Wednesday, June 30th--Day 8

Plans for today:

Today is the day we return home, so we don't have much time for activities.

We do hope, however, to wake up early (what else is new?!) and leave for the airport to give us enough time to drive through Port-Au-Prince to see some of the most-badly damaged areas from the earthquake.

We will then begin the long process of returning home...

On our drive to the airport, we again saw the many piles of rubble that was unloaded at various places. We found out that the Haitian truck drivers would just unload them at the first spot they saw--on the side of the road, in a field, in a yard, etc.--then go get another load. This allowed them to get more money for each load. What a mess...

We saw many buildings which were destroyed.

Trash was everywhere...right in the streets, in huge piles.

Dogs, as we have seen everywhere, eat from the trash, and anywhere else they can find food.

Don told us that many of the buildings, which haven't been touched since the earthquake, likely have bodies buried under them still.

There is a sadness and quietness in all of us as we see these things.

Still, there is that Haitian determination that we see in the faces of people we drive by.

Somehow, that gives us hope...

We finally head to the airport, physically and emotionally exhausted.

It is difficult to say goodbye to this place, and its amazing people.

Yet, we also feel the need to be home.

We are all changed, in many ways, from this trip.

We have been profoundly impacted by the things we've seen and experienced, and we will be changed forever.

We wonder how we each will process our emotions and memories.

We hope we will keep these memories strong in our hearts, so we will stay driven to take action to help these people in the future.

We hope our trip can inspire others to help as well, by offering donations, and even more so by taking a mission trip themselves.

We are thankful to God for this unbelievable opportunity...

Bon -Die Beni ou, Haiti!

God Bless You, Haiti!

And God Bless You amazing Haitians!

Tuesday, June 29th--Day 7

Plans for today:

This is our last full day here! This leaves us feeling, like everything here, many different emotions and thoughts.

We will spend the morning handing our Love Bundles and feeding the children.

Then, take a trip to a local beach, hang out, relax, and have a meal at a beach restaurant.

We like this plan!

The morning had its usual unplanned waiting period--Don decided to meet with some of the teachers right before class to do some salary negotiations. So, we hung out with the kids--taking pictures, singing songs, and playing games.

We feel more like a big family now--we are much more comfortable being here.

We are also already feeling the ache of how we will miss these wonderful children.

A typical Haitian experience--joy mixed with sadness...

Since we've handed out Love Bundles and fed the local children several times by now, we are well-practiced and able to do it without a hitch. We are so good!!

Each day has gotten hotter and hotter here, and it only takes minutes now before we begin sweating and become easily tired.

How can these people do this all the time, day after day, week after week??

It's amazing.

After lunch we head to the beach. What a great time!

It felt strange, though--at times it felt like we had been in Haiti for such a short time...at others if felt like we'd been there forever!!

It's surprising how quickly we are removed from the terrible conditions most Haitians live in, and are surrounded by beautiful ocean and mountains.

We had a great experience at the restaurant--one of us had ordered lemonade, and it seemed like the waiter wasn't paying attention, because he never brought it to the table. After about 15 minutes, he finally brought it to us. At first we were a bit annoyed at his seemingly uncaring attitude--until we found out it took so long because they had to go out, by lemons, and make the lemonade by hand!!

What a typical Haitian thing to do...!!

Monday, June 28th--Day 6

Plans for today:

We will finish our benches, buckets, and Love Bundles, and bring them to a local village.

We hope to visit another orphanage and school on the way home in the afternoon.

The days keep getting hotter and hotter! It doesn't take long before we are all sweating and tired...

The good news--after we load up the truck, we will actually walk to the village, and not have to ride in the back of the truck!!

What a great thing!

The walk to the village, after lunch, was great. Maybe a mile away, the walk took us over a river, and through forest and farmland. We passed another voodoo house along the way.

Don showed us a promising sight--one of the tent villages that was actually getting smaller--the people were finding housing!! What a joy...

They were beginning construction of new homes on the sight, which was such a great thing to see!

We visited a school--the 2nd main location for the Mission Lifelong organization. It was clean and neat, and we found out it had been used as a make-shift hospital after the earthquake. It's wonderful how Haitians make the best of anything and everything they have and encounter!

After school, the children line up to be fed. We helped the cooks with this process--and wondered how they could possibly do this themselves every day...

One awesome experience we had--when we unloaded the benches for the kids--we set them down, and immediately they were occupied by children who, for weeks before, had to sit on the floor to eat. It was such amazing instant gratification, and the smiles on the kids faces was so nice to see!!

Another great moment in Haiti...

As we passed out buckets and Love Bundles, we could see and hear some unrest from the walls outside the village. During such times, there is apparently always a huge rush from people who want/need food and supplies. The walls must be shut at times like this, or complete chaos and violence will occur inside the village. It is painful to know that, although we are feeding and helping many people, there are many, many more who need help that are not receiving it.

This is one of the most difficult things to realize and deal with while we are here in Haiti...

On the way home, we stopped by another orphanage--this one in pretty bad shape. The buildings were still in shambles from the earthquake, and the conditions were dirty, hot, and smelly. One of the children was very sick, and his mother was told to bring him to the clinic the next day, before he became dangerously ill.

Nearby, we stopped at a school--this one also in shambles. The director seemed a bit odd--clearly they had been through very difficult times there.

His mother, who lived with him, was away from the house, crouching near the end of the yard. As we asked about her, we were told she had been like that since the earthquake--outside, never in the house, crouching and not communicating. She was so shocked and pained by the experience that her trauma had kept her like that...

What a deeply sad thing to see.

As we prayed for her, we were all moved and feeling another mix of emotions. All of these struggles, day-by-day, moment-by-moment, are powerful and painful to see and hear about.

Another sad moment in Haiti...