Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Water Truck





Water Truck Day

Today was water truck day and our first day to be able to experience Haiti.  The team was very excited to experience Haiti and what water truck day actually meant since they have been hearing so much about it.

 The day started with unexpected event when the water truck broke down and we were not sure if we would actually be able to deliver water. We realized after a few hours, water truck day would not be happening.  As sad as this was, we decided to proceed to another journey BUT God had another plan for us.  As we were driving toward the new location and singing “Glory to God”, the water truck started to drive toward us.  It was pretty amazing to see that God had another plan for our day. 
We were able to experience 3 water stops today and all of them had a very different needs than the others.  It was amazing to see the team work so hard in 95 degree heat while filling 5 gallon buckets of water and helping walking these buckets back to Haitians homes. It was also wonderful to stand back and experience how each one of them showed so much love and affection to the children. Anyone who has been to Haiti before can understand how difficult water truck days can be.  This is a day when people learn how to step out of their comfort zone to help these beautiful people that live in the poorest areas of Haiti. We experienced a wide range of emotions throughout the day. Many team members are experiencing joy while another is feeling great sadness and sometimes anger. These emotions are sometimes difficult to process and work through.

 Each night we sit down and replay the day.  Part of this includes sharing a “word” of the day.  This helps us process the day. This time each night allows teams to connect and build friendships.  I would like to share a few of these words to give you an idea of how our day went because one word can be very powerful.  Bridgett from our team said she was confused by her word “joy” because she was not sure if this was something you should be feeling in circumstances like we experienced today but she said she had joy in her heart being able to deliver clean water and also being able to give these children love and affection.  Amber’s word was “humbling” because it was amazing to see what a simple touch can do for someone.  Bridget said that her word was “hope” and it gave her hope to see that change is still happening after her 5th trip.  Jess’s word was “small” because it meant so much to her to see what a small gesture from someone could do to help change someone’s day.  She said “small things can be a blessing.”  I could not have put that any better. 

Blessings,
Tiffany

Monday, September 29, 2014

We've arrived!

After a long day of travel we are all grateful to be resting safely in the Healing Haiti guesthouse...our new home away from home. Most of us are going on little to no sleep so this blog will be brief.  We are filled with anticipation for the upcoming week to see what God has in store for us.    

We spent the evening getting to know our teammates as we have just met some of them today.  Half of our team are "first timers" and are excited to explore Haiti and the other half is just as excited to see the changes that have happened since the last trip they took.  Tomorrow we will be going to Cite Soliel to deliver clean water and then to Haitian Initiative to play soccer with the kids.  

We are looking forward to getting a good night's rest!

Glwa Pou Bondye!