It's been so long since I have written! Not to make excuses... I love to stay in touch...but in Bondeau, Haiti, I can't get Internet, and am without electric power most of the time. Today I am not complaining! Without all the distractions of Internet and the simplicity of life without electricity, I am able to find joy in the more simple things in life. No need here for an alarm to wake up. The chickens awaken me at day break with the rooster's "call to prayer". Everybody up! Soon the hens begin their song, clucking in harmony. The sound of chickens early in the morning is so sweet! I believe (or imagine) that they are singing praise to God for another day. The donkey across the way joins in with his honky snort, honky snort. And then a goat, sounding very much like a human baby, cries out. Two month old puppies yap yap for their place in the animals' worship. From my bed with eyes closed, I join in their morning prayer, taking in the peace of the moment. In a few minutes I hear a tap tap tap on my door and I'll soon be greeted with, "Bonjou, Anita" and hugs and kisses to begin my day. Fourteen hugs from fourteen beautiful children! It just doesn't get any better than that!
Kids off to school, I retreat to my favorite place, the second floor veranda overlooking the sea in one direction and the mountain in the other direction. I go there to pray Morning Prayer but instead, I watch the hawks floating on wind currents, looking for breakfast. How do they do that? They hardly move their wings. A song bird flitters by and lands in the tree, singing a clear melody. All for me? A butterfly appears, seemingly from nowhere. "Just passing by," she seems to say. A tiny lizard scurries up the wall, blending yellow with the wall, so to hide from predators. Are you the same little lizard that lives behind the tile in my bathroom?
Peace envelops me. It's God's gift to me this morning. And I can put behind inconveniences like not having Internet and not having electricity, and of course, no running water! All quite challenging to live with...or live without. But I know that God is here, with me, struggling right along with me...and I'm at peace.
