Thursday, July 28, 2016

Alo from the Guetter family!

We had a fun-filled day today visiting the elderly and getting a tour of Grace Village.

The elderly we visited lived in Titanyen which is about 45 minutes away from the guest house. The first lady we visited was 91 years old, and her name was Izna. Half of us gathered in her small hut and the other half of us played soccer with the neighborhood boys outside. Those of us who visited Izna washed her feet, put lotion on her legs, and sang hymns to her. She was very feeble and weak, but you could tell she loved our touch and our visit.

Praying over Izna

Then we visited Dieufort, but while we were going to his house, we were happy to see that there were wells which provided water to the people of Titanyen. He was a very joyful man, and he was very grateful for our service. His house was not far off the main road, and it did not take long for the neighborhood children to gather, which provided us with an oppurtunity to love on those children.

After that we visited Camisane, who was a very lively 64 year old. She and her husband were both cared for, along with all the children who came to see what was going on. We had fun getting to know Izna, Dieufort, and Camisane and making connections with their families and lives.

Our next stop was at Grace Village where we got a tour of their beautiful facility and met Don and Caroline Pugh, along with dozens of wonderful children. Grace Village is a home to 50 oprhans and a school to over 400 children in Titanyen. At Grace Village there is a medical clinic that is available to the public, a playground, a library, multiple classrooms, living quarters, and an open cafeteria. They also have future plans to expand their agriculture practices to include growing their own vegetables on site.

Our last stop was at the Mass gravesite where over 300,000 Haitians were buried due to the destructive earthquake in 2010.  Our translator, Emmanuel,
gave us his first-hand account of the earthquake. He remembered that it was a Tuesday at 4:53 p.m. and lasted for 33 seconds. It was a beautiful memorial, and we were all touched to see it.

 After that we hopped on the tap-tap and headed home! We ended the day with an authentic Haitian gourmet meal and are looking forward to tent Church tomorrow morning.

Goodnight!