On our agenda today is to visit the Grace School, the clinic, view the home being built by Lott Carey volunteers, and conduct bible study for the men later. I’ve been through most of this last week so I watch intently as the A-Team (Alfred Street) takes it in.
We arrive at the school around 9:30 am during the morning recess so there are quite a few students outside. They devour our team, smiling, getting and giving hugs, and posing for pictures. We don’t have an interpreter with us this morning so Mr. Billy, the principal talks about the school in broken English. He apologizes often but I assure him his English is very good. He shares with the group that the school goes up to 6th grade and that they will be adding a seventh grade next year. It is the vision of the school to keep adding a grade each year until they have a full high school. With the new school building 60 percent complete this is doable.
I’m not sure if I mentioned this before but a couple of the classes are held in the church. This is common in Haiti. Most, if not all schools are “attached to” and supported by a church. After service on Sunday, the sanctuary is literally converted into a classroom(s). So our first stop is inside where two 2nd grade classes are in session. We then go from class to class and each time the students have a greeting or welcome song for us. Mr. Billy next takes us to a building adjoining the church where younger children are being taught, then we head over to the new buildings where older children take classes. As is so typical of “older kids”, they greet us but with less enthusiasm and more “I’m doing this because I was told to” attitude. As a matter of fact I stop the sixth graders and make them start again because it was so lack-luster.
The new school will comprise two buildings, side by side with four rooms each on two
levels. Currently only one building is occupied and the second story has not been constructed on either building. There are no windows or doors, there is no electricity, and no plans for indoor plumbing. Currently construction has halted because funding has dried up. This is also typically “Haitian” but I have no doubt that they will complete the construction at some point in the future AND fulfill the plans God laid out. Pictured above is one of the partially completed school buildings. The small single-story structure also pictured above is the kitchen which prepares and serves meals to the kids everyday.
We next walk over to the clinic for a tour. Because it is a Monday the clinic is rather busy with quite a few people in the outer waiting area which they use for triage. We go inside and greet people in the inner waiting area and move through to the clinic itself. There are four examination rooms, an office area, doctor’s office, and a pharmacy. Anita gets excited and shares that her parent was a pharmacist so she can’t wait to return and get busy. The pharmacy recently received a large shipment/donation of drugs and other medical supplies which need to be inventoried and cataloged so there is much work to do here.
We complete our tour of the different “ministries” here a Mission of Grace by visiting the home which is under construction. The A-Team wants to delve into this project but skilled tradesmen are needed to do most of what’s left to do. They, like me, are mesmerized by the view. We head back down the mountain and enjoy lunch before we get into our work assignment for the day. We are tasked with doing interior painting in the “transition center”. The team is enthusiastic about their work assignment and can’t seem to get started fast enough.The vision for this building is to train people to make them employable and provide temporary housing in the process. This is one part of the mission which has not taken root yet. The plan right now is to use this for Sunday worship services as the “church” is busting at the seams.
Michael and I conducted bible study for the men later that evening. We take our text from 1 Samuel 17 and have a lively discussion about the “giants in our lives” an
d how we can slay them. As most bible readers know, this is the passage about how young David was able to slay Goliath, the giant of the Philistine army with God’s help. We shared that, just like David, your friends and relatives will try to dissuade you from doing what God called you to do. We also shared that when you are going to battle against the “giants in your life”, you can’t use the conventional “tools” of warfare…that you must take God with you. We had a fairly lively discussion and answered a few questions before it got too dark to continue. I feel it was well-received. I can only pray that someone was blessed by our time of sharing.