Standing On This Mountaintop

It is Sunday night and our mission trip is quickly coming to a close. Today, like all the other previous days, has been filled with much activity.

To start our day, we headed back to Grace Village for their Sunday morning worship which is attended by many of the same children who attend the school there. While majority of the service was in Haitian Creole, we were still able to join in the worship when songs such as Trading My Sorrows, Bless the Lord (10,000 Reasons) and Hallelujah were sung. This just goes to show you that praise and worship songs have no particular language when sung to God. 

After we left the church, we began a cross country journey to the other side of Port-au-Prince. Through this journey, we came across the largest outdoor market of Port-au-Prince.

From our view, we saw vendors selling everything from clothes to food. As journeyed up the mountainside, one was in awe of the vast difference in the beauty, vegetation and social class. One of the road side souvenir stops we stopped at we were able to purchase metal artwork from used oil drums, paintings and various wooden objects. Our last stop on our mountain journey was at a wayside cafe that had a wondrous view of the entire country.

~ Shannon Bloom & Team

Beach Day

Today is the day we went to the beach with the children from LaPherre’s orphanage. We took two vehicles about an hour and a half up the coast. All the kids jumped into our laps and were excited to go!

As we left the city, we went through a number of small towns. One town had a huge market with lots of fresh mangos, bananas, papayas, along with clothing and housewares for sale along the streets. The countryside roads were lined with banana trees. There were some beautifully cultivated groves. It was nice to be out in the country.

When we arrived at the beach, there were about 50 other busses worth of people enjoying the warm sunny day. We dropped off all of our stuff in a cabana, put all the floatation devices on the kids, and headed to the water. The beach was not a sand beach but a pebble and rock beach. The water was warm and delightful! The children really enjoyed having the chance to swim and play. Two of the girls took me by my hand and led me to the water. When we got into the water, they just wanted to sit down. The waves came in and went out, and we sat and watched others enjoying the water. Few children have the opportunity to swim, so many don’t know how. 

After soaking up lots of sun and water, we were able to share a lot of the donated snacks and treats with the kids at lunchtime. After a great time at the beach, many of the children slept through the drive back home. 

For our evening meal, we visited Pizza Amour and ate a tasty pizza dinner. It was a nice chance to relax and be outside with our whole group. We were able to laugh and talk about our experiences here so far. 

~ Marilee Schneider & Team

Uplifting

Today was very full, full and satisfying.

We started out our day again at Gertrude’s. Many of our team members who were there yesterday were a bit hesitant to return after an emotionally taxing time with the children yesterday. Much to our relief, when we arrived we were welcomed by a happy scene of the children marching, or wheeling, in a parade as part of a flag day celebration. These festivities left their mark on the remainder of the time we visited with most of the children animated and eager to engage with our group.

Though these children are facing incredibly difficult physical and mental challenges, we were able to get the sense that they were happy to see us. We spent our time, wheeling them around, dancing, swinging on the playground, and cuddling. We were also able to feel the children lunch. Many hands made light work. As with most experiences here, the joy of being a help also reinforces in our minds how much everyday need is present here. Each of us feels it, and I know that many of us wish we could do more.

After Gertrude’s, it was back in the tap-tap to LeFerre’s orphanage where we were greeted by many more smiling faces. And we were very excited because we had two very big surprises for them. The first surprise was that we had prepared to do a Sunday school lesson with them called "Breakfast with Jesus" from sparkhouse. Our team came alongside the kids to watch a fun video and do paper crafts that depicted Jesus coming to the disciples after the resurrection when then they were fishing in a boat. The disciples didn’t catch anything until they headed Jesus’ advice to drop the nets on the other side of the boat where they caught a ton of fish. Each child colored fish and flames over which to roast them. The older kids folded together paper boats and cut out disciple figurines. Then, in a large group, we put on a skit where all the children re-enacted the story. All the little fishes danced around and swam “jumped” into a large mesh net. There were many trills of laughter that touched all of us.

Our second surprise was even better. We let them know we are taking them to the beach tomorrow! 

Overall, today was an uplifting day. Each day, I feel we experience hope amid the pain, joy amid the sorrow, and small steps of progress for the wonderful people of Haiti.

~ Jaidyn Martin & Team

Work in Progress

For those who haven’t experienced Haiti, one thing that’s hard to comprehend is how difficult it is to get from one place to another. It’s kind of like an off-roading experience. Today was an example of that. This morning we “off roaded” to share food and gifts to 5 elderly Haitian men and women. All of them certainly fit the criteria of elderly, as they were in their 80's or beyond. Life expectancy here is about 63 years. And not much support for the elderly exists.

I was surprised that each of them did have their own place to live. I imagined that some of them may not. Most of their residences might compare to the size of a tool shed. They were little more that a room and a cot, but they had shelter.

The first lady we met with, I was a little hesitant to get too close to. She was a beautiful person, but did not remember her age. She was grateful that we came to spend time with her. The next gregarious gentlemen was hard of hearing, but had an irresistible personality. I really enjoyed visiting with him. He tore into the food we brought to him immediately and praised God in every sentence he shared with us. He laughed a lot and was joyous for the life he had.

We visited 3 more “young” ladies. They were all beautiful and gracious. They prayed with us and for us. One of them, Marie, is an absolute hoot. She has the energy and movement of someone half her age. There’s a debate whether she is 101 or 105. Either way, she was an inspiration with her humor and ongoing eye for the guys. 

Visiting their homes required a lot of walking, or more like hiking. Lots of uneven ground, walking twisted trails through tight neighborhoods. When we were done with our visits, we drove up the mountain to Grace Village, which is operated by Healing Haiti. 

