The Children of Haiti

Today the men continued on their potty project at the orphanage.  They put a lot of sweat into it and some of the boys at the orphanage about 8-10 years old worked right alongside them.  Jeff was pushing a wheelbarrow full of dirt with a little guy in front of him "helping".  Eric was shoveling and a young barefoot kid was right next to him, a pro at the pick axe!  It was every mother's'nightmare....barefoot kids alongside a deep hole with heavy sharp tools!  But they were in their glory:)

We women went to My Life Speaks for special needs children again and did some therapy.  Frantzsky, an adorable little guy had an entourage of us around him cheering him on as he tried to roll over and reach for things.  He was a little flirt and had the most beautiful smile.  We also worked with a little girl and got her out of her wheelchair in some different positions for stretching that she normally hates.  It's amazing what she could tolerate in front of an audience of entertainers and encouragers though!  We found out the group Lady Antebellum is a big supporter of this ministry and have been to visit.

In the afternoon we went to Maxo's school to teach knitting to a group of 12-15 year old girls Ashlee has been discipling.  It was a bit chaotic at first since we didn't have a translator right away but many of them seemed to catch on and learned to cast on and knit a few rows.  One of the messages Ashlee is trying to get across is that they have worth and value in God's eyes since unmarried women here often become pregnant at a young age and then their schooling abruptly stops.

We got a good start teaching a couple of different groups of kids to knit and another woman who is a knitter arrives today and she will be here for the next two weeks to follow up.  It will be cool for this to be able to continue after we are gone.  We have brainstormed about  doing a knitting lesson trip with several knitters from Constance to teach the village women a valuable skill and trade and perhaps sell their items in the US.  So all of you fellow knitters, start praying about it and see if God wants you in Haiti.

It's hard to believe the week here will be coming to an end soon.   Here are some comments from the group:

"I was surprised at how relational the people were." 

  "I was surprised at the faith of the people here and how they trust in God"

"People here are beautiful; there are no ugly Haitians!"

"Their physical needs are so great yet they feel their greatest need is spiritual"

We may have come here to help the Haitians but they really have taught us some valuable life lessons.  We will leave here changed.