It was a great day in Haiti. Our morning started off early with an "American" breakfast. The Haitian cooks at the mission hotel work very hard and prepare very good food. This morning, we had scrambled eggs with vegetables and made-from-scratch sweet rolls. Toast with peanut butter/jelly was also offered as was citron, which is a lemonade type drink made from freshly squeezed lemons and water and sugar. It is funny for us to think of lemonade being a breakfast drink, but... I guess it is a freshly squeezed citrus fruit, like oranges, or grapefruit, so I am not sure why it is so weird.
Let me add here a request for your pardon for any typos. Internet access works better in some areas than in others, so I am sitting outside on the back corner of the porch of the hotel lobby (fantastic connection here! I might even be able to get some pictures up tonight, haha!) But, being Haiti, there are no outside lights (anywhere) so I can't see the keyboard. I will do my best, but ask your patience, with typos, as I am typing in the dark and I am not the best typist, anyway.
After breakfast, we loaded up the truck and went out to the village of Cabaret. We divided into three groups and each group went with an American "leader" (me or Valerie or Riley) as well as two Haitian translator/guides to visit the home of a member of the church. We spent about an hour meeting them, speaking with them, singing with them, praying with them. That was a great experience to meet people where they live and speak with them and share with them. Afterwards, we walked back to the truck and went on to lunch at Yolti's Bar Restaurant in Cabaret. There are not many restaurants in Haiti, and even fewer where Americans can eat, but Yolti's is one of them. We were offered a choice of chicken, fish, or goat. Sadly, no one was brave enough to choose goat, but a select few chose the fish. After a good meal, we continued our day by driving to the village of Transformation, where we did a "kids club." This is how it goes: we pull into a village and the kids, who see the truck, come running. Then, the group goes strolling through town and the children come running out of houses and yards and come running from everywhere. Haitians are very affectionate and open and they are very demonstrative with their affection, so very soon, every Knight was covered in small children, who wanted to hold hands, be carried, ride piggy-back, and/or perch up on our shoulders. Older children also come running, and they want to be "cool," but it is hard for them to resist the magnet of "new friends" so, very soon, they were also leaning on us and, if they go to school, they will try to determine if you can speak French (or occasionally, English) in search of a way to communicate and get to know you better. If that does not work, they contented themselves with walking near us. Occasionally, they will reach out and touch your shoulder, or stroke your arm, or touch a piece of your clothing or hair ... just to have a connection since the oral connection did not work out. The mothers of young children come out, and hand over their babies and soon the kids had their arms full. We looped our way through the streets of the village and arrived back in the center to the shade of a large jade tree, much like the Pied Piper of Hamlin, with all of the youth of the town in tow. At this point, the games begin. There are some games and songs. It is interesting to see the difference in the way things are played in Haiti. Since Haiti is an oral culture, there is a lot of repetition and call-and-response. It is also remarkable how quickly the children can remember a large group of foreign names. After the games and songs, there is a Bible lesson. The story for today was Noah and the Ark. Afterwards, there is an oral quiz and students who successfully answer questions from the lesson received "un beau cadeau" from the prize bag of toys that the kids had collected to bring down to Haiti. Then some suckers were distributed and after, some of us cuddled sleepy babies and some joined the older kids in a game of soccer.
Too soon, it was time to go. We clambered back into the truck, waving good-bye to the children of Transformation and returned to the hotel The students had an hour to clean up and then went to The Beacon for dinner. The Beacon is a home for teenaged boys. After eating a delicious Haitian meal, we all helped to clear the table and then some kids helped to do dishes "Haitian Style," (If you get a chance to ask Leah or Maddie about that, you should.) while others played a little game of basketball with some of the boys. After all of the cleaning up was done, we divided into four groups: three soccer teams and a group of spectators. Some very fun (and funny!!!) soccer was played for about an hour or so, and then we returned home. After a quick clean-up, we gathered in the dining room for some reflection.
Finally, the kids went back to their rooms to clean up and gather what they will need for tomorrow. All journaled before many went to bed very early. Some were still writing when I started to look for a good wireless spot around 10:00. It is nearly 11:30 now and I suspect that all are asleep.
Tomorrow will come early and we will be going to a day camp at the church to help with the children. We are very excited because many of the pieces of the playground that we fundraised so hard for were delivered today and we are going to get a chance to see them tomorrow.
Continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we continue to show God's love to people through our service to them.
No comments:
Post a Comment