Holy Family Catholic High School- A Day Full of Blessings

Laura, Kathryn, and Ronnie started out the day a little earlier than the rest of us by helping prepare an awesome breakfast of oatmeal, eggs, pancakes, bananas, and mango!  Everything was so good!  After playing a little name game so our Healing Haiti friends could try to remember our names.  I am not sure that it went well.

After a quick name game, we loaded up the tap tap to go deliver water in City Soleil, the poorest slum in the western hemisphere.  Our first stop was stop 17, which is where Healing Haiti built Hope Church and school- literally on miles and miles of trash!  The second stop was at 4 Coffins because 4 people were killed at the same house a long time ago (we may have this story wrong, the group was a little confused by the story).  The water truck proves to be a highlight of the trip for many.  I am going to have Ronnie write about her experience on the water truck today: 

Hi mom and dad it's Ronnie, and I haven't lost anything yet. 

Anyways...as we boarded the truck, I think everyone was picturing and anticipating what was to come. As we entered into City Soleil, it was clear that we had arrived without even being told. The doors to the truck opened, and about ten kids looked up at us with big eyes and open arms. It was the kind of overwhelming that feels good; it's exciting and heartwarming all at once. It was a rush, climbing off the truck as kids were already climbing up our legs. I mean literally, there were four kids on me at one point. It's one of the first times in my life that I have actively wished for eight arms (or that I had been a body builder) to hold all the children looking up at me. Once the water was turned on and was flowing heavily from a hose into awaiting buckets, we began to take turns holding kids, holding the hose, carrying the full buckets, or putting the water bucket on top of the women's heads. Each of these jobs were so intimate and important. There is this rush where the weight of the bucket is forgotten, and the digging of the metal handle in your hand feels fine as long as the child has less of a distance to carry it. There was an intense intimacy when putting the heavy bucket on top of a woman's head, staring into her eyes as we hold it together. The non-physical aspects were what were distinguishably difficult, knowing that the plastic of the bucket would be digging into her head for the distance she still had to walk. I held the hose with the determined knowledge that as soon as the water ran out, no more buckets could be filled. We then received a tour of their newly built church/school. We were led to the back of the church on top of a hill of dirt and garbage where we overlooked the entirety of City Soleil. There was trash everywhere, lining the run down buildings and floating in the mirky water. We continued onto our second stop, and we continued with the same jobs: loving on the babies, carrying buckets, holding the hose, and lifting the buckets on the women's heads. This stop was more hectic, with even more babies to hold. It was crazy, every time I set a baby down to help with a bucket, I felt pulls on the waistband of my shorts. I looked behind me to find a line of babies holding onto each other as one held onto me. Amidst the chaos, I spotted a small little boy that was being pushed around for standing between the buckets and the hose. I grabbed him, and I felt his head lay on my chest as he closed his eyes and held my hand. I looked around to see everyone holding multiple children with smiles, laughter, and love in their eyes. Okay I'm moving on to the last amazing thing that happened, because I'm taking too long to write this. One boy named Alex started singing in Creol, and became frustrated that no one could repeat it properly. Then, he started to sing the song "this little light of mine," and we all began to sing along as the babies in our arms danced and smiled. 

After our Water Truck experience we came back for a little rest.  It is pretty hot here and it was nice to come back and just be.  Some people napped and others journaled.  We have an awesome place on the roof to hang out and relax and some of us did that.  

The afternoon experience had the group split between the Sisters of the Poor- Home for the sick and dying babies and For His Glory orphanage.  Claire is going to write about her experience at the home for sick and dying babies.  Lindsey is going to write about For His Glory orphanage.  

When we arrived, we weren't sure what the next hour would look like.  Opposite to what the children were like earlier in the day, these kids seemed to keep to themselves more.  I slowly ventured out trying to find kids interested in me (vastly different from several hours ago).  I soon noticed a particular young girl.  I smiled at her and said "bonjour." She smiled and repeated my "bonjour" in a whispered tone.  Immediately she lifts her arms up asking for my embrace.  I picked her up and began to walk around.  We didn't talk much, conversations were limited because I only know two words in Kreyol (hello and thank you).  Nonetheless, we found comfort in each other.  I'd held many kinds in my arms that day, but this child stood out.  She held on to me much tighter than the other kids; giving off a warmth that wrapped my body like a blanket.  It was clear to me that this type of embrace was a rarity for her.  She would burry her head in my shoulder for long period of time, unbothered where I would walk.  Occasionally she would point to where she wanted me to take her.  She told me to take her over by one of the rooms on the side of the building.  As she peaked her head though the bars of the window, she yelled "loves me" then she paused and pointed to me while trying to get more children's attention.  Once again she yells "Loves Me" while pointing to me.  

