Hope in Haiti

Word of the Day: Hopeful

Today we were supposed to go to Cite Soleil for a second water truck day, but because God blessed the Haitian people with lots of rain last night, water wasn't needed. So after a quick change of plans, we went to the Home for Sick and Dying Babies a second time. I felt a mix of emotions, but mainly I was anxious as the first time was so emotionally draining, I assumed this time would be as well. However, much to my surprise, I saw this experience through a different lens.

In order to explain my word of the day fully, I need to back up a few days to our first water truck day in Cite Soleil. Cite Soleil is the 3rd poorest slum in the world, and the things I saw that day were heart breaking...Naked children running the streets, a child defecating in the street, trash everywhere filled with syringes, pigs wandering around, and shantys made of sheet metal no bigger than 10x10 that housed 8+ people. What we all saw that day really can't be put into words, but it left me feeling sad for the people, guilty for what I have, and frankly angry.

Fast forward to today, I was able to see these small children and feel grateful that a place like Sick and Dying Babies exists, and hopeful that these children have a chance to thrive and grow into healthy children of God. Their small frames get fed warm meals and snacks daily, they are safe from gang violence, they have clothing and shelter, and all their needs are being met. This is not the case for the children who live in Cite Soleil.



We then went to La Phare Orphanage which houses 17 kids ranging from 3-15. We brought a craft and the children absolutely loved it! There was one girl who latched on to me the moment I got there and wouldn't let go until we left. I think her craft was the prettiest one, but I may be biased :) We then sang worship songs in English and in Creole <3 It was amazing to see how music brought everyone together. This was the first time I teared up on this trip for joyful reasons as opposed to sorrow. Again I felt hopeful for the children at this orphanage because they are able to go to school (school costs money in Haiti so several children don't get the opportunity), they know where their next meal is coming from, and they are provided for. God is so good!



We were able to end the day by unwinding a bit from an emotionally draining few days by going to a local restaurant called Kokoye (meaning coconut). We had the opportunity to have our driver accompany us and spent time asking him lots of questions about Haitian culture and comparing the differences and similarities with American culture.



Overall, today was a lot of fun and many people felt better about the Home for Sick and Dying Babies than the first time we went :)

Word of the Day.....GLUE

The Word of the Day.....GLUE.  I'll explain in a moment.

My name is Katy Gross.  My husband and I are on our first mission trip to Haiti.  In preparing for this journey, we had lists of things to do and bring.  Since I am an elementary teacher, I volunteered to organize the activity we would be doing with the children at various orphanages.

Today we visited Dare's, an orphanage for children with disabilities.  We were greeted at the door by one gentleman who is blind with a smile reminding me of the Cheshire cat.  We proceeded to a small room with 24 kids and a long table in the center.  The faces of the kids brightened up when seeing us.  Many were on the floor unable to walk but very capable of scooting and getting to wherever they wanted to go.  Others were able to stand and walk.

We pulled out our supplies for our craft activity.  We were going to put a layer of green tissue paper (cut into small squares) for the first layer, and then make poppies by adding red, orange, white, and black by using a pencil so the tissue paper would stick out.  But, before putting the tissue paper down, what do you need to make it stick?  Glue!  And, boy, did the kids LOVE the glue!  Many kids weren't even really interested in the tissue paper.  They just wanted to keep playing with the glue:  adding it to the paper (even on top of the tissue paper), scooping up a big glob and letting it run down their hand, and, of course, eating it.  My husband Larry even had to wrestle with a boy who had one of the glue brushes clamped in his mouth with the biggest grin on his face.  He was loving it!

