Elder Care Team (part 2)

Well, we are calling this tiny team the Elder Care Team part 2.  The original plan was a parent/child trip for this week, which also included the team leader and a team member from our elder care trip at the end of April.  The kids were rescheduled due to the possibility of unrest and difficult travel due to road blocks, etc. 

So, we began to make this trip elder-focused and planned for many follow-ups from our April/May trip.  

After hearing last night that we would likely not be able to travel to Titanyen due to road blocks, it was reported that the roads were passable, and we (quickly) gathered our needed supplies and headed to the tap tap.  We rode alongside Grace and Hope Clinic staff members who were reporting for their work day.  

In our preparations since the April/May elder trip, we had asked our team (which shrank from EIGHT to TWO) to post an Amazon Wish List and Target Registry, which garnered many donations from our generous supporters.  Those supplies (which were elder-care focused) were packed up onto the tap tap with us.  We experienced no delays in our transport to Grace Village, and were immediately able to re-stock some much needed supplies into the Elder Care storage area, including items for basic needs (soap, towels, bed sheets, shampoo, tooth brushes and tooth paste, etc.).   Some of these items have been difficulty to obtain in-country due to economic crisis as well as difficulty with safe passage to /from markets & stores.

During our day, we were able to check-in on some of the elders, including Pierre and Lauremise.  These two, happy as always, reported that yes, they have been using their canes that they received in May. The canes have been helpful in negotiating their steep entry-way and the difficult terrain in Titanyen.  

We also had a brief visit with Aloude, who is sponsored by Alleluia Lutheran Church in St. Michael, MN (Marni's church).  She enjoyed the visit, and shared with us some of the difficulties she had experienced recently including the loss of family members.  We also met her son, who was seriously injured several years ago in an accident and were able to share a time of prayer with them.  Aloude helps to support other elders in the program by doing laundry and cleaning tasks for those who are unable, and therefore works very hard.    We followed-up with her on her Plantar Fascitis issues that were assessed in May, including discussing proper footwear (since she walks ALL OVER Titanyen) and other things she could do to work on stretching out her sore leg and foot.  Her home appears to be very solid and in good condition.

We checked in with Camisane, who has recently moved into a new home.  We found her working in her booth in the market, selling charcoal.  She was very excited for us to see her new place, and of course made sure that we all had chairs and a place to sit during our brief visit.  Her move was prompted by need for a larger space for her and her 7 grandchildren that live with her!!

Also during our day, we had informational meetings with both Jean (at the guest house) and Emmanuel and Brunet (while in Titanyen) regarding "big picture" elder care topics.  

Emmanuel and Brunet were originally both translators/drivers for both Marni's and Joy's first trips, and we both expressed how great it has been to see these men develop into important leadership roles.  

We'll be back tomorrow with more updates on our elders!  

Thanks for reading, 

Joy (and Marni).

Pierre and Lauremise's entry way steps. They were fixed after our 2018 Elder Care Trip. Previously this was a very steep hill that could get very muddy.

Aloude and family

Camisane's new home, including a sun shade she received at an Elder Christmas Party.

Our Purpose Perhaps?

 Our Purpose Perhaps?

After five days of serving throughout Haiti, Day 6 is designed to be a day of rest and reflection – much like what the Bible instructs us to do on the Sabbath.  

We started off our Sunday morning at Rendezvous church -a favorite stop for most goers. The music was incredible as always, followed by a fantastic message relating the story of Daniel to that of our current events in Haiti and America.  No problem is too big for God to fix as long as we believe wholeheartedly that He is our Lord and Savior and that he died on the cross for our sins.

Following church service we rode in the tap-tap up the mountain to support the local art vendors next to the Observatory restaurant.  The expansive view over the capital city of Port-au-Prince and Cite Soleil was absolutely gorgeous.  It was so fun to stand on the side of the mountain, pointing out familiar locations and landmarks while reminiscing about all of the stops that we experienced throughout this special city this past week.

We then took a dip in the pool at a hotel just around the corner.  Scheduling time to decompress is so important to teams and individuals alike.  The laughter generated from hilarious memories over the past week was priceless. 

We finished off the day with some intense corn hole(bags) matches, Shepard's Pie for supper, revealed our prayer partners, and shared our final "word of the day" for the week.

