A Day Of Impact

Today was different then all of the other days. We were on a mission and going from 8 am till 6 pm. You could see we were down for business as we were all dressed in our Impact for Jesus t-shirts. The day started off by visiting the tent city orphanage. We were amazed by the conditions of their home compared to all of the other orphanages we have visited in the last couple of days. The area was surrounded by a broken chicken fence tangled with bard wire. But was no use to keeping out the children from outside. Connections were made right away as the kids were very loving and considerate. It was interesting to see how happy the kids were by the smallest of gifts and how thankful they were for our company. We had to leave on short notice but we were coming back later to feed them.

Not far from the tent city orphanage, we drove up to the base of a mountain to visit a tent city where we planned to draw, play soccer, and create various sets of crafts with the people. The food was a little late but the time spent with the kids was very eye opening. Will, Patrick, and Austin traveled up the hill to a rocky dirt road to play a small game of street soccer with some of the local boys. Four big stones made up the goals and while the sidelines were weeds and rocks on the sides of the road. Maria, Martha, Diane, Emily, Kristen, and Courtney spent their time inside the church playing with kids while their mothers and other children had some free time to express themselves through the various crafts we brought. Although some were peed on, thrown up on, and pooped on, the glow in the children’s eyes brought smiles upon our faces. You could hear the large crowd that was continuously building, becoming more anxious as time passed with no food.  

When the food finally came, an unexplained energy from God swept upon the exhausted group as we rushed the food off the truck and into the church. It took team work and cooperation to pass out the tons of food but in the end everyone was fed and satisfied. We started with the youngest and their mothers and worked our way through everyone. There were some situations that became a bit heated as some fought over plates but were in the end all fed with a plate of rice, beans, carrots, and chopped sausage. When the food was gone, it was time to head back the tent city orphanage where we would feed them and eventually take them to what will be their newly rented home.

The feeding at the orphanage was much more chaotic then the previous feeding because there was no fenced structure to keep out the tent city kids so feeding the orphanage kids before the other children was very difficult because at points we could not tell who was from the orphanage and who was from the neighborhood. In the end, we fed everyone we could until the food ran out. Pastor Bob said we served over 500 meals between the two locations. The kids enjoyed the meal and were very grateful and loving to us. After that we traveled to their new home. There was a huge difference between their old home and their new home. Between their old beaten down tent to their newer, fenced, painted, and open spaced home the children were raving with excitement.

It was a huge relief to finally be back at the New Life orphanage. Food and water tasted better than it has ever tasted before.  Even though it was a long and tiring day, we had a special impact on hundreds of people all throughout Haiti. It was hard to say goodbye tonight as it was our last night of devotions with the kids. We had a special going away bonfire with marshmallows, gram crackers, and chocolate for s’mores . At the end of the night, we had a touching group talk with New Life’s founder Miriam. She told us more about how we could help here in Haiti and the sponsorship of the kids here at New Life.  It is now time to pack to get ready for our flight back to the states! Thank you for all of you support throughout our trip and your contributions. This had been a life changing experience for a lot of us and we couldn’t have done it without your love, prayers, and support.                                                                              

Submitted by short  term missionaries: Courtney Keefer and Patrick Kaindl