Day 7: Mountain, Church, Kokoye restaurant

Top of the mountain overlooking Port Au Prince, church and Kokoye restaurant 
We woke up missing part of our team, Ann, Lori, Casey and Cole left early this morning to head back to MN. The eight of us that remained drove about an hour to go up a mountain to see the view. We had a chance to stop at vendors selling things alongside the road and bought some souvineers from them. It was cloudy and cool at the top, everynow and then the clouds would clear enough to see the ocean and city below...breathtaking! Along the way back to the guest house, we pulled over to buy some sugar cane that we all had a chance to try. While waiting for the sugar cane, Julie bought a golden Christmas tree on the other side of the road. Hopefully it makes it back in one piece! :)
The kids had time to cool off at a hotel pool we walked a few blocks to get to. Their friends they met from India at the beginning of the week were there, so they had a chance to say good-bye to them. They shocked us a couple days ago when one of them gave $200 in American cash to Steve and said they wanted us to give it to the poor. They were all there on vacation and were inspired by the stories the kids shared with them about what we were doing during the day. The kids unaminously voted to give the money to LaPhare orphanage to use to buy shoes for all the kids at his orphanage. Another group of people we were blessed to meet.
We were able to get it appoved to go to the Phippipeans United Nations Embassy to attend their 4:00 p.m. Christian service. A pastor from North Carolina was there to deliver the sermon. He asked for testimonies from those attending and Julie, Bekah and Micki all shared one of theirs. They played all american songs that we sang along to. Afterwards they had a huge tray of french fries, bread, jam and juice out for us to eat. They were all so nice and welcoming. Another group of people we were blessed to meet.
On our way home from we stopped to eat at Kokoye restaurant. We tried to order foods that are more traditional in Haiti, kibby's, acra, fried goat with rice and another goat dish. Once the food arrived we realized there was a language barrier when Julie was served double the amount of everything she ordered. We had quite a few leftovers to bring back to the house for the workers and missionaries staying there. They were all another group of people we were blessed to meet.
~Stacey

Day 6: Ocean & Pizza Amore

Ocean & Pizza Amore 
After spending the week serving together as a team, we had the opportunity to drive an hour and a half up the coast to see another beautiful side of Haiti. As soon as we found chairs on the beach, we had Haitian people coming up to us from the ocean. One man was selling conch sells, another had a couple kayaks he wanted to rent to us, a couple boats had snorkeling equipment and a couple other men had bags with live lobster and crabs in them. Steve was the first to meet a jellyfish and was stung a few times. Scared us out of the water for about 10 minutes and then we decided to go in the boats to try snorkeling. Julie spotted a barracuda and we all saw some beautiful fish in the coral. The scenery was gorgeous with the mountains and palm trees around us. It was hard to imagine all the poverty that was nearby. When we came back, the men with the Lobster and crab and one of each that Julie bought for us to try all ready and cut up for us to eat. We ended up meeting a group of men from the Philippines that had a day off from their United Nations duty for the day. They were all so hospitable and offered to share the feast they had brought with them for the day. They had a chicken gizzard kabob, goat soup and chicken feet..Casey, Steve, Micki, Katie, Bekah and Abby were daring enough to try eating the feet! They also offered their dessert which we think was a fruit creme and topped with graham crackers. Before we left for the day, they invited us to their UN headquarters the next day to go to a church service.
For dinner we went to Pizza Amore at Apparent Project for dinner. Our cheese bread came out right away, but then we found out they ran out of cheese. We had to wait for an hour for them to return with cheese, but the kids made good use of the time by playing foosball, pool or playing with the kids that were there.

