Eleven ladies, volunteers and staff at the Many Hands Market in Spencer, are spending a week in Haiti. They have taken turns serving the community members, staff members, and each other in varying ways. After their activities and excitement today, they’re taking time to be still and reflect on God. See their thoughts below.
To read yesterday’s blog, click here.
This morning, about half of us woke up at the crack of dawn to hike the huge mountain. At 5:00 AM Christi, Karmen, Shelly, Allie, Caitlyn, and Abby woke up, packed our bags with water and a few snacks, loaded onto the Kawasaki, and headed towards the mountain. We met up with a couple of Haitians, Watson and Herby. Luckily for us, it was early enough so the sun wasn’t scorching; but, it was still very hot. Although the climb was a little rough and not super easy, we all made it to the top. We sat for awhile and just looked out onto the city and admired the beauty. It’s incredible to compare Haiti’s massive mountains with amazing views, to Iowa’s very flat land filled with cornfields. God’s creations are indescribable, there are no words to describe the immensity and awesome view from this point. But, once we started to climb down, it was quite the adventure. Although the mountains are breathtaking, they can be a teeny bit dangerous. There were a lot of slips and falls, but no worries, we all made it down in one piece.

Picture (bottom of mountain with Haitians & bottom of mountain with Christi): Taking in the views with Herby and Watson, and Christi
While some of us climbed the mountain, other stayed back in the compound. After eating Craig’s super awesome famous pancakes, they started painting the new administration building again. Throughout the course of the day, most of the painting was completed. Second coats were painted in the rooms, around the windows are painted, and the other various stripes on the outside are almost finished.
We also went to the market! Saturday is a big day in Haiti. There were TONS of people everywhere. We shopped for food and kitchen supplies to have at the compound and for other people. We were body to body with motorcycles driving through at the same time. While we walked around, we got to learn about the different products the Haitians use for household chores such as laundry. It was interesting to see the difference in our products versus theirs. In addition, it was so fun to see friends we had not made connections with yet! Walking through was very eye opening to see the difference between how our Hyvees or Walmarts are versus their open air market.

Picture: Caitlyn attempting to carrying our groceries like a Haitian
Later, Liz took Maren, Allie, Caitlyn, and Abby to visit a few houses. At the first house, a family just had a newborn; her name was Fedlanda and she was a healthy, week-old baby. There were three families living in that home with a lot of the kids grabbing our hands wanting us to lift them up while they jump. It was a lot of fun to see how excited and full of joy the children were. We then visited a neighbor mother with two children. One of her kids had been sick so we prayed over her and talked to her for awhile. Once we left, we headed back to the compound.

Picture: Maren holding little Fedlanda
Around supper time, two Haitian girls came to the compound to braid hair and do pedicures. Maren and Abby got their entire heads filled with braids, while Caitlyn also got half her head braided. It hurts a little bit while their pulling and braiding, but after it looks so good so it’s definitely worth it. Mallory, Megan, and Liz all got pedicures. The two girls washed and scrubbed their feet, then painted their toenails.
At the end of the day, we always end with devotions. Tonight, Maren lead devotions and talked about taking time during the day to just be still, and listen for God’s voice. Even though we can hear God’s voice while we’re out serving for His glory, we still need to take a step back once in a while and just be still.
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