SJB Arrives to Smiling Faces in Sunny Haiti

The mission team from San Jose Baptist arrived safely in Bercy on Monday evening. The flight from Miami was delayed and the journey taxing, but our "problems" seemed like nothing compared to what we saw once here. We travelled through areas of devastation where Ike had washed away homes, structures and even precious lives. We traversed the dusty, battered roads all the way to the children's home, but the warm welcome from the children made it all worth while. We rolled through the front gate to kids chanting, "Tee Paul! Tee Paul!" I guess that Curtis is sort of the Jerry Seinfeld of Bercy, a minor celebrity!

Day number 2 began with the team meeting at the school for the raising of the flag. School started late this year due to the impact of the 4 storms that hit here. Monday was their first day. Momma Cheryl was relieved to have some helpers sort and distribute uniforms on Tuesday. The guys began working on small maintenance issues while the girls worked with Cheryl. In between we all chipped-in on cooking and cleaning, and we played with the children (of course) every chance we could. We concluded the day with a worship service lead by Pastor Nathan at the church. The San Jose team joined the band for a spirited rendition of "I'm Trading My Sorrows."

It was a blessing to see the love of Jesus Christ in the people as they sang joyfully and praised God. Despite their suffering and many problems they did look down or defeated. In fact you would not know that they had lost family, homes or possesions in the storms. They clapped, danced and sang with a passion that could only come from one source. As Rachel said, it was easy to sense God's presence there.

That's all for now. We'll try to upload some pictures later.

Showing and sharing God's love,
SJB