Carrefour & General Hospital

Our morning began with a stop to Carre Four; a home for sick and dying adults. The team’s goal was to provide comfort, and touch to the people residing there. The way we achieved this goal was by giving lotion messages, and painting the fingernails for those who wanted it. These simple tasks completed by our team resulted in a much bigger and less simple result. We could see the suffering being overridden with joy, and relaxation by the care our team gave.

Next the team visited Haiti’s History Museum in downtown Porte au Prince.  Throughout the tour we gained knowledge on what made Haiti the country it is today; starting from the discovery of the land by Christopher Columbus to more recent events. Overall, the tour was extremely informative, and in result our team is able to make an even deeper connection to Haiti.

The third stop of the day was the General Hospital. The team was lead through a pediatric portion of the Hospital where we placed gift bags in every crib available. These gift bags included an assortment of items such as; washcloths, toothpaste, toothbrushes, soap, and lotion. In total, we gave about 75 bags packed full of these items. This stop was unfortunately short, but I believe it will still make a long lasting impact on those we visited. I also know that our team was greatly impacted. It was such a blessing to see the children open up their gift bags, and be completely overwhelmed with happiness by the items they received.

During our devotional time, we were read an excerpt from the bible. Specifically Hosea chapter  12 verse 6, which says, “So now, come back to your God! Act on the principles of love and justice, and always live in confident dependence on our God.” This is an extremely difficult phrase to act by yet the people we visited today make it seem so much easier.  One thing our team has taken from our mission today is that we can control what we do, and God will control the outcome.

Continue to act for God, and he will supply you with what you need.

Tia

Elder visits

Today we started our day by heading out to Titanyen. We first visited three elders that are all part of the Healing Haiti elder program. The first woman that we visited lived with her daughter and granddaughter. We had the privilege of washing and putting lotion on her hands and feet, delivering food items that we collected, and singing and praying with her and her family. Next we headed to Marie’s home. She is the oldest elder sponsored by Healing Haiti. The average life span of a Haitian is around 50 to 54 years old. Marie is said to be 102 years old, outliving the majority of her children. She is currently taking care of her grandkids and great-grandkids. Marie was the most lively elder that we visited, she was very energetic and grateful for our service to her and her family. After Marie’s we headed to a couple’s home, who are both in Healing Haiti’s elder program. They shared with us the story of how they met each other. A few of us from our group got the privilege of talking with one of their grandsons in Spanish. It was very moving for us to watch the elders be so selfless and grateful during our visits.

We then headed up to Grace Village where we got a tour of the facility. It made us feel hopeful to see so much progress being made. Some of the things we got to see were the kitchen and the stone ovens where bread is made, the school, aquaponics, and where the kids are housed. We got to meet some of the kids that live at Grace Village. It was fun for some of the returning group members to see the growth of children that we had met on previous trips.

On our way home from Tetanyen, we stopped at the mass grave memorial to see the progress being made by the governments program. In 2012 Haiti suffered a terrible tragedy and lost more than 300,000 citizens to an earthquake. Haiti never experienced a tragedy like this, so when this happened the government was unsure how to deal with everything. So they piled the bodies in this area of Tetanyen that has now become known as the mass grave site. The government is slowly making this mass grave site into a memorial to show their respect for all those lost in the earth quake.

Overall it was an inspirational day that brought us hope for the future of Grace Village, and all of Haiti.

Thank you for the continued thoughts and prayers.

-Gabby and Marie

Day 3: Water truck!!

Today was water truck day.  We delivered water to three different stops in Cite Soleil –  the poorest slum in the world.  Some of our team members helped fill people’s buckets with clean water while others held and loved the younger children.  In Cite Soleil, 60-70% of the children are slaves. These children’s parents give them up to families in the city hoping for a better life.  In reality, these families are just as poor, employing the orphaned children as their slaves.  Our visit to Cite Soleil gives these kids a chance to receive affection that they do not receive on a regular basis.

For us, this experience opened our eyes to the poor conditions of Cite Soleil, yet the joy the children still possess. These kids have the same smiles and laughs as the children in the United States. They are the same, but they are born into different lives. The day was fun, but it had a very serious undertone. This realization set in shortly after everyone loaded the bus after the last stop. We could go back to the guest house and take a cold shower or sit at the pool. We had the comfort of knowing we could eat and relax for the rest of the night. One of the hardest things to comprehend is the concept of fairness, or unfairness. The beauty of life is that it is not fair.

We are blessed to be a blessing.

During our devotional time at the end of the night, we read an excerpt from the book, Kisses from Katie. One quote in particular stood out to us as a group:

“The truth is, I saw myself in those little faces. I looked at them and felt this love that was unimaginable and knew that this is the way that God sees me.”

