Wednesday, November 30, 2011

We're headed back to Haiti...



As many of you know there are a group of us who travel to the Hands and Feet Project once a year since our first visit in February 2009. Since 2009 over twenty people have traveled to HAF as a part of this group. Five of the original eight have returned each year. This year is a little different, since our first trip three of us have completed internships, one is a full-time missionary in Haiti, and another is a full-time staff member stateside. To say that I am overwhelmed is a bit of an understatement when I look back just three years ago and see how far the Lord has brought us in this journey of being His hands and feet it absolutely blows my mind! Well, even with the changes in our group dynamic we are still committed to take a team down once a year and our fourth trip is rapidly approaching. This year we have a team of eight, as of now, and 4 spots still open. We are hoping to take down a full team once again, so more individuals can fall in love with this place just like we did 3 years ago. We are so excited and so ready to return... This year funding has been a bit more difficult for most of us, as you can imagine, we still have quite a bit of money to raise in the next few weeks, we will be purchasing our airfare before the end of the month and are short approximately $2000 at this point. If you feel like you are able to donate towards our trip you can do so by using the chipin widget in this blogpost or emailing me for other ways that you can donate... rebekahpeoples@aol.com. I know I say this before each trip that we take, but the truth is these trips could NOT happen without each of you, without your prayers, encouraging words, and financial support. My heart is so sincere when I say I cannot say Thank You enough, to EVERYONE who has been a part of this journey, whether you have been on a trip or have just supported us in some way over the years, we could not do it without you so Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. You have played a part in the Lord breaking our hearts for His children. As always if you have any questions regarding our trips feel free to comment here or shoot me an email and I will answer any questions you have to the best of my ability! I truly appreciate each and everyone of you, and thank you for taking the time to read this...I have another much needed post coming soon, just allow me to get through finals :o)





Continuing the journey,

Bek

Saturday, November 26, 2011

It’s the little things…The “Haiti Connection”

I apologize that this blog is a few days overdue, a lot has happened since my most recent return from Haiti and I have not had the chance to sit down and share yet another piece of my heart with you. On November 11th I headed back to Florida to meet up with a group to take down to Hands and Feet. This was going to be our first “Expedition” group, and I had the wonderful opportunity of being the “leader”. Despite how many times I can come and go from Haiti the uncertainty of what could happen always gets to me, especially bringing down a group of people that I did not know. However, let me tell you, the Lord most definitely orchestrated this team of 9. I could not have asked to be a part of a group any better than these individuals. We all connected in what those of us who have been to Haiti like to call the “Haiti-Connection” emotions that you experience when you go on this journey that those who have never been will not understand, no matter how often you try and explain it. But, before I get to this group and our time in Haiti, I want to touch on the “Haiti-Connection”, this summer I had the wonderful opportunity to meet a group of people that work for Be Like Brit. They were staying at Mission of Hope, where our staff stayed as well, until our new home in Grand Goave was built. Anyway, I was able to build this “Haiti-Connection” with PJ, Ross, and Pat. Even though we have literally only seen each other a handful of times in our life I feel like I have known them forever. Well, on the 11th I was able to meet up with Ross & PJ for dinner in Florida, and we were able to celebrate PJ’s birthday. I know it may seem so simple but I feel like it just explains this connection we have. We live hundreds of miles from one another but make it a point to stay connected! I was SOO excited to just see them and be friends in ‘real life’ ha-ha. We just get each other, we can be sarcastic and feed off of one another’s sarcasm but we know that we have a pretty ‘special’ relationship. They may argue with me right now, and say we are not even ‘real friends’ (even though I did get you a card Zanmi) but whatever. Our dinner was full of inside jokes and good stories, sorry to Dana and Kristha, but thanks for listening to us. All of that to say we experienced things together that no one may ever understand, but us. Having a network of people who have the same passion as me for this broken culture is indescribable I feel like my relationship with them illustrates this bond that I now have with a new group of people.


