Haiti update Mon/Tues

The last few days in Haiti were heavy and long, but probably the greatest days. We went back to clinic Monday at the same church as Saturday (across the street from the orphanage). Our contractor and his son went to the orphanage to work there, while we set up clinic for 2 projects at the church. We saw all the project kids and were done by 3, which gave us time to work at orphanage. We were greeted with smiles and laughter from the orphans. They definitely warmed up to me today—I was playing ball with them, swinging them around, singing songs and playing games. Today was my fun day = love tank full! We had several projects going. Some were doing laundry (still! It’s never-ending with how dirty those kids are). Some doing construction projects (we cleared out the rooms and the kitchen and pantry, so we could make concrete flooring and Lon set up electricity!). Some teaching the kids to wash dishes and clean up after themselves, some cleaning and re-contructing the kitchen, our dietician educating the caretaker on Medika Mamba nutritional supplement and good nutrition, and some playing and loving on kiddos. Side note on kitchen-we found worms, bugs and rat droppings in this area and realized nothing was packaged or put away properly, so we bought storage containers for safe food handling. I can’t believe the progress we made. I mean complete Home makeover! You could see the kids were interested in what we were doing, and excited for the change. I know they can see Jesus in us! I gave one boy my gloves and shovel and he went at it for a while. I think he felt good that he could help. We had the kids retrieving water for laundry and even making clean water (bleach + dirty water). They put it in their water bottles and walked around with them. I think even the workers we hired were surprised by our productivity. The power of the Spirit was in us and nothing could get us down. We stayed late at the orphanage both Monday and Tuesday. There was and is so much to be done! But as I walked through our last day, I was astonished at what had been done. I have some before and some after pictures to remember, we did make a lasting impact. The kids had safe concrete flooring for their rooms and play area, not the rumble and dirt and garbage that was there before. Our contractor set up electricity for the kids!! I don’t know how he did it, but it was amazing! And God said “let there be light.” How those kids got around at night, I do not know. When I was there, I could not stop thinking about how unsafe the living conditions were. I wanted to interject my thoughts and change things to make it a safer environment; but then I realized that I’m not in America. Our standards are not the same as in Haiti. That is the beauty of culture and adaptability. The kids run around and play in dirt all day, some not wearing clothing and exposed to all sorts of things, but are happy and content because that’s what they know. Like I said before, a simple tennis ball or soccer ball makes them happy. I saw a make-shift hacky sack made from potato sack and rice. I thought that was such a cool idea. It’s no Fisher Price, but it serves its purpose. We ended the day, and went to dinner. When we got back to the hotel, another aide group called Merlin, told us of the election. I guess it was that day and the candidate that the people wanted was out. Pastor Bob told us that if the candidate was out, there was going to be political turmoil and riots. Not all votes were accounted for and who knows who is behind the scene. To get to the point, Cap Haitian was not going to be safe and we were flying out of Cap on Wed. We were told to evacuate Haiti from the Dominican Republic Border ASAP. We still had a day’s work left where we were. As the leaders figured out a plan, we started praying. And prayed more. Later that night, we heard that Cap was safe and there was not rioting. Praise God!! Although it could have been fun leaving through the DR, God had other plans for us and wanted us to complete our task. It was very evident to me that God wanted me to trust Him. And He will protect me. Will talk more about tues in another blog.