But you didn’t even realize I’d gone, did you?

I returned from an 8 day mission to Haiti with Healing Haiti and KTIS radio.  Over the next few weeks I’ll be sharing my thoughts and observations on mission work, my personal experience, and what Haiti is like.

But first a little about culture shock – and thermal shock. On Monday morning we did our usual early rising/breakfast kind of morning and then headed out into the brilliant Haitian sunshine to make up some bundles for the tent city near our mission house. We loaded small bags (the size of shopping bags at your grocery) with soap, some shirts, lotions, toy cars, shampoo, and all the leftover food the mission team had brought with us to Haiti.

It was around 85 degrees Fahrenheit and I sweat out my shirt before the last bag was packed. We loaded up the goodies — well more on that later. This blog will not become a chronological “and then we went 400 meters down the road and saw a baby goat. Jesus loves baby goats…” kind of thing..

This morning, after 4 hours of sleep I woke up to my dog staring at me. She took our absence well. Both dogs, as a matter of fact. But she still wanted to go out. It was 4 degrees. Do the math.

After stopping at Mickey’s for breakfast I made a couple of quick stops. The stop at Menards told me I was back in Minnesota. I bought 750 pounds of salt. There were ice storms while I was gone and the cleanup by my minion didn’t quite meet standards. So I loaded the car (always fun sweating in the cold) and spread salt for the next hour. It’s ironic that three days ago fresh water was a blessing – not enough of it in Haiti. And Tuesday it was a curse that needed to be removed in its solid form. I’d rather carry buckets of water on my head than bags of salt. The water doesn’t eat through my blue jeans.

But the best part of the day was my visit to Izzy’s Ice Cream shop. On my second day in Haiti I got an email that the rarely produced flavor of ice cream that I love was available for a limited time (yes, they let you sign up for an email notification.) I had despaired that none would be left when I returned.

I got there an hour before they were open for business, but I pretended not to notice the hours when I saw people inside and the door was ajar. Strolling through the door I said, “Now I find out if God really loves me. Are you out of Hot Brown Sugar?  I got the email while I was overseas on a mission trip.”

The clerk, a pleasant young man, clearly wondered if the big doofus in the black coat and beard was a complete nut. But he gamely checked the cooler out front. “I’m sorry, but I’m pretty sure it was all gone by Sunday. That one goes really fast.”

I didn’t even really pout. I had figured that was the deal. And then an angel appeared. A tall blonde woman, clearly a manager, asked where I’d been. I told her we’d been on a mission in Haiti and while the ice cream vanished out the door we’d been in the slums delivering water. And then God, who probably thinks my sense of humor above was not all that funny, stepped in: “How much do you want?  We’ll make a batch for you.”

It was right out of Malachi 3:10 which the pastor preached on in Haiti on Sunday – “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.”

I had been faithful. I had gone to Haiti and loved what I did. I worked hard and felt that love of God that we all talk about. And when I joked about the love of God He did “prove me now herewith” and sent the right person at the right time to bless me with ice cream.

It sounds silly, doesn’t it? But I will have 10 containers of my favorite flavor on Friday. And they didn’t have to do it. They usually don’t do it. But they did it for me. He did it for me.

And I am humbled by that. Yes, humbled by ice cream. But it is a measure of His love.

Where do you see God in your day-to-day that others might miss Him?  Do you recognize and acknowledge His love when He blesses you? Are you even aware of the good care that He takes of you?

I will be writing a lot about Haiti in the coming weeks. I will take a break here and there to put up some other posts. And I promise no “and there was a goat 400 meters…” etc.

I hope you will take time to read the posts. Miracles happen and we were part of them. I’d appreciate it if you’d share the ones you like on Facebook and Twitter. I can use the audience – and the people you share them with might just need that blessing.

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