Easter weekend...

April 5th, 2010 2:00 p.m.

Believe it or not, Easter is celebrated in Haiti. In fact, the Haitians are more serious about this holiday than most Americans. Everyone had the entire weekend off, which means all of our construction projects came to a standstill, something we weren't quite prepared for, since Easter seemed to come upon us so suddenly this year. But it turned out for the best, as we all got a much needed rest from the constant meetings with people, running errands, and disributing food and supplies.

Sunday morning dawned bright and early, and though we didn't have a sunrise service like I am used to from my home church, our church begins very soon after the sun has risen over the tip of our mountain. I had spent the night before copying Bible verses into Creole on slips of paper and placing them inside twelve Resurrection eggs (plastic eggs containing little items and verses that tell the Easter story) that we had amazingly found inside the container...we found them just in time, too. God is so awesome. Dee used them to teach Sunday school, and the kids had lots of fun walking one at a time to the front of the class to open the eggs and read the verses inside. In the morning service we sang quite a few songs that I knew, including my favorite Easter hymn, Because He Lives. It was just as beautiful sung in another language. After church we handed candy out to all of the people...no Easter egg hunts, but they still got candy!

That afternoon a group of us drove to the beach and swam, relaxed under the shade of the coconut trees, and ate a picnic lunch on the sand. It was the first time I had been anywhere for more than two hours without Dee, Crash, or Wilckly, and I was very grateful my Creole has improved so much. However, I greatly enjoyed that time spent with the people...even in those few hours I was able to build relationships with some of them who before then I had only said "good morning" to each day. God is definitely using this time to bring me closer to the people, as well as to Himself.

Of course the weekend was over all too quickly, and this morning masons and welders are all over the property, generators are running, hammers pounding, and ground shaking all over again. Back to work it is! Praise God for the rest and calmness of the weekend, and for the time we had to meditate on His sacrifice for us. It is so true, that "because He lives, we can face tomorrow" no matter what it holds.