A Day To Be Grateful

Ever since we arrived in Haiti, we have heard that you never know what might happen, so you should be flexible about your expectations.  Well, today we officially got to experience it!

Our schedule called for a second water truck day, but last night we had a downpour of rain.  When it rains, the residents of Cite Soleil bring their water buckets outside, so we were told that they wouldn’t need water today as their buckets would already be full.  Our team leaders met with Jean and quickly came up with a new schedule with several stops.

Our first visit was to Elder’s School in Cite Soleil.  When we got there, a few classes were having a lunch break and we were able to go up to their top floor terrace to hang out with them.  The kids were very excited to see us and quickly found someone to attach to.  Many of the boys chose to talk with the men in the group, while the girls stayed close to the women.  There was lots of joking and smiles, and it was impressive to see how many children are able to go to school at their location.

Next, we dropped off some supplies at an orphanage that is newly connected with Healing Haiti.  None of the teams have visited before, so we were given a tour.   One of the women that runs the orphanage talked with us and seemed very excited about future teams coming to do activities with the kids.  We found that there are 35 children that currently live there with ages ranging from 4 to 14.

After a short siesta at the house, we went to LaPhere, an orphanage and school.  They pulled out some wooden bleachers and Steve taught us all a few kids songs in French.  The kids here were really responsive and there were lots of smiles and laughter.  One older boy enjoyed surprising us with tickles from behind, and several of us experienced being prayed for by the youngest little girl, probably under 2 years old, complete with her hand on our heads.  

Our last visit was to Gertrude’s Orphanage.  She originally began her orphanage because she kept seeing children with special needs that had been abandoned when she visited the hospitals in Port au Prince.  Two thirds of the children at the orphanage have some sort of special need.  The kids were especially interested in putting on lotion, and we formed a circular track of sorts where we had wheelchair races.

For me, the highlight of the day was watching our team work together.  There were both easy, natural moments and uncomfortable moments, but in both cases we each found our niche and were able to serve together, drawing strength from the others if need be.  It is pretty incredible to be at this stage of our trip and see the fruit of our team having gelled.

It was a day of many new memories, snapshots that will be remembered forever.

Kerri