Hamilton/Loween Day 3

Water Truck Day

“Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, ‘Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! The Scriptures declare, Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’” John 7:37-39.

No words can describe the desperate need for clean water in Cité Soleil. Cité Soleil is 8.4 square miles and is estimated to have around 300,000 to 500,000 people. It is considered one of the poorest and most dangerous areas of the Western Hemisphere and is also one of the biggest slums in the Northern Hemisphere. The mortality rate is very high due to diseases such as AIDs, or from violence.

Our impact today was so small and yet so helpful. Our first stop this morning was to see the water truck filling station – so many trucks filling water to sell. What a sight to see! Through generous donations, Healing Haiti is able to provide free water to several districts of Cité Soleil. A gift of life – both physical and spiritual!

After our water truck was full, we headed to our first of three stops in Cité Soleil. We took turns holding the hose, filling buckets of water, hauling the filled buckets to the residents’ homes, and playing with the children. They constantly wanted to be picked up and held!

There were so many people in Cité Soleil. It was humbling to see their living conditions. They don’t have much, but they’re resilient and do what they can with what they have…what a beautiful thing to play a small part in their everyday lives.

Between water truck stops we met the children at Hope School, which is a school recently started by Healing Haiti. They have 70+ kindergarteners who are sponsored by donors. The children are adorable and so joyful! “Souri” (Creole for smile) is a great word to sum up our experience at Hope School.

Fleri Farm was our last stop of the day. Fleri farm is owned and operated by Healing Haiti and is one way they provide jobs for Haitians. Healing Haiti’s Purpose Statement is “The world is a better place when families are strengthened.” The organization does as much as they can to help Haitians help themselves so they can keep their families together.

We capped off the evening with a worship session with all three mission teams here this week. It was awesome to meet new people and sing together. What a blessing to be able to openly worship in such a beautiful place! Although this was not one of our song selections for the evening, the song “Overwhelmed” by Big Daddy Weave sums up our day. Here are a few phrases:

I see the work of Your Hands

Galaxies spin in a Heavenly dance

All that You are is so overwhelming

 

I hear the sound of Your Voice

All at once it’s a gentle and thundering noise oh God

All that You are is so overwhelming

 

I delight myself in You

Captivated by Your beauty

I’m overwhelmed, I’m overwhelmed by You…

 

Blessings to all of you reading our blog. We hope you will join hands with Healing Haiti if you have not already done so.

 

Take care!

 

~Nora

Hamilton/Loween Day 2

Hunger

 

Matthew 25:35-36

³⁵ For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶ I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

After a day of traveling and trying to get some rest in the heat and restlessness that is Haiti; we woke up to the most magnificent cup of coffee on the planet. Today’s agenda had changed many times since arriving here at Haiti with the final plan of visiting the Home for Sick and Dying Babies and Papillion Enterprises/ Apparent Project. Despite its’ name; the Home is a hospital and place of hope for desperate parents. The nuns that work and live at the Home are truly working miracles on the very sick babies – the most common illnesses being: mumps, tuberculosis, AIDS, cholera, etc. Thanks to these nuns, most of the babies get to go home.

We were prepared to expect a very long line of parents holding sick babies upon our arrival – nothing could really prepare for that sight. Parents sit by the gate waiting for their chance to have their sick child admitted. There are only so many beds and nurses available, but the Home does everything they can to make sure that they see as many children as possible. The Home does not ask for donations – they firmly believe that God will provide everything they need. Now that’s what I call faith! The craziest thing is that they really have been provided for. No coincidence there.

Our team split up into the two rooms - my group going into the older babies room. As we walked in babies surrounded us with their arms in the sky just hoping to be picked up. The first baby I picked up brought me to tears within seconds. Trying to compose myself, all of the bug spray and sunscreen ran into by eyes making the situation worse, and my eyes redder. The baby just stared at me like I was crazy. Needless to say I tried to shape up real quick after that. We spent the afternoon loving on the babies, changing diapers, bedding and eventually feeding them (what an experience that was). Hunger effects people in different ways. For the babies it was physical – for us it was spiritual; hungry to do more, to help in any way that we could. When you pick up a baby that looks to be a couple months old, but in reality is really 2, your chest does a funny thing - it tightens, and aches, and truly hurts.

 

Silently getting back into our Tap Tap, we tried to transition into the afternoon spent at Papillion Enterprises/ Apparent Project.

The Apparent Project was started by one woman with a heart to help. She came to Haiti to adopt a child, but when she arrived, she discovered that the child was not an orphan – the parents were unable to care for the child financially.  She decided to start something to help the parents who were forced into this decision of giving up their child. She hired Haitians to create amazing art/jewelry/crafts, and provided free childcare for every employee who worked there. Not only is there childcare, but there is preschool as well. Needless to say, our team put a dent in the gift shop t0day, knowing that the money creates opportunities, which creates jobs, which creates stable families, which creates more opportunities. Hundreds of lives changed by this project, which has now turned into an Enterprise and thriving company.

