It began with breakfast (which I, Dave, was able to eat!!), followed by a devotional lead by Ramsay. The scriptural references Ramsay chose were from 1 Corinthians 12:12-31, Proverbs 28:27, Proverbs 21:13, and Psalm 26:12. As a part of the devotion, we were each given a body part (symbolizing the parts of the Body of Christ) and asked to reflect upon that part in terms of how it serves the functioning of the whole body and how that part provides a means for each of us to connect with each other, with God, and with our Haitian friends.
After the devotion, we loaded into the bus and headed into Bohoc, where we worked for about three hours alongside our Haitian friends breaking up the ground for a new community garden. "The plan" for the garden is to use it as a working lab for some of the more less fortunate community members to not just grow vegetables to provide for their families but to learn better gardening techniques. My friend Jedlain (pronounced jez'-lan), an agricultural specialist and graduate of the university in Cap Haitian, will be the principal instructor and overseer of the garden. In addition (and at the request of his pastor), Jedlain will also teach a 5 minute lesson in agriculture every other Sunday at his church. Our time with our Haitian friends, while tiring, was a lot of fun. Especially toward the end when some of the Haitians began to sing and play their gardening equipment as other Haitians (and a few of us who still had energy) continued to work.
Following our morning work session, we headed to the Bohoc open-air market, where we walked around and got the chance to see what many of the villagers try to sell to other villagers on a weekly basis. Just for reference, you can buy a cow for $50 in Bohoc. I'm not sure there's a FedEx anywhere close, but, if you can find one, the cost to have a cow shipped to NC might just be doable financially...but only if you have the ability to carve up a cow and you have a deep freezer large enough to store all the meet.
Upon returning back to the guest house, we ate lunch and, while some of us rested and took naps (yours truly included), some of us continued to give to the many children that immediately came out of the surrounding environs the moment our bus pulled up to the guesthouse.
At 2:30p, we loaded back into the bus and headed for Kris Sel Espwa, a primary school in Bohoc. (For those of you who were on the trip last April, this was the school where we played the largest game of Kick the Can in recorded history.) Our time at the school today was fantastic. The moment we showed up, the children began singing a prepared song. Afterward, we sang our theme song ("Here I am to Worship") for them. Then, we all split into six or seven groups to do different "inside" activities with the kids. We played Uno, did memory games, provided interactive English language lessons, etc. Afterward, we headed outside where, to be quite honest, pandemonium erupted from almost the get-go. For those of you who've never been on a mission trip of this sort, this is all common faire. Bring eleven crazy Americans into a group of 240 energetic Haitian children and...well, you can probably only imagine. The most difficult thing about being around so many happy, smiling faces is having to say good-bye. Tears seem to always accompany such events.
Provided below, is something my friend Steve Adler wrote to be included in tonight's blog post. For those of you who don't know Steve, he is one of the most genuine people I know. This is his first mission trip. Ever. (And I'm kind of hoping that it will not be his last, because having both him and Allison together on this trip has been amazing.) But...before I turn you over to Steve, I feel the need, first, to report that Team Haiti 2012 has decided to add, as a central component of our on-going outreach in this beautiful country, the provision of at least one soccer ball to every child in Haiti. We estimate that we will need close to 4 million soccer balls. I think we also need access to a C130 transport and some type of machine gun delivery system to accomplish this part of our mission. If you have any suggestions as to how we could go about fulfilling this "calling," we're all ears. Our slogan, as it stands right now, is "No child left behind...without a soccer ball."
A Personal Reflection
My wife, Allison, had the fortune and blessing of joining the newhope Haiti mission team in April 2011. Upon her return, she was so excited to tell me all about the amazing people she had met. Nothing, however, could have prepared me for what I've experienced. I have been overwhelmed by the joy and love that permeates through to the core of your soul; I cannot recall ever seeing so many smiling faces and welcoming bodies. What is even more mind blowing and humbling is that they embody this spirit all the while living in difficult conditions every single day. They don't let their circumstances define them as a people, nor are they content with them. Parents, friends, community, they are all brothers and sisters, taking care of each other and working to create better lives for each other and future generations. It has been such an honor to be in their presence; they have so much more to teach me than I, or we as Americans, could ever teach them.
Steve Adler, Team Haiti 2012
Okay...that's all for tonight! May God bless all'y'all in ways that exceed even your wildest of imaginations.
CU in the morning,
Dave (On Behalf of Team Haiti 2012)
PS...On the agenda for tomorrow morning is road widening. I'm looking forward to working to more Haitian music. Peace...
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