Farewell Sunday

We attened Sunday service this morning. Once more we were introduced in front of the congregation. Emmy Sherman, one of our young missionaries from Lakewood, Ohio, gave her testimony in church. Emmy was adopted as a small child from Chile. She could easily relate to the orphans here. Had she not been adopted by wonderful Christian parents to live in America her plight may have have been similar to what we are witnessing here. She expressed her love of Jesus and gratefulness to God to have been so blessed.
After church we distrubuted shoes to the children that had attended. We presorted the shoes and the chilren were escorted up to the choir loft 5-10 at a time. If they were wearing "church shoes" we gave them sandals or sneakers. If they did not have church shoes we tried to find a pair to fit. For the most part the kids were happy. Hatian children do not often have a pair of shoes that fit them. Most kids are lucky to have any shoes at all. Once some of the children received a pair of shoes, they ran out of the church to tell the neighborhood. Parents tried to get involved as they wanted some for themselves or for other children in the family. By the time we finished there was a church yard full of people asking for shoes. We escaped through the back door and up the stairs to avoid a minor riot! The ordeal was successful by Hatian standards. There are still shoes left for the leadership of the Church to distribute at a later date.
One last trip to the boys orphanage was emotionally difficult for our young missionaries. All through the week the kids have bonded. The little boys so enjoyed all the games, attention and huggs from our young adults. The children were known by name and personalities. They will be long remembered and prayed for. Our prayer for them is they are adopted out to great Christian families. Since we live in the same compound with the girls the separation has not yet taken place as I write this. That sadness will come later tonight.
One last church service tonight will close the chapter of the Ohio Youth trip. We all return home blessed to have had this experienced. We are grateful for all we have in our beautiful homes in America. We will all try harder to give more and complain less. We will try with the grace of God to spread His love and the word of salvation. If there is anything that we have learned here in Haiti is that this culture that has so little will share whatever they have with others. They look to their belief in Jesus Christ as the focus in their lives. They come to church willingly and with great joy. Every person from the youngest child to the oldest grandma sings loud and strong. They truely praise God. They taught us more than we taught them. We are all very grateful.
Tomorrow we head out at 5:30 AM and begin the long trip home. We have lots of pictures and such a big story to tell. Please be patient as we peel the layers of the onion to get to the heart of how this experienced changed us. It changed each and every one of us profoundly. We can't wait to share. See you soon!

Special thanks to Lynn Scheerhorn for all her hard work in making this trip safe and enjoyable for all. Thanks to Nora Leone and family for her spiritual guidance and direction while we were here. Thanks to the Isadore family for sharing their home and supporting us with generousity and hospitality. Thanks to all the guides and interpreters for their patience and willingness to serve. Thanks be to God for keeping us safe and blessing this extrtaordinary experience. Thanks to all who have kept tract of us through this blog and have prayed for us.