We are barely a week into our trip and all I can think is, I feel like I’ve been here forever…. and I feel like I could stay here forever. Crazy. But I have come to know the organization Global Effect and I love their mission and their hearts. The 3 gals we are working with are amazing and they are making a huge difference in the local communities.
Here is what we have been up to. We arrived in La Vega Sunday night, and by Monday morning we were tearing down a house. Come Tuesday, the foundation was laid and we began prep for putting up the cement block walls. We also split into teams and half of us distributed water filters to families in need.
The way we distributed these filters is really neat. The local pastors have lists of families in most need of a water filter and our translator takes us to their houses. We go over how to set up the filter, how to clean it so it lasts and then we get to share Jesus with them.
On Saturday we hosted a kids camp for one of the communities we did water filters in. We danced, played games, did a skit and told a bible story. The kids loved it. And so did my team. There were a few Haitian kids there too, and they didn’t understand Spanish, so we led the two older ones around by the hand and tried to keep them included. Their faces were very stoic, they wouldn’t even look us in the eyes. Caroline and I were holding the older two and Holly was sitting next to us. Their mom comes over and plops the youngest one, about a year, into Holly’s lap and walks away. It was so funny. The kids just all looked at us and their mom and just sat there. Finally tickled the youngest boys cheeks and he smiled, then it was all over. 🙂 We finally got smiles out of all 3 of them. It was a great moment. They have a hard life, and to see them smile for a few minutes was great.
We have also had a free day and a free Sunday afternoon. After a great church service Sunday, we headed out as a large group to go hike to a waterfall. Later we found out the name may have been Secret Falls or something like that. But this was no ordinary hike on a trail. It was almost “I am gonna need a machete to get through this jungle!” I felt like we were literally blazing a trail and some of the time the trail was the river. When we finally came to the 50 foot falls it was beautiful. We all got to jump in and even climb a little and cliff jump. It was pretty amazing.
Monday we had free too. Candace, Caroline and I decided to go check out Sosua Beach on the north side of the island. This was an adventure in itself. We left the house to catch the bus for 8:30, only to find out it was sold out, and they don’t sell tickets more than an hour in advance. So we go get some breakfast then come back to catch the 9:30 bus, which didn’t arrive till 10. Keep in mind this bus ride is about 2 1/2 hours. So we finally get on the bus, arrive at the beach, and it was breathtaking. Sooooooo beautiful! The only downside was, because we got such a late start we only got to stay for 3 hours. Needless to say, we are going to come back.
So that’s what we’ve been up to. This week we are doing water filter follow ups. I am excited to see how these filters have changed their lives.
Pray for health as a team. At launch a few people were sick and now a cold is going around the team. We all want to feel 100%. Thanks everyone. 🙂
