2018 Haiti Mission – 11/18/18 thru 11/24/18

The barrels are here! The barrels are here! Ms. Lynn told me that twenty-three 55-gallon drums/barrels Alfred Street Baptist Church packed on August 25th, which contain 23,000 dry-goods-meals have arrived and they will be using them as soon as possible. The drums had been sitting at Haiti Customs for a minute but were finally released and trucked to Carries. The meals are much needed and are a welcomed arrival to supplement the more than 700 meals the Mission of Grace provides on a daily basis. Ms. Lynn is so very thankful to Alfred Street and says that this blessing will allow the mission to use their limited funds on other much needed items. There are 19 more barrels with donated personal care items, clothing, shoes, and other items in route which should arrive in another week. The final installment this year from Alfred Street to the Mission of Grace will be 7 barrels filled with doll babies and sporting equipment which we hope will arrive before Christmas.

There is a lot going on in Haiti right now. The citizens are really upset and are trying to oust the President and Vice President. There are reports of widespread demonstrations and other acts of civil disobedience, some of it violent. Some of the trouble has hit Carries. There were reports of several buildings destroyed by fire and another building vandalized. Protesters have erected road blocks on several of the main roads, including Route 1 Nationale which is the only road into and out of Carries. My colleagues and I are safe and don’t feel we are in imminent danger but we are cautious and stay close to the guest house.

Saturday afternoon we venture out as a team into the village to take a look at some of the damage. It’s heart breaking to see the destruction. The children at the orphanage as well as the elderly residents are distraught so a few of the long term missionaries and I sleep in their rooms to provide comfort and reassurance. We awaken to a bright and sunny Sunday and have church service at the orphanage. I am asked to pray and sing…I’m glad I was not asked to preach also (that happened before at the last minute). Below are some selfies we took as we are waiting for the service to start, including one I didn’t even know about until I got my phone back from this group.

The protests continue into Monday and schools are closed all over the country. Out of caution, missionaries are restricted on where we can go so we limit our travel to the orphanage and the Grandma House.

When we get to the orphanage today Mary France and Alexandre gang up on me and decide I need my fingernails polished. The only color choices I have are pink and green, not that they really asked me. I catch a lot of flak from the boys who insist only girls get their nails polished. I ignore them and proudly show off my nails. I also point out that my nails match my pink socks AND pink shoe laces.

Tuesday must be hair day because we see several girls paired up doing each other’s hair as we move about the orphanage. We pop into the Grandma on Friday and are greeted with hugs and kisses from everyone. They are in the midst of eating lunch when we arrive so we excuse ourselves to the porch where we are entertained by a nine-year-old lad who is learning to sound out words in English.

The young ladies at the orphanage have been teasing me because my hair has grown out since I arrived. Sometimes they laugh as they try to twist in my hair in little spikes, and other times they are trying to clip barrettes in it. I shared my saga with Mr. Cullen so he and stopped by the Village barbershop. Mr. Cullen always draws a crowd when he gets a haircut as he is the only Caucasian to frequent this stylist. I am pleasantly surprised how my haircut, mustache and beard trim turned out. The stylist was as good as my barber in the DMV and the cut only cost $3 US.

Saturday afternoon I offer to return the favor and paint Mary France’s nails. I could tell after I finished the first finger she was not happy with my (lack of) skills but she was gracious and let me paint all 10 fingers. She was also kind enough to wait until I was no longer within listening range before she asked one of her friends for some acetone to undo my botched job. SMH.