Sunday in Haiti

Well tonight the blog is going to represent Haiti from a girl’s perspective. To clarify, there is only one girl on Asbury’s team, so I get to keep the guys in line. My name is Maria Cranor and I am very excited to be experiencing Haiti.

Today being Sunday, we were able to go to church, go out to eat, do some shopping (always my favorite) and overall act like tourists. We went to a church right by Radio Lumiere that also runs a school. The early service has close to 4000 attendees, but we went to the later service. I’ve never experienced a service in another language before, but it was very eye-opening. Even though I couldn’t understand most of what was said, it was obvious that the Holy Spirit was still at work. A team from Mississippi also visited and we were able to sing two songs together for the congregation. 

Then someone from their team gave a testimony and our very own Ben McElroy was able to share and sing Amazing Grace. I could tell the church was happy we were there and was very welcoming.

After church we took a very long and bumpy van ride to a grocery store to stock up on the essentials: Cheez-its, peanuts, and cookies. Then we were able to go out to eat at a local restaurant where we enjoyed some spicy turkey and cheese crepes. 

Our last stop of the afternoon was at a scenic overlook at the top of the mountain. Port-au-prince looks a lot different from above and I was surprised at the size of the city. One thing that I have been trying to do is see the beauty in this country. 

The first day was a little challenging because the drive from the airport to the guesthouse was rather shocking. However, these past two days I have been blessed to be able to really see the beauty of Haiti.  The drive to and from the overlook made for some great views and we were able to see the coastline from the top of the mountain.

Before dinner I had the chance to go across the road to a small courtyard to play with some local children. They are part of a ministry called the New Hope Club run by a man named Carly. He is a full time student in Haiti and donates his time and energy to teach the children about Jesus and life skills.  When I think mission trips I think about playing with local children so it was great to have that opportunity. We played volleyball, jumped rope, and danced until we were dizzy. It was a very satisfying end to a fun and busy day.

As you can hopefully tell, I am really enjoying my time in Haiti. I’m excited to see how the week unfolds and how God is at work with me and the team. Thank you for your prayers.

Blessings,

Maria, on behalf of the team