Day 2 June 13, 2011



St. Louis Du Nord, Haiti



Day 2 in Haiti and I wake up inside my tent with surprisingly no bug bites. We follow the same basic schedule every day, wake up by 6:00 a.m. and then devotions downstairs at 6:45 a.m. Devotions are really cool we usually sing a couple of songs and then someone reads and explains a Haitian proverb and possibly a couple of bible verses. Breakfast is at 7:00 a.m. and then worship upstairs in the chapel on the roof is at 8:00 a.m. After worship we will start our daily activities. There are lots of things to do in the mission such as visiting the old folks home, holding and playing with a baby from the orphanage, playing with children in the special needs center, playing with the children in the nutritional center, and much much more. Today TCTC had hut to hut in St. Louis Du Nord so that meant that we walked around and visited people’s houses that live in the city surrounding the mission.



A Child We Met During Hut to Hut



We visited lots of people and had a lot of really good discussions with the Haitians. Since they all live very close to the mission they know that we are all Christians and that we want to talk with them and pray with them, and they are very open and friendly. One family even got out of their chairs and told us to sit in them while we talked and prayed with them. Most of the small huts has 10-15 people living in them. Today we saw that no matter how much disaster there is still in Haiti, the people are still very much alive, and very much willing to accept Jesus. My hut to hut group talked with a man from The Bahamas who somehow ended up in Haiti and now has no way to return home. He spoke very good English so we did not have to use a translator to talk with him. He told us he had read the whole bible, the Jehovah Witness Books, and the Catholic Pamphlets which was very impressive. He told us he was a Christian and he had accepted Jesus but he gets mad at God because he has not answered his prayer to go back home to The Bahamas.



Two children we met during hut to hut, notice the little boy
 in the back is wearing an Atlanta Braves shirt! :)



By the end of the conversation he had asked us many really good questions and he had come to the conclusion that maybe he was stuck in Haiti so that he could be a shining light to his Haitian friends who do not know God. One of the guys in our group talked so long that our translator told him he would sign him up to preach at the church on Sunday. We all got a good laugh at that. The children swarmed us everywhere we went and we got to see a lot of cool homemade toys such as a homemade kite that was made from sticks and a plastic wrap with some string. While none of us Americans could fly it a six year old Haitian made it and could not only fly it but do tricks with it. The children are amazed by our hair and eyes and freckles, even living close to the mission they still shout blanc, blanc, blanc (white, white, white) everywhere we go.



The cutest little girl, she is absolutely adorable.







When we got back to the mission right outside the gates we were swarmed by little boys wanting to make us bracelets. You write your name down and for two dollars they will put your name on a bracelet and give it to you the next day. You feel bad for only giving one person your name, because it may be the only income the family has, but at the same time two American dollars is about 65 gouds (one form of Haitian money)  so you know they will at least have money to buy something for dinner that night.







My three class clowns in English class! :)



After we dropped our book bags off at the mission we went across the street to the church the mission has for English class. English class is three times a week Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and they are separated into two groups Vocabulary and Grammar. At the end of the class they just have conversation with each other to practice. Originally I was put in the Grammar Class, but as a few people showed up late (or as our intern called it Haitian Time) someone asked me to help in the vocabulary class so I did. As I sat down at a desk with three young Haitians little did I know I had been put with the class clowns. They were learning about the days of the week, the months, and seasons but they didn’t want to talk about any of that stuff; they all wanted to talk about me. They asked me where I lived, how old I was, if I was married, if I had a baby, and if I had a boyfriend. They were shocked that I was neither engaged to be married, married, or have a baby. They asked me if I liked to dance, and they wanted me to sing them a Justin Beiber song and when I did I was surprised when they pretty much knew all the words also.



Beautiful picture of Haiti I thought everyone would enjoy!



We had our night session and our group really opened up to one another during prayer time and we all really opened up to God and are ready for him to move through us the rest of the week. Even though it’s only the second day we are all already dreading going home next week, most of us feel like we could stay forever. Haiti is an awesome place full of lots of awesome people, who really just need to be told God’s word, as they often receive it with open hearts. My heart goes out to Haiti a people who have survived so much hurt but have so much love.