Dear Reader and fellow Mission-travellers, I apologize for not keeping you, our readers and supporters, up to date on the journey on which you sent us, but it was not for lack of trying. The internet connection (3G through Natcom) was not working for reasons known only to God and the Haitian communication team. Although this entry is now almost a week late, I hope the stories and experiences will still be worth your reading and awaken your perspective of what God is doing elsewhere. I hope you don't mind, but to manage the photos better, you will see them displayed at the bottom and not scattered throughout the post. Like many things in Haiti, time is relative. This is truly one of the great adjustments we must make as American guests in their world. We anticipated leaving for John Charles (I still don't really know where that is) at 3 pm on Saturday, March 8th, after Bato returned from classes at seminary. Of course we were packed and waiting when Bato finally returned at 5:30 pm and then sat down to dinner. We left at 6 pm for a 3.5 hour drive through some rather rough terrain. Did I mention that we had to stop for gasoline, water and then again to buy rice for lunch the next day. Time is relative here and the one thing there seems to have plenty of. I found myself over and over again wondering it this was actually my problem, not theirs. But I will save that discussion for another day. We arrive in the dark at a small church, no idea what was around us, it was dark! All we knew for sure was that the pastor and a friend met our little caravan about 1 mile from the church to run along side to guide us into the church. Good thing too, because the road ended at a cliff, which marked the parking spot! As you will see from the pictures the church was simply stone, mud and sticks, but it was as sacred a space as you will find anywhere. People will come from miles to worship and to experience the Holiness of God. In cathedrals of stained glass and vaulted ceilings, there has not been a spirit of worship, love and community as you find in the simple life of the Haitian people when they gather to praise God for what they do have, not bemoan what they don't. (ouch!) Everyone on the team had an opportunity to speak to the church family here and to thank them for their hospitality. We slept on the floor of the church on a sheet, listened to the rain, heard animals crawling on the metal roof, endured snoring that would put a buzz saw to shame and survived the inevitable soreness of hips, backs and necks that come from a sleepless night. The ladies all dressed for church and we enjoyed a spiritual revival. God surely works in mysterious ways! Abbie, Jennifer, Erin and Olivia all handed out candy (Sucre) to the children after church and we enjoyed good conversation (as best as we could) and shared their vision for a new church and new property. We shared some rice and beans with a bit of chicken mixed in for their visitors and then began the next leg of our journey. It's amazing to me that even in this simple church, people come from miles around on foot for a community event that defines their lives and their reason for being. They are truly a community, the people of God, living together under the banner of God's grace which they see everywhere and in everyone. I suppose this is why we endure the night on the ground just to feast at their table of gratitude. As you look through these Pictures of John Charles Community Church, I would be interested to know what strikes you about their lives? Is it the barrenness of their church or the abundance in their lives? When you look at your own church (if you choose to go tomorrow), what strikes you about it? Is it the barrenness of your surroundings of the abundance of your worship? After leaving John Charles, but before returning to Bon Repose, we stopped in to see our friend, Denise Marie Saint Fleur. Look for my next post later today on her home and her activities since last year with her new sewing machine. [Not a valid template]