Mountain Magic

March 6, 2014

Bonswa!

First of all, I want to apologize in advance for the very long post that I’m about to create. We have been out of touch with technology for the last four days and haven’t been able to post anything about our Haitian adventures.

As most of you know, our Hands for Haiti March 2014 Team’s mission was to work on renovating a school in the mountains. Can I just say, WOW, what an AMAZING experience! We started our trek for the mountains on Monday morning. Bursting with excitement, our team worked very hard to get us out of Borel, and on our way to the mountains. We piled into the back of a Toyota pick-up truck and the Polaris and started winding our way through the mountains. Never have I ever seen such beauty. Haiti truly is a gorgeous place. Our drive took about two hours before we stopped to eat lunch. It’s so interesting to go anywhere in Haiti because we always have a crowd that follows us. That being said, having a crowd follow us makes it very hard to do things like eat and drink. It breaks my heart eating in front of the Haitians, especially when we don’t have enough to share. Nonetheless, after stopping to eat we started our walk towards the school. Haitians came to help us carry our things. I’m still amazed at how much they can carry, and how well they walk. Some men were carrying two back-packs as well as holding our hands so that we wouldn’t fall, and trust me; those back-packs were anything but light-weight. Our walk took about two hours, and once we reached the school we had what seemed like a hundred Haitians walking with us. We set up camp that night and slept under the frame of the school. Cold and uncomfortable, it’s safe to say that none of us slept well over the next few days.

Working on the school over the next few days was amazing. As a team I think we have come to realize something, our mission isn’t to build a school, it’s to build relationships with the Haitians. We come to Haiti and work with some amazing people and create bonds that will stay with us forever. Working along-side the Haitians to create a school that is beautiful is only part of the equation. Our team had so much fun interacting with the Haitians. We sang, danced, colored, and played games with the children and we sang and danced while moving bags of dirt up to the school. While working on the school was fun and something I truly enjoyed doing, nothing brought me more joy than playing with all of the amazing Haitian children. I even made a little “Haitian buddy.” Leaving him as well as all of the other Haitian children today was heart-wrenching.

Every night Debbi asks us, “Where did you see God today?” I can tell you where I see God in the beautiful country of Haiti. He is in this amazing team that I have become so close with. He is in the people of Haiti that love us so much. He is the children of Haiti that get so excited when we bring out things like jump ropes and soccer balls. God has provided us with so many amazing opportunities on this trip, and for that I am truly grateful for.

Our climb back home to Borel today was exciting, exhilarating, and exhausting. I’m so proud of our team though, we walked the whole way without complaints. When we had to say goodbye to our Haitian helpers, it was truly heart-breaking. I can’t imagine my life without these amazing people and feel so blessed to have met them. I know our team is looking forward to an amazing day at the beach with some of our close Haitian friends. I also know that we are excited to get home to tell all of our loved ones about our adventures. Thank you for all of your prayers thus far, and continue to pray for us as we get ready to make our trip back home.

Caitlin