The Pella Christian Winterim team did not stray far from the campus today. Instead, they spent the day close to home learning about the ministry of Many Hands. The young people also participated in several hands-on culture experiences to understand more of life in Haiti. Keep reading to live their day with them.

To read yesterday’s blog, click here.

 

Monday Day 5 in Haiti

We started today off with having devotions with the Many Hands for Haiti staff. The pastor was there from church on Sunday, and we sang a song with them in Creole. It was so fun to talk to the staff members, and they were so happy we were here. After devotions, we split into two groups. One group went through the prayer walk, and the other walked with 5 gallon buckets full of water. We only carried one bucket but we talked a lot about how the Haitians had to carry so much more than that every day.

Then, we had a very short Creole lesson to help us talk to the the kids. School had just started up again after Christmas so the staff and students were back. We played with the kids at recess but many students couldn’t come because they hadn’t paid tuition yet. Hopefully, many of them will be back tomorrow. We learned a lot about the Many Hands for Haiti program and all of the different departments they have. They do so much for their community. They provide jobs and education for both students and parents. The kids can go to school and the parents can learn how to grow their own food. The parents can also work to help them pay for their child’s tuition. Then, we ate lunch together and many of us tried spam for the first time:).

After lunch, we learned about the history of Haiti. It was very interesting to learn about how Haiti came to be today. It was also very sad to learn how it has become the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.

A little later we walked down to the suspension bridge. On the way, we stopped at a rum factory. It was interesting but many of us couldn’t focus because of the strong smell of rum. Some of us even had to wait outside till the end. We weren’t able to walk across the suspension bridge due to safety issues, sadly. It was fun to watch the motorcycles cross it though. We walked back to the compound and ate supper. Then, we played many games before bed. Mainly spoons which got pretty crazy. Lots of yelling, screaming, and bent spoons. Hopefully the cooks won’t mind 😉 We want to thank you for all of your prayers and please continue to pray for us as we draw closer to the end of this trip.

Because we think you care,
Cara Veenstra and Joslyn Terpstra