Saturday, April 8, 2017

Our team was excited for the day to begin because it included out favorite activity....water truck service!  All 16 members of the team finished breakfast early and prepared for our journey to Citi  Soleil.  Our plans included two stops to deliver a total of 4000 gallons of fresh water to our Haitian brothers and sisters.

The first stop was hectic, exciting, overwhelming and filled with tears and smiles.  As our truck pulled up, hundreds of small children ran to our vehicles to welcome our arrival.  For the next hour we filled and carried approximately 500 buckets of fresh water to the small simple homes of our needy friends.  We were blessed with hugs and smiles that we will never forget!

Following our Citi  Soleil stop, we were blessed to visit the home site of our tap tap driver Max.  Max is a gracious happy Hatian man who cherishes his family which include three small children.  Max has been saving his modest income to build a small home for his loved ones.  As a team, we visited his homesite which was a special treat.  The project was in process with the foundation complete.  We took time to pray for special blessings for Max and his family.  We prayed that God would care for them and provide them with the resources to complete the home building process.  Resources are scarce but their family love is abundant.

The second water stop was exciting!  Hundreds of needy Haitians were served by our team and we were rewarded with love and friendship.  We were the winners!  We received so much more than we gave.  Our hearts and souls were filled with the love provided by our brother and sisters in Christ who call Haiti home.  We are blessed.

As the day progressed we were challenged by increasing heat.  The day topped out at a sweltering 96 degrees coupled with extreme humidity.  Lots of water and electrolytes accompanied us to our next stop; LeFluere orphanage for children.  While not expansive in size, this loving institution provides housing and academic instruction for 25 orphaned children.  Jesus was clearly present at this loving home.  We played soccer, painted pictures, sang songs and played balloon games with the kids.  To reciprocate, they had prepared two songs to sing for us.  The Lords Prayer and Psalm 100 both sang by 25 loving voices of the children who call this orphanage home.  It was a very special treat for our team and left us with smiles and tears as we left for home.

The evening concluded with a Spaghetti dinner and refreshing swim.  Our team time together after dinner was touching as we all shared what the days activities meant.  Sleep would be good this night as our bodies were drained but our hearts were full.