Friday, December 2, 2016
Haiti Day 2 and 3
Haiti Day 2: Water Truck
The last two days have flown by in a whirlwind. On Wednesday we had the opportunity to
deliver water to Cite Soleil. Cite
Soleil is the poorest city in the Western Hemisphere with an estimated
population of 200-400 thousand people.
Haiti does not take a census, making it difficult to get accurate
population totals. In Cite Soleil, we
saw so many people in what we would consider great need. There were “homes” fashioned from anything
and everything the owners could acquire, sewage and garbage nearly everywhere
you looked, and kids with not only no clothing, but no parent or adult in
sight.
While it would be easy to look around and feel saddened,
it’s actually quite the opposite experience.
Again at the end of our day, we all chose one word to describe how we
were feeling, what we had seen, or thoughts for the day. As we went around, everyone spoke of hope,
joy, and contentment. Never in my life
had I witnessed the sheer joy of the water truck arriving. Fortunately for all of us, we’ve never been
in need of basic necessities such as water.
Having the opportunity to be a deliverer of such a precious commodity
sure makes you appreciate the immense abundance and access to not only water,
but so much more that we are all afforded, simply because of where we were
born.
Throughout the day, so many of us experienced a moment that
will forever change us. At our second
stop (we had three total) a little boy was standing on the roadside watching
the commotion. He was naked and looked
to be 10-14 months, but it’s really hard to tell just how old the children are.
I went over and scooped him up and just
snuggled him in close. I told him he was
precious and so sweet and just swayed with him.
Moments later he was asleep in my arms.
Safe to say I did not put that baby down until the absolute last moment
possible. When it came time for us to
go, I looked around – surely someone was missing this tiny, sweet baby – but
there was no one. I found an adult and
in my best sign language/simple English, asked who could take this baby, she
took him, and set him over on the side walk, groggy from being woken from his
slumber and just looking around. We
pulled way and I just looked at him… what a tiny life in a big world, seemingly
all on his own. This is an everyday reality
in Cite Soleil, but those tiny lives are resilient. They are brave and hang
with the older kids (when I say older, I mean 4-5 year olds). They find their way and for a brief moment, I
could snuggle him close and let him know he was loved, so sweet, and pray God
would watch over him.
In between our first and second stop, we had the chance to
go to Hope Church. I think back to
November of last year, sitting in the worship space in Blaine, watching a video
of our Pastor Jason in an almost finished Hope Church. In that video, they showed a small Haitian
boy playing with a truck he had made from a water bottle and jug caps. I still see that boys face, and my love for
the country of Haiti was born in that moment.
When the opportunity presented itself to come to this country, I knew I
couldn’t pass it up. When minutes before
we had been surrounded by rubble, behind a giant gate, on top of what used to
be 8 stories of trash, sat the most beautiful church and school. Hope Church has three kindergarten classes
and represents its namesake – the hope of the Haitian people to have access to
education, employment and empowerment for their families. It was remarkable to see the contrast of
children dressed in their purple school outfits, and the sweet little faces
with no clothing on, just on the other side of the gate.
At all of our stops, there was heartbreak, but more present
was joy and laughter. It was loud. When the horn of the water truck sounded,
people clamored with their buckets. We
were rookies with the hose but we did our best to fill them up and push them
along. We let little kids budge in line
with their tiny buckets, only to look over and see them chasing each other and
dumping it on their heads, making make-shift slipNslides, and fitting as many
tiny, naked buns into a basin as possible.
Their smiles were huge, and one thing was evident – kids are kids in
every corner of the earth. Water makes
them giggle, they crave love and attention, and their joy is infectious. We will go back into Cite Soleil on Friday to
deliver water again. I can’t wait.
Haiti Day 3: Grace Village, Elder Visits
“The sun
comes up, it’s a new day dawning,
It’s time to
sing Your song again,
Whatever may
pass and whatever lies before me…
Let me be
singing when the evening comes.”
