Life & Death - not for the weak at heart...

This week I have had to learn to cling to Isaiah 65:19-20 “I will rejoice over Jerusalem and delight in my people. And the sound of weeping and crying will be heard no more. No longer will babies die when only a few days old.” What a difficult scripture to have to learn to cling to. Life in Haiti is full of hardship, and honestly we see a lot of it day in and day out living here. We see children so malnourished we are unsure if they are going to make it, and then watch them come to full health, and on the other end we see children who are unhealthy and lose their battle in this life. This week we witnessed two babies lose their battle. Josiah (6 weeks old) and Katiana (about 6 days old) both lost their fight. What I am about to say may sound cold or calloused but please bear with me and continue reading, the Lord always has a way of showing up. When I heard of Josiahs death my heart was heavy for the little boy and for Tina, the woman who was caring for him, but I didn’t cry or show emotion – it almost felt normal. This feeling made me quite angry to be honest, I didn’t want to become calloused to the injustice and pain that we see day in and day out in this place but at that moment I felt like that was happening. In the six weeks that I have been here I have helped care for a baby in the hospital who was considered septic, I have seen numerous parents come and try and drop off their children either because they honestly didn’t care about them any longer, or they cared about them so much they wanted to give them a better life, I have seen car accidents, I have witnessed numerous people lose their battle for life. Once you see these things day in and day out it’s almost as if you can’t allow yourself to process the events. However, a group we had in a few weeks ago made a statement that I was reminded of this week. In struggling with not being vulnerable with my feelings (which if you know me, you know isn’t like me) I was getting frustrated, but reminded that I have been praying for MONTHS for strength to endure whatever may come my way while in Haiti, and now that the Lord has given me the strength to deal I am frustrated because I want to feel – sorry Lord for not recognizing when you provide! Baby Josiah passed away on Sunday and they had the service on Sunday evening, Cameron (my brother) went to help shuttle people to the funeral, not expecting to stay, and then he did. He came back pretty quiet, not saying much besides “that’s the smallest casket I have ever seen”, I didn’t ever want to hear those words again. We didn’t talk much about it, everyone walked around heavy hearted the rest of the day and on Sunday we received the call that Katiana had passed away. Katiana was born at 1lb 11oz and we were caring for her here until she began having difficulties breathing and our breathing machine was not working for her, she was transferred to the local hospital where she lived for about two days. Katiana brought a lot of firsts to my life. I have never seen a living being as small as she was, she was fully formed and BEAUTIFUL, the Haitian people just have beautiful features, I can’t get enough of them. She was also the first infant funeral I had ever attended, and I could care less to ever attend one again, there were about 30 people there, our staff, Tina’s staff, kids, and the group she had in. Pastor Maxi preached mostly in English but all of the songs were sung in Kreyol. The entire service I was begging for the Lord to show up and remind me that He was there, asking that He would grab ahold of my heart and remind me of the reality of what I was witnessing. While we were singing I begged that I would just be able to understand something! Just about that time he started singing a song that I knew the tune to, it was It Is Well, they were singing in Kreyol but I knew exactly what they were singing. I didn’t ask the Lord for them to sing in English, or for me to understand Kreyol, but just to understand, and at that moment I understood “It is well with my soul….” Thank you Lord for showing up. At that moment I started to cry, but held it together the best I could since some of Tina’s kids were sitting next to me, I wanted to be strong for these young girls who just lost a sister. As we walked out I was holding the hand of one of the little girls who came and sat next to me and Tina’s brother came up to me and said this is Shirley, she doesn’t really go to anyone, you should feel special. Those few words had more meaning than he could even begin to understand, while praying that the Lord would show up, I also asked Him to remind me of the miracles we see every day and that I was here to serve the children of Haiti. This little girl knew I loved her even though we had never met….It was a beautiful moment. We walked next door to where Katiana was to be buried. In Haiti the ‘tombs’ are above ground and made of cement, when it is time to burry someone they take a pick and pick at the cement until they get a spot large enough for the casket, they then place the casket in the ‘tomb’ and carry water from the closest water source to mix with the cement to re-patch it. This family allowed us to purchase a burial spot for this baby girl. We watched as they re-cemented it and Shirley wanted to be held. I held her and the neighbor woman saw and brought me a chair to sit in with her. Shirley just laid her head on my shoulder as we sang songs in Kreyol and honored this babies life. After the service was finished we began walking back home, I left Shirley with Tinas brother-in-law, I told her she was beautiful and I loved her “Ou Belle! Mwen Renmen Ou”. Once we got back home, everything that had happened in the last two days hit me, I called my mom to chat about what I was feeling and the emotions I was holding in just began flooding out. The Lord reminded me that He will give me the strength when I need it, and allow me to process when it is time. I sobbed on the phone with my mom telling her about our last few days, she cried as well. Never in my life did I think this is what my life would entail…
On Monday a woman came to our house with her two youngest children, she has a total of seven. She explained how poor she was and she wanted her kids to go to school and be able to eat, as well as enjoy the basic necessities of life. Despite how heart-breaking it is to see children leave their families, it is beautiful to know the life they will now have the potential of having. Our purpose is to be the last-resort for families if they are unable to care for their children, we want to keep the families together, but if it is for the sake of the child’s life we will bring them in. These children had extreme signs of malnourishment so we knew it would be best to take them in. All of our new children have to be tested for TB as well as HIV. As soon as I saw these children my heart melted, as it often does here. I asked the mom if I could hold the little girl, she said yes. She told me she is a good baby and doesn’t cry ‘le pa kre’ (sp) I took her in while Diane gave her, her TB and HIV test, she did so well and just stared at me the entire time. I then went and got the young boy, with his blondish curly hair! He was gorgeous. I held him for his TB and HIV test as well. We then made the mom and boy a bowl of food, chicken, rice, and plantains. I have never seen someone so thankful to just have food to eat. The boy inhaled it and I made him another bowl…The mom just kept saying “Mesi, Mesi, -you are so helpful” Both of the children are HIV negative praise the Lord, and we will read their TB test today, pray for negative results. The baby girl may sleep in a pak-n-play in my room…It was over as soon as she looked in my eyes! After the two deaths we experienced, a baby girl and boy, the Lord was blessing this family with another baby girl and boy. Thank you Lord for little reminders that you ARE HERE, and YOU ARE faithful!
I know the beginning of this entry was pretty heavy but it is the reality of our lives here in Haiti. Please pray for all of our staff and Tina and her staff as we all endure this loss.
Now, for some more positive things.
On Sunday, Zac, my friend from Nashville who is working for Hands and Feet at our Grand Goave site, brought over a couple of our friends from Be Like Brit. They are staying at Mission of Hope with Zac and the Suttons. I have been trying to talk Ross and PJ into coming to Jacmel since I met them about 5 weeks ago ( I was their first friend according to them :o)) Well since they do not have a vehicle it has been difficult for them to plan a trip to head over the mountain. Zac decided he would come visit our kids here and bring Ross and PJ along (sorry Pat you weren’t here :-/) They arrived around noon on Sunday and we gave them the grand tour of our home here. They were so impressed with our buildings and how wonderful our kids were, how much English they spoke, and how they would just run and hug them! It was great to have them over and give them a little glimpse into our lives on the other side of the mountain. Jacmel and Grand Goave are very different so I wanted to make sure they got to see a little bit of the city. Zac drove us all to lunch at the Cyvadier Plage. Cameron, Stacie, and I all went with them. The guys were pleasantly surprised with the quality of the food and how many options we had here! I have been telling them all along and it just took them seeing to believe! PJ was very pleased with his club sandwich and Ross wished he had gotten the same thing; apparently we didn’t give him the heads up haha. After indulging in our meal that didn’t consist of rice and chicken we had ice cream and then drove down to the beach. Stacie and I sat in the bed of the truck with the guys and we just had the chance to talk about what life is like in Haiti. Even though our trip was cut short because of an emergency back here it was SO GREAT to see them. Growing up with three brothers I tend to feed off of sarcasm and Ross, PJ and Zac sure know how to dish out the sarcasm, it brought some good, much needed humor to all of our day! So thank you guys! Come hang out with us and the kids soon!
