Amazing Day of Connections

I can't believe it has only been one full day of serving so far! It seemed like we did so much today, and it is only the beginning! We started out the day with three water truck stops.  Our first stop was 17, which is the one we walk out to the penninsula and learn more about Citie Soleil, including the fact that where we stood was their bathroom and graveyard for loved ones lost. The stop wasn't that interested in filling up their buckets, for some reason, so we worshiped God and danced and played with the numerous children vying for attention.

We walked to Four Coffins from 17 for our second stop since we had water left in the tank. I enjoy this stop because it is in a narrow area, many people in a small space, vendors walking through trying to sell goods and a lot of children to interact with. Today I had two opportunities to administer some first aid to a couple girls. The first was brought to me by a mother. She grabbed my arm and pointed to her daughters' ankle bone which had a nice sized gash in it. I asked Nickinson if I could take her onto our taptap to help her, and he said we could, so off we went. She was so proud to be able to go on the truck. After helping her out I brought her back to her Mom and was able to give both of them hugs and a blessing. Shortly after that, I was checking in with my co-lead and he told me about Jessica, who had an open wound on her chin, so I found her and helped her out as well. First time for everything!

Our last stop was Nap Boule and this is one of my favorite stops. The kids are so fun-loving, full of laughs and are extremely easy going. I headed to the bucket line for this stop to get on the line filling up buckets. After a turn on the hose, I helped with the buckets and I loved taking time to connect with as many people as they moved through the line. They were all business, but as soon as I looked into their eyes and said, "Bonswa, Bondje Beni'ou" their eyes lit up instantly and the connection was made. At one point when I was playing around with the kids, Travis came up to me and we embraced the few kids we were both holding all together in one big hug. It was a special moment we were able to share.

Once we arrived back at the guest house, we got rinsed off and jumped back on the taptap to take the neighborhood boys to a soccer field nearby to play soccer. As we were driving to the field, one of the boys sitting in front of me looked extremely familiar. I asked him, "Kijan ou rele?" (What is your name) and he answered, "Dickinson". I about fell over when I heard that. He had a huge influence on me on my first trip to Haiti two summers ago. We reconnected and were inseperable the rest of the afternoon. He and Davidson played on our soccer team once we got to the fields and were a big help in keeping us in the game. We lost 3-2, but we had a blast, and the kids had so much fun!

After the game, we brought the boys to the market to buy them water for all of there hard work. I visited with Dickinson on the way back to the guesthouse and he told me he was doing well in school, he passed three exams the past year and is continuing to do well. He still lives with his uncle in the neighborhood up the hill from the guesthouse. We made plans to have him join us for church in the morning when we go with FanFan.

Our team got a much deserved dip in the pool around the corner, after a little encouragement from one of our translators, Pouchon to let us take a quick dip even though it was technically closed. On our walk over, Pouchon and I came up with a game plan to gain us entrance into the pool. Our idea worked....we offered to pay for everyone to swim instead of taking our four free swimmers, we told him we'd all pay the fee. The guard was hesitant, but when Pouchon told him he didn't want to miss out on the money they would gain, we were allowed in. Whew! A pool never felt so good! Our team had a great time bonding with each other, enjoying a taco salad dinner, a debrief in the evening that ended with a FanFan preaching a powerful story about how God has worked through circumstances in his life for good, and we topped it off with some worship led by FanFan.

I am looking forward to church bright and early tomorrow morning. We will meet Dickinson outside the gate at 6am, as he said, "6am, don't forget. I love you" I am thoroughly looking forward to another day of being shaped and molded, stretched and refined through what God is trying to teach me this trip. I will post some pics in the morning if our Internet is working better.

So much in one day, I know tomorrow will be a tough day emotionally as we serve at the home for sick and dying children and the Gertrude's orphanage for special needs children.

Good Night from Haiti!

Alicia