I Left My Heart in Petit Paradise (part 1)

It is absolutely amazing when I look back at all the things that God has shown me over the course of this journey and as I reflect on the early days it will really put things into perspective as my travels in Haiti draw to a close. Now my entries from here on out may appear a little out of order because I really would like to share all that I missed out blogging about from my village travels. I have been journaling for the past two days to catch up as well but have so much more to write about...and yet there will still be things that I forget to mention.

So while the journey to the NordQuest was an experience all on its own, that I shall write about on a different day, I wish to share Petit Paradise for now.

So the name could be a bit misleading as the bit of countryside where Petit paradise is located is anything but paradise. It was desert land inhabited by primarily cacti and dirt, and if were not for all of the people that I met there I probably would have suggested they change their name. But the people of Petit were what made it paradise.

As we arrived in the in the big Mack truck the children came running out of their huts with excitement. Yes, I said huts. You could just see the joy all over their faces and their shouts were so very different than the shouts(I will share in a later post of the PAP encounter)we received in Port au Prince and other areas. It was genuine love and acceptance from the second they saw us driving down that treacherous dusty mountainside. When driving up and approaching Petit Paradise one could see some 15 to 20 huts off in the distance. This sight is enough to make one have to do not only a double take but more like a quadruple take. What? Do they really live in the huts like we've only ever seen on the History Channel??? How can this be? Once you pinch yourself and come to realize that your are indeed still on the same planet that you had departed from less than 24 hours prior, you are just left there in amazement. We unloaded all of the supplies and trekked up the steep hill to where the church building was located and it was not long before what seemed like the whole village had also made their way up the hill. The people were intrigued by us but were very warm and welcoming. The people of Petit all had a certain genuineness that I can not even begin to describe. The closest parallel that I can make is by relating them to my little brother, Max, who has down syndrome. This is a very difficult thing to try to relay to anyone who has no experience with special needs kids but I shall try to just the same. The thing that both of them have in common is this 'innocence.' It's almost as if they are both untainted by the ways of this world. Max and the people of Petit see you, they love you, and they accept you for no other reason other than that you are you. As I was sharing with one of my Christian brothers from Atlanta the other day, they love you because you are there, no manipulation or strings attached. In our world there are so often ulterior motives in our relationships and in our interactions with one another. For example, we befriend someone because we think it will benefit us or our career in some way because of what they can do for us, not because we appreciate the person for who they are. Why have we become so self-absorbed? It is interesting to note that in our materialistic world, it is what we own that that we allow to drive us. we think that the more we own, the better off and happier we'll be. What's wrong with this ideal? We need to stop lying to ourselves because if that were the case then we as 'Americans' should be the happiest and most fulfilled people, at least according to the above standard,right? Why is it that so many people in America suffer from depression, thoughts of suicide and overall dissatisfaction? And yet in Haiti, yes, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, the country that just lost hundreds of thousands of people in a massive earthquake, and the country with more people out of work and out of homes than one could imagine, suicide is unheard of? I have had Haitian brothers share that suicide is just not something that crosses peoples' minds because they are used to making the most of a crummy situation. God has been sharing with me through my daily devotions on adversity. "By means of their suffering, [God] rescues those who suffer. For he gets their attention through adversity." (Job 36:15) In my devotional, it also stated that it is in our difficult times that we learn more about God than when we are coasting right along through the easy times. So though it may be a difficult thing to do it is in these times that we should be rejoicing. Laughing when the world says we should be crying and really just being a testament to all that God has done for us though we are so undeserving.

Don't tell God how big your problems are...tell your problems how big your God is.
(anonymous)