I still cannot believe we have been over six weeks. I guess I thought I would have been over it by now, but the longer I am here the longer I want to stay. Despite my smelly clothes and lack of sleep I love every moment of every day. I am so unclear as to where the Lord is guiding me so prayer for direction is so coveted. I know the need for staff with HAF is needed both stateside and in country but I also know not everyone can live in Haiti, so I feel as if I am being outright disobedient if I chose to not stay. I am so close to finishing school and that is something I have been working towards for the last seven years, however, I want to make sure I am following the Lords plan for my life not my own, or the “American Dream” for that matter. I know that statement may be controversial, but I don’t want my life to reflect the American Dream, I want it to reflect without a shadow of doubt sacrifice to the King who has saved me, to the One who even when I doubt, He still IS, the One who shows up in simple songs, the One who allows friendships to be built and fellowship to happen when you have no one else, to the One who has grown my brother and my relationship dramatically in the last six weeks, the one who brings life despite death, the One who I don’t deserve, the One who saved the 56 kids that I act as ‘mom’ to, I need to sacrifice my life to the one who IS!
Continuing the Journey,
Bek

In love with less...

Well, it has been at least a week since I last posted, there is so much to say I don’t even know where to begin, which is a common occurrence with these posts! I guess I can start with another epiphany that I had recently… Ken, Matt, Stacie, Cameron and I were hiking up the aqueduct behind our house. It is an absolute gorgeous view! While we were on our way up to the 2nd lookout point Stacie and I just stopped to look at the view; we looked out over palm trees, down green hills to the Caribbean Sea, it was breathtaking. I began wondering, as I often do, how a place SOOO BEAUTIFUL could be in so much pain. I still don’t have the answer to that question, if any of you have any insight I will gladly take it. We started talking about our lives here and what they consisted of, or rather, what they no longer consist of; no coffee shops, no TV, no hot showers, no vehicle to drive at your will, no popsicles, and the list can go on and on…In that moment I realized, as much as I miss all of those ‘things’ I could care less if had them again, I was madly in love with less! This is so against everything in our culture, we are taught the more we have the happier we are. For me, if I had to choose between the two I would rather not have those things but have 87 children who love me dearly in a country in one of the most beautiful parts of the world. Thank you Lord for causing me to fall in love with less…
A couple of weeks ago we had a young woman come to our gate to give us her baby to care for because she didn’t have the resources to care for him. She was younger, I wouldn’t say much older than 18, if that. You could tell by her face that she did not want to give this baby up but she knew she had no better option for him. She herself was an orphan with no family, living with friends, with no work and trying to care for both her and her 1 year old child. My heart ached as I watched her, her eyes welled up and she began crying when we asked her questions about the baby, and if she was able to take care of him would she keep him, she said yes, but she didn’t see a way that she would possibly be able to care for him. Well, in order for us to care for a child we must have the proper paperwork and she didn’t have any of it, she didn’t know where the father was and she didn’t have a birth certificate of her own. Diane decided that we would go check out this young girl’s home to see where she was living…it was heartbreaking, there were approximately 8 people living in this tiny cement home of a side road just outside of Cyvadier. We want children to stay with their families if they have them, and we will do everything in our power to keep them together rather than separating them. We gave her some rice, some formula, some milk and clean water…We have yet to hear back from her so my prayer is that both her and the baby are doing okay, and that if she still needs help she would be humble enough to come back and ask and know that we will do everything we can. Never even my life did I think I would be a daily part of these conversations, to witness a young woman in such despair to want to give up her child because we could care better for them… It will never stop breaking my heart! I can’t even imagine being in that position, to be so broken, and so vulnerable that the only way you can see hope is to give your child up, to sacrifice your relationship with them. It reminds me a lot of God… After looking in that young girls face, seeing her cry with the thought of giving up her child, I began to see the face of God as He gave up His son, to save us. The only way He knew that would fix the brokenness was to make a great sacrifice. This young girl only knew how to fix the broken pattern of her family was by giving up her son…ugh my heart aches.