This trip is fueled by hunger. An unfortunate hunger within the people here; but an ever-burning hunger by organizations like Healing Haiti who are determined to do everything they can. Can’t wait to see where the rest of this week takes us!

Brianna

 

 

 

 

 

Hamilton/Loween Day 1

Day 1: TRAVEL Day

We have been lucky to have a great travel day!  All flights went smoothly AND all our baggage came with us.  I will call that a great success.

 

First impressions of Haiti…for me personally, I have traveled quite a bit internationally in my past so the weather, cultural uniqueness and landscape is not all that new.  However, we have quite a few 1^st-timers on a mission trip and are just taking it all in.

The house we are staying at seems to be a full house…we have 3 different groups of ~15 members each.  We met some of the Haitian staff right away they quickly defeated us in a couple games of bean bags [corn hole for all you Midwesterners]!

Our group is a collection of 12 women ranging in ages and ties back to one another.  The majority are from MN, but there are 4 of us from elsewhere [California, Florida, Kansas and Vermont].

Quick roster for us is: leaders Marcia and Amy who are seasoned vets with HH.  Monica, Tammy, Phyllis, Lexie, Bri, Alyssa, Nora, Emily, Amanda and Jill. 

The main agenda for tonight is to organize our donation items…which are many!  We are sorting items for gift bags, pumping up soccer balls, sorting meds, etc.  We have a variety of items and grateful for everyone’s generosity.

This week will for sure provide us challenges, but I get the vibe that we are all here to be the best selfless servants we can be. 

Personally my go-to verse this week will be Philippians 4:13 “I can do all this through Him who gives me strength”.   

We are all here to serve a purpose and it is not about US.  This week will touch each of us differently, but it will definitely be life-changing.  I am excited for what God has in store for us.

Jill

Day 6: Water Truck and La Phere Orphanage

We started our day off like most with a breakfast of pancackes and fresh mango. We then all put on our light blue 'Healing Haiti' shirts, tied our sleeves and headed out to do our first water truck run of the day. When we arrived at the first water truck stop we were again greeted with smiling faces and kids yelling "potem", meaning "pick me up". The first stop was very hectic as we had to balance the tasks of helping carry water buckets and attending to the many children. At times we were overwhelemed with the amount of chaos going on around us and struggled to embrace the underlying reason for our presence, which was to build relationships and to be at service to the Haitian people. The next water truck stop had a very different vibe. We were ready to pour the rest of our energy into our last water truck stop of the week, and at the end of the visit, we boarded the Tap Tap knowing we had done just that.

Next we stopped back at the guest house to wash up and get ready for a visit to Le Phere's, a local Orphanage. Our hearts were filled with reassurance when we witnessed the loving community that pastor Le Phere had built there. The constant smiles on their faces were evidence of the love that they shared. Near the end of our visit at Le Phere, the children proudly asked us if they could sing some songs before we left. With smiles from ear to ear, they recited songs and verses for us, touching all of our hearts. Boarding the Tap Tap once again, we headed to our last stop of the day, Fleuri, the cafe run by Grace Village. Here we ate dinner and were able to support the transtion students of Grace Village as they worked as our waiters. It is amazing to see the progress in Grace Village and these young men that we had the privilage of meeting. This week has been an emotional roller coaster in which all of our lives have been changed forever. Words cannot describe this week but we know that beautiful things are being done in Haiti and we hope to continue to see it flouirsh.

Signing out,

-Lauryn, Zach   & Johnny

Day 5: Carrfours Home for Sick and Dying Adults & La Lou Orphanage

Today started quickly as Steve "forgot" to wake us up in time to get ready for breakfast, however, the delicious pancakes and monkey bread almost made me forget about the mishap. After filling our stomachs, we boarded the Tap Tap en route to Carrfours (home for sick and dying adults). Because of unexpected traffic, we were shortetened with the time we had available to help the adults in need, but with the help of each other and a determination to give each adult the treatment they needed, we were able to impact and relax a majority of the adults in need. It's amazing how far a little lotion and some nail polish can go to putting a smile on someone's face. It was hard to leave Carrfours knowing that there was still some work to be done and some shoulders to be moisturized.
Next, we headed up the mountain to shop at some of the metal art stands that line the hectic Haitian streets. Everyone found some art that meant something to them and displayed a part of the trip that mattered to them while also supporting the local haitian economy with said purchases.
Proceeding with the day's agenda, we headed back down the mountain to the La Lou orphanage where we were bombarded with the loving smiles and tight grips of the beautiful Haitian children. Our time was also limited there due to the rumbling and chaotic streets of Haiti. The team used their time well and we were able to give the kids a solid 30 minutes of high energy, love and play. As soon as I (ZACH) stepped off the Tap Tap, I was greeted with the bright smile and outstretched arms of a soon to be friend. His hands wrapped tightly around my neck as he looked deep into my eyes, I could feel the love and happiness radiating from his smile. I played tic tac toe with him for awhile until he got bored and wanted me to spin him around, after my arms got too tired to spin him any longer, he climbed onto my shoulders and stayed there until it was sadly time for us to get back aboard the Tap Tap, I gave him one last hug before I left. At the end of the day I felt as though we were able to use the time we were given to serve and love to the best of our ability.

