Thank you to everyone who helped get us out here! Our delayed flight landed in Haiti around 3:30 PM on Monday ... prayers for safe travels really came through. Our first ride in the tap tap was a shock to most, but is soon becoming the preferred mode of transportation. It's surprising to see the amount of vendors selling familiar goods to passing cars! Need a Coke? There's probably a curbside cooler for that. Settling into the guest house is great! The food is great, the staff are beyond helpful, and the dogs are friendly (don't worry, they're pets).
Today, we started our work by visiting the Home of Sick & Dying Adults and experienced the first challenge of language barriers. We used the assistance of a translator and limited facial expressions to show our love for being here and our desire to help. The group split up by gender and massaged the elders and painted the ladies' finger nails, kids were outside waiting for long, caucasian hair to braid. The experience was an impactful way to start the service, Most all of us were asked to step outside of our comfort zones in order to share a little comfort with the people we encountered.
After the Home for Sick & Dying, we headed to the Haitian History Museum to learn more about the culture and get a deeper understanding of the place we were visiting. The museum was educational and nicely air conditioned. Afterwards, we headed to the high of most people's day and visited Papillon aka Apparent Project. In summary, it's an organization that pays Haitian parents double the average wage to make jewelry and other handicrafts ... it's a way to guarantee the children are fed and educated. The goods are distributed through Trades of Hope and similar markets, check out their awesome products! The tour was very riveting and got us excited to spend too much money in the gift shop. Plus, our team had sold jewelry from Papillon as a fundraiser for our trip back in Minnesota so it was awesome to see the artisans making the jewelry that we sold.
Our evening in the guest house has been low-key. A surprise rain came and we enjoyed the relief from the heat and danced and splashed in it. Thank you for keeping us in your prayers!
Makayla A
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| Pappilon Cafe |