This day of reflection also brings a couple of questions to mind.  What draws us to serve in Haiti?  Why do we feel a distinct closeness to God and revitalized Faith after a week of serving the Haitian people? I believe the answer lays in the verse Matthew 19:21: Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

If for only a week, we do exactly what we are called to do in Matthew 19:21.  We leave our families, our jobs, our communities, and our responsibilities to love on His people here, and God rewards us with the ultimate feeling of closeness and unity with Him.  What more could we possibly ask for?

Thank you Haiti for welcoming us with a whole heart and teaching us more about love, kindness, selflessness, and hope than we could have ever share with you.

May God Bless and protect these beautiful Haitian souls.

Randy

Curious Minds

Curious Minds - Serving Day #5

Wow. It's hard to summarize just how incredible this trip has been the last 5 days. Leading up to our trip the team had only met via Zoom, so it was a pleasant surprise how natural our team connected within the first few hours of being together. Since that point, it feels like we've become a family: bantering back and forth, laughing until we're in tears (possibly due to a lack of sleep), helping and encouraging each other out without question, and the list goes on and on. Today at dinner, while talking about our favorite moments of the trip, we kept coming back to just how wonderful it has been to have such a close-knit group.

Today (Saturday), we started off the day with a long, but beautiful ride in the Tap Tap to a town called Cabaret - a smaller town past Titanyen (where Grace Village is located). We got the opportunity to spend our morning with a local community playing games, connecting with the locals, loving on the kiddos, and a few of us even got our hair braided :) Honestly, we didn't know what to expect with this visit as no team members had ever done this activity on previous trips. We were overwhelmingly surprised by how much we loved visiting this community. A couple of amazing takeaways: the kids were extremely helpful and supportive of one another (making sure everyone had a snack, one girl gave a younger boy her own pair of shoes to wear, and a sister continually cared for her upset, toddler brother). The other thing was just how inquisitive and curious these kids were. At one point during a session of frisbee throwing, a few girls were learning different frisbee throwing techniques from Dennis by changing their hand position to match his. Lastly, a young woman gave us a heartfelt goodbye by gifting us with a few fresh Mango's - something I have never experienced in Haiti before. To cap off this portion of the day, we took a short walk through some farming land and neighborhoods to eventually arrive at a beautiful peninsula overlooking the turquoise waters of Port-au-Prince Bay. 

Next Stop: The Haiti Deaf Academy. It's hard to put into words just how extraordinary this place was. Meredith and Keith (the local directors of HDA) gave us a tour of the compound and the history of how they came to Haiti and have served the deaf community for the last 4 years. In Haiti, deaf kids and adults are actually considered a burden to society (many times called "bebe" (baby in Creole) because they can't hear). We titled this blog "curious minds" because the kids of HDA wanted to know everything about our lives. We spent a good chunk of time answering the plethora of questions they threw at us (with Meredith graciously signing and translating). They asked a variety of questions that in our normal day-to-day lives may seem mundane to us, but to them they were the most intriguing - things like "where do you work? How many kids do you have? How many times have you been to Haiti?" They rattled off question after question - curious, attentive, and wide-eyed. Their responses to our questions were also hilarious (like praying for Marina to have patience "waiting" for her future boyfriend :)). It was an experience like no other.

We ended the day back at the guesthouse chatting, laughing, and sharing our unique perspectives on the day. We feel eternally grateful to have experienced the beautiful country of Haiti and all it has to offer. 

- Ellie and Marina

Moment of Gratitude

 Pre-dawn moment of gratitude.

Day 4: Give Yourself Away

Our day began early with a 6:00 AM service at the Church of the Rock, a local Haitian church. The spirit of God was ebullient, the music was inspiring, the message was powerful, and it was delivered in both Creole and English. The theme that resonated with me as we served this week was “give yourself away.” An important commitment as we live our lives, and an embodiment our team has been living in Haiti.

After another delicious breakfast cooked by the bél (beautiful in Haitian Creole) women at the guest house, we headed to Titanyen to tour Grace Village, a school, clinic and orphanage operated by Healing Haiti. What an amazing place with the spirit of God serving families in the area. It was a special opportunity for our team because two of our goers, Dennis and Lori were able to meet the child they sponsor. It was special to see them interact, learn about each other and create a forever bond.

Our next blessing from God was the opportunity to serve four of the elders in the area. We were fortunate to be able to visit their homes and give ourselves to them as we took meals and drinks, washed their feet and hands and helped to soften their skin with soothing lotion. Marina painted toenails of those that wanted that special touch. Dennis and Katie played guitar and we sang songs with them before praying for their requested needs. It was heartwarming and we all talked about how blessed we are to have the opportunity to serve these beautiful, resilient elders.