We look forward to day 6 and what the water truck's have in store for us.

Stay tuned,

Zach, Lauryn & Johnny

Day 4 Grace Village / Elderly Visits

Hey y'all it's Britt.

We had a day full of fun today. Lets start at the beginning. Ty woke up for the sunset and sadly was the only one who made it out of bed in time. After the rest of us woke up and ate a delicious breakfast we drove up to Grace village, it was about an hour drive with air driver Max ( he is a cool guy). Grace village is one of the coolest places. A long term missionary named KiKi showed us around. She has been there for 2 years and is staying for another 2. Grace village has grown so much from when it initially started up. In our eyes they are doing everything they can to improve the lives of the Haitians and the community around them. This last year they had 16 kids graduate and 3 that went on to medical school. Grace Village provides schooling for around 400 students and housing in family styled homes for 77 children. Additionally, Grace Village has a Stop and Go program for orphanages that have been shut down by the govt that has been reuniting families, some which haven't seen each other in years.

Our next outing on the tap-tap took us to our elder visits. We had the honor of working to be the hands and feet of God today. We provided 4 elders with water, juice and a hot meal. In addition we gave them massages, cleaned their feet, and trimmed their nails. We got to serve them today and feel over joyed from the gratitude they reiterated. Seeing the homes they lived in and hearing their stories, hit home for a lot of us to why we are here.

We then drove to the bakery and restaurant of Grace village. It was amazing to see that they created something to provided parents with jobs so that they could provide for their families. Parents generally do not want to give up their child, but due to circumstances, have to in order to provide a better life for them. Places like this bakery and restaurant help prevent families from breaking up and give jobs to parents allowing them to provided for their kids.

I have no clue if this was mentioned in yesterday's blog. However yesterday 2 new lives were brought into this world. Gracie, one of the five dogs where we are staying, gave birth to two beautiful puppies. As of now both the mamma and pups are happy and healthy. 🐶

We love and miss all back home!

Peace out✌️
-Britt and Lil
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Day 3 Home for sick and dying babies / special needs orphanage

Hey hey party people, we are wrapping up day 3 and boy, has today been an emotional rollercoaster. We began the day with a church service. It was unlike anything we have ever seen, and we didn't understand a word they were all saying. But watching the Haitians walk around the church and sing as loud as they could, seeing the emotions on their faces, you could feel the feeling they felt and related to it. The Haitians faith was visible, and gave us a better look on how much God means the the people of Haiti.

Next the team split into two groups, one group went to the Home for Sick and Dying Babies and the other went to Daries home for children with special needs. At the home for the Sick and dying babies we were greeted by children with smiling faces, eating mangoes, their one snack of the day. We had the opportunity to go outside and play with them on the playground and then some of their parents arrived for visiting hours. It was amazing to see overjoyed children as their families were brought together but also heartbreaking to see those with their hopes up who felt let down with no visitors. We continued into a room filled with rows of cribs filled with babies that we helped care for. Holding their fragile and sometimes very sick bodies was a very hard experience but also revealed the healing powers that love can provide. Their love for us and just to be touched was very evident. They would reach out and touch our cheeks and stare into our eyes, they would hug you endlessly and hold on to us as tight as they could. It was a life-changing and challenging experience.

Those of us who went to Daries walked into the orphanage not knowing what to expect and surely many of us were caught of guard at the level of need for love the kids were at. It was quickly known that the lack of supplies and tools is their biggest struggle. Giving all that we brought, we were soon left with only love to give. Picking up the children who needed it, we brought them outside to play with the bubbles, chalk, and other toys that we brought. It was amazing to see the smiles that instantly appeared on the kids faces as they felt the blow of the wind across their skin. As communication is limited physical touch is something that played a key role in showing these kids that they are loved. A simple tight squeeze or rub of the belly calmed the anxious shakes many of the children were experiencing. As the day carried on emotions grew deep. Not knowing when these kids will next get to go outside or feel the hug of a friend who loves them was tremendously hard to wrap our minds around. Tears flowed as we left, wishing we could do more. This experience was indescribably heartbreaking and empowering.

After doing all we could the two teams met back up to headed to our next stop. We went to the Parent Project and found a new sense of opportunity and hope that was difficult to see at our other two projects. The Parent Project works to create jobs for mothers and fathers giving them fair wages and the ability to keep families together. It was amazing to see the drive that the workers had and the hope that the Parent Project provided them with.

With love Lauryn, Ava, Lily and Britt


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Healing haiti guest house 2 Port Au Prince