There were a few kids who were really paying attention and learned very quickly what to do.  Keep in mind, we speak different languages.  They just watched and copied what we did.  It was amazing!  There were some kids who insisted on doing everything themselves.  There were others who wanted or needed some help.  And there were others who had a better idea instead of making poppies.  One boy must have studied Picasso and cubism because he was lining up the pieces of tissue paper very precisely in a specific order.  Don't even try to mess with his idea.  It was perfect the way it was!  Another older boy, who was very patient while waiting, got my attention to get some supplies.  His project ended up being so fabulous.  He made about 8 perfect poppies in the center of his paper.  It was beautiful!  We tried to ask him by motioning if he was going to hang it up on the wall.  He showed that he would.  He was very proud!  What an awesome moment!

Our team worked so well together helping these kids.  Some kids wanted to do the project.  Some wanted to be held.  Some wanted to play with the bubbles that we brought.  Our team rolled with the punches.  It was pretty chaotic, but there were no temper tantrums--by either the kids or adults!  We ended our time singing "God is so Good."  The blind boy starting clapping reminding me of Stevie Wonder.  Pretty cool.

This afternoon we went to Apparent Project.  It's a business that was started by one person with a great idea.  They make items out of regular materials that are so creative.  It now employs about 350 people, affecting about 1500 people (their families).  They make a great wage making quality products.  I've already unknowingly purchased a product from this establishment through Trades of Hope--a wall hanging saying "Peace Love Joy" made out of steel drums that I gave to my mom for Mother's Day.  I loved it so much I bought another one for myself!  I also purchased coasters made from recycled cardboard cut very thin and rolled in a circle.  There is also lots of jewelry and other decorations.  Needless to say, I spent a lot of money.  But it's okay--I warned my husband ahead of time.  :)

Later in the afternoon, we got to enjoy an hour in the pool at a nearby hotel.  It was fun bonding as a team racing, talking, and relaxing.  Then we got to play soccer with the neighborhood boys again.  This time it was 3 on 3 with a goalie each.  The boys decided to have USA vs Haiti.  They were toying with the adults.  It was pretty pathetic.  The first day, we got DRILLED!  Josie and I have the bruises to show for it!  Today the boys went easy on us.  As more boys joined in, the teams changed up and were no longer USA vs Haiti.  That's when the boys got more serious and started playing like normal high school boys with lots of uncalled penalties but also with lots of smiles and laughs.  They are so welcoming.  Anyone can join in the game.  They are lots of fun!

Tomorrow we are off to Cite Soleil with the water truck again.  Can't wait!

Hey You!

Today was water truck day. 

Everyone wakes up gets breakfast and gets on the tap tap for an all day excursion to a slum of Port Au Prince called Cite Soleil. There is a substantial amount of things to see along the way to the site as we go to meet the water truck. I saw three people on one motorbike, lots of congested traffic, loose goats, a herd of cows moving down the same street as us in the opposite direction. Unlimited tap taps and motorcycles passing our car on either side. Horns beep beeping away. We were awash in many different smells on the route to our destination. Some good, like cooking meat and ocean air. Some not good. 

We rendezvous with the water truck and arrive at the first of three stops. A chorus of kids shouting "Hey you! Hey you!" comes streaming into our tap tap. We smile. All the children learned this phrase in English and it did get our attention. They were all smiles as we disembarked down to the ground. Children and babies in all manners of dress and undress ran to us claimed us and took us away. We held the babes and even bigger kids. We helped fill, carry and haul buckets of water until the truck was empty. It was hard work but very fun. Always, throngs of babies all around waiting for you to have a free hand to hold. Or if you had an arm free they wanted to get picked up and held two or three at a time. They were pleased to examine us, our clothes and shoes. 

The kids and people wanted us to haul buckets right to their front door and even inside their dwellings. Smiling and sloshing water the whole way. I set my buckets down in the corrugated steel labyrinth that was the neighborhood and looked into the home I was delivering to. It was small. Windowless, dark, hot, made of rusted corrugated steel on the roof and walls. Each side of the dwelling shared a wall with its neighbor. Inside couldn't have measured more than eight feet by eight feet and had a dirt floor. A big barrel for water was in there and nothing else. This is what she was smilling about. Practically house proud. But what did I know. 