On Sunday we took the kids to the beach, as we usually do, and we met this young boy, who I had also met the week before. He is 14 and his name is Roosvelt, he does not speak English well, but by some miracle I was given enough words in Kreyol to communicate with him. God never ceases to amaze me, he gives me words at the right moment, that I otherwise promise I don’t know! Roosvelt is such a sweet boy who is a FANTASTIC artist! He took a stick in began drawing in the sand, I was seriously in awe, I will try and post a picture later, he even signed him named “Artis’ Roosvelt”. He drew a man with a baseball cap on and pretty big muscles (I think he was looking at Cameron haha). But the thing that got me about this situation is he could be one of the next artists that we buy paintings from a couple of years from now. I have SO many paintings from here and I wonder if that is how many of the artists began. Tomorrow we are going to go back to the beach and bringing him pencils and a drawing pad, that way he can practice!
Emi went back to the village where we did the test on the boy who we thought had TB, the test was negative! Praise the Lord, but she did meet an older woman who did return a positive test, pray for her…
I have been traveling back and forth between here and Grand Goave to get updates on our kids there for their sponsors. I love that place. Grand Goave is much different than Jacmel, not in a city, much more rustic, but beautiful to say the least. I don’t like one place more than the other, I just love them both A LOT. Our kids there are amazing. By my second visit they already knew my name and would scream it as soon as I walk up to the gate! The girls love to play with my hair, the boys love to play with my camera! They are so excited to be moved into their new houses soon, yet, we still have a lot of work to do before that can happen! Pray that we will continue to make productive progress and get these kids to their new homes! I love those kids as much as I love the kids here in Jacmel. They came from a very rough background and just need intentional love. I am thankful for Andrew and Angie Sutton who will love these kids well! Pray for the kids that they will continue to grow and learn and open up to those who want to love them well. They have some trust issues, and rightfully so, especially the older ones. Pray for our 31 kids in Grand Goave..
Lately Stacie and I have been talking a lot about the Restaveks in Haiti…and since our conversations have begun we have met at least three young restavek girls. I don’t think it is a coincidence either. The Lord has honestly been stirring something in my heart for these kids who lack education simply so they can be a ‘slave’ to another family. Most restaveks are either abandoned or orphaned and just not lucky enough to be brought to a loving family such as ours, but rather are taken advantage of by extended family or strangers. My heart aches for these children especially these three little girls! Magda, Kettia & Santana are Restaveks in our town….the difficult part is, it is legal here, and not much that we can do about it. But Stacie and I have made it a point to walk each morning and call these girls by name and tell them that they are beautiful! Today we are going to get some dresses for them and make sure they know that they are well loved. Pray that we be given passions of how to serve these children…My eyes well up thinking of their smile despite their circumstance. Haitians are a resilient people.
