The Lord had big plans for us today.
We started our day by visiting the local neighborhood artisan shop where we could buy handmade goods such as paintings, tin wall-art, woodworking and stone sculptures. This is a great way for the team to find goods to remember the trip while contributing to the economy.
While we were gone, God was working on our plan for the day. We returned to get ready for our next mission of serving at one of the orphanages. Our leader Smith updated us that we had the opportunity to go into Cité Soleil for Water Truck Day! We were so surprised.
The area called Cité Soleil means Sun City. It’s an extremely impoverished and densely populated community located in Port-au-Prince. What started as a shanty town grew to an estimated 200,000-400,000 residents, the majority of whom live in extreme poverty. This area is generally regarded as one of the poorest and most dangerous areas of the Western Hemisphere. It has no sewers and a poorly maintained open canal system.
There was a lot of uncertainty if we would get to serve Cité Soleil this week. When our team heard the news that plans changed and we were going today, bursts of joy erupted. We couldn’t believe the time was now to GO! We had 5 minutes to change and pile into the Tap Tap.
Our main task for Water Truck Day is to meet the tanker truck and manage the hose, help form a line, fill up buckets of water and help carry them to their homes. The water truck offers 6,000 gallons of water. Because most of the residents of Cité Soleil are children and young adults, the moment we opened up the Tap Tap to hop out we were greeted with dozens and dozens of children who jumped up and hugged each of us.
We were able to make 4 different stops with the water truck and each of them had their own experience. The first stop was overwhelming as the team quickly worked to get the buckets filled up along with hugging, holding and playing with the children. We then moved to our second stop where we began working, but as music was being played we broke out in a dance party on the streets with the children. Laughter and excitement filled the air.
We then took a break at the Hope compound which houses a school, church and clinic built by Healing Haiti. Smith gave us a tour and talked about how 5 years ago Hope Church opened its doors to the community to share the Light of Christ.
We also toured two new shipping containers that were constructed to be a sewing shop and technology classroom for children to learn. The sewing team creates cloth diapers for local orphanages and community partners.
Once we were rested, we geared up for our third stop. The team had more opportunities to carry buckets back to people’s homes. Children were laughing, jumping and pouring water over themselves. It was refreshing to feel the splashes, but also refreshing to see some of these children feel clean.
Our fourth and final stop was productive. The team felt confident in what to do and each stepped into the role God wanted them to play. One Haitian woman helped direct where buckets needed to go and tapped shoulders for us to help. It was physically exhausting as we kept moving back and forth with the buckets… but every time we felt weak, God gave us strength.
Once the truck was empty we needed to load up in the Tap Tap quickly and go. We gave our last hugs and hand squeezes while saying “Jezi renmen ou”, which means Jesus loves you, and said goodbye.
On our way home our team talked about what we saw and felt. How God was moving through this community by bringing living water. As we reflected during our circle time, we each shared our Word of the Day. Words ranged from, Healing, Overwhelmed, Play, Cleanse, Desperation and Grace. What an experience we will never forget.
We look forward to what God has prepared for us tomorrow.
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