Day 3: VBS at La Phare's

Today was our second full day in Haiti! After we ate breakfast and did our team devotions, we made our way to La Phare's orphanage. Upon arrival, we were greeted by a plethora of children of all ages playing a hand-clapping game similar to patty-cake.  It didn't take long for them to get us involved, and we loved it! After playing this game for a while, we sang a song with the kids telling them of the love, peace, and joy they have in Jesus -- it brought much joy seeing them sing along and do the motions with us! Since the kids know very little English and we know very little Creole, it's amazing to see how the love of God has no language barrier.  Next, we did several activity stations which ranged from minute-to-win-it type games, to STEM activities, and even Bingo!  In the midst of all of this, the Cupid Shuffle was playing in the background which resulted in teaching at least 20 of the kids how to do the dance; just another example of how the language barrier didn't matter. To end the day with these sweet kids, we served them lunch, played soccer, jumped rope, and blew bubbles.

Hand clapping game

Guided drawing station

STEM project

Large group songs and dancing

Our next big activity for the day was going to Papillon, a shop and cafe.  While Papillon is not directly connected to Healing Haiti, we love to support their mission of job creation in Haiti.  After being refreshed from some snacks, we had the pleasure of taking a tour behind the scenes of making the goods that they sell in their shop. It was cool to see the impact it's having on the community! Our group then had the chance to shop around to purchase some gifts and souvenirs. If you want to learn more about Papillon, or even buy some of their creations, you can find them online!

Team pic at Papillon

We ended our day with traditional Haitian food and a trip to the pool! It was another beautiful day in Haiti! :)

-Sarah & Steven Petkau