Good

Today was good.
We started our day by visiting Haitian Initiative. It's a program to encourage kids to do well in school and allows them to play organized soccer. While we were there, the Gambinos got to reunite with the Haitian students they hosted two years ago.
Next, we went to the water fill-up station where our water truck got filled with 3,000 gallons of water for our first stop.

We distributed water at three different locations in Cite Soleil. At each, we filled buckets of water that the people would bring to their homes to wash dishes, themselves, clothes, and/or cook with. As we got out of the truck at each stop kids surrounded the taptap and as you stepped off they jumped into your arms. There was no question, you were going to hold a child ... or three.

When we got out of the taptap, people had already stated lining up with their buckets. The hose never stopped so people would move their buckets in and out as fast as possible trying not to lose a drop. The line continued endlessly until the water truck ran out.

Once people got their buckets filled, they would often signal for help to carry them back to their home. Sadly, we were only allowed to go so far with the buckets so we often had to set them down for the people to carry the rest of the way. We also assisted kids and adults with putting buckets on their heads.

Overall, today was good. The team enjoyed the work and time spent with the people of Haiti and with each other as we rode in the taptap from place to place. We saw a lot of good within members of the community and in the kids. Stepping back and watching each other serve, we saw the good in all that was done. 

Bonswa!

Today we visited Gertrude's orphanage for disabled children. We were there for about three hours playing, singing and loving on the kids. The whole team was dreading saying goodbye, but we knew we made an impact in the short amount of time we were there. It was eye opening, moving, strengthening,  and emotional with lots of flesh, spirit, and hope within the children. The team each chose a Creole word to describe their day, which included, "Papillion" (butterfly), "Koupab" (guilty), and "Vi" (life).

In the second half of our day we visited Apparent Project. This is a non-profit organization founded in 2009 that employs the parents of Haiti so that they can provide for their children. The Apparent Project began a for-profit venture, Papillion Enterprise, in 2011. This organization employs over 201 on site and 50 off site. They make a variety of artisanal items including bracelets, necklaces, bags, dolls, and pottery mugs. After a long day we stopped at Papillon's Clay Cafe and enjoyed some smoothies while talking with the team.

Day 5!

Hello friends and family! It’s Max back again (are you sick of me yet?) and the team had a super fun, full day today. It was a very early morning with our day starting at 5:30am for church. The team went to Church on the Rock, a local church that is only a few blocks from the compound. The building is a large warehouse that has been converted to be a church. There is a stage in the front and in front of the stage are rows upon rows of pews. The church service is a very powerful and moving spectacle to see and I know a lot of our team members enjoyed the experience. They can tell you about it themselves when we are back state side. After church the team regrouped at the guesthouse for pancakes prepared by yours truly. FYI they were fantabulous. The team then loaded up for another big day of water truck visits. Both stops went very well, but personally I think the second stop was the most moving for the team. We hadn’t been to the stop before but the moment we stepped off the truck we could tell that they were in more need of our service than other stops. One of the most powerful things we saw was the selflessness of the children. These kids, maybe four or five years old, came to us holding their baby siblings and lifted them up to us for them to be loved on. The children, even though they hadn’t had attention from us and they probably needed it too, offered up their siblings to be loved by us and I think that is another great example of the life lessons Haiti teaches us. Sometimes when I am down here it almost seems these lessons are too perfect or too scripted to real, but all of us know, that’s exactly what being in Haiti is about. On a lighter note, I checked off another thing on the “Things not to do while in Cite Soleil” bucket list. I took a bath in Cite Soleil. I took a bath in the poorest slum in the Western Hemisphere. I regret nothing. The little girl I was with was the cutest thing and she thought it would be a great idea for me to get clean while she was getting clean! This however, creates a paradox. I will close with this question! The water truck day was amazing as usual for the team and we headed back to the guesthouse to clean up for our afternoon trip to Healing Hands for Haiti. HHH specializes in creating prosthetics and doping therapy for victims of injuries and amputees. We got to tour their building and see how they run their show. Going back to things you didn’t think you were going to do when you got up in the morning, we all got to see some 3d printers. I had never seen one before and who would have thought the first time I would see one would be in Haiti. Ryan and I also got to talk to one of the nurses while she was helping a man with some lower back therapy. This was funny for two reasons; one, Ryan currently has a lower back injury that was very similar to the one that the man had; and two, the nurse was from Cuba and spoke zero English. Ryan and I ended up translating for the group and learning about electro-shock therapy, in Spanish, in a country that doesn’t have Spanish as one of its primary languages. Good stuff. The team then ended our day by heading up to Grace Village to eat at Fleri. We had a bunch of great pizzas and some amazing desserts that gave us a great end to our day. Tomorrow we head for Montfort, a deaf orphanage, and a cool mountain metal market for some shopping and bartering with the venders! So now I will leave you with the question.

If a man bathes in the poorest slum in the Western Hemisphere, is he clean or is he dirty?

Max Nelson

Day 5!