Friday was a special day for me here in Haiti. Our church back home in California decided to the Kids Mission Project that Hands and Feet has produced, and incorporate it into their VBS. You can check out our new website for info on how to get the Mission Project FREE! It is a cool way to have kids raise money to build more homes for kids in Haiti. This is the first year our church has done this and at the end of the week we were able to skype with all of the kids! I had about 7 or 8 of our kids here on skype with hundreds of kids back in California. Despite the bad connection it was such a beautiful thing to see! To witness two of my worlds coming together for one common goal. These kids were sacrificing their money, their parents money haha, and much more to serve these kids that I have taken as my own in Haiti! They raised almost $1300! What a beautiful moment! This place that has been so dear to both me and Cameron has finally connected with our church back home and they were able to ‘meet’ some of our kids…God is so good, and it just reminded me how big He is compared to us…We may be far in distance but we all came together for one purpose! To look after orphans and widows in their distress…Thank you Sutter Creek!
Yesterday (Saturday) was quite an eventful day here in Haiti. We started our summer fun fun fun fun program! The kids started surfing, karate, gymnastics, and art lessons! It was so awesome watching them do all of these things. I am convinced our kids are talented at everything! Around 10 AM a mom who is a part of our feeding program came and dropped of her son (for the 7th time) because he was extremely ill. They lost their home in the quake (if they had a home in the first place) and are now living in a tent city that is infested with cholera and numerous other diseases! Baby Schneider was throwing up, had a diarrhea, a high fever and not breathing well! I took care of him while Diane shuttle kids back and forth to the beach and he seemed to be doing okay, just drinking some pedia-lyte to get rehydrated, and then after lunch he took a turn for the worst. He stopped vomiting constantly and you could just tell he did not feel great. Diane decided it would be best if we could get him to the hospital. We headed to the Cuban hospital with him where the made clear the importance of getting him fluids, but because he was so dehydrated they couldn’t find a vein. Diane and I had to help the doctors hold him and work with them to get the IV in place, after ‘finding’ a vein in his foot we watched the IV bag SLOWLY drip for about two hours and then realized it wasn’t even in his vein! All we had done was give him a swollen foot. They nurses came back and looked for more veins and eventually had to insert the IV into his neck. We had to hold him in a specific position for hours so the IV would drip properly. Praise the Lord he eventually fell asleep so he was not moving too much. I know that the Lord was with us, I have never liked hospitals or needles and here I was helping with IV drips, that strength did NOT come from me. His breathing was getting worse so they recommended we get a chest x-ray but they did not have a technician (so frustrating!) so we had to call around other hospitals to see if they had one. After finding a hospital that had an x-ray tech the doctors told us to get the x-ray, come back, and he would be admitted there but someone would have to stay with him. We were both willing to stay with him, but thought it was important that his mom be there. Diane called a local missionary friend who knows which tent his mom lives in and she went out to find her! She finally found her, and told her you need to come with me, your son is in critical condition. They met us at the other hospital where we had to bang on the door to wake up the x-ray tech to complete the x-ray (that is going in my “You know you’re in Haiti when…. Book). We finally got the x-ray and took him back to the Cuban hospital with his mom, after stopping and getting her food since she had not yet eaten that day… There were so many little things that could have been solved easily with the properly resources! One of the most frustrating things about this place, I just wanted this baby to start progressing and I was fearful that there was no hope for that. My heart aches for his mom- could you imagine having nothing and the only thing you know how to do when your child is sick is leave him with strangers! My heart aches for him- his mom has good intentions but she doesn’t have the competence to care for him well! Pray that his little body will begin healing; we are going to check on him today, and pray that his mom will find the resources she needs to care for him! Pray for my heart to be more gracious to her instead of frustrated. I love this child like he was my own and had a difficult time that his mom just dropped him and didn’t come back, but then saw her sitting on the hospital bed crying for him last night and was convicted of my frustration…..
