By Sara Dessieux
Our family returned to Oregon for the summer about two weeks ago, but before we left Haiti we were able to take part in some very joyous events. Laura Nott, my youngest sister, has been working for Project Living Hope as administrative assistant for over three years now and she has lived in Haiti for most of that time. She’s become a key player in almost all of PLH’s activities and a beloved member of the community there in Haiti. Last winter, she got engaged to a wonderful man she’s been dating for longer than she’s been with PLH. During our last week in Haiti, their wedding day arrived.
One week before the wedding, Laura and I excitedly picked up nine family members and one friend who flew in for the wedding. It was so fun to have our parents and all five of us kids in one van again.
We packed a lot into our week together--swimming in a pool, snorkeling in the sea, playing games, a hike, making a wedding cake, hanging gutters on the PLH buildings, visiting Laura’s English classes, lots of meals with new acquaintances, and various wedding preparations.
One highlight early in the week was an evening worship service we held at PLH. In the weeks prior, Laura and I and eight other musicians had selected and rehearsed songs in both Creole and English. Around 100 people attended the event, and we had a lovely mix of English speakers and Creole speakers, Haitians and Americans. Our dad, Nick, gave a brief message on how we are all called to be holy and how we can go about doing that in our daily lives.
We certainly hope to hold more services like this in the future and also want to acquire more sound equipment and instruments. While PLH never intends to start a church in Camp Marie, seeing as the village already has several, we still want to always be directing people toward Christ and demonstrating that worshiping and serving God is fundamental for our organization.
Photos from Laura and Wahi’s wedding show an idyllic Caribbean wedding by sea. And while those of us organizing things knew of all the hiccups along the way, those in attendance thought it was all lovely. And it was. Around 150 people were in attendance and a Haitian feast was prepared for them all. Everyone made it safely back home and the bride and groom enjoyed a honeymoon at a local resort before moving into our house in Camp Marie for the summer.
The state of affairs in Haiti currently is still not good. Lawless, and at times violent, gangs have everyone concerned as do the political and economic situations. We praise God for bringing us through our time there safely and we continue to pray daily for those still there.