Every day is an adventure. While this is true in every culture, Haiti has a certain way of embracing this virtue that is incredibly overwhelming at times. This week we spent more time at Orphanage #7, teaching the kids how to speak conversational English and the ABCs. We also play games, teach them Bible stories and hold them. Melt my heart. There is one beautiful little girl in particular, whom Ryan and I are especially fond of- Jocelyn. She is all girl and a clear picture of the Haiti “fighter” mentality- she does not give up!
After our week, we were informed that our Sunday would be jam packed with events. Our friend, Abel, from the Port Au Prince tent city, was sponsored to come to Montrious via public transportation to get baptized, along with several other church members from the tent city.
Baptism is a huge thing here in Haiti! We started at the church, with church service and then a great Haitian meal. After that, we were transformed to downtown New Orleans (or so it seemed) as a band of horns paraded with us down the street. We walked all the way to the sea, perfectly hidden behind a banana farm. The baptism was nothing short of picturesque, from the old boats and adorable Haitian children to the wonderful fact of new people being brought into the family of Jesus. It was particularly amazing that these people, who are told by the local church that they must dress up and cut off their dred locks to be Christians, were able to come as they were. It was really beautiful. (all photo credit to Sam Roy)

After the baptism, there was more fun! Apparently, two of the couples who came (our friend Abel included) decided they wanted to get married. For the rest of the afternoon, we scrambled to find white items for our friends to wear. Our friend and tem member, Jon, is an ordained pastor, so he was able to perform both ceremonies. Our leader, Jason served as best man and our friend, Asha, was the maid of honor. Eunjee Kim, another team member, and I sang as the two newly married couples danced the night away. It was…a day to remember!