Sorry to have not written the blog Thurs night as planned. Then we wrote this blog last night
(Friday) but couldn’t get internet at DFW, so here it is today . . .
When we got home from the SDLG Children’s Home (Thursday)
after eating supper at the church and saying our goodbyes, the Vaval family
surprised us with a delightful time of fellowship and delicious Haitian
pastries, cakes and ice cream! We
thanked them for making us feel like family this week, for welcoming us and all
the LCF teams with open arms and hearts!
Thursday was another full day, hitting the 95+ degree mark
most of the day with 100% humidity!
We ladies met with Francoise to ask her about needs of the Children’s
Home. She is the “one in charge”
as Moise puts it, and it is obvious that she is loved and respected by the
caregivers, the cook/laundry helpers, and the kids themselves. We (through your giving) were able to
help with school books for the 14 boys, with necessary cooking utensils &
pots, and left the funds to have their carpenter build shelves for the kids to
each have a cubby hole for their belongings. 
By the way, KeKe (the little girl, whose mother is
paralyzed, and was dropped off by her half-brother early in the week with a
small purse filled with her belongings) is adjusting to her new life. She is healthy, and is satisfied with
her new friends. But her sadness
still seems to be just below the surface.
Heidi found out in conversation with James (15 year old who
speaks a small amount of English) that his family all died in the earthquake 2+
years ago, and to his knowledge he is the only one left. He previously played on a soccer team
and, after his home was destroyed, actually lived in the soccer club for a
while, until IBESR (Haiti Family Services) placed him in a home, then let him
come to SDLG 3 weeks ago when they opened their Children’s Home. He is happy to be there but misses his
family and soccer. He appears to
be a very talented soccer player, but the thing that really stands out about
James is his tender serving heart.
He quietly serves the other kids before he eats, and provides a calming
touch or word when little arguments break out among the boys. His eyes are a touching combination of
kindness and sadness. Please pray
for him.
Mark & Matt completed the pulling of electrical wire in
the school (at least as much as we purchased), under the enjoyable and
excellent direction of Opelco, who we’ve worked with before and look forward to
working with again. Joe
constructed, set up (in the home’s concrete front yard) and joined the boys in
using the wood soccer goals made from available scraps on the property. They were definitely a hit! These boys went through 2 soccer balls
in one week! Not kidding! Joe, Matt & Samuel went down the
street, at James’ advice, and bought the home 2 street soccer balls (which
should last until January!).
With one of our Bible stories/skits yesterday, Drew played
Jesus as He welcomed the children and blessed them. They loved being the aim and focus of the story and then
eagerly let us lay hands on them and pray for them “Haitian-style” (out loud
and simultaneous), then Samuel interpreted as Jesus (Drew) prayed for their
precious young lives and hearts.
The Holy Spirit was very present there on the tile floor of the front porch, in the 97 degree heat, as the rice cooked over a fire, and the goat bleated loudly nearby. It all felt very right! Bondye se bon!
Giraud (pronounced by us as “Geo”, principal of the school and right-hand man to Moise) told me last night that Creole is the only language with a word for God that actually means “Good God” rather than just God. So “Bondye se bon” literally says “Good God is so good!” We can learn much from our Haitian family in Christ about true thankfulness. It was a blessed week!
With much gratitude,
Bev
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