Day #3-Monday was the first official work day for the team. After an early breakfast, we began our day up at the prayer rock for devotional, worship and prayer where we shared some inspirational words from 2 Chronicles and Hosea. The prayer rock is a large rock at the top of a hill above the main house that is covered with a sugar cane stalk roof and surrounded by benches where we start our day, devoting it to God.
Our first task of the day was to make 10 benches for one of many schools that Children’s International Lifeline (CIL) supports in Haiti. These benches would be going to a mountain village located about five miles from the mission compound. The team worked in unity to plan and build the benches, which incorporate a bench to sit on and a desk top to write on. Some of the team then held Vacation Bible School with 30 first graders, which included a devotional about love and making foam crosses and necklaces, while the rest of us continued to work on the benches. We took breaks to play basketball and soccer with some of the youth and we also observed the feeding of the village children. First the school children were fed. The children that are able to attend the school are those that are sponsored or whose parents can afford to send them. They are clothed in uniforms, provided with school supplies, and fed a hot meal 5 days a week. In addition to the school children, the mission also feeds the “populace” children – those children of the village who did not attend the school. These children are not yet sponsored, but the mission steps out in faith, believing the God will continue to provide for their needs until sponsorship is secured. These children are but a portion of the 3500 children fed a warm meal daily by CIL Haiti.
After working on the benches, we ate lunch and then went for a ride to visit a nearby orphanage, one of the 50 schools and orphanages the mission supports. The orphanage has around 45 children and currently has teams of people from the US that are helping them improve the conditions of the facility. The 15 of us packed snugly into the back of the truck for the cozy yet fun 30 minute drive to the orphanage. We had a great time holding and playing with the children, giving them lollipops and some small toys, sharing the love of Jesus.
After arriving home, we had dinner and talked about the day’s events, sharing our experiences with one another. Throughout the day, many of the Haitian people in the surrounding towns will come to the mission to get help with medical, food and other basic needs. This night after dinner, there was a need to take a sick woman to the hospital in Saint Marc. After carrying the woman through the village on her pallet, and loading her into the back of the truck, Donald Curtis Sr. (he and his wife live at the mission, their son Donald Curtis Jr. is the President of CIL), took one of the team members and 2 Haitians on the dangerous nighttime drive to the hospital. This is no ordinary drive. There are no street lights or traffic rules, many of the cars and motorcycles do not have lights and there are sections where you are required to drive fast to avoid the snipers.
After 60 minutes of prayer filled driving, the crew made it to the hospital and dropped off the patient. The hospital was unlike any in the United States. The sanitary conditions were less than perfect, people were everywhere, cholera victims filling one section. When bringing a patient to the hospital, you are required to bring enough bedding, clothing, food, and water to last for the stay. The protocol before leaving the facility included spraying your shoes with a strong bleach solution to avoid the spread of disease. The group arrived home late after most of us were already in bed, tired from our first long day.
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