Two weeks in Minnesota summer may have made me soft… it is HOT in Haiti! After spending some time with family and friends and attending our annual summer tradition of family camp, I am back in Haiti, back among my other set of family and friends, happy to be here, sad to not be there.

One of the last things I did in Haiti the morning before leaving for my Minnesota trip was to go visit one of our elders who we thought was in her last hours of life. Vertilia’s daughter, looking exhausted and uncomfortable, held her in her lap, propped up on a thin mattress on the concrete floor. Every visit for months has seemed like the last. Her breathing was shallow, her body was stiff, and I hadn’t seen her awake in weeks.

She passed away last night. So my first visit this morning was to the same family, this time without their dear Vertilia. I was mostly along for the ride, accompanying Vania, the woman who keeps our eldercare program running every day. She talked to the grown ups. I played with the kids. There was a mix of sadness and relief to all of it. I anticipate a day in the future when I get to really visit with Vertilia, in heaven, when we aren’t encumbered by age, poverty, confusion, and language.

My day started out heavy, but I also had wonderful moments of reconnecting with some of the elders and many of my coworkers. I didn’t realize how much I have missed the kids who live here at Grace Village and others throughout Titanyen I know from church or because they have grandparents in the elder program. So, my first day back has been peppered with hugs and giggles that are truly good for the soul.

It is easy to feel overwhelmed by the tasks I’ve been trusted to undertake. Today, I started out exhausted still from yesterday’s travel, but leaned into the truth that it is God who works here, and He is the one who I am trusting with my efforts, feeble as they may be.

We purchased Vertilia a dress to be buried in about four months ago. She wanted to see it, wanted to know she had something beautiful for her own funeral. Vania did the shopping and picked a light blue lacy, frilly dress, complete with white gloves, fit for a princess or possibly an 80’s themed prom night. But it is God who clothes her today.