A day in the life of a missionary...

Friday: A day split into very distinct experiences, each beautiful in its own way.   So much happens here every day.   How often do you wake up and spend the entire day working towards serving others?   
 - Attending a daily service at Church on the Rock:  6:00 AM departure for this service...and well worth the early rising!    The church is built in the construction style of a pole barn, inside are rows upon rows of seats, areas with benches, and a 2nd level around the outer portion.  In total, seating for 5000, and we were told later that it fills on Sundays.    In the center of one wall, a big stage with a drum set, two guitars, an electric keyboard and the pastor on the microphone.   And what a pastor!   Pastor Gary was leading an incredible worship session.    Words cannot adequately describe what it was like to see the congregation moving, walking, chanting, crying..all immersed in their Christian faith.     Moving to say the least.  
- VBS Story and Soccer with the neighbor kids:  This was the result of a late change to our schedule, another rewarding twist to the week!  HH put the call out to their neighbors that we were available to spend some time with a group of kids, and soon we had ~25 boys between the ages of 12 and 18 gathered.   They enjoyed a stirring rendition of David and Goliath (complete with a spaghetti pot helmet) and making cross necklaces with us, and then provided us with a free soccer lesson.    We learned that Alyssa can play soccer barefoot, Rick is brave enough to play goal, Jay can score on his own goal, and as always that Mark can bond with a youngster instantly.   Following soccer the boys had sandwiches and pop. Then we closed with a song led by Dickinson and a prayer.  An amazing group of boys, and a beacon of hope for the future of Haiti.   A special kudos to Dickinson, for being a natural leader of the group; that young man carried himself with an incredible amount of grace.   He wasn't the biggest, the oldest, the loudest....he was simply the leader.
- Apparent Project: After lunch we loaded up the trucks with suitcases full of donations (the suitcases were destined to be donations themselves; sorry Bergs!) and headed out.  The Apparent Project was started four years ago and is currently providing employment to ~300 Haitians and helping to keep young families together.   They sell a variety of creative things built onsite, often from recycled materials.    Very cool.  And they had fruit smoothies.
- General Hospital: The hospital was our last stop, and is located in downtown Port-au-Prince.   We got to see a good portion of the city, with a variety of sights and smells, and offer "Bon Swa" to many of those we met. So fun to see the smiles in return.    This was a hard, uncomfortable stop for many of us.   We visited the baby ward - 3 rooms full of sick babies and (for most) their families.   The people we met were very appreciative, but was very hard to see these innocent souls enduring such hardship.  As was stated earlier.....moving to say the least.

Following another fabulous dinner at the HH house, more great discussion with the group.    So much laughter today!    And the variety of experiences was reflected in the "Words of the Day":    Joy, Love (thank YOU Ronaldo), Hope, Processing, Stretching, Beauty, Moments, Comfort. 

And it was shown to me that sometimes, maybe a person's only role is to stand outside and wait for someone to hug. 

-Mike