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It’s Saturday, and we’re off to the market! As markets go, this one is a big one, in my opinion, with animals, produce, clothing, and household odds and ends. First stop – to buy a pregnant goat for one of the families being helped by MH4H. We spotted the one we wanted right away, but the title paperwork took considerably longer because the authority in charge wasn’t there yet. So the goat (newly named Angel) waited, and we ventured into the market to buy the items on Christi’s grocery list. We could identify some of the fruits and vegetables, but much of it was an education for us. The meat market definitely gave us a new appreciation for what we take for granted in the US, and we got to peek into the bread factory with its huge oven. Two hours and 10 full bags later, we returned to the animal market and retrieved Angel, who joined us in the pickup for the ride back to MH4H.

After lunch, we loaded four carts for delivery in two separate locations. Unless you’re on the newly paved highway, the roads really are quite challenging – think narrow and dusty, full of potholes or mud bogs! Twyla and Carol distributed dresses, shirts, diapers, and toys to the little ones while the rest of the team assembled the cart and showed the recipient how to operate it. After the blessing, we hopped back on the pickup and drove … and drove … and drove many miles over roads (see above) to the other three recipients. One recipient was carried into the school yard by Tim and Pete. Two were brothers, injured two years apart. There were about 50 from the community to greet us. The Haitian pastor gave a Christian message, followed by singing in both Creole and English, and more dresses, tee shirts, and toys to give to the children and adults. One tiny woman was overjoyed to receive a new dress, which fit her perfectly!

Another adventure – taking the two brothers AND their carts to their houses on those “roads” with everyone piled on top! On the way back we stopped at one gentleman’s home for a cart repair. Since we weren’t having much success completing the repair at his house, we loaded the cart in the pick-up and brought it back to MH4H, where Harold, Tim, and Kaden persevered in getting the rusted pivot pin out – WD40 and a bigger hammer to the rescue!

Roses:
being able to give mobility to those who need them
getting the pivot pin out so the cart could be reused
seeing the look of joy on the woman’s face when she got the dress
good drivers for getting us there and back

Thorns:
not having boys’ clothes to distribute