Living on a Mission

June 17, 2013
Evening

So far today has been awesome. Flying into Haiti, looking out the plane window, was wonderful. Stunning. Beautiful. Majestic. Call it what you will, but it's SURREAL to know we're FINALLY HERE! When we landed we went through customs with our bags, which was thankfully a breeze. I've never gone through customs without the help of my dad. We spent some time waiting for all our luggage and piling it on to the carts. We walked our luggage outside into the stunning heat--started sweating immediately--and met our Haitian crew at the top-top, our transportation for the week.

There are 3 team members who have been here before and 8 who have not. We took a long, bumpy ride through back streets to get to the guest house, our home for the week. The girls split between 2 rooms and the guys took the other. There is a living area, a kitchen area, 2 bathrooms, and an outdoor patio. It is a very nice place. When we arrived we had a little tour of the guest house and got to see guest house #2 next door. We unpacked and then dinner was ready at 5:30. The table was set and neat. There are 3 wonderful cooks who prepared the meal. Tonight was tacos (so American, non?!) After dinner and clean-up, we had "team meeting" to go over rules for the week and the plans for Tuesday morning. We're pretty exhausted from a long day of travel.

BONSOIR!

June 18, 2013

Morning

Breakfast at 0800 was AMAZING. Pancakes, fresh apricots, fresh squeezed papaya juice, scrambled eggs with green pepper and tomato, and 2 kinds of oatmeal. At 0900 we left to go to the Home for Sick and Dying. There was an issue with there being too many of us, so we ended up traveling to Gertrude's, a home that cares for children with disabilities, which included an hour and a half water therapy session at a local pool. It was wonderful to see the kids' faces light up. Getting to be hands-on with the kids and helping them leave the center for awhile for a fun morning was so encouraging. Usually these children are abandoned in Haiti. One was found in a dumpster when he was seven, and he is a teenager now.

After spaghetti for dinner, we had team meeting. We were each instructed to choose a word that described our day and share it with the team. It was wonderful to hear other people's opinions and get into discussion about real life issues. We were overcome with some emotion after seeing the poorest country in the world's infants. It was heartbreaking, seeing infants who don't smile and have no muscle tone when held...who are living in deplorable conditions with illness and inadequate medical care.

Our team has connected like we were meant to be together, instantly. To meet so many new people who get along and have this passion for Haiti and to serve and still maintain their individuality is just a testament to God's faithfulness and watchful eyes. This was the RIGHT group for THIS time and for THIS purpose. I've never ever been so grateful for God's protection AND new friends.