Written by Faith Vandehaar and Katy Olsen, member of the Central College team serving in Pignon, Haiti.
HEY YOU GUYSSSSSS (as Roodson would say).
We started out the day by eating a breakfast made by our hosts, Craig and Christi. We had eggs and pancakes with some creative toppings- so delicious! After devotions, we headed into town (Pignon) to venture through the famous Market. The Market was not only full of locals but was also crowded with Haitians from other surrounding towns! Think New Year’s Eve in New York City! This was very overwhelming at first, but luckily we had our Haitians guides, Roodson/Kenzie/Richlein/Ishmeal, to ease our stress! While walking, we had a couple local children tag along to join our adventure. In the market, venders were selling everything from clothing to butchered meat to handcrafted items. Think farmers market on steroids. One of the groups, our group, stopped at a local painter who paints for Pella’s Mango Tree to look/purchase his art. They were tre belle (very beautiful). While our group was waiting to meet up with the other group we ran into a little bit a trouble in the form of teenage boys. Da da dun. These boys were quite intrigued by certain group members. With the help of a human blockade we escaped the situation with ease! Hip hip hurray! After returning from the market, and cracking open some much needed ice cold Coca-Colas, we had hot dogs, fresh pineapple (YUM), toast, and juice for lunch. We then had some down time for a couple of hours. So, a few of us went outside of the dorm to play with the group of neighborhood kids who regularly gather there. They enjoyed getting their nails painted, squirting each other with silly string, playing with the skip it, bubbles, and dancing to music. It was really fun getting to interact with the kids and experiencing their joy through our activities!
Walking home from the garden, the team gained some children into their group. And, those children liked to goof around just as much as the team does. Melanie, holding a little one while coming back from the Market. Hannah went shopping at the Market! The Haitian government is building a new market place building. Here is the structure, still under construction.Later this afternoon, we took a trip to a local orphanage. Here we were given a tour of the campus by the head honcho (Nan) and our mini tour guide named Jenny and then met some of the children. The campus was well kept- filled with swing sets, nice lodging, and a very spacious dining hall. These kiddos are in lovin’ hands! We were surprised that most of the children were able to speak English and Creole making it easier to communicate. We also sang a couple Creole songs and performed our skits of the bible stories of David and Goliath and healing a paralyzed man. We then got to color and play soccer with the children. I (Faith) got to help a little boy, Koza, write his name for his very first time! He was so gosh darn excited! When it started to rain we had to say goodbye, pass out bracelets and head back to the dorm. Luckily we didn’t have to make this journey by foot!
Hunter and Jenny, one of the little girls at the orphanage.
Overall today was filled lots of unexpected and entertaining events, like, I (Katy) saving a child while sacrificing myself and getting head butted by a passing donkey #hero, having our Haitian guides give us their best American accent, and getting whooped in soccer by the talented Haitians boys at the orphanage. We have loved every second of being in this beautiful country of Haiti and getting the privilege to help and meet some incredible people! This has been a life-changing opportunity! We look forward to our last three days and what God has in store for us!
Dueces from Pignon, Haiti! Love your favorite freshmen, F-Weezy & K-Sizzle
Want to catch up on the previous blogs? Click below:
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4