Rylie, Carli, Brenna, and Abby with Hope Reformed Spencer, share their adventures in Haiti and the impact the evident poverty has on them, as they reflect how they have been blessed.
You can catch up on the teams 2nd day here
Sunday we went to church at UCI, which stands for United Christians International. We listened to many songs that were sung in creole and the whole team really enjoyed listening to the choir that the church had. It was made up of all younger people and there were about twenty-five of them.
After the songs, we were asked to come to the front of the church and introduce ourselves. They really appreciated us being here to help our Haitian brothers and sisters. Jean Jean, one of the missionaries Hope Church supports, gave a sermon about God being the Alpha and Omega, beginning and end. He spoke in creole so we had translators that sat with us to interpret what he was saying.
After church we took a tour of UCI. Christi gave the tour and she took us to the college, dorms, elementary school, and Jean Jean and Kristie’s house. We were able to look at the shop that was inside their house which consisted of items made by local Haitians. It was really nice to see a college and an organization as nice as UCI. They put a lot of work into building it up and making it so accessible to this community that has so many struggles.
The team left UCI and went to one of the few restaurants in Pignon. It was really small and there was barely enough room for all of us to fit in the restaurant. The walls were made of tarps and sticks. Rather than ordering from a menu, there was only one option. They just brought out a plate with rice and beans, coleslaw, pasta salad, and beets. Most of us shared because the portions were humongous. After everyone was finished, we put all our leftovers on a plate and gave it to a man that was outside the restaurant. He was so grateful for the scraps that were left over.
Our activity for the afternoon was food distribution to the poorest of the poor. The team split up into two groups. Each group had 5 bags of rice, beans, oil, spaghetti and bouillon cubes. We, the girls’ group, also had two goats to deliver. This was the most emotional day we have had so far. The house that left the biggest impact on us consisted of a woman who had very bad tremors. She had been like this for over seven years, and all she is able to do is lay on the ground behind the house. She is taken care of by her two sons who are eighteen and fifteen. It was hard to see her like that, but she opened our eyes and showed us how blessed we truly are. We aren’t only blessed because of what we have in the United States and how we live, but we are also blessed because we are healthy and our opportunities for aid are far greater than they are here.
Food delivery Eleane
At the end of the day when we were doing our devotions, Mike made a good point about how the “poorest of the poor” doesn’t really fit the people we delivered food to, but ‘needy does’. Overall, it was eye-opening to be able to make these people’s day and help them in any way we could.
Monday was another day that started way too early. We were able to take some members from the wimps and whiny babies and add them to the elite group today by going on a nice, long, steep, and exhausting climb up a mountain. We girls were already a part of the elite group, but today we added Karmen, Christi, Kurt, Scott, Ryan, and Shelly. The climb from top to bottom took close to three hours. We only slipped or fell like sixteen times each. Once we got down the mountain the Kawasaki that we rode in to get to the mountain wouldn’t start so we had to push it and take it to a sketch auto repair shop where we sat for like a million years.
Mountain hikeOnce we got back to the compound, we ate the leftover pancakes from the breakfast that was made while we were hiking. Thrive for 5 was also going on after we got back, so we decided to go and keep the kids occupied while their mothers were sitting in on a class about nutrition. We played with them in the yard and under the gazebo for about an hour and a half. We also served them lunch before going inside to eat our own lunch.
PlaygroundAfter lunch we started to finish up our projects around the compound. We girls continued painting the preschool, another group went to paint a house that was funded by Mike and Gloria, and the remainder of the team continued to build the playground. The projects took up the majority of the day, and there is still a little to finish up in each project.
Painting Alberts new houseAs we were working, the team was informed that the lady with the tremors we visited passed away this afternoon. Like we said yesterday, she had been sick for over seven years, and she was ready to be with the Lord. We feel truly blessed to have helped her and her family.
Written by yours truly,
Rylie, Carli, Brenna, and Abby
Maintil sang for us She doesn’t want to let go of the bible that was given as a gift