My time in Haiti is going by too quickly and I hate even the thought of leaving. Pray that I will be able to embrace each moment, and embrace it well. Pray that I will work to my full potential and pray that God will restore His Spirit within me and guide me to what the next step of my life looks like. Right now I am living a dream and I don’t ever want it to end……
Continuing the Journey, Much Love,
Bek

Groups, Floods, and Plans

It has been a few days since I have posted anything. I am convinced Haiti is a time-warp, there is no sense of the hour or day for that matter and there are not enough hours in the day to accomplish everything that needs to be accomplished in addition to loving some wonderful kids in intentional ways. This week we had our first group arrive since Cameron and I have been here, it has been a beautiful thing to watch how the Lord is moving in the hearts of those who are here, and it has been quite the experience for me being able to be on this side of things. To be the one who is encouraging the group and sharing about Hands and Feet, telling kids stories, and showing them around town; I think I enjoy this side much more . We have a group of 11 in from California, a group that our usual team has had the opportunity to encourage throughout their journey. The leader of the group has been sponsoring one of our children since early 2009, this was her first time meeting him and it was a beautiful thing to see! He was a little shy at first but once he realized who she was he did not want to leave her side. This group is full of special people, as I assume most groups will be, but they have nothing but encouraging things to say about our staff here and Hands and Feet as a whole, obviously they are preaching to the choir, because we all love this place tremendously and our passion shines. However, being here on a day to day basis makes you forget why we are here sometimes, and if we really are making a difference in the lives of these children, well my Spirit was refreshed this week by having a conversation with one of the girls. Julie, is originally from Laos and became a Christian through missionaries at a young age, she shared her testimony with us, a very moving testimony to say the least, but she said each time she sees us interact with the kids she is brought back to that refugee camp and remembers clearly the face of the woman who shared Jesus with her. My hope is that these kids will one day head to the ends of the earth to share the love of Christ just as Julie is! I hope that we are reminded daily how intentional we are to be with them so in 10-20 years from now when they are serving orphans in another country they can be reminded of this place and how well they were loved! Another of the girls here is really being stirred to commit to serving in Haiti, I know all too well that feeling, that feeling of being terrified, overwhelmed, and questioning – “how in the world was I chosen to do this?!?” Pray for her, pray for guidance and direction so she can see clearly the path the Lord has laid down before her.
On the 6th of this month we had some serious rain come through PAP and nearly destroy our home there. We have had this house for a few months with hopes of making it another orphanage, but we have yet to receive any children, well God knew what He was doing, and it was a blessing that we did not have any kids in that house on that day. The rain tore down two of the exterior walls of the home and trash from all over the city flooded the yard. It brought in approximately four feet of mud into the lower level of the house (were the kids rooms were going to be!), flipped over the stove, freezer, washer, dryer, and generator. Praise the Lord that Michelle and intern for physically okay, just shaken up for the most part. Three of the neighbors were killed in the flood, I can only imagine how many more were killed or injured. I kept envisioning all of the tent camps in the Delmas area….Pray for them. This is only the beginning of Hurricane Season and we haven’t even actually had a hurricane yet. Pray that the people will be able find the strength they need to get through. The people of Haiti are built to overcome adversity, they have to be to live here!
Each and every day that I am here I fall more in love with the culture, the people, the staff and the kids! I have always known I loved Haiti but I didn’t think it was possibly to love it this much! A couple of days ago our nannies had an evening out, Calvary Chapel hosts a womens event every few months and our nannies go to it, with approximately 400 other Haitian women. While I was watching the younger girls while their nanny was out, Barbara the little girl my family sponsors called me mom...I nearly lost it. Am I really making that big of a difference in the lives of these children? Do they love me that much to honor me and call me mom?!? After she did that one of the other girls, Tamara (she was the first child to live here, who has stolen a huge piece of my heart) caught on and began calling me mom as well...Now everyday when she gets home from school she runs up to me screaming mom, mom, I love you! This is what life is about... Last night the older boys, about 10 of them got in a military style line and began marching around the yard chanting off different couples, “Emi love Matt, Stacie love Cameron, Bekah love Class C” it was HILARIOUS, I have never seen them do that before, all in unison and right on beat! After they were ‘fini’ planning our marriages they went and got some paint buckets and sticks and began playing music! Oh my word those children are talented! They have rhythm like no other!! They beat on the ‘drums’ and danced for at least an hour if not longer, I could have fallen asleep listening to them! Esaiie, one of our younger boys was their director and Gerlande one of our younger girls was leading the dancing. I am seriously amazed daily at how talented these children are! I tried to get some audio recording, I will see how it came out and possibly post later providing I have enough internet to do so!!!
