrained to fix it while here. I mean to do some repairs State side and leave the posts up for a while before pulling them back to my computer for long term storage and a running diary of this trip, I never want to forget the experiences of this country.
For all its hardness, rough roads, dirt and filth, the love and warmth of its people has been gratifying on a level I have not experienced before. I don’t say that to minimize the experience of home and our church family, and the love of our close friends, this is just different. I have been absorbing the warmth and tenderness of these people in the midst of their harsh circumstances, and marvel at the power of God to strengthen them and cause them to rejoice, even when church starts 1 hour late because of no power. I told them last night if I would have had that difficulty in the States, half of the people would have gone home by the time we started! And because we are on time constraints, the service would have now been only a ½ and hour from being over and the rest would have left. They laughed and got a good chuckle. It is hard for me to get them to laugh, but that must have gotten their funny bone.
The other thing I shared in opening last night was how when Robinson comes to the States he is often very, very cold. I told them we bundle him in layers and layers of clothes to keep him warm, and they found that hilarious. But then I told them I was the same way with their heat, but there was not a way to escape it. That is was HOT in Haiti, and they laughed at my plight! I sweat like a pig here, and if you know me, I don’t sweat easily in the States.
We are sitting here in the living room singing with the leader of the singing groups in the church, (remind me to tell you the story of the shoes) and we have been singing old hymns of the church and he has be singing tenor with us. It’s pretty cool, music seems to hold no language barriers. If you know the song, the tune carries the words. It’s pretty cool. Running for now, need to check on Rob again. Blessings.