Tranquility

At least for the first 6 weeks after we moved to Haiti in June we did not see anything outside of Port-au-Prince. In all honesty we hardly set foot outside of the hospital compound (and still don't often get out much) because there is so much to keep us busy right where we are at. I was beginning to wonder if there was any beauty left in Haiti until we were able to take our first big venture out of the city to Wahoo Bay. A friend of ours, Phil Hudson from CURE, had credit at a hotel a couple hours away and kindly offered to let us stay there. It was life-saving! We hadn't had a break in 6 weeks, literally working through most weekends and for the most part puting in over 12 hour days. No, we weren't doing surgeries, but there is always something going on that needs to be taken care of and it had certainly started to take its toll on us.

It was amazing, as soon as we were in the car away from people and questions I started to be able to relax just a little. Then as we started driving through the city farther away from the hospital seeing new parts of the city, I relaxed a little more. As we passed through the city and the countryside opened up I suddenly felt like I could finally breath normal again. It was as if I had been holding my breath for the last few weeks and was finally able to let it all out and take in a full invigorating breath. The open space, untainted land, and quiet countryside was so inviting. We were driving into a dream that just kept getting better.

When we arrived at the hotel I was spellbound by the beauty of the countryside and ocean. I finally was able to see for myself that there is plenty of Beauty left in Haiti. In a span of about 3 hours after arriving at Wahoo Bay we had taken a nap, eaten some fries, and splashed around in the crystal clear water and were totally relaxed. Those moments were absolutely priceless. Not that we would have wanted to leave after only 3 hours, but we realized that if that had been all the time that we were able to spend, it would have been worth the drive.

It just seemed so unreal. Plus God had a special surprise for us. After the evening rain and the beautiful sunset that it caused, we enjoyed the stillness as the sun disapeared over the ocean. Once it had turned dark and we were getting  about ready to leave we saw something shining in the water...then we saw more and more. They were bioluminescent jellyfish that were coming into this rocky area near the shore. There were dozens of them and it was fascinating to watch them move. It was so fun to experience that the next evening we made it a point to go out at the same time and see if they would come out again. And they did at exactly the same time. They were very punctual jellyfish. I have never seen anything like that so I felt very blessed to experience it.

Our time there was short but wonderful. Having the time to step back and get away always helps to refocus and bring life back into perspective again.

-Amy-