I love being here, more than anything…I am just unsure what that means for my life. It has been almost a month since I arrived and it has flown by which makes me terribly sad, but it also feels like I have been here forever. Yes, I miss my family but that is really it. If I am honest with myself I didn’t think I would be able to make it through more than two weeks without being terribly homesick, that is not the case. This place feels like home. Pray without ceasing for me please. My flight goes back to the states on August 2nd and I am not prepared for that, I don’t see how I could possibly go back to Nashville and get back to a ‘time-restrained’ life. I need guidance and direction, I know I still have about two months left, but I don’t feel like its long enough. Pray that the Lord will open doors where they need to be opened and close doors that need to be closed. I have some awesome opportunities back in Nashville with Hands and Feet and I want to serve wherever I am most needed, whether that is here or there… I was talking with my mom a couple of days ago and was sharing that the Lord has just been revealing to me why I am not married with kids of my own yet. He wants me to pour every ounce of love that I have into this family here. I am a passionate person and love people, but when I love them, I want to love them intentionally and sincerely and I don’t think I am at a point in my life where I could balance the two, loving a spouse well and loving orphans well, I think the Lord is still dramatically preparing my heart for that moment. However, I do know at this point in my life I am called to love and serve in this way and he has given me the passion and desire to do so!!! So please, continue to pray for guidance for what my next step should be!
Emi is going back to Lucksons village today to check the TB test that she did on the young boy a few days ago. Pray for him, we are almost certain he has TB but the Lord can do miracles! We see them every day! She will be going this afternoon so I should know shortly….

On another note, our new website is up and running and we still have a lot of kids who need sponsors, would you consider sponsoring one of our children to help make their dreams come true? Visit www.handsandfeetproject.org and click child sponsorship. If you have any questions about it send me an email at rebekahpeoples@aol.com and I will answer to the best of my ability!!

Again thank you for taking this journey with me, your prayers are felt every day.
Much Love,
Bek

Tap-Taps, Chairs, TB, Miracles, and Thankfulness

Tap Tap (n) – a truck with a separate truck bed attached with a rod iron covering, and if you’re lucky some shade. Filled with approximately 5-15 individuals, similar to a Taxi, only when you are ready to get off you hit the top of the truck cab.
I have been coming to Haiti for three years; I had yet to ride in a tap-tap, until today that is. Imagine yourself in a taxi with about 10 other individuals and only 3 others speak the same language as you, this was a bit how I felt today. However, the experience was not near as terrifying as I thought it was going to be. Emi invited Cameron and I to go with her to visit her friend Lucson who has neighbors who carry staph infection that Emi was able to treat. Today was one of those days that I will remember forever (which is how I hope most days are here). With a slight wave of Emis hand a tap-tap stopped to pick us up, we climbed on in and grabbed a seat on the benches in the bed of the truck, the tap-tap wasn’t completely full yet so it was not to uncomfortable, a bit unnerving since you cannot see ahead of you, but nothing to extreme. We stopped about 6 times to either attend to the slight wave of a hand in the road to pick someone up or the not so slight knocking on the back of the truck cab to allow someone to get off the vehicle. Cameron, Matt, Emi & I took the tap-tap to Caye Jacmel to meet Luckson on the road and from there he would take us down some dirt paths to first his house, then many houses in between. We arrived at his house and his sister pulled out a chair for each of us and insisted that we “Shita La” (sit there). The walk was not short by any means, but it was not long by any means either, however, we did not want to be rude and reject their hospitality so we sat down in their chairs in front of their cement homes with sheets for doors and windows. Luckson asked “ou sho?”