It was hot and it was humid when our team
arrived in Haiti on Wednesday, January 18, 2012. But we were ready to go and willing to do
anything that was asked of us. Members
of our team included Trevor, Dale, Fern and Jasmin. Our group from Medford, Oregon was so glad to
have been able to spend the week with Thomas and Stephen, two gentlemen from our
home church who will be staying there for an extended period of time.
Our first day in Haiti was spent being introduced to
two orphanages. Not far from base camp in
an area known as Torcell, is the building site for an orphanage where teams
have been working alongside Haitians to help bring it back on schedule for its
completion. There are a group of girls
that are temporarily staying at the church compound as the orphanage is being
built, while the boys are staying with Pastor Bellande in a house not far from
where the new orphanage will be. He
pastors a church in that area and took these children in after the earthquake
claimed the lives of their parents. Back
at base camp and the church in Port-au-Prince, our team spent the rest of the
first afternoon playing jump rope and laughing with the girls. We had so much fun loving all of the children
and learning about the various sustainable projects happening in Haiti, such as
agriculture, tilapia ponds, chickens, hydroponics, building plans, ministry and
business training, education and relationship building.
The following day, our team divided up and
the guys worked on the orphanage in Torcell, while the ladies visited a girls’
orphanage located in Sarthe. All of
those guys worked so hard that day. Tremendous
progress was made on the orphanage, having two additional guys from our Medford
team to help the rest of those who had been working for several days
already. The ladies joined forces with a
few members of the other team as well and set off for Sarthe. It was there that each young girl received a
dress, a pair of shorts and a shirt. It
was also very rewarding to have left the pastors there with a variety of
donated clothing for men, women and children.
We sang songs and even taught sign language to “Jesus Loves Me”. The girls and some children from the local
community painted, made creative creatures with craft materials and learned to
make friendship bracelets. Later on that
day, the president of Foursquare Missions visited and spoke in Port-au-Prince
that evening.
One day, two of us from the Medford Team
spent some time at the boys’ orphanage.
We made a small craft and passed out candy and laughed a lot! The guys just kept on working so diligently
and so incredibly hard on the orphanage!
On another day, our team spent an afternoon
visiting a tent community near the church in Port-au-Prince. We were invited to hand out and help set up a
few tarps for some families in need. We
were also asked to pray for several families, including a young woman who was
having difficulties in her pregnancy and was very ill. Candy and tracts were given out to anyone and
everyone that we met with.
The rest of our time in Haiti was spent visiting with the children at
the church compound and with the girls in Sarthe. Later on in the week, a medical team from New
Jersey visited the Sarthe orphanage and each young girl received a medical
examination as well as treatment for varying conditions. It was emotionally challenging learning of
each child’s diagnosis, but we used the opportunity to cover them in prayer and
to be filled with hope and healing. Our
last days in Haiti were spent organizing, cleaning and taking inventory of
supplies and materials at base camp and at the church.
It seems as if it is always difficult to
say “goodbye” when leaving such an embracing culture and people in Haiti. Every single one of us has experienced a
greater measure of hope, promise, faith and love in believing for a more
abundant Haiti. It is from this
adventure of serving the precious people of Haiti that we can see once again
God’s provision. It is absolutely
amazing to see the Lord’s work in refreshing, restoring and releasing God’s people.
The Go Team
Living Waters
Medford, OR
