Background: I'm in Haiti on a missions trip with Campus Crusade for Christ from July 12-Aug 8th.

So there's a verse that says "Don't boast about tomorrow because you don't know what the day may bring." I read that verse Saturday morning and I think God was trying to warn me. The one line from my last update stated that I wasn't emotionally overwhelmed at all--that was completely thrown upside down on Saturday. We went into Port au Prince and while we had driven out from Port au Prince on our way from the airport the day we arrived, all we saw were some of the tents from the IDP camps. But on Saturday we drove by huge buildings and homes that had completely crumbled and entire neighborhoods that were in shambles. And it broke my heart because it looked so much like it did 6 months ago. And you knew there were people probably still buried under all of that concrete. As we passed more and more buildings, I grew sadder and angrier at the ame time. Tears started to roll down my face, and it was my first time crying since being here--and I usually hate crying but I felt like I needed to cry. We were going to a Campus Crusade for Christ meeting with the Haitian students, so when we finally arrived, some of the girls prayed with me and as they prayed, I was able to really cry.
Then we went into the meeting, which like most Christian meetings, started with worship. It was really tough to sing, 'Glory to God' but then I thought about the students who live in this reality everyday, and are still singing with all their heart. And the Lord broke through to me through the lyrics of "Blessed be your name/in the land that is suffering/ though there's pain in the offering/ Blessed be your name." And I was reminded of the powerful reality of Jesus choosing to enter into our suffering Here I am to worship: "Light of the world, You stepped down into darkness/ Humbly you came to the earth you created/ All for love's sake became poor." So yeah when I left there, I was feeling allright but then they decided to drive through downtown.
I don't really know how to explain it, but the vastness of the devastation unbearable. As we passed crushed house after crushed building, I didn't want to look anymore. Every crumbled home I saw signified another family devastated. And it broke my heart that babies and children were growing up in these conditions and with this being normal...having to constantly walk around or through rubble. It was hard to drive down roads where the last time I had rode down them, there were bodies on the sides of them. But the worst part, which I can't entirely explain why, was seeing the National Palace. A lot of the other students were taking pictures of it and I couldn't at all. I couldn't even look at it. It grieved me so much because it was one of the things that all Haitians prided themselves in--even when I thought it was a bit too much, people would tell me about how they wished it was more beautiful. And to see that completely destroyed just made me weep.
It was also hard because there were fifty other students on the bus, all processing everything very differently. A lot of people were just snapping away with their cameras; some (like the two people next to me) were crying; other people were trying to lighten the mood by singing. But that was so frustrating and I finally couldn't take the singing anymore and asked them to stop. But I learned the lesson that people will deal with things in very different ways, and I can't judge people's responses as some being better than others. Once we left Port-au-Prince and returned to the camp, I could barely talk to or look at anyone, because I didn't know what to say. But I was part of the prayer team and we were in charge of leading the large group that night. And they asked me to lead prayer and share about my experience on the bus ride--I was kind of hesitant but one of the leaders, Rachel, encouraged me to because she felt that it still wasn't real for some people and could feel like a movie, so it would help them to see from my eyes. As Rachel and I prayed about our prayer time that night, I felt like the Lord told me, "I'm calling you to bridge the gap." And as we prayed, the chapter Isaiah 62, came to mind and God showed me that as hopeless as things seemed, there is real hope and Isaiah 62 is what God wants to do in Haiti. It was a powerful time of prayer where we prayed for Haiti's restoration and also for our team's unity and "bearing with one another in love." I felt so encouraged and grateful that all things are possible with Christ, even though it seems impossible in our eyes.
Prayer Requests:
I'd really appreciate it if you all would continue to pray for Haiti's restoration, our team's unity in the Holy Spirit; we're going to different IDP camps to share the Gospel and distribute food throughout these next two weeks. And more and more people are starting to not feel well, so prayers for our health. I've also felt that the level of spiritual warfare is increasing, so prayers for all of that would be really great.