Once a week we go up onto the mountain for a worship service at our mountain mission church "Terre Noir." First we load up the pick-up (overload is more accurate- Papa Rusty makes able-bodied adults get out and walk- we've had 38 in the back-picture a Haitian boatlift) and drive up the road as far as the truck will go. The road is not good- dirt road filled with washes from past rain and sometimes muddy. When the road gets too bad or the truck gets stuck we unload and watch the men get the truck out of the mud- then load back up and try again. After we've done this several times, Rusty declares we walk the rest of the way!
Soon the dirt road turns into a cow (or donkey) path. It winds through a desert-like plain and through fields of okra, eggplant, and watermelon. The way is really quite beautiful, but it's difficult to see it through the sweat dripping in your eyes! After we catch our breath at the top, we move under the "petite tent" where we are greeted by the waiting congregation. In Haiti, 1/2 of the population is under the age of 15, and our church services are no different. At this week's service there were about 60 -70 present and 42 of those were children!
We even have a nursery of sorts. Someone lays a blanket or tarp or some feed sacks on the ground up front for little children and sleeping babies.
It's not only children at the mountain service- there are Grandmas, too. Most of these people are much younger than they appear. Life on the mountain is very difficult- even by Haitian standards. The church started when an evangelist travelling through door- to -door came upon a house where a lady and 7 in her family were saved. He asked our Pastor if he would minister to them and now a church has been born. A mission for the mission! These people have a vision for their church and community and always ask me how I can help them in starting a school for their children and a building for the church. I thank God for vision and pray with them for His plan to be fulfilled in His time. In spite of everything else you see in Haiti, you can always see God at work.
Soon the dirt road turns into a cow (or donkey) path. It winds through a desert-like plain and through fields of okra, eggplant, and watermelon. The way is really quite beautiful, but it's difficult to see it through the sweat dripping in your eyes! After we catch our breath at the top, we move under the "petite tent" where we are greeted by the waiting congregation. In Haiti, 1/2 of the population is under the age of 15, and our church services are no different. At this week's service there were about 60 -70 present and 42 of those were children!
We even have a nursery of sorts. Someone lays a blanket or tarp or some feed sacks on the ground up front for little children and sleeping babies. 
It's not only children at the mountain service- there are Grandmas, too. Most of these people are much younger than they appear. Life on the mountain is very difficult- even by Haitian standards. The church started when an evangelist travelling through door- to -door came upon a house where a lady and 7 in her family were saved. He asked our Pastor if he would minister to them and now a church has been born. A mission for the mission! These people have a vision for their church and community and always ask me how I can help them in starting a school for their children and a building for the church. I thank God for vision and pray with them for His plan to be fulfilled in His time. In spite of everything else you see in Haiti, you can always see God at work.
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