The kids reaching their hands out for us to hold them are the same as us reaching our hands out to God to be loved.

Braden, Erin, and Morgan

Day 2: Home for Sick & Dying Babies/Gary's

“Hold, Touch, Love, Tears, Contact” … these were all words used by team members to describe our morning at the Home for Sick and Dying Babies.  When you first walk into the rooms where the babies stay, you see rows of cribs all with babies inside. The first room is for the less sick children. Those children are allowed to go outside and play on the playground, and they love to do so despite the heat. The other room is for the more sick children who are not allowed to leave the room. As you weave through the multiple rows of cribs, the babies reach up towards you begging you to hold them. When you pick up the babies, they cling on to you and they never want to let go, although you never want to either. The parents of the babies have specific hours they can come and visit with their own children. Seeing all of the mothers interact with their children taught us all of a special kind of love. All the parents were outside playing with their children the entire time and knew that leaving them there when it was time to go, was the best for the child, even though the parents could hardly endure the painful tears that their children cried. There was one little girl who had the sweetest smile who seemed to be running around by herself. When she saw me she sat down by a pole and starting hitting the pole. So of course I joined her. Every time I would hit the metal pole she would giggle at the sound it would make.  It was the simplest thing but gave her and I an abundance of joy. No language barrier can hold back love, laughter, and joy.

I am the type of person who doesn’t see things for what they are, I see things what they can be. My word of the day is “future.” The reason being, I see a great future for Haiti. We started our day off going to Gary’s Orphanage. Gary is a pastor at a church, and when his church started filling up with children who lost their parents in the earthquake, or whose parents could no longer take care of them. While we were there we played with children who had a range of ages and disabilities. A girl who I got the opportunity to meet was named Mirma. She had some sort of disability that prevented her from walking, and communicating well. I blew up a balloon, and we played catch for two hours, and in those two hours she didn’t stop smiling or laughing. We got the opportunity to meet Gary, and he was a very organized guy. He had a plan for where he wanted his orphanage to go, with EVERYTHING laid out. On our way up the mountain, I saw several construction sites, and buildings going up. People making things, and people who are planning for a better future are signs to me that Haiti does have a bright future ahead of them. I hope to be a part of that future.

-Jacob Pederson

P.S. Hi family and friends!

We have arrived!

Our team made it to Haiti!  With an early wake-up call and a few layovers we safely got here.  Many of us have been here before, so it feels like coming home.  Both excitement and relief ended our day, with anticipation for tomorrow.  In the morning, half of our group will be going to the Home for Sick and Dying Babies, and the other half will be going to Gary’s Orphanage for Kids with Special Needs.  Time spent holding, rocking, and loving up God’s little blessings will be rewarding as we experience what it is like to be Jesus’ hands and feet. 

 In the afternoon we will get to see and purchase products made by Haitian artisans as we drive up the mountain and get a view of the city.

This week promises to be life changing.  Thanks to all our family and friends for your prayers and support.  And a big thank you to God for bringing each one of us here.  It’s all because of HIM.

Tammy Porto  

Our Final Day :(

Ala bon sa bon pak! (Happy Easter!) Today was our last day in Haiti. We woke up to a beautiful morning. After an amazing week of service, we took today as a day of relaxation and unwinding. We started off going to church at Grace Village at 10 a.m. Church here is one of the best things to experience. There was a lot of singing, both in English and in Creole. After the Easter Service, we headed to WAHOO! It was a little weird at first being at the beach and relaxing once you know that the children you held the day before were struggling to make ends meet. A quote that I always keep in mind says, “If you can’t feed 100 people, feed only 1.” – Mother Theresa. This helped me understand that there is only so much 1 person can do. But, only 1 person can set off a chain that can start something.
                When we arrived at WAHOO, I was surprised that we were still in the same country. The first activity we did was snorkeling, we went on a little boat and most of us jumped in and explored the ocean, which was very cool to see. When we arrived to the waters where we were going snorkeling, I looked right outside of the boat, and saw a jellyfish, so I did not participate, but most of the group did, and everybody made it out of the water without injury. This part of the Bay was beautiful because you can sit out in the ocean and look out into the mountains and see every distinct crack and bump, it was truly beautiful, as is most of the country.

                After the group went snorkeling, We all went out and jumped in the Ocean! When we all went in, some people decided to go on the water trampoline and others just swam. I was one of the people that just swam. While I was in I took a step back and really looked at my surroundings. I saw beauty all around me. I couldn’t believe I was actually in HAITI. I was surprised on thinking back on the whole week that happened. I floated on the water and looked at the sky and the mountains around me.

                As beautiful as this was, something just did not seem right, there were many people in need of help and we were on the beach with a DJ and a bunch of other dancing people around. There were many amazing things that we experienced and with leaving, we will also miss many of the things from the trip.

