A familiar quote from Mother Theresa is “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.” I’m finding that my job description as a volunteer missionary requires an infinite number of small things each day, which I accomplish with some love and, more often than not, some reluctance. But the moments I remember to invite God into, those moments are done with great love because they are carried by a love much bigger than I have to offer.

This past week has been fairly routine, full of small opportunities to love greatly. I’ve been on lots of visits to elders’ homes with teams of volunteers from the US. I’ve played almost every song in my book of printed out choruses during those visits. I’ve chased translators down to try and get simple answers. I’ve sat in meetings and sent out emails. I’ve washed my laundry and gotten just a little more confident starting basic conversations in Creole. The mundane and repetitive and holy work of living.

I’ve been trying to get creative in my interactions with elders who know no English at all. One of the elders in our program has been living downstairs from my apartment in the clinic’s observation area for the past two weeks, as he recovers from surgery. Our conversations are limited to things like “See you later” and “Do you have pain today?”  One night I decided to pull up Creole gospel music videos on my phone for him, which he loved and now expects every time I see him. Between him and the children living here, I’m not always sure that any of them like me. But, I know they love my iPhone! 😉

As I’m trying to finish up and post this blog, the power just went out for the second time today. Pray for us here. Life in Haiti is a wonderful, albeit inconvenient at times, adventure!