Next, we headed to the Fleri Bakery and Restaurant. Fleri is part of Healing Haiti and focuses on creating job opportunities and sustainability for Haitians. They make delicious artisan bread, sweet treats and pizza. The bakery currently employs 25 people, sources much of the raw goods locally and then sells to many local businesses. It’s a powerful model for sustainability and they continue to refine the model as they listen to input from the local community they serve. 

Touring the bakery was incredible…the sights, the processes and the smells… so of course we had to eat in the restaurant! The restaurant has become an important gathering place in the community that caters to families, weddings, holiday gatherings and more. We enjoyed pizza, pasta, plantains, French fries and delicious beverages. The food is out of sight.

We ended the day driving up the hill to a beautiful overlook where we could see an expanse of the island and the sea. It was the perfect way to end another day serving in Haiti where we were once again blessed by God to give ourselves away.

Scott

Serving Day #2

 

Greetings family and friends…

Our second day of serving began this morning assisting the ladies at Hope School/Church doing the laundry Haitian style for the Elders. The Elders are the older, grandparent type people. We had five tubs of water…the first tub worked the initial dirt, the second worked the soap, finishing up with the last three tubs of rinsing out the soap producing clean clothes and linens. The ladies, (the Haitian experts), coached us in doing this by HAND!  This was a GREAT work out!!!  I was able to make a special connection with one of the Haitians who tried so very hard to teach me the correct way to scrub and as Ellie (one of the team leaders), would say, how to “squish, squish, squish”.  We shared some great laughter while learning from our new friends.

While we were there this morning one of our team members, Scott, met up with one of his sponsored kids who attends Hope School. It was a tender moment as they got to know one another through an interpreter. 

We then spent time with the elders from Citi Soleil in Hope Church. We had about 40 elders in our group today.  We colored pictures together, sang together, and basically spent time together.   The singing was from their hearts and spirit filled.  Even though we could not understand all of the words, it touched us as they praised our God with their song.

After a late lunch we went to the Home for Sick and Dying Children. They have a nursery, a 2 to 4-year old section, and a 4 years and older children’s clinic. The children there are severely sick and need all the loving touch they can get. We had the opportunity to visit the 25 kids in the 2 to 4 year old group.  We spent ninety minutes feeding, changing diapers, holding, walking with those who could walk, and sharing our love and God’s love with them. It was hard for all of us to walk away when our time was up. It was hard for them as well as we heard the sad cries as we left the building.  We were happy that they were well cared for and very loved there. 

Dinner was at a new restaurant in town that is owned by one of our Haitian staff drivers.  We had a wonderful meal of fried chicken, plantains, and fries.  It was nice to be out in the community and supporting Max. 

After dinner we played football (soccer) with the 8 to 10 kids in the street just outside the Healing Haiti compound. The boys were so gracious to let us play “keep away” with them.  (They are really good!!) We were also able to see another leader, Randy, bust out a few of his soccer moves and impressed us all!

We then had our daily singing, word of the day and just generally sharing with each other…we have really come together as a team and they are all a true blessing to both Dennis and me.

It was a beautiful day in which we could share God’s love with the wonderful people of Haiti.  As always, I wish all of you could experience this trip with us. Thank you all for your love, support and prayers.

Blessings,

Dennis &  Lori

 Hey you.

Three words. Three words that come to mind as I think of this day are grateful, exhausting, and joy.

Grateful. Grateful I was able to spend the day with my amazing team on water truck day. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but as I walked out of the Tap Tap children came flooding around. Yelling HEY YOU. Children climbed up my body, held my hand, and made sure my hair was out of my face. The pure excitement and love the children had for us as we walked around was amazing to experience. 

Exhausting. Exhausting in the most amazing way possible. Exhausted from carrying buckets of water to families’ houses, but at the same time it was pure happiness to know they now have fresh water. As the women lined up behind the water bucket waiting for their buckets to be filled, the atmosphere buzzed with happiness and chaos. Happiness of the children laughing and clinging on for attention. 

Joy. Joy of seeing children and families being able to get the source of fresh water. Joy of children climbing and seeking attention. Joy of seeing the beautiful faces of the children in school learning. The joy of all the children patiently waiting for every child to receive their food before eating. Joy of observing my teammates do this amazing work. Joy of learning more about the Healing Haiti organization. 

Morgan