First Impression

Today is Monday September 24, 2018 and we are all taking off from Minneapolis, MN and heading to Port au Prince, Haiti for our weeks long travel for Healing Haiti. We will make many stops along our time here in Haiti and will post daily about what we have done, seen, and experienced.

We took off from Minnesota at 630 am and arrived in Haiti at 220pm. Everyone made it safe and so did our bags. Once leaving the airport we made it to our “home away from home,” for the week. Everyone got settled and unpacked and relaxed until supper. First meal in Haiti was home cooked tacos! Then off to bed we went shortly after supper so we could get our first big day started bright and early! Good night and God bless.

Today is Tuesday September 25, 2018 and we are day 2 here in Haiti. We all woke this morning, had our coffee and got ready for the day. Today our group was headed to Rebuild Globally and Deux Mains, LaPhare, and Mother Theresa’s Home for the Sick and Dying Children.

We all woke about 7 am and strolled out of our bedrooms and drank our first cup of coffee here in Haiti on our beautiful balcony.  Then we had a wonderful home cooked breakfast that consisted of French toast, scrambled eggs, avocado, mango, and oatmeal. “Wait,” someone said, “Don’t forget to share that we had some freshly squeezed juice along with our breakfast!” Then we cleaned up, got dressed and headed to our first destination of the day.

We were off and heading to Rebuild Globally and Deux Mains. It was a rough ride in our tap-tap but it was one of the best rides I had in a very long time and could see that others enjoyed it as well by the look on their faces. I truly took in the scenery, the streets, the traffic, and the people. They were things I will never forget. Once we arrived at Rebuild Globally and Deux Mains we were told that they moved their assembly line to a new warehouse down the road. So, we were greeted by Sarah and we were given a background on the business/company and then were able to explore the store. It was great to be able to see what they made and to hear how they made these items. The items were made from old tires and some items were even hand painted. Of course, we all bought something! It means a lot to us and them because it keeps their business/company around and growing.

Our second stop of the day was LaPhare, which is an orphanage house that housed school age children. It was great to see their faces light up and the joy in their eyes when we took out toys, chalk, and balls. The hugs we were giving were the best but the hugs we received from these children we will remember forever. After a while we had to say our goodbyes and get to our last stop of the day before returning home.

Lastly, we stopped to visit at Mother Theresa’s Home for the Sick and Dying Children. We were able to help feed the infants and the toddlers. After feedings, we were able to hold, snuggle, and play with the children. It was very hard to set one back in their cribs to pick up another due to the others wanting your attention as well. This place will touch me forever and my team I am sure can speak for that as well. It was hard to see little innocent children sick and laying in cribs and not being able to hold each and every one of them. One thing is for sure that their staff 24/7 is amazing and takes care of them and assists them in their daily needs.

After leaving Mother Theresa’s we arrived back at the house and got changed to go swimming at a local hotel down the road. We walked their and relaxed pool side with a few snacks. Then returned home and ate an amazing supper. Before the night was over we prayed, debriefed, and completed our blog.

Praying everyone sleeps well this evening and gets good rest for the days ahead. Goodnight and god bless.