Thursday - Hendrickson/Severson

Hey everyone! Today our team went to the church that Healing Haiti built in Cite Soleil, Hope Church. The church also serves as an elementary school during the week. Our main ministry there started by playing with neighborhood kids outside the church. Much like the rest of Cite Soleil, the conditions there are devastating. Children are desperate for physical touch and beg to be picked up even if we are already holding one or two children...they will climb on our backs or hang from our legs just to experience affection in whatever way they can. We also got to play soccer and frisbee with the teenagers and young adults. We are discovering that even if we cannot communicate verbally, we are able to communicate in many different ways through things as simple as playing jump rope or giving a hug. It is so beautiful to see relationships being formed in new places in sometimes the most unlikely of ways. After the morning in the neighborhood, we went inside Hope Church to help serve lunch to the school children. They are PRECIOUS. They were hungry, too! Our afternoon held our visit to Papillon, which is a business and boutique located in Port-au-Prince that employs Haitians. Their mission is to empower Haitians by giving them jobs. When Haitian parents have jobs, they are able to obtain a steady income, and when they have a steady income, they do not have to give up their children for adoption. So, Papillon not only boosts the economy by creating jobs, but they effectively work to keep kids out of orphanages. Papillon has two sides...a production side and a store side. We got to see the production side first which is where everything is made...everything from jewelry to clay mugs to purses...and many, many other products. And then we got to shop! It was absolutely amazing to see all the beautiful, handmade items in the store that are quite directly helping Haiti and its families in such monumental ways. Tonight we ate a traditional Haitian dinner which was AMAZING and topped the day off with a worship night. We are all tired and ready for bed, and so excited for all that tomorrow will bring! :) -Kimber