The Colors of Haiti

Boujour everyone. We had another blessed day which started with a luscious breakfast including an amalgame of juicy and colorful tropical fruits graciouly prepared by the cordon bleu Evelyn and master chef Dr. Morquette, then we headed off to KaliKo beach. We were delighted to have Dr. Morquette and Dr. Junie join us as they led the way. Our journey to the beach was full of panoramic views, the ocean to our left with diverse shades of blue and hue of green and mountains to our right with green flora, fruits trees...and specially the beautiful people of Haiti going about their daily lives. This one on a motorcycle, that one on a mule, smiling merchants by the road side showing off their colorful harvest... The very efficient monsieur Belaizaire with many hats was also a tour guide as we drove pass the memorial to the victims of the hurricane, the historic town of L' Arcahaie (birthplace of the flag of Haiti) and much more. The beauty of Haiti and its people warm our hearts. We arrived at the beach, got settled and most of us went swimming in the warm water (yes the ocean in Haiti is warm at all time, even in "Winter"). It was also a time of celebration: It was our superhero leader Mark's birthday, Xiaoman's very first time getting in the water... we shared laughters, testimonies… After a week on the field, this day was also a time for rest and quiet reflection. Habakkuk 2:20 "The Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him"

          Ode pour Haiti

Que tu es belle Haiti!

Haiti, en toi je vois le mirroir de l'humanité

Continue de marcher unis

Bon courage

Que la grace de Dieu t'accompagne

Marches unis 

Bon courage

Tu n'es point seul

Du nord au sud

De l'est a l'ouest

Dieu t'a cree merveilleuse

Nous t'aimons tres fort

Que tu es belle Haiti!

Birthplace of the Hatian flag

Bananas in transport

Welcome to Kaliko

Swim time!

Beautiful horizon

Calm

Historic sugar cane boiling bowl

Chika-Chika Boom Boom up in the coconut tree!

Simply beautiful!

The Last VBS Day

Well, it's Friday! Here in Haiti that means our group had our last VBS lesson with the children at King's Garden.

Our VBS team, led by the incomparable Stephanie, has organized the VBS to center on the theme that "God Loves You." We have focused each day on one part of this sentence. First we explored who God is, then love and how to show love, and finally we celebrated "you" and the things that make each of us special in God's eyes. Therefore, today was a wonderful celebration of each kid who came to VBS. 

The VBS has started each day with a rousing couple of biblical Children's songs led (with expressive hand motions) by Jenn. Next, we review the lessons from earlier in the week. Afterwards, we dove into the day's message. Today it was about the subject of God's love; all of US!! This lesson also included the felt board and the creation story, which was a big hit with the children. We also played some games in which the children had the opportunity to share what makes each of them special. As you can see in the photo below, some of us felt a little silly thinking about what makes us special and different.

Our lesson was about "you"

After the games, our group used polaroid cameras to take a photo of each child (there were around 33, including children visiting for the day). Then each child made a heart shape using their thumbprints and stamp pads to decorate the frame of each new photo. 

The children really responded very positively to their personalized pictures and frames. They kept wandering back to the wall of photos throughout the morning to have another look at their picture and the pictures of their friends.

The craft of the day!!!

The afternoon went as usual, meaning the Park Streeters and children played all number of different games, many of which included stories, puzzles, bubbles, volleyballs, soccer balls and today a couple of juggling scarves!

The day finished with another delicious meal at the Morquette's house, which ended with Key-Lime iced cake and Dr. Morquette's famous discussion of Haitian history and culture. Needless to say, the team went to bed with our minds at least as full as our stomachs, and we pray for Haiti with renewed vigor.

As always, we are incredibly grateful for those of you thinking of our team and praying for us and for Haiti. Blessings! 

More photos

Games at the Garden 

Very energetic songs!

At the Garden

Lots of smiles! 

Making bracelets in the shade

Mobile clinic pharmacy team

At the first mobile clinic 

More crafts!

Coloring in the shade

Taking advantage of the shade

Out on the street

Entertaining the kids at the second clinic

Outside the first clinic

Crafts at the first clinic

Ready to see patients

Hallway conference

Midweek Check In - we are getting tired!

Hi everyone,

So sorry for not writing yesterday - we have spotty internet access.  Anyway, we are alive and well.

Yesterday, we had another successful VBS lesson at the King's Garden.  There are almost 40 children altogether ranging in age from 4-18.  Yesterday's theme was LOVE.  In the afternoon, all of the children had an annual check up with the medical team.

Here's a picture of some children acting out one way to show love - the idea they came up with was if someone is fighting over the same toy, to share and be kind, which was so insightful and relevant for them.

And some more pictures from yesterday…

kids drawing what love means to them

some of them who borrowed my phone and taught themselves how to take selfies!

more selfies

Today, we went to another clinic to the northeast of Port-au-Prince.  Despite being delayed for 2 hours in the morning due to a flat tire, we stayed in good spirits and the doctors, nurses and translators were able to see about 65 patients.  Meanwhile, I and some of the other non-medical team had a great (if a bit sweaty) time getting to know some of the children in the area - playing games, drawing, and sharing smiles.  

We had an uneventful trip home and even had time to go out to dinner tonight! Dr. Morquette took us to a nice restaurant with some jazz music.  It was fun to see so many different parts of Haiti today.

And now, since I am almost falling asleep and everyone else is already sleeping, it is time to say goodnight.  Please pray for the kids at King's Garden to enjoy and learn at our last VBS day tomorrow (theme: God Loves YOU).

- Jenn