A SATURDAY MORNING RUN

... turned into a reminder to me: we live in a beautiful place!  I have not been running on a regular basis here, but this morning was cool enough to tempt me into a short run.  I did a mile and a half and then grabbed my camera for a cool down walk around the same loop.

As I walked with my camera it really did give me fresh eyes for what I too often take for granted.  Yes, we're less than three months into our new life in Haiti and I am already taking mountains, tropical flowers and palm trees for granted!

I start my run from this gorgeous tree in our front yard:

And soon pass the clothes line where Melissa has the family's laundry drying:

Then down the path that runs along the back wall of the mission grounds:

Which is amazing in the morning sun:

 And I am accompanied by Bella and Inigo, whose job it is to sneak up on and bark loudly at strangers wherever they might find them on the mission grounds.  They take their job very seriously, but this morning they are in the mood to join me on my run.

I am tempted to leave out the ugly reality, but I won't.  This is where Caleb has to go to "take out the trash".  Every few days someone rakes it up (after Bella and Amigo have spread it everywhere) and burns it.

Banana groves are more pleasant to look at:

And then I pass the mission gardens:

 

And next, the building where I teach my adult English class.  This section of the mission has a lot of buildings which used to make up the seminary before Emmaus got the new campus off-site:

Once I round the corner, to the left is part of the medical clinic complex:

And then I pass the old seminary chapel.  Last week there was a very loud wedding being held there on a Friday afternoon and I had to yell my instruction to my adult students as I taught next door.

A glance inside the medical clinic gate:

An old outhouse being guarded by a goat - as I approached, it lowered its head like it was planning to butt me:

Now we move towards the front of the mission.  To the left is the backside of the Vaudreuil church.

Plenty of goats around here.

 If I would turn left here, I would soon be out the gate and onto the main road to Cap Haitien:

But if I turn right, I head back towards our house and pass the mission office on the way:

A chicken pecks at a fallen mango in the middle of the road:

To my left now is the OLD Radio 4VEH building, which is currently used as a woodshop:

Next, the Holiday House, where visiting short term teams often stay.  A beautiful team of cooks works hard to keep them well fed.  We have visiting teams here about two or three weeks out of every month and while they are here, all the missionaries take turns joining the team for dinner throughout their week and sharing testimonies about the work the Lord is doing here.  It's always different and always so GOOD.

We pass a few more houses, and lots of greenery ...

And in just over a mile, we're back home again.

Home, sweet home.  We are blessed indeed!