Happiness?

When a friend asked me to go with him and some others to Thomossique (a place which I had never heard of) I was at first a little leery of going because I didn't know what I was getting into. After a little prodding, and maybe even some pushing, I decided to go because it is not too often you can travel such a far distance, leaving your family behind. In my case, with Mindy gone, I really had no excuse to not go. And my friend promised that the road was a lot better than it was five years ago. It was mostly paved now. Five years ago it took almost 14 hours to get there, now it only took six hours.  I decided it was now or never; I might not receive this opportunity again so I may as well take it.

I was told to arrive at his house at 5:30 Saturday morning so we could begin the adventure. I didn't know what to expect or what we would see. Off we went, and on the way we picked up one lady and another two pastors. The trip had begun! For the first four and a half hours the ride was great. The road was paved, the scenery was beautiful, the mountains were fun to climb, the view was amazing, and I saw things that I have never seen before. We arrived in Mirebalais,  stopping for a quick breakfast of spaghetti and hot dogs with ketchup and hot sauce. Yummy! We carried on and the scenery was still amazing, along with the ride. Then we hit the city of Hinche. We turned right on road number 308 and that's when I saw the last of the pavement for the next 24 hours or so. There were lots of bumps, lots of spots where I thought, "there is no way you are getting through this Zach!" We drove through stream after stream...up and down the mountains we went. As we drove I got to see more of God's creation; green vegetation, cliffs, rivers, birds and different kinds of animals. After about an hour and 15 minutes we arrived in Thomossique.

We stayed there for the next 26 hours. This town in the middle of nowhere is about 20 kilometers or a 45 minute drive to the Dominican border.  My friend and his entourage had meetings all Saturday afternoon so I was on my own- ready to explore, ready to read, and ready to relax! It had been awhile since I had been out of Port au Prince and I was excited to have time to just hang out.

First I walked for an hour and half. I saw so much- a type of house I had never seen before, field after field where people were working hard, many different kinds of people. I walked and I walked and as I walked I was attentive to my surroundings. I became aware of a town with no electricity, no running water, no indoor plumbing, no indoor bathrooms, many mud huts, and a well by the church where people gather, not only to get water, but to catch up with on the happenings in each others lives. As I walked and as I sat watching the people I wondered how they could be happy? Here I was thinking, "How am I going to survive a night without electricity, running water, indoor plumbing, and a fan to keep me cool at night, among other things?" They are missing out on all that; they do not have it like we have it.

On Sunday I was bbming with a friend of mine in Canada (yes there are cell towers there) and we ended up talking about noticing the happiness right in front of us. And then I looked at the people I was staying with, all the people around me, and I noticed that they were in fact happy. Not only happy but content with what they had. They know about electricity, they know about indoor plumping, they know about all the perks that they 'could' have but don't. They are satisfied with what God has given them.  This threw me back a little bit. How much do I take for granted? How much do I expect of things to be there? I was quickly humbled, yet again, when just before we left the hosts gave us going away gifts. They did not have much but offered us food to take back to our families in Port au Prince. We graciously accepted the gifts.

Looking back on this weekend, I am thankful for the trip and the good reminder that I should be content with what God has given me. My eyes need to be opened to appreciate all that I have! God has greatly blessed me and for that I am thankful. I pray that I may be reminded of this more often then not and to turn to God with a grateful heart.   Philippians 4: 10 -13!

'Great is thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided-
Great is thy faithfulness, LORD unto me.'