Tonight

I was sitting in my porch corner typing an update for you when my computer went dead.  There is no plug here where I am and I can't get WiFi where there is a plug.  I will charge the laptop overnight and will update in the morning as we are having a late start. (The truck isn't pulling out until 9:30.) I just wanted to "check in" that we are ok and that I will do a better summary of the day when I am not "thumb-typing" on my phone.

Many kids are in bed and some are journaling.  There is a small group playing soccer in the dark in the driveway with the hotel security guards.  I think I will sit here in the dark on a beautiful warm night for a little bit and listen to the wind rustle in the coconut palms and watch the kids laughing together before I go to bed.  It's such a simple thing, but it is so enjoyable.

You know, the word "enjoy" comes from the French, and literally means to be IN JOY.  Joy is such a powerful thing.  I think I forget that, sometimes. So often, I  "enjoy" things without truly taking joy in them.

To take joy from the small things is a lesson that Haiti can teach like nowhere else.  The Haitians are amazing people. Despite their hardships; despite living lives of desperation and destitution; despite a poverty so heavy that it seems like it could crush your soul; and despite surviving that day after day after day, with no end in sight, the Haitians are a joyful people; they are full of joy. .  It never fails to amaze me.  Our students feel it, too.  It has come up several times in evening reflections: Haitians are joyful. Full of joy.

Haitians find joy in the small things: a hand to hold, a lap to sit on, a game of "soccer" played with a stone from the parking lot,  a smile from a new friend.

We come to help Haiti, but, in the end, Haiti helps us:  Haiti helps us to remember where our problems belong in the grand scheme of God's plan. Haiti remind us to find God in all things and to allow Him to fill us with joy.