It’s a large operation and quite impressive! They have many different programs, serving the local community with a school, and the greater community through the orphanage. In total they serve roughly 450 youth, educating and transitioning them into being productive members of society. They’re doing some great things with a fish farm and using the waste water from the farm for organic gardening. Because of the extreme heat, they start a new crop every three months. One of the new projects that they’re working on is building a community bakery to supply bread for Haitians to sell. 

Personally, I think Grace Village is very cool and has incredible potential. They’re learning as they’re going. I would love to come back in 3-5 years and see where they go with things. 

There is a lot of support and enthusiasm for what Healing Haiti is doing. 

On our way back to Port-au-Prince, we stopped by Mémorial du 12 Janvier 2010, a mass grave for victims of the terrible  earthquake five years ago. One of our drivers told us, in his own words, that everyone here was touched in some way by the earthquake. It is hard to put words to the stories. Members of our group hope to see the memorial completed. It’s still a work in progress. 

~ Bob Karas & Team

Caring for the Children

Today’s journey took us up and down and all through the city. 

We started out the day with the team splitting up to visit two different ministries. Both were facilities that care for children. Half of the team visited the Home for Sick and Dying Babies. The other half visited Gertrude’s Orphanage which specializes in caring for the developmentally disabled.

When we arrived at the Home for Sick and Dying Babies, parents were lined up outside with sick children or to visit their hospitalized children. It felt bad just passing them by as we walked in. When we got in, no one really gave specific directions. It was just “go and do!” We started by holding infants. A little while later, the parents were let in. It was obvious which babies had mothers. We could tell because the babies started crying when they saw their moms coming toward them. It was touching to see the parents with their kids. 

There were quite a few very sick children. There was a little girl who was moaning the whole time. She was in so much pain. You could see it in her face. 

One of the boys who was 4 or 5 went from person to person introducing his mom to people. He wanted to dance for his mom with all the new people. He was so proud. Watching the parents have to leave their children was hard when visiting hours were over. One girl wailed for 45 minutes after her mom left. They all needed comfort. 

I felt sad and happy. Haiti is a place of contradictions.

Over at Gertrude’s, we felt helpless. We were there to do physical therapy with some of the most developmentally disabled children while the others were in school. Our kids were on the floor when we walked in. 

There are 46 kids in the orphanage and they are under-staffed. It’s stressful. You want to hold all of the kids and not put them down. What they do, even short-staffed, is amazing. But hey don’t have enough time. The children are so neat. They can’t really get to all of them to get them all the therapy that they need. They didn’t even know what was wrong with all of the kids because they don’t have the funds to get all of them the proper testing. 

The first child I connected with wasn’t moving. I massaged and stretched his arms to get him moving. It’s hard to know what to do for them. There was no emotion at all. It’s hard to take. The other boy was just rolling around from person to person. When I picked him up, I didn’t know if I was hurting him. Then he stretched out and started jumping. He actually smiled then. That was amazing.

In the afternoon, we visited General Hospital (the public hospital) to distribute care packages to the families of the hospitalized children. There were just so many babies. It’s really hard to see all of the kids in one big room. It’s so different than what we’re used to.

Looking around the waiting room, you kind of wonder how long the parents have been waiting there and if they’ve had a chance to eat. It was touching to watch them open the care packages. 

At the end of the day, I was sad for the kids. 

On a more inspiring note, we also visited The Apparent Project. They are doing some fantastic things by employing hundreds of Haitians. The artists there use recycled materials like cereal boxes and aluminum cans to make beautiful artwork. The artisans are supported and are true craftsmen. Great artists! They are paid a living wage and are offered day care if they are working parents.

One thing I noticed is that they were working so diligently.  It was very well organized. It’s a place that you can really see Haiti shine. 

Tomorrow, we will be caring for the elderly and visiting a mass grave from the 2010 earthquake.

~ Kat Hansen-Stratton, Gordy Bloom, Carol Stomberg & Team

Hey You!

We started our day riding the Tap-tap (our taxi by Healing Haiti) to the water distribution station. It kind of seemed like organized chaos. There were trucks and people everywhere! At the same time, people were working hard to get the water out, truck after truck.

As we drove into Cite Soleil (the poorest slum in the Western Hemisphere), the kids started running after the truck, some trying to jump on. Many of the others were yelling “hey you” and waving. When we stopped and got out there were kids everywhere wanting to be held. They were fascinated by mustaches and tattoos. Some of them wanted to wear our hats and glasses, but most of them just wanted to be held and loved. 

There was one girl who was holding onto my shirt for nearly the whole time we were at our first stop. A little later there was a boy who needed help carrying his tub of water back to his shack. The little girl walked with me and held onto my shirt. When we had delivered the water to the boy’s shack, she grabbed my hand and led me back to the water truck. 

In the afternoon, we served FMSC food to about 50 young people who were part of an after-school soccer program called Haitian Initiative. They play soccer, they get a meal. It gets them off the streets. It gives them hope. 

We served the food and I talked to the soccer coach who has been to MN 5 times. He has family that moved to St Paul. He took my picture and said he was going to send it to his family. That was neat. 

To see the work that they’re doing with the kids after school to keep them out of trouble, it made me wonder if there are any soccer clubs that might want to donate some of their used equipment to help these kids. 

All we did today made me feel needed, but also insignificant…helpless. There is so much to do here.

Darwin Stromberg & Team

On our way to Haiti!

We've boarded the plane and will arrive in Haiti this afternoon. Travel has been smooth and we are all excited to serve! We'll be delivering water in Cite Soleil tomorrow. Looking forward to seeing the progress on the church and school that Healing Haiti is building there. Thanks to everyone from Atonement Lutheran for your generous donations! - jenny