This morning a few of us woke up in the wee hours of the morning for church (well... that is IF you consider 5:30 wee, but I'm 19 so I do). Anyway, around 6:00 we left the Guest House and made our way on foot to the church. As we approached the building, Brian explained to me that the nice looking building that stood before us was once just a large tent that the people gathered in to worship. Can you imagine over one hundred people crammed into a tent to praise God as the sun is coming up? Because I have a very hard time picturing that scene.
The church scene was unlike any church experience I have ever had. The room was filled with rows of chairs and benches, but majority of them remained empty. The congregation stood on their feet and paced up and down the isles as they worshiped with songs of praise, some of which we were able to sing along with. At one point, the entire congregation was singing at the top of their lungs as they repeated the lyrics to "How Great is Our God" before they all turned to one another and began to pray for the person next to them. In that moment, I felt God's presence more than I think I have ever felt it before. Alli's word of the day was movement and moving is the only way that I think I could describe that moment.
After church, our first official item on the itinerary led us to Carrefour where we visited a home for sick and dying adults. Our male members stayed on the first floor of the building, massaging and praying for the men who resided there, while Megan, Alli and I made our way to the second floor where the women could be found. In the first room we went into the women were very ill. Many of them didn't even move as we approached them; they simply nodded as we offered lotion for their hands and feet. More so than others this week, this experience was difficult for me. It was uncomfortable, it was scary, it was just... different. But at some point between walking in the door and arriving at the first woman's bed, the Lord comforted me and it wasn't so hard anymore; it was their needs that mattered, not my hesitations.
Once every woman in the room had been pampered, we made our way to the second room which surprised me due to how much life it held compared to the first. We didn't even make it to the doorway before the women and girls who lived inside came rushing out into the entryway to meet us. There was actually a line for me to paint girls' finger and toe nails... And I am probably one of the worst nail-painters in the world, no joke.
Our time giving mani-pedis flew by and before we knew it we were loading up into the tap-tap again and heading back to the Guest House to change clothes before heading to Cite Soleil to deliver water for the second time this week. With traffic making our short window to get to the Guest House and then to the water truck smaller and smaller, Brian gave us all five minutes to get changed and get back into the tap-tap where we could have snacks before leaving. So five minutes later, we are all dressed and ready to go and what happens?... Rumors begin to spread that the water truck has broken down. Without being able to confirm or deny the rumors, we climb up into the tap-tap and head for the water station, hoping for the best. But alas, as we approach the water station, there sits a broken down water truck, our broken down water truck. I'm not exactly sure what was wrong with the truck, some thingy between the transmission and something else fell out and there was absolutely no fuel of some sort... I don't know, but it was bad. HOWEVER, the Good Lord pulled through and somehow we were able to rent another water truck!
Cite Soleil wasn't quite as shocking this time around. I actually found myself looking forward the hearing the children chanting "'Ey You!" and "Potem". Today I felt helpful in Cite Soleil. I wasn't looking around, shocked at my surroundings. It was almost natural to just pick up as many babies as I could and entertain them while their families got water from the truck. There was one little boy in particular who touched my heart. As I held him and played with him he was giggling and seemed like the happiest boy alive while all I was doing was holding him and making funny noises in his ear. When it was time to go I sadly put him down and made my way to the tap-tap, only to be stopped by his hand before I could climb inside. Kneeling down, I gave him one last hug goodbye and got inside. As we drove away, I waved goodbye and rather than staying with the other group of children, he chased after us... This little three year old, barefoot boy ran after the truck with hopes of being able to catch us. My heart breaks a little thinking about him and selfishly, I hope that I will be able to see him again someday when I return to Haiti, but realistically, I hope that I don't. I hope that he is able to find a better life; a life outside of Cite Soleil. I hope that for all of them. 
All in all, today was a very emotional, moving day and it was one that I will not soon forget. Today, I believe I emptied myself, maybe even just a tiny bit, but still enough to allow God in and with that on top of being in Haiti, being healthy and being surround by these amazing people, I am currently feeling extremely blessed.
With that being said, it is way past my bedtime, so without further ado, goodnight and goodbye from Port-Au-Prince, Haiti.;
-Ashley Becker
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