Hello friends and family! It’s Max back again (are you sick of me yet?) and the team had a super fun, full day today. It was a very early morning with our day starting at 5:30am for church. The team went to Church on the Rock, a local church that is only a few blocks from the compound. The building is a large warehouse that has been converted to be a church. There is a stage in the front and in front of the stage are rows upon rows of pews. The church service is a very powerful and moving spectacle to see and I know a lot of our team members enjoyed the experience. They can tell you about it themselves when we are back state side. After church the team regrouped at the guesthouse for pancakes prepared by yours truly. FYI they were fantabulous. The team then loaded up for another big day of water truck visits. Both stops went very well, but personally I think the second stop was the most moving for the team. We hadn’t been to the stop before but the moment we stepped off the truck we could tell that they were in more need of our service than other stops. One of the most powerful things we saw was the selflessness of the children. These kids, maybe four or five years old, came to us holding their baby siblings and lifted them up to us for them to be loved on. The children, even though they hadn’t had attention from us and they probably needed it too, offered up their siblings to be loved by us and I think that is another great example of the life lessons Haiti teaches us. Sometimes when I am down here it almost seems these lessons are too perfect or too scripted to real, but all of us know, that’s exactly what being in Haiti is about. On a lighter note, I checked off another thing on the “Things not to do while in Cite Soleil” bucket list. I took a bath in Cite Soleil. I took a bath in the poorest slum in the Western Hemisphere. I regret nothing. The little girl I was with was the cutest thing and she thought it would be a great idea for me to get clean while she was getting clean! This however, creates a paradox. I will close with this question! The water truck day was amazing as usual for the team and we headed back to the guesthouse to clean up for our afternoon trip to Healing Hands for Haiti. HHH specializes in creating prosthetics and doping therapy for victims of injuries and amputees. We got to tour their building and see how they run their show. Going back to things you didn’t think you were going to do when you got up in the morning, we all got to see some 3d printers. I had never seen one before and who would have thought the first time I would see one would be in Haiti. Ryan and I also got to talk to one of the nurses while she was helping a man with some lower back therapy. This was funny for two reasons; one, Ryan currently has a lower back injury that was very similar to the one that the man had; and two, the nurse was from Cuba and spoke zero English. Ryan and I ended up translating for the group and learning about electro-shock therapy, in Spanish, in a country that doesn’t have Spanish as one of its primary languages. Good stuff. The team then ended our day by heading up to Grace Village to eat at Fleri. We had a bunch of great pizzas and some amazing desserts that gave us a great end to our day. Tomorrow we head for Montfort, a deaf orphanage, and a cool mountain metal market for some shopping and bartering with the venders! So now I will leave you with the question.

If a man bathes in the poorest slum in the Western Hemisphere, is he clean or is he dirty?

Max Nelson

Day 5!

Hello friends and family! It’s Max back again (are you sick of me yet?) and the team had a super fun, full day today. It was a very early morning with our day starting at 5:30am for church. The team went to Church on the Rock, a local church that is only a few blocks from the compound. The building is a large warehouse that has been converted to be a church. There is a stage in the front and in front of the stage are rows upon rows of pews. The church service is a very powerful and moving spectacle to see and I know a lot of our team members enjoyed the experience. They can tell you about it themselves when we are back state side. After church the team regrouped at the guesthouse for pancakes prepared by yours truly. FYI they were fantabulous. The team then loaded up for another big day of water truck visits. Both stops went very well, but personally I think the second stop was the most moving for the team. We hadn’t been to the stop before but the moment we stepped off the truck we could tell that they were in more need of our service than other stops. One of the most powerful things we saw was the selflessness of the children. These kids, maybe four or five years old, came to us holding their baby siblings and lifted them up to us for them to be loved on. The children, even though they hadn’t had attention from us and they probably needed it too, offered up their siblings to be loved by us and I think that is another great example of the life lessons Haiti teaches us. Sometimes when I am down here it almost seems these lessons are too perfect or too scripted to real, but all of us know, that’s exactly what being in Haiti is about. On a lighter note, I checked off another thing on the “Things not to do while in Cite Soleil” bucket list. I took a bath in Cite Soleil. I took a bath in the poorest slum in the Western Hemisphere. I regret nothing. The little girl I was with was the cutest thing and she thought it would be a great idea for me to get clean while she was getting clean! This however, creates a paradox. I will close with this question! The water truck day was amazing as usual for the team and we headed back to the guesthouse to clean up for our afternoon trip to Healing Hands for Haiti. HHH specializes in creating prosthetics and doping therapy for victims of injuries and amputees. We got to tour their building and see how they run their show. Going back to things you didn’t think you were going to do when you got up in the morning, we all got to see some 3d printers. I had never seen one before and who would have thought the first time I would see one would be in Haiti. Ryan and I also got to talk to one of the nurses while she was helping a man with some lower back therapy. This was funny for two reasons; one, Ryan currently has a lower back injury that was very similar to the one that the man had; and two, the nurse was from Cuba and spoke zero English. Ryan and I ended up translating for the group and learning about electro-shock therapy, in Spanish, in a country that doesn’t have Spanish as one of its primary languages. Good stuff. The team then ended our day by heading up to Grace Village to eat at Fleri. We had a bunch of great pizzas and some amazing desserts that gave us a great end to our day. Tomorrow we head for Montfort, a deaf orphanage, and a cool mountain metal market for some shopping and bartering with the venders! So now I will leave you with the question.

If a man bathes in the poorest slum in the Western Hemisphere, is he clean or is he dirty?

Max Nelson