Lindsey- message home

Hi mom and dad, I am doing very well here in Haiti.  It is very beautiful here, lots of greenery and lots of mountains.  Mom, you would like the house we are staying at because there are lots of dogs here.  They are guard dogs but they are very kind.  There is even a little puppy named Annie, who loves to chew on every one's shoes.  It is only the second day and I have already have had so many amazing experiences and have made so many connections with others.

Hey guys, it's Claire! Me and 9 other people split off and went to the home for the sick and dying babies. You can probably guess how hard it was based solely on the name of the place but it was still an amazing thing to experience. When we got there, we started by feeding the babies with the Sisters of the Poor and workers. I fed two little babies, and one wanted to chow down on the bowl more than the food itself. It reminded me that all babies are messy, no matter where you are. After feeding them, we just held them close. Some of us held one baby that just spoke to us most of the time, and others, including myself, dispersed our love among the 30ish babies. They all craved attention, love, and human contact. With there being so many babies and so little workers, they often don't have time to just be held and receive the love they need. You could see their desperation for this love when they reached their hands up to be held, or were crying out loudly, or even when they stared into our eyes. Out of the several I held and loved on, there were a few that stay prevalent in my mind. There was this one baby girl that reached up for me to hold her so I did, she gave me the biggest smile with two front teeth just growing in. It made me sad because she was so happy and she could possibly see death in her near future, she didn't deserve that, none of them did. Another baby had a severe burn covering half of their head and face. There was one baby so skinny I felt like every time I touched her she would break. Lastly, there was a little boy who would always reach out to me and hold my hand and fingers, feeling his little fingers in my hand brought a surge of love for him. Also, there was a baby whose hand I held onto for a little bit, later we found out he had chicken pox, so I might come home with that! We later asked about what the babies were sick with since most look decently healthy, we were told that there was a range of things but most were fairly common things like colds and chicken pox.  Due to the lack in medicine though, these common sicknesses go untreated and are often worse then they should be. By the time we left, most of the babies were crying because we had put them down. This made us all emotional and lead us to ask the bigger questions of whether we just helped or made it worse. We trust in God though that we are here for something bigger then ourselves and that everything were doing is for the better.  (editors note from Mr. Dols- I am certain that something was lost in translation, meaning, the sisters would not expose our students to untreated chicken pox)

Mom, Dad, Grama and Bapa, Luke, and Emma: (make sure everyone gets my message!!) I hope you're all doing good and not missing me too much:) I love you all and I can't thank you enough for allowing to go on this trip. Im so incredibly grateful for this time and for you all as well. I have already received so much love and made so many life long experiences. And to Logan, I hope you're not missing me too much either, I'll see you so, so soon. I love you! (& I hope you like your letters:)) 

After experiencing these two amazing places, we returned to the guest house for dinner.  The highlight of dinner was singing Happy Birthday to Laura.  I remember spending my 18th birthday (a long, long time ago) in Mexico on a Lasallian Youth trip.  Somehow, doing something awesome takes the sting away from not being at home for special days like a birthday!  Pat and Ann- thanks for sharing her with us on this special day.  

One of my favorite parts of the trip is giving our students the opportunity to meet with and hear the story of wonderful people that Joanna has met in the ministry of her life.  Miquette came tonight to talk to our students about her story.  She came from humble beginnings, in a town about 5 hours away from the Port-Au-Prince.  Her sister was sick at an early age and because her parents couldn't afford to take care of her, they put her in an orphanage.  Her sister and cousin were adopted by a nice family from Detroit Lakes.  She stayed with her parents, sometimes not knowing if/when she would be fed for the day.  The school that she went to had fees associated with it.  Sometimes she would be in the middle of class and the principal would come to the classroom and pull her because they hadn't paid the fees.  Usually it was before the big exams, which would force her family to beg and borrow to keep her in school.  Early on her family believed that education was the only way out of poverty.  Miquette wanted to be a nurse.  

Sometime during her junior year the man that adopted her sister and cousin paid the family a visit.  He asked her all sorts of questions about her school, her classes, what she was learning, if she liked her science classes.  She thought all Americans were really interested in education.  But he came to find out that he wanted to sponsor her to come to Detroit Lakes for her senior year.  Although her sister was mortified, and she made some tactical errors (like using the boys bathroom because she didn't know there was a difference), she learned a ton and graduated.  Eventually she went to Concordia in Moorhead, became a nurse, and decided she had to give back.  Now she is running schools and programs for Haitians to get educated so that they can have successful lives as well.  It is called TeacHaiti and there is even a book written about her!