Now onto our time in Haiti… As I mentioned earlier this was our first Expedition trip, which is a staff-led trip that is open to individuals who do not have enough people to create a group to travel to one of our sites. This group was originally supposed to travel to Jacmel had a last minute change of plans (more on that in the next post) and we actually took the group to our newest location in Grand Goave. Having to change plans literally only a couple of days prior to departing was the perfect introduction to Haiti life, we always try and tell groups to ‘be flexible’ or ‘we plan, God laughs’, something along those lines. I do not know what it is about Haiti but you always have to expect the unexpected. I had the opportunity to go back and forth between Jacmel and Grand Goave this summer so I knew the kids there, not as well as the kids in Jacmel, but I had started building relationships with them so I was very excited to head back to their home and see them interact with a group and continue to develop my relationship with them, not to mention practice my Kreyol since those children do not speak English fluently yet, I think I may have even had myself fooled by the end of the week thinking that I can speak Kreyol, it is quite exciting! Anyway… Once we arrived on Saturday morning we were welcomed by 31 super excited children! They were so excited to have a new group come in and to show off their new home that they have only lived in since the end of August. We spent Saturday getting to know one another as well as the children, and did the same on Sunday. On Monday it was time to get going on some projects, this group did amazing! Painting, building a closet for Michelle, pulling and scraping tile to replace in the kids kitchen, they accomplished so much during the short week that we were there. Even Jay, a five year old boy, son and brother to a couple of group members, enjoyed helping Michelle paint. The kids LOVED having Jay there to play with, and I am certain he left the end of that week with 31 new best friends. Even though the group was able to accomplish a lot of physical things, I believe that the relationships that they built were much more treasured, not only did we connect with one another but nurtured relationships with the kids that will forever be engrained in their memory. It was so beautiful for me to watch. I told the group, numerous times, at the beginning of the trip that if I am a bit quiet and seem like I am observing it’s because I am. One of my favorite things about Hands and Feet and the opportunity that I have to see people experience Haiti for the first time is probably one of my ALL time favorite things to do. I love standing back and watching people as they soak in extreme poverty and in contrast soak in the abundance of love these children have to offer, I love seeing them get emotional when they don’t think that anyone is watching, or to witness the pure joy on their faces when the kids call them by name and want to show them something. During our week there I was asked why I liked to observe, and to be honest, it’s because it brings me back to that place when I first experienced Haiti and HAF, after numerous visits to Haiti you begin to take things for granted, you no longer recognize the beauty in the little things, so for me, to watch people have this first time experience it reminds me of when the Lord called me to Haiti and how I felt the first time I went, and I am then reminded to not take the little things for granted.



The little things…the moments that happen that can change an individual’s life forever, and that will forever be engrained in one’s memory. As I mentioned above I enjoy observing others because it reminds me to live in every moment and pay attention to the little things. Well this trip there is two specific ‘little things’ that will forever be engrained in my memory. On Thursday a few of the girls and I went for a walk so they could see a little more of Grand Goave. We walked down to where the kids go to school at Mission of Hope and just stopped in the field next door for a moment to chat and observe. While we were standing there we saw a young girl, who couldn’t have been more than 10 years old walk by heading up the hill carrying a FULL five gallon bucket of water on her head, with a smaller FULL two gallon bucket of water on top of that, and then carrying another FULL bucket of water. She walked passed us and said Bonjou, but you could tell she was having a difficult time carrying all of that water. We said Bonjou as well and allowed her to keep walking while we talked to the other children who were not in school, for whatever that reason may be. She made it slightly up the hill and started yelling something in Kreyol, Kristi asked me what she was saying, so we walked up to her and asked her what she needed, she said she needed help, at first I was very apprehensive because all signs told me that she was a Restavek, a child slave, and from my summer experience with Restaveks I know that they can get in trouble if someone else does their work for them. She was a girl between eight and fourteen, wasn’t in school during school hours, and was carrying water, pretty much all characteristics of a Restavek. I asked her where she needed to go and she pointed up the hill so I thought maybe we could help her walk part way up, but not all the way to her house, and she asked again for help…now she was shaking and sweat was dripping down her face, at that moment it no longer mattered what appearance this gave, this little girl needed help, I grabbed the bucket off the top of the five gallon bucket, Kristi grabbed the one from her hand and we started walking up the hill, Teressa joined us. She went on to tell me that her mom was sick and couldn’t walk and she was so happy that we were able to help her, I communicated what she was saying to the girls and they were a bit in awe, like “Wow, is this really happening” and at that moment I was reminded that it is the little things…These are stories you will take with you the rest of your life and here I was taking it for granted, just like it was no big deal, but to this little girl it made all the difference in the world that these “Blans” were helping her! We finally made it up to her house where she invited us in to their tiny hut; we were able to meet her mom, brother, and friend. They offered us a seat, as I mentioned in previous blog posts about how hospitable the Haitian people are. We took a sit for a few minutes then headed back down after her mom thanked us over and over again because she was unable to get the water for their family. I am so thankful the Lord pushed us to help her, my assumption was wrong, she was not going to get in trouble, but rather have a mother extremely thankful for a simple act of helping her daughter carry water. It’s the little things….