There will be so many things that we will miss. We’re going to miss playing “chicken” on the bus. We’ll miss Val, Manu and Maxim. We’ll miss playing soccer with the neighborhood boys and talking to them from our balcony. We’ll miss holding children, Bringing water to Cite Soleil and SPECIALLY those bumpy rides from one place to another. But, there are so many things that we take from this and each one of us knows that.

Lupe –

I’m sad to leave but happy to return. I’m thankful for everything I went through this week. S/O to my mom, I miss you and I’ll see you soon, for letting me go on this trip that I will never forget. My quote for the week is “God wrecked my life. He shattered it into a million pieces. Then, He grabbed each piece and put it back together even more beautifully. It hard knowing that all the people I’ve met and talked to, I may never see again. But I promise myself to come back to this beautiful country full of beautiful people.

Mat Rabida-

Today was a very hard day to wrap my head around, the first reason being it is the last day that we will be here and in 3 days we will be back in a high school filled with drama regarding PROM and spring sports and all of that fun stuff. And the other thing, was not working today, not working today was kind of relaxing, but if I had the choice, I would have loved to hold some more children and need and help some more people carry their water buckets. But, today was a good day. The absolute hardest thing for me was the thought that I will not be living with any of these great people that really changed the trip for me. I have made so many good relationships that I will miss very dearly, but I can not wait to be back home to my parents. Love you Mom and Dad. 

For the TG chaperones, this will be a week that we won’t ever forget.  This was Mr. Thibodeau’s first trip to Haiti and there are some visions that he will carry with him forever.  One cannot “un”see what one see’s.  What to do with it is a much larger question.  The beauty of this trip has been to watch our student’s grow-closer as a group and closer to God.  It’s always a privilege to be part of such change in these young adults and we both consider it a gift to have been a part of this growth.

We will all leave a little bit of ourselves behind, but take a much larger part of Haiti home with us.  Be patient with your student as they adjust back to their “reality”.  Each and every one of these students has brought compassion, empathy, kindness and love to each and every person they have met.  We are proud of them, and even more proud of what they have accomplished while in Haiti.

Off to bed for an 11 hour travel day!  Expect to hear from your student sometime after arriving back into the states.

Mrs. O’Neil and Mr. Thibodeau

Day 6- Water Truck and Pizza

SAK PASE! It's the Syd's and Jens!

Sorry we didn't blog last night! We got in late from eating pizza and then received all your wonderful letters.

Yesterday, we got the chance to go and do 3 more water truck stops. Overall, they were once again eye opening stops that portrayed the desperation for water and the poverty among Cite Soleil. You never know what you will see at each stop, and yesterday each stop really did show us a unique situation. Whether it was Hannah controlling the water hose and being overwhelmed with the people fighting to get water, or Thibs delivering water to homes and seeing the worst conditions he has seen on this trip, or even Sydnee bringing a child onto the Tap-Tap to bandage an open wound with Deb. Each experience we are so thankful for having. It was almost like this time doing water deliveries we were more prepared than we had been the first time and truly give ourselves 100% to every person we encountered.

One of our drivers, Maxim, grew up in Cite Soleil. When we were driving back from the second stop, Maxim pulled over on the side of the road and got out and bought new pants and a nice top. We were all confused on why he would be shopping in the middle of water delivery. It turned out he had met an old friend at the second stop who was having a hard time on his own and gave him food. He had told him to meet us at the third stop. There, he gave the man a bath, shaved his head and beard, and gave him the clothes that he had bought earlier. It was amazing to see the generosity and compassion from a man that had grown up in the situations these people were currently in. Not to mention, Maxim is a big, intimidating guy with a great heart.

After water truck, we went out to get pizza at Pizza Amour, a pizza place run by missionaries. It was a small quaint place, and even though it was right next to a busy street, it was extremely quiet and serene inside the gates. We all ordered our drinks and pizza, and while we waited, we played card games and told funny stories. The waiters were extremely courteous, and all seemed to be men in their early twenties. It was amazing to see that young people were able to find jobs and make money to help support themselves and their families. The pizza was some of the best we had ever tasted. After we finished, we all hopped on the tap-tap and drove back to the guesthouse. The drive was like no other because it was dark out, and since there weren't many lights to pollute the air, the sky was completely clear. We all made it home safely and ready to take on another day! We are sad that out trip is coming to an end, but at the same time we are anxious to get back home to our families. We thank you all for praying for us and keeping us in your minds as we have had the experience of a lifetime. Now we're about to head out to go to a Haitian church service, and then on to Wahoo. We look forward to seeing you all when we return, and we would like to wish you all a very happy Easter!

XOXO

Sydney, Sydnee & Jens :)