2016 Haiti Mission -Tuesday 11/29/2016

On our agenda is working in the clinic, constructing a covering over the village soup kitchen, building a set of wooden steps to be used at the new school building, and making adjustments to the bathroom doors at the church. The men on our team will host a meeting with the pastors of Grace Community Church later in the day. The women will also conduct bible study with the women later in the day

The three ministers in our group have chosen to spend time this morning at the clinic. There is a recent shipment of drugs and supplies which must be inventoried and they will pray for and with people who come in for treatment. The praise report for the day is that several people in the clinic waiting area have accepted Christ through the intervention of these mighty prayer warriors.

The clinic here in the village is one of the few in the surrounding area and the only one which is completely free. They do not charge for any of their services or medications, and it doesn’t matter whether or not the patients are members of the immediate community. People who come to the clinic are also eligible to receive a meal at the soup kitchen. This is vital in a country with extremely high unemployment and poverty. Most people can’t afford to eat more than one meal a day so you can imagine they don’t have funds to pay a doctor or purchase medicine

Simira, Tony and I spend the morning constructing a set of steps wooden steps to be used at the school. We found out the hard way yesterday that it is a little difficult for some of the more “seasoned” people to navigate the high landing to get into the newer school buildings. Tony and I did most of the measuring, all three of us shared in cutting the boards to length and Simira proved to be a beast with the drill during the final construction. Later Rev. Michael joined us as we had to trim the lower portion of the bathroom doors to make sure they closed properly. I must say we made a great and very efficient team.

While Simira, Tony and I were working on the steps, Erving, Ralph and Matt are working to put a cover over the soup kitchen. Here is a picture of the “kitchen” before the guys started working on it.  As you can see it looks nothing like what we’re used to here in the states.

Most Haitians cook their meals outside and the stove of the “kitchen” abuts a concrete fresh water tank and a storage bin. As you can plainly see it is outside and exposed the elements. The existing cover consisted of pieces of plastic taped together. The team has to put a tarp over the outdoor stove and construct the supporting structure onto which the tarp is fastened. After extensive discussion and measuring, they go about their task with precision. All-the-while, the cooks are preparing to serve 50 to 120 people who come by seeking a meal daily.

We spend our afternoon at the orphanage loving on every child we can find. Below is a picture of Simira with Timothy. This young man didn’t care who you were, if you approached him he would raise his arms seeking to climb up in yours and all of us willingly obliged him.

As the women head up to the church to conduct bible study, the four clergy from Grace Community Church join us for a brief discussion. I must admit communication was difficult and it wasn’t just tell language barrier…we had an interpreter. We share with the leaders how important it is for there to be unity in leadership in the church and that there is a great responsibility in properly “feeding the sheep”. We end our time together over sandwiches and soft drinks. We also invite them back for another session of dialogue and sharing tomorrow night. They graciously accept.