Many blessings today!!

Wow, we can’t believe it’s our third day in Haiti already!!! We are being blessed much more than we even anticipated! After another fantastic breakfast from Maude, Fr. Alexis’ cook, we were off to the first tree nursery in Verrettes. We worked and counted there before we went on to the 2nd tree nursery. There are hundreds of fruits just waiting to be planted. Unfortunately, we have been unable to distribute the trees to the farmers because the rains have not come yet. The ground is too dry and the trees will just die. We are hoping to do this in a couple of days though as it has started to rain in the mountains! Pray for more rain!!!

We have had such awesome experiences today and many highlights we would like to share. Gosh, there were so many – where to start? Well, I’ll start with one that is dear to my (Debbi’s) heart. Today we had the special opportunity to visit the home that “Team June” built last year. It was a very emotional moment when we crossed that river again and pulled up to the site where we spent so much time and energy building, learning, communicating and playing with our Haitian brothers and sisters. It brought back many memories for Daniel and Chase and myself. Chase commented on seeing all the work we did last year paid off and Daniel said it was cool to see where we played games with the kids and where he laid his first cement block. To see the house that was just bricks and mortar when we left, now a family home was an experience almost inexpressible. It was also extremely touching when Rosalyn, the mother, invited us in to show us her daughter’s handiwork in weaving mats. She was so proud of her surroundings and their talents that she couldn’t wipe the smile off her face the whole time we were there!!

After this, we journeyed down the trail to the children’s nursery and then even further down to take a rest and wade in the river. The children are so happy playing in the water, sometimes it’s contagious!!! After this we had the privilege (and we all feel it’s really a privilege) to visit some individual gardens that are supporting families. The excitement we saw in the man that so proudly showed us his “table tree nursery” is something that makes your heart leap with its own excitement! Did we mention that the joy that exudes from these people is contagious?!?!?! We are continually making friends everywhere we go!!! We found this at the soda pop and ice factory we visited. We were amazed that some very ingenious engineers and business men came back to their homeland to start this profitable business, providing jobs for fellow Haitians.

We also noticed that the kids at the clinic we visited were “just itching” to try and communicate with us and show us the English phrases that they had learned at school. Again – excited to be our friends!! Let’s talk about this clinic we visited today. Such inspiration to see this nurse who has put her life savings into building a clinic for the people in the Liancourt area. It was her dream and now she is almost seeing it come true. She just needs the finishing touches: doors, windows, generator, wall and fence to see her dream of serving her brothers and sisters come true. She will be out of funds after the roof is put on, but has hope that one day her clinic will open.

We can’t forget our tour of the famous Albert Schweitzer Hospital in Des Chapelle. This is the main hospital for miles and a very noted one where doctors and nurses come from all over the world to serve the people of the Artibonite Valley in Haiti. For some of us, the hospital was more primitive than we thought it was going to be. Christie commented that, “it’s amazing what they can do with the little they have.” Again, we were sizing up our perception of the world around us and how different it now is. We closed our night by talking about how we are continually learning about the Haitian culture and how to respect it by accepting it. “We serve and therefore are served, we love and also are loved, we are opening our hands to the many Hands of Haiti.”

Our love to you all!!
Team May