Haiti

We are safe and sound in Arcahaie, Haiti. Monday, morning we woke up very early to get to the airport for our 8:30 flight. After flying over the gorgeous aqua Caribbean Ocean for 1 1/2 hours, we landed in Port au Prince. I could hear the students talking as we were landing. Most of them were saying how it looked like a normal city, until we started landing and they realized the buildings they were seeing were actually tin shacks and tent cities. We made it through the airport, immigration and customs with no issues at all and promptly boarded the bus belonging to Donald, the president of Children's Lifeline, which is the organization we will be working with this week. He is friendly, witty and a great Kentucky man. However, he spends most of his time, down here in Haiti, doing his best to change the lives of thousands of children. We learned yesterday a little of how the organization started and where they are today. Children's Lifeline feeds almost 8,000 children every day for five days a week. They have a sewing and cinderblock microfinance that is booming. They run schools, bible schools, and are starting a fabulous health clinic on their property. They are well equipped and praying for the right doctors to come in and run the place. It is an awesome building and the inside looks just like Walgreens- every drug and tool any health facility could need. They even have a surgical room and a dental room set up, alongside their exam rooms and waiting room. They will document births and health records, which is something very new to this village.

Donald took us on a tour of Port au Prince since we won't be back in the city until we leave. We saw the presidental palace that collapsed in the earthquake, we drove by Cite Soleil which is the poorest slum area. It was actually a lot worse than I had expecting having worked in Filipino slums for two months this spring. It was a hundred times worse. We saw a lot of damage from the earthquake. It is going to take a very long time to even begin to get this city back to where it was, much less better than it was. Every person, every building was affected.

But the story should never end there. Haiti IS rebuilding...they ARE trying, and that is the story I was recently encouraged to have our students pursue. We know all the statistics on the poverty in Haiti, I don't need to repeat them all (I know I have mentioned a few already). I'm hoping our group can go deeper than the media, that we can meet the people, learn their stories, hear their hearts, and walk alongside them, loving them like Christ loves us. Not for any tv show or newspaper, but just because it's what we are called to do. I'm not sure yet what that is going to look like, but I can't wait to see where God takes us.

Right now, the group (one student opted out and I'm home with her, if you're wondering how I'm blogging :) ) is hiking a fairly large mountain behind our compound. At the top of this mountain is a small village with an orphanage and a church that Children's Lifeline supports. The group left a 4:30 am to beat the heat. They will hike about 2 hours and then spend the morning running a mini-VBS, teaching songs, playing games, etc. They will also have the opportunity to meet a Voodoo priest who lives in the village. Donald has been meeting with him for several years and calls him a friend. This priest is very open towards what Donald is doing and allows Donald to pray with him often. The group will spend some time with him and then pray over and with him, that God might change this man's heart, that he might serve the only, one, true God and not rely on his voodoo traditions and falsehoods.

Weather- it is HOT! Sooo hot, so humid, so draining! Pray that our group stays cool and healthy. We are having a great time getting to know eachother and bonding. We've had some AWESOME conversations and had a lot of fun together as well. Thanks for sending your students! Haiti is so good!