We are back in Haiti!! For me, Richard, and Aaron it was a homecoming today, to see Pastor Jean Claude, Jean O’Neal and all the other church volunteers and translators we worked with previously. Even now we can hear them singing about Jesus in lovely unison.

We were so happy to be able to fly directly into Port-au-Prince, instead of having a 12-hour bus ride from Dominican Republic; however, it was pretty crazy at the airport. With airport buildings damaged, a warehouse was set up as Customs and Baggage Claim. So it was just a mass of people trying to find luggage that was everywhere, but eventually we claimed all of our bags (a miracle for which we thanked God) and made our way out of the airport with John O’Neal’s help. We were deluged by Haitians who wanted to help us with our luggage; we were pushed and jostled as dozens crowded around wanting to push a cart or carry a bag in exchange for money. In the midst of all the confusion, one of our team members, Matt, had his camera stolen – he had it in a case on his belt loop, and suddenly it was gone. It was disheartening for him, as he came a long way to help the people of Haiti, and this was his introduction. But we all reminded him that lost people act lost and it is for this reason that we are here.

We met up with the rest of our team-6 people from Germany and 2 from Canada-who had arrived earlier in the afternoon. We are now God’s team, representing three countries, but ambassadors for God. It is 8:00 p.m. and we have all the tents set up, bags unpacked, had our time of prayer, orientation, and sharing. We’re all exhausted but looking forward to a wonderful week of sharing the love of Christ in a country that has started to awake from its stupor of devastation. Only Christ offers any hope and we are here to tell them the story of Jesus.

Oh yeah, for all the Hopewell blog followers – Todd wanted to know if I was talking about him in the blog, but I explained to him that he is just too deep for words. I did offer to quote him however, so here it is, “A picture is worth a thousand words, but reality will leave you speechless.” I’m not sure I understand how that relates to him, but maybe his friends and family will understand :)

Thank you to all our supporters for being a part of our team. We love you!

Richard and Brenda and the Helping Hands team in Haiti.