We spent the rest of the night journaling, playing games and preparing for another exciting day in Haiti.  Pray for us, we are praying for you!

Holy Family Catholic High School- Safe, maybe not sound

The day began pretty early at the airport and almost everyone was ready to go and on time!  A little miracle in our own right.  As travel days go, things went pretty smoothly.  Flights were on time, students were exactly where they needed to be when they needed to be, and Mr. Dols was even treated to First Class from Atlanta to Haiti.  Although he enjoyed that stretch of the trip, the others in back thought it was a little bumpy, especially the landing.  Some poor guy spent the landing speaking to the bottom of the paper puke bag!!!  The airport in Haiti always proves to be bustling with activity. No matter how many times you try to convince people to not give up their bags, we always end up giving generous tips to those who help us.  At the end of the day, it is not that big of a deal!

We loaded the tap tap, our chariot for the week, and took off toward the guest house.  We were met by Christa our host for the week.  What a warm and friendly welcome.  After some initial rules- like no shoes in the house, if it is pee- let it be, you know, the usual- we met on the roof of the guest house.  There is a concrete patio that is beautiful and has a terrific view of the sky.  We took several deep breaths and took in the fact that after all our planning, we have arrived.  The excitement of the group cannot be contained.

We settled into our rooms, 3 girls rooms and  boys room and 4 bathrooms!  It is an awesome new building.  We are also the only group here this week, so we have the run of the land.  We had our first meal together which was basically walking tacos on a plate.  It was satisfying after the long day of travel.

All the students went to the yard next door to meet the neighborhood kids.  I will let Emily talk about that experience.

Hey its Emily!  After traveling all day through chaotic airports, we finally settled into the new guest house.  The excitement ran high from the morning on and built up rather quickly when we finally heard the announcement "The Delta team would like to welcome you to Port-Au-Prince".  We all sat down for an amazing meal that the nice ladies prepared for us before we got here.  Next, we had a meeting on the roof of the house.  The sun shining on our faces we listened intently to the story Mr. Dols told to us.  He talked about how we should go about having this experience we are on, as he so wonderfully put it, EAT THE STRAWBERRY, or rather to enjoy every second we have in the present.  Do not worry about the past, the home we left behind and the families we miss, or the future ahead, the water truck and the orphanages.  Embrace every opportunity!  We quickly jumped on starting our experiences together.  After dinner, we headed to the lot right next to the place we are staying.  Although we did take a few minutes to watch the baby goats before finally making it into the lot.  We were greeted by big smiles from the neighborhood boys who were playing soccer there.  Immediately, this little girl came running up to the group of us.  She wanted love and attention and no one was about to not give it to her.  Soon enough I found myself being taken by the hand and right onto the soccer field.  This game was intense.  Lots of tripping and falling but one thing above all else was the laughter we all shared together.  Many of the boys would ask us our names and then continue to repeat them over and over again to distract us from kicking in a goal.  I always knew my preschool soccer team would help me someday and that was today.  After successfully scoring three goals,  I found myself playing with this small girl that ran up to us just a few minutes earlier.  She could not stop smiling the entire time I held her.  Her name I later found out was Rebecca.  After about a half hour of holding her and swinging her I was covered in sweat.  She finally detached herself from me and headed to play with the other little girl in the lot.  But, just as soon as Rebecca left the smaller boys challenged us to arm wrestling.  Oh boy that was even more of a challenge then playing with Rebecca.  As we were leaving, it was harder to leave than I could ever imagine.  We had all created relationships with these children and teenagers in less than a few hours of hanging out with them.  I look forward to more nights just like this first night and creating friendships throughout the next week as well.

Also Hi Mom, Dad, Grandma, and Nick.  Love you and miss you and this is your letter for you to know that I somehow made it to Haiti without getting lost or losing any of my luggage :) I only left my carry on at the security in Minneapolis for about five minutes before I remembered I had left it in the line.  Be home soon, don't miss me too much!

