Brace yourselves, this is going to be a long one.
The Dark. This is the term for the utter chaos, filth, and odor we experience as we ride in the back of our work truck on the way to the orphanage. I asked several of our team members if their expectations matched the reality, and many of the responses were "it is way worse." Another theme is that the actual conditions are significantly more stark than the pictures that we were shown. Personally, I had a hard time taking pictures of the poverty that we were seeing or taking pictures as we drove by in our truck.
The truck. Compared to yesterday, this one is luxurious. It has a pew bench to sit on, a tarp to protect us from the sun, and steps to help the shorter people get in the truck. (Insert Julie joke here) The ride to the store was harrowing for the people that have a sense of traffic laws. For the people that drive in Haiti, it is quite normal for an oversized truck to turn into a packed roadway and make a successful left turn. Whew, that must have been the hard part of the trip. Nope, our driver did a U-turn in morning traffic to get to the store where we purchased ice, bread, and snacks for the day. The rest of the trip was a straight shot, having to negotiate tap-taps (more later), motor cycles, pedestrians, and construction.
The Light. This is the term for the love and opportunity that we are experiencing with the children of the orphanage. You can see it immediately when walking through the school grounds, the children are happy, and cannot wait to hug and love on us. Lisa was approached by a young girl named Traci and carried her around for the better part of the day. Her smile was infectious. When we got to the school, we needed to send Butch to get supplies, this was an opportunity to play with the kids. There are several pictures of people holding the kids, it was a great moment. Dana and Laura helped paint several girls' fingernails, Lisa continued to carry Traci, and the boys introduced themselves. It is amazing how the language barrier does not stop us from communicating. A smile, a handshake, and a hug go a long way here.
Projects. We actually did some work. Donnie was the professional plumber, he worked on several commodes, shower heads, and water faucets. We put up 2 new rope swings, which we used for our version of Crossfit Haiti. Once we left, the boys were playing on them, good to have Eagle Scout Matt along for his rope tying skills. Then we got the real list from Butch. Build 3 tables to be delivered to families, build a new storage closet, install doors in the bathrooms, and paint the exterior cement of the school house. For simplicity, we can divide our team into 2 groups, the painters and the builders (and Lisa, who continued to carry Traci). Within the builders, there were the planners and the doers. I do not want to start a family dispute, but every time I visited the table building project, Carrie had the drill and Matt supervised. However they did it, the tables were complete. Within the painters, there were the macro painters and the steady hand painters. (People with rollers and people with brushes)
Visiting the community center. The community center is down the street, a short walk from the orphanage. We went as a group, one of the rules is that you may not leave the orphanage compound without permission and ladies need a male escort at all times. The community center is amazing. It serves as a church, a clinic, and a sewing teaching center (Couture above the door). The clinic is staffed 3 days a week, and girls from the orphanage were being taught how to sew. It was amazing how attentive they were to their instructors. The girls were very well dressed to attend classes, mostly wearing the same style dress.
Playing with the kids. This was fun. Lisa carried Traci, Hayden let the boys listen to his iPhone and take pictures, some of the young boys wanted to borrow my camera. One of the boys kept stealing Matt's hat and wanted to be chased. Laura got a lesson in Mancala, schooled in fact. Dana played frisbee with some kids and did another round of beauty school drop-out nail polish. There was a lot of hugging and cuddling. I was playing 1 - 2 - 3 go, and threw some of the young boys in the air. This was great, until some of the older, heavier, children wanted the same. (Second round of Crossfit Haiti) The children ask if we are married by pointing. I had to explain that I was not married to Laura, or Katrin, or Julie. So I showed Yola pictures on the camera to show her my wife. She looked at 400+ pictures. My wife was Momma, and all of the kids were baby, and I was Poppa. Did I mention that Lisa was still carrying Traci?
Other Notes: I really appreciate the group that we are with. This is a mentally and physically challenging trip.
Dana has struggled with the poverty that we have seen. I would like to remind her, that she is the reason that several of us are on this trip, I hope she can appreciate how much joy she has helped share with this corner of the world.
Our discussions during and after our evening devotion have been helpful.
Fainting in this heat is real, drink lots of water.
The threat of bugs was greatly over imagined.
A cold shower is welcomed.
A tap-tap is a truck or bus. People pile in the back, and when you want off, you tap-tap the side and the driver pulls over.
Several Miami Heat players are painted on the sides of tap-taps. (Chris Anderson, Shaq, but no Lebron)
and finally - mangos. There is a tree above the dining area that drops mangos. What you have to get used to is a loud bang (think gunshot) followed by a brief roll, and then a plop into the pool. (No, they do not float) Dana and Julie were nearly taken out this evening.