Mission Trip to Haiti. Lesson on Abundance and Gratitude

This was the pantry

We had the most fabulous juice at every meal.... hand produced!

This was the stove

This lady can cook!  Everything that came out of her kitchen was delicious!

Soup with dumplings, and rice and beans

 In June of 2013, I had the privilege of traveling to Charrier, Haiti to participate in a medical mission trip.  This village is about a 3 hour ride from Port Au Prince, up many mountain roads, and was pretty remote.  There is no such thing as electricity out there.  We were fortunate that the mission compound included a western style toilet.  It was very hot and humid, but we bathed in water that was piped down off of the mountains, and it was so cold it made you gasp when it hit you, even though it was so refreshing.

There is nothing like visiting a 3rd world country to show you how much we have in America.   We had two meals prepared for us each day... one more than is typically served in a Haitian home.   Each night, after we ate, our leftover were scraped from our plate and divided up between those village children who had not had a meal yet that day.  It was heart wrenching.  When I came home, I made a pot of Pennsylvania Dutch Pot Pie, and literally stood  sobbing with tears streaming down my face because I had eggs to put in my pot pie... it was that easy, I could just open my refrigerator, and there they were.

How blessed I am to be able to choose to spend less on food each week.  What privilege life I lead.

Do you feel blessed and privileged?  Tell me why!  Post your comment below!

This was our first mornings breakfast.  A hot soup that seemed to have some sort of pumpkin or winter type squash  as a base, along with a vegetable that was something like a potato.  I am not sure what it was, but I enjoyed it.  The bread was very dense, and served at every breakfast.  A woman would walk up the road with a box of bread on her head, selling it. . 

One of our dinners.  I believe it was stewed goat.  I'm not sure.  It was tasty. Fried plantains were on the side. 

This was our going away feast.  The doughnut on top was not very sweet, but lightly flavored with anise, and very dense.  It was yummy, but next time I am taking stuff to make glaze!  Rice and beans were served every other night... it is a Haitian staple.  The black stuff is meat cooked in a highly seasoned broth. Tasty but hot and spicy.  Much of the stuff I ate, I had no idea what it was.  

Some of the children drew in my journal for me... at my request. 

The children of the village were an absolute delight.  I was very sick with a respiratory infection, and spent a lot of time in bed.  They sung their hearts out every evening, and it kept me entertained!

6 Those who worship the Lord on a special day do it to honor him. Those who eat any kind of food do so to honor the Lord, since they give thanks to God before eating. And those who refuse to eat certain foods also want to please the Lord and give thanks to God.  Romans 14:6 NLT