The Mango Tree

Hi all, this is Keeli.

Wow, what an experience Haiti has been. This is my sixth mission trip out of the US and each time I'm amazed by how awesome God is.

This morning after breakfast we got to experience a 4.6 aftershock. Only a few seconds of rumbling and rocking, and the fear of being by a three story cement building has stuck with me. I can't image what fear runs through those that experienced 35 seconds and mass destruction of the first earthquake.

So with everyone's nerves on edge we started our day, half the team stayed at the orphanage to play with the kids and the others went to the construction site for the orphanage that collapsed, which is anywhere from 30-60 minutes away depending on traffic. running around foreign countries can be a great experience. Being in a developing country without a translator and no one from our in-country support team is very un-nerving for me.

Kim, Holly, John, Jen and I arrived as the workmen were finishing up their lunch (thanks to the aftershock and a flat tire we are a little behind schedule). I was not 100% comfortable being in Port-Au-Prince without someone that is part of our in-country support team, that speaks English and Creole... we don't know anything about these workers... they didn't speak English... in my mind anything could happen... and it did. One of the guys called out, "pray". We look over to him, he and all the other men were standing in a circle under a beautiful Mango tree. And again he said, "pray". We walked over to their circle and they began singing and then he prayed. The men all hugged each other, and back to work they went.
God showed me that what I was afraid of, was in turn, his gift of peace and safety. He is awesome.

Good night