Haiti Mission Trip: Day 5

 

Wednesday

 

We were all feeling worn out by Wednesday. Most of the team was less than excited to find spaghetti on the table that morning- a traditional Haitian breakfast. It was actually very good, and tasted a little like Lo Mein. It was just a bit hard to eat too much of it in the morning!

After breakfast, the team split up and half went up to the mountain property to work while the rest of us went to the market.

The market was very crowded and most people sat with their goods on the ground. They sold clothes, fresh produce, cooked food (for shoppers and for those there all day selling), and spices. A few people in our group bought clothes, and Leslie and I got some Maggie bouillon cubes to bring home with us.

 

 

One of the missionaries also got some coconut cookies and sugar cane for us to try!

Sugar Cane

 

After the market, it was our group's turn to go up to work at the Ikondo. It was a very steep ride up the mountain, so we couldn't take the van. We waited for the truck to pick us up and made the beautiful, but slightly scary ride up to the top.

 

The building is made by putting together Styrofoam blocks and filling them with concrete. The foam ends up working as insulation, and the way the blocks are formed allows the concrete to connect all the way through. This makes them sturdier than your average concrete blocks!

 

 

I was fascinated by how everything worked!

 

Support beams hold everything together while the roof dries

 

I was glad for our high ropes course experience when working on the roof! Kevin, Leslie, and I worked to get rid of Styrofoam and concrete in an area where a crossbeam will eventually go. We couldn’t find a chisel, so we made do with what we had and at Kevin’s suggestion used rocks! It actually worked surprisingly well.

No pics of me on the roof- you're welcome, mom!

 

Photo cred. goes to Josh for this one!

 

 

When we got back to the compound it rained really hard. We were expecting it since there was a tropical storm heading our way, and we were thankful that was all we got! We took the time during the rain to do crafts and hang out with the kids inside.

View from the mountain of the rain coming in

 

When the rain stopped some of us went to get ice cream for a treat for the kids. They loved it! The ice cream there is creamier than our ice cream and they had some different flavors like Sour Sop (a fruit that we got to try later).

 

 

 

This is Sour Sop... Tasty, but feels like eating a jelly fish!

 

For dinner that night the guys grilled hot dogs and we ate with the kids. We were able to hand out certificates to each of them for attending the CPR/first aid lesson!

 

 

We were treated with two beautiful rainbows after dinner. They were gorgeous!

That night we prayed for God to give us love and energy for the next day. We were definitely feeling tired and needed to remember to show God’s love to the kids and to each other!

Haiti Mission Trip: Day 4

Tuesday

 

This is the part where I get a little confused about what happened on which day because I got behind on my journaling in Haiti. So, team, help me out if I've left something out or mixed something up!

 

We were up early and had toast and eggs for breakfast while doing our devotionals. We learned that the children at this orphanage were rescued from another orphanage where they were mistreated. Their previous situation caused them all to get very behind in school. The kids went to church for lessons in the mornings to help them catch up, so we had some time to work before they returned. We had several painting projects to get to work on.

 

 

 

We were able to get several buildings almost completely painted.

 We took a lunch break and enjoyed rice and beans and fried chicken. After, we were able to split the kids up into two groups for some lessons. Katie is a fabulous artist and she was able to head up one group with beautiful fleur-de-lis paintings.

 

 

 

 

Leslie was in charge of teaching first aid and CPR to the other group. All of the kids and some of the adults were able to learn CPR and practice on dummies. We were even able to leave a dummy there with them to use in the future!

 

 

 

Mrs. Michelle receiving some first aid- haha!

 

It began raining really hard towards the end of our sessions, so we retreated inside when we were done and took the opportunity to relax. We rested and enjoyed reading our missionary books that Josh brought for us during the trip.

Once the rain stopped we were able to go on a ride in one of the vans to see more of Grand Goave. We got to see some of the market and residential areas, and we ended up in a beautiful spot with a view of the mountains and the ocean. We were even able to get out and take pictures!

 

 

 

When we got back it was time for dinner, which was very tasty roast.

Leslie and I noticed some of the ladies and Emmanuel playing Mancala. They called the game Kay (house) and played a little differently than we did. They let us watch and taught us the rules then Leslie played a round against Emmanuel. Leslie apparently needed some help, and the ladies grabbed the stones before he could make his move several times to help him out. We all laughed when it made Emmanuel mad that they were helping Leslie to win. All of the people at the orphanage were so kind, and we had a lot of fun with them!  

Haiti Mission Trip: Day 3

Monday

 

On Monday we woke up in time to get ready and do our devotionals before breakfast at 7:30. This would be our morning routine for the rest of the week. We had pancakes and fresh mango & pineapple for breakfast. We were all able to start on projects after breakfast. Some of our team did work around the compound putting up monkey bars for the kids and staining chairs.

 

 

 

 

A few of us also worked to inventory and organize the clothes, shoes, toys and tools we were able to bring with us (shout out to FBC Natchitoches for all of that!). The things we brought went into their store and the kids are able to buy them with points they earn for good behavior.

 

 

 We were also asked to bring supplies to put together bags for the kids to bring to the elderly so that they could practice sharing the gospel and serving. We had the kids help us put the bags together, and they seemed to enjoy looking at everything they would get to give.  

 

 

 

 

We had a little bit of time around the compound before lunch. Some of the girls tried washing clothes, which was a lot of hard work! They made a squeaking sound with the soap that I don't think anyone was quite able to get the hang of.

 

 
 

 

 We had some time to play outside and to play cards!

 

Emmanuel insisted that everyone cheated at Uno... except for him, of course!

 

For lunch we had BBQ chicken and rice with red sauce- delicious! After lunch most of the boys went back to work and the girls had the opportunity to give pedicures and manicures to the ladies who cook, wash clothes, and do other “house mom” duties for Hands and Feet.

 

We Washed their feet with soap and scrubbed their nails with toothbrushes. Someone even dug up a real brush and a pumice stone! They loved it! Some just sat and smiled looking at their nails when we finished.

We asked each one how we could pray for them when they were finished. They all had immediate responses, and once they saw us praying, several ladies asked to be prayed for as soon as we finished their nails! Several ladies asked us to pray for their spiritual walks and others had prayers for friends or family members, or even for the one doing the praying! They were all so unselfish and humble.

 After this we hung out with the kids some until dinner time. They were interested in our manicures and pedicures and some painted each other’s nails... Even the boys!

  

For dinner we had sloppy joes. They were a little different from our version, but they were very good. After dinner we played an American vs. Haitians soccer game at the insistence of the kids. They beat us terribly, but we had a great time! The game was going so badly we started picking up the ball and running with it. It turned into more of a hilarious rugby game than soccer! We all did lots of laughing and running around until we all eventually got tired. We sat around and talked on the field until time for our nightly meeting.

 

 I know there are more soccer pictures somewhere, I'll have to find them!

Once again, pictures were taken by the wonderful Mrs. Tanya!