Day 6

Folks, I’m not gonna lie to you.  I’m tired.   We’re concluding a physically and emotionally exhausting week and I can honestly say that this is one of the most fulfilling experiences of my life.  This team is rock solid and I’ve been blessed to watch each and every one of us grow as our eyes and hearts have opened to the Haitian people.  Today we conducted many of the same activities we participated in earlier in the week but for some reason it all seemed more intense.

Our team took another shift on the water truck today and went into one of the most impoverished areas of Cite Soleil where the need seemed to be much greater than other areas we’ve experienced.  The line waiting for water was twice as long as it was in other areas – and the people were twice as desperate.  There were several requests for medical care and we were approached regularly by parents asking us for shoes and offering to give us their children if only we would take them away to care for them.  It is impossible for us to fulfill all their needs on the trip; still, we poured out our hearts and sent our love to the community in the form of fresh water, hugs and kind words.

After a lunch break and a clean shower we headed back to the Home for Sick and Dying children.  Today we were briefly allowed to enter the room where the sickest babies are held. Our hearts were broken by their frail little bodies and sad eyes looking up at us from their cribs.  I held a fragile little princess with a feeding tube coming out of her mouth who had lost all the pigment in her skin.  She had no name but I decided to call her “Gloria” because the song “Glwa pou Bondye” (Glory to God) has become almost a theme song for our trip. 

Others in the group visited the wound care clinic again and came back with reports of a very active and intense experience.  We helped dispense medication and cleaned and dressed scores of deep, festering wounds.  Serving these people in this way is an act of humility that can only be brought on by a loving God.

What a wonderful blessed week we’re having.  I’ve seen each member of this team step outside their comfort zones and grow in sprit and in character and it’s been fabulous to watch.  Everyone has taken initiative to help others in the group and organize our daily activities.  I couldn’t be prouder and I feel so blessed to share this bond with my new friends.