This morning I woke up and was
already very sore and exhausted because of the day before, but I was very ready
to see what God had in store for us today. Today the plan was to go see a few
of the sites that the foundation has developed and are currently running now. A
big part of what Healing Haiti is working on is job creation. Whether that is
farmers, bakers, doctors, and just about anything else, they are creating sustainable
jobs for Haitians. Many of the places we went to today were focused around this
idea. We started off by seeing newly purchased farm land in Haiti that will
soon be used to employ many people. This land is still unsure of its purpose in
what it will grow but, from what I saw, it looks to be a very great idea to
help a lot of Haitians. Hearing of some of the possibilities and potential got
me very excited for the future. It will be interesting to maybe come back one
day and see what has become of it as well as much of the other stuff I saw
today.
The next place we visited amazed
me. Grace Village is a small community put together by Healing Haiti in order
to take orphan children and put them in a family setting as well as put them in
school and raise them through this small village. Through this village is also
many job opportunities for Haitians on top of the care given to the kids.
Another place visited by us today was Fleri. It is a bakery started by Healing
Haiti to again create jobs. Hearing of the success of this bakery and the
restaurant attached with it made me feel very good and amazed. By the way, some
of the treats we ate were some of the best I have ever eaten. Our last part of
our day was spent visiting four elders. We went to these elders and would wash
their feet, bring them food, sing to them and just pray with them. I had the
pleasure of washing one of their feet and it will truly be a moment I always
remember. The feeling of humility surrounded me and made me very thankful for
the life God has given me. God has shown me a lot in Haiti already and we are
just through a few days. I am excited for what is still to come. I am having a
great time here.
-Jared Knigge
Wow, what a great three days it’s
been! So far, the food has been great and the work has been exhausting but
rewarding! The water truck yesterday not only made me sore, but it also taught
me humility, compassion, endurance, and love. It was by far the most humbling
experience I’ve ever had. Today was a much needed physical (but not emotional
or spiritual) break. I started the day off right with full breakfast, including
eggs, pancakes, and freshly squeezed mango juice. We then took the tap tap to
Titanyen, where we first toured Grace Village. It is a school, medical clinic,
and orphanage, which was started by Healing Haiti, and is fully staffed by
local Haitians.
Next, we did elder visits. This was
my favorite thing to do because we delivered food and water to each of the four
elders we visited, washed their feet, and we sang and prayed over them. This
was so great because it really stripped away my sense of pride as a “wealthy
American”, and humbled me. Next, we visited Healing Haiti’s restaurant and
bakery “Fleri”. In Creole, fleri means flourish, which is very indicative of
the bakery’s progress, and a wonderful example of the job creation and economic
empowerment that the organization strives to create. Finally, we stopped at the
mass grave, which is a memorial where over 160,000 unidentified victims of the
2015 earthquake are buried. This was a truly surreal experience because I remember
seeing this earthquake on the news, and all around me I’ve seen the extreme
results, which the people are still struggling to cope with and recover from.
Thus far, the trip has been amazing, and I am ecstatic for day two of the water
truck tomorrow!
-Kory Sillivent
A serving and loving heart was
required for a day like today. I never
saw myself getting on my hands and knees to wash someone else’s feet just the
way Jesus did. It was a truly magical
experience to be able to literally be the hands and feet of our awesome God and
to serve in his name bringing to these elders water, a hot meal, and our love
and serve them with washing their feet and rubbing lotion on them. The smile we got from these people and seeing
their hardship and trying to make it even just a little better was by far the
highlight of my day and I am so glad to be able to meet these awesome
women. Some of these women even had
children that they were taking care of in their old age where back in the U.S.
it would be the complete opposite when the young is supposed to care for the
old. “Hey You!!!” is a term in which I thought
that just on water truck days we would be hearing from the children when they
wanted or needed something but whether we see these little kids in passing,
playing, or soccer games with or against them it is mainly the only way we have
figured out how to communicate with people who don’t know the first thing about
the English language and we don’t know the first about Creole, so a LOT of
pointing is done to help try to explain on both of our parts. I can’t wait to see what these next couple of
days bring and what we will do and help serve our mighty God.
-
Alec McClain
