Friday, June 19, 2009

The UBC construction team arrived back from Ti Goave this afternoon after three challenging, yet thoroughly blessed days. Joey, Felix and myself joined two other church teams from Arkansas and Iowa. The entire team was made up of 17 high testosterone men of God ranging from mid teens to the mid 60's. Our task was to build a house for a young widow and her four children in the span of three days. The magnitude of the task challenged us, but we knew we would accomplish our projected goal, to complete all the walls of the two room house. By the end of the morning today we were able to complete not just the walls, but also the frame for the roof. Joey revealed himself as a master blocklayer, with bragging rights for having erected one of the walls nearly by himself. Felix and myself contributed at various levels of skills, ranging from basic gofer tasks to semi-skilled carpenter hands. As we travelled back and reflected on the three days spent in the Ti Goave community, we rejoiced in being reminded of how blessed it is to be part of God's family. We marveled at how a group of men from different parts of the country were able to come together and work well for a common purpose to fulfill God's call. Our Haitian counterparts taught us many lessons on local practices, building techniques, and stewardship of limited resources. Our group of 17 was joined daily by a host of visitors from the community who came to support and assist us in our endeavor. We were hosted by Pastor Brucely and his family. They were the most gracious hosts, measuring no efforts to accommodate our every need. While surrounded by needs everywhere, we experienced the love of God reflected back toward us through acts of hospitality which went beyond our expectations. Of note were the bountiful meals served to us from their garden and back yard. We enjoyed goat and chicken, eggs and fruit picked and raised just a few yards from the house. Of the many lessons we learned in Ti Goave, an important one was that no matter how different we think we are, we are truly more alike than not, and the love of God help us to bridge the many gaps that we often create between ourselves and Friothers. We come home with greater awareness of God's love for all his children. We come home with touched and changed hearts. We also come home with questions about what else God may have in store for us in Haiti. Please pray with us so we together will learn to ask the right questions and be able to be part of the answers. Grace and peace!

Renato Santos