Liberty Classical Academy: Day 5, Orphanage Visits

            First we visited the orphanage called For His Glory. Most of the kids were fairly young, and they seemed very well taken care of; they weren't overly clingy, and they were not fighting with each other. We played jump rope, played basketball, and blew bubbles with the kids. It was really fun to play basketball there, because the hoop was really low and it was really easy to dunk. The kids loved watching people (a.k.a. Ben) dunk on Neal. The kids loved jump rope also and most of them were better than us. We tried playing games like Ring Around the Rosie and Duck Duck Grey Duck with some of the little kids; some of them caught on, and some of them didn't. There was a kid there named Wilson, who had some disabilities and stayed in a wheelchair. An American lady, who visits often, told us that he doesn't get out of his room much and just lies in his bed most of the time. He really touched the hearts of many of us. When it was time to go he started crying and no one could get him to stop. It was really hard for many of us to see. Overall, it was a really calm and fun day, and we loved sharing the love of God with all the kids.

           The second orphanage we went to is called Dios. It is a orphanage for special needs children. There were kids of many different ages there. Most of the kids there had problems with their legs or feet; most were in wheelchairs. Almost all the older boys played soccer with Ty, Neal, Jacob, and Ben. Even a boy with crutches played too. The girls liked to play hand games and they liked it when we held their hands. We met a boy named Morris. From his knees down his legs and feet are unusable. We sat down with him and he wanted to get out of his wheel chair so we took him out. Then he went back and forth between our laps. He loved being tickled and laughed a lot. There was a railing that he used to help him walk. He liked to play this game where he would stack a bunch of our hands on top of each other and lightly hit the hand on the top. We had to try to take our hands out of the pile without him noticing. It was hard to leave, but as we were pulling out, we saw him laughing and waving goodbye to us. Overall, it was really fun to connect with all the kids and see how much joy they had even though they have so little.


Delia, Izzie, Ben, and Leanna

Liberty Classical Academy: Day 4, Water Truck and Fleri Farms

           Today we ventured into the heart of Cite Soleil to deliver water to the locals. It was wild and crazy, but we managed to persevere through the hardships. There were a lot of children, especially at the final stop. There was a little boy who took Jacob by the hand and walked him a long distance to set down a water bucket. He then proceeded to dump the water on Jacob, and made Jacob give him a piggy back ride the whole journey back. After Ty helped a woman bring a bucket of water back to her shanty, she took Ty's arm and wouldn't let go. Then, when a boy who needed help carrying a bucket of water tried to grab Ty's arm the woman punched the boy and they began to fight. When Ty was holding a little boy a mom continued to try and force him to put the boy down so Ty would hold her child.
          After the adventure in Cite Soleil, we took a side trip to Fleri Farms. There we took a hike deep into the coconut and mango forest. The group brought back some coconuts and mangos to munch on afterwards. The coconut water and meat were so fresh, clean, and sweet. The mangos had a very tangy taste. We saw some puppies and Ty was reunited with his little buddy for a short period of time prior to an emotional goodbye.
          Next, we came back to the guest house and hung out, washed up, watched some soccer, and ate dinner. Overall I think today was the day the most kids were held as almost everyone had a kid or two, or occasionally three, in their arms or on them while there was still plenty more kids.
       -Jacob and Ty

Liberty Classical Academy - Day 3, Grace Village and Elder Visits

Today we visited the Mass Grave Site from the 2010 earthquake, Grace Village which is an orphanage/school, and a few elders that live in Titanyen. It was about a 45 minute drive from our guest house to the grave site. The grave site was set on a hill overlooking the ocean. The grave site was built in 2014, but before that it was just two crosses up on a hill with mass graves around them. The memorial was a beautiful garden full of flowers and plants. It is estimated that 300-400,000 people were buried near or at that memorial site along with an unknown amount of other deaths. After that, we drove a few miles down the road to Grace Village. This is a home for orphan children, a church, a bakery, a clinic, and a place that provides jobs for the people of Titanyen which means, "less than nothing". We got a tour of the village and the bakery. At the bakery, a man named Jake told us about the bakery, and its origin. The main goal of this bakery is to provide stable jobs for people so they might be able to provide for themselves. Grace Village consisted of many homes for the children, as well as a large school, a garden, and a medical clinic. The school there was from kindergarten to grade 13. The kids graduated around their mid 20's. After they graduated, the people of Grace Village helped them transition into life on their own and provided them with a job at the bakery, as well as some basic life skills.
       After visiting Grace Village, we went to visit some of the elders living in Titanyen. We were able to visit with two elders, Edmund, and Elitane. They were very sweet people, but they were very sick and were struggling to take care of themselves. The first elder we visited was a man named Edmund around the age of 80. He was very sick, blind, and partially deaf. He wasn't feeling well, and was having some mental issues, such as talking to himself, and thinking that someone was trying to harm him. We sang Glory to God with him, and were able to pray for him. This was a very emotional experience and was a time that God was able to open our eyes and hearts to the people of Haiti in a new way. Next, we visited a woman named Elitane. She wasn't as sick as Edmund, but her husband was very sick. We came in to her house and he was very skinny, all you could see was bone. We were able to wash his feet and give them some food. We sang 10,000 Reasons with them and Amazing Grace. This stop was much more emotional than the last one, and some of us were unable to visit with them due to our emotions. To sum up our day we're going to share a quote from a song called Jesus Friend of Sinners

- Delia & Abby

. "Oh Jesus, friend of sinners, break our hearts for what breaks yours." Jesus definitely broke our hearts today, and opened our eyes to see his beauty.