Today (Thursday) had God’s hand written all over it. I sat in the front of the Tap Tap (bus)
today. We snaked our way through paved
and unpaved roads, dodged goats, cattle and motos, and Brune (our driver) poked
fun at me when I had a few nervous moments wondering if we would sneak by in
the crazy traffic – I’m happy to report we made it through every traffic snafu
and Brune is an excellent driver. He and I chatted from our Guesthouse all the
way to Grace Village. He is a native
Haitian and proud of his country – and with good reason, the people and
countryside are beautiful.
As we worked our way from the guesthouse to Tetanyan where
Grace Village was, we saw everything from roadside stands, to women with huge
baskets on their heads filled with every merchandise imaginable. We saw industrial areas, rivers, and piles of
garbage that pigs were riffling through.
On the left was the beautiful ocean side, flat lands similar to the
Midwest, and on the right were rough, mountainous terrain… and on every inch of
it, Haitian life was happening.
As we pulled in closer to Grace Village, you could see this
beautiful structure erected high on the hillside. The roads were bumpy and we slowly pulled up
to the giant purple gate, the guards opened it, and it was as though every sad
or heartbreaking experience we had felt previously left. Grace Village is an orphanage, school, and
medical/dental clinic built by Healing Haiti – and it is astounding. KeKe, our tour guide for Grace Village is
exactly where God has placed her – she is phenomenally invested in Grace
Village and overseas 62 orphans. If ever
there was a woman who deserved a super Mom award… it would be her. She lead us through Grace Village, showing us
the meal room, where they have grown from providing bread and juice, to a full
hot meal. We walked through during lunch
time and saw the cutest little students in their purple uniforms. They ate there meal with the occasional “hey
you!” peppered in between. We were then
shown the transitional housing they have available for emergency situations
where an orphanage in Haiti may need to be closed down. They are the only orphanage in the country
that has the ability to take in an entire orphanage as not to displace the
children from the family they are used to.
Furthermore, Grace Village does everything in its power to reunite these
children with some form of biological family – maybe it’s a grandma, aunt, mom
or dad – but they ensure the child can be taken care of and they provide
resources, support and check ins for the family. It’s nothing short of remarkable that these
children make it back to their families.
At Grace Village we were shown the library, playground and
clinic – all of which were beautiful, modern, and so well taken care of. Seeing Grace Village really represents the
progress and hope of this country.
After Grace Village we went out into the city of Titanyen to
visit four elders. Healing Haiti has a
program that provides meals and comfort to the surrounding elder
community. These are individuals who may
or may not have family, but are in need of assistance.
Because I have not been to Haiti before, and very accustomed
to the Western ways, I assumed we were going to visit the elders in some
fashion of a retirement/elder home. I
was not prepared for finding these sweet souls, mostly alone, in their make
shift homes. They were simple, with a
bed inside, and maybe a table or chair.
Most did not have food, and were in need of assistance to move
around. Despite all of this, there were
two very clear things – They were SO thankful for our presence and their faith
in Christ is rock solid. We visited with
them, sang with them, washed their feet and massaged their worn bodies. Through all of this we heard, “Merci, Merci,
Merci” over and over again. “Thank you,
Thank you, Thank you.” While we were
with them, we asked what we could pray for them. Most asked for healing for their ailments,
some asked for protection for their families and provision, but all of them
talked about their faith in Jesus and how good he has been to them.
Again, we sang the song with the line “God is so good to me”
and I had to take a moment outside of Edmunds home. As I stood there, seeing a man with so little
sing, “God is so good to me”, the same as Andres had… the emotions overcame
me. We live in a world of plenty, and so
often forget to thank God and acknowledge that he is so good to us. Yet, here in a shack in Titanyen, God was so
present, and so praised, and our elders are so loved.
We came back to our guesthouse, all humbled by the
experience. We shared our thoughts over
dinner, looked at our pictures from the day and raised our voices in worship
together. We have so much to be thankful
for, and as much as we are doing this week while we are in Haiti… we have yet
to realize the gifts that will continue well into our lives from being here.
One of our worship songs tonight had these lyrics… may we
all be this faithful:
Spirit lead
me where my trust is without borders,
Let me walk
upon the waters, wherever You may call me.
And take me
deeper than my feet could ever wander,
And my faith
would be made stronger, in the presence of my Savior.
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