I love this place. I love these people. In so many ways, their wisdom far exceeds mine. God has taught me after a year of living here that I need to stop and listen. Life here can’t be about getting a job done…it has to be about living life with God’s people. Trust. Lies. Unconditional love. Failures. Victories. Abuse. Reconciliation. Slavery. Freedom. Perseverance. Beauty from ashes.

I still don’t fully understand this culture and my motives are not to change the people here. As different as our worlds are apart, we have so much in common…Jesus, family, community, marriage, parenting, and life.

Sometimes the sweet people living in the village that we call home knock my socks off. Last night, I was walking down the path by the myLIFEspeaks house and stopped to talk to my sweet friend Carmella. There were so many people in her yard cutting and preparing food. She told me that they were leaving today to visit a prison and do some ministry there. I asked what that looked like and she said, “we are all God’s people. We will talk with them, tell them about God, and pray with them. Then we will give them food.” I asked her how many people they were making food for. “150.”

And my heart jumped. Maybe it is hard to understand the magnitude of this. Some of the families in our village can hardly feed their families every day or two. But they love The Lord and they want to share Him with others. Prisoners in Haiti do not eat unless food is brought to them. It reminds me so much of Jesus saying, “whatever you do for the least of these, you have done for Me.”

The women cooked all night and loaded up to leave this morning. My heart sung as I rounded the corner and heard them singing praise songs and praying over the food and their trip. Kynlee and I joined them and prayed for their day of prison ministry as well. When they were finished, I told them how much I loved them and asked if i could pray for them. Man, I was humbled. We prayed and they left. And my heart was full.

I hope I never forget these days. I hope I learn to look to Jesus when I really want to think of myself. I hope I consider my blessings and give way more than I receive. I pray that my heart will soak in these sweet people of Haiti.

I pray that on the days that I am hungry or tired, I will remember the people that sacrificed their food to feed people that others will not and they sacrificed their sleep to prepare it.

Humbled. Again. Thank you God.