Liberty Classical Academy - Day 2, Water Truck Day

Our second day we visited Cite Soleil to deliver water to the Haitians. For me, this was one of the most heart-breaking days yet, I already know this will be my favorite day. Children were running down the streets and following the tap tap bus wherever we went. When I walked out the children ran up to me, grabbed my hand, and have me many hugs. One of my favorite moments from today was when I picked up a little girl. She had little to no clothes on and was covered in dirt yet, she was overjoyed just at the fact that I was holding her. She had noticed that I had some of my dirt on my face and that some strands of my hair had fallen out of my pony tail, but instead of being concerned for herself she was concerned for me. She tried to wipe the dirt off my face and pushed the hair behind my ear and on top of all of that she gave me a huge kiss and said, all better. All the kids here are such sweet and loving people.  The fact that many of them have almost nothing and still care only about us is honestly shocking to me. Haiti has already changed me in incredible ways. I am so thankful that I was given this opportunity. ~ Maddy

Today we went to Cite Soleil to give water to the people. It was emotionally and physically hard. We struggled to carry big buckets of water to the Haitian's homes, while the residents did it with ease.  There was a language barrier so it was difficult to communicate at first, but after a while we learned to use our hands to talk. The children were amazing. All they wanted was to be hugged and loved. At our last stop for the day, this little girl, I think about 6 or 7, wouldn't let me put her down. She started crying and clinging on to my legs, whenever I tried. At one point, I had 6 kids crowding around me waiting to be held. They all were trying to hold my hand and play games with me. The kids taught me some Haitian songs, games, and how to find joy, even in the darkest times. They barely had any clothes on and at one point were fighting over my bandAid. To see them it was somehow heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time. We came to help and impact the people, but I have learned more in these last two days about joy and love than I have in a while. The Haitians are so extremely happy and thankful. They remind me to be the same.  - Alaya

Liberty Classical Academy - Day 1, Orphanage Visits

Today was our first day in Haiti and it was very exiting. We went to a few orphanages but one thing that stuck out to me was the La Phere orphanage. Some people went to the Home for Sick & Dying Babies Orphanage but others went to the La Phere orphanage. When we went there, the kids ran right up to me smiling and hugged me. Almost the whole time I had a kid with me either sitting on my lap or on my back. And whenever I looked a a kid they would just smile at me, which was very heart warming. They just wanted to play with you and were all so joyful even though they have so little. It was cool to see how God was with them and was working with us to help them.
-Zoe-

Our first full day in Haiti was wonderful and exciting. After a delicious breakfast made by Ulta and Phaunis, we loaded into the tap-tap and drove to Sweet Home, a school and orphanage. We mostly played with the littlest kids, who loved the bubbles we brought. We also had a few minutes with some of the older kids and got to play soccer and on the playground. On the way back to the guesthouse, we stopped at the gift shop Papillon and got a tour from Tricky of their production facility where they make beads, jewelry, tote bags, pottery, etc. After about an hour back at the guesthouse, we left again for another orphanage. Some of the group went to La Phere to play with the kids there, and the rest of us went to the Home for Sick and Dying Babies. There, we got to hold and play with these babies and young kids. Most of the two hours we were there I held and walked around with a sweet little girl. The moment I picked her up, she laid her head on my shoulder and wrapped her arms as far around me as they could go. From time to time she'd let go briefly to look around, then she'd look back at me, spread her arms out wide, and hug me again so tight. It was hard to set her down when it was time to go. We then headed to La Phere to pick up the rest of the group and got to see the church and play with the kids for a few minutes. When we left, a little girl clung to me tighter than I would have thought her possible of and I literally had to pry her off me. Did we have to leave? we were both asking. The day was made complete by Valery's expert tap-tap driving through the insane traffic of the streets of Haiti. While the day was hot and exhausting, I wouldn't have changed anything. I find myself wondering, aren't you supposed to help other people on missions trips? I loved cuddling these kids who need love so badly.
-Elly-