Day 2: Special Needs: Blessed to Serve

Day 2 August 15, 2018

Today was a long day, but it was extremely humbling, rewarding and educational.

Early in the morning at around 6 am there was a group of about six people that planned to go to a church service. They took the tap tap to the Sister’s of Mercy only to find out that there wasn’t service until 8:30 am because of the Feast of the Assumption, so they prayed with a sister for 15 min and then walked back to the Healing Haiti guesthouse. 

Eventually the time came around for breakfast at 8 am. We ate an egg scramble, French toast, avocados and mangoes. It was delicious! We left at around 9:30am to go to our first location called the Missionaries of the Poor. There we met Brother Marcal the head of the mission here in Haiti. He talked about his life’s story and about the Mission. He is originally from Kenya.  The founder of the Missionaries of the Poor came from Asia and moved to Jamaica. This is where he witnessed 154 people die and felt God’s calling to serve the  poorest of poor and the sick. The mission was originally named Food for the Poor then it evolved to Brothers of the Poor and then to its current name Missionaries of the Poor. There are many Brothers around the world, about 500 of them, and twelve locations of the Mission in Jamaica, Haiti, Philippines and Uganda. We spent the morning bathing, nurturing , playing and loving these beautiful children that live at the Mission.  All of the kids had both mental and physical disabilities; it was evident the staff did their best to care for them but as with many situations in Haiti, resources are limited.

From there we traveled to an open metal market where we admired and purchased beautiful works of metal art by local artists. Our last stop for the day was another special needs orphanage. We brought several wooden cars and markers for the children to use. There were also colorful noise makers which were definitely a hit. Many of the kids loved coloring the wooden cars and the masks. There was an impromptu sing along with the noise makers that involved some 90s rap, Frosty the Snowman and the theme song to the Brady Bunch. All kids were in great spirits. One little girl was very particular about the colors that she chose. While another boy found it funny to fling cars and see how far they landed. Lastly, we were greeted by a small boy in a wheelchair that looked at each one of us as we arrived and slowly pointed his index finger and motioned us over. The smile on his face was able to get every single volunteer to come over and say hello. 

It was a smaller group of kids the second time due to it being summer but the joy filled the hall way in which we played. As we left,  each volunteer felt the kindness and joy that each child bestowed upon us.  We ended the day in prayer and we are thankful for everything God has given us and everything we were able to give back.