Day Two | Experiencing Community

Rested and Ready 

The team was ready for Day two of serving in Haiti. The Lord answered our prayers because we all slept really well our first night in the guesthouse. The team gathered for another delicious breakfast. John shared his devotion focusing on PEACE and how only true peace rests in the Lord. 

We then packed up our Tap Tap with snacks, crafts, wash basins and gallons of water and were ready for our day. Our first adventure was traveling to a town called Titanyen which is about 40 minutes from where we are staying. 

Our first stop was a restaurant and bakery called Fleri. Fleri means flourish in creole. We met Jake who is the director of operations at Fleri and he shared with us the amazing story of how the bakery started off with the idea of making popular or artisan breads, but over time that pivoted into baking bread that was easier for Haitians to sell in the community and make a living. What started out with 15-20 people purchasing bread and reselling it, flourished to over 150 people. The bakery soon expanded into a restaurant with the opportunity to teach industry skills and jobs that benefits the community at large.

Fleri is just one example of how Healing Haiti is creating job opportunities so more Haitians can in turn provide for their families, support their children and flourish as a community. 

Next we headed into Titanyen to visit the elders. In Haiti, the life expectancy is 50-60 years old. And as a elders live beyond those expected years, resource can become more limited. We visited four elders today who are supported by Healing Haiti. We met Monique, Ophane, Charletude and Edmond. We showed the love of Jesus by humbly serving the elders. The team washed their feet, gave hand and back massages, sang songs, offered food and goods, and prayed over each of them.  

This is or visit with Monique.

During our visit with Ophane, as we showered him with love the community around him began to gather around. One lady joined in our praises and began dancing and praising God. The connections that were made brought so much light to everyone around. 

Shaina from our team sat with the children and played.

Our visit with Charletude.

Our visit with Edmund.

Next we visited Grace Village which is the main compound where Healing Haiti has Grace Academy and Grace Clinic. We were given a tour of the property and a glimpse into all the amazing work that is happening. Healing Haiti offers a safe place for children to live while providing education. 

We also heard from Brunet who is the Clinic Manager about all the health offerings the clinic gives the community.

Finally we visited the LaPhare orphanage where we shared with the children crafts, sang songs and shared a Bible story of Peter healing a crippled man. We focused on the message of walking with Jesus and that Jesus is always with you. 

The team works really hard to say phrases or sing songs in Creole. Smith who is part of the Healing Haiti staff helped translate our teachings to the children. One of the God-moments our team experienced together was when the children said they wanted to sing to us. They started the song in Creole and then the second time sang in english. The song was about walking with Jesus and it touched our hearts so deeply. 

Our day was coming to an end. We headed back to our compound and wrapped up the evening with a devotion lead by Marilyn and Paula about PATIENCE. They shared how it is through patience that God reveals himself. How we are to trust in the Lord and choose to be patient with one another. 

During our worship time, Smith taught us how to sing the chorus from the song 10,000 Reasons in creole. It was a beautiful moment to immerse ourselves in the language and sing praises in creole together. 

We concluded our time with us each sharing a word of the day. Words ranged from Gratitude, Opportunity, Community, People, Light and Feet. With each word was a story of how God is living and moving all around us. We look forward to what God has in store for us tomorrow.