To celebrate building over 1500 shelters, Samaritan's Purse threw a small ceremony and party for the Haitian natives working for them. We had a local children's choir come and sing for us, as well as a speaker and then a lunch buffet afterwards. The children from the Salem orphanage, the first orphanage we had visited, were still on our heart and we wanted to visit them again. Rebekah, my mother and I jumped in the car and were on our way.
When we reached the orphanage, I could feel the butterflies in my stomach from the excitment of seeing the children again. One of the boys opened the door and as we stepped into the yard, children started shrieking with excitement and running to us. Instead of the usual handshake, they were jumping into our arms and embracing us. They found three chairs for us and brought them to the shade of a large tree where they sat around us on benches and rocks. We told them the story of the Gospel as I handed out the materials to make salvation bracelets. They waited with extreme patience as we finished knotting and stringing the bracelets, for the next surprise we had planned. I told them we had brought some special gifts for them to share and as I reached into our bag and pulled out some frisbees, huge smiles broke out on the childrens faces. The boys jumped to their feet and were yelling and clapping their hands and they ran around the yard begging me to throw the frisbees to them . In my bag I also had a jump rope and the girls giggled with delight when I gave it to them. It was extreme chaos in the yard with frisbees and balls flying overhead, but everywhere you turned there was laughter and smiles. So much joy filled such a small place.
When we had tired from the heat of the sun, we went back to the shade of the tree. My mother told them Bible stories and two little girls climbed into my lap. The soothing sound of my mother's voice and the midday heat quickly lulled them to sleep and soon I had a sweet little braided head laying on each shoulder. Another girl, slightly older than the other two and wearing winter flannel pajamas, sat at my right and stroked my hands. Every once and awhile she would take my hand and place it on her face, inhaling deeply. Then she would take her hand and rub it on my arms and legs and then smell her own hand. Soon, her and another little girl began to rub their hands up and down my legs, then smelling their hands. I'm still not exactly sure what was going on, but I found it quite hilarious. Eventually they tired of their game and they sat next to me, laying their heads on my lap. Some of the older boys tried to teach me how to count in Creole, and laughed hysterically everytime I misprounounced a word, which was the majority of the time. We also went through the alphabet, named animals, different relatives, and fruits. Then I would tell them the same word in English. It was unbelievable how they could remember words I only told them once, when they had to repeat things to me multiple times before I'd remember. Four hours had gone by, and I cannot remember not having a smile on my face once. I never wanted to leave them but our translator and driver were getting tired and wanted to leave. Goodbyes are so painful, especially when you look in the eyes of such precious children, desperate for love, and knowing you might never see them again.
After we had come home the rest of the afternoon went by more slowly. A baby goat had been born the night before and a few of our friends brought us down to see it on the fourwheeler. While we were there I spotted another black, hairy, ginormous tarantula. I ran away screaming. Because of the party earlier that day, most of the workers had the afternoon off, and a large van of us drove to the next village over to explore the market. Stepping out of the van, a million sights, sounds, and smells attacked me. Not to mention the hoards of people running up to us displaying their wares. As we walked through the market some children followed us constantly saying "You Amerikani! You Amerikani! Give me money!" They wound in and out of our group, running from person to person demanding the same thing. Cloths were tied from one store stall to the other to give some shade, but they were so low you had to bend over as you walked under them. Chickens, goats, and other animals ran around freely and there was no order to the wares being sold. Nail polish and hair supplies would be right next to a stand selling vegetables, and pieces of cloth next to the bread. With the sun beating down upon our backs and the sweat pouring off our bodies, we made our way through the crowd of people, dodging the speeding motorcycles and cars to finally reach our van and return home.
During dinner it began to rain, and after we went into the soccer field to toss a frisbee around with some of the other workers here. As we were playing we noticed a beautiful, bright rainbow appear over the mountains. Despite the rain we still managed to play a game of soccer, with another dip in the pool afterward. Since it was Saturday night, we went to the lounge where we played games together and talked. We had plans to go to waterfalls and a beach the next day, but my dad said that if it rains we will not be able to go. Some of us checked weather.com and we are praying that its sunny tomorrow.
With love from Haiti...
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