Day two in Abaco by Emerson De Vries, a student with Pella Christian’s team
As the week goes on, day by day, we seem to be getting more and more exposed to the damage the hurricane caused to the whole island, specifically to the Haitians living in the shanty towns near the coast called The Mudd and Peas. During bible school today, one of the girls talked a little about how she fled from the hurricane because she was living in The Mudd, which was completely wiped out by the hurricane. Lisa described it saying that shipping containers were picked up, and as the water went down, the shipping containers squished everything in their path, whipping out both towns. Playing with the children brought me much joy, their bright smiles and happy laughs at the fact that they had somebody paying attention to just them, feeling loved and seen in their chaotic world they live in. Bringing the kids home was also very eye opening, seeing where they all lived and how their towns were. On the way home, the four of us girls that rode along sang quite a few songs, ranging from Mary did you know to Mary had a little lamb. The whole ride, the kids loved singing different songs and it was a good reminder of how we should have childlike faith and not be stressed out by the things surrounding us, but rather focus on the simple things that God has given us. The sunrise this morning was also a good reminder of this, allowing all of us who watched it to rest in God’s beauty and presence.
As I reflect on this week, I can see that God is working in small ways, the people working at the church and sharing their moving testimonies and the small little creatures that, each time I see them, wonder me so much. One of the boys (Ben) loved finding creatures, giving them a new home, especially a boy who named a hermit crab Eric, who sadly died (don’t worry, there was a funeral service), and a very large snail Sally. I will always be in awe of their joy and happiness, being able to play and be free. I know that God has more in store for this week, even if we only have one more work day, who knows what he’ll show us on our cultural day. This trip has shown me that I have much to be thankful for and I have so much more than I need, and I still probably don’t have as much joy as those kids who never stopped smiling. To all the parents wondering how we are doing, we are all doing great, and having so much fun playing games and blessing others in big and small ways.
