Seven Days on the Mountain

Dear friends,


I must apologize for the latency of this blog. I have been in Haiti for a week and have not been able to find a time and place to gain internet access and get this message out.

I love Haiti. I see the faces of each person while I walk in the market full of people. I see their inherent value and feel a renewed call in my life… I cannot explain to you how powerful it feels to be here and experience this connection to the call in my life. Though there is much in Port-au-Prince that lacks the ease and normalcy we experience in our North American/European lives, none the less, there is a connection to the hard realities of life. I forgot how easy it is to greatly impact someone for the better here.

As we were descending the mountain this morning and passed through a very large outdoor market, there was literally a "sea of people." I noticed middle school aged children standing in the midst of the crown, by the thoroughfare—you can't imagine how crowded and loud it was—and there they were, three young girls about 11 or 12 years old. They were standing behind small baskets of potatoes and yams, looking for an opportunity to sell something to ease the problems of the day. Two young men further down the route, at the far end of the market, also stood in the crowd holding up their wares. Their presence was lost in this jumble of food, trash, people and noise.

I see these faces and can't help but want to take them in, care for them, raise them up to be people who are well loved, educated, and useful to their families, neighbors and country. This is in the very fabric of my heart. I think it is my calling in life no matter where I am. My life—as the Good Book says—is a vapor. I might as well as use it to lead my own family in the way of mercy. This will do more for them than the best schools in the wealthiest communities in the world. Character and obedience to truth and love… this is what is important in life. I am so humbled that my wife answered the call to come to Haiti. We were derailed from our plan for North Africa, but it makes sense to me now.

Lonne Morse and Tyler Newman love the people here. I think they are having the time of their lives. They are working hard repairing houses (they are doing that right now while I write this) and caring for the people here. They are a breath of fresh air to many traumatized Haitians after the earthquake. Tyler plays with everyone constantly. He is a natural born missionary… the woman who cares for us at our guest house calls herself Tyler's Haitian momma… He likes it. Lonne is a touchy feely guy who lavishes hugs and love to everyone he sees. Everyone loves him here. He cares, and it shows. We have conversed much about his feelings for the people of this country. He gives and gives and smiles when he has to suffer in any way. He is a man you want with you on one of these sojourns.

There is more to tell than you may want to read, so I say… Thank you for your prayer – I could feel it last night as I walked alone in the dark up the mountain after a full day in the city.


In His hands,


Shane, for Lonne and Tyler.