Pestel

October 2000 was the first time I visited Haiti. On that trip we took a fourteen hour boat ride to a small sea port town called Pestel. Pestel and the surrounding area quickly became my favorite place in Haiti. Everything about the zone is beautiful - mountains with deep green palm trees and the ocean is more the color of turquoise than blue. It is a place that men still work the red earth with hand tools and push a plow behind a single mule or cow. Families still sit on the porch, sheets tend to blow in door ways during the day, grass less yards are swept clean each morning and naked children push bike tire rims down the road for fun, while others stand at the gate in the yard watching to see if anyone should come along.

It has been four years since my last visit. I have always wanted my family to see Pestel but honestly I never thought they would. I believe that when it comes to the desires of our hearts, God is quick to take note of these things and waits for the day He can fit it all together to make them happen just for us.

On Wednesday, as we sat and had dinner with two families here to finish up adoptions, Jori, who was adopted from here and has returned to do English camp started talking about seeing her family in Pestel. She had my attention! With very little effort, a quick conversation with John and we had a plan in place. We would leave for Pestel on Friday to look for Jori's bio family. In our prayer time on Thursday before the woman's program we prayed for divine appointments for the adoptive families waiting here in Haiti, including Jori.

Finally, I would go back to Pestel, but this time I would take my whole family. We packed as if we planned to go camping for a few days, took Alex to help with directions and language. We made our way across Haiti, it would take us about twelve
hours to get to Pestel. The first half of our trip was smooth and on good roads, the second half was what you would call a creek bed on the edge of the mountain.

When we arrived we put out feelers and the next day we had word that Jori's family had been found and would come to Pestel to meet her. It would take several hours for them to walk, we would wait. I was working on getting some information to help another family with a new adoption, so we would be busy. It was past noon when they got to Pestel. We had accomplished what we had set out to do. Divine appointment kept! The rest is Jori's story, maybe she will write it for me so I can share it with you.

For us, it was good to go and see the parts of Haiti that I fell in love with and remind myself how much I love these things. It was good to spend the weekend on an adventure with my family. As we drove home today I was thinking that sometimes it feels like we have gotten our feet knocked out from under us with all that we have been doing and learning just to live here. Getting away for these few days allowed me to focus on the fact that it is good to know that when you have your feet knocked out from under you and you get back up, you find yourself standing on something that you love. Divine appointment kept!