Day 5: Grace Village Family Orphanage & Elder Visits

Day 5: Grace Village Family Orphanage & Elder Visits
We met up with another Healing Haiti team at Grace Village orphanage and took a tour of the school, the small homes that the kids all share with a Mama and/or Papa, the bakery that is creating more jobs for Haitians. The kids played a little soccer with the kids there before we left to visit some of the Elders that lived nearby. At each visit we brought them food, water, juice and then washed their faces, necks legs, feet and arms. Once they were cleaned, we put lotion on them and massaged them. Some let us paint their nails. Emmanual played his guitar and we sang along (Brielle did a duet with him).
We went back to Grace Village and made pancakes (some with sprinkles or with chocolate chips) and took Polaroids. Then helped them make picture frames for their photo. The kids went over to the basketball court and played soccer with the older kids and our interpreters. The soccer skills the kids had there were amazing. Casey put it well when he wondered what kind of opportunities these kids would get if they were in the U.S. playing the way they do.

Day 4: Gertrude's Special needs orphanage, Rebuild Globally, & LaPhere's orphanage

Gertrude's Special Needs Orphanage:
We began our day at Gertrude's and put lotion on all the children at the orphanage. Afterwards we gave massages to the orphans and some of the staff. They all enjoyed listening to the music and looking at the speaker that lit up with the music. It began raining, but the kids still enjoyed playing in the rain and playing tag. We were able to get the kids in wheelchairs out to the playground and laid them on a flat swing. The smiles and laughter from them was music to the ears and spread joy to all those around. They were even able to play tag when we wheeled them around quickly helping make them participants that could tag the other kids. We were unable to take pictures here, but we made up for it at LaPhare's. :)
After Gertrude's, we stopped at Rebuild Globally where they make sandals and shoes out of tires. We were able to get a tour and see how they make the shoes.
Our next stop was LaPhare's orphanage where we all fell in love with the children there. Right away the kids there were ready to play the hand game and interact with us. We brought along balloons, paper plates and sticks that are normally used to mix paint. We duct taped the stick to the plate for them to hit the balloons with. Brielle and Bekah brought along their Polaroid cameras to take pictures of each child. They loved seeing themselves in the photo. We also brought along crafts supplies to make picture frames for their photo. We got a chance to play soccer with some of the older children there. Following that the kids were super sweaty from playing their hearts out. Afterwards we all said we wanted to go back there again because we loved it so much.
~Brielle and Abby

Day 3: Home for the Sick & Dying Babies, Dary's special needs orphanage, Apparent Project

Church & Home for the Sick and Dying:
We all woke up by 5:20 a.m. and went to church. It was an interesting experience for those that haven't had a chance to go to church here with the Haitian's. Many walked around the church the entire time they were there, while some sat on the ground and knelt on their chair to pray. The pastor spoke in English for a prayer and they sang a song in English. We all walked back to the guest house and had breakfast before heading out to the Home of the Sick and Dying babies, which is a Catholic based charity facilitated by the Nuns.

Give, but give until it hurts - Mother Teresa

At the Home for the Sick and Dying Babies there were so many children with multiple needs... diaper changes, bottles, mediation, transportation.  But, the greatest need was love. We gave our hearts freely:  a hug, a smile, undivided attention.  It was an unbelievable experience.  We made a difference in a sick child's life for a moment.  Then , the moment was over, and the giving hurt.
~Lori

Dary's special needs orphanage:
We came back to the guest house and made peanut butter sandwiches and put together snacks for the children and staff at Dary's. The first few minutes were a difficult transition into the orphanage because it had a strong urine smell. We had a chance to blow bubbles, give massages and rub lotion on the children there. The children there had various degrees of disabilities. Most of them could walk, several could only crawl around and a few couldn't move on their own. Later we talked about how even though there's a language barrier between ourselves and the Haitians, the language of love is truly universal.
After we left Dary's we had a chance to get a tour of Apparent Project where we got to see how they make their clay beads, cereal box beads, bracelets/necklaces, how they make the handles for their mugs out of clay, head bands and t-shirts. There are 190 parents that are employed at Apparent project. This place helps give jobs to parents who would have had to give their kids up for adoption or put into an orphanage because they didn't have any income before working at Apparent Project.
~Stacey