Abundance

After the earthquake most of the supplies for the school and orphanage were destroyed.  Sherrie has been working for a long time to rebuild the resources.  Yesterday, after months of planning, packing, and waiting, the shipping container that has been sitting in port since early spring finally started to arrive!  There were many hands willing to help as large trucks arrived with the first supplies from the large container.  Furniture, electronics, building supplies, playground equipment, books, clothing, shoes, and numerous other supplies were crammed into the container, and yesterday the students finally were able to see all the resources they had been waiting for.

After the boxes were unloaded to different classrooms and offices, we all settled in to unpacking things.  Sherrie put Bernaldo, a very talented young student who loves to read, in charge of the library.  We sorted through books until it was too dark to see, the power stayed on until about 5:00 which was a blessing!  I loved watching the students dig through hundreds of books, taking turns stopping when one would catch their attention and reading for a few minutes.  In Haiti the public libraries are for paying customers only, so most of the students and teachers at the Christian Light Mission have never been into a real library before. Bernaldo especially would get excited when he would spot a text by a familiar author or a topic of interest.  Sherrie said, and I agree, that they will have the best library in all of Port Au Prince when we are done.  Above is a picture of Bernaldo digging into a book of interest during our sorting yesterday.

All of the children, even the very youngest were helping.  Above is a picture of Acange and Woobens trying to walk into the office.  With all of these supplies it is good that there are so many helping hands.  These are the times when it is helpful to have 36 children in your family!  With big smiles on their faces the children helped lift and sort through countless supplies.  The fun will continue today as there are still more truck loads to arrive and more supplies to be put to use.  After a long wait it is exciting to be here to witness these children experience a glimpse of the abundance that God desires for them.  They continue with their thankful spirits and with each cheer at a new pair of shoes or a microscope I am reminded of the God who promises to provide exceedingly, abundantly, beyond all that we could ask or imagine.  More lessons to think about and take to heart... this is a great place for pushing my ideas of what is possible and challenging my limited view of God's grace. Thank you again for sharing in this journey with me!  In Christ, Jessie