I think sometimes a house is just a place to keep your water barrel. 

Seeing this whole day happen makes you think. How much do we really need to be happy?

Josie

Life is Brutiful

Word of the Day: Strength
I definitely needed this today as today was the day I was most anxious about...we went to the Home for Sick and Dying Babies. I'm a mess when I see a sad commercial on TV, so when I found out a few months ago that we would be going to a hospital/orphanage for children who are malnourished, I knew it was going to be difficult. I have prayed circles around this experience, and cried many times just thinking about it, but to my surprise, I was able to hold it together today with the help of God's strength. Every time I felt tears approaching, I also felt God's hand over me giving me the strength to hold them back and do what I needed to do in order to be His hands and feet. I will say however, that this experience was one of the most difficult experiences I have had in my life. I tried to prepare for this day as best I could...I expected to see children with bloated malnourished bellies, I expected to see 4 year old children the size of 1 1/2 year olds, but what I did not expect or prepare myself for, were the blank stares I got from some of the ill children. As a speech-language pathologist, I work with little kiddos on their foundational language skills; I smile at you, you smile at me; I tickle your feet, you give a reaction; I play Peek-a-Boo, you giggle in anticipation. However, with some of these kiddos who have had such a lack of human contact, there was no reaction. It was as if there were staring at a blank wall. That by far was the most difficult part of the day. The time at the Home for Sick and Dying Babies wasn't all sad though. There were lots of smiles, laughs, piggy back rides, and playground fun! At one point, I had the opportunity to push 9 children on a 4 person swing; the giggles and laughter were music to my ears.

The second part of the day, we went to Montfort, which is a school and a deaf orphanage. This is where the majority of the donations that we collected went and we got to deliver them! 152 pairs of shoes, 367 toothbrushes, and 118 tubes of toothpaste! After we dropped the donations off, we got to spend some time and play with the children. Once the children found out I knew a little sign language, I felt like a celebrity! I really could only ask them their name, age, and if they wanted to play; but that was enough to be surrounded by kiddos hanging and jumping on me. We spent the next hour playing soccer and jumping rope; both things that the kids can do way better than any of us!

We wrapped up the day with devotionals where we were able to share about our day and process what we had all experienced. Right before leaving for this tip, a good friend told me a quote by Glennon Doyle Melton in order to help me prepare: "Life is brutal, life is beautiful, it's brutiful," and that sums up our day exactly.

Side note: I want to let everyone know that the prayers you have prayed over us up until this trip and the prayers you are continuing to pray for us now are working as we have been protected during all our travels, everyone is healthy, and we are all jumping in full force to be the hands and feet of God even when we are pushed outside our comfort zones.

Jenna

I'm Coming Home

Well today, May 23rd, I got to fulfill a dream that I have had for a long time now. I got go back to my home country on a mission trip. I had talked to my amazing wife about this trip for a while now mostly about going home and seeing what it would be like to be back in my birth place and then she told me that she had been wanting to go to Haiti for more than 10 years. When I arrived in the country I was kind of nervous and excited all at the same time. I was mostly kind of scared because I didn't want to cause any trouble, not sure why I would be a problem but for some reason I thought I would be lol.

When we arrived in customs I was surprised with something. Everyone that was from out of the country had to pay $10.00, I didn't know this but since I was born here in Haiti I didn't have to pay to get in to the country which was pretty cool. We then took a ride in a tap tap / Haitian Taxi to our compound and it was amazing driving through the city and it was very interesting looking at the street  as we made our way. I saw people on Dirt bikes and old big trucks and cars which was something I didn't think I would see being in Haiti. The road it self was made of lime stone.

