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