BONJOUR FROM HAITI!!
This month all 38 of us World Racers are in the same place serving with each other in Haiti. We are in a town called Titanyen, which is a Creole word meaning “less than nothing”. We are in the middle of some mountains. But if you’re thinking of the beautiful Colorado greenery, think again. And if you’re thinking more dry and arid Texas panhandle, you’re getting closer…just add elevation. Titanyen is on the western coast of Haiti so we also have the beautiful ocean view that helps it seem more like we are in the Caribbean. The sun rises over the mountains and sets over the water, so I consider myself pretty lucky with the pretty pictures I get to start and end my days with time and time again.
A little bit o’ background:
When the missionaries chose to buy the land for Mission of Hope in the town of Titanyen, people told them they were crazy. They were told time and time again that they couldn’t have picked a worse location and that nothing ever comes out of Titanyen. BUT, to this date, Mission of Hope feeds 91,000 Haitian kids a DAY and has over 6,500 in their school systems striving to finish school through high school, which is a rarity seeing that only 1% of Haitians receive their high school diplomas.
Mission of Hope started out as two buildings built by the U.S. Marine Corps on American tax funds. The first day Mission of Hope opened up their school to Haitians they had 230 kids waiting at the gates. However, as time went on with kids in their classrooms, they found that many of the students couldn’t even make it through a whole day of school. They were passing out or sleeping through classes due to fatigue and malnourishment. Something had to be done. So, Mission of Hope hired a Haitian lady, nailed a peanut grinder to a tree and provided bread with a little bit of natural peanut butter to the kids, knowing that for some, this very well may be the only meal the kids were getting day to day. In WEEKS they saw the difference in the attentiveness of the kids. It is amazing what a little bit of food in your belly can do.
WHAT EXACTLY ARE WE DOING?!
ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING!!! Mission of Hope usually only has groups that are here for a week, Wednesday to Wednesday or Saturday to Saturday, so they are really excited to have us here for a month! This week has been a lot of physical labor. We have cut down fields of grass with machetes, prepped kitchens, orphanage rooms, and classrooms for painting, painted the classroom and library, and filled up ditches with dirt where they laid a pipeline. We’ve put on a “Kanival” (Creole word for Carnival) celebration for the kids to celebrate a national holiday. And finally, we have poured cement for the foundation of building.
In the next coming weeks, we will also be going out to the villages at some point to help continue to cultivate the relationships that have already been built through Mission of Hope and also help begin new ones. This could look like sitting down with a woman doing laundry with her and getting to know her, playing soccer with kids, or passing out water tablets/filters. With every opportunity to hang out with the community also comes the opportunity to share Jesus with them or to hear how Jesus is already transforming their lives!
So…am I enjoying it??
EVERY MINUTE OF IT! Haiti has been quite the pleasant surprise. If you had asked me going into the Race if Haiti was one of my top countries that I was excited for, I probably would have giggled. Granted, I am only two months into the Race, but I have also been to Kenya, Malawi, and Panama prior to the World Race and I can say that there is something REALLY special about Haiti and I can’t quite put my finger on why. It definitely isn’t the prettiest place I have ever been, and I’ve only been here a week so it isn’t like I have formed deep relationships yet with the locals, but there is something about the HOPE and the LIGHT shining through this country in the midst of a lot of darkness. It’s intriguing. I am convinced God has a special place in His heart for Haiti and the future of this country. He is hard at work transforming the minds of the people following a combined mix of Catholicism and Voodoo. He is taking PAST Voodoo witch doctors, revealing to them the truth behind His death on the Cross, converting them to Christians and then using them to seek others lost in Voodoo. The Lord is using the orphans one by one to change the trajectory and future of Haiti by equipping with an “I CAN” attitude where in the past Haitians only believed “I CAN’T”. Y’all, the Lord is moving in Haiti! I am really excited for the next three weeks of ministry here and to see how the Lord is continuing to work throughout the month.
Lastly, I would love to hear from all of you!! Don’t hesitate to send me an email so we can catch up! I am dying to know what is going on in all of your lives back home! My email is [email protected] or [email protected]
XOXO!!
