"You are observing special days and months and seasons and years!" Galatians 4:10
Driving through the "Nord" region of Haiti is a blur of color and smells.
Alicia Zubiri is hopeful for Haiti's residents, as she sees crops of corn, plantains, bananas, cucumbers, and other vegetables. She believes that, if they can become even moderately successful farmers, there is a bright future ahead.
Clothes are strewn on cacti to dry. These barbed plants make excellent fences around each property.
Children play in the rubble of a 3-walled house.
Several young men strike up an impromptu football (soccer) game in a nearby field.
Pink-green-yellow shops pile on top of each other.
We marvel at the incredible grace and poise of the women balancing on their heads large baskets--of laundry, yes, but also shoes, soft drinks, and even hundreds of eggs!
Goats, dogs, hens, cows, pigs, donkeys are all grazing in the fields and by the roadside.
We witness what Mary Sue called "the beauty of Haiti" as we round the corner on our way to the top of a mountain. We are treated to a beautiful view of deep blue bays and rich green forests.
The pungent smell of the burning Cassava fields hits hits us all squarely in the face. "But it tastes great!" says Sarah G.
Expansive fields with random palm trees hold snowy egrets pecking bugs off of cows' flanks.
A pair of siblings build a boat in their front yard.
Inside makeshift bus stops of bamboo sticks and linen sheets, some stone-faced men and women watch our bus bounce by.
Sharply dressed teenagers walk to school. Their crisp white uniforms are a stark contrast to their beautifully dark skin. They help each other across broken bridges suspended over deep gorges along the road.
Iron gates hold back the lush courtyards of some of the wealthier neighbors.
Four passengers to a motorcycle! as they speed past landscapes of plastic bottles, which Francie claims were knee-high just a year ago. The progress they've made is amazing to see, she says.
"They work so hard," Nancy muses to herself, looking out at the downtown swarming with bodies, motorcycles, and loud music.
And that's the point of it all: the work. The people who need God's love work hard to simply stay afloat. Our duty is to help them help themselves and look forward to a brighter future.
- Sera
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