Today was another beautiful day in Haiti! We were so blessed to visit several elders in Titanyen this morning. Our team was accompanied by Katie, one of the missionaries serving at Grace Village along with 2 graduates of Grace Village who are now attending University. They were a wonderful addition to our experience because they brought their amazing voices to the visits. We united in worship together in both English and Creole, it was an incredible experience. While serving the elders our team washed their feet and massaged their hands and bodies. We had time for fellowship and learned about their life stories and families. At the end of each visit we had a special time for prayer. The entire morning was very humbling for our team and brought all of us closer to God as well as each other. We also broke out in a little "Cha Cha Slide" which raised 2 of the elders right out of their chairs to join in the dancing with us!
Next we headed to a local ice cream and coffee cafe called "Rosies". The frozen lemonades and coffees were a nice treat on a hot Haitian Summer day. Rosies supports many of the local artisan organizations by selling their products, it was fun to see products from many of the places we have visited this trip such as Papillion and Deux Mains. After a nice cool break we headed back to Grace Village for a tour!
Grace Village is an amazing representation of the work Healing Haiti is devoted to. There is a clinic, a school, an innovation center, a lovely park and family style living that gives children the opportunity to thrive as a family unit. All of us were so impressed by the creative thinking that leaders at Healing Haiti are utilizing in their vision for the organization. The goal is to create jobs for our Haitian brothers and sisters so that they can support and sustain their families. We also loved hearing about how Healing Haiti is committed to reuniting "orphaned" children with their parents to raise up the communities and the future of Haiti. It was truly an honor to spend time with all of the missionaries and staff at Grace Village and hear their passion and hearts for the mission of this organization and for God.
Last but not least we got the opportunity to eat dinner at Fleri Resto!!! We were greeted with a smile by Jake, the long term missionary over the Bakery, Restaurant and the Transitional Program. He gave us a heartfelt tour and history of Fleri and his time in Haiti. Jake is an inspiration to all of us. His love of the people and pride in the work he is doing in Haiti shines bright with every word he spoke. The bakery has flourished (meaning of "fleri") over the last 2 years. They focus on local sourcing and job creation by purchasing all of their ingredients from the local markets and selling the bakery products at whole sale pricing to local vendors. It is a wonderful door that has been opened for this community and we are excited to see what God has in store for the future of the bakery and restaurant. Next we learned more about the resto! Staffed completely by Haitian young adults who are in the transition program, the resto serves people from all over the world who come to visit along with the surrounding communities. We ordered 5 huge pizzas and they were all delicious!! It was a nice way to end our day with lots of love and laughs.
Our team time at night is where we really unpack our day and spend time connecting with God on a deeper level. We will all continue to lift up all of the missionaries and staff that we have met during out time here. Please join us in praying for all of the people who are here serving on a daily basis.
It is hard to believe that we are down to 2 sleeps before we head back home.... our team has grown very close and as much as we miss our loved ones back home it will be hard to leave this special place.
