Caroline Prickette and Lucy McKenzie
We have all been blessed by the opportunity to come to Haiti. We have learned and seen so many eye-opening things. We have made new friends, traveled outside of our comfort zones, and truly fallen in love with this place.
Lucy McKenzie
This has been my second time to Haiti. I felt that since I knew what to expect, the experience was going to be different from the first time. But one thing struck me about this trip. I wasn't any less exited to see and visit the people. The children's touch was always something I looked forward too! And visiting the elders of the community was so eye opening. Their relationship with the Lord was so strong. One elder would tell us stories of how Christ has helped her in her life. She lived in a shack about the size of an outhouse, and to hear her speak so highly of the Lord despite her living conditions made me feel more dependent on Christ. I have learned throughout my journey in Haiti that God will always be with us in our highs and lows. Haiti has a special place in my heart and will be my second home! Serving along side my team and the staff has been such an honor! I can't wait to be back!
p.s! Big thanks to the staff! They work so hard to make our adventures in Haiti possible!
Caroline Prickette
This has been my second time as well coming to Haiti. I had the privilege to go with Lucy and her mom in January, and now I get to come back a second time, with my mom and a new friend tagging along as well! I have been counting down the days as soon as I got back to the states in January on when I could come back, and as I sit on the front porch of the guesthouse writing this, I couldn't have asked for a better time and group to come back and serve in Haiti. One thing that struck me differently this time around was the children. Of course, they are as cute as ever, but I started noticing the small things they would do that set them apart from every other kid I've met before this trip. One day, I was in Grace Village helping with laundry. The concrete was all sudsy and wet, but I still sat down to help. All of the sudden a small hand was tapping my shoulder and wanting me to stand up. I thought I had done something wrong, but instead this little girl put down a towel for me to sit on. She immediately saw me sitting in the puddle and wanted to help me. The same day at Grace, a little girl wanted to braid my hair. She was still very young, so the hair style she designed for me not only didn't fit my hair, but was probably the craziest style I had ever seen. It had two ponytails braided together with one group of hair braided into a teeny tiny braid. She was so proud of what she had created the she grabbed my hand and marched me around showing all her friends her masterpiece. I had told her earlier in the day that I didn't know much Creole, so she pulled me aside and pulled out her school book and started to teach me. She taught me how to pronounce her name, the vowel sounds, and some numbers before we had to leave. On the way back to the tap tap, she grabbed my hand and called me her "best zanmi"which means best friend in Creole. My heart just melted when she told me that. She had done so many things in the span of 45 minutes to make me feel so loved and welcomed by her. When we climbed into the tap tap she said "orevwa Caroline!" and blew me a huge kiss from the gate. These young kids here in Haiti have so much love in their hearts, and they just want to share it. I am so honored that these children shared their love and friendship with me and my fellow team members this week. I could truly see God's light coming from every single one of them in everything they would do. I can't wait to take another adventure back to Haiti to serve the Lord once again in one of my favorite places in the world.
