Meeting God

I’ve been back from Jacmel a little over a month now and my experience there is still very vivid in my mind and heart.  It is a place I will never forget and I cannot wait to return.  Since I’ve been back I’ve told countless numbers of friends and family about my trip and they only seem to ask about what I consider to be insignificant parts of the trip; my personal safety and concerns about what people do and don’t have.  Even in sharing my photos about the trip it didn’t seem like people were getting the gist of what I wanted them know about my trip and exactly what I experienced.  As I was looking back through my photos I realized that they were, obviously, from my view point but represented different encounters with God.  Some were pictures of kids, goats, cows, people, etc. and each is like a hug or a reminder from God that He is always present and in many forms.  While in Jacmel I’ve never felt safer and surrounded by people with such abundance.  The abundance of God, love and community was overwhelming.  The moment we landed in Port-au-Prince and I looked out at the mountains I knew I was surrounded by God.  Riding to Jacmel, I knew I was surrounded by God.  I saw God in everything in Jacmel.

As time goes on I've been trying to figure out how to describe the experience to others in a way to make them not focus on "lack" but the spirit of God that is present there.  It's hard to explain an encounter with God and resting in His arms daily.  Ephesians 3:18-19 was my experience in Haiti, it happened but it is difficult to put into words.  It's all of the feelings, the hugs, the words, the smiles, the kids calling out your name, the sounds and everything I saw...all of which I've found simply unexplainable. It's hard to explain Jean-Mary singing at the work site on a hot day to someone that wasn't there or the kids that show up at the work site to help without being asked. I came to Jacmel hoping to make a difference in someone’s life and I suppose searching for something and what I found was that God was searching for me and He had to bring me to Jacmel to whisper in my ear and even use a child to remind me of His love for me and how He is constantly chasing after me even when I don’t always make myself available.  I could attempt to come up with a detailed account of my trip to Jacmel but this sums it up:

...to grasp how wide and how long and how high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. ~ Ephesians 3:18-19~

This was Jacmel.  I look forward to meeting God again.

And the presence of God which transcends ALL understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  ~Philippians 4:7~

For more information about how you can serve this amazing community, visit:

Restore Haiti