Day 2

Today in Carrefour Haiti, the Hearts United With Haiti group started with a devotion based on service.  Mathew 23:11 reads "The greatest among you will be your servant.  All the members of the group were asked how they could see God serving through others today.  Today I'm going to share you my story from today's experiences.  After the devotions we were given the option of serving through prayer walks through the street or playing a pick-up game of soccer with the locals.  Half the group, all the guys and a few girls, chose to  follow Redgi, James, and Billy, three translators, to find a group of Haitians to play soccer with.  After wandering around a bit we met a friend of ours, our neighbor Damus.  He then took us up the road a little ways.  We walked along a mountain where we could see many young Haitians running up and down while others carried things such as water.  There was a Haitian man who spoke English.  He said he would get a team together and play against us.  We crossed a few streams and came to a soccer field.  The field was completely covered in white stone with two rectangular frames at either end for goals.  There were palm trees on the side and a gorgeous mountain view behind us.  Soon locals came running to watch. We soon had a crowd that easily out numbered the fans I'm used to seeing at my school soccer and hockey games. The teams would be the Americans versus the Haitians.  Many of us were scared that we would get whooped but others were up for the challenge.  The game started slow due to the fact that we needed to get used to the difficult playing field but soon the scoring started.  After many scoring chances from Matt and some great saves by Billy, we finally got the first goal.  Caleb played the ball up to Matt along their end line.  Matt turned and played it back across to Tim, who was standing in the middle, so that he could easily kick it into the corner of the goal.  Sadly this shocking lead didn't last long.  Right before the half the Haitians came back.  Their star player played a cross in the air to a waiting teammate, who then volleyed it into the goal.  The fans went wild and it was easy to see who they were cheering for.  After that we took a break.  Many of us struggled from sliding on the stones, and the scorching sun while the Haitians seemed to be just getting started.  We then shared in interesting conversations with the spectators and players.  They asked us through our translators and some of the few Haitians that spoke English about what america is like.  We were then ready to start playing again.  The Haitians dominated from then on.  They played with possession, and seemed to never lose the ball.  The weren't letting up on us.  From pushing right up against us corner kicks, to making slide tackles, we could tell they wanted to win.  The Haitians then put three more goals on the score board before calling it quits. Once again, we enjoyed conversation with the Haitians, before saying goodbye. Many of them asked us when we were going to come back to play with them again. We walked back to the base to eat lunch, and prepare for VBS later today. We are excited to spend more time at the orphanage! It looks like there may be a storm coming our way, so we might get a break from the heat and see some rain.

-Jesse Enck