I purposefully set a demanding schedule for the week for these missionaries in an attempt to maximize their exposure to, and experience with all of the ministries here at Mission of Grace. I divide the team of 13 into three groups which are named Love, Hope and Faith. Each group will serve in different areas of the mission AND they will rotate assignments/activities. For example Team Love may serve at the clinic on Monday, Team Hope on Tuesday, and Team Faith may be assigned on Wednesday. In the morning while Team Hope is at the orphanage, Team Love may be praying with the villagers while Team Faith is working on a construction project.
Typically our day starts with devotions at 7:45 am followed by breakfast. We leave for our morning activities at 9 am and return to the guest house for lunch at 12:15 pm. We leave the guest house to partake in our afternoon activities at 1:45 pm and return around 5pm. Dinner is served at 6pm most nights and this is followed a discussion of “how did I get here” presented by one of the people who play a major role at the Mission. We end our day with a team debriefing where the theme is “how did we experienced God at work today”, and close out with prayer.
This morning we tour the different ministries which make up the Mission of Grace. They include a church, school, clinic, orphanage, elderly home, separate homes for teen girls, teen boys, and unwed mothers, and a soup kitchen. We start our tour walking a quarter mile up the mountain to view the remnants of the mudslide which took place in August 2015. It is this devastation which brought the Lott Carey teams to Carries in the first place. It is difficult to comprehend the magnitude of the water, mud, and rocks which cascaded down the mountain obliterating homes and uprooting the lives of the villagers. Vegetation has replaced much of the destruction and many of the people who lost homes chose to leave the area and rebuild their lives elsewhere.
Our first ministry stop is the Grace Community School. Note, there is no national school system in Haiti so most schools are privately run by churches or missions. The student body at Grace ranges from 4 year old nursery to eight grade. Tuition is $220 per year which covers books and school supplies, 2 uniforms, teachers salary and two meals a day. Mr Billy, the principal takes the team on a brief tour of the school and we get to visit several classrooms. I am proud to see they have completed the 2nd floor on one of the buildings since my last visit. Pictured below are the photos from: 2015 before the school building was started; 2016 when the first floors were completed, and this year showing the completed 2nd story on one building. Construction will continue when the funds are available.
We take the short walk from the school to the clinic. This clinic is the only one in the region whose services are totally free…medical treatment, exams, tests, and prescription meds are all free. We leave the clinic and walk down to the elderly home which we call The Grandma-Grandpa House. We are greeted with smiles, kisses, and hugs from the residents here. After spending a little time with them we head further down the hill, passing by the teen boys home, to the orphanage which is home to The Children of Grace (they don’t like using the term “orphanage” at the Mission). The teen girls home is also housed within this compound. It’s quiet here because the older children are in school and the babies are preparing for their midday nap. The last stop on our tour this morning is the soup kitchen. The kitchen provides a noonday meal, 7 days a weeks, for 150 to 300 people. All who come can receive a meal and for some it is the only meal they get on a daily basis.
After lunch the teams head out to their assignments: Team Love is going to paint the orphanage while Team Faith gets to play with the children there, and Team Hope is headed to Grandma-Grandpa House.
The guys on our mission team lead bible study for the men in the Village this evening. The men are focusing on men of the bible so our guys lead a spirited discussion on King David.
I would say today was a great start to what I know will be a fantastic week of serving God at the Mission of Grace in Carries.
This is amazing Vernon. In prayer, I hope to save my pennies and my leave and experience this with you and Jamie next year. Thank God for you.
I am in agreement and will be in prayer with you for God to make that happen. It would be life changing for both of you. Love you guys.