That afternoon the children returned from school, and Wilson one of our boys who is currently being tested for Lymphoma, went directly to bed. After a couple of hours I started asking the boys about him and where he was, why he was sleeping etc. They just kept saying, Le Fatigue… “Hes tired” Le Malad… “He’s sick” so around six o clock, after he had been sleeping since noonish I finally went into his room to check on him, he was just lying on his bed, with a bible next to him staring at the top of his bunk. I asked him if it was his Bible and he told me, no it as Jean Baptiste’s and he had let him borrow it, so he could read it while he laid down, so sweet. It wasn’t long before three of the other boys joined us and sat around Wilsons bed with me. They kept asking me if he was okay, I said he was fine, just tired. I asked the boys if they wanted to pray for him, and they said yes. I told them I would pray in English and they would pray in Kreyol, so we started praying, Colon, Robenson and Elie said some of the most beautiful prayers I had ever heard, although I could only understand parts of it, they were intently praying for Wilson to feel better so he could play with his friends the following day. After we finished praying one of the older boys came in with his guitar and two brothers sat there playing their guitar singing “Big House” in Kreyol, a song they had been teaching me all week. I sat next to Wilson on his bed while we all sang “Vinny an ale, Lakay Papa Mwen, Vinny an ale, Lakay Papa Mwen, sa grou group kay kejan anpil sham, sa grou grou tab kejan anpil manje…” and so on, it’s the literal translation of Audio Adrenalines Big House, if you want to know what I just wrote check out that song. The guitar wasn’t tuned, and nobody was singing on key, yet it was one of the most beautiful worship experiences I have EVER been a part of, it was so sincere and true, and it was right after these brothers surrounded Wilson asking for the Lords healing and without being prompted wanted to sing to our God. The little things… I was so humbled by that experience, my emotions have been a bit mixed with the diagnoses of Wilsons lymphoma, but these kids got it, they know that God is healer, but they also know that He offers more than that. It made me question my response when I experience sickness or trauma, do I turn to the Lord or do I avoid Him and try and take matters into my own hands? I like being in control, I like knowing what is going to happen next, but I learned something from those four boys on that Thursday night this November. I am SO thankful for the little things.

It was time for us to leave, which is always hard for me. I love where I am in life right now, I know I am supposed to be in Nashville, but I always feel like I am leaving a piece of my heart behind, even though I know I will be back it doesn’t make it any easier. This trip was beautiful in so many ways. Even though I missed the staff and kids in Jacmel like you wouldn’t believe there was an evident reason the Lord brought us to Grand Goave for that week. Thank you to Angie, Andrew, Faith and Michelle for being such great hosts, and thank you Steve, Jeff, Teressa, Kristi, Ashlee, Alexandra, Suzette and Jay for being such a great team! My hope is we can all go back together one day and you can experience how much of an impact you really did have on the lives of those children, when you return and they remember your name. I did get to see our kids and staff in Jacmel for a few hours during the day on Wednesday and am so thankful for that time, in retrospect that day meant more than just a few hours for a lot of reasons, more on that in my next post.



I am so thankful for the little things….

Continuing the journey,
Bek