thoughts

Started the day with a hearty breakfast; oatmeal drenched in warm syrup, fried plantain, an egg, chopped mangoes, and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Lot of food, I know, I was struggling to get the p, b and j down, but I did and washed it down with some fruit punch. Trust me you need all the energy you can get down for in preparation for the day, it all goes away by the end.

We walked, gear in hand, through the village to the church/school/clinic building ready to do whatever they tell us to. Honestly, some of the days have started to blend together for me. Being in a foreign country, working long hard days does that to you. So if I’m remembering correctly today we passed a lot of buckets full of concrete assembly line fashion to some more structural forms on the second level. Hard, intense work, the hardest yet, I’d say for sure. The overcast sky was a huge blessing. Concrete is super heavy. It was basically a trap workout for me – 500 reps maybe more I really have no idea. At the end of the day I was completely covered in concrete, so bad that when I got back one of the worker ladys kicked me out of the back outdoor area…..outcast because I’m dirty.

I slipped in a game of soccer with some of the kids during their recess. A daily must….so much fun!

So everyday I’ve been here I question what I’m doing here? I want to do right. I want to be careful not to do more harm than help. It’s so easy to say that of course I’m doing good or being helpful. But still I’m constantly in my mind asking myself, what is the right thing?

So today as I was watching some of the Haitian men mix a batch of the concrete, I remembered something. A while ago I read something by a pastor that stuck with me. He said that the church is the hope of the world and that there is no other organization like it. And as I stood watching them build this building that would be the church – I realized that’s it! A church that would not only meet the physical needs of this place – food, education, health but most importantly the spiritual hunger that we all have for the love of Christ. This place would be a light for the people in the community and Haiti. Hope for the hopeless. The .00000001% that I’m here doing is part of that greater vision. And for now I have peace.

-Dave from Oakland, Ca.