I gotta say my favorite part of the day was when we went to play a game of soccer with some local kids. I was talking to some of them and the crazy thing was they knew instantly that I was from Haiti. But they also knew that I didn't speak the same language. I still talked to them and made great conversation. I found out that most of them all go to school and the main local that I talked to said that he wanted to be an engineer that would design buildings. I told him that I work in concrete and that we build big commercial panels for buildings. He thought that was pretty cool. Then we finished the soccer game, it was amazing.  We played in this old dusty dirt field and everyone was playing for keeps. The best thing was the locals didn't even wear shoes they just played in their bare feet. Now there was sharp rocks and some  small broken things that were in that dirt and sand, but it didn't bother them.

I must say that this has so far been a great experience and I know that its just going to keep getting  better. All I can think about is how much I'm gonna miss this place when I go home. Being in a place that you haven't been in for 27 years and then you go there and people automatically know that your from the same place thats just an awesome feeling that I can't describe. Unless if you're in my shoes then you know. But I'm gonna get to bed and make sure that I'm well rested and at full capacity to help out and serve tomorrow. Good night and thank you all for helping me get here to fulfill a dream.
-Jonathan Niesche-

Mountaintop Experience

We started our Sunday with worship service at Port-Au-Prince Fellowship, an English-speaking church. They greeted us with cinnamon rolls, coffee, and juice, what a treat! After a half an hour of rousing worship, Pastor Daniel moved into a sermon about becoming masters over sin. Even though the service was thought-provoking, our team was exhausted after our week of stretching, and several members of the group may or may not have nodded off. Still, at the end of the service we were excited to get the chance to spend the day in relaxation.

We hopped into the tap tap and started up the mountain. Our first stop was a hot, dusty, but still lovely roadside market. Many members of our team found just the perfect gift for someone back home (or themselves). After a brief interlude at the market, we continued our sojourn up the mountain. As the air cooled and the views expanded, our spirits were lifted. At the top, we were able to shop at a variety of vendors. Through shrewd bartering and persistence, many masterful oil paintings were obtained. We also were able to enjoy a satisfying meal with a spectacular view of Port-Au-Prince below. It was a refreshing change of perspective to be able to see Haiti both literally and mentally in a new way.

Back at the guesthouse, some ventured to the Elite Hotel for a final dip in the pool and cold Coke. Others lounged and contemplated. After dinner we had our final pit time of the trip, with lots of reflection, worship and prayer. Now we are finishing up our last blog post as others bustle around packing their bags and preparing to depart. We should probably do the same!

Terry and Maggie

Fight

"The Lord is faithful and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one." 2 Thessalonians 3:3

Today has been a day for many people on our team. As the week draws near to a close, people are weary, fallen to sickness and the lack of sleep is starting to weigh heavy on our spirits. This is the perfect time for the enemy to try and creep in, when we aren't on-guard or up for a battle, and he has been trying his hardest to stop what the Lord has us here to do. The best part about all of this is, he hasn't won this week and he won't.

I am absolutely astounded by the amount of power this team holds when we pray together. This morning at breakfast, there was a very good chance that about four of our members were not going to make it out into the field with us. Three of the four made the decision that they were well enough to try and head out with us to Cite Soleil for our second go-around with the water truck. As we were en route, people were praying for each other and to themselves, but it was easy to tell that there was a lot of uncertainty going in. As soon as feet hit the ground in Cite Soleil, God's power took over all of us, and any ill feelings were left on the tap-tap. As the day continued, every once in a while something would creep up, something to distract or stop someone from stepping out in faith. It was a fight to keep moving forward and pushing the enemy away, but even in the midst of weariness and illness, the Lord was faithful (as He always is) to provide strength to His children.

We also had the opportunity to go to the Apparent Project this afternoon which has worked to create a family-friendly work environement for many Haitians. Artisans, as they are called, create beautiful jewlery out of strips of cereal boxes, and hand crafted coffee mugs and plates.

Joyfully,
Erin

P.s. One of our members is still quite ill, we have laid hands on her and will continue to, but all extra prayers are welcomed so she may again join us tomorrow. Prayer is powerful!