October Haiti Trip, Day 5

Prayer Partner of the Day - Becky Memmelaar

Children at Cherette = AMAZING!

It is hard to remember or to put into words the bountiful and plentiful blessings of today. As we arrived at Cherette, the children were so excited to see us, and we sat outside to play "patty cake" and sing songs. They are so full of love to give and yearn to be held and hugged. I was happy to oblige.

The teachers were very receptive to our classes. The time we spent together was cherished, as we reviewed from the day before, toured the water building, and drilled in hand-washing techniques.

Oh, they enjoyed the black light and hand lotion so much! Carla squirted a lotion into each student's hands and had them rub it in. (It turns clear so you cannot see it anymore.) Then they were asked to go wash their hands thoroughly. Once they air dried, they came over to our dark corner, and we ran a light over their hands. The lotion that was not washed away shows up in the light! They can see who washes their hands well and where they need to wash better! It's an excellent activity and really illustrates the importance of washing hands. They really made fun of whomever had lotion still on their hands or under their fingernails!

Cherette -
Almost Complete

After a quick lunch, we left Cherette to venture to La Hatte. The orphanage there is also overseen by Global Orphan Project, and houses 68 orphans. We were anxious to meet the community and start our classes there. Unfortunately, about halfway down the dirt road, we hit a road block. The road had washed out and they were shoveling dirt to repair it. Two of our men, John and Lucas, plus Jocelin, went across by foot and walked the two miles to the site, as part of our team was already there and needed to know about the roadblock. We feared they may not be able to get "home" that afternoon.

The La Hatte Pastor Clotaire
shoveling dirt.

After popping over to Bethany Mission for a quick look, we came back to the road block. The men had stopped working for the day, but the road was still not repaired. Soon, several members of our team drove up in the Kia on the other side of the road block. The Pastor from La Hatte also came with them, and he actually picked up a shovel and started piling the dirt back into the road. He was furious with the men. What an amazing sight he was...shoveling that dirt until the men finally started working again. Carla & I hopped across the ditch and got into the Kia to go to La Hatte.

We spread out our materials and made our banner for the class. Several of the young boys were standing outside watching, so we invited them in to color the banner. They just loved it.
Tonight at devotions, we sang a song called "Let Me Be Your Servant." Some of the words are ...

Will you let me be your servant, let me be as Christ to you, 

pray that I might have the grace to let me be your servant, too. 

I will weep when you are weeping. When you laugh, I'll laugh with you. 

I will share your joy and sorrow till we've seen this journey through.

This song touched me deeply, as each time I visit Haiti, I feel as though the Haitian people are blessing me much more than I am blessing them. They are serving me much more than I am serving them, and I am so lucky to have the opportunity to be amongst them. Their love, their smiles, their hearts. Amazing.