Day Three - Cite Soleil

Words of the Day…Speechless, Honest, Reunited, Sweet, Progress, Future, Complex, Present

Hello from Angela and Krista!  Today was our first Water Truck Day in Haiti.  It was Krista’s first Water Truck Day ever and visit to Cite Soleil (the poorest slum in the Western Hemisphere).  Healing Haiti is the only organization that is delivering water bucket-by-bucket for free.  Many people in Cite Soleil have to walk for many blocks, 2, 6, even 12 or more to get a bucket of clean water. In Cite Soleil if you drill a well, you hit salt water, so there is no access to clean water. People in Cite Soliel live on less than a $1 a day.  Healing Haiti delivers 3 loads of water by truck per day, six days a week, 52 weeks per year. 

Being my (Krista’s) first time in Cite Soleil, I came with an open mind of what I would experience. I expected myself to be very emotional, but I was surprised to find myself joyful because the children I saw today were so full of joy and happiness.  I am still finding it hard to put into words the experience of the day.  It is hard to find the right words that would do justice to all the sights that I saw, sounds that I heard, smells that smelled, touches that I felt, emotions that are in my heart. That is all I know right now, but in time I know I will be able to express more clearly all details of this hard and beautiful place that has forever made a mark on my heart.

Driving back into Cite Soleil this year I (Angela) felt the same overwhelming magnitude of the poverty that I felt the very first time that I laid eyes on this place.  It takes my breath away every time to see the endless rows of tin houses and undressed children running after the tap tap.  But when we got to Hope Church (Healing Haiti’s church/school) in the middle of Cite Soleil this year, so much had changed since last year.  There was a brand new clinic completely up and running that was barely in the beginning stages of construction last year when we were here.  They are treating anywhere from 75-100 patients/day.  There is a new sewing pod that is providing jobs for the women of Cite Soleil.  We got to tour a new innovation lab that is bringing the latest in learning and technology to the children in Cite Soleil. Everywhere we looked we saw change and progress and hope.  One of our leaders made the comment that some day we will come back to deliver water and there will be no more children running in the streets of Cite Soleil because they will all be in school.  What a beautiful thought!  I hope I am there to see that day! 

Tomorrow we head to Rebuild Globally, Grace Village to see their new Innovation Lab, and to Dios Special Needs Orphanage to love on some sweet children!  Pray for us and we continue our travels.

Krista and Angela

Hope in Haiti – Day Two

Greetings from Haiti! This is Abby and Cayley typing. Today, we woke up around 7:57, and breakfast was at 8. Breakfast was super scrumptious (as expected) and we ate as much eggs as possible. Everyone remembered their Malaria medicine, so sending up the praises for that one. After breakfast, Abby made a tutorial on how to brush your teeth in Haiti (It’s a little harder than you think). When everybody was ready to go, we loaded the trusty tap-tap up with our frozen water and our yummy snacks and were off on our voyage for the day!

Our first stop was Peace Cycle and we got to tour the work area while learning the whole process of recycling the water bags. In Haiti, they do not have bottled water but instead bagged water. They use 8 million a day and when done with them, many end up on the side on the street. Peace Cycle uses those bags to make a whole bunch of different products. We got to shop and look at all the things they have made. It’s neat because they are helping rebuild the economy while still cleaning the trash off the streets (Which is something we all could do better).

After Peace Cycle, we headed to Papillion (which means butterfly) for lunch, a tour of their production site, and a little shopping. For lunch, Abby ordered the last chicken nuggets and if you know Cayley, you know she wanted them nuggets, but had to settle for a burger (GROSS). We left Papillion after we finished shopping and started towards Teach Haiti.

Teach Haiti is a school for K-10 children who are unable to afford the other schools in Haiti. We visited three different classrooms and got to learn things about the students, and some students even performed music for us - which was amazing. When we were finished at Teach Haiti, we went to the supermarket and saw some questionable cow tongue WITH hair, unrefrigerated fish, and something that looked like a foot.

Our scheduled plans were done for the day after that, but we all decided to walk to the Elite (a VERY fancy hotel up the street from us) and go swimming. Abby and Cayley had A LOT of fun in the pool (notice the pictures). We finished the day with a nice Haitian meal provided by our sweet ladies. It was a calming day, and we can’t wait to see what tomorrow holds. We love everyone back home and hope y’all continue to pray for our safety. J

PS- we got to see KiKi and she is doing great!!!!

PPS- Abby knows karate

Day One - Ready to Serve

Not Pictured: Katie from Minnesota 

The team left Huntingdon, Tennessee at 1:30 AM and made the two-hour drive to Nashville for our flight to Haiti. Even on little to no sleep, no one’s word of the day is tired. Everyone is ready for a week of serving, loving Haiti, and seeing what God has planned. Today’s words are:

Sponge. Refreshed. Fulfilled. Ready. Anticipation. Familiar. Family. Safe.

Our team of eight arrived in Haiti this afternoon to sunny skies and friendly faces. We road in the tap tap to the Healing Haiti guest house and were greeted by the resident dogs and amazing staff. Today was all about getting settled in and preparing for the week. There are two other teams here – one from a college in Sioux Falls and the other from Minnesota. Everyone is eager for tomorrow and ready to serve as God’s hands and feet.

We had an all-group meeting where we went over house rules and an overview of the week. Then we enjoyed delicious tacos made by the ladies at the guest house. We learned that XXX hot sauce really is HOT. Everyone enjoys feeding leftover food to the dogs and the ice-cold soda. It always tastes better in Haiti!

We closed out the night with team time. We read a devotional about not trying to understand everything but turning to God for his guidance. As we go into a week of unknowns, it was a nice reminder to let go and let God. Now Pastor Jacob is playing the guitar, while we sing along…and the team is one-by-one heading to bed. Tomorrow we’ll visit Peace Cycle, Papillion, and Teach Haiti.

Bonswa and God Bless!