Roosters are singing, occasional dogs barking... relative quiet for the city of Port Au Prince. It's Monday. March 23rd, 3:30 am. The sounds of this place have always been intriguing.. In Bersy , it was the goats and roosters and donkeys and waking babies downstairs that gave the wake up call. In Gonaives it was the cool breezes and Mr Sun himself , as we chose to sleep on Emory and Mary's wonderful large flat concrete roof.
Last night, Sunday, it was church services with loud sound systems from each direction, the “club”that is a covered area just down on the corner beside the half size , outdoor basket ball court, the tap taps with their tunes blaring and passionate voices rising and falling over what i do not know and shouldn't imagine.
Sam brings his guitar down to my room and he and Kevens and I add our voices to the lovely cacophony. We sing, ”where you go , i go , what you say i say , God, what you pray i pray” . We teach Kevs a few new songs. His voice and spirit add much to the worship. My advise to all who travel,, bring a couple of your kids with you , and make certain at least one can play the guitar! Oh how lovely is the King of glory is this Christ...and oh how He loves us ...
I feel the need to finish writing about our time in Gonaives:
One huge blessing was having Casey with us for the trip to Gonaives. So good to share her air space. LOVE LOVE this girl.. As always she is love personified.
Must say that the Berry team was amazing...they jumped right into some very challenging situations and never missed a beat. They loved on very dirty and naked kids,,..they never shrank back,..just picked them and loved them. Cory put his medical potential to the test and did some really gross doctoring stuff. He beamed.....i asked him if he still wanted to be a doctor..he said .I love it! ( personally i almost threw up)Thank you Rachel, Minyoung, Nicki , Amanda and Cory !
Mary and Emory: they have chosen probably one of the most challenging places in Haiti to serve. The people of Jubilee, the area where they concentrate on feeding and teaching, giving and building is poor beyond what we can really imagine. People have moved back after the flood and rebuilt many of the homes that were destroyed, or moved back into the remains. Mostly they are dirt floors with thatch walls and some tin, some thatch roofs. No running water, no electricity.... really not much more than dirt
(my battery is low and we have not had electricity since yesterday afternoon so may have to end this and start again later.) By the way...i am so thankful for this lap tap Suzanne gave me! Thank you girl friend!
It's now Tuesday around 3:30 am, i am up again to the sounds of roosters and dogs!
Gonaives... the children are beautiful and so ready to learn and love. They are so precious and at the same time very tough. There is great opportunity ! Emory and Mary have much honor among them as they have loved and loved . They care for the sick, , visit the elderly , taking food to them . Mary has identified those with diabetes and goes by to check sugar levels and treat their sores. She is amazing. They both are It really is an honor to get to spend time here with them.
The Genadas have moved into their new home and are so happy, so grateful ...The first floor is complete and so clean and nice. The church building is across the street. They raised the floor about 6 feet. It is a concrete slab and still under the same roof..that they will also raise as soon as possible. IT works . The bakery , very close to finished.
Words cannot really describe Gonaives..”we Cry Out” mountain. I-HOP Haiti..( international house of prayer) rock slab on the face of a hill overlooking the city where people gather 24-7 to pray and be with God. We sit with those gathered praying... we stand and sing in creole, we weep we smile, for a little while we are one.
There is much good coming for this place.
Still no electricity but i can type as long as my battery holds out/
At Sherries now, in PAP. She leaves this morning for the states.
Sam and Kevs and I were reading in Isaiah 40 last night ..it said that God gives strength to the weary and power to the weak. I got great comfort from that....i totally qualify for both the strength and the power!
Many of the students here in this school and the staff have lost their homes and/ or their homes are being threatened to be bulldozed each day. Even in that there is amazing grace and peace. Sherrie has given money to help all those connected to this school. She is amazing. We had a meeting on Sunday and individually gave out envelops with enough money to pay half a year rent on a new place. ( they have to pay a full year rent here up front) we got to pray with the people and they were of course very grateful.. Then we told them to not tell anyone !
Yesterday for devotion with the staff we walked down to the ravine where the house had been destroyed. She wanted to make certain they all knew what was going on. Some never had been there,,,even though most of the children come for the ravine area.
Our time with Kevs has been so good. Sam and I are taking turns working with him on his school work. He is so intelligent. His vocabulary is huge as he is an avid reader. He loves the books we brought...his whole face lit up when he saw them...more than the basketball !
Being with him makes me miss Rebecca something fierce. Makes me want to spend much more time with her when i am at home. I must change my life at home to have more time with her.. I love the marketplace , but i have to get some space in my life for my treasure of a daughter!
Sam is doing great. He has been able to get on face book and keep up with friends he misses.. He is a HUGE help.. I am so thankful he loves it here . I really feel like i need him to be with me.. His greatest asset is his attitude. He is a 24-7 worshiper, no matter what he is dong. He offers to help with everything and he see the good and God in every situation. He walks in courage even when he is afraid. So thankful for this kid. He is great with Kevs .and Kevs loves him . He has been helping with the medical . Kez and Mary, two nurses came yesterday and we walked the ravine with them doing medical checks. Always a good time Sam is learning alot.
So I hear the city starting to wake up through the open doors and windows. Hope the power comes on soon. It did yesterday morning and it was wonderful. Then i can copy and paste this and email it to you..
Sherry bought a phone for me to use the number is 011-509-3-638-8147. We can receive calls from the states and it doesn't use our minutes. S o please feel free to phone!!!
We set our hearts to the bigness of God in every situation. We Set our hearts to declare His goodness all over the place. We set our hearts to bless the people, the government and even those driving bulldozers. We set our hearts because we know the Father's heart's that HIS Glory covers the entire earth. His structures are ever expanding, light always trumps darkness away. He is wisdom itself and He lives in me. And when we are weak His strength gets to shine !
Love love to you all, from Haiti, Mama Kathy
Kathy Brooks
MUCH Ministries, Inc.
72610 Hwy.82
Waynesville, GA 31566
admin@muchministries.org
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