We are home, safe, and heading to bed. Not much time to blog this evening as we had a lot of great team time tonight. We are sad that the trip is ending and we had a great day at the beach to relax after a great week of service. We apologize for a short blog but we are exhausted and wanted to make sure we let you know we are safe!
Thank you for all your prayers and support. We look forward to seeing you tomorrow evening and sharing our stories!
Sunday, January 6, 2019
Saturday, January 5, 2019
Totino-Grace Day 6
Today we went to La Loo orphanage
at the center of Port-au-Prince. As we arrived, children scurried downstairs
from their daily chores. We were greeted with smiles and the tightest hugs. Through
the morning, we played what felt like a million chalk games such as hopscotch.
Jake got his butt kicked at tick-tac-toe. Meanwhile, Alani, Kate, Grace, and
Nicole felt the love and excruciating pain of having their hair braided by a
Haitian girl. Lauryn loved playing tag with a few girls. After a joyful and
sweaty morning, we boarded the tap-tap and cruised up the bumpy mountain.
We stopped
halfway up to shop the beautiful handmade metal art at an endless series of
makeshift shops. We all learned to haggle where Kate artfully negotiated her
way from $20 to $7 for a bowl and some of the others asked for a lower price
but then quickly gave up and said “take the money.” At the top of the mountain
we saw an unbelievable view of Haiti and after some shopping came home,
showered up, and went salsa dancing at a hotel down the road. We are sad for
this trip to end but look forward to sleep and a more restful Sunday at the
beach.
Superlatives of the day:
Most likely to secretly not be a true ginger and just dye
her hair that color: Grace
Most likely to barter for a higher price: Henry
Most likely to professionally take up bartering: Lauryn
Most likely to come back with a bald spot: Alani
Most likely to befriend a merchant named Michand and get
free items: Jake
Most likely to spontaneously drop into the splits: Ellie
Most likely to have gone to an awkward middle school dance:
Sarah
Most likely to dislocate her knees while salsa dancing: Kate
Most likely to be in a Haitian rap band: Noah
Most likely to know every Taylor Swift song by heart: Eric
Most likely to break the piano: Natalya
Most likely to major in bracelet making: Nicole
Most likely to use the walkaway technique to barter: Tom
Friday, January 4, 2019
Totino-Grace Day 5
bòn nwi! We have had such an amazing day today. As we
settle in for a good night’s rest, we thought we’d update you on our
adventures.
This morning we woke up at 5:30 (yes, you heard that
right, your kids woke up at 5:30) and headed to a nondenominational church
called Church on the Rock. There, we got to experience a type of worship none
of us had ever seen—the Haitian people walked around, sang, and hardly sat at
all during the sermon. It was truly amazing getting to see a different culture
express their faith in such a unique form.
After service, we walked back to our guest house, and it was perfect weather. When we arrived back, we ate a pancake breakfast and prepared ourselves for a big day—water truck day.
Getting into our neon green shirts and hopping on the
taptap, we were full of excitement and anxiousness for the day to come. We
stopped at a total of 3 spots, and with the help of a large water truck,
delivered water to the people of City Soleil, the poorest slum in Haiti.
Immediately, we were greeted by “Hey you! Hey you!” by all the kids, and the
second we got off that taptap, they all shouted “Porte me!” which means lift me
up. It was like none of them had ever been held before—they didn’t want to let
go. Sometimes, we were holding 4 children at a time on our shoulders, back, and
one in each hand. We sang songs and
played with them, while also carrying buckets to homes. It was both amazing and
exhausting. We also got to see the ocean from the pier. It was equally
devistating and beautiful, as there was a lot of trash and poverty within the stunning
blue water.
After our day of serving, we got a tour of Fleri
Farm, a farm created by Healing Haiti. We not only got to see plantain, mango,
and coconut trees, but also got to drink the fresh water from the coconuts.
To end our day, we ate a delicious Haitian meal of rice, stew, chicken, and
plantains made by the women in the guest house.
Superlatives of the day:
Most likely to successfully hold seven kids at once:
Eric
Most likely to accidentally tell a little Haitian girl
that Gabby and Mr Morcomb are her mom and dad and then just go with it: Alani
Most likely to be a strong advocate for socks and
keens: Tom
Most likely to become a firefighter: Henry
Most likely to meet a town of “Sarah’s” in Haiti: Sarah
Most likely to accidentally BE the grounds of a fight:
Jake
Most likely to be mimicked by a little Haitian boy:
Nicole
Most likley to join a Haitian village and move to
Haiti: Ellie
Most likely to be an ozzy osborn doppleganger:
Natalya
Most likely to be called an elephant: Noah
Most likely to burst out in a Creole Christian song:
Grace
Most likely to choke on water on the tap tap: Lauryn
Most likely to become a photographer for Ozzy Osburn
adverstising Nutella: Kate
Thursday, January 3, 2019
Totino-Grace Day 4
Today was a super long and in-depth day, but we will give
you a little update of what we did (in our 20 minutes we have before we have to
go to bed). After our delicious French toast breakfast, we headed to Croatian
Relief, an orphanage of around 60 children. We were greeted by a beautiful
Haitian song sung by the children. Throughout the morning, we made cross
necklaces, played sports, jumped rope, painted, and played with a parachute. We
were also given a tour of the orphanage by the leader.
Next, we headed to visit 4 elders. Healing Haiti sponsors many
elderly people with varying needs. It was very humbling, and us students washed
the feet of these individuals, put lotion on their arms and legs, heard their
touching stories, and sang them songs. It was a very emotional day for all of
us.
After this experience, we got the opportunity to go to Grace
Village’s own restaurant and bakery, Fleri, a place where transitioning orphans
are hired. We ate delicious pizza, cookies, and (of course) plantain chips,
this time with mango salsa. We tried to order some to bring home, but they didn’t
have enough. Sorry to all the salsa loving moms!
We had a very good reflection tonight, and journaled about
the rollercoaster of emotions that today brought. We all cannot wait to tell
you about our days!
Superlatives of the day:
Most likely to be down for getting strong: Natalya
Most likely to write a love song to Natalya: Kate
Most likely to conquer his phobia of feet: Jake
Most likely to start a necklace making club at TG: Tom
Most likely to have a freak laugh attack: Henry
Most likely to become a French translator: Sarah
Most likely to become a baby whisper and make them fall
asleep: Lauryn
Most likely to pee her pants: Grace
Most likely to become a professional monkey ball player:
Alani
Most likely to start seriously calling people “dearest”:
Eric
Most likely to secretly be a “giggler”: Noah
Most likely to major in the game of parachute: Nicole
Most likely to be killed by a game of giant jenga: Ellie
Blog written by Grace
Superlatives written by Alani
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