Two Weddings and A Funeral

The last two weeks have been quite eventful. Kristin and I have had the opportunity to serve at 2 weddings and attend a funeral. For the most part, the ceremonies for both the weddings and the funeral were quite what I expected in comparison to American tradition. There were 2 great differences though. In both weddings, there were multiple women dressed in wedding dresses that walked down the aisle before the bride. I asked the reasoning for this, and I was told that they are the people closest to the bride. (Sorry Amber… If I ever have a Haitian wedding, you don’t get to re-wear your beautiful wedding dress, I’ll stick to the American tradition on this one.) At the funeral, the difference was the way people mourn. And when I say mourn, I mean, convulsing, flailing themselves on the ground, weeping, screaming, mourning. It was truly gut wrenching. I did not know the man who had died. It was our Pastor’s brother, so we went to support him as his friends and sisters.  But seeing his loved ones grieve this man’s  death in this way made me realize how greatly this man would be missed, and that it is ok to grieve. I don’t think I will ever find myself mourning in this way, but if the need ever arises, I don’t think I would be afraid to actually mourn over a loved one anymore.

In the funeral, they read Hebrews 11:13-16 (or at least I think that is what I understood from my broken Creole)

 All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.

 ¹⁴For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own.

 ¹⁵And indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return.

 ¹⁶But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.

This verse has made me think. It perfectly sums up a feeling that Kristin and I have been feeling. We have certain friends here, that when we hang out with them, we completely forget they are Haitian. Yet, at the same time, we don’t think they are American either. We have realized it is our friends and family here who are walking with the Lord. They don’t emanate one country or another, because they are not of this earth, but that they desire a better country, a heavenly one. It is the same way with the weddings and the funeral. So, there may be a couple of marked differences, yet, they both signify love, and death.  (mind you, they were Christian weddings and funeral, I have been told that non-Christian weddings and funerals are different)

Lets see… what other highlights have there been over the last couple of weeks?

Kristin and I began our English classes. So far they are going great. We absolutely love teaching. We have 4 adult classes a week and 2 preschool classes a week. It is a lot more prep work than we expected, but so worth it.  We are still sanding and painting houses.

My skin has been taking a beating. The first week we were here, I had a lovely sun rash that covered my chest, face and arms and was itchy as all get out. This week I got a wonderful burn on my leg from an exhaust pipe on a motorcycle, it is quite ugly and huge even though it doesn’t hurt that bad. And today I realized I have ringworm on my face again. Super attractive, I know. Oh! And,  have you ever had ants in your pants? I have, tonight, and I didn’t realize it till we were at church and I was trying to very discreetly squish the ants that found their way into my leggings. I knew we had an ant problem in our room, but I hadn’t realized they had found my clothes drawer. Praise the Lord all of our problems are limited to skin irritations

Ooh! The rain, I forgot to tell you about the rain. Last year when I was here at this time, I was 7 hours north. I didn’t rain once, so naturally I was expecting a nice, dry Haitian Spring. I couldn’t have been more wrong. It probably rains every other day here. Sometimes it is just a little sprinkley rain, and sometimes it is so hard, that you immediately are drenched the instant you step out into it. I love these rains; in them I feel God’s glory and power, his cleansing and his thundering voice. There is however, a slight problem with rain this hard when you take a motorcycle everywhere; you can’t take a Moto anywhere in rain such as this. Kristin and I walk the mile from our hotel to the church a few times a day, no problem but at night, we have our friend drive us home because it is just not wise or safe for 2 girls to be walking in the dark. A couple of nights ago after church the rain started to sprinkle as we were finishing up dinner. Right as our friend arrived to take us home, it began to downpour more than I’ve ever experienced before. There was no hope of the rain letting up, so we started out on foot back to our hotel, our friend walking with us for safety. Fortunately, he is as good –natured and crazy as Kristin and I are, for we had the most glorious mile long trek back to our house. We sang and danced and shouted to Jesus in the rain, singing in Creole and English for all in Heaven and on earth to hear. I don’t think I’ve ever had quite so much fun in my life. I love God’s unexpected dates, which you could never plan, or scheme up, but that He has prepared for you, if only you will take the time to enjoy them with Him.

I challenge you… take the unexpected God moments in life, and enjoy them with Him this week.

Be blessed!