Girl's Day Out (with Jamil!)

Pat, Shelby, Karissa and Jamil
(thanks for taking the picture, Emily!)

Haiti is such a beautiful oasis!  

this one is for Andrea!

Today we had the good fortune of an outing up to the Baptist Mission (about an hour up the mountain) to see their ministry, enjoy a delicious lunch, do some great shopping and visit their zoo and grounds.  I felt like I had stepped back in time.  There were little cobblestone streets the led to a church, a full service hospital, a very quaint zoo, a museum, a teacher training facility, a bakery, a shop full of hand made artisan crafts (embroidery, wooden bowls and utensils, baskets, cards, jewelry, etc.) and a green house.  It was inspiring to see such a well run and well established mission teaching, employing and empowering Haitians.  Plus, it has a gorgeous view of the mountain countryside, and so many trees!!

The man who took us, Jamil, also wanted to show us a view of Haiti from the top of a mountain where all the cell phone towers are.  So about 20 minutes further up the mountain took us to another awe-inspiring lookout.  You could see all of Port-au-Prince including the palace and the airport, the lake and mountain range that separate Haiti from the Dominican Republic and out lying communities along both coasts.  It was breathtaking!  This licensed Haitian artist was capturing the view with oil paints on a canvas.

There is so much beauty and possibility here.  It is really easy to get overwhelmed by not only the need,  but more so the disparity between those who are rich with material things versus those who are not.  I noticed that today most of all at the grocery store in Petionville (a more affluent city here where several wealthy Haitians, high government officials and larger NGO leaders live).  It was like walking into a store in the U.S.  They had everything I had packed for snacks and then some (but at a hefty price!)  As I was walking around I realized, I wasn't craving anything, or in need or want of anything.  It is humbling to be feeding under-nourished children a piece of bread and peanut butter one day and have an array of any food product you could want the next.  Turns out this paradox doesn't just happen here in Haiti, but in many communities around the globe including my hometown.  My prayer is that we will continue to be aware of the beauty and possibilities that surround us daily and try live more humbly.