What must nothing feel like....

Monday - I am afraid to even touch my computer or type this - but this morning I FOUND my BLOG of yesterday and am sending - I HOPEright now....will attempt another tonight!


Day 2 and it feels like I have been here a long time.  The temperature decided to kick it up a notch - so the idea that the weather was going to be "balmy" got scorched today.  Busy morning with church activities.  The children sing with such intention with their little feet stepping side to side in a unique beat that I can't get straight - a life long challenge.  All dressed in their Sunday best we had each child photographed.  There were DumDum sucker bribes to get smiles produced at just the right second to click the photo.  Lots of "do overs" and I am sure we looked pretty dumb going thru all the contortions we did to get a beautiful smile - and they each have one. 

We actually went out of the compound for lunch - and I had a cheeseburger and fries, a rarity in Haiti and it satisfied my grease crave!  What I wasn't prepared for was the trip to a tent city.  This particular tent city - and there are MANY - was far away on a hillside where people traveled who lost their home and possessions in the quake.  Miriam and her nurse of 29 years personally know the woman who is considered the "leader" of the nearly 5,000 people who live in these tents.  It is truly on side of a mountain.  Miriam translated all that the woman was answering as Miriam asked her about the conditions.  What we learned had tears dripping off my face.  Basically - these people have NOTHING.  They are located out in no man's land - so aren't even near anyplace to buy anything if they DID have the money.  They just recently got WATER!  All the tents are tattered from the storms and wind.  When it rains the rain water runs down the mountain into their DIRT floor tent.  No medical care, of course.  This woman is the only mid-wife so is delivering babies on a regular basis.  They have NO supplies - so she has used all the money she had saved. (she is a registered nurse and elected to STAY there as she feels she can't leave the people behind with no one to oversee them. They needed her to go help with the cholera outbreak in another area- but she stayed back to give medical treatment here.)  They have one tent that is tattered, but quite large - the dirt floor is covered with makeshift tarps and they have 4-5 benches that are barely held together.  She has begged teachers to come and teach as there are hundreds of children who aren't in school now - teachers did for several months - but nothing to pay them made it necessary for them to move on.  FOUR teachers would require $200 a month for salary between them.  Can you imagine getting $50 a month to teach all these children who don't even have a pencil - much less the "required uniform" or even underwear.  Another huge problem is the young girls who are getting pregnant - and having sex to have money as many of the children there lost their parents in the quake and have NO adult figure to even help take care of them.  That is all they know to do to survive.  I could keep going with what I saw and heard - but I am sure you have heard enough.  BUT - I must share that a man was standing near a tent and he agreed to let us peak inside.  The tent was supported with trimmed limbs from a tree.  There was one twin size bed that was also held up with wood - dirt floor - a short string that went from corner to corner where maybe 5 - 6 articles of clothes hung - a small pan on the floor and that was it.  We asked him if he had a family and he said, "yes - six of us live here." When I looked down in his hand I saw a book that said, "New Testament".  He was so humble and let us take his photo - and was embarrassed that he is missing a tooth.  Miriam asked him what he does to survive. His response was that he does anything and everything he can --- he has no choice or he and his family would die.  But the problem is he has nothing.  We left at dusk and asked why there were brush fires seen here and there and we were told that they have to do that nightly because the mosquitos are so bad.  Most amazing was no one came up to us asking for anything or complaining.  I get all worked up when the drive thru at McDonald's is backed up by two cars.

I left feeling awful that I had just eaten and was FULL and came with an empty hand.  My hope is to be able to raise money when I get home and contact Walter - the man from Brazil who I mentioned yesterday and when I return in February I can be part of "feeding the 5,000."  I can't quite imagine a bigger joy.