(are you hot?) and we responded with yes, it is a bit warm, so he went inside and found the only paper plate he had and brought it out for us to fan ourselves! Can you say hospitality? I was blown away….. On the way to the neighbor’s home ( these aren’t neighbors, like you would find in the US, everyone in your ‘village’ is considered a neighbor and you pass by many homes before you get to the one you are looking for). We stopped at a couple of homes in between to check out some medical issues that Luckson was aware of, at each house that we stopped at the family offered us each a seat, even if that meant borrowing one from their neighbor or giving up their own! I could not get over their hospitality, it made me wonder if I would do the same for 4 individuals from a different country that just showed up at my door, would you have given up your chair, or searched until you found one so your visitors had a seat? The little things say a lot…. We arrived at the family of the little girl who had a staph infection on her back and Emi gave her some ointment to treat it, the family was so thankful they wanted to pay us in either “anana” (pineapple), or coconut. Of course we said no, we have access to plenty of pineapple and coconut, and caring for the sick is a part of what we are called to do! After many “Mesi Anpil’s” (thank you a lot) we left and headed back towards Luckson’s house, we made three more stops on the way, one to a young lady who had a cut on her foot that someone had stitched with a sewing needle and piece of shirt thread…needless to say it was infected. We made our last stop to check on a little boy who they thought may possibly have TB he was losing a lot of weight in addition to having a nasty cough, Emi took out her stethoscope and listened to his lungs, with a cringe on her face I knew it was not good, she said it sounded like popping popcorn, that is almost a definite sign of TB…poor little boy, she told them that we would be back next week to do an official TB test so we could then take the results to the government and basically beg for some antibiotics, the even more frustrating thing about it is if he is carrying it, most of his family probably has it as well, this boy is only a year and a half! Pray for this young boy and his family, that we will be able to help him find treatment, and if the Lord wills that he will be healed. Luckson walked us back to the street were we sat in a ‘restaurant’ and ordered sodas (I drink more soda here than I do in the US, not sure it’s a good thing  ). There is a part of this story that I have yet to mention, which is maybe the most fabulous part…If you have been following my blog and if you read my short novel from my trip in February you may remember a trip that I took to Sisters of Charity, TB clinic for the terminally ill. Well, I met Luckson in February in the clinic for the terminally ill; he was dying, not given much time to live on this earth! He was the man who told me he thanked God for bringing us to him, to visit him in that place!!!! Now, here he is taking us to those who are ill in his community, because we were able to offer him help, he wants to share it with others! It brings tears to my eyes as I sit here in write this…I knew that being with him yesterday was a miracle, but as I sit here and process the reality of the miracle that I have witnessed, I can’t help but sit here and cry.
On our way back from Lucksons village we hopped back on a tap-tap and I sat in the very back, with nothing under my feet but the open road, I was able to watch fly by as we drove…eek, that was a tad intimidating ha-ha. But on our way back Cameron and I were talking and we both just sat there with ear to ear grins on our face, I wondered what was going on his mind. I looked at my younger brother and was so proud and thankful to be serving with him! I had another “is this my life moment?” I was reminded I was actually in Haiti, serving because we have a God and Savior who called us to serve the least of these. I asked Cameron, “five years ago, is that what you imagined your life would look like?” He laughed, “No”. It is amazing how GREAT Gods plans are and how they far outstretch our minimal thoughts and plans for our life! The even cooler thing about it, is even though the rest of my family is not here, I could see each and every one of my siblings riding in the back of that tap-tap with me, serving our Great God, humbled that He has given us this opportunity! I even imagined my parents there. It made me thankful for parents that raised us in the church, and thankful for a family that supports the bigger picture of Christianity, and thankful for brothers and sisters who are selfless and willing to serve in whatever capacity that looks like.
Today, I am thankful.

Continuing the Journey,
Much Love,
Bek