Day 2 - Tuesday. They always say that our itinerary is tentative when we come to Haiti. So…we had to roll with the punches. Our leader and one teammate were delayed yesterday in Minnesota so they didn’t make it to Haiti until today. But Pastor Russ stepped up and was a fine leader.
So..today was a day where the team split. Some of us went to Darry’s - an orphanage for handicapped children and the remainder went to the Home for the Sick and Dying Babies. First, let me say that not ALL of the children here are sick and dying. Many are, but there are others whose parents just couldn’t take care of them and have voluntarily placed their children in this home. We arrived at breakfast time. We were given a bowl of baby cereal and just started feeding these children in their beds. It was amazing to me that these kids were most likely 6 months or less and not one of them put their hands in their mouth while feeding them. They just looked at you with love and adoration in their eyes and opened their mouths wide. There were a few time that the little boy I fed closed a little too early and we dripped some food on his bib. (Mind you - he was 3 months old - he just looked at me and then looked down at his bib like “You missed.”) After feeding the kids we were then able to pick them up and love on them. And when you did…your heart melted. They would wrap around your neck and lay their heads on your shoulder and not let go. So many kids and not enough arms. I had one child in my arms and a little girl in a walker on the floor. She was very small, but so animated. I took the baby in my arms and sat down on the floor next to the walker and made sounds with my mouth that she tried to imitate. But every time I did a “zerbert” the little guy in my arms came in for a kiss on the lips and I was more than happy to oblige.
It was very hard to leave, but it was great to love on these kids and pray over them if only for a few hours. And I know that while these circumstances wouldn’t be the best of circumstances in the United States - these kids are well taken care of and God loves them the same as he loves all of us and He is in control. He placed these children in my path for a reason and I am soaking it all in. I just wish it could last a little longer.
The afternoon was spent at Apparent Project. This is the place where the cereal box beads and the Christmas ornaments were made. They also do screen printing, pottery, metal art and so much more. This amazing operation has grown tremendously, They now have 2 buildings. And they make the most AMAZING smoothies!
A great day. Lois and Kelly met up with us at Apparent project so we are now “whole” and looking forward to Water Truck Day in Cite Soliel tomorrow. Stay tuned. — Shelly Render
Day 2 - So today I was sent with five others to Darry’s - an orphanage for special needs children, while the others from our group went to the Home for the Sick and Dying Babies. Today was truly the start to a life changing experience. We were greeted by the pastor at the gate and another very happy joyful man. You could see the children inside getting really excited to see us. When I entered the room there was a little boy that came over and latched on to me. He took me to the corner and got a chair out for me. By the time I sat down there was a little girl right by me too. Both the little girl and boy climbed up on my lap and loved on me. The little boy kept whispering into my ear “God is good for me.” So we started singing songs with children next. Grace from the guest house, who is on an eight month mission trip, brought her guitar with her and helped lead us in a few songs and there was also a Haitian blind man that lead us in a few songs too. After a few songs, we got the bubbles out that we brought. The children were full of laughter blowing the bubbles. There was an older boy that had quite the talent with blowing bubbles. He would slowly blow the bubbles and make them very large. After the bubbles we got the face paint out. The children weren’t to excited at first about the face paint until we started to take their picture and show them on the camera. There was one boy that I painted a sun on his face and then we took his picture. He had the biggest smile on his face and then he want the other side of his face paint. There was a few children there that couldn’t walk. They seemed to be the most loving children giving kisses on cheeks. All of these children are lucky to have a place to be loved and not forgotten. We ended with a prayer before the children had to get ready for there lesson. This day set the tone for what is to come in this life changing experience. —Casey Hochstetler
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