We arrived in Cap-Haitien, Haiti, and immediately started packing beans and rice into one-gallon Ziploc bags. It was nighttime and Rick Mastalka (shown with bag) and I had flown in from Denver, Colorado, where it was 17° and snowing. The February heat (day-time 85° and 65° at night) was overpowering. We sweated as we loaded the bags: 90 in all, 60 with rice and 30 with beans. The bags were prepared ahead of time to distribute when we passed someone and saw that food was their most urgent need; many times we passed out the bags.

Morning brought beautiful sunlight and along with it the movement of roosters, cows, and sheep. In other words, sleeping past daybreak was impossible. We started our day loading the truck with 110 lb. bags of rice and beans. We dropped off two rice bags and one bean bag at each of seven churches that day. One lady danced all over the street when I gave her a bag of rice. She kept shouting, "I have food! I have food!" That night back at the CBT (Center for Biblical Training) we showered in cold water and went to bed. The power (by generator) goes off at 11:00 p.m., so the fans stop and it’s really hot.

The next day the group traveled for four hours to Ranquitte, located in the mountains, where we met with the leader. Then the group departed by foot for Bas LaRiviere. Here I took the warning about lots of walking uphill and decided I must stay behind. The group’s stories of crossing rivers and climbing mountains in their five-kilometer uphill trek were fantastic. One of the guys had to have a donkey take him the last part of the way. The entire town awaited their arrival with such love. They were tired and dusty when they returned at 9:00 p.m. The cold shower felt so good.

Over the course of our six days in Haiti, we distributed 4.5 tons of food (2/3 rice; 1/3 beans) to 22 places. Church after church greeted us with a kiss, literally, and gave us such a feeling of love; we’ll always have a special fondness for them. Each time we arrived the church would be waiting for us in the heat with their very best clothes. I had made this same trip in July 2005 and even then they would be dressed in their very best in 125° heat. They were always so eager to see us and made us feel like royalty with their welcoming songs and open-hearted greetings. At some locations there were children with no clothes. I noticed one boy wearing a dress without underwear. They have a hard life, but a simple one without electricity, running water, phones -- just survival.

On the last day World Radio Speaker Lucner Pierre, who had taken such good care of us, took us on a brief tour of the Citadel built by the French located atop a mountain. We rode horses to the top and back. Then he brought us down again to reality when he took us to the church I had heard about but never had visited, Avaisyon -- the garbage church. Here the ocean water was covered with trash until it formed a landfill. Now it has become a community where people live, work, eat, sleep, and die on a daily basis. Yes, what you see is trash, sewage, and more trash. That’s all they have to live on. Once again we were greeted like kings. The church was started there and is growing. They sang to us in Creole and prayed with us. I felt so much compassion for the people in this place. There is no measure to what I would like to do for them, but it would take many thousands of dollars to do something for that church alone. I will not forget this location.

I thank God every time I’m fortunate enough to be with the Haitian people. They bless my life when I see how much joy they have in the midst of so much poverty.