Friends

For 5 beautiful days, we welcomed our friends from the NW coast to Haiti. Patrick and I are lucky lucky people to have such family and friends to call our own. Paul and Jenn--long supporters of our decision to come to Haiti and of our work here, flew down to visit and to add their hands and talents to the efforts.

Paul lead a seminar series in the Seminary about the parables of Jesus. He tuffed it through 3 hot days sweating in front of the class of 50+ seminarians and pastors, lecturing through an interpretter, and fielding such tangential questions such as, "is it a sin to have more than one wife?"

Jenn hung with me entertaining her new biggest fan, Solomon... reading "Mr Brown can Moo, can you?" and rocking him to sleep. She helped in the school with the feeding program, watched the chaos of a school-based clinic with adolescents hanging around hoping to find another diversion to keep themselves out of class. Our few days together flew by in a swirl of moments of shared experiences and conversation.

Patrick loved having Paul here especially. Paul has always been someone Patrick has admired for his theology, his humility, and his spirituality. It was fun for Patrick to sit at the end of the day and chat with Paul about his impression of the seminary, sharing observations and the funny questions that came up.

I especially loved having Jenn here for girl talk, sharing impressions of the sights and sounds of Haiti and watching her nurture and love on little Solomon. In a country where I'm seriously lacking girlfriends, I reveled in a little time with one of my longest friends. She rocked the infants in the orphange when we went to visit, and wresteled with the emotions that this country, the people and the struggle they endure bring on.

In a country where we often feel like strangers in a strange land, it is an absolute gift to be in communion with friends that share culture, history, theology, and love of adventure. Saying goodbye to such friends is never an easy task, but as I pulled away from the curb after giving our Jenn and Paul big hugs goodbye, I trusted that we'll see them here again because Haiti does that to you. It shocks you, it challenges you, it endears itself to you and leaves you with more questions that need resolved. We experience the same despite the fact we wake up here every morning. Or maybe they'll just come back to see how much Solomon has grown. :)