2017 Haiti Mission – Week 4 (Nov 12-15)

As we were walking back to the guest house on SUNDAY after church service we passed by the soup kitchen where there was already a line forming. The two cooks, Dedine and LaNice, called me over and told me I needed to come to work right away (I am starting to think they like my company). Ms. Lynn stopped by a short time later and admonished the children who did not go to church today telling them they needed to be fed the word of God first and then come to get some food. While we were waiting for the food to finish cooking I started playing with some of the children. One of them is Makenzy, Billy’s brother. He held onto me and sat in my lap for quite a while. We started making funny faces and taking pictures. Also hanging around today were the daughters of the two cooks (I don’t remember their names right now) and we all have a good time. I feel like I put in overtime today, both physically and emotionally, so when I got back to the guest house I took a 2 hour nap.

There are a couple of missionary teams at the guest house this week. On MONDAY night I challenged a few of them to “listen” as God speaks to them during their workday tomorrow and I ask them to share what He “says”. I remind them that even though they are here to work, the real work is in cultivating relationships and witnessing to the people they come in contact with. These are the things which will be sustaining much longer than the block and cement structures they will build this week.

On TUESDAY morning Phedora tells me she doesn’t want to come to our tutoring session. I tell her it is okay and that she should return to her classroom however her mom says something to her and she comes in and takes a seat. Immediately she begins to cry and is seemingly inconsolable. As I work with the three boys, I rub her back and ask her to stop crying. After 10 minutes or so I notice the tears have subsized so I offer her a drink of water. Slowly but surely she comes around and by the end of our time together she is smiling and, once again outshining the guys in solving her division problems. I realized today was more about pouring into and loving on Phedora than anything else. Thank you God for that lesson.

During the evening debrief with the mission team I find out that “love” was the central theme. It seems as though they took my challenge to heart and several of them talked about the conversations they had with their Haitian counterparts at the building site. They spoke of how they felt less like coworkers and more like brothers or comrades now, and are anxiously looking for to spending time on the work site. They also shared that one of the young men in the village thanked them for coming to spend time…not to build a house, but spend time with him and the others.

When I get to the Children of Grace (remember we don’t use the word “orphanage”) WEDNESDAY afternoon there is a lot of activity. This presents a bit of a challenge because my student Shiena is easily distracted. Sure enough I realize after the first 15 minutes with her that teaching/learning was not going to happen today so WE (since Shiena was already distracted) poured our energy into the little people here. Abraham arrived severely malnourished with very little muscle tone in his legs. We try to get him to stand but many times he stubbornly refuses. However today he indulged me as he enjoyed his pop.

Since today was a wash I decided to visit with more little people. There are 65 children here and about 15 nannies so there is always the opportunity to love on a kid. As I approached their area I could see smiles growing on some of the little faces. I grabbed the first child I saw and lifted him up in the air. He became fearful and screamed as I lifted him over my head…bad move so I put him back down and he scurried away. The next little one I locked eyes with was similar to Abraham. She doesn’t stand at all but scoots along the floor and, as I walked I could tell she was coming towards me. She lifted her arms beckoning me to pick her up and I was more than willing to indulge her. As I pulled her close I could tell her diaper was soaking wet however I was determined to enjoy the moment with her so off we went walking around. We spent about 10 minutes together when I heard another little one crying serious tears. I put down the baby I had to go over and comfort the other child. It turns out she was soaking wet also but stopped crying immediately as I wrapped her in my arms. We hung out together until it is time for them to eat dinner. As I made my way back to the guest house I got a whiff of myself and couldn’t help but smile. I know I needed to rinse my shirt right away to minimize the urine stain and smell but the memories of this day are going to carry me for a while.